Doctor Who_ The Scarlet Empress Part 34

'Good. Then, you -'

'Listen,' said Sam.'Can't you -'

They were just stepping out of their lifeboat. Before they had even walked away from it they found they were surrounded.

An entire, resplendent platoon of the tattooed Scarlet Guard stood about them. They had arrived silently.

'Welcome back,' one of them smiled, his features a dense, complicated mesh of designs.'I believe that you have something the Empress would like to take a look at.'

Chapter Twenty-Nine.

With the Empress

At first glance all Sam could see was a pair of eyes. Somewhere in the midst of that pink gunk inside the tank there was a glaring pair of eyes, watching them as they were led into the gold and crimson throne room.

Eyes with pupils as red as Iris's bus.

The guards had instructed them on being silent. The Empress, they were told, was excruciatingly sensitive.

The three prisoners were led across the cool marble floor and brought to a halt before the jar. As Sam stared she could make out the vague shape of the woman inside. For a moment she felt a twinge of pity for the being caught inside the gla.s.s. She could feel the self-pity and resentment hanging like damp steam on the air - the bristling waves of paranoia emanating from that person.

And what a sight we must be, thought Sam: a sight for red, beleaguered eyes. Battered, filthy and bruised. The Bearded Lady's white suit was stiffened and brown with dried blood; she looked fit to drop. Only Gila held himself erect, snarling and prepared for action yet again. The tattooed guards held their weapons at the ready. The message was clear: they were in the presence of royalty and there was nothing they could hope to do to endanger the Scarlet Empress. Sam was shocked at first by the guards' nakedness here inside the palace. They paraded quite shamelessly, displaying their gaudy markings. She stopped looking after a while, however. There were more pressing matters.

When the Scarlet Empress spoke at last, her voice seemed to be coming from an ancient wireless. It was distant and crackly.

'We expected there to be more of you.'

Major Angela coughed. Too loudly. A guard stepped forward and held his dagger at her throat.'Quietly,' he whispered.

'One of us was destroyed,' the Bearded Lady hissed.

"That raddled old hag I sent after you?'

"The d.u.c.h.ess died,' growled Gila, low in his scaly, dewlapped throat.

'Killed by that monstrous tusked creature you sent.'

'Did I send a creature?' the Empress pondered this.

One of the Scarlet Guard nodded curtly.

'Perhaps I did. So where is the hag I sent to fetch you all?'

Sam's voice was very steady. 'She was killed along with the Turtle and the Doctor. I think you'll find that was your fault, too.'

'Who is this child?'

'She got caught up in all this,' rumbled Gila.'You should let her go.'

'I'm not going anywhere!'

'Quieter!' urged the guard again.

'I'm staying here till the bitter, b.l.o.o.d.y end.'

'It might just be that,' hissed the Empress. The pink-rimmed eyes slid to stare at the Bearded Lady.'Major Angela.You have done some terrible things, haven't you? Wasn't it you who set yourself up as the queen of a small piece of land? Didn't you have the gall to enslave subjects and make them do your bidding?'

Angela looked grim.'I did,Your Majesty.'

'Now, you know that was wrong. Aren't I the only Empress?'

Angela's mouth twitched. She sounded almost ironic as she replied, 'No, your Majesty.'

Those eyes flashed.'You know there is very little chance that you will be leaving this room with your hideous bearded head still on those shoulders?'

'Yes,'sighed Angela.'I gathered that.'

For the first time Sam felt a real pang of fear.

'Of course,' said the Empress. "The very worst thing you ever did was to steal something from me. Do you have that particular... article on your hirsute person?'

'I do.'

'And would you like to produce it?'

Angela unshouldered and started to open her grubby backpack. This was her only chance, she thought. If the Eldest Empress Ca.s.sandra would only manifest herself again and act and speak on their behalf...

then that was the only chance they still stood of coming out of this alive.

'Hurry,' said the Scarlet Empress greedily. 'You have kept me waiting long enough.'

'Give her a moment,' Sam shouted. 'She's wounded! We've all been through loads of stuff to get here, you know...' One of the guards lashed out and knocked her flat on her back.

Sam yelled again and scrambled up in anger, when she noticed that everyone was staring in horror at Major Angela.

The Bearded Lady was holding her backpack upside down.

'Angela,' Gila said. 'What... ?'

But the bag was quite empty.

All around the bus, the vortex howled and churned.

'Here we are again,' said the Doctor, fiddling with coordinates.'Iris is going to be so pleased she let me have a go at her console. I've done a fantastic job on this. Now why is it you can't fix your own s.h.i.+p, but when it comes to somebody else's -'

'Doctor!' the Turtle shouted.

