I took the bucket to the quarterdeck and waited for it to fill with rain. I had just stripped my skins off and began the Ritual of Carbolic when the rain stopped. A moment later I heard cook screaming angrily that someone had stolen his slops bucket.

Ignoring looks and shouts from the sailors, I sc.r.a.ped the soap off my skin as effectively I could, got dressed, and went below to see the pigs. I needed to think.

4.

Heresy

After the Doctor left Stockwood's temple - house - house - Stockwood and I Stockwood and I

watched each other for a while. Then he stood up. 'I have precious little in terms of provisions, but what I have is yours.' I frowned again.

Stockwood spoke politely enough but his words made no sense at all.

I stood up, trying to work out what he meant. What was a provision and why was he offering me one? Obviously it was an important ritual, but what did it mean? I decided it would be better to change the subject.

'I'm hungry. Do you have food?' He laughed. 'You are laughing at me!'

'No, no, of course not. It's just that... Oh dear... Come with me into the pantry. I'll see what we can sc.r.a.pe together.'

I followed him through the temple. Once I had to sc.r.a.pe the flesh and organs from a horda skin. The taste was foul but the meat kept me alive for a week. 'Have you ever eaten horda?'

'Not exactly. I have eaten python, though. And marmoset brain.'

'Our shaman said if you eat the brains of your enemy you take on their intelligence.'

'I wouldn't have thought that was much good if you were clever enough to defeat them in the first place.'

I felt myself frowning. 'I always thought it was a stupid thing to say.'

'Your shaman should have taken his own advice, by the sound of it.'

Stockwood laughed. I wondered whether to join in.

Stockwood's pantry was as big as the room we had just left. It was full of shelves. The shelves were filled with jars and boxes. I touched one of the shelves. 'How do you make the wood so straight and smooth?'

'I employ a carpenter.'

'I see.'

'Do you have carpenters where you come from?'

'I don't know.'

I felt Stockwood's eyes on me. 'You don't know where you come from or you don't know what a carpenter is?'

'I come from the Place of Land. I don't know what a carpenter is.' I tried to control a surge of anger. 'Why? Does it make you feel cleverer than me to know things I don't?'

'No, of course not.' Stockwood's tone was rea.s.suring. I felt a bit better.

'Here. Have a sandwich.'

I sniffed the bread, peeled apart the layers. 'You are trying to poison me!

This is covered in mould!'

'It's meant to be covered in mould. It's cheese. Blue cheese. You have heard of cheese?'

'Yes,' I lied defensively.

Stockwood did not seem convinced. 'Let's try again.' He brought me a bowl filled with a brown paste from a cupboard. I took the bowl. 'It's cold,'

I said in surprise.

'It came from a cold place.'

'You are laughing at me again!'

'Try some.'

'It looks like -'

'Yes, well, I never could get the consistency right. Try some.' I stuck my finger in the bowl, brought it to my lips and nervously licked off some of the brown paste. 'Oh!' I sat down suddenly on the floor. 'I've never tasted anything like it!' I sc.r.a.ped up a large handful and swallowed eagerly. Two more handfuls followed the first. Then another three. I handed the empty bowl back to Stockwood. 'It's good! Do you have any more of this... what do you call it?'

'Chocolate surprise.'

'What's the surprise?'

Before he could answer I retched. The sudden reappearance of the food I had eaten was as much of a shock to me as to him. I scrambled backwards from the steaming puddle, dagger drawn, and aimed without hesitation at Stockwood's heart. 'You are are trying to poison me!' trying to poison me!'

'My dear, I a.s.sure you that -'

'Do not think that because you are old I will not cut out your heart and wash it down with your blood!'

Stockwood stood quite still.

I could smell him sweating.

I waited.

Stockwood didn't move.

My stomach rumbled.

'Uh... we are supposed to be best friends. You remember?'

'Yes' I frowned. 'Then why should you wish to poison me?' Stockwood spread his hands to show they were empty. 'I didn't. I suppose you were simply not used to the food. It was very rich.'

