BBC Cult Dr Who - The Sands Of Time

by BBCi Cult

  'It's all right,' the Doctor said quietly. 'I just want to be sure it stays safe. Because the third relic is the bracelet stolen from Mapleton last night.'

  'You think someone is after them?'

  'What do you think?' the Doctor asked quietly. When she did not answer, he went on: 'The last of the relics is a carved statue of a snake. A cobra. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?'

  His eyes were deep and blue. Penetrating, searching, pleading. Did she know where the snake was? 'No,' she told him. 'I don't.'

  The Doctor nodded as if this was the answer he had expected. 'Well, just a thought.' He stood up.

  'I'm sorry. You could try the family records, Kenilworth's account of his expedition might say what happened to it.'

  'Thank you,' said the Doctor from the doorway. 'It might indeed.'

  Vanessa watched the door close behind him. She would feel better after a good night's sleep. She wished James had not had to go away. She'd have done anything to keep him here, with her.

  The Doctor did not sleep that night. This was not unusual. Instead he waited until the house was quiet, then went to Prior's library. He hunted out every volume he could find about the various dialects and styles of early Egyptian hieroglyphics. Then he looked for any documentation of the myths about Seth, Nephthys, Osiris and Isis.

  He read every word of each of the books at lightning speed. But it still took him almost until dawn. With his new and deeper insight into the legends and the writing, he hoped to be able to decipher more of the inscriptions he had copied down from the tomb. He was not sure when he would next get a chance to spend a useful amount of time on his studies, but even from what he remembered of the inscriptions, he did not feel that all was well.

  In fact, he had several very nasty suspicions.

  It did not take the Doctor long the next morning to convince Tegan and Atkins of the importance of finding the cobra. He also gave then a brief description of his conversation with Vanessa the previous night, and mentioned in passing that he was still hoping to decipher more of the inscriptions.

  'It seems a sensible suggestion,' Atkins volunteered. 'Although we already know where the cobra went.'

  The Doctor nodded. 'Yes. To Macready. Still, given Vanessa's contact with the ring and the bracelet, I thought she might have heard what happened to the cobra.'

  'Prior would be more likely to know,' Tegan pointed out. 'He's the expert in this stuff after all.'

  'Good thought, Tegan. Let's go and ask him. At least he might be able to point us to some sort of inventory of snake relics in the collections of the world.'

  They found Prior in the library. He limped over to them, leaning heavily on his sphinx-handled stick, and listened patiently to the Doctor's request.

  'Did Vanessa ever tell you how she and James Norris met?' he asked as they sat round the library table.

  'I thought he was the architect for the alterations you did to this house,' Tegan said.

  Prior nodded. 'Indeed he was. But Vanessa and I knew him before that. He practically begged me for the work, in fact. He was young and enthusiastic.' Prior laughed. 'He still is, I suppose. Anyway, I had him draw up the plans and supervise the work. Did a damned fine job too, as it turned out. But I could see that Vanessa valued his company, even then. And I must confess I like the lad myself.'

  Atkins coughed quietly, and everyone turned towards him. 'He did mention, Mr Norris that is, that he originally came to you when he inherited some relics of Egyptian origin.'

  Prior nodded. 'Indeed he did. He had no idea of their value, but he had read an article I wrote for Newsweek about how tourism and neglect are eroding the great sites of ancient Egypt and they should be preserved. Shocking.' He leaned across the table. 'Do you realize that -' He broke off. 'Never mind, hobby horse of mine. Sorry.'

  'Not at all,' the Doctor said. 'There's a long way to go before people understand the importance and delicacy of their own past.'

  'Indeed so,' Prior nodded. 'Indeed so. Anyway, you were asking me about the cobra from Kenilworth's expedition.'

  'And you were telling us about James Norris,' Tegan said.

  'Well naturally,' Prior replied. 'After all, he's got it.'

  'What?' The Doctor looked round at his friends. 'Does Vanessa know that?' he asked quietly.