'Ah,' he smiled, stepping out of the cab. 'How are you enjoying your first foray into that mysterious region where time and s.p.a.ce are one?' Then he looked at the stricken bovine-chelonian creature. 'What's wrong?'

Iris was sitting bolt upright. That curious radiance had dropped away from her like a shroud. She looked like death. She said two words,'Help me,' and fell down again on to the faded and overstuffed chintz.

'Get her a drink,' the Doctor cried, and headed back to the controls. 'We really haven't much time.'

'What's happening to her?'

' She's at a critical stage!' he yelled. 'And so are we.' The controls fizzed and shook.'We're about to arrive...'

The liquids and pink mucus in the jar had turned a poisonous red. Over her primitive loudspeaker the Empress was screaming: 'Kill them! Kill these worthless philandering fools!'

The throne room erupted as guards appeared from nowhere and dragged Gila, Angela and Sam up on to a raised dais to one side of the room that already, they discovered, had heavy chopping blocks prepared for them. There was nothing they could do, though Gila fought with every sc.r.a.p of strength he had left. They were overpowered and hauled up the steps of scarlet stone and their throats were placed on the old cold wood of the blocks. Scimitars were briskly whetted with a swift shus.h.i.+ng noise.

'Kill them now,' whispered the Scarlet Empress, pressing her gnarled fingers up against the gla.s.s, pus.h.i.+ng as close as she could in order to see every detail of the ma.s.sacre.

Sam briefly considered screaming.

Then: Between the chopping blocks and the Empress's tall gla.s.s jar, the air started to buckle and tremble and then to solidify. A tremendous wheezing, groaning sound rent the air. A breeze plucked up out of nowhere and the scimitars were lowered in puzzlement and dismay. The Empress put her hands to her ears and howled out her pain and rage, and Sam's heart jumped into her mouth as, in the middle of the b.l.o.o.d.y marble floor, a red double-decker bus quickly made itself apparent.

The guards scattered.

The Empress screamed.'Too noisy! Too loudl'The spindly arms inside the gla.s.s flailed and wheeled as she was consumed in agony. The confused guards ran to help her, appalled by her pain.

Sam and the others found themselves intact and unguarded.

'It's him!' Sam yelled.'It's them! They've come for us! They survived!'

The Empress screamed again.

'Make more noise!' Angela cried and hurried off towards the bus.

The hydraulic doors flew open and the Doctor stepped breezily out to face the livid guards. His tangled hair stood up wildly and his cravat was all awry.'h.e.l.lo, boys,' he smiled.

'It's him!' the Empress gurgled and frothed.

'Doctor!' Sam yelled.

'h.e.l.lo, Sam,' he said.'Now, don't be too noisy. The Empress doesn't like it. Do you, dear?'

'Kill them all!' shrilled the Empress.

'Ah, now,' the Doctor said.'Perhaps that's not such a good idea.'

The tattooed men rounded on him, swords glittering.

'Stay back, gentlemen,' he warned, in a soft, cajoling tone.

'Slay him!' the Empress exhorted.

The Doctor shrugged. 'If you must. But I can't say that I think it's awfully fair if you do.' He felt inside his capacious coat pockets. 'Especially since I've brought back the exact thing you sent us out to recover.'With a flourish he produced from inside his coat a fairly small, stoppered jar.

Everything stopped and fell silent.

The guards drew back.

The Doctor grinned. He stared into the jar's glaucous depths. 'I thought that would make you listen.'

Angela made a choking noise. She said, 'When did you...?'

He shrugged carelessly. 'I pickpocketed you a few days ago. Dreadful habit of mine. You can't be too careful around me, you know.' He stepped forward with a polite cough and waved the guards further back.'Out of my way, you lot. And put some clothes on.' Then he glared at the Scarlet Empress and addressed her in fine, hectoring style.

'Now, would I be right in saying that the tiny woman in this jar is someone you want back?'

The Empress's voice came as if through painfully gritted teeth.'Would you talk a little more quietly, Doctor?'

'Me?' he smiled haplessly. 'Oh, I can't talk quietly. What's the point?

Answer my question.'

'Yes. I need her back.'

'Have you asked her?'

The Empress cursed.'Why should I ask her?'

'Well, she might not want to come home. This old lady might be having the time of her life.'

'She is my ancestor. She belongs here with me. You have no right to presume to tell me where she should be!'

'Shall we see?' asked the Doctor.

The Empress suddenly looked alarmed.

The Doctor turned on his heel to face the guards and his companions.

Sam thought, He's enjoying this. The showdown.

'Shall we ask the old lady in question?'