The Air Singer (The Cantors) (14 page)

“We
’ll die of thirst if you let him start that list,” Oliver interrupted. “I’ll take another draft.”

Roland lifted his half-empty mug indicating
she would be bringing at least two back to the table. 

Tally smoothed her dress as she walked away from the table. She approached the bar and stood next to an empty seat near Oliver’s ex.

“What the hell is she doing?” Oliver exclaimed.

“What?” Roland looked up to the bar. “Does Tally know that Vikki is your ex?”

“Yes, but I didn’t think she’d go talk to her!” Oliver put his head in his hands. “Go get her. What if Vikki starts a fight?”

Roland laughed.

“Sorry buddy, but even with all my training, I’m no match for a cat fight.”

Oliver’s jaw fell open.

“I’m kidding!” Roland explained, “Tally is too smart to pick a fight with your ex-girlfriend. Don’t worry, if anything gets physical, I’ll be there in a second.”

“Three house drafts please,” Tally yelled across the bar.

The bartender took
her order and left to fill the empty mugs. Tally smiled sweetly at Vikki. The tall blonde smiled back and took her gesture as an invite to come closer.

“You know you’re ju
st a rebound, right?” Her voice laced with ill intent.

“Pardon me?” Tally maintained a relaxed posture.

“Oliver. I dumped him a few days ago.”

“Oh!” Tally feigned surprise. “Well that explains a lot.”

Vikki nodded her head, “Yeah, he took it hard. I just thought you should know.”

“I appreciate that.” Tally tried to hide her confusion.

“He’s a great guy and it would be awful if you fell hard for him and then got hurt.” Vikki fluttered her eyelids. “He’ll eventually realize that he’s just trying to fill the void I left.”

Tally bit her lip to avoid speaking too soon. Against her better judgment, she dropped her shields and took a quick look at Vikki’s aura. She glowed with insecurity, her thoughts stained with self-doubt.
The perfect weakness to exploit.

“Well thank you for caring, but Oliver is fine. I didn’t even know he had a girlfriend and I’ve lived next door to him for months!
” Tally kept her voice light and sincere. “You must have slipped his mind.”

Vikki’s eyes lit with rage. Tally looked directly at her.
At that moment, Romeo returned from the men’s room.

“I’m ready for the second dance if you are!” Tally raised her voice to get
his attention.

Vikki’s head spun
toward him and gauged his response.

Romeo fidgeted at the scene. “Yeah, um, I’m going to have to pass. My girl just showed up.”
He placed a hand on Vikki’s waist. “This is Vikki.”

The vixen
turned back to face Tally, smiling widely.

“Oh, you’re dating Vikki?” Tally
moved to the other side of Romeo and perched on the open seat. “Wow, I didn’t expect her to jump into another relationship so soon. I just found out she used to date my friend Oliver. Oh well, someone has to be the rebound right?”

Romeo looked at Vikki before turning his attention back to Tally.

“I just wouldn’t get too attached,” she whispered.

The bartender returned with three mugs of beer. Tally stood up and managed to
grasp all three of them. Before returning to her table, she turned and whispered to Vikki.

“One last thing, it’s not the dress that makes your ass look big. It’s the half gallon of rocky road you devoured last night.”

With a wink and a smile,
Tally turned and walked confidently back to her table. Oliver and Roland’s eyes tracked her the entire time.

“Have you lost your mind?” Oliver chastised her as soon as she placed the mugs on the table.

“You’re welcome!” Tally replied, irritated at Oliver’s greeting.

“Alright, what happened?” Roland’s curiosity
rose.

“Nothing.
I ordered the beers and Romeo introduced me to Vikki.” Tally took a sip from her mug. “Don’t worry, neither of them are Spina. If they are, they are really bad at it.”

“Did she say anything about me?” Oliver probed.

Tally would not repeat Vikki’s comments and intentionally hurt Oliver.

“Not really,” she lied. “But your taste in women leaves much to be desired.”

Roland snickered. Oliver glared at him.

“What?” Roland defended himself. “I didn’t say anything!”

Oliver looked back at Tally.

“Nothing, huh?”
Oliver begged.

“You can do much better,” Tally reassured him. “Trust
me, you didn’t set the bar high enough when you took her out.”

