They turned to run - but there was another bodyguard behind them.
"Oh no," gasped Chela.
The Doctor raised his hands. "All right, all right, we give in."
Lon came around the corner. "Give in? You talk as though you had a choice, Doctor."
Lon clicked his fingers and the bodyguards drew their huge, curved swords.
Lon paused, savouring the moment. "Kill them!" he said.
10.
The Escape
The bodyguards raised their swords.
An imperious voice called, "No!"
Lady Tanha was standing at the end of the corridor. "You cannot do this Lon."
There was new firmness in her voice, and for the moment Lon seemed reduced to a sulky child.
"Why not?" he demanded petulantly.
"It is preposterous to think that anyone is plotting against you. Least of all these people."
The Doctor gave a sigh of relief. "Your mother is quite right!"
"Naturally you deny everything," said Lon morosely. "That is only to be expected."
"My only concern is for my companion Tegan - and to see that the Great Crystal is not misused."
At this moment Ambril came along the corridor, clutching a small carved chest. "Why should the Great Crystal concern you, Doctor?"
The Doctor indicated the sword still close to his throat. "If I"m allowed to live long enough, I"ll explain."
In the market-place, preparations for the ceremony were well under way. Children looked on wide-eyed as the long painted cloth body of the ceremonial snake was unfurled by cat-faced demons in scarlet robes.
The Doctor looked in fascinated horror at the little carved chest in Ambril"s hands. "Use the real Great Crystal in the Ceremony? No, you mustn"t do it."
"And why not?" asked Tanha calmly.
"Mother -" began Lon impatiently.
She waved him to silence. "No! Let the man have his say, however preposterous." She turned to the Doctor and said reasonably. "Of course we can do this if we wish. The Director has agreed." She glanced at Ambril. "Haven"t you?"
Ambril clasped the chest tighter. "I have. The Great Crystal will be returned to its rightful place during the ceremony."
The Doctor looked hard at Ambril. "But why? Why?"
"Why what?" asked Lon idly.
"Why did you make this request? And why did the Director agree to it?"
"Why not?" said Tanha reasonably. "Call it the indulging of a whim. It is, you might say, one of the few advantages of being a member of the Federator"s family."
Chela could keep silent no longer. "But it is forbidden. It"s forbidden by a tradition going back five hundred years."
"Is that why you proposed to a.s.sa.s.sinate me?" accused Lon swiftly. "For interfering with your precious traditions?"
"I thought we"d cleared that up," said Lady Tanha wearily.
The Doctor looked at Lon in disbelief. "Whoever said we wanted to a.s.sa.s.sinate you?"
Lon was forced to take refuge in bl.u.s.ter. "I am not here to be questioned by you, Doctor."
He tugged uneasily at the gauntlet that covered his left arm, pulling it higher to make sure the snake design was concealed.
The Doctor noticed the gesture, and his eyes widened. "No of course not. How foolish of me. Yes, I"ve been very stupid, haven"t I?" He turned to Nyssa. "You remember me telling you about the Mark of the Mara, Nyssa, on the Kinda world? I should have realised."
Lon smiled. "They"d never believe you, Doctor," he said softly.
Lady Tanha looked from one to the other. "What are you two talking about?"
The Doctor ignored her, addressing only Lon. "Where is Tegan? What have you done with her?"
"Tegan?" said Tanha. "Lon, who is this Tegan?"
"One of the Doctor"s companions. Apparently he"s managed to lose her."
"Why is he asking you about her?"
"How should I know, Mother? That man is a complete and utter fool."
The Doctor was still looking at Lon. "You won"t succeed in the end, you know. Evil never does."
"Lon what does he mean?" asked Tanha uneasily. "Evil? Who is evil?"
Lon gestured extravagantly. "Oh I am, Mother, of course. Isn"t it obvious? Your son is evil. Why else would they want to kill me? Don"t you see?"
Anv threat to her son made Lady Tanha both angry and defensive.
Something about the Doctor"s words to Lon had made her very uneasy.
"I most certainly do." She waved to the guards. "Take them away. Take them all away!"
