8

Hammurabi’s army had formed on the plain outside the high city walls: ranks of spearmen, bowmen, slingers and chariots. Camel riders trying to calm their nervous, snorting mounts. Officers shouting at the men to hold firm as the Starman advanced, spewing water to left and right.

‘Coming through! Move aside!’ The ranks parted as the Doctor, clinging to Ali’s back and holding the silver orb with his free hand, charged through them.

This was too much for most of them and they dropped their weapons, trusting to prayer to get them through this insanity.

‘Faster, Ali, faster,’ cried the Doctor, and Ali speeded up. ‘We’ve got no time left!’

Ahead of them, the enormous beast dipped its head, opened its jaws wide, showing the blackened stumps of teeth, and scooped up a section of the first two ranks of the army. It lifted its head, chewing, as men spilled out of its mouth and fell to the ground.

And behind it, Ali saw another shape and another, looming out of the black sky.

It was the twins.

‘Doctor?’

‘Just ignore them. The goat-fish must have ripped the dimensional wall and the other Starmen are following him through. Any minute now all of chaos is going to materialise, but if I can just get up there, to its mouth …’

Ali saw the great slug-like belly of the goat-fish, slithering forward along the ground, crushing trees and men beneath it as it came. Any moment now she too was going to be flattened if she wasn’t careful.

She was battling her way through fleeing troops now as Hammurabi’s army tried to get away from the Beast.

‘Are you ready?’ she yelled.

‘No. But whatever you’re going to do, just do it!’

Ali tensed her legs and with a grunt went into a Karkinian battle leap, flying through the air and landing halfway up the Starman’s tail, where she gripped its scales with her strong clawed legs. The body of the Beast was hot, intensely hot, but her shell protected her and she began to climb.

‘That’s it!’ The Doctor shouted his encouragement. ‘Go on, girl!’

She was up on the Starman’s back now, trying to ignore the gushing water. The Starman’s scaly flesh was pitted with huge sores, out of which poked the heads of what looked like giant maggots. Ali worked her way around them as she crawled up, like a tick on a sheep, and made it to the right shoulder. At last the Starman seemed to be aware that there was something on it. It turned its goat’s head, and its cold, dead eyes fell on the Doctor and Ali. It bared its teeth, opening its mouth wide, its slimy yellow tongue dripping saliva …

‘Excuse me while I do the boogaloo!’ shouted the Doctor, and he pulled back his arm and let fly with the orb, which sailed straight into the Beast’s gaping black maw.

Ali felt an enormous wave of hot air slam into her. The heavens seemed to open in a flash of intense white light and she was falling, falling in a cloud of silver snowflakes.