Beings Of Illusion (Other Realm Beings #5)

Chapter 1

Applause rang loudly as the camera panned back in on the show, releasing itself from the throes of the commercial break that had just transpired.

A middle aged woman, her dark brown hair laid in perfectly shiny waves, smiled at the camera from behind the desk of the set.

She gave the camera a tilt of her head before speaking, the applause from the audience dying down.

“Welcome back to the Night Show, I'm Fox Jennings, back with overnight superstar, Alistair Finn.”

The crowd erupted again in sonorous cheers, clapping together as the guest did a small wave, mirroring the one he’d done earlier before the commercial break.

His blond hair pointed to the floor in long platinum strands, ending just below his shoulders.

Blue eyes shone from other pale features, looking warm and inviting.

His silver earrings were upside-down crosses that caught the studio lights with every turn.

His silver suit was a mix of lace and leather, a crafty outfit that clearly hugged his toned physique.

When the sound of the audience’s immense applause started to diminish completely, Fox turned to Alistair. “We were speaking before the break about your first album and how it came out two years ago, but in the past couple months, has completely blown up on social media.”

Alistair nodded, a slight smile upturning his lips.

“That’s right. My album, Ethereal Dreams Of A Poor Boy, came out a little over two years ago.

It did okay, but no one really knew who the hell this kid from North Carolina was.

It wasn’t until my song, Witch Trial, started popping off on TikTok that people starting listening to the whole record.

That was only two months ago, so it’s been an adjustment, for sure. ”

Fox beamed as she pulled out a piece of black cardboard with the aforementioned album cover plastered to the front of it. “This is the album taking the internet by storm?”

“That’s the one.” Alistair smiled back, timid as hell.

On the cover was Alistair, done up in a solid black tuxedo that was embellished with rhinestones, hair blowing in the wind as he stood on the side of a cliff, reaching for the storm clouds that loomed overhead.

Rays of light peaked beyond the storm clouds, tossing the light around thanks to the rhinestones living on his tux.

The water below was stirring from the impending storm, water crashing into the cliffside with reckless abandon.

Once again, there was a massive swell as the audience cheered and hollered for the man, the camera zooming in on the album cover so that it took up the entire TV screen.

When it panned back to Fox, she was removing the cardboard cover and setting it back down, returning her attention back to her special guest.

“And now, you’re about to release your second album?” Fox leaned forward, engaged with the anticipations of Alistair’s answer.

“I am. People are just now discovering me, which is good timing, now that the second record is about to come out.”

“And it comes out when?”

Alistair looked timidly back at Fox. “It comes out tonight, on Halloween.”

There was a smaller ruckus as the crowd cheered.

Fox took the moment to reveal another piece of black cardboard with a completely new album cover stuck to it.

On this one, Alistair had been photographed from above, like the camera was hovering in the sky, while he laid on the roof of a silver car, looking longingly at the camera.

Scattered over the roof of the vehicle was a plethora of diamonds, some falling off with the simulated zoom of the car racing down the asphalt of the road that was housed underneath the vehicle.

And clutched in one of Alistair’s hands was a completely shattered diamond.

“Look at this awesome cover!” Fox cheered along with the crowd. “What’s this one called?”

Alistair smirked. “Thank you, it’s called The Pressure To Cut Diamonds. I’m super proud of this record and I hope everyone can hear how the past couple years of my life has gone.”

“So this is a super personal record?”

“Very.” Alistair nodded. “I’m always very honest with my songwriting.

My first record was about the pain of my childhood, relationships I’d been excited by, relationships I had to leave behind.

This record is about where I’m at now, living in Nashville writing music full-time, dealing with the pitfalls of releasing music and learning to love again, all while dealing with this charged energy that being in the music industry has. ”

“Ooh,” Fox cooed, looking out toward the audience before setting her sights back on Alistair.

“So are there songs on here about your actor boyfriend, Reed Diamond?” Alistair visibly looked altered by the shift in conversation, but Fox didn’t let up.

“The album title seems to speak on the rumors that you two have been on the fence lately.”

Shifting uncomfortably, Alistair plastered on a smile and did his best to take the question in stride.