Lon wanted to savour his triumph a little longer. "Wait, Mother. On this day of all days I think we can afford to be a little generous. Let them see the Great Crystal. Just once. Just for a moment. Don"t you think so, Director?"
"My Lord," protested Ambril.
Lon"s voice hardened. "Indulge me."
Lon signalled, and the guards brought the three prisoners closer to Ambril.
Lon raised his hand. "That"s far enough." He nodded to Ambril. "Right."
"Must I, my Lord?"
"If you wouldn"t mind," said Lon in that same tone of silky command.
Ambril opened the little chest.
Every eye was fixed on the opening lid, eager for a glimpse of what was inside . . .
"Now," shouted the Doctor. Nyssa grabbed one arm of the nearest bodyguard, the Doctor grabbed the other, and they yanked the man forwards with all their combined strength. Caught off guard and off balance the giant sprawled clumsily forwards, tripped over the Doctor"s outstretched foot and fell, bringing down Lon and Lady Tanha with him.
For a moment the room seemed full of a sprawling pile of bodies.
Chela made a move towards the Great Crystal, but the second bodyguard stepped in front of it, drawing his sword.
"No time for that, Chela," yelled the Doctor. He grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. A moment later, all three fugitives were disappearing down the corridor.
The bodyguard hovered, torn between pursuing the fugitives and protecting his master and mistress while Ambril stood watching events in utter amazement.
Lon struggled to his feet. "Well, don"t just stand there, man, after them."
"Me, my Lord?" said Ambril dubiously. "Yes, you. And take that fool with you." He nodded towards the second bodyguard. "Leave the chest with me."
"Very well, my Lord." Reluctantly putting down the chest Ambril set off after the Doctor and the others, followed by the bodyguard.
Lon turned to the other bodyguard, who was lumbering to his feet. "You - go with them. Off you go!"
Trying to straighten his armour and his face-mask, the bodyguard obeyed.
Lady Tanha was still sprawled out on the floor, though even in this position she managed to look dignified. "Lon, will you please help me?"
Lon helped his mother to rise.
She brushed at her dress. "Oughtn"t we to call out the palace guards - or something?"
Lon went over to the chest. "It doesn"t matter. What can they do now? I have the Great Crystal!"
Exultantly, he took the crystal out of the box.
It wasn"t particularly spectacular to look at, just a large dull stone, about the size of an orange.
Lon held it up exultantly. "Now everything is prepared!"
The Doctor and his two friends headed for the crowded market area, busier than ever now with the preparation for the coming ceremony.
They hid for a moment behind a stall, as a pursuing bodyguard went by.
As they hurried on their way Chela gasped. "Where are we going, Doctor?"
"To find Tegan. She won"t be far away, not with the ceremony so close."
"We don"t even know if she"s still alive," said Nyssa.
"Tegan won"t die," said the Doctor confidently. "Not while the Mara still needs her. Not till the Mara inside her is free."
"If Lon has been infected by the Mara, why hasn"t he changed completely?"
"Same reason as with Tegan. He"s got a very strong personality of his own, and there"s still quite a lot of it left."
"But he is - influenced?" asked Chela.
The Doctor nodded grimly. "Very much so. Come on. We must find Tegan before it"s too late."
In the secret chamber, in the dim yellow light of the paper lanterns, the Mara had begun its Becoming. Eyes wide, face streaming with sweat, Dugdale stood watching as the great snake coiled about Tegan"s arm.
Tegan, or rather the Mara, delighted in his terror. Fear was meat and drink to the Mara. "Puzzling, isn"t it Showman? How can it be happening? Can you believe your eyes? You have no choice! Dream on, Showman. I shall soon be triumphant."
The snake coiled about Tegan"s arm grew slowly larger.
Ambril staggered wearily back into his room, to find Lon still caressing the Great Crystal.
"Well?"
"No sign, my Lord. They seem to have got away."
Lon received the news without particular interest. "Do they?"
"I have issued the necessary instructions. A search is being organised."
Lon stared into the Great Crystal. "It doesn"t matter. What can they do now?"
"As you say, my Lord."
Lon nodded dismissively, but Ambril stood his ground.
Lon looked at him in mild surprise. "Well?"