The Joelamosia, towering about above her, was not happy to see Jackie. "So, it is the promiscuous earthling." The dozen Al-Zephani betrayed no emotion under their blindfolds, but they had their scimitar blades out at the ready.
"All right," the Doctor whispered. "Don't do anything to antagonize them. I think they can help us."
"Do you have any idea of how much trouble you have caused, and how much danger you are in?" the Joelamosia boomed in a deep and truly intimidating voice.
"Look, it's not my fault," Jackie pleaded.
"You need to take greater responsibility in your life."
"But look, it was all the fault of this creepy Eloise…"
"I am aware of the Eloise. I am also aware that you and that other human harbored him while we were looking for him."
"Uh…yeah, that was a mistake. But what you don't know is that there's something much worse running around. They're called Weeping Angels and they…"
"Silence! I do not appreciate having the Al-Zephani of this city put in moral peril…" And then the Joelamosia and Jackie happened to blink at the same instant.
And with a sudden rush Jackie found herself moving at great speed through the darkened alleyways. She couldn't guess how many hundreds of meters she moved, before she abruptly stopped only to be flung against a wall. As she painfully got her bearings she found herself surrounded by eight Weeping Angels, their malevolent, inhuman glares only barely concealed by their hands.
And then she heard an all too familiar voice. "We meet again." And Jackie looked up from the ground to see Phrropox, looking none the worse for wear. "You seem surprised. You're probably wondering why I'm alive after you plunged a glass shiv in my neck."
"Yeah, pretty much," Jackie winced on her knees.
"Well I think we have a little time before the Al-Zephani catch up with us. You seem to think that the Eloise are mammalian scum, like you and the Abelards. You never bothered to learn about us."
"Yeah, I know…read the guide," Jackie whimpered.
"As it happens, the Eloise are actually a symbiotic species. On the one hand there are birds, who I can safely say are the brains of the operation. Over time we formed a relationship with a species of purple lichen. They provide us the mass and appendages to make greater use of the environment. Now this is the really important point…" and then Phrropox slapped Jackie hard, "…you can't kill a mass of lichen by stabbing it."
It was just then that the Joelamosia arrived, with the twelve Al-Zephani as the advance guard. "Return us the girl!" the Joelamosia declared.
"No, I don't think I will." Phrropox replied.
"Al-Zephani, engage the Angels! You must capture the Eloise, or die!"
"Let's see. A group of blindfolded soldiers and the deadliest assassins in the cosmos. Well, I think this will be one of the most one-sided battles the universe will ever see."
"What do you know about the Al-Zephani?'
"Should I know anything? The Abelard have at least seven other major superstitions larger than the one this hick town has."
"Do you know why the Al-Zephani are blindfolded?"
"I imagine it's to spare them the sight of evil, like people enjoying themselves."
"Is somebody running?" Jackie whispered as she heard the sound of moving feet nearby.
"The Al-Zephani are blindfolded," the Joelamosia clarified, "to protect their eyes. They are chosen from near birth, when it becomes clear that they cannot…blink." And the Al-Zephani removed their blindfolds to reveal their unblinking eyes as the advanced through the unmoving Angels.
"Oh hell." And Phrropox shut his eyes, while grabbing Jackie and covering her eyes. He tried to lift her up, as a sort of human shield, while Jackie resisted. The first two Al-Zephani raised their special scimitar blades and were about to cut Phrropox down, when he oddly chuckled and opened his eyes.
"I think you should look behind you."
The Al-Zephani were so disciplined that only one needed to do so. The Joelamosia had vanished.
"I kept a ninth Angel in reserve. Now what happens next is very simple. Either you all blindfold yourselves or your leader dies."
The Al-Zephani had no illusions about the consequences of such an act. But loyalty to the Joelamosia was more important. Phrropox covered Jackie's eyes, and then removed them a couple of seconds later. All she could see were the dead and dying Al-Zephani.
"All right, we've wasted enough time here." And once again, he covered her eyes, there was another tremendous rush, and Jackie found herself in another part of Manethysia.
"I think I've been here before. Wait is that a phone booth?"