The Air Singer (The Cantors) (10 page)

Roland watched from a few yards away while Tally
meditated. She sat cross-legged on the blanket he brought in the backpack. Her face turned up toward the sky allowing the sun to warm her, while a light breeze gently played with her hair. She was a picture of serenity surrounded by tall grass dotted with golden leaves that fell from a few surrounding scrub oaks. The horses grazed behind her. Roland did not realize how much the weeks of training wore on her until he saw her joy when he revealed they would be riding today. Her control of the beast amazed him. Gentle, but in command. It compared to her control of him. When did he give this young woman so much power? 

The
moment you laid eyes on her.

He smiled at the memory
. Tally on stage, losing herself in the lyrics of her song. He thought the stirring in his chest that night was just a paladin recognizing his singer, but it never faded. It got stronger. All of his training told him that he shouldn’t feel this way, but he didn’t know how not to.

I am her paladin, nothing more.

That phrase became his new mantra these past weeks, but who was he kidding? Even Oliver didn’t believe it.

He continued to watch over her meditation as her breathing became deeper
. She would be coming out of it soon. Her chest rose and fell slowly. Her eyes began to flutter open and Roland smiled at his singer.

Tally raised her arms above her head and stretched out her back
. “How long was I under?”

Roland walked over and kneeled down beside her
. Reaching into the backpack, he found two bottles of water and handed her one. “About fifteen minutes. How do you feel?”

“Amazing,” Tally sighed.
She took a sip of the water and placed the bottle between her legs. “So what now?”

Roland sat down next to Tally, “What do you want to do?”

Tally gazed at the water running through the grass next to them. The doubts and suspicions running through her mind since talking to Oliver surrendered to the calmness and clarity that a good meditation brings. She still wanted to know about Roland, but she felt focused, stronger.

“I want to talk about you.
” She turned to see Roland taken aback by her answer.

“What about me exactly?”

Tally turned her body toward Roland. “Well, I realized today, that you know way more about me, than I know about you. I want to fix that.”

Roland smirked, “Okay. What do you want to know?”

His willingness to open up surprised her. She decided to start small and work up to the big topics. “How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-five.”

“When did you get the tattoo on your forearm?”

Roland smiled and looked at his arm
. “I got the tattoo when I was chosen to protect a singer. It was my private celebration for becoming an official paladin.”

“Does it mean anything?” 

“It’s a griffin surrounded by the alchemic sign for air. The griffin is a mythical protector.”

“So you’re my griffin?” Tally teased.

Roland chuckled, “I guess I am.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue.”

“
What is your favorite time of year?”

Roland leaned back on his hands getting comfortable for the continuing interrogation. “Right now actually. I enjoy autumn.”

“How many girlfriends have you had?” Tally decided to be direct.

“None.
” Roland quickly answered.

“None?”

Roland sat back up and repeated his answer, “None.”

Tally didn’t believe him. “You’re twenty five years old and you have never had a girlfriend?”

“Never.
Why is that so hard to believe?”

She tried to explain her suspicions
, “Well, most men your age have...well...um...
needs
.”

“Hey, it’s not like I’m a
monk! I mean, I’ve been with a woman. Well, not one woman- I mean, there have been more, way more. Not a lot of more, but you know- enough.” Roland put his hand to his head as if to feign a headache. “Can we go back to the favorite color question?”

Tally bit her lip, delighted t
o see Roland stumbling for an acceptable answer. “So you prefer one night stands?”

“
I really like blue; royal blue to be exact.” Roland tried to escape the new direction of the conversation.

Tally persisted, “Why are you so scared
of commitment?”

Roland looked up. “I’m not scared.”

“You are twenty five years old and have never been in a real relationship. Sounds like a fear of commitment to me.”

Roland defended himself, “I am a paladin who is sworn to protect you for the rest of your life. I think that proves I’m not scared of commitment.”

“All that proves is that you’re more scared of what Anna would do to you if you didn’t.” Tally teased, “I’d be chicken too.”

Roland’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Did you just call me chicken?”

Tally raised an eyebrow. “If the feathers fit…”

“I am not…” Roland began to argue, when a sound grabbed his attention
. His head jerked toward the tree line. “Get down,” he whispered.

Tally
lay down on her stomach, but watched Roland. He matched her position next to her, never letting his eyes leave the trees. He pointed toward a group of saplings that rustled with movement as a stunning buck with a large set of antlers made its way slowly to the creek a few yards upstream from them.

Tally watched in awe as the graceful animal surveyed its surroundings before lowering its head for a drink
. This repeated a few more times before the breeze changed direction. The buck jerked its head up and froze for just a moment before springing back to the trees. Tally watched the animal until it disappeared into the forest.

Roland broke the silence. “I may be chicken but that deer thinks you smell.”

Tally burst into laughter and rolled onto her back. “You’re closer. It was definitely your stench!”

