Doctor Who_ The Eleventh Tiger Part 7

The servant bowed hurriedly and scooted forward with a trolley. Instead of cups and snacks a young buck deer, the size of a large dog, was slumped across it. In the place of its left ear, and the bone under it, there was a fist-sized hole caked with dried blood.

The abbot watched the reactions of his audience carefully.

Cheng was almost soiling himself with fright. That was good.

Jiang looked baffled and his eyes darted around as if seeking an exit. Lei-Fang simply looked stunned.

'Now,' the abbot said, 'what do you think of this fine suckling pig?' n.o.body dared to say anything, so he turned to the servant. 'It is cooked thoroughly, isn't it?'

'Yes, my Lord,' the servant said stiffly. He didn't take his eyes off the floor of the cabin.

'There, you hear? Cooked to perfection.' The abbot slipped a knife from his belt. 'There's more than enough pork here for all of us.'

'My Lord,' Lei-Fang began hesitantly, 'I see no pork. Only a deer -'

Zhao's fist slammed into the side of Lei-Fang's head, once, then again and again. When Lei-Fang had been reduced to twitching insensibility the abbot held up a hand, staying Zhao's next blow. 'You see? Confusion. But it is easily dealt with. Zhao, it would appear that Lei-Fang's eyes lie to him and lead him into confusion. It would also seem that his nose is useless as to smelling the aroma of cooking, and his tongue is loose enough to spread this confusion, through, I'm sure, no fault of his own. So, to protect him from any further embarra.s.sment, relieve him of those unnecessary and unreasonable things.'

Zhao nodded curtly and drew his dagger. Cheng studiously looked out of the window, visibly trying not to be sick, while Jiang watched, his mouth open, as Zhao plucked out Lei-Fang's left eye with the tip of the blade.

The abbot cut into the side of the deer with his knife, parting the ribs with a cracking and sc.r.a.ping that was music to his ears. He also enjoyed the screams that came from Lei-Fang when the pain woke him.

By the time Zhao had dealt with the right eye and the nose, the abbot had reached his prize. He pushed his hand into the tight chest of the animal and pulled its heart free. As Zhao sliced through Lei-Fang's tongue and tossed it aside the abbot bit into the heart, savouring the gelid, dead blood that was trapped within, and the life and strength it carried with it.

He swallowed, and held the heart out towards Cheng and Jiang. 'Pork?'

Cheng found his voice first, though it seemed to be swim-ming up through vomit that desperately needed to be freed.

'Thank you, my Lord, no. Your chef has done too fine a job for it to be wasted on a humble innkeeper like myself.'

Jiang smiled weakly. 'I already had yum cha yum cha before boarding. But it is a roast worthy of an emperor, my Lord.' before boarding. But it is a roast worthy of an emperor, my Lord.'

The abbot relaxed, taking another bite of the heart. The pair had learnt their lesson, and were clearly worthy of the love he had for them and the people. 'Good. Cheng, your supply of ammunition must continue.'

'It will, my Lord,' Cheng squeaked.

'Oh, I know it will.' The abbot relaxed, putting Lei-Fang's mewling out of his mind and enjoying the respect that radiated towards him from Cheng and Jiang. 'I know.'

CHAPTER TWO.

The Dead and the Deadly

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There was a small shrine at the back of the main hall at Po Chi Lam, and there Fei-Hung was burning what looked to Barbara like bank notes. Offerings of food were laid out as well, but these only reminded her of the table at which Ian had been attacked. The Doctor and Kei-Ying were waiting for her in the hall with Vicki, looks of concern on their faces.

'What is it?' she asked.

Did they know something she didn't? She wasn't a medical person, and knew she wouldn't be able to recognise a skull fracture, or any number of other potentially fatal results of a beating.

'Chesterton is very sick,' Kei-Ying told her. 'Internal bleeding, and perhaps infection of the blood.'

Barbara couldn't believe her ears. She refused to believe it.

'I am treating him as best I can,' Kei-Ying said, 'but the broken bones will not heal quickly.'

'No,' the Doctor murmured, 'I don't suppose they will without rather more advanced medical techniques than you have here. Oh, I don't mean to belittle your talent, Master Wong, but the techniques I'm thinking of are far in advance of either yours, or western medicine in this century.'

'This century?' Kei-Ying looked as if he wanted to back away, and Barbara couldn't help but sympathise.

'Barbara,' the Doctor said, 'do you think you could find your way back to the s.h.i.+p?'

'I think so... why?' A thought occurred to her and made her bristle. 'If you think you can get me out of the way while Ian-'

'There are no antibiotic drugs in this century,' the Doctor reminded her pointedly, 'but there are some medicines in the TARDIS, of both your century and beyond.' His voice softened. 'With them, I am sure that Chesterton will recover fully, I promise you.'

'I see.' Could it be true? It was a silly question - she knew for a fact that the TARDIS was filled to the gunwales with all manner of modern and futuristic gubbins - but fear about Ian's condition bred doubts in even her most solid bastions of certainty.

'TARDIS?' Kei-Ying echoed.

'Our... conveyance,' the Doctor said. 'It would appear as a large, blue wooden box with a lamp on top of it.'

'With writing in white above the door, and on one panel of the door? With small gla.s.s windows?'

'Yes.' The Doctor looked as surprised as Barbara felt. 'Have you seen it?'

'My son said he saw it appear out of thin air. I examined it this morning and thought it might belong to the English at Xamian. Do you mean it is yours?'

'Yes, indeed!'

The Doctor turned back to Barbara. 'There is a first-aid cabinet in the wall beside the food machine,' he said. 'In it are some antibiotic drugs and a machine that looks rather like a solid, wide paintbrush with lights and b.u.t.tons. This is a kind of bone-regenerator. It will knit broken bones together in a matter of minutes.'

