The King's Dragon (9 page)

What was it the Teller had said earlier? That he only told the people of Geath what they wanted to hear... 'Doctor,' she said, 'you reckoned that the dragon must have been here for millennia. So why now? What's brought them here now?'

'We heard an echo from the past,' the Herald said. 'It called to us. We came.'

The Doctor brought himself back to the present. 'It was probably when the Geathians started working the metal.' His voice was more subdued than before. 'That must have triggered something - a beacon, perhaps. Enough for the Herald's people to work out where the dragon was - and for their
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enemies to work it out, too. Whoever they are.'

The Herald quivered at the mention of them.

'They are very close! They are coming! Do not let them take it from us!'

'Doctor,' Rory said. 'Wouldn't it be best just to let them take it? Away from here. Before those things Amy saw come for us.'

'No!' Amy said quickly. 'How do we know that they're telling us the truth? They could be spinning us a story.' She glanced at the Teller. 'Like everyone else round here.'

'We have to get rid of the stuff somehow,' Rory said. 'It can't stay here in Geath. So why not save ourselves a job and send it back where it came from?'

'Rory, you never listen!'

'Me
never listen? That's rich coming from you, Amy Pond!'

'Oh,
now
we're getting to the truth of things!'

'Amy, this isn't actually about you. Don't you get it? Look at Hilthe. I'm worried about her! How long are we going to leave her like this? She's an old woman—'

The Doctor spoke over them, addressing the Herald in a gentler voice. 'Tell me about your enemies.'

The light around the Herald dimmed, as if it was being pulled away from her. 'They brought
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chaos. They brought ruin. My masters were artists and poets and philosophers. Our cities shone like beacons. Our worlds were paradises. But they were destroyed.'

'Why?' pressed the Doctor. 'Why you? Why would anyone do that to you?'

'Envy.'
Her voice hit a low note that tolled around the hall. 'Jealousy. What other force could tear down towers, shred the learning of ages, consign the Bright Nobles to darkness?' She held her hand out to him, like a beggar pleading for aid.

'We have so little left! Do not let them take it!' The light within her dimmed perilously low. 'They are coming! They have found us! They are here!'

Amy heard once again the low wail that she had chased through the complex earlier. As the sound grew louder, her sense of dread got steadily worse, until she felt sick. What was doing this, Amy thought desperately, as she shoved her fingers into her ears. Travelling with the Doctor, she was often scared, but something about this noise got inside her and made her want to curl up and disappear, like the lamp she had been carrying earlier. 'Doctor!' she yelled. 'Bad guy! Incoming!'

At the far end of the chamber, behind the throne, darkness began to take shape and form, coalescing into a figure. The light around the Herald flickered madly and her body went into spasm.

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'Hilthe!' Rory shouted. He tried to reach the old woman, but could not get close. When Amy went to pull him back he shook her off.

The Teller stood with his mouth hanging open, his expression partly of terror, partly of wonder.

'Get back!' Amy yelled at him. 'Let the Doctor handle it!'

Coming to his senses, the Teller rushed to take cover behind one of the columns of the arcade.

Amy and Rory joined him. The Doctor remained by the Herald. He stood staring in delight at the figure emerging at the far side of the hall.

It was growing rapidly in size. Now it was Amy's height, now taller, now more than twice the size of an average human, its limbs lengthening, unfurling like wings. Soon it was almost touching the dome of the council chamber and it didn't stop growing. No longer able to fit, it stooped forwards, a huge shadow looming over them all.

The noise it was making, amplified by the dome of the chamber, was almost unbearable. And then, through the din, Amy heard a steady hum, very low at first, but getting louder. Harmonies were added to it until it was as if a thousand voices, in perfect unison, were countering the cry of the dark figure across the chamber. Then the Herald, too, began to grow.

Rory grabbed Amy's arm. 'She's fighting back!

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Hilthe's fighting back!'

'It's not Hilthe!' Amy shouted, but either he hadn't heard or else it made no difference. Rory whooped and cheered her on.

