The Air Singer (The Cantors) (11 page)

Tally rolled around in bed trying to hide
her eyes from the sun. The alarm blared a second time and her arm flailed at the nightstand until the screaming stopped. Sleep did not come easy last night.

This can’t happen.

Those three words echoed through her thoughts. He lied to her. He blamed it on an unseen influence between singers and paladins, but she learned otherwise from Anna. She knew her feelings were real. Why did he lie? 

Why do most people lie
? He’s hiding something...or someone.

She hesitated leaving her comfortable nest of sheets and pillows. Roland’s rejection tainted the reality that awaited her. Knowing that she could not stay in bed all day, she got up and walked to the bathroom. A hot shower might help her mood.

Forty-five minutes later, Tally walked across the gravel drive to Oliver’s door. She hoped a long run would alleviate the frustration she felt about the rest of her life.

She knocked a couple times and stepped back. Oliver
greeted her with a wide smile.

“Good morning! You look ready to tackle the mountain!”

“It looks like you didn’t expect me yet.” Tally noticed Oliver’s feet were bare and his hair not combed. “I can come back.”

Opening the door wide to invite her in, Oliver laughed. “I was just about to fuel up for our run. Want some oatmeal?”

Tally obliged him and entered the house. The scent of cinnamon wafted from the kitchen. “Sure.”

Oliver’s cabin was sparse. A mismatched recliner and sofa sat in the living room across from a breakfast bar that served as the only dining area in the large space. Tally hopped onto one of the two empty barstools. “It smells great.”

Oliver placed a bowl of steaming oatmeal in front of her with a napkin and spoon. Tally took a bite just as Oliver yelled to the hallway behind her. “Food’s ready!”

A familiar voice answered. “Great, cause I’m starving!”

Tally turned to see Roland pulling a grey sweater over his head covering the chiseled abs that still glistened from a morning shower. He stepped into the living room, but froze when he saw her sitting in the kitchen.

“W
ell take a seat. I made plenty,” Oliver offered.

Roland stared at Tally for a mome
nt before diverting his eyes. “Thanks, but I’ll pick up something on the way to Anna’s.” He grabbed his keys from the counter and without a word to Tally, rushed out the door.

Oliver stood staring at the door as it shut behind his friend. “What the hell was that about?”

Tally kept her eyes on the bowl of oatmeal as if stirring the mixture took all of her concentration. Her heart ached and she battled to keep it together in front of Oliver.

Deciding he would get the story from Roland later, he helped himself to a bowl. They ate quietly for a few moments.

“I didn’t know Roland was here. His truck wasn’t parked in the driveway.” Tally broke the silence.

“He parked around back last night.” Oliver grabbed the empty bowls and rinsed them in the sink. “Just let me get my shoes and we will head to the trailhead.”

“Perfect” She needed this run more than ever.    

She returned to her cabin two hours later and rushed to shower before Roland arrived for her elemental training. His obvious avoidance of her earlier made her wonder if he would even show up today. She didn’t bother with makeup and just pulled her hair into a loose braid. Looking at the clock on her nightstand, she went to the living room to prepare for today’s lessons.

Tally sat at the kitchen table, empty but for a small white candle standing in the center. She checked the time. Roland was late. She worried that the episode at the reservoir ruined everything. How could he be her paladin if he couldn’t even be in the same room with her?

A sudden rapping at the door st
artled her. She rose from her seat and opened the door wide.

“
Hi.”

Roland crossed the threshold, the smile she’d become accustomed to
noticeably absent from his face. He took a seat at the table. “Let’s get started.”

Tally took the chair across from him. “You rushed out of Oliver’s so quickly today. Is everything okay?”

Roland’s eyes focused on the candle as he lit it. “It’s fine. Let’s gets started.”

The candle melted to half its size yet the flame still flickered and danced on its wick, taunting the new singer. Tally dropped her head in her hands out of frustration.

“Don’t give up!” Roland commanded from the other side of the table.
“Again!”

Tally grimaced at her paladin’s tone.

“I’m not giving up, I’m just tired”, she explained. “I’ve been staring at the same candle for the past hour.”

