The Power and the Glory

Book 4 Chapter XIX: Abi in Trouble Again

The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances. -- Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

None of the monsters had much left in the way of brains. When they sensed a living immortal nearby they were overwhelmed with the urge to hunt it down and destroy it. When they were confronted with an obstacle they froze in place for hours until they finally got it into their heads that they could simply go around it -- unless they sensed prey on the other side, because then they would find a way past almost any obstacle. When they heard a noise they came to investigate, and if it turned out not to be prey they were left with no idea of what to do.

When they heard the siren a few of them had a vague idea they'd been summoned for a specific task but had no idea what it was or how to complete it. Now that it was gone they reacted with anger, the only emotion any of them still had left. Their anger infected all the other monsters. Within minutes the whole group were snarling with rage and looking for something to tear apart.

A faint whiff of blood reached some of them, the ones standing near a building. They followed it and found themselves confronted with a door. Two or three flung themselves against it. The rest of the crowd followed suit. The door flew open. Monsters surged into the room beyond.

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Abi's lip stung. She wiped it and found it left a bloody streak on the back of her hand. Downstairs she could hear the monsters hissing and snarling. It sounded like they were spreading out all over the ground floor. None of them had found the staircase yet.

She ran faster. Ahead she saw a door. The stairs ended at this landing and there were no other doors beside it. She ran to it and yanked the handle. It stayed stubbornly closed. The monsters' growls echoed up the stairwell. They were at the bottom of the stairs.

It was logical that phoenix-fire should be able to melt through any lock. All she had to do was figure out how to control it so it wouldn't also melt the door and possibly the staircase.

Abi thought of the fire that usually surrounded her wings. It never burnt her, but it was certainly hot enough to leave scorch marks on anything she touched. She tried to summon that fire. Nothing happened. Apparently it only worked when she had wings. Instead she tried pressing her hand against the lock and willing it to heat up until it melted. It did indeed heat up, but at a certain point it got too hot for her to keep her hand against it. As soon as she drew back with a pained wince the metal returned to its normal coldness.

The monsters were at the first storey landing now. Abi forced herself to stay calm. Ilaran was still there, a faint presence at the back of her mind, but he was polite enough not to distract her by saying anything. She considered how quickly the monsters would get here. Too quickly for her to waste any more time with trying to melt the lock. No, she'd just have to break the door down.

She summoned her magic and threw it at the door like a battering ram. The door was blown right off its hinges and a short distance across the roof, along with the wall surrounding it. As soon as the dust cleared Abi turned into her phoenix form and took flight. She circled around the building and waited until the monsters rushed out onto the roof.

The debris from the walls tripped them up. While they were disorientated and before they could go back into the building, Abi cast one of her incineration spells at them. Seconds later the ones on the roof and the ones immediately behind them had been reduced to dust. The ones further back on the stairs had the common sense to retreat before she could attack them too. She waited but none of them came out. Nor did they reappear down in the street below. She wheeled round and started back to the spaceport.