DOCTOR WHO AND THE FACE OF EVIL Read online

  'What are you talking about?'

  'Who did that voice remind you of?'

  'You? Yes that's it, it was your voice. How could that be?'

  'More to the point, who could that be? I think it's time I took a look at this Wall of yours.'

  Andor was leading the warriors of the Sevateem along the forest path that led to the Wall. Beside him marched Neeva in his Shaman's robe. Andor glanced over his shoulder at the file of warriors behind him. A pitiful handful they were too, he thought. The Sevateem were dwindling year by year. Hunting accidents, famine, disease, and above all the endless futile attacks upon the Wall had reduced their numbers to a few grizzled warriors together with the boys who had just attained manhood. Much more of this and Xoanon would have no Sevateem left to worship him. Still, this time it was going to be different. This time they were going to storm the Wall, rescue Xoanon, and bring about an age of endless peace and prosperity for the tribe. Andor was doing his best to make himself believe that Neeva's prophecies would all come true. But his heart was full of dread as he led his men along the trail.

  Tomas appeared ahead, running back towards them.

  'I saw the Wall,' he gasped, as he came up to them. Andor gripped his arm. 'Was there a gap?'

  Tomas nodded. 'It is as Neeva prophesied! The gap is there! It's like before—a sort of shining tunnel.' 'How wide?'

  'Big enough for three men, perhaps four.'

  Andor tugged his beard. 'I still don't like it.'

  'You think it's a trap?'

  Neeva came forward. 'Xoanon is fighting on our side. Even though he is held captive, he has summoned all his power to make the gap, so that we may rescue him. Unless we attack now his powers will fade and the gap will close. Xoanon would not lay traps for his people.'

  'The Tesh might,' said Andor stubbornly. 'Or the Evil One.'

  Tomas looked at him in surprise. 'Neeva told us that the Evil One has been destroyed.'

  Andor glanced quickly at Neeva. 'Yes, that's true. So it has.' He came to his decision. 'Come, we've wasted enough time. I'll lead the main attack. You take the left flank, Tomas, Calib the right.' Andor raised his hand and the little column began to move forward.

  In a distant part of the forest. the Doctor had reached another part of the Wall. He stood gazing thoughtfully up at it, Leela by his side. It was an astonishing sight, a sheet of pure true blackness, a nothingness, stretching in all directions. To the left, to the right, and high above them there was the same dead blackness. The forest seemed to border it on either side.

  'It's a Time Barrier,' said the Doctor softly.

  'I don't understand.'

  'The principle's very simple. You just move every-thing inside the barrier forward a couple of seconds. The result is your Wall—a barrier completely impervious to all forms of energy. I've seen it done as a parlour trick, but never on this scale.'

  'Is there any way to get past it?'

  'Only one. It can be bridged from within, by whoever set it up.'

  Leela told him of the gaps that appeared in the Wall from time to time, of the always-futile attacks made by the Sevateem in their attempts to rescue the captive god Xoanon. 'Andor and the others are about to attack again at some other part of the Wall. But if what you say is true, they're walking into a trap. Can't we warn them?'

  'Too late,' said the Doctor sadly. 'The attack will be starting at any moment. Anyway, they wouldn't listen.'

  'Calib might. He's more intelligent than the others—more open-minded. Come on, Doctor. Let's try.' She looked pleadingly at him, and after a moment the Doctor nodded. They turned away from the blackness of the Wall and headed back to the village.

  Andor and his warriors crouched at the edge of the forest. Just as Tomas had reported, a kind of radiant tunnel had appeared in the blackness of the Wall. It stretched temptingly ahead of them. The gateway to Paradise.

  Andor drew a deep breath then rose to his feet. 'Attack!' he yelled. 'Come on all of you. Attack! '

  Warriors at his heels, Andor dashed forward. There was no planning, no strategy, just a headlong charge. As the Sevateem followed their Chief into the tunnel, Neeva stood at the edge of the forest, arms held high in prayer. 'Protect your warriors, oh Xoanon. Strengthen their arms so that at last they may free you.'

  Suddenly a fierce white light blazed from the mouth of the tunnel, swallowing up Andor and his warriors. Yelling and screaming they disappeared into its radiance, brandishing spears and firing crossbows.

  Tomas turned to his men. 'Attack!' he yelled, and led his warriors in a charge. 'Come on, Calib.'

