Author's Note: Okay. The chapter title changed. Seems my brain had other ideas.


Chapter VIII – Hunted

It was dark by the time they got out of the woods. The suns had sunk deeply down below the horizon, and now a lush purple had stolen the colour of the sky. Trees and bushes rustled as the Doctor and Jezera tumbled out, the Doctor carrying Rose in his arms.

"Good god," he puffed, laying her gently down in the grass that was beginning to dew. He nudged the sleepy body with his foot. "I think, once this is all over, I'm going to put you on a diet. No more chips for you, my girl."

Jezera smiled, but it quickly faded. The Doctor looked up to her, his expression falling into one of complete sincerity.

"So, this 'Mägdraz'; where did you say we'd find her?"

"I didn't," Jezera answered pointedly. "She isn't someone you simply 'find', Doctor. She was exiled, a long time ago, for – "

"Yes, I remember, thank you," he said tersely, sliding his hands into his pockets, where his hand found an obvious psychic-paper-shaped hole in time and space. He looked down to Rose. "But if she's the only one who can help,we're going to need to find out where she is."

"The only thing I know," Jezera went on, looking wistfully up into the sky, "is that she's gone into the Exiled Lands, beyond the borders of our city and out into the wilderness. She shares her home with the demons of this world now."

"Oh. Demons. Like we didn't have enough to worry about. You don't half make strange friends."

"She wasn't a friend. She was my guide. Assigned to me by the gods to aid me on my path of seeing."

The Doctor looked at Jezera seriously, his eyebrow rising a notch. "Gods and guides?" he questioned dubiously. "I didn't think yours was a race that was into all that stuff. Ran away at the mention of anything... foreign, that's you lot."

Jezera snorted. "Hardly. We are more accepting than most."

"That's why Mägdraz is exiled, then, is it?"

Jezera looked over to the Doctor, fixing him with a steely glare. "She foresaw the death of a child, the child of the Lord. She told our people and they refused to listen. They called her a blasphemer and accused her of witchcraft. Not far wrong in that respect, but she was trying to help them. And they thanked her by sending her to the wasteland."

The Doctor was frowning, evidently lost in thought. He, too, looked up to the sky, at the ripples that made it pulsate and breathe. "It's so beautiful, this planet," he breathed, suddenly the wonders of it all moving through him like a ghost. "Dangerous as hell, yes, but certainly beautiful. I'm glad Rose got to see it."

Jezera stepped over to him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We'll save her, Doctor," she said quietly, raw honesty in her voice. "She didn't come here today to die."

"No," the Doctor agreed, looking down to the floor. The grass was crumpled where his feet were, and he kicked the ground briefly. "No, she didn't."

He swallowed, trying to keep down the helpless feeling that was starting to rise up in him. He should never have come here.

"Mägdraz," spoke Jezera suddenly, startling him. "If I had something of hers, I would be able to find her."

Turning to face her, interest glinting in his eyes, the Doctor questioned, "Oh? You kept that to yourself."

She nodded, simply, not looking at him. "It's dangerous."

"But you have to," the Doctor pointed out, staring at her now. He could feel tears begin to threaten once again, but he pushed them away. "Rose will... she'll die."

"I know."

A cold wind whipped around them, catching the Doctor's coat and fluttering it out to his sides. Jezera stayed staring at the horizon, at the colours smudged together like someone had spilled water over a painting. Maybe it was the light, or the time, or the knowledge that right now she was the only one who could help – but the Doctor was suddenly hit with the realisation of how strikingly beautiful this woman was. There was something about her that she did not share with the rest of her race.

The Doctor glanced behind him, to Rose, who was lying peacefully on the ground as though she were simply sleeping. He frowned with hurt.

When he looked back to Jezera, she had something clasped in her hand. Dangling down from the closed palm was a long silver chain. The Doctor inclined his head slightly.

"Earlier, you said what Mägdraz 'foresaw'," he commented slowly, watching her. "She could tell the future."

"Oh, she could do more than that," Jezera laughed bitterly, and her hand tightened. "She could look into the minds and hearts of anyone and know their true character. She could understand everyone, everything – even the beasts and the animals in this world. She could put her own consciousness into that of another, manipulate and control them. And she could search across the stars, far and wide, and see... everything. She could pinpoint a single moment in time and space and know everything about it. And, yes, she could see the future. Flashes and pictures of things that are still yet to come. Her gift was to make sense of them, and to warn. But we destroyed her."

"That's quite a gift."

"She's dangerous," Jezera said suddenly, turning to the Doctor with the darkness of the sky reflected in her eyes. "The power drove her crazy, Doctor. Sometimes she helps, sometimes she hinders – it's difficult to know whether or not to trust her."

He looked at her openly, this time not wishing to hide the fear that Rose's life was in danger. "She's all we have."

"Perhaps." Jezera nodded solemnly, then looked down to Rose. A frown creased her smooth skin. "I can't promise that Mägdraz won't just kill her. If I seek her out, she will know I'll be looking for her. She'll be expecting us."

