Doctor Who: Ultimate Treasure

THE ULTIMATE TREASURE

CHRISTOPHER BULIS

SCANNED BY

THE WRONG GUN

Other BBC DOCTOR WHO books include:

THE EIGHT DOCTORS by Terrance Dicks

0 563 40563 5

VAMPIRE SCIENCE by Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman 0 563 40566 X

THE BODYSNATCHERS by Mark Morris

0 563 40568 6

GENOCIDE by Paul Leonard

0 563 40572 9

THE DEVIL GOBLINS FROM NEPTUNE

by Keith Topping and Martin Day

0 563 40564 3

THE MURDER GAME by Steve Lyons

0 563 40565 1

BUSINESS UNUSUAL by Gary Russell

0 563 40575 9

DOCTOR WHO titles on BBC Video include:

THE WAR MACHINES starring William Hartnell BBCV 6183

THE AWAKENING/FRONTIOS starring Peter Davison BBCV 6120

THE HAPPINESS PATROL starring Sylvester McCoy BBCV 5803

Other DOCTOR WHO titles available from

BBC Worldwide Publishing:

POSTCARD BOOK

0 563 40561 9

THE NOVEL OF THE FILM on audio tape

0 563 38148 5/Z1998

Published by BBC Books

an imprint of BBC Worldwide Publishing

BBC Worldwide Ltd, Woodlands, 80 Wood Lane London W12 OTT

First published 1997

Copyright © Christopher Bulis 1997

The moral right of the author has been asserted Original series broadcast on the BBC

Format © BBC 1963

Doctor Who and TARDIS are trademarks of the BBC

ISBN 0 563 40571 6

Imaging by Black Sheep, copyright © BBC 1997

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham Cover printed by Belmont Press Ltd, Northampton CHAPTER 1

VISIONS AND PORTENTS

The only illumination in the Seers' chamber came from the ring of nine tall thick candles mounted in brass cups on the floor at its centre. Surrounding this, seated cross-legged on the black marble that lined the chamber, was the assembly of Seers themselves, numbering one for each of the candles. They were robed in black, leaving only their faces and hands uncovered, so they appeared to float disembodied in the darkness. All were adepts of the Seventh Circle. None of lesser mental power would be capable of the feat they were now attempting.

'It is time, brothers and sisters,' said Shalvis softly, her words echoing back in whispers from the invisible walls.

The Seers closed their eyes and bowed their heads and the thin silver tendrils that rose curving backward from each of their high foreheads began to lift and stretch. The trembling hazy air over the candle ring rippled as though disturbed by a sudden wind.

The smoke swirled into a funnel and then it seemed a black pit opened within it - not the blackness of clear air, but something far, far deeper. It was as though a hole had been opened in the very fabric of time and space. For a moment the smoke flowed downward into the candles, even as the rivulets of wax on their shafts ran back up to reform about the flames. Then the process reversed and the candle flames brightened as they began to burn down the wicks again with astonishing speed. A cluster of sparks drifted slowly within the dark void like stars, which perhaps they were. The image of a blue-and-white-speckled orb appeared: a world as seen from space. This was replaced by a cluster of buildings, then a group of faces, then frantic activity and accelerated action. Behind the figures suns seared across the sky and moons flashed through their phases in seconds. Each scene flickered past faster and faster, eventually dissolving into a blur of light and colour that finally resolved itself into a shimmering white globular opacity.

'The way is open,' said Shalvis, noting the rapidly sinking candles. 'Begin.'

The first Seer on her left sent his mental projection into the vortex, sampling the myriad twisting currents of time that flowed within it. 'I see journeys beginning with death... five parties of seekers shall set out but only four will arrive.' He withdrew his projection, trembling from those few seconds of intense effort.

The second in the ring cast forth her projection. 'I see them also,' she confirmed. 'But some of their forms are peculiar... uh, machinery intervenes... ' Then she also drew back, gasping with relief.

'Two travel with the rest but are also apart,' said the third.

'One is bound up with a quasi-living thing. Its nature I cannot determine,' said the forth.

'The other will arrive transformed but purposeful... a facsimile,'

said the fifth.

'What of their fellow seekers' natures?' Shalvis asked quickly.

The candles were burning lower by the moment.

'Simple greed for some, a desire for personal gain intermingled with duty for others, two who follow out of loyalty, one with a youthful sense of adventure...' the sixth Seer reported.

'And one whose motivations I cannot quite fathom... ambition, but also a curious detachment...' said the seventh.

