Chapter Ten
TEN
BECKET
“We just have to make it through these covers—then we’ll be in the final three.
And I can’t see how we can mess up. Billie’s version of Lady Gaga is spot-on, and Becket has the other two songs rocking hard.
No, we’re definitely going to make the final.
The Tres Leches failed miserably and are out.
Did you see them, Becket, or were you too busy snogging your new boyfriend? ” Skye asked.
“He’s not my boyfriend, although ... never mind.
I’m not going to deal with the fact that the man is so sexy he could drop a nun at thirty paces.
I didn’t see the Spanish band, but it’s interesting they didn’t do well with their cover set.
” I emerged from the tent given over as a dressing room, wriggling my toes in an attempt to make my heels more comfortable, smoothed a hand over my short, flirty red dress that would not have been out of place in a popular club, and settled into my glamour.
I’d kept to the same one I’d used before while performing so as to not confuse the judges or audience, but I was a little nervous being out on the stage wearing it, since I was just with Yrian, and any demons around might have seen us.
“However, I don’t like counting my chicks before they hatch, so I’m going to do my best to wow the audience regardless of how bad the Leches did. ”
“The two German boy bands are out also, did you see?” Billie, clad in short red satin shorts with a matching bustier, did her usual preperformance calisthenics, mostly touching her toes, and doing an odd marching–in-place exercise that made my feet hurt just watching her.
“Am I the only one with pinchy shoes?” I asked, glancing at the others. Deni wore thigh-high boots, while Skye looked like a red catsuit had been painted on her. Neither one of them appeared the least bit uncomfortable. “Great. I am.”
“You have to suffer for art,” Deni said with a half smile. “That is what my father always told me, but he was a crap artist. Should we warm up again?”
“I don’t think we need to,” Skye said, watching the crew as they fetched the guitars after having set up Billie’s drum kit. “The rehearsal that Becket managed to make was enough.”
“I’m sorry that I was delayed by a problem, but since the people involved with that problem are keeping me—keeping all of us—safe, I’m going to be grateful rather than pissed. Shall we mantra?”
We stood together in a circle, arms around one another as Skye intoned the “we are awesome, we are winners” invocation to the goddess that the band swore by before performances.
I was less confident in it, but kept my thoughts to myself, and simply gave myself up to the joy that was singing with the band.
The biggest stage was used for the day’s final nine performances, of which we were the last. I was happy to see that the crowd, rather than dispersing for the night, was the largest we’d had yet.
The tall event lights made it difficult to see out into the audience, but as we were walking across the stage, I caught sight of a clutch of familiar faces.
Ysolde, Aisling, Thaisa, and May stood together, completely surrounded by Christian’s security team.
Even the stage lights couldn’t hide the fact that the ladies looked annoyed, no doubt due to having been herded together on the orders of the wyverns.
I gave them a quick wave before moving out onto the stage proper.
As I took my place at the microphone, I had a fast look around, but didn’t see any of the dragons other than Ysolde’s son Brom and his girlfriend.
I was disappointed not to see Yrian, wondering if he had used one of the glamours I created, but as soon as I stepped out, I saw him.
He was at the end of the runway that extended from the main stage, standing with his arms crossed, looking so impossibly gorgeous I wanted to race down the runway in order to kiss him again.
“Your dragon friends out there?” Skye asked as we took our places.
“Yes, but Yrian had me make them glamours. I imagine they’re out in the audience watching for demons.” We both turned when the emcee announced our band.
“Give it up for our last band of the night: Unstoppable Beings!” the man yelled into the microphone over the crowd’s noise at seeing us. “Straight from France, and currently in fifth place in the rankings, let them know how you feel!”
The cheer that followed was our sign to go, and after taking a deep breath and flashing a smile at Yrian, who didn’t see because he was glaring off to the right, I took the microphone, gathered up my glamours, and started to sing.
The crowd was so reactive that I didn’t need the glamour that encouraged people to dance, but I used it during Billie’s song regardless, having seen two other bands use similar ones earlier.
By the time we started into the last song of our set, a cover of a Sia song that always made my toes tap, a hint of something not right filtered onto the stage.
I was singing and flinging out glamours that had a rain of silver stars falling onto the crowd when I noticed that Yrian was no longer at the end of the runway.
