'Why did you choose to be a Watcher of the Keeping, then?'

Kitig shrugged. 'I don't know. My father did it.'

Narunil moved away from him, gave a derisive snort.

Kitig turned to face her. 'How often do you think someone who might be the Uncreator comes along? About once every thousand years! It was just a sinecure. A guaranteed income for life, a ridiculous title from the Primitive Ages, and no work.

If I'd even thought it possible that it would really happen, I wouldn't have taken it on.'

'It has has happened,' said Narunil. 'And you have a duty.' She tossed her head, went to the jade wardrobe at the far wall, found some leather shoes and began pulling them on over her hooves. happened,' said Narunil. 'And you have a duty.' She tossed her head, went to the jade wardrobe at the far wall, found some leather shoes and began pulling them on over her hooves.

Kitig took a breath. 'Narunil. My father told me that the Watchers aren't just there to guard us against the Uncreator.

They're also there to make sure we don't go killing every biped who arrives here in unexplained circumstances. There have been irrational reactions in the past, unnecessary killings '

'I don't think I'm being irrational. I'm just trying to protect my family, and everybody else's family. Which is your your job, I think.' job, I think.'

'Narunil '

Narunil walked across to him, three shoes on, the fourth in her hand. She opened her night eyes and Kitig saw the angry clouds there, flushed amber with blood.

'He was interested in our history our evolutionary evolutionary history. He asked about the Uncreator. He has the right physical shape, and he lied about the spaceship a "re-entry vehicle"? It obviously came out of nowhere. It obviously travelled through time.' history. He asked about the Uncreator. He has the right physical shape, and he lied about the spaceship a "re-entry vehicle"? It obviously came out of nowhere. It obviously travelled through time.'

'Not obviously ' began Kitig.

'How else could it have got there?' snapped Narunil. 'What more does he have to do, Kitig? Wave a banner in the air saying "I have come to destroy you all"?'

Kitig turned his head to hers, so that their cheeks touched, and put an arm around her shoulders.

'I've contacted Berulil, the Watcher in Defiris. He'll be here in a couple of hours.'

Narunil pulled away from him, went to the pool near the bed and splashed her head and neck with the scented water.

'You don't need anyone else's opinion! It's obvious obvious!'

Kitig turned back to the window, saw the Doctor looking up at him from the garden. The strange, round face was still smiling, the golden mane still bright in the sun, but The Doctor was watching him.

He felt a prickling of fear along his spine. The Doctor couldn't possibly have heard anything that he and Narunil had said.

But those eyes...

Suddenly, the Doctor frowned, then put a hand on his chest and fell over backward. Kitig saw Sam laughing down at him from Critil's back.

Then the Doctor's face began to turn blue.

Sam looked around in consternation, said something to Critil and slid down off her back. She bent over the Doctor for a moment, then set off for the house at a dead run.

Narunil trotted to the window. 'What's happening?'

'I don't know. I think the Doctor is ill.'

The garden door slammed, and Sam's rapid, uneven, bipedal footsteps echoed in the lower parts of the house. Kitig went out to the inner gallery, a helical chamber in pale-green crystal. Roughened steps led down the helix to the ground level, and Sam was bounding up them.

'Kitig!' There were still pieces of ice and soil on her clothing from the game, but her expression was tense and frightened. 'We need to get back to the TARDIS straight away!'

'Your ship?' asked Kitig.

'Yes the TARDIS please, the Doctor's ill.'

Kitig and Narunil glanced at each other, a flicker of night eyes. Kitig could see his wife's suspicion, could almost feel it, like a breath against his skin.

And she was right. He knew that. This 'illness' was very convenient. And the way the Doctor had looked up at him Kitig could feel the evidence closing in, like a wire noose.

I don't want to kill anyone.

'He says he needs some medicine we have in the TARDIS,' Sam was saying.

'Let me see him,' said Kitig. He could feel Narunil's gaze following him as he went after Sam down the stairs.

In the garden, the Doctor was lying quite still on the cold ground. Sam leaned over him. Kitig looked around, saw Critil and the younger children standing by the winter jasmine, nuzzling one another's neck and snorting nervously.

Abruptly, Sam jolted upright, her face creased with emotion.

'He's umm ' She broke off, stamped a foot on the ground in an almost Tractite gesture. 'I don't know.'

Kitig knelt down over the Doctor, put his head to the alien's chest, listened.

'He still has a heartbeat,' he said. 'Two, I think. Is that normal?'

Sam swallowed, looked at the ground, said nothing. The exposed skin of her face was pale. From what he knew of species of her type, Kitig guessed that she was in shock.

He came to a decision.

'Jontil, Mritig, find my saddle baskets. I'll carry him. Critil, call a skimmer from the park.'

He saw Narunil in the shadow of the house, her day eyes wide with astonishment.

He walked over to her slowly.

'What are you doing?' she asked in a low voice. 'There's no way we should take them back to their ship. We can't wait for any more consultations. We should kill them ourselves. Now.'

Kitig put an arm on hers. 'I've told you. I can't take the risk of killing an intelligent being or letting one die for the sake of an ancient story that might not even be true.'

Narunil glared at him, her night eyes open again, dark with blood. 'If you won't do it now,' she hissed, 'then at least let me come with you. I will kill them, if it becomes necessary.'