The Herald seemed to gain strength and stature from his support. Her rate of growth sped up, and soon her bright figure filled her half of the hall. The two unearthly presences hovered for a moment - facing off, considering the nature of the opposition, gearing up to do battle - and then the Herald attacked. Waves of golden light emanated from her in the direction of her enemy. When they hit, the huge dark figure recoiled, and gave a great howl, like a hundred cats screeching in pain and hatred.

'Got it!' yelled Rory. 'Go Hilthe!'

But Amy gasped in dismay - and then puzzled over her reaction. The creature frightened her and its coming and its presence filled her with terror.

So why did she not want it hurt? Was it because it hadn't touched her? All it had done so far was look big and loom and wail - but there wasn't a law against that.

The Herald tried to capitalise on her advantage.

She raised one light-filled hand and sent more shock waves out towards her enemy. It buckled under the force of the blow, like a tree blasted by a storm, and shrank somewhat in size. But then it
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started to gather its resources for a counter-attack.

The wailing, which had faltered under the Herald's assault, rose up again with renewed vigour and purpose. It stretched out its vast hands, so that the whole council chamber seemed to lie within its grasp. The two lamps behind the throne went out.

The only light now came from the Herald, and its pale reflection in the dragon. Amy saw the Doctor taking cover behind it.

'Amy! Rory! Are you all right?' he yelled.

'Fine!' she shouted back. She glanced at the man next to her who was wide-eyed and clutching at the column as if it was the only solid thing in a world turned to chaos. 'Though I think the Teller might need therapy!'

'What about Hilthe?' Rory shouted. 'Doctor, is this hurting her?'

The Doctor didn't get a chance to answer. The Herald's enemy made a grab for her. It was as if it was trying to extinguish her, to snuff her out like she was a candle. The Herald's light diminished again. She gave an agonised shriek — and then her light dissipated entirely. The whole apparition withered, shrank, and then was gone. Only Hilthe remained — a tiny, silver-haired old woman, clutching an innocuous-looking gold ring. She stood still and erect for a moment, as if the shock was enough to keep her upright, and then she
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slumped to the ground. The ring fell out of her hands. It clattered coldly against the tiled floor, then rolled across the chamber and came to a halt in front of the dragon. The Doctor picked it up and put it in his pocket.

'Hilthe!' Rory cried in dismay. He ran out from the cover of the arcade and helped the Doctor carry her back to one of the seats there. She sat with her head down. Rory put his arm around her.

'Hilthe,' he said gently. 'Can you hear me? Are you all right?'

The Teller, creeping across to stand beside the Doctor, stared in horror at the monster hovering at the far side of the chamber. The noise had lessened considerably and was now nothing more than a background growl, but the figure was still huge.

'What
is
that thing?'

'Like
I
said before, it's a scout,' the Doctor said.

'It's been sent to track down the Enamour. Bet you're sorry you found that dragon now.'

The Teller was aghast. 'Sent by
whom?'

'Good question. Don't know. Yet.'

Hilthe, leaning back in the circle of Rory's arms, opened her eyes. 'Ah!' she cried softly.

The Doctor knelt down beside her and took her hand. 'I'm sorry I let you speak for us, Mother.'

She extricated her hand from his. 'You didn't let me. I insisted.' She shivered. 'I saw many
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wonderful things through its eyes. Many marvels.

Such beautiful cities! Such grandeur!' She shook her head, as if to clear it of whatever strange visions the Herald had placed there. 'However, I see that its enemy is still amongst us. We must determine whether it means my city any harm.'

'So we should.' The Doctor looked back over his shoulder. 'It doesn't seem in a hurry to finish us off, does it? I wonder what it has to say for itself.'

Leaving Hilthe in Rory's expert and devoted care, he jumped to his feet and ran out from the cover of the arcade. The alien towered over him. 'Hello!' he said.

'Nice to meet you! Now, call me a romantic if you like — and I am
awful y
romantic about meeting new life forms, brings a lump to the throat — but I don't think you're going to hurt us, are you? Not immediately, anyway. Am I right?' As he was speaking, the alien twisted round slowly, and bent forwards to examine the Doctor. Its jaw hinged open, offering a glimpse down a cavernous mouth. 'Or am I wrong?' Now standing nose-to-snout with it, the Doctor gave a little wave. 'Hello again!'