  As Tomas and his warriors dashed into the blinding radiance, Calib's men looked fearfully at him. Calib stood watching silently. He made no attempt to lead his men to the attack.

  A high-pitched electronic howl filled the air, and all round the tunnel men twisted and fell. Soon the air was filled with the screams of the dying. The tunnel began to close...

  6

  Danger for Leela

  Hands plunged deep into his pockets the Doctor stood waiting in the middle of the empty Council hut. Leela was by the entrance, keeping watch. A solitary figure appeared and she ducked back out of sight. 'He's coming, Doctor,' she hissed. 'I told you Calib would survive if anyone did.'

  Calib came wearily into the hut—and stopped in astonishment at the sight of the Doctor.

  The Doctor beamed. 'Ah, there you are, Calib. I was just thinking about you.'

  Calib stood warily, crossbow in hand. 'So Neeva and Andor lied to us.'

  'I wouldn't be surprised. By the way Leela's just behind you.'

  Calib whirled round. Leela was by the doorway covering him with her crossbow. 'Ah,' he said thoughtfully, and stood very still. Leela made an impatient gesture and Calib put down his crossbow on a nearby bench.

  'How was your battle?' asked the Doctor.

  'Like the last time.'

  Leela looked at him in anguish. 'Another massacre?'

  Calib nodded wearily. 'There was this blinding light, and a terrible noise. Then the Wall closed up. We never even saw the Tesh, and more than half the men were killed.'

  'But not you,' said Leela flatly. 'You seem unhurt.' Calib shrugged. 'There's no particular virtue in dying, Leela.'

  Leela's voice was scornful. 'That depends on what you do to avoid it.'

  'Now, Leela,' said the Doctor. 'Let's not quarrel. I'm sure Calib is a reasonable man. After all, we came here to talk to him.'

  'What do you want of me, Doctor?' asked Calib curiously.

  'We need someone's help—and Leela thinks it might be yours.'

  Calib looked distrustfully at Leela. 'Why me?'

  Leela moved closer to him. 'The Tribe is in desperate danger, Calib,' she said urgently. 'The Doctor is the only one who can help us. We've got to convince the others he's not the Evil One.'

  'Having convinced you first, of course,' added the Doctor.

  'I don't think you're the Evil One—I never have. I don't believe in evil spirits.'

  'I'm impressed,' said the Doctor. 'It looks as though Leela was right about you.'

  Calib strolled closer to Leela, ignoring the threatening crossbow. 'If I'm to help you, I'll need to know everything you've discovered.'

  The Doctor frowned. 'Well, there isn't much time... Leela showed me this Wall of yours, and in my opinion...'

  Calib's hand flashed out and Leela staggered back.

  Calib snatched the crossbow from her weakening grasp. As she fell, Leela stretched out a hand to the Doctor, as if in appeal. An ugly black shape was embedded in the back.

  'What have you done to her?' shouted the Doctor.

  'Janis thorn. Something you hadn't thought of, Doctor.'

  The Doctor started moving towards Leela. Calib made a threatening gesture with the bow. 'Stay where you are!'

  'I thought you were being convinced a bit too easily.'

  'Oh, I meant what I said, Doctor. I don't believe you're the Evil One—but the others do. Neeva said you'd been de
stroyed, and here you are. Just the evidence I need to break him.'

  'Leela underestimated your ambition,' said the Doctor softly.

  'It's for the good of the Tribe.'

  The Doctor looked down at Leela. 'Naturally. And this too?'

  'She might have tried to stop me,' said Calib simply. 'I said stay where you are!'

  'You need me alive—remember?' The Doctor knelt beside Leela and began feeling her wrist for a pulse. 'Calib, you held back! You cost us the attack!' Calib turned. Tomas stood in the doorway, battle-stained, weary, and very angry.

  Suddenly the Doctor threw himself backwards and swung his legs round in a sweeping arc, that knocked Calib's legs from under him. Calib tried to get up but the Doctor was already on his feet. Snatching the crossbow from Calib's hands he stood towering over him, and spoke without looking round. 'Come in, whoever you are. Who are you by the way?'

  'Tomas. What's happened to Leela?'

  'Calib here poisoned her with a Janis thorn. Up you get, Calib.'

  'I think you've broken my leg.'

  'I'll break your nose if you don't get up,' said the Doctor savagely.