  'Oh yes,' Prior said. 'It was one of the relics he brought to me for valuation. Pure coincidence, he had no idea that it was almost a family heirloom.' Prior gave another short bark of laughter. 'Wouldn't part with it though. Vanessa tells me he's got it out on his mantelpiece in that cottage of his in Cornwall. I've told him a thousand times, anyone could just walk in and -' He stopped short again, mouth open and brow creased as if a terrible thought had just occurred to him. 'My God,' he said quietly.

  'What?' The Doctor was leaning across the table, his hands reaching out towards Prior. Prior turned to him gravely. 'I hope he's got it insured,' he said.

  'Where is Vanessa?' Tegan asked. 'I haven't seen her all day.'

  'Oh she went to have a lie down for a bit. She's been a bit under the weather last couple of days. Probably missing James. He's down in Cornwall.'

  'At this cottage of his?'

  'Yes, Doctor.'

  The Doctor considered. 'Two of the four relics are missing already,' he said to Prior. 'Of the others, Vanessa has one and James Norris has the other.'

  'You think they might be in danger?'

  The Doctor nodded. 'It's possible,' he said. 'If you keep an eye on your daughter, perhaps you can lend Tegan a car and tell her how to find Norris's cottage.'

  Prior nodded. 'I can lend you a map,' he told Tegan. 'But it's about a four-hour drive from here. Might even be five.'

  'And why am I going to see Norris?'

  'To warn him he might be in danger.'

  'You could phone him,' Prior offered.

  The Doctor shook his head. 'I'd rather Tegan saw him in person. He's more likely to take things seriously then. But perhaps you could call and make sure he's there when she arrives.'

  'Of course.'

  'But why am I driving? And why aren't you coming?' hissed Tegan. 'There are quicker ways to get to Cornwall, you know.' She glanced across at Prior, but he had pulled himself out of his chair and was hunting through a pile of books, presumably for a road atlas.

  The Doctor nodded. 'I know. But Atkins and I have an appointment somewhat further afield, and I rather fancy we have a greater need for the quicker means of transport you have in mind. I don't think the

  Tegan sat back in her chair. 'Terrific,' she said. 'I get the second rate assignment again.'

  'Not at all, Tegan. We're on a short quest for knowledge, but you could be saving lives.'

  'All right, Doctor.'

  The Doctor rubbed his hands together. 'Splendid.' He stood up and started towards the door. As he passed Tegan, he said quietly: 'Oh, there is just one other thing.'

  'What's that?'

  'We really have no idea if Norris can be trusted.'

  'I have no idea if anyone can be trusted,' Tegan told him. 'Why did Vanessa lie about the cobra?'

  'I don't know. Perhaps she's got a rotten memory, or perhaps she didn't want to implicate her fiance.'

  Tegan nodded. 'Maybe.'

  'You like her, don't you?'

  Tegan nodded. 'She's okay. She reminds me of someone. To look at, I mean. But I can't think who it is. Maybe someone I was at school with.'

  'Yes,' said Atkins, 'there is a certain familiarity in her features.'

  The Doctor grinned. 'Perhaps she's just got that sort of face,' he said.

  Vanessa felt no better than the previous evening. Her head was still swimming, and she could hear disjointed and distant voices echoing in the back of her mind. She had tried to call James, but all she got was the answerphone. Either he was out, or he was working and did not want to be disturbed.

  She had also tried to sleep, but even when she managed to doze off for a few minutes she had nightmares. They were gone wh
en she awoke, just the memory of a distant terror lingering on the edges of sleep.

  After she woke the third time in a cold sweat, she decided to have a shower, and then to read or watch television in the hope of taking her mind off things. She let the cool water splash across her body and run down her skin towards the drain, washing over tiles that had been parched for a thousand years.

  A thousand years? Where had she got that idea? She shook her head, her long wet hair swinging round and sending droplets of water skidding against the glass walls of the shower cubicle.

  Prior seemed happy for Tegan to take his car. He could, he pointed out, always borrow Vanessa's should he need to get out. And since they were actually in the middle of London anyway, he could choose between taxi, bus and tube for any local journeys.

  So, soon after lunch, Tegan found herself sitting behind the wheel of a Jaguar, wondering where the windscreen wipers were operated from should she need them, and wishing the seat were a couple of inches higher. Another of the shocks she got from being over ten years behind in automotive technology and not used to the state of the art even in her own time was the power steering. She had gone almost a complete circle in the driveway before she managed to crunch to a halt on the gravel and learn about the latest anti-lock braking systems.