The creature spoke, its voice low and monotone. 'I represent the Regulatory Board. Under Clause 9.4b (subsection 12.2) of the Regulation of Psycho-Manipulatory Metals Act (30673.26), all parties here assembled must hand over any substances
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covered by said Act within ten standard time units.'

'That was a mouthful. Can you do it again?' It did.

'So you can. Good for you! Not easy learning lines like that. If you ever decide to get out of the regulatory business, I suggest you think about the stage. So you want the stuff, too.' The Doctor rocked back and forth on his heels. 'Enamour, Enamour, they all want Enamour... So what's your claim? Who's your boss? Not these Bright Nobles, I bet.'

It growled at that name. 'My authority comes from the Reconstruction Oversight Committee—'

'The
what?'
The Doctor clutched his head in pain. 'That's a
rubbish
name! Who sold you that one? You should get your money back... Did nobody talk to you about brand management? And as for "standard time units"...' He groaned. 'That's rubbish too! What were you
thinking?
You know, if you're serious about reconstructing whatever it is you're busy reconstructing, you should probably get rid of that committee.'

With a sudden quick movement, the Doctor stuck his arm right through the Regulator. It all but disappeared. 'Huh,' he said, half to the Regulator, half to himself. 'Definitely a projection. Doesn't stop you being alarming. The trick with the lights
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is a good one, too, I'll give you that. And somehow you're stimulating fear and apprehension... Don't know how you're doing it - not yet, will eventually

- but put it all together and it's an effective bad-guy routine, isn't it? Said you should think about the stage.' He pulled back his hand, and the Regulator coalesced back into its whole shape.

Ooh. That's interesting. I stick my hand through you and you still don't make a move towards me. Ten standard time units. And then what? What do you do then?'

'Under powers granted to the Regulatory Board by the Regulation of Psycho-Manipulatory Metals Act (30673.26), reasonable force can be used to secure all substances covered by said Act.'

'Reasonable force?' The Doctor frowned. 'I don't like the sound of that. Reasonable force is never actually reasonable, is it?'

The Regulator twitched the many fingers of one hand. The lamps behind the throne burst back into flame. Then it pointed up towards the dome. All of them gathered there - the Doctor, Amy, Rory, Hilthe, the Teller - looked up.

'Save us!' the Teller whispered, when he saw what was passing overhead.

Beyond the golden dome of the chamber, silhouetted like a shadow play, two gigantic shapes were moving slowly across the sky above
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Geath. Both were winged and had a long thin tail that stretched out behind each of them. Amy even thought she could see a puff of smoke. 'Oh, you're kidding me,' she said. 'They can't possibly be...'

'But look at them!' said Rory. 'They totally are!

They're —'

'Don't say it, Rory Williams!'

' —
dragons!
Dragons, Amy! Instant awesome!'

'How can this be happening?' gasped the Teller. He clutched desperately at Amy's arm.

She nearly felt sorry for him. 'It'll all work out fine,' she said comfortingly. 'Just keep your hands off the glittery stuff in future, OK? Doesn't do anyone any good. Doctor, tell me they're not really dragons.'

'Tell me they are,' begged Rory.

'Sorry to disappoint you, Rory,' the Doctor said.

'But of course they're not dragons.' He put a finger to his lips, signalling to everyone to be quiet. 'Listen.

What can you hear?'

Amy had to strain to pick out what he meant, because the city was already awakening to this new threat. There were shouts from outside and then a gong sounded repeatedly. But behind it all, distantly but distinctly, Amy heard not the flap of wings, but a low constant and entirely mechanical
thrum...
'Engines,' she said to the Doctor. 'I can hear engines. They're spaceships, aren't they?'

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'Spot on,' he replied. He looked grim. 'And from the sound of those particular engines, they're not just spaceships—'

Hilthe rose from her seat. 'Doctor, I demand to know the meaning of all this!'

' — they're gunships.'

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