the box. Though she’d only known him briefly, Soter noticed that she watched Hamen’s departure sadly.
She said, “They’re setting up the lens you described—the same one Bardsham used.”
“Glaise found it,” said Orinda. “I’d hoped he would.”
“And what other surprises are in store,” Soter asked sharply. “Will we be setting someone on fire perhaps?”
“Why are you so contrary?” Orinda asked.
Soter glanced between them, and then insisted, “I’m not contrary. We do things a certain way. Suddenly you’re taking charge and changing the performance without even asking if I think it’s a good idea.”
“Afraid you’re obsolete and we don’t need you anymore?” Leodora asked.
“To tell you the truth, yes.”
Leodora closed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh, Soter. How can you believe that?”
“Not believe,” he said, “it’s not that obvious and clear. But you certainly don’t need me to teach you anything anymore, and now you don’t need me even to narrate the occasional tales that have always been mine rather than yours to recite.”
“One story, Soter.”
“Not for long. Jax is Leodora now. Your voice could be the one that tells all the tales and they’ll listen in rapture. There’s no longer a reason to divide the task with me. You are the consummate storyteller, how can anybody deny it? You could narrate and perform and never so much as open your eyes. In any case, my fear is my burden, not yours, and I will settle with it on my own terms. Now, what do we do next?”
“Another story. I was thinking it’s about time we do a Meersh play.”
“I think if you perform any of Meersh now, you’ll have a riot on your hands. They might pull the walls down, this crowd. It’s filling up out there like a tower in a flood.”
“If they tear it down, I’ll simply walk the dragon beam again,” she replied.
“Don’t even joke about that.”
Orinda had been peering around the balcony curtain. She stepped back again. “It looks as if the whole span has come out.”
“What are you charging them?” Soter asked.
“A penny.”
“But how can you expect to pay us from that?”
“She doesn’t,” Leodora said. “We’re taking a smaller cut, too.”
Before he could object, Orinda explained, “It’s the first chance they’ve had to see puppets in more years than some of them have been alive—you said it yourself, this crowd is dazzled. Look at all the children out there. I can’t greedily squeeze their families. You want them to return again and again, yes? To tell everyone, here and on other spans. We want other theaters to reopen, to compete with us, which will make the quality of the performances that much better. And if none of that should come to pass, then let them have this event to remember.” She parted the curtain again. “Oh, I hope Mr. Burbage can see this where he’s gone. It’s what he always loved, the sound, the energy.”
Soter found himself strung between wanting to complain about the misappropriation of still more of his power and wanting to give Orinda the impression that he was in complete accord with her. The result was that he said nothing.
Diverus entered the balcony. “What are we going to do next?” he asked. “The theater’s mayhem.” Leodora told him about Meersh, and he smiled. “Well, I want to see one even if nobody else does. You and Soter have gone on and on about Meersh stories ever since you found me.”
“They’ll certainly have their money’s worth,” said Soter, without any vitriol. “But I’m narrating this.”
Leodora laughed. “Of course you are.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re listening.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Orinda cover her mouth so as not to laugh, too.
“Now,” said Soter. “Which tale of Meersh do you propose we tell them?”
“I don’t want to do one of the long ones. So I was thinking of ‘Meersh and the Sun God’ or ‘How Meersh Tried to Become Immortal,’ ” she replied.
“ ‘Sun God.’ ” He stared at her critically. “You wouldn’t be,” he asked, “proposing this tale because of your horrid Coral Man that we should have dumped overboard before we got here.”
He watched her dwell a moment upon the implications before she shook her head. “There’s no ulterior motive, Soter,” she assured him. “Now, Diverus needs to pick out his instruments. We’ve kept them waiting as long as we can.” The two of them left the balcony, Diverus glancing back as always, as if trying to comprehend the meaning of everything around him after the fact. Soter took a step