"Well... can't you just teleport?" the Doctor asked, only a small hint of desperation in his voice.

Jezera shook her head. "She's beyond our borders. And, besides, it only works for one. I'll have to sense her from here; then we'll have to walk."

"And just how do you 'sense' her? I thought you needed something of hers."

Jezera held up the chain, at the end of which dangled a shimmering pendant.

"Mägdraz gave this to me the last time I saw her. She told me to use it if I ever needed to find her. Then she said if it wasn't of importance, she would kill me."

The Doctor's eyebrow rose. "You know, the more I know about your race, the more confusing it gets. You're a bit like that lot, really," he said, jerking his head towards Rose. "Bit weirder at times, come to think of it."

Jezera managed a smile, which quickly faded. "I'm going to help you, Doctor. We'll find Mägdraz and get her to help us. This child," she let her gaze fall to Rose, "is my responsibility now. This is my planet. I'll do what I can for you."

Tentatively, the Doctor reached out a hand to Jezera's shoulder. "Thank you," he said earnestly, and just for a moment, their eyes met. Then, after offering a quick smile, he bent down to collect Rose up in his arms again. He huffed slightly as he tried to regain his balance, and Jezera turned away from him and held the pendant open in her hand.

He had no idea what she was doing, but he caught a small glance of her lips, moving fast, and her eyes flickering behind their lids. Then, suddenly, her eyes were open, and she snatched the pendant away into her pocket.

"She knows we're coming," Jezera said quietly, and there was regret in her voice. "She'll decide, once we get there, what fate will do with us."

"Oh, good," the Doctor said, the brightness in his voice sincere.

"Good?" Jezera questioned in amused confusion. "What's good about that, Doctor?"

"It makes things quite simple," he replied, scanning the horizon. Up ahead, dark black shadows were beginning to swarm like a flock of large birds. "Very simple, actually. Because if she stands in the way of getting Rose back, then she's going to have to answer to me."

"And who, exactly, are you, Doctor?"

"Me?" he repeated, turning to look at Jezera with a bright darkness in his eyes. "I'm where it all ends."

-oOo-

They had been walking for hours. Darkness had completely swallowed the grounds and they had long since left the protection of the city. The Doctor's arms were going numb from carrying Rose, but he simply bit down any complaints he may have had and kept walking.

He and Jezera had spoken of idle things, of her past and his future, of what they would both do next. She had even asked him about Rose.

"This child must mean a lot to you," she'd said, looking over at Rose with regret in her voice.

The Doctor had nodded, keeping his eyes forward. "She does," he'd said simply, and Jezera had taken that as the end of the conversation.

Now, silence had been lingering between them for nearly half an hour, and the soles of the Doctor's feet were beginning to hurt.

Suddenly, Jezera stopped dead, her body stiffening.

"What?" the Doctor asked immediately, looking at her intensely. "What is it?"

She looked around herself and suddenly, from the dark, the Doctor heard a strange wind blow. It was unlike any wind he had before. It was haunting, lingering, like a ghost trying to cling onto life. He edged closer to Jezera and shifted Rose in his arms.

"We're being watched," Jezera whispered softly as he got closer, and her body was still rigid.

"Who – "

"Shh!" she commanded harshly, and her eyes flicked ahead of them. "Stay still. Absolutely still."

The Doctor swallowed, but did as he was told. He could feel his hearts thumping loudly in his chest and ears. He hadn't realised, the first time he'd come here, just how dangerous and intriguing this planet was. He'd known there had been dangers, yes, but technical ones, to do with vortex manipulation, time-space density and the universe imploding if you got the flight a bit wrong... But this, being faced with an actual solid fear, was not something he'd been prepared for.

The hairs on the back of his neck began to quiver as the air around them suddenly dropped by five or six degrees. Deathly silence hung around the two of them like a cloud, and shrouds of darkness began to drift closer to them, to Rose. This wasn't just night they were surrounded by; the shadows were more than that.

Then out of the silence, and growing closer, the Doctor suddenly heard the soft sighs of breathing. He couldn't help the distinct impression that he was being hunted.

Doctor.

He almost jumped at the intrusion on his mind, but he stayed with his fixed ahead of him, at the growing darkness, and he held his ground. Was this what the shadows did? Did they play games with the innocent, with those that didn't know what was going on.

Doctor.

He couldn't be certain, but he was fairly sure shadows didn't use his name. He glanced to his left, but Jezera seemed completely focused on the shadows closing in on them. Swallowing again, he closed his eyes and focused his mind.

Hello, Mägdraz.

He sensed amusement in his mind. She was right. You are a quick study.

I need your –

Help, yes, I know. Oh, don't I know that, indeed. The shadows are mine, Doctor. Sent to watch and hunt and kill. There are many like them out in the wilderness. You won't make it here alive. Not tonight.

