Doctor Who: Ultimate Treasure (29 page)

He heard a growl of shock and alarm from Drorgon and looked up.

A glittering machine in the shape of a large humanoid torso supported by a blocky tracked base was staring down at them.

Its eyes were glowing red photosensors set in an expressionless silver face.

'So here you are at last, Qwaid,' it said impatiently, in the unmistakable tones Alpha had once used. 'I trust you have obtained some useful information from this latest escapade?'

After what seemed like hours of desperate flight through woods and spinneys, ducking down along hedgerows to avoid detection from outlying farmhouses, Thorrin finally called a halt. They were in a narrow tree-lined gully and they threw themselves down on its earthy banks exhausted, gasping for breath.

It was not until she had recovered a little that Arnella realised the Doctor, Jaharnus, and Falstaff had vanished and only one DAVE remained.

'Where are the others?' she asked.

'I think we lost them in the thicker woods,' said Thorrin. 'Forget them. They're on their own, just as we are. Besides, why should we share it?'

Arnella blinked at him stupidly. 'What?'

'Don't you realise from the way the villagers behaved? We must be very close to it by now. We must stay alert for any clues.'

Arnella saw Brockwell was as shocked as she was. 'After all we've been through you're still thinking of the treasure?' he asked in disbelief.

'Thorrin is quite correct,' said her uncle. 'We can't turn back now If any of this has any justification it will be through our success. Find the treasure and we will have proved ourselves worthy. Come on!'

With a heavier heart than she could ever remember, Arnella stumbled after her uncle as Brockwell followed after Thorrin, each drawn by bonds of loyalty that were stretched now to their limits.

* * *

The Alpha robot talked more volubly than the original, which was fortunate because Qwaid felt too shaken to string together any meaningful remarks at that moment. Behind its glittering bulk, Qwaid saw Gribbs making fearful apologetic gestures.

'This mechanism,' said Alpha, gesturing at itself, ' was something I acquired many years ago, together with an experimental device that purported to transfer a copy of one's mentality into a cybernetic brain. Having no natural offspring of my own it seemed an interesting opportunity to ensure the continuance of my line, in a manner of speaking. After all, I had nothing to lose by the attempt. So I regularly copied my brain patterns into the memory banks of this device to ensure it was up to date with my affairs, while still keeping it dormant. A timing circuit was set to power up its systems automatically after a certain interval if left unattended.

'And it seems to have worked perfectly. The transition from flesh and blood to cybernetic organism has been remarkably easy. My pleasures were always of the more intellectual variety, and these new senses seem perfectly adequate for their continuance. In fact I feel there may be distinct advantages to the transition. I seem to be immune to the mental forces the natives employed to prevent you overflying this area, for instance. A fact to which you owe your lives.

'Naturally, when I first became conscious in this new body I was somewhat put out to discover I had been ejected into free space, but I had anticipated such contingencies. The strongbox was in fact a disguised emergency capsule, enabling me to complete my journey and track the
Falcon
to its landing site. And there I found Gribbs, who has been updating me on your activities since we parted company.'

Qwaid had finally gathered his wits enough to speak up. There was really only one question he had to ask.

'So... you're not, er, angry at what we did, boss?'

'Your thinking is muddled, again, Qwaid. Why should I be angry?' It pointed to itself. 'I, this unique consciousness, would not be alive now except for your actions. What happened to my former self was done to another person whose mind pattern I happen to share. You need have no fear of revenge on that account, for you have done this version of me no harm.'

Qwaid brightened slightly. Alpha's next words deflated him again.

'However I do not tolerate incompetence any more readily than my former incarnation did. You will now tell me everything that happened since you last made contact. And, as I said earlier, you had better have some useful information to impart.'

The DAVE unit looked on impassively as Myra, the Doctor, and Falstaff crouched panting in the shelter of a thicket. They were scratched, dirty, thirsty, and hungry, having managed only to snatch a drink from a stream and eat a few wild berries during several hours of desperate activity.