Kitig looked down at his hooves planted in the cold soil. He knew she was right. The Doctor and Sam might be innocent but they might not be. There was always the possibility that the Book of Keeping Book of Keeping was telling the truth. was telling the truth.

In which case, the stakes were too high to take any chances.

'Very well,' he said. 'Come with me. Kill them yourself if you have to. But wait until I have made the decision. Until we have no choice. Will you promise me that?'

Narunil's night eyes closed. 'I promise.'

But Kitig wasn't sure he believed her.

CHAPTER 10.

The alien had been gone for some time when Rowenna heard the voices. They echoed in the cave, and for one disorientating moment they seemed to be coming from the fossil skulls embedded in the walls.

'What's that?' whispered Julie. She'd calmed down a bit, but her voice still shook. She claimed she was feverish, but Rowenna was beginning to wonder if it was shock: she felt no symptoms herself.

She shushed Julie, listened. She couldn't yet make out any words, but the tone of the discussion was clear. The voice was earnest, aggressive, demanding. Some accomplice of Jacob Hynes who was quarrelling with him, perhaps? Rowenna put her mind on full alert, looking for any clue that might help her argue her way out of this.

Then she heard footsteps, and suddenly could make out the words. 'Look, for the last time, I'm Jo Grant Jo Grant. I've been on the UNIT books since 1971. I'm a personal friend of RSM Benton in London. If I go missing, believe me, they're going to notice, and they won't just think I wandered off into the sunset. You won't get away with ' A pause. 'Rowenna!'

Rowenna licked her lips, tried to kick-start her dry throat into life. After a couple of coughs she made it. 'Hello, Jo.

Looks like I've messed up your life again.' It was an old joke between them: back in the cottage, Jo had always complained that Rowenna was untidy.

Jo's face appeared. It was older, and sadder, but it was Jo. 'Hello, Rowenna. I suppose you know what it feels like to have an adventure now.'

Rowenna couldn't stop herself from smiling. 'It's crazy,' she said, 'but I'm certain, absolutely certain, that you're going to get us out of this.'

'Just tell me what's '

'Lie down, please.' Jacob Hynes's voice. Bizarrely, he sounded more anxious than Jo.

Jo turned round, said calmly, 'Shut up, I'm talking to my friend,' then turned back to Rowenna. 'Don't worry about him, he's nobody. Have you seen the aliens yet?'

Rowenna nodded, trying to repress hysterical laughter. 'I've seen one. He's trying to poison us, claims we're going to die soon.' She swallowed, the humour suddenly leaching out of the situation. 'Julie says she's ill.'

'I'm running a fever,' said Julie.

Jo moved, knelt down between Rowenna and Julie.

'Gavril is testing a virus,' said Hynes. 'We're going to destroy the human race with it.'

'Mm-hmm,' said Jo. 'Let's check your pulse, Julie.'

'Are you listening to me?' bawled Hynes. He moved inside Rowenna's field of vision. She could see the redness of his cheeks, the insanity in his eyes.

But she knew the game Jo was playing, or at least had a pretty good idea. She kept quiet.

'I'm Alpha and Omega. The Beginning and the End. I'm better than God. You understand that?'

'Have you got a glass of water for Julie?' asked Jo.

Hynes was practically drooling now. 'I could kill you right now!' he bawled. 'It won't make any difference!'

Jo stood up and faced him, hands on hips. 'Look, I'm not interested in your loony plans. I want a glass of water for Julie.

If you don't get it I'm going to tell your alien friends that you're really working for us.'

Hynes began to laugh: helpless, insane laughter. He collapsed against the wooden platform giggling. 'Working for you?

Working for UNIT? You think that Gavril's going to believe that after all I've done for him?'

'And what exactly have you done?'

Hynes's expression became sly. 'I'm afraid I can't reveal that information.' He began giggling again.

'Jo? Where are we?' whispered Rowenna.

'Kilgai,' said Jo. 'In one of the caves. Here, let me just look at your leg, it seems to be '

There was a snapping sound, and Rowenna realised that the leg restraint was gone. She was being lifted up, and Julie had jumped up, her face flushed, her body swaying.

'Follow me!' yelled Jo, right in Rowenna's ear. She saw Hynes aiming the gun 'Jo!'

But Julie had collided with Hynes, knocked him back against the wooden pallet. The gun spun out of his hand.

Rowenna saw shadowy movement at the back of the skull-walled chamber. 'The alien!'

Jo was running, clumsily, Rowenna in her arms. Ahead was a glowing tree, clearly alien, clearly A gunshot. Sharp, loud, followed by the whistle and echo of the bullet. Rowenna flinched inwardly, but tried not to move for fear of unbalancing Jo.

If it hits me let it be in the head this time, or the heart, let it be instantly fatal; please, God, I don't want to suffer like that again. again.

Rowenna could sense fresh air around her now, the grass and dung smell of the outside. The tree was directly ahead, its branches seeming to writhe with light. For a moment Rowenna wondered if it was something other than a tree, if it would move to block their progress, but it remained still. They passed it and Rowenna caught a glimpse of infinite detail, light in motion. Beauty.

'Stop right there!'

He was ahead of them, how had he got ahead of them?

She was sliding sideways, into the branches of the tree, she was going to fall and A gunshot The tree flared with light, and she was falling