Leaning
onto his side, Roland let his hand hold his head up. He looked down at his singer and smiled at her amusement. Her hair spread out around her head, created a golden halo around a face that glowed with laughter. The glint in her eyes had returned. He loved her eyes. Sapphire pools that haunted his dreams. He lowered his gaze to the curve of her mouth and found that she stopped laughing by biting her bottom lip. Lifting his eyes, he met hers. That stirring in his chest returned stronger than ever.

Kiss her.

Tally’s heart stopped as she met Roland’s gaze. The smile left his face, but something else was there; a longing. She released her lip and allowed her mouth to part ever so slightly.

Kiss him.

Tally raised her hand and caressed Roland’s face with her fingers. His free hand covered hers and slid down to her wrist. Just as she began to lift herself toward him, Roland shut his eyes and pulled her hand away.

“This can’t happen.” Roland sighed as he sat up.

Tally let her hand fall beside her and remained lying on the blanket, scared that she would fall over if she tried to stand up. “I’m sorry, I misread everything. I thought you might feel…”

“I did. I do. I just…damn it!” Roland stood up and turned around to see that her eyes still sparkled, but with tears that she tried to keep hidden
. “We shouldn’t do this. You’re vulnerable and I should be protecting you, not taking advantage of the situation.”

Confused, Tally tried to clarify, “I’m not some fragile girl to be taken advantage of.
I know exactly what I’m doing.”

“No, you don’t,” Roland insisted. “I’m the guy who prefers one night stands, remember? I’m suffering from a commitment phobia.”

Tally didn’t believe him for a second. “You are already committed to me remember?”

“Committed to protect you.
I’m your paladin. I can’t be more than that.”
How many times will I have to say it before I believe it?

“You said you feel something.” Tally began to raise herself up.

“I feel a need to protect you. All paladins are drawn to be near to their singer, to protect them. We can’t confuse it with something it’s not.”

Tally continued to get up from the blanket
. When she felt secure on her feet, she tested his logic. “So are all singer’s drawn to their paladins as well? Is that what I’m feeling?”

Roland lied, “Yes.”

Tally took a deep breath, “Well thank you for clearing that up. It could have been embarrassing for both of us.” She smoothed her hair with her hands. “We should start heading back. I still have my lesson with Anna.”

“T
ally, I…” Roland stopped, realizing nothing he said at this moment would make a difference. He left Tally folding the blanket and began getting the horses ready for a long, quiet ride home.

Tally sat in silence as Roland’s truck pulled up to the facility. She debated suffering through the collective energy of the musty old antiques or asking him for help. Keeping her head forward, she whispered, “Walk me in?”

“Of course.
” Roland exited the truck, walked over and opened her door. “Tally, I’m still your paladin. I’m not going to stop protecting you. Nothing happened that would change that.”

“Sure.” Tally stood and with the best grin she could muster, took his outstretched hand.

“Someday we can look back at this and laugh.” Roland nudged Tally with his body but held her upright.

A small smile formed on her face.

“That is what I’ve been missing for the past hour!” Roland exclaimed as they reached the front door. “Now let’s get you to the library before Anna starts looking for you.”

He left Tally alone in the library
. Anna would arrive any minute to begin another lecture on elemental influences throughout history. Tally scanned the shelves, recognizing the books that supplied her reading assignments for the last month. Topics ranged from the eruptions of Vesuvius in Italy to the drought that caused the Dust Bowl in the US and the effects of each on the economies and government powers of the time. Today would follow the same agenda as every day prior. Anna would ask how her power is developing, Tally would tell her it wasn’t, then Anna would state that it just gave more time to study history and philosophy in order to better handle her element. Normally, Tally dreaded this part of her day, however, the past few hours had worn her out and she looked forward to drowning herself in the structure that her time with Anna provided.

The image
s of Roland leaning over her and looking into her eyes, replayed in her mind. He wanted to kiss her. She knew it. She recognized the look.

Why did he pull away?
He told you.
Everything you feel is just a symptom of being a new singer: A side effect to ensure your safety.

Bullshit! I know what I’m feeling and it’
s not some side effect. 

Too bad Roland wasn’t so sure.

Tally needed to learn more about paladins, singers, The Cadence, The Spina, all of it. Any questions she had before just grew exponentially with Roland’s rejection. Maybe this was something all singers went through. There had to be some record. She scanned the shelves for any books that would answer her questions.

“Glad to see you are taking the i
nitiative with your studies today.” Anna glided into the room. She wore a flowing red and yellow dress with bell sleeves. A bamboo clip held her hair in a loose knot at the top of her head. Though she lived as a recluse, Anna always dressed for company.

“When do I learn more about previous singers?
” Tally kept looking at the leather bindings. “Is there a handbook or something?”

Anna smiled, joining
Tally at the foot of one of the bookcases. “Each Singer’s experience is different. It would be difficult to write a handbook. Do you have questions I could help you with?”

Tally debated the pros and cons of asking Anna relationship advice, but decided that having the most influential
paladin as a teacher should have its benefits.

“Does a
singer have the same paladin until one of them die?”

“Yes
. It is best to maintain a strong relationship between the two and that only occurs if they are together for a lifetime, like family.”