He seemed to be telling the truth. And I was beginning to feel better And hungry again. I sheathed the dagger and eyed a few of the nearest jars.

'Do you have any more food?'

Stockwood showed me his teeth. Somehow I don't think it was a smile. smile. 'I think a walk in the fresh air might be more appropriate.' 'I think a walk in the fresh air might be more appropriate.'

'Yes. We will hunt for food.'

'Yes. Of course. Whatever you wish.'

I glanced at Stockwood. His expression did not change. He showed me to the big entrance to his house. There he took a large skin from a hook and pulled it on. He offered me a similar skin. I felt the cloth. It was rough and had holes in, like pouches. 'This is a good skin,' I told him.

'It's a navy greatcoat. It belonged to my uncle. It'll keep the wolf from the door.'

I nodded. 'In the Land, the horda hunt in packs. Sometimes they take children that are too young to defend themselves.' I wrapped the greatcoat around my shoulders like a cape. 'My sister was killed by horda when she was three summers old.'

'I am sorry.'

'Do not be. Death is part of life. Ennia died and the horda ate her and then my family killed the horda and the whole tribe ate them. A summer later I was born. If Ennia had not died, I would not be here.'

'I see.'

I studied him closely. 'Yes. You do. Tell me, where we are going, the hunting is good? I would like to see the animal from which you make...

chocolate surprise. To kill it would be a challenge.'

'That it would, Leela, that it would.' Stockwood laughed as he opened the big door. There was only a little sadness in his voice this time. I smiled too, though I was careful not to let him see. Many of the Sevateem thought it was dangerous to reveal your thoughts and intentions in this way. I had not made my mind up about the idea yet.

Stockwood continued, more sadly now, 'Perhaps we could leave the hunting until later.'

'If that is your wish.'

'Thank you.'

We walked in silence for a time. I listened carefully to the land around me. The land the Doctor had called London. I had already seen part of it but this part was different. It was very beautiful. There were trees and gra.s.s, and everything smelled nice. Not like the smoke and rot of London. Everyone I had seen wore skins all the time. Some of them were even clean. Keeping skins clean was normally impossible. You just wore it until it wore out and then killed something else to wear.

There were huts here, the big huts made out of stone, but they were much bigger than in London - and further apart, each set in its own piece of land. The huts were bigger here -bigger than trees. And like Stockwood's house they had holes in the walls that were filled with gla.s.s. I tried to look in through several as we walked but I could not. I wondered why I could see out from the inside and not in from the outside.

This gla.s.s. You could only see through it one way, you could put water in it, you could put flowers in it. It was clever.

And there were animals. Huge animals whose shoulders stood higher than my head Animals that snorted fiercely and stamped angrily upon the stony path. I thought I had seen one before - but I had been confused then, and most of the time fighting for my life, so I was not sure.

'What's that?' I asked, pointing at one of the animals.

'A horse.'

'Can you eat it?'

'Only if you're a dog.'

'What's a dog?'

'Why, Leela, a dog is a man's best friend.'

'The Doctor said I was your best friend.'

'Ah, yes, well, it's like this, you see... I... Oh look, there's a bicycle. No.

You can't eat it.'

'Of course not. It's metal.'

'You know what metal is?'

'Of course I do! We have metal in the Land. Metal is holy.' I quoted the First Message. ' "Metal brought the Sevateem from the Sky to the Land." '

Stockwood seemed impressed. I said, rather cleverly, I thought, 'That man must be a priest to own so much metal. We should pay homage to him.'

Actually he's a postman. The only thing we pay him for are stamps - and those are far too expensive, if you ask me.'

'I see.' I didn't of course. This land confused me. Much of it frightened me. The horses stamped and snorted because they were angry and they were angry because the tribes here made them walk on stone when it was clear to me their hooves were designed for walking on dirt. And although they were tied up, the things they were tied up to had wheels and moved around, dragged wherever the horses felt like going. What was the point? Letting animals roam free inside your village was dangerous and stupid. Someone would get hurt.