“And you will stare at it hour after hour until you unlock your abilities!” Roland stood up from the chair and leaned against the wall. “We are running out of time.”

“I didn’t know there was a time limit.” Tally leaned back in her chair and glared at her paladin. 

“There is always a time limit when your life is in danger.” Roland crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the ground. “Try again!”

He hated being such a taskmaster, but needed to ensure Tally saw him only as a trainer and paladin. He could never be more than that. Maybe in time, he’d see her as only a singer.

“Look, I get it. Learning my power is important, but I don’t think staring at this candle is going to suddenly unlock my powers.” Tally protested. “What is with the attitude? If this i
s about yesterday, I’m sorry. I won’t make that mistake…”

“It’s not an attitude,” Roland interrupted her apology. “I just think it is best that we only nurture a working relationship.”

“So, I’m your job now?” Tally’s irritation was obvious.

“You always were.”

Her heart shattered. Pain radiated from her chest. The candle flame flickered just before she leaned over and blew it out. She gathered her remaining strength and rose from the table. “I’m done. The lesson is over.”

Roland regretted the words as soon as they left his lips. “Tally, it’s for the best.”

“Sure,” Tally maintained a blank expression. “Someday, we’ll look back and laugh, right?”

Roland cringed as she repeated his words from yesterday. “I’ll show myself out.”

Tally didn’t move until Roland shut the door behind him. As soon as the latch clicked, she collapsed to the floor and sobbed.

A banging at the front door woke Tally. She’d gone to bed early hoping sleep would bring her a momentary escape from her ailing heart. Throwing the sheets off her face, she looked at the clock. Oliver’s early, an entire hour early. Grudgingly, Tally crawled out of bed. The banging continued.

“Hang on!”
She made her way to the door to find Oliver standing there with two cups of coffee from a local gas station.

“You look like shit.
” Oliver commented as he pushed past her into the house. “How long before you’re ready to conquer that hill again?”

Tally took a cup of coffee from his outstretched hand. “
It’s Saturday. Saturdays are for yoga.” She collapsed at her dining table. “You’re extremely early, too early to make jokes about my appearance.”

Oliver laughed and grabbed his phone from his pocket to check the time. “I’m only an hour early, but you know what they say about early birds!”

Tally took a long sip of her coffee and stared at him. “Do you know what they say about early worms?”

“Whatever, be a grouch
! You’ll change your attitude when you get to the top of the trail later. Now c’mon and get dressed. Give those running shoes some purpose!”

Tally curled her lip at Oliver’s sudden cheery attitude.
“You and your girlfriend worked things out I take it?”

“Nope.
” Oliver tapped his wrist as if gesturing to an invisible wristwatch. “Tick tock. Let’s go!”

“Fine.
” Tally trudged back to the bedroom. After splashing water on her face and pulling her hair into what had become her standard ponytail, she changed into sweat pants and a hoodie. Grabbing her running shoes she met Oliver back at the kitchen table and sat down to put them on. “Why the sudden change in routine? You always said that my body needed time to recover between runs.”

“Don’t make me break out a series of Anna’s favorite
Spina sayings. You and I both know that not everything in our world runs on schedule.” Oliver started hopping up and down. “We have to be ready at any moment.”

Tally grabbed her cup and sniffed it. “Did you put something in the coffee this morning? What is into you?”

He headed to the door and held it open. “Ladies first!”

Tally shook her head and started
toward the door. Another run might drive the nagging thoughts about Roland away.

Fifteen minutes into the run, Oliver took a path leading away from the trail. Tally followed, confused by the new direction. The uneven terrain sharply inclined. It took every bit of concentration to stay on two feet.

Oliver glanced behind him to ensure Tally stayed close
. By the time they reached the summit, she would be exhausted, both physically and mentally. Exactly what he needed.

“Only another
few yards and we will be at the top!” he shouted. 

Tally pushed to stay on pace
. Her legs burned and her chest heaved. Sweat dripped down her neck, chilling her as she moved through the cold morning air. The only thing keeping her moving was the knowledge that she could rest at the top. Looking up, she watched Oliver disappear over a ridge.

