EATER OF SOULS

Chapter Twenty Four

Rose hurried back to the town with Bezrek. While they walked, the wind picked up and blew her hair around her face and there were several times she had to push it out of her eyes. She was shivering more than before and she was amazed that the desert could be so incredibly hot during the day, yet turn so chilly at night.

"I hope Ahmose can wake some of his neighbors," she said as they walked. "And I hope they can identify whoever that is. Poor girl. Why is this happening?"

"Rose, wait."

Rose stopped when Bezrek grabbed her arm.

"I need to tell you something," he said.

"Yeah?" Rose replied.

"I haven't been entirely truthful."

"Oh?" Rose said, suddenly wary.

Bezrek noticed her backing away and he grabbed her arm.

"No, hear me out. You're in danger."

"I know. It's from that Ammit thing. That's why we have to go and find people who'll come back with us and…"

"No, not Ammit. The Annihilator."

Rose stared at him in confusion.

"Okay, who's that?" she finally asked.

"Your master."

"My, what?" Rose said.

"The one you call the Doctor. The one who has enslaved you."

Rose gave him an odd look before she let out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, that's funny, Chisisi. Look, I know that you probably think women are men's property but It's not that way between me and the…"

"No, you don't understand. He has you in his power," Bezrek said urgently.

"Has me in his power," Rose said slowly. "Look, Chisisi, I don't have time for this."

"No, Rose. I am not Chisisi. My name is Bezrek and my master and I are trying to stop Sheltek Na'barak before he uses you to enact his evil plans. You must listen to me," he added while she tried to get her arm out of his grasp. "You have been enslaved by him and he's indoctrinating you so you'll become his mindless soldier."

"Get away from me!" Rose said, trying to pull her arm away from him.

"He's evil, can't you see that?" Bezrek said.

"No, he's not. He hasn't…indoctrinated me or enslaved me or harmed me. He loves me."

"The Annihilator loves no one."

"Will you stop calling him that?"

"It's true. He has destroyed planets, eradicated whole civilizations. Him and his army of brainwashed servants and that's what you are, Rose. He's brainwashing you, making you think he loves you when all he wants is for you to do his evil bidding!"

Rose finally managed to wrench her arm out of his grasp. She tried to run back to the Doctor but Bezrek grabbed her from behind. He tried to shush her when she screamed for the Doctor to help her.

"No. Don't do that. The master is trying to lure him into a transmat beam so he can take him up to his ship and dispose of him."

"DOCTOR! RUN! IT'S A TRAP! GET AWAY FROM THE CORPSE!" Rose bellowed while she tried to wriggle free of Bezrek's grasp.

"Rose?" she heard the Doctor say in the distance. "Rose!"

"Doctor! Run! Chisisi lured you into a trap and there's a transmat…"

She grunted when Bezrek hit her in the back of the head. As she fell to her knees, Bezrek picked up a nearby rock and hit her again. Rose fell onto the sand, dazed, while Bezrek dropped the rock.

"I'm sorry; child, but you can't do this. You can't warn The Annihilator. He must be punished," Bezrek said, standing over her.

"Don't do this," Rose said while she lay in the sand, "the Doctor's not evil. You got it all wrong."

"Rose?" the Doctor yelled in the distance.

"He's coming closer to us," Rose said, trying to sit up despite her throbbing head. "And when he sees what you've done, he really will become The Annihilator."

"He has bewitched you, child. You don't know what you're doing or saying. You're his puppet."

Rose let out a barking laugh. She tried to call to the Doctor and gasped when Bezrek slapped her face as hard as she could.

"You're gonna be dead in a minute, from both of us," Rose growled at him.

"Rose, please, listen to reason. The Doctor is dangerous."

"Yes, I am."

Bezrek's head jerked when he heard the Doctor and saw him walking towards him, his eyes blazing with anger.

"But Rose has nothing to fear from me. You…on the other hand…" he said as he walked towards him.

"Stay back, Sheltek Na'barak, you have lost!" Bezrek said.

"That name, it's Carkokian. You're from Carkok?" he said, stopping a few feet away from him.

"No, my master is. But I serve him faithfully. He tells me stories of you and the destruction of his home world," Bezrek said.

"Doctor, is that true?" Rose asked.

The Doctor tried to move closer to her but Bezrek stepped in between them. The Doctor narrowed his eyes at him but he decided to stay where he was for the moment until he could find an advantage over his foe.

"Yes. But…I was not responsible. It was during the Time War and the Daleks destroyed it when they realized that we were winning and taking the planet back from them. I tried to save your master's planet and I would have succeeded if the Daleks hadn't burnt it to a crisp. Your master has been telling you lies, Chisisi or whatever your name is."

"Bezrek of the Daltonians."

"Ah, I know your race. They're peace loving. How did you get mixed up with someone hell bent on destroying me?" the Doctor said.

"I was sold into slavery at a young age and my master purchased me from Troxian slave raiders. He took care of me and in return, I served him."