I was about to start down it, throwing more star glamours as I made my way, half-blinded by the big stage lights until all I could see of the audience was a black blur of shapes bopping up and down along to the tune.
I finished with big explosions of silver blasting upward from the stage, lighting up the entire field for ten seconds with brilliant flashes reminiscent of lightning strikes.
To my left, I saw three men running toward the stalls, men I recognized as wearing my glamours. They were followed by a handful of vampires.
My stomach turned over at sight. There was only one thing that would cause the dragons to leave their wives, and that was Candy and Andy.
As I returned to the main stage for our bow, I searched for signs of Yrian, but he was nowhere to be seen.
More concerning was the fact that Christian now stood with the women, along with Jim the demon dog, and Pixie. Two of the four guards peeled off with Christian when the latter went dashing off in the opposite direction of the wyverns.
“That went so well, didn’t it? I think it went well. Did you see how they were dancing even before you glamoured them?” Billie almost skipped next to me as we hurried off the stage to the changing tent. “I don’t want to count my chickens early, like Becket said, but we kicked ass!”
Skye, Deni, and Billie all talked at once, excited, amped up on performance adrenaline, and just overall thrilled that the set had been received so well.
I was silent as I hurriedly stepped behind a privacy curtain and changed into a pair of leggings, a black tunic, and a blond glamour that was as opposite from my stage appearance as was possible.
“You guys were absolutely brilliant,” I said as I emerged.
“So were you,” Billie said with a giggle before taking her place behind the curtain.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard Billie sing better, and you two were beyond kick-ass and into the realm of legends,” I told Deni and Skye. “But if you don’t mind, I’m going to scoot. Something’s up with the dragons, and if it’s my stalkers, I’d rather get out of the public eye.”
“We’ll text you the time for the set tomorrow, but it won’t be until after noon, so you’ll have time to enjoy your boyfriend,” Skye said with a slight acid tone to her voice. I said nothing, well aware she was still salty about her partner breaking up with her a few months before.
“Thanks, I appreciate the heads-up. Brilliantly done, ladies! We’ll knock everyone’s socks off tomorrow!” I gave them each a hug before hurrying out of the tent, my mind worried, my stomach unhappy, and my toes still angry about the heels.
Just as I rounded the stage, Allie took off to the left in a fast trot. I went straight for the ladies who now looked downright angry as they obviously argued with the vampire guards.
“What’s happened?” I asked as I ran up to them, one of the vampires immediately blocking my view of the women. “Is it Candy and Andy? Where’s Yrian?”
“Becket?” Aisling asked, peering around the bulky vampire. “You look so different!”
“I didn’t want to wear my performance glamour,” I said softly, looking around to make sure no one was close enough to hear. The crowd was filing out more or less without issue, although there were always a few stragglers who had to be encouraged to return to their lodgings. “Are more demons here?”
“No,” Aisling said grimly, squeezing herself between two of the vampires. “Dragons. Bad ones. Jim, come with me. You may speak, but only if it’s of importance.”
“Like I got anything to say that isn’t a pearl of wisdom? Heya, Becklestein. Loved that last song. Did you know when you twirl you can see your undies? Well, maybe you can’t see them, but those of us on the ground can.”
“Jim!” Aisling pinched the dog’s shoulder. “We do not mention other people’s underwear. Becket, I think everyone would be happier if you stayed here with Christian’s men. I’m going to see what’s happening, and remind Drake that I’m not a Guardian savant for nothing!”
“I’ll come with. I can cast a few spells on whatever dragon is causing issues,” Ysolde said, likewise squeezing out of the vampire cordon. She hesitated a second. “Pixie—”
“I’m coming, too,” the young woman said, a pugnacious expression on her face. “It’s dark out. No one will see me when I hide in the shadows. I can spy and tell you where the baddies are.”
Ysolde didn’t look any too happy about it, but sent a meaningful glance toward her son, who gave her a quick nod of understanding as he took Pixie by the arm, and they hurried off toward the trailers and food stalls.
“And that’s my cue to go to the shadow world, I think,” May murmured before she blipped out of sight. I considered following her to the Beyond, but couldn’t leave Yrian. What if he needed my help?