“I told you!” Roland exclaimed.

Tally looked at her paladin.

“A little sympathy here?
He is clearly still hurt by the whole thing.” Tally pulled her chair a closer to Oliver.

“No, he’s right,”
Oliver admitted. He looked across the bar and saw Vikki sitting at the bar checking the calorie content of her wine cooler. “She is hot though.”

Tally smacked Oliver’s arm and shook her head.

“I thought you were the sensitive one!”

“I am!” Oliver rubbed his arm where Tally’s hand made contact. “
Which is why you should refrain from hitting me. I bruise easily.”

The b
and returned to the stage and a classic Van Morrison song blared through the speakers.

“I love this song!” Tally exclaimed.

Roland stood up from the table and offered his hand to Tally.

“Would you like to dance?”

Tally looked at Roland’s hand. Her heart flipped and broke at the same time. She remembered her promise to Oliver to give him a chance, but also remembered that he was only doing his job.

“Sure.”

Roland escorted Tally to the dance floor and spun her around him expertly.

“Wow! You can dance!”

Roland looked offended. “Why are you so shocked?”

“Well, you seem obsessed with the Cadence and the Spina. I figure if it doesn’t pertain to either of those topics, it’s not worth your time.”

“Anna taught me to dance,” Roland explained.

“Get out!” Tally exclaimed.

“She believes a good paladin should be cultured to fit in any social situation. So dancing is part of the training.”

Tally smiled in amazement. “Anna taught you well.”

Roland twirled Tally under his arm.

“So what really happened with Vikki?” he asked.

Tally looked to Oliver who was already flirting with a group of girls sitting at the table next to him.

“She’s
insecure and a bit overbearing, but I’m sure she has some good qualities.” Tally confided.

“So, she’s a bitch.”

“Oh yeah.”

Roland laughed and pulled Tally closer as another couple passed by. Her body fit perfectly against his
. Too perfect. He whipped her into a spin to put some distance between them. Her eyes sparkled and the smile he adored found its way back to her face. Roland realized the foreseeable future mirrored this dance. Finding the perfect balance to keep her happy while maintaining a distance that would prevent the development of anything more than friendship. None of Anna’s lessons prepared him for this.

The night air sent a chill through Tally. Gravel crunched under her heels as she, Oliver, and Roland walked to the car. The evening ended considerably better than it started.

Oliver and Roland kept her on the dance floor most of the night. Between the two of them, she was exhausted. She and Roland found an easy rapport, but when
the music slowed to a ballad, he’d make an excuse to go back to the table, reminding her of his recent aversion to her presence. Even so, she enjoyed the evening.

He
held the car door open as she sat in the passenger seat. Oliver started the car. He pulled out of the parking lot and turned the heater on.

“Thank you! I’m freezing!”

Roland leaned forward from the backseat. “What did you say?”

Tally’s eyes widened. “I just thanked Oliver for a great night.”

She looked to Oliver who winked in understanding. She would not give Roland an opportunity to say
I told you so
.

“You are quite welcome Tally.” Oliver replied.

Roland cleared his throat.

“Thank you, Roland.” Tally rolled her eyes at his appeal for attention.

Oliver snickered as he checked the rearview mirror.

“What?” Roland asked.

Tally turned in her seat to face him.

“I never saw you as the type that needed reassurance,” she observed.

“Hey! I’m a little insecure after Oliver introduced me as Chopped Liver to your admirer.” Roland rebutted.

“
You didn’t seem too insecure when you retrieved me from Dan earlier.” Tally remembered how quickly the man released his grip of her arm when Roland appeared.

Roland laughed. “
Dan and I have an understanding.”

Just as Tally began to ask Roland to explain,
the car veered to the right and threw her toward the center console.

“What the hell?” she cried.

“Son of a bitch!” Roland exclaimed as he looked out the rear window. 

“They pulled out right behind us.” Oliver explained. “I’ve taken two right turns and they are still on our tail.”

“Who?” Tally asked. “What is going on?”

The engine screamed as Oliver sped down the empty highway.

“We’re being followed and they don’t care that we know.” Roland clarified the situation for her. “If they don’t care, we are in real trouble.”

