The King's Dragon (2 page)

The King's Dragon

Apollo 23 by
Justin Richards

Night of the Humans
by David Llewel yn
The Forgotten Army by
Brian Minchin
Nuclear Time by
Oli Smith
The King's Dragon
by Una McCormack
The Glamour Chase
by Gary Russell

The King's Dragon

UNA McCORMACN

1 3 5 7 9 1 0 8 6 4 2

Published in 2010 by BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing.

A Random House Group Company

Copyright © Una McCormack 2010

Oh Smith has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Doctor Who is a BBC Wales production for BBC One.

Executive producers: Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger and Beth Willis BBC, DOCTOR WHO and TARDIS (word marks, logos and devices) are trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009

Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 846 07990 0

Mixed Sources

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The Random House Group Limited supports the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the leading international forest certification organisation.

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Commissioning editor: Albert DePetrillo Series consultant: Justin Richards Project editor: Steve Tribe

Cover design: Lee Binding © Woodlands Books Ltd, 2010

Production: Rebecca Jones

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives PLC

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For Matthew,

of course

'Woe for that man

who in harm and hatred hales his soul
to fiery embraces; nor favor nor change
awaits he ever.'

From
Beowulf
translated by Francis B. Gummere
They came only at
night. They crept around the dark places, the hidden places, the poor and lonely places.

It was said in the city that you could tell when they approached. First your skin began to prickle and then a sickening cold fear lodged itself in your belly which rose and rose, up and up - until you could not speak and you could not breathe, and the lamp that you were carrying couldn't bear it any longer and went out -
phoomph!
And then the shadows grew thick and dark, and you could no longer see round the bend in the alley or the curve in the road. You could not see the peril that was lurking ahead, but it was there. And it lingered.

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That's what was said. But when you asked the tale-bearer if he or she had seen these things themselves, 'Not I!' was the answer. But a cousin, or a cousin's friend, had heard the tale from someone else: 'A reputable source, mind you! My cousin is not one for telling tales!' And you would shake your head politely and reply, 'No, no! Of course!' But privately you would dismiss the story (again) and return to your business. For business was booming these days in Geath. All was well now that the city had its new young king.

Still, you might think, as you locked the doors, front and back, and you sealed up the windows, it was strange how empty the streets became after dusk. It was strange, too, how we all bolted our doors and our windows these days.

And each night, someone scurrying down a narrow alley or across a deserted plaza, on some business that sadly could not wait til the morning, would fancy that they could see shadows moving ahead, moving without any wind behind them, this summer being a hot one.

And some people - the most fanciful, surely, and the least trustworthy - would add a little colour to their tale.

(For the best of us cannot resist a little colour.) There was a strange noise, they said, like the growl of a wild beast - and some would swear that on the wall of the passage curving ahead, they

10

THE KING’S DRAGON

had seen the long shadow of a hand, or a claw, stretching out.

And the funny thing was, they would say, that this hand had too many fingers...

11

I don't know why
I assumed an alien planet would be in the future,' Amy said, 'but I did. Flying cars. Rockets.'

'Food in pills,' Rory said.

'Food in pills, yes. But it's not like that at all. It's more...'

'Olde worlde?' Rory offered.

'Olde worlde,' Amy agreed. 'But not retro.'

They were standing by the side of the road - an olde-worlde road, without flagstones and with mud.

A few metres ahead of them, the Doctor stood with one thumb stuck out, his face screwed up in concentration. He was staring at a horse and cart that, for the past five minutes, had been making
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DOCTOR WHO

steady progress down the track towards them. The driver's attention, however, was focused no further forwards than the ears of his horse.

'If I'm being honest,' Rory said, 'I didn't expect horses. Is there any particular reason to expect horses? On an alien planet, I mean? Or have I missed something?'

Amy gave it a couple of moments' thought. 'I don't think you've missed anything.'

The front of the cart was now almost level with the Doctor. He stuck his thumb out further; the universe's most intense hitchhiker. Slowly, ever so slowly, the cart rolled past. The golden bells on the harness jingled merrily.

Amy gave the driver a cheerful salute as he went on his way. 'Why, Doctor!' she cried. 'Is there
anything
you can't do?'

For the merest fraction of a second, the Doctor remained stretched out in his hitchhiking pose. He looked like a slightly forlorn scarecrow, or a particularly scruffy stork.

Abruptly, he turned on his heel and rejoined his friends. His trousers and shirt were splattered in mud.

Brightly, he said, 'Beautiful day! Let's walk!'

The day was very hot for walking so they set a gentle pace. The afternoon ambled amiably towards evening and the sun slipped away, although it did
14

THE KING’S DRAGON

not take the heat with it. As the travellers neared the top of the next hill, a yellow moon put in an appearance.

'Are we there yet?' Amy called forward.

The Doctor, two steps ahead as ever, said, 'Not long now.'

'I hope this place is something special, Doctor,'

Amy said. She glanced at Rory, trudging behind her, his expression murderous. 'For your sake.'

'Top of the hill! Then you'll see why I've brought you here.' The Doctor — all frantic energy and hectic delight — reached the top of the hill and balanced precariously on a gravelly escarpment, throwing his arms out like a showman.

'The city of Geath!' he cried. 'Revered throughout the universe for the beauty of its buildings, the wisdom of its people, the excellence of its sauces — and, most of all, for the unlikely fact that, for twelve and a half thousand years, it has been at peace with its neighbouring cities. Its name is a byword for hospitality, craftsmanship and civilised conversation. Forget rockets and flying cars and food in pills — Geath is something truly remarkable. A bunch of people who not only don't see the point of getting into fights with each other, but have managed not to get into fights for about as a long as it took your species to get all the way from hitting each other on the head with
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DOCTOR WHO

clubs to nuclear bombs... Have I mentioned how good their sauces are?' He kissed the tips of his fingers. 'Nothing on your world comes close.'

Rory, struggling to keep his foothold on the stony slope, said, 'My nan makes good gravy.'

Amy's eyes went hazy with happy memory.

'Oh yes...'

'If you can bring yourselves back for a moment to the
alien planet
you're standing on,' the Doctor said,

'and if you ever make it to the top of this hill, I promise you will see a sight capable of putting thought even of Sunday lunch out of your head.'

He reached out a hand, Amy took it, and reached back to Rory in turn. Together they took the last step up. The clouds in the sky parted and the light from the setting sun made the valley below them glow.

Amy gasped.

Rory said, 'Wow.'

The Doctor smiled. 'Exactly.'

In the valley below, a long river wound lazily in a great curve and, in this bend, lay the city of Geath. It dazzled. Amy blinked, to little effect, and was obliged to shield her eyes with her hand to be able to make out the shape of the city.