Menagerie Part 18

'And how did so feeble a creature outwit a Knight of Kuabris?' asked Zaitabor, pushing Araboam's head back towards the floor with his boot when the young man dared to look up.

'I was . . . compromised, my lord.'

'I should have you flogged for that alone,' said Zaitabor.

'Your shameful behaviour has led to the escape of two prisoners. It is perhaps just as well that I ensured that the wizard's boy should be kept elsewhere.'

Araboam risked an upwards glance. 'I am told that the jailor too had -'

'Silence!' Zaitabor kicked the young man in the face, sending him spinning across the room. 'After all that I have done for you, your repayment is most unkind. Do not even say a word in my presence!' Zaitabor paused, trying to remain calm, his fingers drumming on his scabbard. 'The jailor is indeed becoming a liability,' he said quietly.

'Perhaps I should expel him from Castle Kuabris. Perhaps my advisers are right. The loss of a few fingers or a hand might ensure that all people remember the power and authority of the knights.'

'I throw myself upon your mercy, Commander,'

exclaimed Araboam.

'Indeed you do,' said Zaitabor. He nodded to the two knights. 'Get him up.'

The knights dragged Araboam to his feet. The young knight stared back at his master. 'My lord?'

'Take a group of knights and track down our prisoners.

You said that the boy remembered the fat man. Perhaps they have gone to see Argaabil.'

'And Defrabax?'

'Leave the mage to me,' said Zaitabor. 'In your absence you were unable to lead the knights out in pursuit of that evil man. But I am sure that they will succeed without your help.'

'And Defrabax's ultimatum?'

'd.a.m.n his ultimatum! The man has no real power!'

Jamie and Kaquaan watched the explosion from what they hoped would be a safe vantage point. When it came they instinctively ducked down behind a ridge in the hillside. A wave of hot air rushed past them. Moments later bricks and small sc.r.a.ps of metal began to fall from the skies like rain. Jamie protected his head with his arms and winced as he felt fragments cut into his back and legs.

When he raised his head the city was lit up by the flickering flames of the now-destroyed Furnace. The streets and houses of the rich, however, had been plunged into total darkness. He turned to the woman. 'Are you all right?' he asked.

Kaquaan looked up and nodded sourly. 'I thought you said we'd be safe here?'

'How was I supposed to know? I'm no cleverer than you!'

Kaquaan watched the Furnace workers as they darted from place to place trying to extinguish the smaller fires.

Even from their distance they could hear Argaabil laughing.

'It looks like the whole place has been destroyed,'

commented Jamie.

'So there'll be no electrical power,' said Kaquaan. 'Not that the poor folk will notice the difference.' She got to her feet, and stared at the castle on the far side of the city. Dim lights were now flickering into position at its various windows. 'Perhaps in the confusion we can slip back into the castle.'

'And do what?' said Jamie.

'Araboam is one of the Brothers of Rexulon. He must have Cosmae imprisoned somewhere.' Kaquaan smiled.

'You both came to my rescue. Now it's my turn to help rescue Cosmae.'

The explosion was felt even deep underground in the old city. The Dugraqs looked around in alarm. The Doctor nodded as if he had been half-expecting such a development.

'I a.s.sume that you've told me all that you have so that I can help you,' said the Doctor over the nervous squawks of the Dugraq council as the tremors subsided. He smiled modestly. 'I tend to be rather good at this sort of thing. Now, we'll put your fears about the Mecrim to one side for the moment. The thing we must do is take a look at that power station. We must try to find why it has been brought back on line, and how stable it is.'

'And the convulsions we just felt?' asked one of the Dugraqs.

'Probably some little trick of Defrabax's,' said the Doctor.

'I really am looking forward to meeting this man.'

'What can we do to help, Traveller?' asked the leader.

'I'll need a guide,' said the Doctor. 'Someone to ensure I don't get lost. If I can get to the power station and avoid the android then I should have a better idea as to what's going on.'

A Dugraq pulled at the Doctor's sleeve. The Doctor recognized the creature's reddish fur immediately.

'My friend the scout will do the job quite adequately I'm sure,' said the Doctor.

The leader nodded. 'Very well.'

'I must say how nice it is to be trusted for once,' said the Doctor. 'Normally I'm imprisoned, shot at . . .'

'If we Dugraqs have a failing,' said the sad old figure at the back, 'it is that we tend to trust too easily.'

'And look what happened as a result of our trusting Defrabax,' noted the female leader.

'I shall not let you down,' said the Doctor, bowing. He turned to follow the Dugraq scout back across the park.

Despite the savannah walker's surprising turn of speed, the six-limbed killer was slowly gaining ground. Zoe was pleased that her theories about the deadly creature seemed to be correct - that it was prioritizing the destruction of the walker above all other animals - but could only hope that they could get to the town's generators in time. The monster would be upon them soon. Its dark shape, crashing through the undergrowth as it blindly followed its instincts, was getting closer with every pa.s.sing moment.

Diseaeda urged some more speed from the walker, and shot a worried glance back at Zoe. Zoe smiled back with a confidence she did not feel. Her theory that the ma.s.sive heat of the furnaces might interfere with its vision was just a hunch. She'd been right about the creature so far, but intuitive speculation was hardly her forte. What if the creature was unaffected by its surroundings? What then?

They had decided to skirt around the town in an effort to minimize contact between the reawakened creature and the townsfolk. So far it had worked perfectly, the animal ignoring all other sounds and movements in its pursuit of the savannah walker. The stunned and fearful shock that had almost palpably descended over the town was perhaps a factor as well. The grim news from the circus had ensured that no one was walking the night-time streets.

Reisaz pointed into the distance. 'There are the generators. Not long now.'

Zoe could see the outline of a series of buildings not far away. The town generators were much cleaner and more efficient than the filthy equivalent she had glimpsed in the distant city, the architecture sharing the playful lines of much of the town. Clouds of white steam settled over the chimneys.

The creature was just a few yards behind the walker, which vaulted a low brick wall effortlessly. It pa.s.sed through the ornamental gateway into the generating plant just as their pursuer struck.

The creature lunged at the rear legs of the savannah walker, one serrated arm locking into position. The huge horse-like animal crashed to the ground, spilling its riders.

The twins pulled Zoe to her feet, and they ran after Diseaeda towards a small wooden door in the outer wall of one of the ornate buildings. It was locked but the circus owner kicked it down with surprising ease.

By now they could hear the gurgling screams of the savannah walker as it died. Zoe didn't dare look behind her.

'Hide as close to the furnaces as possible,' she said, looking around the orderly generating room. The walls were dotted with large metal doors, with much of the floor s.p.a.ce taken up with an enormous turbine.

Zoe knew that self-preservation was the first priority.

They had managed to lure the monster away from the freak show but they were clearly no closer to finding a way to kill it. She was determined to ensure that any lives they had saved were not at the cost of their own.

Zoe ducked down behind a metal pipe that stretched up into the ceiling. It was hot to the touch, and she hoped its heat would be enough to distract the creature. The twins flicked open a furnace door and dived for cover. She couldn't even see where Diseaeda had gone.

Despite the hammering of pistons and the roar from the exposed furnace Zoe could still hear the enormous whimperings of the savannah walker. A few moments later there was a squeal, and then nothing.

The creature jumped through the doorway, landing comfortably on its splayed feet. Its seemingly eyeless face scanned the gantries and machinery. After the chase its movements were now slow and methodical. It seemed to know that the small-bodied humans could pose no threat to it.

Zoe crouched down still further, listening to the tap of the beast's claws on the flagstones. She could not tell if it was coming closer or moving further away.

The noises stopped, and the crashing of the machinery became a terrifying silence. Zoe wondered if the creature were standing over her, gloating, its deadly claws gently reaching out for her.

Then the sounds of movement started up again, a few yards to her right. Through eyes half-closed with fear she saw the creature as it came towards the furnace, pa.s.sing close to her position. It stared at the flames for a while, moving its head from side to side as if weighing up its sensory input.

Then the creature's head turned in Zoe's direction, as if it knew all along where she would be. It trotted towards her and extended its clawed fingers.

As Kaquaan had expected, getting back into the castle had proved ludicrously easy. Despite their other-worldly contemplations it seemed that even the knights were shocked by the sight of the smouldering Furnace. Jamie just hoped that this time he would be reunited with the Doctor and Zoe.

He followed Kaquaan through the quiet corridors as she sought to retrace her steps back to Araboam's quarters. After some time she came to a halt towards the end of a corridor of polished pale-blue stone and pointed to one of the two doors at its end. 'That's the one,' she said. 'That's where Araboam brought me.'

Jamie walked boldly up to the door and banged it with his fist, not really knowing what he'd do if there was a reply.

After a few moments he pushed the door open and walked inside. Kaquaan followed, closing the door.

'Let's see if we can find anything of interest,' said the young Scot, opening a small cupboard and rummaging through papers. 'Stand by the door and make sure no one's coming.'

'You can read then?' asked Kaquaan as Jamie scanned a number of frayed parchments.

'Aye, just a little,' said Jamie. 'The Doctor taught me.'

Towards the back of the room a full-height wardrobe had been set into the castle wall. Jamie peered in and saw clothing hanging from a rail and wooden racks containing polished armour and boots. The cupboard smelt of cleaning oil and aromatic herbs.

He returned to the paperwork, bundled into little sheaf-like piles. He had hoped to find some indication of concealed cells used only by the brotherhood, but realized quickly that he was most unlikely to find a detailed map giving away such secret locations.

'There's someone coming,' hissed Kaquaan, darting away from the door.

'Quick, get in the cupboard,' said Jamie. There was just enough room for the two of them, and not for the first time Jamie was grateful that he was by no means the tallest of the McCrimmons. He pulled the door closed and held it in position with one hand.

He heard the door to the room creak open and then close again. Footsteps scuffed across the floor.

Now then, Oiquaquil, there is much that I must attend to,'

said a voice that Jamie recognized. 'I have only just returned to my duties. What is it that you want?'

'Rest a.s.sured that I would not normally disturb you in the middle of the night but rumour has reached me that Himesor is dead. As Captain of the Guard I am wondering -'

'Confirmation has not yet been received of Grand Knight Himesor's demise,' said Araboam. 'For the moment, Commander Zaitabor has a.s.sumed the mantle of Grand Knight.'

'And you are his intended Commander? It seems I am not considered important enough to see the Grand Knight,' the Captain grumbled.

'I am not greatly inclined to believe that I shall be made the next Commander of the Knights,' said Araboam. Now, I must ask you again, what is your business with us?'

'It's very simple,' said Oiquaquil. 'This explosion in the Furnace. Do the knights have any information regarding the perpetrators?'

'We have reason to believe that it was caused by Defrabax, who is pursuing a vendetta against us.'

'Defrabax? I always felt that the man was capable of less than half the things he boasted of.'

'He sent us an ultimatum.'