‘There you are.’ Ace raised the bat and walked slowly towards him. ‘Easy pickings.’

‘Back!’ Halogi-Kari pointed his bloodied hands at her as if about to tear up a time-storm. But Ace brought the bat down on the ground and, in a hail of sparks, fault lines cracked through the flagstones, running like a gunpowder fuse towards him. He squealed and fell back.

‘Finally,’ Ace said quietly, as the echoes of her strike faded. ‘So much blood on your hands … now the blood’s your own.’

‘You think Halogi-Kari is finished?’

‘Oh, no. You’ve got a long way to go.’ Ace advanced on him, slowly. ‘Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you. After all you’ve done to me – stealing me away and throwing me into Fenric’s game … hurting so many people … ruining so many lives just for status, power, greed. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t smash you to a pulp right now?’

Halogi-Kari looked up at her. He didn’t – couldn’t – say anything.

‘Ace …’ The Doctor’s voice sounded softly behind her.

‘Stay out of this, Professor.’

‘I only want—’

‘Stay out.’ Ace didn’t turn round, her eyes still locked with Halogi-Kari’s.

‘So. You can’t think of any reasons, then?’ She took a deep, shaky breath, slowly raised the bat above her head.

Then she brought it down, and let it fall to the floor.

‘All right then,’ Ace hissed as the echoes rang on. ‘I’ll give you a reason. You’re gonna go through that tally of yours – each name on every one of those pennants in your throne room – and find them again. Find them alive. You’re gonna send everyone back to where you stole them from, and you’ll put them back and you’re gonna give them the chance of working things out for themselves.’ She leaned on the bat, crouching over him. ‘And then you’re gonna face justice for all you’ve done here from the Shadow Proclamation. And I reckon this time there’ll be no end to your sentence. You’ll never harm another living soul for the rest of your life.’

Halogi-Kari shook his head fiercely. ‘I will not go back into their putrescent hands. I’d die first.’

‘Not on my watch,’ said Ace. ‘You’ll clean up this mess you’ve made and serve the time you deserve.’

‘And that will be for ever.’ The Doctor stepped forward from the shadows to join her. ‘Thank you, Ace. I couldn’t have put it better myself.’

‘Is that right.’ Ace turned, exhausted, and looked at the Doctor. ‘Did you really think I was going to kill him?’

‘No,’ said the Doctor. ‘But thank you for not proving me wrong. You know how much I hate that.’