Doctor Who: The Mark of the Rani Read Online Free

slavering fangs than of the Doctor’s disapproval, Peri took over. ‘I must apologise.’ A winsome smile. She’d always been told she had an attractive smile.
    ‘The Doctor’s a little eccentric.’
    Attractive it certainly was. The guard relented. ‘Doctor, is he? I could maybe ask in’t office.’
    ‘Would you? How kind.’ Another bewitching smile.
    ‘Harry!’ His deputy came from the hut. ‘The gate. Best lock it!’ He shortened the dog’s lead. ‘This way. Miss.’
    ‘Eccentric? Me? Preposterous!’ Chuntering indignantly, the Doctor followed obediently.
    The remark amused Harry. Nevertheless, he, too, exercised obedience and secured the gate.
    In doing so, he flirted with death.
    The contretemps between the Doctor and the guard had permitted the Master to catch up. Now the locking of the gate was preventing him from entering. He toyed with the TCE – his unique and deadly Tissue Compression Eliminator. A short blast and this paltry minion would be despatched to oblivion.
    Luckily for Harry, the renegade Time Lord was not ready to reveal his presence. Angrily changing tack, he prowled the perimeter fence seeking an alternative way in.
    A winning smile from a petite young lady might have enchanted the guard, but it had not beguiled him. He escorted Peri and the Doctor into the unoccupied office.
    Furnished with a polished mahogany desk and an Windsor chair, this was manifestly the domain of an important personage. A glass-fronted bookcase housed a modest library of leather-bound volumes. Fluted oil-lamps completed the decor.
    ‘If tha’ll sit thee down, I’ll see if I can find Mister Stephenson.’
    ‘I’ll come with you –’
    ‘Nay. Tha’ll bide here wi’ young lady.’ He unhooked the leash. ‘Stay!’
    With the guard’s departure, the ferocious hound crouched vigilantly on the threshold.
    ‘Good dog. Good Fido.’ The Doctor immediately tried to sidle past. ‘Good boy, then. Let the nice Doctor through.’
    His reward was a menacing growl.
    ‘I guess he’s not susceptible to your irresistible charm!’
    jibed Peri.
    ‘Occasionally - just occasionally - your smugness infuriates me!’
    Reacting to his tone the dog’s growl grew more intimidating.
    ‘Keep your voice down!’ said Teri, ‘Time Lords may not get rabies, but humans do! And that dog looks more than ready to bite!’
     
    ‘Will you stop prattling about the dog!’ The Doctor’s tetchiness was not just due to Peri’s snugness. ‘Something’s going on here. I don’t fully understand what.’ He raised the lace curtain and rattled the window.‘But I’m increasingly convinced it’s got to be stopped!’
    ‘Could be you’re jumping the gun.’
    ‘Really? That’s your assessment?’ He abandoned the window. ‘Did you see the date at the top of that list? In less than two days, a meeting will take place here of the greatest practical talents the human race has ever produced. A coincidence?’
    ‘Unlikely, I agree.’
    ‘Well, hanging about in an office isn’t going to provide the answer!’
    Snarling, ears pricked, the dog rose on its haunches.
    Convinced that at any moment the aroused animal would attack, Peri retreated to the Doctor’s side. ‘I warned you to cool it!’
    ‘It’s not me.’
    The dog hared its tangs and sprang. But not at them.
    Instead it leapt from the office, yelping and howling.
    ‘Doctor - that dog’s really spooked. I wonder why?’
    Sprinting between the sheds, the dog raced for the pit gate.
    Once there, it threw itself at the bars in a desire to maul the black velvet-clad figure tampering with the padlock, Having failed in his quest for an alternative access, the Master had returned.
    In a bedlam of harking, almost demented, the animal repeatedly hurled itself against the gate. Silencing the brute was easy. A single burst from the TCE, a pathetic whine, and then one dog less in the Universe...
    But succumbing to his callous impulse had brought the Master a further difficulty.