'But there is also another who has a mind of power... ah, I recognise the type now,' said the eighth with satisfaction.

Now it was Shalvis's turn. As always she held her projection longest in the time stream.

'I see their names clearly now... and the two others who are apart. One is a troubled intelligence caught between worlds... a lost spirit. Both have gone beyond death, but will not relinquish their hold on life. Each in their own way are seekers, their destinies intertwined...' The candles were mere stubs guttering in their cups as she strained to read more. 'The first we must aid, the second -' With a moan she shrank back, withdrawing her projection just as she was about to lose control.

The white globe collapsed in upon itself and was gone in a swirl of smoke as the candle flames were snuffed out. For a moment there was total darkness. Then artificial lights flared into life at a wordless command, illuminating the black chamber with a cool steady radiance. The nine candles in the centre of the room stood tall and whole once more, looking as though they had never been lit.

The other Seers crowded anxiously round Shalvis, who had slumped back on one elbow, and helped ease her upright. 'You should not exert yourself so,' said the fifth. 'Remember the danger.' said the second.

Shalvis smiled wearily, and gently pushed aside their supporting hands. 'I am unharmed,' she assured them. 'The last sight was deeper than I would have wished.'

'What did you learn?' asked the eighth practically.

'I glimpsed the true nature of the second who is apart,' said Shalvis with a slight shudder, looking up at their anxious faces.

'Our powers alone will not defeat such evil - and we can do nothing to prevent its coming!'

The public phone in corridor 25 of Astroville's Delta tower was little used, which was why Hok had given its number to his buyer. He had good reasons for not revealing his personal phone code. So he had lurked within earshot of the booth, cursing silently whenever somebody passed by. But at almost exactly the agreed second the phone rang. Hok reached it before the second tone had died away, punching the 'Sound Only Selected' key even as he accepted the call.

'Buyer?' he asked simply to the blank screen.

'Yes. Seller?' came the reply, in a voice Hok tentatively classed as humanoid.

'Speaking. You will meet me in exactly one standard hour at Chocky's Inn, central concourse, level 3, corridor 14.You will each be wearing green trillis blossoms on your persons. Bring the full payment in the manner agreed. Do not be late. That is all.'

Hok broke the connection and shuffled away from the booth as fast as his stubby, aged locomotor limbs would allow. As he went he rubbed a pair of his manipulator tentacles together in a gesture of anticipation he had learnt from some of his human acquaintances. The item had cost him a great deal to acquire, as had the computing time needed for its deciphering, but its sale would ensure he spent his declining years in luxury. This transaction alone would cover his expenses and leave a modest profit, but owing to the nature of the commodity in question there was no need to stop there. His merchandise was genuine and the provenances he had provided to all his potential customers were honest. But he had promised none of them that they would be his only customers.

* * *

The Doctor looked up from his chaise longue in the fashion house's main salon and benignly appraised the floor-length ballgown-like creation in diagonal stripes of crimson and cobalt blue.

'Ah, yes. Most fetching. Of course, on Gamma Ceffilos 12, that style and combination of colours means you are a recently widowed mother still in mourning, but would be accepting new suitors after the next lunar conjunction.'

Peri returned to the cubical to try on another costume.

'Perhaps modom would care to try something slightly less formal?' the robot attendant suggested deferentially, lisping slightly. Yes, it actually had said: 'modom', Peri decided. Where had it been programmed to talk like that?

Nevertheless, Perpugilliam Brown (Peri to her friends) admitted to herself that she was having the time of her life.

Only a few days ago, relatively speaking, she had been on twentieth-century Lanzarote, Earth, and desperate to get away from her stepfather's boring archaeological expedition. Well she had certainly managed that - and then some. Who would have expected a disguised space-time machine known as the TARDIS

to be waiting for her on the beach? After a dangerous excursion to the planet Sarn, the Doctor, the TARDIS's owner, had agreed to let her travel with him for the remaining three months of her holiday. Of course, that three months could be spent virtually anywhere in time and space. Currently, at the Doctor's suggestion, she was getting acclimatised to mixing with alien races and cultures on Astroville Seven; a thirty-first-century spaceborn trading post many light years in space away from her own Earth. And, as she'd left with only what she'd be been wearing, wasn't it perfectly reasonable that she had to shop for some new clothes first? The Doctor had shown her the huge store of costumes for all occasions that the TARDIS carried, but she'd really wanted to chose her own from new. Once he understood, a mild indulgent look had spread across the Doctor's face, and so here she was.