Doctor Who - [New Adventure 29] - [Vampire Trilogy 2] - Blood Harvest

by Terrance Dicks

  "Not what?"

  "Human. You're one of the Doctor's own people."

  "How did you know?"

  "There's something about you."

  "What sort of something?"

  "Oh, arrogance, bossiness, being sure you know what's best for everyone."

  Unexpectedly Romana smiled. "I know I'm an incorrigible organizer. But there's so much to be done on this planet, and when you can see quite clearly what's needed but you just can't get people to do it..." She sighed. "There's so much to tell you, I don't know where to start."

  "Begin at the beginning," said Bernice. "Go on to the end and then stop."

  "You really have been travelling with the Doctor, haven't you?"

  Romana went on to tell how she and the Doctor had arrived on the planet to find it frozen in medievalism, ruled by undying Lords and Ladies who were, in fact, vampires.

  "The Doctor really picked out a great place for me to visit, didn't he?" said Bernice grimly. "You'll love it, he told me. Wonderful old castles, a uniquely preserved medieval culture and civilization. An archaeologist's dream!"

  "I'm sure he thought he was telling the truth," said Romana loyally. "After all, he destroyed the Great Vampire, and the Three as well. I expect the Doctor thought the planet was vampire-free by now."

  "Well, he was wrong," said Bernice. She told Romana of her encounter with the vampire in the Tower, and of Gerda's horrifying return to the village.

  "And you say this vampire was actually Zargo?"

  "It looked like him - like his portrait in the Tower. Then the portrait disappeared."

  "Vampirism is very like a kind of virus," said Romana. "Like all viruses it's incredibly hard to kill. You think you've stamped it out and it mutates, reappearing in another, even stronger form."

  "You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

  "The Doctor and I moved on to another planet and got mixed up with a time-sensitive race called the Tharils. They were struggling to free themselves from slavery, and I decided to stay and help them."

  "Why?"

  "I don't much care for slavery." She was obviously telling the truth - and yet ...

  "Was that all?" asked Bernice.

  Romana frowned. It was very clear that she didn't care for being questioned about her motives either. For a moment she didn't answer. At last she said, "The Doctor can be a little overpowering at times."

  "I've noticed."

  "Perhaps we're too much alike. Two Time Lords in one TARDIS ... I decided I'd like to do something on my own for a while. I helped the Tharils to sort things out, and found myself with nothing to do. So I thought I'd see how this planet was progressing now they were free of vampires - or so I believed. The Tharils had re-established interplanetary travel and I got them to bring me here."

  "And what did you find?"

  "Trouble. The surviving Lords, now free of vampirism, or so they claim, are trying to re-establish control. The free villages like Ivo's are trying to resist them. I made contact with both sides and tried to bring them together. But nothing works. It's as if some unseen force is trying to keep them at each other's throats."

  "The vampires?"

  "You'd expect the vampires to ally themselves with the Lords, try to bring back the good old days. This force seemed equally against both sides. Whatever it was I was baffled so I sent a telepathic signal to the Doctor."

  "And he sent me."

  "That's what's puzzling me," said Romana frankly. "He did get the signal?"

  "Oh, he got it all right. He was brooding over a Time Lord message that had come through to the TARDIS data bank concerning one particular period of Earth's history when he suddenly got very excited. He started jumping up and down shouting, It's time something was done, and I'm just the Time Lord to do it! Then all of a sudden he threw this tremendous wobbly."

  "Wobbly?"

  "He clutched his head and yelled, Oh no, Romana, not now! Can't you see I'm busy?"

  "It sounds just like him. Then what?"

  "He went all quiet and broody again for a time. Then he took me by the arm and said, Bernice, I know this terrific planet... You know the rest."

  "He just dumped you down here, without any kind of briefing?"

  "He told me to make like an archaeologist and keep my eyes and ears open. So that's what I did. I toured the area, collected quite a few good specimens of local artefacts and finished up at Ivo's inn. You know the rest. Oh, and the Doctor said if things got really hairy I was to use this."