The Doctor opened his eyes and immediately felt like he was being suffocated. From everywhere there was darkness, shadow upon shadow until he could see anything else. He couldn't even make out Jezera by his side.

You lied to us, he began bitterly in his mind, but he was cut off by an airy laugh.

Perhaps. It is a riddle, isn't it?

Rose's hair began to flutter in still wind and the Doctor's skin began to tingle.

Are you going to kill us? he asked with complete sincerity.

It's a riddle, Doctor. Figure it out. And don't tell the girl.

Already he could feel the presence sipping out of his mind, and before he could protest, she had gone. He never enjoyed the feeling of another mind slipping out of his; it always made him feel slightly hollow.

A sudden flash of movement caught his eye. He turned, intuitively aware that it was safe to move, and saw Jezera standing with her arm outstretched and fire in her eyes. In her hand was Mägdraz's pendant, and electric bolts of bright blue were fizzing and sparking out of it, attacking the shadows like sun rays on the sea. Her face was contorted into pure rage, and as she lunged forward, the shadows seemed to disband. There was a chilling groan, and suddenly the darkness dissolved, leaving the wilderness once more, painted in dark colours of the night.

The lights from the pendant faded away, and Jezera turned to the Doctor as she pocketed it.

He stared at her, hearts racing, not quite sure what to say.

"You have to let them get close," she explained quietly, walking towards him. "You have to make them think they've won. If you attack too soon they swarm and you're dead within three seconds. I'm sorry, I couldn't explain, I had to – "

"It's all right," he forgave quietly, glancing longingly to Rose. "Without you, I'd be long dead by now. And so would Rose. Thank you."

Jezera smiled and reached out a hand, smoothing some of Rose's hair from her face. "She is beautiful," she remarked with wonder. Then she looked up to the Doctor, interest in her dark eyes. "Where did you find her?"

"Oh, you know." He shrugged. "Basement level of a department store. That's where all the good ones are, these days."

She gave him a frown that was both amused and confused. "You never cease to amaze me, Doctor."

Taking that as a compliment, he smiled at her. He then looked over her shoulder to the horizon, to the hills and hills of landscape they had yet to cover.

"How far away is Mägdraz?" he asked, attempting to keep the tone light but unable to hide the weight in his question.

Jezera sighed. "I don't know. It's like following a scent. She cloaks herself beneath a veil, to protect herself from the demons. By sensing her I can find out whether her presence is strong or weak. I'll know when I've found her."

The Doctor nodded understanding. "You'll only find her when she wants to be found," he simplified.

"Yes." She avoided his gaze. "I'm sorry. I did tell you it would be dangerous. There are many worse creatures out here than shadows, Doctor. They have free reign. There's no protection. All we can do is keep walking."

Mägdraz's words suddenly returned to the Doctor, like a dream remembered halfway through the day. You won't make it here alive. Not tonight.

"No," he said simply as Jezera started to pace past him.

She turned with a frown. "I'm sorry?"

"We have to settle down for the night. We've been walking for hours, and to be quite honest, I'm not sure how much more my arms can take of this." He lifted Rose slightly, and attempted a smile.

"Doctor. Staying in the wilderness would be foolish." She stared at him suspiciously. The Doctor dropped his gaze.

"Nevertheless," he continued quietly. "We're staying. We can try moving again at dawn."

"There's every chance we won't – "

"I'm. Staying." He looked up and met her gaze, defiance and sincerity in his eyes. "Do what you like. The only way I keep walking is to find shelter."

Jezera sighed and shook her head. She then turned away, pointing up the hill. "There's a small cave up ahead," she said, her back to the Doctor. "We can stay there until morning."

The Doctor didn't hesitate. He strolled past her, flashing a small grin as he did so.

"There's every likelihood we won't survive," she called from behind him.

"There's every likelihood that we will," he retorted, stalking over the rough terrain.

They got the cave a few minutes later. In the Doctor's opinion, it was less of a cave and more of a ramshackle pile of flat stones; it definitely looked as though someone had put it together.

He turned to Jezera with a knowing look. "How did you know this was here?"

She shrugged, walking over to it. "You get to know these landscapes when you study them."

"Yes. I bet."

He followed her, ducking down beneath the roof and, finally, depositing Rose gently on the ground. Letting his eyes wash over her cold, still body, he shrugged off his jacket and lay it down on top of her. He could feel Jezera's gaze burning into his back from the doorway, but he stayed an extra moment to look at Rose. Crouching, he placed a gentle hand on her forehead, trying to pretend that the coolness of her skin didn't make him want to retch, just a tiny bit.

"You love her," spoke Jezera from the doorway. He didn't answer her. "Doctor,– "

"Get some sleep," he said softly, still not looking at her. "We'll have to get moving again soon."

He heard the scuffle of feet on ground as she sat with her back to one of the walls, laying her head backwards against the stone. Soon, her calm breathing filled the air, and only then did the Doctor leave Rose's side to keep watch at the doorway to their shelter.

There were no more disturbances that night.