Chapter Thirty Five : Book
It was early evening and the first of the stars were beginning to appear as the sky turned into a paint box of breathtaking colours, before gracefully giving way to shadows and moonlight. The Doctor, however saw none of this as he sat by Rose's bedside, watching the almost unbearable stillness of a body that did not breathe. She was bathed in soft candlelight and dressed in a delicate white nightgown. Her long, blonde hair was brushed out smoothly so that it looked like spun gold against the white pillow her head rested on. Her skin was as pale as he had ever seen it, but it was not the pallid, waxy complexion of the dead, and in that he could take small comfort. It was easy to imagine that she was merely sleeping, as she seemed to possess an ethereal quality that made her look like an angel.
He reached out and took Rose's hand in his, then carefully turned it over. Tentatively he traced across her palm and up to the tips of her fingers, all the while trying to ignore the coolness of her skin, but the loss of her warmth sorely troubled both his hearts.
The creak of a floorboard announced the fact that he was no longer alone and, slipping his hand away from Rose's, he stood up. Enissa was standing in the doorway of the bedroom, silently watching him. As the Doctor turned to face her she attempted a smile, then slowly walked further into the room, stopping at the bedside.
Enissa glanced to Rose's hand before taking it carefully into her own. She gently traced the contours and lines of the palm, then lay her hand back down onto the bed again, turning her attention back to the Doctor.
"She has an unusually long lifeline, your friend," she said, and took the Doctor's own hand, turning it gently and touching the cool skin of his palm as she explored the lines she found there. After a moment she lifted her eyes to his. "It is almost as long as yours, Doctor."
The Doctor withdrew his hand from Enissa's. "It can't be," he said, firmly.
Enissa tilted her head and studied him for a second. "And yet it is."
With heavy hearts the Doctor returned his gaze to Rose. "There are so many things I should have told her," he said quietly.
Enissa hesitated, then took a cautious step closer. "Doctor, I've been reading through some of the books in Mattor's library. So little is known about black books, and I thought I might be able to find something there that could help us."
The Doctor looked back to Enissa as his eyes sparked with the brilliance of fear and hope once again. "And did you?"
"I..." Enissa looked suddenly unsure. "Perhaps."
The Doctor stared at her, and then almost as though the word perhaps had woken him from a spell, he became alive again. "Then what are we standing around here for?" Without waiting for an answer, he took hold of Enissa's arm by the elbow and steered her out of the room.
oOo
Vhella didn't know how long she'd been walking, but she knew she couldn't carry on much longer. The forest was dark now, and that was when it was at its most dangerous. Shadows were everywhere and her mind was already playing tricks on her; making her see things that weren't there. She continued to drag herself onward through the thickening undergrowth, constantly convincing herself that she hadn't lost her way. She looked up to the darkening sky through the trees, but the branches were so dense that she could only see glimpses of the stars. Her foot caught something on the forest floor and she stumbled, falling forward and landing heavily. She groaned, pushed herself up and her breath caught. Ahead of her, partly hidden by a tangle of creeping vines, was a cave. She laughed with the relief of at last finding shelter and struggled back to her feet again, heading toward the cave with determined step.
Not caring that the vines were covered in thorns, Vhella grabbed at them, pulling them away from the cave entrance until her hands and forearms were badly cut, scratched and bloodied. When she had cleared enough of the vines away she crept into the darkness of the cave, finally allowing herself to admit her exhaustion. She was tired, hungry, thirsty and cold, but she still had the presence of mind to cast a protection spell at the cave mouth so that nothing would be able to cross the entrance while she slept. She crawled further into the cave and lay down, knowing that for now at least she was safe. As her eyes closed, her only hope was that she would not dream.
oOo
Korrok was sitting at a large wooden table, the p'tar eye containing Rose's spirit held protectively in his hands. The black book lay open in front of him, and next to it were the items they had found at H'roh's shrine. As the Doctor and Enissa approached, Korrok looked up and carefully set the p'tar eye back down onto the table.
"Enissa's been reading up on the book," the Doctor explained, as they came to stand at the side of the table.
Korrok looked at his daughter. "What did you find out?"
Enissa glanced between both men. "Very little," she admitted, reluctantly. "The mentions of black books were mostly warnings, and what details I could find were vague at best. I did find a statement that was repeated in several entries, but I'm not sure what was meant by it." She hesitated as her gaze drifted to the open book, then she began again. "It holds a life force."