  Bernice fished in her pockets and produced a silver sphere with an inset silver button.

  Romana recognized it immediately. "It's a SPATAB - a Spatio-Temporal Alarm Beacon. Also acts as a homing beacon for the TARDIS. It's also known as a panic button. All you can do with it is yell for help."

  Bernice posed her thumb over the button. "I know. Let's!"

  "No," said Romana. "Let's not. If the Doctor's too busy to help them we'll manage without him. Maybe we'll just send for him when it's all over."

  The watcher straightened up from the screen.

  "They are refusing to use the device."

  "They will use it," said the second watcher. "When their fear is great enough they will send for the Doctor, and he will come to save them."

  "If he lives," said the third watcher.

  "It matters not. On one planet or the other we shall destroy the Doctor. And in the process we shall capture the Other to serve our will. Death to the Doctor!

  "Borusa lives!

  "Rassilon must die!"

  Back at the inn Ivo greeted Romana as an old friend. When the greetings and explanations were over he said, "So you know each other. And to think that you both know the Doctor! How is he?"

  "Changed," said Bernice. "Changed in some ways - but in others much the same."

  "Is he too returning to us?" Bernice and Romana exchanged glances.

  "Possibly," said Romana. "But not immediately. Is there any sign of the delegation?"

  "Not yet, my Lady. But they should not be long. Even Lords do not greatly care to travel after dark."

  Night was falling and they were sitting by the fire, surrounded by the shadows of the darkened inn. No went to the kitchen and returned with bread and cheese and a jug of rough red wine. He brought platters, knives and goblets, and poured wine for them both.

  "Something to stay you until dinner," he said. "I have prepared my best for the Lords, such as it is."

  Bernice cut a hunk of bread and cheese, took a swig of the rough red wine and shuddered. An interesting little vin du pays with a subtle bouquet of sulphuric acid and swamp-water, she thought. She took another swig and thought it tasted better the more of it you drank. Then again, most things did.

  "What do you think of our chances tomorrow?" asked Romana.

  Ivo sighed. "Hard to say, my Lady. Kalmar is for peace and so is Lothar, but Tarak would as soon fight as talk." He looked almost reproachfully at Bernice. "Stories of the return of the Undying Ones do not help." He touched ears, eyes and mouth in the ritual gesture.

  "Don't look at me," said Bernice indignantly. "I didn't ask to run into your local vampires. According to Romana they're supposed to be extinct."

  "Not all vampires are Lords, Ivo," Romana pointed out. "What about your serving girl, Gerda?"

  "I know that the Lords claim to be free of the vampire taint," said Ivo wearily. "Yet because of the Dark Times, the two stand together in the minds of our people. Some say little has changed. Much will depend on the attitude of the Lords."

  "And here they are," said Romana.

  At first Bernice could hear nothing, and then gradually she made out the sound of hoofbeats coming nearer. Soon she heard the confused noises of a party of riders drawing up outside the inn, shouted orders and the jingle of harness as they dismounted. A figure appeared in the doorway, framed against the darkness of the night.

  "Landlord! Some light in this hovel!"

  Ivo lit a lamp and came forward holding it up, revealin
g the newcomer as a thin, sharp-faced man with a neatly pointed beard.

  "My Lord?" said Ivo steadily.

  "I am Lord Yarven, aide to Lord Veran. He will be here soon. Is all ready?"

  "The rooms are prepared, my Lord, and such simple fare as we can command."

  "Do not trouble yourself, fellow, we have brought our own food - and our own cooks." Yarven caught sight of the wine jug, snatched it up, drank from it, and spat the wine out on the floor. "And our own wine, thanks be!" He noticed the two silent female figures in the shadows. "Still, perhaps you can provide us with some simple comforts, eh landlord?" He loomed over Romana. "What's your name, little wench?"

  Romana stood up. "Good evening, Lord Yarven."

  You could have deep-frozen an ox with her voice, thought Bernice admiringly. Yarven stepped back.

  "Your pardon, Lady Romana. In this cursed gloom I took you for some peasant wench."

  "That does not make your conduct any more excusable."

