Part 23 (1/2)

Mordred smirked. He pointed to the dark sky. 'My mother hath summoned the Destroyer. The Lord of Darkness, Eater of Worlds. Look to your child guardians, Merlin, for soon they shall be no more.'

He bowed low and walked away.

'Ace,' whispered the Doctor. 'What have I done?'

Beyond the pool of candlelight there was nothing.

Ace held the sword, Shou Yuing held the scabbard.

They sat back to back in the centre of the circle, staring at the chalk line that held back the unnatural light.

They might have been adrift in the void.

Shou Yuing tapped the seconds out on the floor with the scabbard. It was annoying Ace.

'So your grandparents run a takeaway in the village.'

'Yes,' said Shou Yuing.

'I could murder chow mein and noodles.'

'They do pizza.'

'Yeah?'

Shou Yuing went on tapping. The crisps were untouched. The candle flame guttered with a hiss.

'What did you say?' said Shou Yuing.

Ace s.h.i.+fted position uneasily. 'What?'

'I thought... Nothing.'

Someone's getting jumpy, thought Ace. She s.h.i.+vered.

She wanted the Doctor back now.

Tap, tap, tap.

There was nothing to do and nothing to say. She was suddenly angry.

'This is stupid,' she complained.

'What did you call me?' snapped Shou Yuing.

'I said ”this is stupid”,' articulated Ace, loudly. 'You deaf or something?'

'No, you didn't! I heard you. You called me stupid.'

Ace got to her feet and stood over Shou Yuing. 'I am not a freak!'

'What you getting jumpy for?' said the Chinese girl.

'I said I'm not a freak, right! I'm Ace. You dumb or what?'

Shou Yuing clambered to her feet, scattering crisp packets across the circle. 'I am not stupid!'

'Then why do you say stupid things?'

They were eye to eye.

Shou Yuing's face tightened with hatred. 'That's good coming from a misfit like you!'

Ace started to back slowly away. 'You watch your mouth, toadface! Or I'll knock your teeth in!'

'I bet n.o.body likes you,' Shou Yuing went on.

'Shut up!' shouted Ace. She felt the darkness pressing around her.

Shou Yuing was leaning closer. 'First chance he got, the Doctor went off without you.'

'Shut up! Shut up!'

'I bet even your parents hated your guts!'

Ace saw red. 'Shut up you yellow slant-eyed...'

She froze. The back of her neck was tingling. She was on the very edge of the chalk.

Shou Yuing was slowly edging backwards.

Ace tumbled forward and they clung to each other at the centre pool of light.

'Someone's playing games with our minds,' whispered Ace.

The darkness beyond was not as dark as they had imagined. Something was moving there.

'Avallion breeds her children strong,' said the woman outside the circle. She was tall and frighteningly beautiful with hair like a cascade of fire. Her armour glinted in the light of their candle.

'No matter. There shall be an end to these games.'