EATER OF SOULS
Chapter Twenty Eight The Doctor slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying inside the sarcophagus and the lid was back on it. A glow stick lay on his left side, giving him light and above him was a small silver box taped to the lid that the Doctor recognized as a tape recorder. Figuring he was supposed to listen to it, he hit the play button and his blood boiled when he heard Bezrek chuckle. "Hello, Doctor, did I surprise you?" Bezrek said. "I expect I did since you were such a naïve fool believing I was helping you. That's what surprised me about you. You were so eager to believe that I'd turn traitor against my master that you didn't question what was going on, you just accepted that we were working together. And now here you are, inside a crypt with a very limited air supply and a lid that is extremely heavy for one person to lift. And if by some miracle you could lift it, you would find yourself locked inside the burial chamber with no food or water and only a little hole for air, not a very pretty way to die. If I were you, I'd just stay inside the sarcophagus and let the air run off. That way you would become unconscious and have a very easy, quick death. Now as for Rose, don't worry, she's not in the tomb with you. I mean what I said about making her into a queen…my queen. I know you and she have a relationship but unlike you, I can give her the best of everything. I can take her home where she'll be worshipped for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, you can't do the same since you…blew up your home. But don't fret any more; soon you'll be with your people again in the great hereafter. But if you do die you better hope the Egyptians aren't right about the afterlife because you don't have your little spell book to help you fight off all the demons on the way to getting your heart weighted. But I suppose it won't matter because with all the death and destruction and chaos you've brought to the universe, your heart wouldn't weigh less than a feather. The moment it sank like a stone, something similar to Ammit would devour it and you'd become a nonentity. Perhaps this is a fitting end then, Doctor. You are finally going to face the consequences of your actions and better yet, I managed to stop another of your acolytes from going down with you. Enjoy the afterlife, Sheltek Na'barak and try not to end up in Hell. The Doctor growled and slammed his hand against the top of the lid. "You better pray I don't get out of here, Bezrek because I'll make your life Hell right here on Earth." He calmed himself and lay still, conserving his oxygen while he tried to think of a way out. Meanwhile, Rose was just waking up. She winced as she tried to open her eyes and realized she had an enormous headache. "Doctor?" she groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. "Doctor, are you here?" "No." Rose's eyes snapped open. Bezrek was sitting in a gold chair several feet in front of her. She looked down and noticed she was lying curled up on a large gold colored feather down pillow. Her everyday linen dress had been taken away and she was topless with a linen skirt that was secured with a broad gold belt. She had a golden collar around her neck and two snake bracelets that curled around both arms. She reached up and felt a headband that was encircling her head. She sat up and looked down at a manacle around her ankle. A chain went from the manacle to a ring embedded in the stone floor about twenty feet from her. Beyond the ring was a king sized bed that had a tan duvet on it. She stared at the bed and then looked at Bezrek who was watching her with a smirk on his face. "The Doctor trusted you," Rose said to him. "I know, that's what's so amusing about all this," Bezrek said. "The scourge of the universe also seems to be as naïve as a newborn babe and as stupid as a post. I didn't think it was going to be easy getting you away from him but I guess I was wrong." "And now that you have me, what are you going to do with me?" "Make you into a queen like I said I would. I wasn't lying, Rose, about my planet treating you like royalty. They would worship you, as I worship you. And the great thing is, Master let me have you as a reward for getting rid of Sheltek Na'barak. So I can do whatever I want with you. But don't worry, I'll be gentle. Unlike your master, I would never put you in harm's way." "He's not my master," Rose said. "Oh that's right, I'm sorry, your lover. The man who brainwashed and beguiled you into loving him." "He didn't brainwash or beguile me. I fell in love with him on my own," Rose said, getting up and walking towards him. "And you're wrong about him. He's not a fool or a holy terror. The Doctor tries to protect people, not destroy