Tally continued, “
It seems that there are hundreds of paladins, but only four singers can exist at one time. If each singer has one paladin, what happens to the others?”

“Each
singer has one primary paladin, but every paladin is committed to the protection of the singers. If a paladin is not chosen to be a primary, his or her training continues in order to be prepared if the time comes that a new primary needs to be chosen.”

Tally delved more, “You mean if the primary paladin dies?”

A tight-lipped smile formed across Anna’s face. “Yes or if a new singer is chosen. Why the sudden interest?”

Tally turned away from the books. “I just wonder how the Cadence knows who the primary paladin will be
. How did they pick Roland for me?”

Anna took a seat in one of the wingback chairs. “The Cadence doesn’t pick a
singer’s paladin. The element that chooses the singer, chooses the paladin as well. When you were chosen, you were overwhelmed by your element, correct?”

“Yes.”

“That same night, Roland was chosen. He awoke the next morning describing the scene. In his dream, he watched as you were bathed by air. I reported the dream to the Cadence and they sent him to find you.”

Tally sat down to let the knowledge sink in. “What if the
singer doesn’t get along with her paladin?”

“Ha! In all my years and study, I’ve never come across a situation where a
singer and a chosen paladin didn’t get along.” Anna laughed. “I can’t believe that the elements would allow that to happen!”

“So the element influences the paladin and
singer to like each other?”

Anna’s expression became serious. “No one’s free will can be controlled
. It is against everything that the Cadence believes in. The elements cannot influence the way a person feels. The elements only choose those who are compatible to avoid a situation like you are describing.” She reached across the end table and held Tally’s hand. “Are you and Roland getting along?”

“
Oh yeah!” Tally smiled to reassure the old paladin. “Like I said, I’m just trying to understand more about singers. Our lessons have been based on the elements’ impact on history. I just wondered if we will ever focus on the singers that controlled the elements.”

Anna patted her hand. “Of course we will and I’m sorry that I haven’t included more about the people that belong to the Cadence in our earlier lessons.
I just thought it would help you to develop your powers if you concentrated on the element itself. Speaking of, how did your lesson go today?”

 
“No major development to report. I did have a great meditation though. I’m much more centered than I have been in weeks.”

“Well maybe hearing stories of other
singers will trigger something for you.” Anna stood from her chair and headed toward the kitchen. “Let’s have some tea and I will try to remember some tales from the elders that could bring you some insight.”

Oliver grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed one to Roland. “She’s seeing someone else! It’s only been a couple weeks and she is already seeing someone else!”

Roland tried not to smile. “Sorry man
. How did she break it to you?”

“About two hours and a hundred fifty dollars too late
! She gushed about the roses, ordered the most expensive thing on the menu and after enjoying my groveling for over an hour, she started the ‘Dear John’ speech.” Oliver downed a third of his beer in one drink. “Unbelievable.”

“Well I’ve never been the type to say I told you so, so I won’t.” Roland fell into the recliner next to Oliver’s sofa.

Oliver shot a dirty look at Roland before replying sarcastically “Thanks so much!” He stretched his legs out across the couch, using the arm as a backrest. “So what took you so long to get home today?”

“I
thought Tally could use a break from training, so I took her riding near the reservoir. I returned the horses and trailer on the way home.”

“You took her to the reservoir?
Anything happen?” Oliver sat up.

“Nothing.
She meditated for a bit. We talked for a few minutes. Came home soon after that.” Roland didn’t see a need to fill in all the details.

“What inspired you to take her horseback riding?”

“She told me that she could let down her shields when she went riding. She didn’t need to buffer everything so much. I hoped that maybe it would help.” Roland explained.

Oliver stared at his friend for a moment
. “So can she cause a breeze yet?”

“Nope.”
Roland brought his beer to his lips.

“So the break didn’t trigger anything?” Oliver continued.

“Nope.” Roland stared at the floor.

“You know Anna’s going to
force you to take her to another facility to work with the other singers if something doesn’t happen soon.”

Roland took a deep breath. “I know. She just can’t seem to find the switch in her mind
. She is beginning to doubt that she is the Air Singer.” He reached for the lever to put his feet up on the footrest. “She found the trigger the night she was chosen, but it scared her and she locked it up so tight, I’m afraid of what it will take to find it again.”

Oliver sat up. “What happened the first night?”

“She lost her temper over some guy. I guess she made a wreck of some bar in Tempe.” Roland took another drink. “Shook her up pretty bad.”

Oliver’s expression turned thoughtful. “Was the guy a boyfriend?”

“I guess. She didn’t really elaborate.” Roland hid his discomfort at the thought of anyone being romantic with Tally.

Oliver’s face became thoughtful.
“An emotional trigger! Maybe we’ve been going at this all wrong.”

“After everything that has happened to her, we would have seen something by now.”
If it only took an emotional response to trigger Tally, something would have happened this afternoon. He saw the pain of his rejection in her eyes. It sat in the pit of his gut. The connection between him and Tally was more than paladin and singer. He never thought he’d be in this position, but he didn’t want to be anywhere else.