'And we can use these on Ian?' Relief washed over her, even though the items were still back in the s.h.i.+p. Just knowing about them was more rea.s.suring than all Kei-Ying's efforts, though Barbara would never be so insensitive as to say so aloud.

'Yes, my dear, we can. But first I shall need someone to go and fetch them. I would rather not be away from Chesterton in his present condition.'

'I'll go, of course.'

'I thought you would.' The Doctor handed her the TARDIS key.

The touch of it felt strange, and Barbara wasn't sure whether this was because it was the key to something alien, or because she was starting to feel dizzy and sick. If Ian hadn't needed help, she would have just lain down somewhere and cried herself to sleep. But then, if Ian hadn't needed help she wouldn't have been feeling this way in the first place. The key looked like a perfectly ordinary Yale one on the end of a black ribbon.

The Doctor's hand closed over Barbara's with surprising firmness and rea.s.surance. 'I'm worried about Ian too,' he said softly. 'And about you as well. You look as if you could just topple over and pa.s.s out at any moment, and that's not good, now, is it?'

'That sounds very much like how I feel,' Barbara admitted.

'There's really nothing to worry about, you know.' The Doctor smiled kindly and caught her eye. 'When you bring me that first-aid kit from the TARDIS Ian will be as right as rain, so you can start feeling rather more like your old self, eh?'

Barbara nodded. Unexpectedly, she did feel better. Her head seemed to be clearer and the nausea in her stomach had gone.

Kei-Ying had remained calm and impa.s.sive throughout the conversation, but now he nodded to himself. 'My son can guide you. He will also protect you if necessary.'

'Thank you, Master Wong,' the Doctor said. 'I'm sure it won't be necessary, but it is most appreciated.'

Vicki looked towards the little shrine. 'Can I go too?'

The Doctor looked at her quizzically for a moment, then said, 'Of course, child. Of course. Now let's get you ready, hmm?'

'I'll speak to Fei-Hung,' Kei-Ying told them, and went over to the shrine.

'I'll collect some fruit and water for the journey,' Vicki said.

She too left, and the Doctor and Barbara were alone.

'I'm surprised, Doctor, that you're allowing Vicki to go. It's nearly dark, for one thing.'

The Doctor brushed Barbara's comment away. 'It's only natural that she should want to go. The child is a born explorer, in case you hadn't noticed. She'll be keen to see new times and new places.'

His features softened and, if Barbara wasn't mistaken, became almost admiring.

'You see something of yourself in that?' she asked.

'What? Oh, I -' The Doctor stopped pretending to be surprised. 'Yes, yes, in many ways I do. And something of Susan too,' he added sadly.

Barbara understood what he meant. 'It's natural that you'd miss your granddaughter. Anyone would miss a child or grandchild when they leave home at last.'

It was a judicious turn of phrase, and the Doctor clearly knew this as well as Barbara did. Susan hadn't exactly left home; rather her home, the TARDIS, had left her.

'Perhaps I shouldn't indulge her so... Do you want Vicki to stay here?'

Barbara thought for a moment, and almost said 'Yes'. In the end she shook her head. 'I'm sure she'll be fine.'

'Tonight?' Fei-Hung said. He looked slightly pained, and Kei-Ying knew why. But Miss Law...'

'If the girl loves you, she'll understand.'

'It's not that,' the young man protested. 'It's right in the middle of yuelaan jit! yuelaan jit! Who wants to travel, especially after dark? It's bad luck -' Who wants to travel, especially after dark? It's bad luck -'

'And it will be worse luck for this Chesterton if you do not.'

'They arrived here overnight, travelling during yuelaan jit. yuelaan jit.

Doesn't that prove my point?'

Kei-Ying let out a long sigh. 'Well, if you're afraid, I cannot force you to go...'

'I'm not afraid!'

'No?' Kei-Ying kept his face impa.s.sive. He knew his son wasn't afraid. At least, no more afraid than any sensible person would be.

Fei-Hung knew it too. 'This kind of manipulation is cheap and beneath you, Father. I am not so much of a hothead to be tricked with a simple challenge.'

Kei-Ying smiled. 'Then be afraid, or not, as you will. But go with the women, because that is what a good man and a good healer would do. If you are who you are, it doesn't matter whether you fear or not.'

Fei-Hung looked through to Barbara in the main hall and nodded. 'I still think it's a foolish thing to do.'

'I know. And it may well be. But it is also the right thing to do, and that's what is important.'

The sun was already sinking when Vicki followed Fei-Hung and Barbara out through the gates of Po Chi Lam, and into what she now knew to be the city of Guangzhou in the year 1865. She paused in the gateway and looked back at the surgery and school. The compound didn't look like it had looked in the few holographic films she had seen, yet it definitely had the same air as the sets in those movies.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what was different, or what was the same, but in her heart and her bones she felt there was something. For the first time in her life, Vicki had a feeling she could only describe as roman vu, roman vu, a sense of being somewhere unreal. For a moment she didn't know whether she was in the nineteenth century or a fiction. a sense of being somewhere unreal. For a moment she didn't know whether she was in the nineteenth century or a fiction.

She ran to catch up with the others, and accompanied them on to the still-busy lamplit streets. Paper lanterns cast a dark light through the streets, and it was like viewing the world through a bruised eye.

'Don't they have streetlights yet?' she asked Barbara.

Barbara, like Ian, might be from an era that was nearly as primitive as the one they were in now, but she was almost as knowledgeable as the Doctor about still earlier times.

'There are oil lamps, of course. And some cities in the world will have gas lighting now.'