  Calib struggled to his feet, looking at the Doctor's crossbow. 'It takes skill to use one of those things.'

  'What, at this range? All it takes is a flick of the wrist. Now, pick Leela up and carry her in there.' The Doctor nodded towards Neeva's Sanctum. 'Tomas, you help him.'

  Tomas and Calib carried Leela into the Sanctum and the Doctor pointed towards a low bed in one corner. 'Put her on there. Gently, now.'

  They lowered Leela on to the bed. 'What are you going to do?' asked Calib.

  The Doctor looked at Tomas. 'Tomas, you don't want her to die, do you?'

  'Of course not.'

  'Then keep him covered for me. I need time to work.'

  The Doctor passed the crossbow to Tomas, and began examining the sacred relics on the altar.

  Tomas looked a little bemusedly at the bow in his hands and Calib took a step towards the door. Tomas raised the bow to cover him. 'I wouldn't do that, Calib.'

  'Don't be a fool, Tomas, I'm going to give the alarm.'

  'Back against the wall!'

  Calib looked hard at him, realised he wasn't bluffing, and moved away from the door.

  Tomas shot a quick glance at the Doctor, who was still rummaging ruthlessly through the sacred relics. 'What are you doing, Doctor?'

  'Ah, here we are.' The Doctor looked up. 'This is a space-ship's medikit, Tomas, and this is a bioanalyser. If I can identify the poison, I can programme the medikit to make an anti-toxin.'

  The medikit was a small oblong box with a row of lights and a control keyboard set into the lid. Tomas watched as the Doctor removed a strip of clear plastic from a holder at the back, plucked the Janis thorn from the back of Leela's hand, and rubbed the poisonous tip of the thorn on to the strip. He fed the strip into a slot in the side of the machine. There was a whirring sound and the lights on the medikit began flashing in a complicated sequence. The Doctor studied them for a moment, took a second poison-smear from the thorn, feeding this one into the slide-tray of the bio-analyser, a kind of miniature electron microscope. He peered into the eye-piece for a moment, gave a grunt of satisfaction, went back to the medikit and punched out a complicated series of numbers on the keyboard.

  Lights began flashing on, and soon the lights on the display panel were burning steadily. All except one, which was still flashing. The Doctor studied the keyboard for a moment, then punched in more instructions. The light flashed for a moment longer, then burned steadily like the others. 'Got it,' said the Doctor triumphantly. The little machine began a satisfied whirring. 'Well, come on, come on,' said the Doctor impatiently.

  Calib said mockingly, 'What do you suppose he's doing, Tomas? You don't really believe he can help Leela by poking around in Neeva's relics!'

  The Doctor kept his eye on the machine. 'Shut up, rattlesnake,' he said abstractedly. 'I'm trying to save time. Leela hasn't much left.'

  Tomas looked down at Leela. She lay perfectly still, eyes wide open and staring. 'I think it's too late, Doctor. She's already dead.'

  The medikit gave sudden triumphant buzz and a little tray popped out of its side. In the tray lay a small plastic syringe.

  The Doctor snatched it up, crossed to Leela and injected the anti-toxin into her arm. For a moment nothing happened. Seeing that the Doctor and Tomas had their eyes fixed on Leela, Calib began sidling toward the door. The Doctor leaned over Leela and slapped her hard. She twitched and stirred. Then she blinked, and her eyes began to focus. 'Doctor?' she said dazedly.

  Suddenly Tomas realised. 'Calib's gone. He must have slipped out while—'

  'Watch the door,' ordered the Doctor. He helped Leela to sit up. 'Are you all right?'

  'I seem to be. I ought to be dead, though. There's no cure for the Janis thorn.'

  'Oh yes there is. Just a question of finding it.'

  'Do you know the answer to everything?'

  'Of course,' said the Doctor. 'Answers are easy. Asking the right questions is the tricky part.'

  From the doorway Tomas called, 'They're coming, Doctor.'

  The Doctor looked at Leela. 'Can you walk?'

  'I think so. My arm hurts a bit.'

  'That'll wear off. Tomas, you take Leela out the back way.' He pointed to the hole in the wall. 'I'm staying with you,' said Leela firmly.

  'You're going with Tomas,' said the Doctor, even more firmly. 'I'll see you both later.'

  Before they could argue, he strolled calmly through into the Council hut.