  Prior tapped on the driver's window, and after a short pause as Tegan discovered electric windows, handed her a road atlas.

  'A bit easier on the steering,' he said as he showed where he had marked the relevant page with a sticky yellow notelet. Then he showed her the pencilled circle in the middle of what appeared to be a trackless swamp where Norris had his cottage. 'There is a track. I've drawn it on the map for you, so far as Vanessa could remember where it is. Had to drag her out of the shower to show me.'

  'Is she still not feeling well?'

  Prior shook his head. 'Not a hundred per cent. I thought she'd ask why I wanted to know, but she just pointed and went back into her room. I can't fathom what's up with her, but I hope she's better soon.'

  Tegan agreed, and studied the map. 'Doesn't look as easy as it might be. I could end up in a ditch.'

  'Well, the car's insured,' Prior laughed.

  Tegan laughed too. 'I'm not sure I am, though.' She thanked him, almost caught his nose in the window, and swung the car round carefully so that it faced back down the drive.

  As she turned past the front of the house, she caught sight of movement at an upper window. As the car stopped, Tegan adjusted the rear view mirror so she could see what the movement was. Vanessa was standing at her bedroom window, the curtain pulled back.

  Tegan turned and studied the figure in the mirror for a moment. The window was almost full length, and she could see Vanessa framed against the dark interior of her room. She was strikingly beautiful, tall and slim. Her dark hair was still folded up on to her head in a towel after her shower. Her features were aquiline, and her eyes large and cat-like with huge pupils. She was dressed in a simple white night-gown which reached to her knees.

  And in that moment, Tegan realized who Vanessa reminded her of. With her long hair tied up, she was the image of the Shabti figures in the entrance corridor of Nyssa's tomb.

  Vanessa watched the car set off down the drive. Then she pulled the towel from her long hair, and shook it free. She sat in front of her dressing table, head slightly to one side as she dried and brushed her hair. In the mirror, Vanessa could see the door to her room. She had almost finished when she saw the reflected handle begin slowly to turn.

  She swung round on her seat, putting down the hair drier and comb, one knee pulled up to her chin. As the door swung open, she stood up, backing away from the figure which filled the doorway.

  The mummy stepped into the room, the floor shaking slightly beneath its heavy feet as it swung towards Vanessa. She stood, back to the far wall, staring at the huge shape as it lumbered towards her.

  Behind the mummy, Sadan Rassul appeared in the doorway. His broad squat shape was silhouetted against the wall of the corridor outside. 'Do not be afraid, my child,' he said gently as the mummy reached out for Vanessa.

  An unholy roaring sound broke the stillness of the desert air. One moment, nothing but sand and the breeze; the next, the TARDIS melted into existence on a dune overlooking a deep crater. After a pause, the TARDIS doors opened and Doctor and Atkins emerged.

  'What we really need,' the Doctor said, 'is to contact someone who was on the expedition. If there was an expedition. But someone must have been here, to know about the Nephthys hieroglyphic.' He handed Atkins a heavy torch, and showed him how to switch it on.

  Atkins considered. 'So we see if we can find clues as to how long ago the pyramid was re-excavated, then use the TARDIS again to try to trace someone who can divulge information to us about the expedition.'

  'Exactly,' the Doctor smiled. 'Now then...' He twisted round trying to get his bearings, licking his index finger and holding it up. Then he stared out across the desert sands in the opposite direction to the crater. 'That way, I think.'

  'Actually, Doctor, if I may?'

  The Doctor nodded.

  'I'd suggest this way.' Atkins pointed down into the crater. The far side was a more regular shape than the other ragged edges. In places a gleaming blackness glistened beneath the sand. It was the side of the pyramid.

  They stared at it for a moment. Then the Doctor said: 'Can I ask what methodology you used for that inspired geographical deduction?'

  It took them several minutes to stumble and trip down the steep side of the crater. As they approached, the could see the door of the pyramid standing open, a deep pile of sand covered the floor and prevented the door from closing again. It had been open for a long time.

