THE WARRIOR GODDESS
Chapter Nineteen A silence fell over the village and all the warriors stared at Gelik, watching the stunned expression on his face before Pavan jerked the knife out of his body. The Doctor caught him when he fell backwards and lowered him to the ground. "Look at him, the sniveling woman is grieving over the old man," Pavan said to the warriors, pointing to the Doctor while the Quinok gave him looks of death. "That is why he is weak!" "Gelik, hold on, I'll find a way to save you," the Doctor said, ignoring everyone except his friend. "No, my friend. It is time for me to join the ancestors," Gelik said, smiling at him. "I am old and this is my goodbye. I'm glad that I met you before I was called into the spirit world. You and your friends are a treasure worthy of the gods." The Doctor's hearts wrenched when Gelik's eyes rolled up and he took his final breath. White hot rage consumed his mind and it increased when he heard Pavan snickering. He gently lowered Gelik's head to the ground and let an angry breath escape from his nostrils as he slowly stood up to face the Wacona. "Done mourning, little woman?" Pavan said. "I would suggest cutting your hair to honor him except your hair is already cut." Pavan grunted when the Doctor cold-cocked him. The Quinok cheered when Pavan dropped back to the ground like a stone and looked up at the Doctor in a daze. "When I get through with you, you will see how much of a woman I really am," the Doctor snarled. He was about to lunge for Pavan when Rose suddenly came through the crowd. The Quinok fell silent and all eyes turned to her while she came up beside the Doctor. "No, Rose, this isn't your fight," the Doctor said to her. He noticed that Rose wasn't acknowledging and then he realized she seemed to be in a trance. He called her name and Rose slowly turned her head to look at him and he could see gold flecks of light in her eyes and he realized it was the Bad Wolf. "He is with me," the Bad Wolf said. "Who is?" the Doctor said. "Gelik." The Doctor raised his eyebrow. He was about to say more but suddenly the Bad Wolf's body began to glow and the Quinok fell to their knees while Pavan's mouth dropped open. "What witchcraft is this?" Pavan said. "The sort of witchcraft you should be very afraid of," Martha said as she and Donna stood behind the kneeling warriors. "This is a trick. The woman has no real power," Pavan said. But the Doctor could see Pavan was trembling slightly and backing away from the Bad Wolf. The Bad Wolf was glowing intensely with a glow emanating from her eyes that obscured the irises. The Doctor glanced at Rose, making sure she wasn't suffering but he didn't detect any discomfort before the Bad Wolf slowly walked towards the stunned Pavan. In the woods, the Doctor heard the other warriors yelling to each other, telling their friends what was happening. A few of the braver warriors ventured to the outskirts of the forest but no one helped dared to help Pavan who was now backing away from the Bad Wolf while she calmly matched him step for step. While they stood and watched their friend, Donna and Martha looked over when Baor emerged from behind one of the huts, his face streaked with war paint. "Shizara, she has come," they heard him say to himself as he stopped at the back of his kneeling warriors. He slowly fell to his knees and prostrated himself. Meanwhile, the Bad Wolf stopped and stood still. Pavan stopped his backward retreat, unsure of what to do. Then to everyone's amazement, Gelik appeared beside the Bad Wolf in spirit form and behind them appeared the spirits of men, women and children, the spirits of the dead from both sides of the war. The Doctor suddenly found himself surrounded by these spirits but no one looked at him or acknowledged his presence. "Wacona, come out of the forest and face us!" a male spirit called out as he stood behind the Bad Wolf. "We are your ancestors and the ancestors of your enemies who you have slain in battle and in raids." There was silence for a moment before some of the Wacona ventured out of the forest, their faces fearful at the disapproving looks of the spirits. "How is this possible?" Pavan finally said when he regained the power to speak. "I have made it possible," the Bad Wolf said. "I have lifted the veil that separates the physical and spirits world so the dead can confront the living. It is time for the bloodshed to end!" The Doctor noticed that Pavan was at a loss for words now. The sneer was gone and instead his mouth was opening and closing while he struggled to speak. The Doctor looked around him at the spirits of the dead and then at Martha and Donna. But Martha and Donna were also stunned into silence. The Doctor's mind struggled to come up with a plausible explanation for the spirits surrounding him ever since they appeared but he couldn't find one and finally he gave up thinking and just watched what was taking place. Then suddenly a golden glow enveloped Rose and they heard a wolf howl as the glow separated from her body and formed into a golden wolf with shining gold eyes. The wolf walked towards Pavan who was now terrified and backing away from it. Rose staggered back and gasped when she looked around her and saw the spirits. The Doctor walked up beside her and put his hand on her shoulder but the spirits ignored them as they watched the wolf confronting Pavan. "What's going on?" Rose said to the Doctor. "I believe this is what the Bad Wolf had in mind when she said you'd stop the fighting," the Doctor said. Rose's eyes bulged when she looked to the Doctor's right and the Doctor turned his head and saw Gelik standing beside him. Gelik grinned at the Doctor and bowed his head. "I have brought some help for you, my friend," Gelik said to him. "Doctor, look!" Donna said, pointing to Rose. The Doctor turned his head and noticed Rose's head was now shining with a bright halo of light around it. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was deep in thought. Then she stepped away from the Doctor and walked towards the wolf spirit. The wolf stood up on its hind legs and elongated into a humanoid wolf. Then it and Rose merged and after a burst of bright light, Rose and the wolf had become one. Rose had a wolf face and ears and a long golden tail and her nails had elongated into claws. When she turned they could see her eyes were golden but not glowing. "Quinok, Wacona," Rose said in a loud voice. "I have come here to tell you that it is time for the violence to end and for both tribes to make peace. I and the spirits of your ancestors have decreed it is time. Wacona, leave now and return to your village. Compel your chief to make peace or leave your village and travel far away from the Quinok. If you do not do this, your ancestors shall bring misery to you and your descendants!" She turned to the Quinok who were trembling and avoiding her gaze. "And if you attack the Wacona, your ancestors will do the same," Rose said. "Are you Shizara?" Baor said. "No. I am the Bad Wolf and I am Rose. We have merged into one to deliver this message. This message given to us by your ancestors!" she said, pointing to the spirits. "This is your only warning for both you and Wacona. If you will not make peace and continue your destructive ways, you will live to regret it. So hear me now and be warned." The glow surrounded Rose again and when it faded, she was back to normal. By now the Wacona had all fled back to their village and only Pavan remained, rooted to the spot with fear. The Doctor stepped up beside Rose and folded his arms across his chest. "I believe you were told to leave," he said to Pavan. Pavan looked at the spirits behind him and saw the fury on their faces. He found the strength to move his legs and everyone watched while he fled into the forest. The Doctor looked behind him and watched as the ancestors began to fade away. He caught Gelik's eye and Gelik smiled and waved goodbye before he disappeared completely. Then the Doctor turned and gave a pointed look to the Quinok warriors. The warriors glanced at each other before turning and going back into the village.
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