  Yarven licked his thin dry lips and was silent.

  Another figure stamped into the room and saluted Yarven. It was Varis, the arrogant young guard captain Bernice had clashed with some time earlier.

  "The men are at their posts, my Lord." He saw Romana and bowed. "My Lady." Then he saw Bernice.

  "You, my Lady! I told you we should meet again. The odds are a little different now." He raised his voice. "Guards!"

  Two black-clad guards marched into the room. Varis pointed to Bernice. "Arrest her! Take the man as well."

  More guards appeared and surrounded Ivo. As the men moved forward Romana snapped, "Upon what charge?"

  "The murder of one of my men. Now, take her!" The guards grabbed Bernice and dragged her to her feet.

  16 SUMMIT OF DEATH

  "Just one moment," said Romana, taking charge as usual. "What were the circumstances of this murder?"

  Lord Yarven made a belated attempt to assert his authority.

  "Yes, tell us what happened, Captain."

  "What happened is this," said Varis bitterly. "I found one of my men with his throat slit just outside this village. There was a rabble of peasants around the body, led by the man Ivo and the woman here. They refused to surrender the murderers and the woman held a blaster to my head so they could all escape." He glared angrily at Bernice. "I'm not sure if she's responsible for the actual throat-cutting, but she probably knows who is. If she does I'll have the truth out of her."

  Not another interrogation, thought Bernice despairingly. This must be my day for it. I expect this lot prefer good old traditional methods like the rack and thumbscrews and hot irons.

  "Is this true?" asked Romana icily.

  Not caring much for her tone Bernice said defiantly, "Yes and no. I made some disturbing discoveries on a visit to the Tower. I persuaded Ivo to take a party of men from the village to investigate."

  Yarven looked at her with sudden interest. "And did you find anything?"

  "Not at the Tower, no. But on the way back to the village we found the body of a soldier at the crossroads. Naturally we stopped to investigate. Then this military idiot turned up and wanted to start hanging people on the spot - in spite of the fact that the man had clearly been killed some time earlier and somewhere else. I was forced to persuade him to go away."

  A soft, amused voice said, "Indeed, a blaster in the ear is a most effective method of persuasion."

  They turned to the doorway and saw that someone else had come into the room: a big, portly old man with flowing white hair.

  "Lord Veran," said Romana with relief. "A problem has arisen."

  Veran held up his hand. "I heard. Captain Varis, does it occur to you that arresting the senior delegate on the other side might not be the most hopeful of beginnings for an important peace conference?"

  Not surprisingly, Varis found nothing to say to this. He looked appealingly at Lord Yarven, who remained discreetly silent.

  Veran looked at Bernice. "And as for this lady..."

  "I can vouch for Lady Bernice," said Romana quickly. "She is a visitor to this world, as I am, and became involved with your affairs only by chance."

  "Very well. For the moment we shall accept her story. The murder of this unfortunate soldier must, of course, be fully investigated - after the conference. You will make yourself available for questioning in due course, my Lady?"

  Bernice managed a fair imitation of Romana's haughty manner.

  "There isn't much more I can tell you but I shall be pleased to answer any questions put to me with reasonable civility."

  "Excellent," said Veran. "For the moment the matter is shelved." He waved away the guards and turned to Ivo.

  "You must be Ivo, headman of this village. I have heard a great deal about you. I am Veran."

  Ivo fell to one knee and bowed his head. "My Lord."

  Veran went forward and shook his hand, raising him up.

  "No need for that, Ivo. We are equals here, heads of our respective delegations. Let us hope that between us we can bring some peace to this unhappy land."

  Bernice looked at Romana and grinned, holding out discreetly crossed fingers. After a distinctly rocky start, the peace conference seemed to be back on course.

  Dinner that night was the best meal Bernice had eaten for some time. Lord Veran, clearly a man who liked his comforts, had brought along a retinue of servants and cooks, and several pack-loads of food and drink as well. Katya was relegated to an awestricken washer-up while Veran's servants cooked and served an excellent meal of roast venison, fish, assorted pies and pastries, cheese and a variety of sweetmeats.