  'Do you think they survived the traps?'

  The Doctor nodded. 'Oh I should think the traps were deactivated when we removed Nyssa's body. Pretty much served their purpose by then.' He clambered up the shifting pile of sand and through into the main passageway. Light came in through the open doorway, but they still needed their torches to see where they were going.There was gradually less sand as they made their way up the corridor. The Shabti figures were gone from their alcoves, and the sound of the echoing footsteps seemed deadened and dull. At last they reached the burial chamber. The doors were pulled shut, but not fastened. The Doctor and Atkins looked at each other. Then the Doctor nodded, and they each opened one of the heavy double doors, and together they stepped into the chamber.

  It was empty.

  They walked to the centre of what had been the burial chamber, stopped and slowly turned round. Their torchbeams played over the floor, ceiling and walls as they took in the enormity of the change.

  'You know,' Atkins said, 'I can understand the removal of relics and even furniture. But why take the walls?'

  The Doctor nodded. The stone had been hacked away, leaving a scarred mess of stonework where once there had been carved hieroglyphics. 'They certainly did a thorough job.'

  'I don't remember this.' Atkins crossed to an open archway on the far side of the rough cave that had been the chamber. 'What was it?'

  The Doctor joined him. Beyond the archway, illuminated by their torches, was another smaller cavern. Like the main chamber it had been stripped bare, the walls hacked down.

  'This,' said the Doctor, 'was the hidden chamber I described where the second mummy was incarcerated.'

  'Not hidden any more,' commented Atkins.

  'No,' agreed the Doctor grimly. 'And, as we should have realized, the mummy, like everything else, has gone.'

  * * *

  St Helena - 1821 Napoleon had managed to struggle into a position where he was half sitting, propped up by the pillows. He had sent the nurse from the room, and was alone now with Tombier. They looked at each other for a while, saying nothing in the way that only friends can. From outside, came the cry of seagulls, and the faint sound of the waves lapping on the shore as the tide went out.

  'Not long now, my friend,' Napoleon whispered hoarsel
y. 'I am losing my final battle, I fear.'

  Tombier said nothing. He grasped his general's - his emperor's - hand tightly.

  Napoleon laughed, a half cough of humour. 'A good habit, Tombier, to say nothing when there is nothing to say.' He reached over and patted his friend's hand as it held his. 'Yet I am always so open with you.'

  Tombier smiled, though the smiled did not reach his eyes. 'Yes, sir.' He stood, and walked to the window. 'Except once.' He hoped that Napoleon had missed the way his voice caught, and that he had turned quickly enough to hide the tears welling up in his eyes.

  'Ah, yes,' Napoleon said from behind him. 'The Great Pyramid.' He was silent for a while. Then he said: 'I have spoken to no one about that. Ever.'

  'Nor I,' said Tombier softly. But he knew that even if Napoleon had heard he would have expected no less.

  'Even when the Prussians linked up with the British at Waterloo, I was less afraid than I was in that chamber.'

  Tombier turned from the window. 'What happened? I have never asked before, not since that day. But I have always wondered what could engender such fear. Even now you seem calm by comparison.'

  Napoleon shook his head weakly. 'Death holds no terror for me. After that day in the pyramid, I could face anything with a strong heart.' His body was wracked with a sudden fit of coughing. Tombier went back to the bed and eased him up so that he was sitting almost upright.

  Eventually his coughing subsided, and Napoleon sat wheezing in the bed. 'I will tell you, Tombier, you who have been my friend even in the darkest adversity. I will tell you what I saw that day.' His head rested into the pillows, he was breathing deeply and erratically.

  Tombier leaned forward. 'Yes, my general? What did you see?'

  Napoleon stared at Tombier, his eyes misted over as if he was looking into the past. Then his eyelids fluttered, and Tombier knew that he was drifting back into sleep. He beckoned weakly for Tombier to lean closer, turned his head slightly so his mouth was close to his friend's ear.

  For a moment, all Tombier could hear was Napoleon's shallow breathing. Then the former emperor gave a sigh. 'What's the point, Jean?' he murmured. 'No one would ever believe me.' And he sank back into dreamless sleep.