A/N: This episode/story is drawing to and end. I have the next adventure half planned out but this is where I falter slightly. I have the ending of this whole fic written but I want to know what you want to see the Doctor and Cara do next. Spaceship? Historical period? Future? I really do need some ideas. It's the transgression between middle and ending that I've been having trouble planning. Reviews would be lovely!
Still don't own Fitzgerald quotes, all right to publishers.
Chapter Twenty-One: A Crime In Crimson
Previously:
The burning beams hit the carpet and scorched the green fibre. Fortunmay screamed in utter anger, pulling her tinted glasses back in position as she leapt to her feet. Cara was a little slower as she felt slightly winded by her fall. Fortunmay roughly picked Cara up from the floor before the girl had chance to respond. She grabbed her neck and pushed her against the bookcase with a loud thud! A few books toppled from the shelving and sprawled across the ground.
Cara struggled to catch her breath. Her blue eyes were alive with fright as she stared into the dark glasses of Lady Fortunmay. This is not a good position to be in, Cara thought with a slight panic.
"Now," hissed Fortunmay through her teeth, directing her proposal to Francis, "how about I make you a deal? Give me the diamonds or you're little friend won't be alive to see the sunrise."
Fortunmay increased the pressure around Cara's throat, hissing with reverent fury, "Actually, I might just kill her anyway for thinking she can stop me in the first place."
Francis ran a few steps forward as he saw Cara wince in the steely clutches of the madwoman. Fortunmay raised her free hand in his direction as a silent warning not to come any closer. Cara's hands struggled to release the iron grip on her throat in fruitless attempts. She opened her mouth to try and speak but the pain in her neck was making it almost impossible. "You," she spluttered helplessly, "You – killed -"
Cara gasped, trying to draw in a large breath. She couldn't continue – but she didn't need to. Lady Fortunmay shot her a gloating smile. Cara found it slightly unnerving not being able to see into the woman's eyes. Emotions were a lot more restricted without meeting someone's eye. She seemed unpredictable. "Yes," answered Fortunmay, her tone suddenly soft and taunting, "I killed the woman outside. She was meddling in my business. Asking about my glasses. Asking why I was there. I've seen her all week lurking in the shadows. Trying to see what I was up to."
Watery tears of panic started to leak from Cara's eyes. Her head was spinning as she continued to gasp for air. It scared her, she had to admit, that this woman could end her life in the next few minutes and there was nothing she could do.
Doctor, she shouted in her head, I need you!
The Doctor was still outside, gathering as much clues as he could. Francis was bound to have retrieved the diamonds right now. If there were any problems Cara would have told him. There was something, something he was missing. There was an invisible link between the diamonds and the burn marks on the poor woman. For some reason his mind kept skipping over it, as if it were impossible to his coherent sense of worldly knowledge.
His mind suddenly stopped whirling and fixed on one person: Cara. Why hadn't she joined him? He doubted she was still angry from their disagreement. He thought she would've been too excited to stay away from this mystery. He thought, for a brief moment, he would see her run out of the house and straight over to him, reeling with ideas. Perhaps he had gotten her wrong. Perhaps his life was taking its toll on her.
No. He wasn't wrong about Cara Harvey. The Doctor had been in a very bad place recently. Full of despair, loneliness and regret. He thought – wrongly – that he was better travelling alone. But he craved company. Was that too much to ask? Cara made him feel alive again. Yet there was something warning him, not only telling, but urging him to taker her back home where she was safe. How will I lose this one? He asked himself bitterly.
A flickering shadow caught the Doctor's attention. The light from the library was shining onto the garden patio, casting moving shadows onto the stone. The Doctor squinted, clearly confused as he recognised the shape of a figure, arm outstretched to another deformed shadow. Why would there be -?
The Doctor didn't need to think long about the answer. He rushed into the house, pushing past the guests and searching for someone in particular. There he was – standing beside Mr and Mrs Gilbert, hands in pockets and serious expression imprinted onto his handsome face. The Doctor's hearts slammed harder in his chest as he noticed the absence of Cara, Francis and Zelda.
"Guy!" the Doctor shouted over to the concerned man. "Where's Cara?"
"She went to the library," said Guy, his eyebrows pulling together. "I thought she'd be back by now."
Internally swearing, the Doctor galloped to the staircase and ran with all the energy he had left. Guy left Mr and Mrs Gilbert standing speechless as he followed the Doctor, heading towards the library. The Doctor calculated the precious seconds that ticked by as he raced up the stairs. Every passing second could make a difference.
The Doctor flung the door open, Guy not far behind him. The door hit the wall with a bellowing slam!
Fortunmay jumped in fright at the sudden interruption. Her grip slackened on Cara, who slid down against the wall, spluttering for air. Guy pushed the Doctor out of the way, slamming into Fortunmay in his haste to reach Cara – but Fortunmay was too quick for him. The surprisingly strong woman grabbed Guy by the arm and flung him across the library. The Doctor met Cara's reluctant gaze before stepping into the full light of the room. Fortunmay turned to face him, a snarl rippling over her mouth.
"You've killed someone," said the Doctor slowly, his expression dark.
Fortunmay shrugged as if it didn't matter. "Who are you?"
"I'm going to be the one asking questions," he snapped. He walked closer, his hands in his pockets and his head tilted slightly upward. He glared straight into her dark glasses, saying, "First of all, who are you?"
She seemed to be musing over this, wondering whether or not to play along. After a long pause, she answered, "Lady Fortunmay."