“My music is always inspired by what I’m going through, so yeah, this record is no different.

” He looked out toward the audience, glancing away from Fox.

“I guess you’ll have to listen to the album to find out. ”

“Ooh, such a tease!” Fox snickered, setting down the cardboard album cover and folding her hands over her desk. “So the album comes out tonight at midnight. Any other news you’d like to share with us tonight?”

You could tell that Alistair was grateful that the Reed Diamond talk hadn’t lasted more than a mention.

“Actually, yeah.” He regarded the camera and the audience in tandem.

“I’m going to be headlining my first tour pretty soon.

It’s going to be announced in the coming months and I hope to see you guys there. ”

For one final time, the crowd erupted in cheers and hoots and hollers of differing decibels.

Fox managed to project her voice over the crowd to say, “Alistair Finn’s new album, The Pressure To Cut Diamonds, comes out tonight at midnight!

Make sure to check it out. Everyone in the audience is going home with a free copy!

” More hoorays resounded, and Fox managed to mention that they’d be back with Alistair after the break to play a game and to stick around.

I muted the television that hung on my bedroom wall, exactly opposite of me from where I resided in my king-sized bed, just as the commercials started to scroll over the screen.

I glanced over at the cream colored Scottish Fold next to me on the bed, her little eyes looking up at me and squinting with joy as I scratched behind her ears.

“Daddy did a great job, don’t you think, Fawcett?” I smirked, tucking a piece of my blond hair behind my ear, the sounds of my cat’s purring emanating.

I really thought I’d done a great job of promoting the album, and teasing the tour.

Fox Jennings had really caught me off guard with her comment about Reed, but I knew it wouldn’t matter.

The album came out in just an hour, and that was enough to worry about without thinking about the thousand and one other things that were being put in motion. But tonight was about the album.

A yawn escaped me, and I paused the petting of my cat to cover my mouth. Ugh, I didn’t want to be tired. My second album was just sixty agonizing minutes from releasing, I couldn’t think about sleep, not right now. People were about to hear the new album.

Shit, people were about to hear the new album.

I’d worked so fucking hard on this album, even harder than I had on my debut album.

Breaking into the music industry when you held my background was not an easy thing to conquer.

But I’d fucking done it. Not only had I done it, but I’d done it well.

People were finally listening to my music.

People were recognizing me on the street. People knew who I was.

And while that was exceedingly frightening, it was equally as thrilling. All I’d ever wanted for myself was to make music that connected with people. With Diamonds about to come out, I was one step closer to connecting with even more people, more people than Dreams had ever come close to.

Now that people were learning about who Alistair Finn was, it was getting a lot scarier to peruse the street without getting bombarded by fans.

I loved interacting with fans, especially online, but I was still coming to terms with the IRL ones.

Some people were a little…spirited when they met someone who’s music they had connected with.

Sometimes that meant they forgot that the person behind the music was just that, a person.

I wasn’t a demigod set on this earth with the blessing of a deity.

It was becoming a really weird adjustment to being demanded to take pictures with fans, being groped and pulled into hugs that I hadn’t been prepared for. I wasn’t a God, I was just Alistair.

My thoughts soured toward my childhood, toward the hell I’d been able to escape.

Phoebe, North Carolina was a beautiful place, filled with spooky decor and horror tributes.

But the true horror had been finding the strength to grow up in the Finneson household and meander my way out of it.

The sounds of broken beer bottles resounded off the barriers of my mind, the memories pouring in easier than the alcohol had splattered over the floors of my childhood home.

I pushed them away. I didn’t need those memories.

Certainly not tonight, when I was shifting my life in a better direction.

Dreams being picked up by TikTok was a blessing.

I was finally making money off of my album now, and my new album had the chance to mirror that same success.

The last thing I wanted was for my past to come barging in and distract me from the good things happening right in front of me.

Needing a different kind of distraction, I leapt up from the bed and waltzed toward the adjoining bathroom. A shower would help calm my nerves. So much to do, so much to do.

Later, I told myself. Right now, I needed to calm down and wait to see what my fans thought of the album.