  The meal was accompanied by numerous bottles of a red wine that resembled a most acceptable claret, and a white that was very like a good Riesling.

  Ivo, wearing his best jerkin and scrubbed till he positively glowed, was a guest at his own table. Bernice had exchanged her safari jacket for a slightly crumpled basic little black dress from her pack, while Romana was her catlike elegant self. For the visiting team, Veran, Yarven and Varis, all dressed in their best, put up an impressive show.

  Veran was an accomplished host who kept the conversation flowing smoothly, making sure that Bernice was included.

  "What brought you to our unhappy little planet?" he asked.

  Bernice gave him her standard story, that she was an archaeologist on a preliminary field-trip.

  Veran shook his head sadly. "The history of our planet is a dark and bloody one, my Lady."

  "All the more fascinating for that," said Bernice, who was a little elevated by now. "You know what they say, Lord Veran. The Draconians had hundreds of years of warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed, and they produced art and architecture to amaze the galaxy. On Dulkis they had brotherly love, democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The egg-timer."

  "It is true that we have many fine castles," said Veran. "My own, amongst them. I hope you can visit it one day. But our arts, like our sciences and our very civilization, have been held back by the scarlet thread of vampirism that runs through our history"

  "It's the first thing the Doctor and I noticed when we came here," said Romana. "In terms of applied socio-energetics, the society had simply lost its grip on level-two development. It actually seemed to be evolving backwards, clearly as the result of some exceptionally powerful force."

  "And we all know what that was," said Bernice. The wine had been followed by a really excellent local brandy, and her curiosity was overcoming her tact. "This vampire business - how did it work exactly? I mean, were all Lords vampires? At one time, I mean," she added hastily.

  Romana shot her a reproving look, but Veran seemed quite ready to answer. "It's more complex than that, my Lady. Here in this village, which was - forgive me No the very fount of the evil, matters were simple. Lord Zargo and Lady Camilla were vampires, and as such they ruled, using the people to feed their appetites."

  "My son Karl..." said Ivo and his voice broke off. He bowed his head and tears came into his eyes.

  After a
moment Veran went on: "Here, at least, the evil was in plain sight. In time the people arose and destroyed their Vampire Lords, led by Ivo here, helped by Lady Romana, whose beauty defies the years, and her friend the Doctor - who I have yet to meet."

  Veran raised his glass to Romana and then continued: "In other nearby villages, things were much the same. There were other Vampire Lords and Ladies, and as news of the rebellion spread they too were overthrown and destroyed. But elsewhere..."

  He paused for a moment.

  "Elsewhere the evil took a more subtle form. Perhaps just one member of a noble family might be infected by vampirism, or there might be several. No one knew who to trust. The vampires worked behind the scenes, spreading their evil cult. Several noble families took a stand against this evil, vowing to wipe it out. My own was amongst them."

  Veran paused again, then forced himself to go on.

  "Just when we thought the battle was won I discovered that my only son, Vetar, had been infected by the evil. I myself drove the stake through his heart."

  The conference started early next morning: far too early for Bernice who was suffering from a certain fuzziness of the brain. Still, she thought, I'd better show willing. She climbed out of bed, groaning a little, and got ready to join the others.

  Tarak, Kalmar and Lothar arrived. Tarak, bristling with suspicion, agreed that all three would leave their weapons outside provided Veran, Yarven and Varis did the same. It had been agreed that Bernice should be allowed to attend as an observer. It was a privilege she could have done without.

  The conference took place in the main room of the inn. Ivo, Kalmar, Tarak, and Lothar sat on one side of the big table. Lord Veran, Lord Yarven, Captain Varis and Lady Romana sat on the other. At first Bernice was surprised to see Romana sitting with the Lords but a moment's reflection made her see that it was the Time Lady's natural place. But the Doctor would have been on the other side, she thought. Still, the Doctor's different. Bernice was sat at the end in recognition of her neutral status.

  The conference began with a speech from Lord Veran, recapping the events of recent history: