PART TWO
Christina screamed, not in terror, but in malice. Suddenly
her face was transformed from that of a pretty young girl, to that of a hideous
old crone, cackling with glee! Whilst the other two hags swooped to attack she
turned to Lavallier. 'Captain Lavallier,' she cackled, 'you are our pet, now do
our bidding!'
Lavallier’s eyes glazed over and controlled by the hags’
foul enchantment, he drew his sword and with a fierce cry lunged towards the
Doctor, Jack and Katherine.
Katherine screamed with fright as Jack also drew a rapier
and held it before him, readying himself for the inevitable attack.
One of the hags that floated in the air laughed with
contempt at Jack. 'You poor boy, do you think you can hurt us with
that?' She pointed to the weapon and it suddenly began to glow red hot.
Jack dropped it to the floor with a gasp and the crone cackled with malicious
glee as he grabbed his hand in pain.
The Doctor dodged Lavallier’s clumsy charge and then noticed
a pair of rapiers above a fireplace. He pushed Katherine behind him and turned
to defend her, grabbing one of the rapiers from the wall and flicking it
expertly upwards.
The hag that had worn the face of Christina the maid hissed
at the Doctor as she pulled a crystal from her robes. 'You cannot stand
against us Doctor. Now you will die!'
With a stroke of luck however, Lavallier’s troops who had
been waiting outside the chateau, had heard the noise from within and came
crashing to the rescue through the open French windows. One of them screamed in
terror at the witches and cowered in abject fear, but the remaining four took
up their weapons, even against their former captain, and charged into the
battle.
Lavallier turned and charged into his men as if possessed,
and cut down one instantly with a vicious stroke of his sword. One of the hags
laughed as she impaled another of the troops on a wicked looking dagger after
casting a glimmering haze upon him.
The other hag that floated in the air also produced a small
crystal from her robes. She muttered a strange incantation and the globe glowed
with an unearthly purple light. The hag pointed a finger at one of the troops,
and the purple glow grew in intensity and shot towards the man like a lightning
bolt. The soldier collapsed to the ground as she cackled with malicious glee.
atherine looked around the devastated room, tears welling up
in her eyes. She had led a sheltered, gentle life and had never before been
exposed to such violence and destruction. 'Why did those things attack
us?' she cried. 'And the Captain, he helped them!'
The Doctor knelt by the fallen figure of Lavallier and then
reached down and plucked a small rag doll dressed like a soldier from inside
Lavallier’s tunic. It had a strands of human hair wrapped around it; clearly
Lavallier’s own. 'I’m sorry,' he whispered as he closed the dead
man’s sightless eyes. 'I’m so sorry.' He straightened up, his face
hard. 'He was their puppet I’m afraid! The Carrionites are mistresses of
charm and deceit. They must’ve known every move we made!'
Katherine was distraught. 'They were witches! We have
been cursed by their black magic!'
The Doctor shook his head. 'No, they’re not witches.
They’re called Carronites; creatures from eons ago.'
Katherine looked at the Doctor in alarm. 'And who are
you to talk of this?'
The Doctor put his hand on her arm. 'Don’t worry,' he said reassuringly, 'I’m here to help.'
Jack was checking that the remaining soldiers were coping
with the supernatural attack, but they waved away his assistance with grim
faces. 'What do these Carrionites want Doctor?'
The Doctor scratched his head and looked about. 'I
don’t know Jack.' He noticed the crystal that had been dropped by the
fallen Carrionite and picked it up, hefting it in his hand. 'I
wonder?' he mused, before putting it in his coat pocket. He turned to
Katherine. 'You said your husband mentioned the solstice? When’s that?'
Katherine wiped her eyes. 'Tomorrow night.'
The Doctor was taken aback. 'Tomorrow? That’s no time
at all! An important night if you want to harness psychic energy!' He
started speaking to himself as he wandered about the room, his hands in his
coat pocket. 'But you’d need a lot of people to generate enough to do
something spectacular,' he took a breath, 'and I’m sure it will be
spectacular!' He reached a table. 'So what are they planning?' He paused and reached down to pick up a small piece of paper with impressive
handwriting and wax seal. 'What’s this?'
Katherine crossed the room to stand next to him. 'It’s
our invitation,' she explained with a shrug. 'The Vicomte is holding
his annual summer ball at his palace.'
The Doctor groaned. 'Why didn’t you tell me!' he
shouted.
Katherine took a step backwards, shocked at the Doctor’s
sudden outburst. 'I didn’t think it was important,' she replied
defensively.
The Doctor turned to Jack with exasperation. 'You
knew?'
Jack nodded sheepishly and shrugged. 'I guess I didn’t
think they were connected!'
The Doctor sighed. 'Of course they were connected,
everything here is connected!' He began to pace around the room thinking
furiously. 'The Carrionites are an ancient race from Rexel. They were
banished from this universe by the Eternals eons ago. The lights you saw in the
sky……of course!' He turned to face Jack and Katherine. 'It must’ve
been a dimensional portal. Some Carrionites have found a way back into our
dimension! Why? What do they want here?'
Jack and Katherine glanced at each other and Jack shrugged 'I don’t know.' Then his face cleared. 'But the Time Agency must
know - that’s why they sent me!'
The Doctor nodded. 'Then whatever’s at stake here must
be incredibly important.' He started towards the door. 'Come on,
we’ve got to get back to the chateau!'
~~~
The ruined windmill that stood alone on the hill had remained
empty for nearly ten years. A terrible fire had ravaged it one night, killing
the miller and his young family. The villagers of Dabarre had found their poor
smoking bodies the next morning and had ever since avoided the windmill
thinking it accursed. Local rumours and whispers of it being haunted had given
the local children plenty of nightmares, so it had made the perfect place for
the Carrionites to hide and hatch their demonic plot
In their dark chamber in the mill’s cellar, the cauldron
bubbled and steamed as usual. Morgwyn, the leader of the Carrionites, paced
angrily up and down whilst the other two that had escaped the battle wailed and
sobbed. 'Our sister has been destroyed!' one of them cried.
Morgwyn turned to face the other alien. 'Be
quiet!' she snarled. 'This Doctor is more dangerous than we thought.
And he smells…….different as well! I sense a time dweller!'
Both the other Carrionites eyes widened in fear. 'But
they were all destroyed!' they whispered in unison.
Morgwyn nodded but gave an evil smile. 'I know, perhaps
it is time he joined the rest of his race. Never fear, nothing can stop us now.
We will be avenged!' She turned to the motionless figure of Remy de
Gallois sitting in a nearby chair. 'Come my sweet, it is time for you to
perform!'
~~~
The Vicomte de Gallois sat at a magnificent mahogany desk as
he put the finishing touches to his speech for the summer ball. He put the
quill back in the ink holder and sat back in his chair, picking up the paper to
read it back. The Vicomte smiled in anticipation; he hoped it would be as well
received as last year!
He had always loved the summer ball as a child, ever since
his late father had started it over thirty years ago. He remembered the
important visitors that had visited the chateau; royalty amongst them. They
always told such amazing stories that had fascinated and excited him as a boy.
His gaze wandered to the window and he watched the birds
whirl in the summer sky. Ever since his wife Marie had died from fever during
pregnancy twelve short summers ago, he had been denied both a spouse and an
heir. What it would have been to have his own son attend the ball as he had
done?
When his brother had given his son Remy some land near
Dabarre, and had asked the Vicomte to keep a watchful eye over him, the Vicomte
had been quietly pleased. He had always liked his nephew, and saw many of the
same qualities in him that he thought he had possessed at that age – a strong
will, a hint of stubbornness and great passion for life. Then Remy had married
his beloved Katherine, a clever and thoughtful girl and the daughter of the
squire of Dabarre. The Vicomte had known Katherine since she had been an
infant.