“On the left!”
Oliver yelled as a white SUV pulled up alongside them.

“Speed up!” Roland demanded.

“No shit! This car isn’t exactly built for racing you know!”

“Who is following us?” Tally cried.

“Spina. No one else has a reason to chase us through town, unless you and Oliver really pissed off his ex.”

“Ha
ha!” Oliver mocked. “I’m the nice guy remember? You’re the one with a reputation around here!”

Tally screamed as the SUV pulled ahead of them and slammed into the front fender of Oliver’s sedan
. The car jerked before swerving off the road. The dark scenery blurred as it revolved around her. Tally lost all sense of her surroundings as the car rolled once- twice- before coming to a stop in a pile of dust and debris. Her purse smacked her in the face as it fell against her head. Sounds of metal bending and glass cracking under the weight of the car filled the air. Tally hung upside down, the seat belt cutting into her legs.

“Tally!
” Roland scrambled on what used to be the roof of the car and leaned her toward him as he unhooked the belt. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Tally held onto Roland as he kept her face in his shoulder.

“Close your eyes,” he instructed. Oliver used the heel of his boot to remove the already shattered window on his side of the car and crawled out of the ruined vehicle.

“Come on
! They just turned around.” Oliver yelled.

Roland guided Tally out the window with Oliver pulling her up
. Roland followed after. Headlights barreled toward them. 

“Into the trees!
” Oliver commanded.

They scrambled into the woods
. Roland stayed with Tally as she struggled to keep her balance while her heels sunk into the soft ground.

“Keep running
! I’ll keep them busy!” Roland yelled.

“Run where?” Tally exclaimed.

“Anywhere! Go!” Roland disappeared into the forest.

Tally continued to run into darkness
. Roland had left her and she hadn’t seen Oliver since they left the car. Her heart raced as she tried to navigate the terrain when the strap from her shoe caught something and she fell to the ground twisting her ankle.

“Ouch!” Tally sat back up and tried to take her shoes off when she heard the crunch of brittle pine needles under someone’s feet
. She held her breath, hoping to stay hidden in the darkness.

“There you are.” a gruff voice broke the silence
. “Over here guys!”

Tally cried out, “
Help!”

As her eyes adjusted to the
darkness, she could see four figures heading toward her. “A singer without her paladin? I thought the Cadence would be more careful with you.”

“Stay away
! I’m warning you!” Tally tried to stand up when her ankle gave under her weight.

The four Spina agents laughed at her condition. “
I don’t think you are in a position to threaten anyone sweetheart!”

Suddenly
a familiar vibration overtook her. Her vision blurred as her body hummed with power. Throwing her arms in front of her a gust of pine needles and lava rock lifted in front her and pelted her attackers without mercy.

In an instant,
Roland and Oliver appeared and attacked the group from behind. Tally watched as the first two Spina fell limp to the ground as both paladin and sentry snapped their necks in unison. The other two charged as they realized they were now the ones under attack. Tally brought her shields back up and calmed the wind to spare Roland and Oliver the flying debris.

Roland
dropped down by the body of the dead agent and pulled a pistol from the man’s hip. He fired two shots and light blasted from the barrel. Both men screamed and fell to the ground, revealing that Roland had hit his marks. Oliver hurried to disarm the fallen agents.

Tally stared at the scene in silent shock
. Roland and Oliver listened for any other agents that may be nearby. When both men were satisfied that they were no longer in danger they approached her slowly.

“Are you okay?” Roland
asked.

“You killed them.”

“I had to. They were going to hurt you.” Roland answered.

Oliver
brushed the dirt from his pants. “Tally, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine
. I just twisted my ankle.”

Roland reached her first. He bent down and let her put her arm around his neck to pull her up
. She kept her foot off the ground trying to avoid the throbbing pain.

“We need to find shelter for the night
. You won’t be able to walk back to the facility and the car is trashed.” He looked toward Oliver. “Any ideas?”

“There are some resort cabins about a mile
east. We should be able to find something.”

Roland looked at Tally. “Think you can make it?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really.”

“Then let’s get moving. The sooner we get there, the sooner I’m off this foot.”