There was a moment of silence, as all three turned their attention to the book.
"Do you mean that it's sentient?" the Doctor asked, as he drew the book across the table to inspect it a little closer.
Enissa shook her head. "No. At least, I don't think so. I couldn't find anything that suggested that black books have conscious thought or intelligence."
The Doctor closed the book and studied the rough, black-scaled cover. He looked at Korrok. "These scales, they're reptilian, but they're unusual. What are they? Crocodile? Snake? Lizard?"
"The book's cover is made from the skin of a ghia," Korrok said, looking at the book, his one eye filled with disdain.
"A ghia?" The Doctor frowned a little, the name prompting a memory. "You warned us about ghias that night we made camp. Something about the fire keeping them away."
"Yes." Korrok nodded. "They don't like fire, they tend to keep to the dark."
"What are they?"
"Nocturnal, winged snakes."
"Poisonous?" the Doctor asked.
"No, they're not poisonous; they don't need to be. When they bite they release a strong sedative into their prey's bloodstream. It allows the ghia to feed while their victim sleeps on unaware, as they are slowly drained of blood."
The Doctor stared at Korrok. "Flying, vampire snakes?" he said, in surprise, then shook his head. "Never mind. I suppose there are worse things. Singing chipmunks for example -- now they're scary." He looked back to the book and flipped it open again.
"Doctor, that book is dangerous," Enissa said, with growing concern. "We don't know what it is we're dealing with."
The Doctor offered Enissa a reassuring grin. "Well, let's find out then shall we?" He withdrew his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and passed it over the pages of the book several times, his frown deepening as he did so. "Right," he said. "It's life Jim, but not as we know it." He looked at Korrok and Enissa's blank faces and tried again. "It certainly has a residual energy, but it's nowhere near the levels that would indicate that it's alive." He closed the book, his hand resting lightly on the cover. "Although, maybe it does explain why it's warm."
Korrok glanced back to the book. "Warm?"
The Doctor reached across the table for Vhella's knife. Picking it up he turned it in his hand and tried not to think of the last time it had been used. Instead, he glanced to a clearly concerned Enissa, and offered her another smile. "You said 'it holds a life force', yes?"
Enissa nodded. "Yes."
"Well, let's see if we can't loosen it's grip a bit, then," he said, as he plunged the knife firmly into the cover of the book.
Korrok got to his feet and Enissa took a step back, both watching in amazement as thick, dark blood pooled out from the black scales around the embedded blade of the knife.
The Doctor pulled the knife out of the book and set it down onto the table. He thought about magicks, and science, and then he thought 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'. He hesitated, coughed, then pointed his sonic screwdriver at the book.
"Specialis Revelio," he muttered under his breath, and returned the sonic screwdriver to his pocket. He flipped open the book's cover and thumbed through the pages; watching as all manner of what he took to be spells, incantations, and curses began to appear... as if by magick.
Korrok regarded him with a look of intense curiosity. "How did you know?" he asked.
"I didn't," the Doctor admitted. "Not really. It was just what you said about ghias an' blood, add that to holds a life force, an' well..." he shrugged. "I connected the dots."
Enissa edged forward. "And your... spell." She frowned a little. "Specialis Revelio, wasn't it? I don't think I've heard that before."
"No, well." The Doctor shifted his feet. "You're not familiar with Hermione Granger, are you?"
"I don't think so." Enissa shook her head. "Is she a powerful witch?"
The Doctor offered a grin. "Sort of, yeah." He looked back to the book and frowned. "I can't read it," he said, another light of hope now extinguished within him.
Enissa looked at the pages of indecipherable spells. "It's written in an ancient language; the same language we found carved into the stone at H'roh's shrine," she explained, with heavy heart. "It must have taken Vhella years to learn the book's secrets." She looked at the Doctor, honesty in her eyes. "I can't read the magicks in this book, Doctor."
He shook his head, not wanting to believe. "You have to be able to," he said, and took a step back from the table.
"I'm so sorry," Enissa said quietly.
The Doctor looked back to the book, and slowly he realised that it was written in a language so old that it had been forgotten by time itself. He hung his head and let out a breath. "If we can't read the book then we can't save Rose."
"No," Korrok said, suddenly. "There is a way." He looked at his daughter. "You know there is."