them." "Really? Because that's not what I've heard. Master told me about the Time War and what he did during it." "He was a soldier. He had to fight like all soldiers do," Rose said angrily. "Not all soldiers devastate entire planets, Rose, which is what he did. The man has killed and spread and death and destruction. He's dangerous." "Not to me," Rose said. "I've never had any reason to fear him and in fact, he's been sweet and loving towards me. The only people who need to fear them are evildoers like you." "Me?" Bezrek said. "Oh, Rose, you poor little fool. See! He's brainwashed you into thinking he can do no wrong and if he does do something wrong, I'm sure you just ignore it or rationalize it away by saying, oh, he's just a sweet bloke who happens to be a soldier fighting for good. I did you a favor by taking you away from him. You're not the only one he's done this to. He's had many disciples over the centuries and he brainwashes them until they're ready to die for him. Is that what you'd do, Rose? Die for him?" Rose fell silent while Bezrek waited for her to answer. "See, your silence says it all," he said when Rose didn't say anything. "You've fallen in love with him and he's encouraged that so you'll do anything he says." "And what about you? You apparently fell in love with me," Rose said. "Yes, but unlike him, I'm not going to enslave you." Rose gave him a pointed look as she reached down and picked up the chain. "That's only a temporary measure until you come to your senses," Bezrek said. "When you're free of his influence, I'll stop using that." "When I fall in love with you, you mean," Rose said, dropping the chain. "You're just afraid I'll run back to him and leave you behind." "I am afraid you'll run back to him, yes," Bezrek said. "You're not yourself and I need to keep an eye on you until his influence wanes." "Well in that case, you've got centuries to wait, mate," Rose said. "Because if you think I'm gonna "come to my senses", as you put it, you're gonna have to keep this chain on my leg because I'm gonna find a way to get back to the Doctor if it kills me. And speaking of killing, take me to him before he dies and you land up no better than him." "I'm afraid I can't do that. Master commanded me to kill Sheltek Na…" "And you can quit calling him that," Rose said, cutting him off. "Take me to him. "Rose, it'd be so much easier if you just let me help you and forgot about him." "Yeah, I'm sure it would be easier for you but I'm not gonna forget about him and if he dies, I'll wait till your guard is down and murder ya so take me to him." "Rose…" He gasped when Rose ran up, seized the arms of his chair and got in his face. "I'm not going to sit here on my comfy pillow and let him suffocate to death," Rose snarled at him. "If making a deal with you is what it takes, then fine. I'll be your girlfriend if you let him live and let him go." "You honestly think Master is gonna do that?" Bezrek said calmly. "Then let him live and let him be a slave. I'd rather see him enslaved than dead but if he does die, I'm gonna go berserk and you won't think I'm such a cute little concubine when I rip your spine out of your back." "Rose, you can't do this. Master has let you be with me but he can change his mind if you cause too much trouble." "THEN I'LL CAUSE TROUBLE!" Bezrek flinched when Rose bellowed at him and he flinched when he saw her enraged face. "I LOVE THE DOCTOR AND IF YOU WON'T LET HIM GO, THEN LET ME BE WITH HIM BECAUSE I'D RATHER DIE THAN BE STUCK HERE WITH YOU!" Bezrek was shocked into silence for a moment at the fury on Rose's face. "If you think I'm brainwashed, so be it. I don't care. I will never love you, no matter what you do, and if the Doctor dies, I'll do everything in my power to kill myself so I can be with him. So…I'll make you a deal. You let him go and let him be your slave instead and I won't bash my brains out on the stone wall over there. Your decision, mate." Bezrek stared at her in shock but he could tell that she was completely serious. He never harbored any delusion that Rose would fall instantly in love with him and be free of the Doctor's influence just like that, but he underestimated her devotion to him. He hated to admit it but he had no doubts now that she probably would kill herself rather than live out her life as his lover. "Well? I'm waiting," Rose prompted when he didn't say anything. Bezrek locked eyes with her but Rose didn't flinch. Finally, he rose from his chair. "I need to speak with my Master about all this," he said. Without another word, he turned and hurried out of the room. Rose let out a frustrated yell and kicked the leg of the chair before she turned and walked back to her pillow.
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