In the distance they could hear the cries of the search parties calling to each other. They had been evading them all afternoon, but now the valley was rapidly narrowing. Would they run out of room before they ran out of pursuers?

'Don't these people ever give up?' Myra wondered in exasperation.

'Fanatics and monomaniacs,' said the Doctor simply, 'do not give up that easily. We offended their fragile self-justification and sole reason for being. Apart from killing and wounding several of their number, of course.'

'That was self-defence!'

'They won't see it that way,'

'They must have turned out the entire countryside to look for us. I hope the others got clear.'

'If we can stay out of their hands until it's dark, then we've got a chance,' the Doctor said.

But even as he spoke they heard a distant baying. It was faint at first, but as they strained their ears it grew steadily closer.

'Hounds!' Falstaff exclaimed.

'Yes, they must be using dogs to track us... and I'm very much afraid they've got our scent!'

'So there is only the somewhat elliptical mention of "beyond the rainbow", by the innkeeper/judge that remains unexplained from this whole affair, Alpha concluded, after Qwaid had dredged his memory of everything that had happened, and Drorgon had contributed his minimal observations.

The robot's torso swivelled smoothly, and its tracks whirred as it rolled up the lounge, then reversed direction. Alpha was pacing up and down, Qwaid realised.

'”Beyond the rainbow" is a slender thread to go on, but I suppose we must simply make the best of it.' Alpha rolled close to Qwaid so that he had to look up into its expressionless metallic mask of a face and the glowing eyes. 'But are you absolutely sure that's all? You've left nothing out?'

'Nothing, boss. On my life.'

'How apposite,' said Alpha.

Qwaid only saw the long slender silver blade that sprang out of the robot's right arm for a split second. Then the arm had blurred as it swung in a punching movement up and into his ribcage, and a spear of hot/cold fire burst within his chest.

'Yes, there are considerable advantages to this new body,'

Alpha said absently, letting him slide to the deck.

Not revenge, Qwaid, but sensible pre-emption. Apart from being a careless thinker, you've demonstrated that you're really not very trustworthy. This is my second life, and I'd be a fool to risk it to the likes of you again...'

But Crelly Qwaid heard no more.

Eventually even Thorrin's ruthless determination to press on had to give way to common-sense reality.

From being a well-equipped expedition with the latest outdoor gear, they had in a few hours been reduced to a party of lost and hungry people, stumbling through unknown countryside in the near darkness. Cart tracks and farm land were far behind them, and if they continued any farther they would inevitably have an accident. They had to find shelter and trust to luck that they would not be discovered before morning.

They came across a clump of trees where the wind had heaped up dry leaves about the hollows between widespread roots, and there they halted. Exhausted, they could only rest fallen branches against the largest of the trees to give additional cover, heap the leaves around them, and lie still.

In the darkness, Arnella felt Brockwell take her hand in his.

She did not pull away, but instead let her head rest on his shoulder.

In minutes, despite their resolve to take turns keeping watch, they were all asleep.

The lights of their pursuers bobbed and weaved through the trees behind them. Myra thought the excited howls and yelps of the hounds seemed closer at their heels by the minute.

But there would be no surrender. Even Falstaff seemed determined to go on to the bitter end. How did he keep his great bulk in motion for so long? she wondered. He wasn't fast, but he never stopped. He must have legs like tree trunks.

Myra still had the sword she had acquired that morning, and had already decided she would rather die fighting than risk capture and a terrible death at the stakes in the field. The blood of her less civilised ancestors not long out of the pools of her homeworld still coursed through her veins. Nobody would say she had not died well or done her duty to the last. Her only real regret was that it looked as though Qwaid had escaped the justice he so richly deserved.

She hoped they'd let Peri Brown go unharmed. The Doctor had not mentioned her again, but she knew he was more worried about her safety than his own. Myra was coming to quite like him. How would things have turned out if she had decided to trust him and not stow away aboard his improbable spaceship?

she wondered ruefully.