The progress was slow but
forty-five minutes later, the trio came to a three-foot high split rail fence separating the resort property from the forest. Oliver climbed over first as Roland lifted Tally over the top rail into Oliver’s arms. He climbed over and the group continued toward the largest building on the property. Roland brought Tally to a small bench outside the entrance. “Wait here with Oliver. I’ll get us a room.”

Roland disappeared into the lobby
. Oliver sat next to Tally, but kept watch for any other agents that may have followed. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

A timid voice left Tally. “Yeah
, it’s just a sore ankle.”

Oliver nodded. “I need to get back to Anna and warn her that the Spina are in the area
. You will stay here with Roland. I’ll come back with the truck in the morning.” 

Tally did not relish the idea o
f being alone with Roland, but her injury would not allow her to get back to the facility on foot. “Why not come back tonight?”

“I still have to make it back to the facility on foot
. Even if I ran, it’s going to take a couple hours. You should be safe here until I return.”

Tally nodded quietly.
A moth fluttered near the lantern that swung above them. Crickets chirped in the surrounding woods.

“Why did you kill them?”

Oliver turned to face her. “It was us or them. They would have killed Roland and me without a thought.” Oliver took a deep breath. “I hope now you realize how serious this is.”

“
Tonight made it pretty clear.”

Oliver turned back to scanning their surroundings. “I just wish I knew how they found us.”

Tally’s stomach turned at the thought that her innocent phone call caused the death of four men. “Yeah, me too.”

The doors to the lobby opened and Roland gave a brochure to Oliver. “We are in cabin twelve near the back.
Oliver, what do you think? Do one of us head to the facility now?”

Oliver stood up. “I was just telling Tally that I will pick you two up in the morning.”

Roland began to object. “Why don’t you stay? I’ll go get the truck and get you tonight.”

“When was the last time you ran anything longer than a
few miles?”

Roland shrugged. “What does that have to do with it?”

“Thanks to Tally’s training, I’ve been running almost every day and even I won’t make it back before daylight. Stay here with her and get some sleep. Who knows what Anna will have planned for you two when she finds out the Spina are in town?”

He knew Oliver was right
. “Be safe and I’ll see you in the morning.”

Oliver nodded
and headed into the forest.

Roland went over to Tally and pulled her arm around his neck. Standing up on her good foot, she hobbled alongside him
as they walked toward the back of the property.

When they arrived
at the secluded cabin, Roland let Tally stand on her good foot as he pulled the key card from his wallet. Opening the door, he let Tally limp into the dark room. She ran her hand along the wall and found a switch. Light filled the room from a table lamp on a bedside table. The small space was a one room cabin with a king bed and a kitchenette. A wood burning stove sat in the corner. Roland helped Tally to the bed and went to the kitchen hoping to find ice for her foot.

“Put those pillows under your foot,” he directed.

Pulling open drawers, he found a sandwich bag and filled it with ice from the freezer. He grabbed a towel from the counter, wrapped up the bag, and returned to Tally’s side. 

Tally
sat against the headboard and let Roland remove her shoe and replace it with the cold compress. “There, that should help with the swelling. You’ll be walking normal by the morning.”

She
sat silent on the bed looking at her hands folded in her lap. “Thanks.”

“It’s going to be okay.” Roland tried to reassure her.

Tally swallowed against the lump in her throat. “I’m not sure.”

“
We’ve always known that the Spina could attack.” Roland tried to lighten the mood. “I think you handled yourself pretty well considering you’ve only figured out your power in the last twelve hours.”

Tally whispered, “It’s my fault.”

“No Tally, the Spina did this. No one forced them to come after you.” Roland assured her.

Tally looked up and prepared herself for Roland’s wrath. “I called Kate.”

Roland stood up from the bed. “What?”

“I called Kate
. I took someone’s phone and called her while I was in the bathroom. I didn’t think anything would happen.”

Roland raised his voice. “You didn’t think anything would happen? Tally, how many times have
we told you how dangerous it is for you to contact her?”

Tears began to fall down Tally’s cheek
. “I know, it’s just…” she stopped trying to defend herself. At this point, nothing she said would change what happened.

“Just what Tally?”
Roland raged. He took a seat on the other side of the room near the door.

“
It’s not like I called from the facility. I called from a stranger’s cell phone in a random bar,” she whispered.