  Since the Doctor's capture was now inevitable, Tomas saw no reason to delay. He grabbed Leela and dragged her towards the hole.

  As the Doctor came out of the Sanctum, Calib ran in, guards behind him. 'Good evening, gentlemen,' said the Doctor breezily. 'I thought you'd never get here. Good Heavens, look at that! ' His eyes widened and he stared over their shoulders.

  It was the oldest trick in the world, but Calib and the others fell for it. They whirled round. By the time they had realised there was nothing behind them and turned back, the Doctor appeared to have vanished.

  'Over here, gentlemen,' said a cheerful voice from above them. They looked up. The Doctor was sprawled comfortably on the Chief's throne. 'Now then, shall we get down to business?'

  The guards ran to the throne and surrounded it, covering the Doctor with their crossbows. He looked round at the circle of fierce, unfriendly faces. 'You know, I shall begin to think you don't like me!'

  Neeva hurried into the Council hut, pushed through the ring of guards and stared malevolently at the Doctor.

  The Doctor smiled. 'Ah, Neeva, is it really you? They told me you were dead. Or was it the other way round?'

  Tomas squeezed through the hole and turned to help Leela. As she emerged and straightened up, warriors came out of the forest and surrounded them.

  Andor limped forward. 'Neeva was right. You're both in league with the Evil One.'

  'You blind fool,' began Tomas. Andor turned away. 'Seize them,' he ordered.

  The warriors closed in.

  7

  The Test of the Horda

  It was becoming quite a lively debate, thought the Doctor. The Council hut was packed with the survivors of the raid, and everyone else in the village who could squeeze in. Andor was presiding from his throne, Neeva and Calib beside him. The Doctor, Leela and Tomas stood before the throne. All three had their hands bound in front of them with leather thongs.

  A grizzled old warrior had stepped out of the crowd to challenge Neeva. 'You lied to us,' he accused. 'You said it was destroyed.'

  An angry roar from the crowd showed how many of the warriors supported him.

  Calib said smoothly, 'Answer them, Neeva. Tell them what happened.'

  Neeva held up his hands for silence. 'Did it not bring the witch its servant back to life? I tell you it was destroyed—but it renewed itself.'

  The Doctor decided to join in. 'If you believ
e that, you'll believe anything. Leela isn't a witch—and I'm not the Evil One.'

  'You wiped out our attack,' charged Andor.

  'Piffle. I was nowhere near.'

  'That's true,' shouted Leela. 'I was with him all the time.'

  Neeva turned angrily on her. 'Ha! Will you believe the words of this witch?'

  The Doctor said calmly, 'The attack failed because it was a trap, right from the start.

  'And who could have laid such a trap?' sneered Neeva.

  Leela's voice rang through the Council hut. 'Xoanon!' There was a moment of appalled silence, then a roar of fury from the crowd. They surged forward menacingly, and Andor's guards actually had to raise their spears to hold them back. Leela heard Tomas whispering in her ear, 'A great mistake, saying that!' Listening to the angry crowd Leela felt he might well be right.

  'They must all be destroyed,' screamed Neeva. 'Totally destroyed this time. Throw them to the Horda.'

  'What is a Horda anyway,' asked the Doctor plaintively, but no one answered. Leela shuddered.

  Calib was addressing the crowd. 'Wait! I do not believe this is the Evil One.'

  There was a mutter of astonishment from the crowd. Leela edged closer to the Doctor. 'Conscience?'

  'No, politics. Calib wants to break Neeva's hold on the Tribe. If he can prove Neeva wrong about a religious matter like this...'

  'Listen to me,' shouted Calib. 'If he can be killed, then he's not the Evil One—because the Evil One is a god.'

  'Good point,' said the Doctor appreciatively. 'Fifteen love.' Leela looked blankly at him. The ancient Earth game of tennis meant nothing to her.

  Neeva pointed dramatically at the Doctor. 'The Litany says it can be destroyed.'

  The Doctor was still keeping score. 'Fifteen all! '

  Calib glared challengingly at Neeva. 'I say we should put this Doctor to the Test and see if he speaks truly.'

  Andor intervened. 'The Test is for mortals.'

  'If he can be killed, then he is a mortal.'

  The Doctor chuckled. 'Game, set and match to Calib, I think!'

  Leela looked wonderingly at him. How could he be so cheerful when he'd just been condemned to an agonising death?