Her confused thoughts were jarred by the sight of torches ahead and to their right. This was it.

'Find something to get our backs to!' she said.

The baying of the dogs got louder, and a fierce cry went up from the hunters as they closed in.

'Once more unto the breach dear friends...' Falstaff panted.

'That's not one of your lines,' gasped the Doctor

'I plagiarise,' Falstaff admitted with unexpected frankness,

'amongst other faults...'

Then from out of the darkness beyond the lights came a throaty roar of such volume that it drowned out the barking of the hounds. The eager shouts of the hunters became confused cries of alarm. The tremendous roar sounded again even louder, reverberating through the woods, and some solid body crashed through the brush with a thud of heavy feet. Snarls of hounds became yelps of pain, mingling with shrieks and yells of fear from their masters. Flaming torches fell to the ground or were carried away into the darkness. In minutes the hunting party had retreated in confusion.

'That's twice today,' said Myra faintly. 'I don't know how many more of these eleventh-hour reprieves my nerves will stand.'

Heavy footsteps padded towards them.

'Always assuming this is a reprieve,' said the Doctor.

An electric torch beam stabbed out of the darkness to Illuminate them.

'Am I glad I found you at last!' said a relieved voice. It was Peri Brown.

'I have had the most frightening ride of my life,' Peri stated with feeling some while later, as they sat around a fire under a tree gratefully consuming ration bars from her supply. 'Avalanches, bridges collapsing under me, a sort of thick ivy stuff that wraps itself around your legs if you stand still for a minute, mysterious sheets of black ice. At one point I felt so depressed I almost gave up, but Red just kept on going. Then when we came down off the cliff path there was this fast river to cross, but he swims really great - he has webs between his claws, you know. And then...

well, if it hadn't been for him I'd have never made it. He seemed to know where to find you, but don't ask me how.'

They all turned again to the great bulk that was crouched beside them like some faithful dog. It growled at the DAVE unit, which was keeping a discreet distance. Myra found herself smiling at Red ingratiatingly. Anything that big she wanted on her side.

Peri was looking unhappily at the Doctor. 'I'm real sorry I talked you into all this, Doctor. I let this treasure hunt thing get to me.'

'Don't worry,' he said lightly. 'I would probably have become involved, one way or another. I usually do in these situations. I'm simply glad you aren't still on board the
Falcon
. Gribbs did a good job fooling all of us.'

'Well, the next place we go, choose somewhere quiet and deserted,' Peri said. 'I could do with the rest.'

'I'll bear it in mind,' the Doctor promised. 'And now I think we should try to get some sleep. After all, it's been a busy day.'

* * *

Before them, through a rift in the trees, was the tapering end of the valley, illuminated by the low golden rays of the morning sun.

The line of cliffs was broken at one point by a broad waterfall, which must have been the ultimate source of the sawtooth gorge river, the wetlands, and the mist-valley lake.

And in the haze of spray at its base hung a rainbow.

'Beyond the rainbow!' Thorrin said, his voice hoarse with emotion. 'That is what the innkeeper meant. Rovan's treasure is behind there. It must be!'

He was haggard and unshaven, his face scratched and his hair awry. Arnella thought she saw an unhealthy grey pallor suffusing his skin. But there was a fire in his eyes that was sustaining him beyond the normal limits of endurance.

'Yes,' said her uncle. 'That's it. We're so close now Come on!'

And the two started forward.

'No,' said Brockwell firmly.

The two older men stopped, astonished by the tone of his voice.

Brockwell continued in the same manner.

'Think what you're doing! At this moment we cannot afford to think of anything but our survival. Marquis: I know what you hope to find, but you daren't risk Arnella's life in the process.'

'You don't understand, young man,' said the Marquis. 'I cannot risk failure now. A line of succession is more important than any one life. You cannot ignore duty and responsibility. I'm going on alone if need be.'