"And he never tried to return you to your family?" the Doctor said.

"They were murdered when the slave raiders took me."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said.

"Don't be. I had the best of care growing up."

"Did you have love though?" the Doctor asked.

He noticed Bezrek's hesitation and could see he was thinking it over.

"The Carkok's did some slave trading of their own. Did your master tell you that?" the Doctor said.

"You lie," Bezrek said.

"No, I'm not. They're famous for it. I suspect that you weren't purchased when they took you. I'm willing to bet they came upon the slave raiders selling slaves in their territory and took you and the other slaves by force, most likely after killing the Troxians or at least beating them within an inch of their lives. I've seen many Carkok slave auctions on numerous planets. I've stopped several of them as well. Perhaps that's why your master holds a grudge against me, because I've ruined his business and freed his merchandise a time or two."

Bezrek stared at him, not wanting to believe his words. Yet, he knew that there were other servants under his master's command besides him. But he wasn't ready to give up yet.

"This child," he said, pointing at Rose. "You also enslave others."

"For Christ's sake, no one's enslaved me!" Rose said angrily. "The Doctor cares for me. I'm not his puppet, as you put it."

"She's right. Rose isn't my servant," the Doctor said.

"You aren't human, I know that much. You mean to tell me that you have a human ape for a lover?"

The Doctor shrugged but said nothing.

"My master said the Time Lords were above species like hers," Bezrek said, pointing at Rose.

"Rose is no mere human," the Doctor replied. "My race considered themselves above other species, yes. But I've grown to love humans and I've chosen to come down off my high perch and ally myself with them. Rose is one of those allies and she helps me of her own free will."

Bezrek grunted when Rose shoved him hard after finally getting back on her feet. She walked around him and took the Doctor's hand.

"Doctor, he said that there's a transmat beam coming to get you. It's a trap," she said.

The Doctor nodded.

"Let it find me. I want to see this so-called master myself," he replied.

"You would let yourself be caught?" Bezrek said in disbelief.

"If it means putting a stop to the murders and whatever else your master has planned, yes," the Doctor said.

"You truly are insane," Bezrek said.

The Doctor smirked at that.

"No more insane than you are. At least I don't willingly serve someone in return for my room and board. Rose follows me because I have earned her respect, not because of some misplaced loyalty because I decided to take her one day and make it look like I was rescuing her from some dark fate. People like the Carkok are master manipulators and I'm sure your master is no different. He used your circumstances against you. He took you from bondage into another sort of bondage and made it seemed like he was doing you a favor so you'd feel indebted to him for the rest of your life. That way he has kept you enslaved without the use of whips or chains and now you are helping to capture the one man who can put a stop to him and what I suspect is his illegal slave ring, among other activities. Now who's the insane one?"

Bezrek didn't know what to think. He wanted to believe his master, but the Time Lord's words made sense to him. He saw Rose standing close to him and realized that she didn't look like she was under his thrall. The way she looked at him was someone in love, not someone in mindless bondage or brainwashed servitude. The Doctor saw the conflict on Bezrek's face and knew he was getting through to him.

"Help us," he said to Bezrek. "Please. You obviously care for Rose. You were leading her away from me so she wouldn't get caught, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, I was defying my master's commands and taking her away before the transmat beam took you."

"Defying, eh? So you're not as brainwashed as I thought," the Doctor said. "You've taken this one small step of defiance, Bezrek. Now follow through and help us defeat him and this Ammit creature."

"But if you let yourself be captured by him…this is madness. How will delivering yourself into his hands help you?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," the Doctor said. "Pretending to be beaten and groveling for mercy in front of a megalomaniac strokes their ego and lets their guard down. If they think they've won, they'll be more careless if you seem to be at their mercy. I've used that tactic many times. Plus, it helps me figure out what his game is."

"What about Rose then?" Bezrek said.

"I want to go with you," Rose said. "If I'm supposed to be caught as well, he won't punish Bezrek or spend time looking for me. If he has us both, it'll also help to let his guard down. Please let me go with you."

The Doctor examined the back of her head where Bezrek hit her. Bezrek shivered when he saw his brown eyes darken to a coal blackness for a moment while he examined the wound.

"You gave her a lump but that's it, luckily for you," he said, giving Bezrek a pointed look. "As for going with me, I know how pointless it is to try to stop you from going with me."

"Yup!" Rose said, smugly.

"And you…" the Doctor said to Bezrek. "Are you going to help us?"

He felt himself nodding and incredibly he realized he actually did want to help them. The Doctor studied his face for a moment before he nodded, satisfied that Bezrek was telling the truth. The Doctor looked around.

"So, where is this transmat beam then?" he said to him.

"Ammit was supposed to herd you into it," Bezrek said.

"Really? Where is Ammit then?"

Rose and Bezrek froze when they heard growling coming from behind the Doctor. The Doctor calmly turned with them and saw Ammit approaching, his tongue licking his snout while he eyed his victims hungrily.

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