The Power and the Glory

Book 4 Chapter XVII: The Dragon and the Phoenix

If you place your head in a lion's mouth, then you cannot complain one day if he happens to bite it off. -- Agatha Christie

Gradoné was a large and sprawling city. To search all of it Abi would have had to make constant back-and-forth trips from one end to the other, which would take at least a day. She didn't spot any survivors in the city centre. Nor did she spot any outdoor theatres, or any other place she could lure the monsters into.

She was just about to turn back and admit defeat when she discovered the very thing she'd been looking for. It was a very large outdoor theatre. A banner strung over the stage proclaimed that it would soon host a performance of a famous playwright's best-known work. The stage was large enough to hold an ordinary-sized house. Best of all, it had no permanent seats like in an indoor theatre and therefore nothing for the monsters to hide behind.

Abi descended to have a better look. She examined the stone steps where the chairs would be placed. She examined the orchestra pit, which was concealed from the weather by a large and heavy door that would be rolled back during a performance. She examined the stage, which was carved out of stone. The only flammable thing in the place was the banner. It was an ideal place to lure the monsters to a fiery death.

She wheeled round and headed back to the spaceport.

~~~~

Somehow or other Lian had found a board game in the spaceport -- though Irímé suspected he had actually teleported away somewhere to get it -- and when Shizuki woke up the three of them played a round. None of them were quite sure of the rules or why some pieces were shaped like mice and others like fish, so they treated it as if it was a game of langhar[1].

Within minutes what had started as a way to pass the time became an intense battle. Any onlooker would have assumed that vast sums of money rested on the outcome of the game, from how carefully the three of them considered each move.

Shizuki picked up one of his pieces and moved it in front of Lian's. "You're out!"

Lian shook his head. "Not yet. I still have two more pieces."

Irímé moved one of his pieces in front of both Shizuki's and another of Lian's. "One more piece."

Shizuki picked up two pieces at a time and placed one in front of Irímé's and the other in front of Lian's remaining piece. "You're both out!"

"That's against the rules," Irímé objected.

"What rules?"

"The rules we agreed on. We said we can only move one piece at a time."

Shizuki stuck his tongue out. "Doesn't matter. We didn't write it down so it doesn't count."

"Oh yes I did." Irímé took his notebook out of his pocket. He flipped to the page where he'd written their makeshift rules. "See for yourself."

Shizuki scowled and folded his arms. "Still doesn't matter. "

The argument would have continued in that vein, but came to an abrupt halt when they heard the sound of a door closing. At once they all froze. Footsteps crossed the hall, heading directly towards them. Irímé looked nervously to Lian for guidance.

"I don't think it's a monster. They walk more slowly," Lian said.

The door opened.

"I have good news and bad news," Abi announced as if she was continuing a conversation started a few minutes ago. "The good news is, I found a place we can lure them to. The bad news is, it's about two miles away. And the monsters become more active as the sun sets. On my way back here I saw a crowd of them crawl out of the city hall as soon as the light stopped shining on the doorway. And I didn't see any survivors." She saw the appalled look on Irímé's face and quickly tried to make things slightly better. "That doesn't mean there aren't any! I just didn't see them!"