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The boy was huddled in the corner of the cell, once again wrapped up in the cloth, with the Doctor sitting cross-legged before him. The boy looked calmer now; his body shook less than before. Still he did not trust the Doctor, but he was willing to speak. The Doctor rubbed his bearded chin. ‘What is your name?’ The boy looked to the dirty floor. ‘I am nothing. I am nobody. I no longer have a name. My life is not important.’ ‘Ah. Well, I am sorry to hear that.’ The Doctor smiled, but the boy would not look up. ‘I happen to think that all life is important.’ This time the boy did look up. The sadness in his eyes was tangible. ‘I am not life. I am only food stock for the Kuang-Shi. Like all in Larkhowl.’ The Doctor shook his head. ‘Tell me more about Larkhowl. Why is it no longer safe here?’ The boy looked to the floor. The Doctor reached out and gently took the boy’s chin in his hand and lifted his face. The Doctor smiled warmly. ‘You can trust me. I can help your people.’ For a moment or three they remained motionless, the boy sinking into the Doctor’s grey eyes. At last the boy spoke. His voice was quiet and the Doctor had to strain himself to hear all the words, but hear he did. ‘Larkhowl was a safe place before the Two came, a kingdom of joy. We loved our king, but he died and passed the kingdom onto his son. The prince was weak; he had no strength to lead the people. So when the Two arrived it was only a matter of time before they took over.’ The boy paused, looking around the cell as if convinced that they were not alone. The Doctor patted him in a reassuring manner. The boy continued. ‘There have been legends about the Kuang-Shi for as long as there has been speech, but the people of Larkhowl believed it to be idle chatter, nothing but a myth. Until the Two arrived three months ago.’ His eyes widened in fear. ‘They are Kuang-Shi. They live off the life of people, and Larkhowl was good for them since it has many people in it. Since then there has been no real life in Larkhowl. Just fear. People are either killed or turned. The rest of us live with the sure knowledge that one day our time will come.’ The Doctor took all this in. ‘Who are these Two, and where are they now?’ ‘The Two Who Rule. Both have left Larkhowl for now. We do not know where they have gone, but we do know that their creator is here in their place. He is called the Count. The Two are Bradley the Bloody and Nicholas the Impaler.’ As he spoke, the boy’s demeanour become more relaxed, his voice stronger. ‘Bradley the Bloody is the less feared of the Two, but only because we all know where we stand with him. He is openly vicious, evil and sadistic. But Nicholas the Impaler...’ The Doctor’s hearts sank. He had been blinded when he had met Bradley, thinking that Bradley would be the same as the Brad he had known. And he had left Nick with Bradley. Oh, Nick, what have I done? ‘Nicholas the Impaler? I assume he has blonde hair, and a rather large nose?’ The boy was puzzled. ’I do not know this word “blonde”. But, yes he does have a big nose.’ The Doctor pointed at the boy’s own dirty hair. ‘Blonde is that colour.’ ‘Yes, he has blonde hair.’ The Doctor nodded grimly. He had a nasty suspicion that Nicholas had gone to Earth, too. ‘Go on, what about Nicholas the Impaler?’ ‘He is the worst of the Two. He is quiet, polite and openly kind to the people. We have all heard that his kindness does not stretch to when he is alone, though. No one lives who he takes into his private chambers. No one.’ The Doctor stood up, startling the boy. He clapped his hands. ‘Right then, enough of this talk. It’s time we were getting out of here. Looks like I need to return to Earth and deal with Bradley and Nicholas.’ The boy watched him. ’You? What can you do? You are but one man.’ The Doctor winked. ’One man who has beaten the most oppressive evil. This time will be no different.’ His face hardened. ’Oh yes, I will stop them.’ *** ‘What are you playing at?’ Alf was getting a little vexed by Nick’s constant stare. ‘Nick, just speak to me for fu...’ ‘I am not Nick.’ He wagged a finger and stepped closer to the tightly secured Alf. ‘What?’ He lifted a leg and rested the sole of his shoe on her knee. ‘What is difficult about this? Would your Nick do this to you?’ Alf struggled against her bonds but they showed no sign of slacking. She looked up at the man in front of her. He was right, Nick would never tie her up. He looked just like the bloke she had started to fall in love with, yet the closer she looked now the more she could see differences. The hair was shorter, and the clothes were different from what Nick had last been seen to wear. What does that prove, though? Alf wondered. We were in London long enough for him to get his hair cut and some new clothes. It wasn’t like she hadn’t noticed those differences when she had first seen him outside McDonald’s. Alf took a sharp intake of breath as the man she thought to be Nick violently removed his foot from her knee. She glared at him, watching him pace back and forth. He was not looking at her; rather he was looking around the dusty open-plan area for something. ‘Who are you then?’ Nicholas looked back at her. His eyes glowed a low orange for a moment, before returning to the usual blue. He did not smile. ‘I am your worst nightmare,’ he said softly, then resumed his search. ***
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