"Nice necklace, Lady Fortunmay," the Doctor replied. His tone raised a dangerous few notches. The blood red amulet was glinting in the lamplight. Cara, who was on the floor and still soothing her neck, gazed at it curiously. She'd never seen a gemstone of that shade.
"It's a rare… specimen," said Fortunmay silkily. She took a step closer to Cara. The Doctor noticed this with a twinge of anger. Francis was watching the interaction whilst holding Zelda closely to his side.
With forced effort, Francis asked, "Have you seen it before, Doctor?"
"Oh yes," said the Doctor, turning to look at Francis. "It is a rare specimen. A very rare specimen. Do you want to know why? They were destroyed many years ago. For good reasons, at that. So you can imagine why I am very surprised – no, surprised isn't the right word. I prefer unintentionally displeased, to see one around Lady Fortunmay's neck. This leads me onto my second question. How did you get one?"
Fortunmay's hand gripped tightly and protectively around the blood red stone. She eyed the Doctor suspiciously, "I bought it in an antiques shop. It seemed rather harmless and first. But then I felt it speaking to me. Changing my thoughts. My feelings."
Cara shivered, flicking her eyes away from the foreboding necklace. Guy was looking at her from across the room, ready to leap at any sign of Fortunmay making a hostile movement. The Doctor, however, seemed to be completely captivated by the blood red stone.
"It was only natural one of them escaped. They were mass produced," the Doctor glanced at Cara, his brown eyes mysteriously unemotional. It was as if he was trying to contain his almighty anger. He went onto explain, "Those necklaces were created by a kind of sorcerer. He poured his philosophies into the gemstone. He was intent on forming a mindless army. An army it was too, because the gemstone had a side-effect he didn't anticipate. They replaced the wearers' vision with a burning gaze. In light conditions, a burning ray shoots from the pupil, controlled by the gemstone. In the dark the vision returns to normal. The Shadow Proclamation found out about these deceptive weapons, however. They thought they destroyed them all. Obviously not."
Francis had barely understood a word the Doctor had said. He frowned, still quizzical, "How did it end up in an antique shop?"
The Doctor blew out a long breath, "Oh, stuff like that ends up in the weirdest of places! It was probably inside some sort of other artefact and separated along the way to where it was found."
"Is it…?" Cara didn't want to finish with alien. Not in front of Francis, Zelda and Guy.
The Doctor guessed how her sentence was going to end. He nodded, answering, "Yes."
Seizing her chance, Fortunmay lunged for Cara, who was ready this time and dived to the side. The Doctor unveiled his sonic screwdriver, threatening to use it. But Fortunmay, seemingly unfazed by the small silver tool, managed to grab hold of Cara's arm. She pulled the girl from the ground and into her clutches. Cara squirmed and struggled against the hold of the tall woman.
Fortunmay fiddled with the edge of her sunglasses as Cara continued to throw her off. "You're probably wondering why I was stealing diamonds, aren't you?" pointed out Fortunmay. The Doctor didn't answer. He just held his sonic screwdriver threateningly, eying Cara with concern.
"Let her go," he hissed.
Fortunmay increased her hold on Cara's arm. "I can't see properly when the pupil is taken over by the burning ray," Fortunmay explained without the approval of the Doctor, "I also can't use it during dark conditions, for some reason unknown to me. But I came up with a solution. Or rather, I think the pendant did. Diamonds. Diamonds, with their prisms and impossibly unbreakable surfaces. If I could just get enough diamonds I could then create a shield for my eyes, enabling me to see properly and making the burning ray controllable."
"Diamonds are carbon in its most concentrated form. The particular arrangement of carbon atoms or its crystal structure is the feature that defines the mineral's fundamental properties. A crystal is a solid body formed from the bonding of atomic elements or compounds in a repeated arrangement. They refract light as higher density materials have greater concentrations of electrons and therefore greater capabilities to refract light. Light passing through a diamond is the near maximum for any transparent substance. If the light passing through the diamond is of the wrong electronic arrangement, that could have serious repercussions," babbled the Doctor. His mood seemed to lighten slightly. He had missed the chance to show his scientific and universal knowledge in the past two days.
Cara sighed dramatically in the grip of the enemy, "I still really hate science."
The Doctor winked at her and leaned forward on his toes, saying with intensity, "I suppose the only way to stop it is if the amulet was destroyed."
A little light bulb flicked in Cara's head. Fortunmay was replying in some complicated manner, clearly distracted by the extent of the Doctor's knowledge. Cara shifted slightly but not enough for Fortunmay to notice. Now Cara was looking straight at the blood red stone around her holder's neck. In one swift movement, if planned properly and precisely, Cara was sure she could stop this from happening.
She seized her chance when Fortunmay gave another smart reply to the Doctor's insult. Cara, with lightning speed, reached for the amulet with her free arm. The blood red stone burnt her palm as it closed around the gem. Ignoring the stinging pain, Cara pulled with all her might. The cord snapped and Fortunmay fell back, as did Cara, hastily letting go of the pendant.
Fortunmay rolled to the side. The Doctor leaped to help Cara who was holding her burnt hand away from her body. The blood red amulet lay on the carpet, glistening with an intense fire. The Doctor, with one arm on Cara and the other holding his sonic, pointed the screwdriver at the gemstone, flicking on the blue light. There was a faint hiss and a flash of scarlet light before the pendant fractured into tiny pieces and turned to crimson powder.