Once she reached the
summit, the trees separated to reveal a view that took what little breath she had left away. The ridge she stood on dropped off over a valley of green pine trees that were scattered with gold and red aspen. In the blue sky above, a pair of hawks circled the vista. 

“Amazing!”
Tally whispered. Bending over, she grabbed her knees and tried to catch a full breath.

Oliver moved to stand next to her.
He hoped all of this would be worth it.

He hoped Tally would forgive him.

“Yeah, she thought so too.”

“Who?” Tally thought that Oliver might have trained another singer here.

“Th
at bitch from lunch!” Oliver snarled.

Tally took a step back. “Whoa! I guess lunch went bad.”

“Don’t act so surprised! You’ve probably done the same thing to some other poor sap. He spends his money and time trying to impress you and all along you only want him as long as he’s useful and has a full bank account.” Oliver grumbled. “What am I talking about? Of course, you’ve done the same thing. I’ve been watching you play Roland ever since you got here!”

Tally continued to step away from
her trainer. Confused and a little insulted, she tried to calm the situation down. “Look, I’m sorry if you and your girlfriend didn’t work things out, but…”

“Ex
! Ex-girlfriend!” Oliver roared.

“Fine!
Ex-girlfriend. I have nothing to do with it and I don’t know what you are talking about!” Tally took a deep breath and lowered her voice. “I’m not playing with Roland.”

Oliver persisted with his tirade. “Do you think I am blind to what is going on
? You come down here with your weak little act.
I can’t be alone. Roland please stay. I can’t handle the stress. Roland do something. Anna scares me, Roland.”
Oliver mocked Tally’s voice.

Tears started to rim her eyes. “I’m not weak and it’s not an act.” 

Oliver stepped closer. “Not a good one at least. You’ve done everything you can to twist my friend into someone I don’t recognize. The horses were a great touch. Did you just get a whim and tell Roland how much you missed riding or did you promise to let him touch your hair if he got you two alone?” Oliver reached and pulled at Tally’s ponytail. “Did you let him peek under your shirt?”

Tally whipped around
, “Stop it! I didn’t ask Roland for anything!”

“So you let him peek for free?” he asked.

“How dare you!” Venom laced her voice. “You may get away with talking to some small town hussy like a piece of shit, but I’ll be damned if you ever speak to me like that! I’ve sacrificed my friends, my family, my entire life for your precious Cadence. I’m the Air Singer and I will be treated with respect or you can limp back to Anna and let her know she’ll have to wait another sixty years for the next one.”

Tally’s
heart raced as her temper flared. Her entire body vibrated while her vision blurred only for a moment. She took a deep breath and faced Oliver. Ready to continue her verbal lashing, his expression left her speechless.

Letting his eyes wander
above Tally, a small grin appeared on his face. His eyes returned to hers. “Look,” he whispered.

Tally stopped focusing on Oliver for the moment and realized that the sky had changed from blue to
various shades of green and grey. Gold and red leaves swirled with pine needles in half a dozen small funnel clouds that formed and disintegrated, only to be replaced by another. Tally’s hair whipped around, trying to free itself from the band that held it in place. Quick bursts of lightning jolted her from a state of awe. 

The vibration in her body stopped and the sky cleared
. Forest debris rained on both of their heads.

Oliver continued to smile but didn’t step
toward her yet. “Well done. You found your trigger.”

Tally stood still. She didn’t know what to think
. A moment before, Oliver insulted her to the point of being mean. Now he was offering congratulations.

“What just happened?” she asked.

“I’m so sorry, Tally. I didn’t mean any of it.” Oliver closed the gap between him and the singer. “Roland told me that the first time you were triggered, you lost your temper. I figured you must control your power with your emotions. If you lessen the control over your emotions, it might weaken whatever is blocking your powers. The easiest emotion to lose control of is anger.”

Tally stood stunned for a moment watching the last few pine needles float to the ground. “I did this?”

Oliver reached her and pulled a few bits of debris from her hair. “You did this. Now just remember how it felt and you will have no problem blowing out that candle.”

Tally tried to smile, but instead broke down into tears.

“Oh crap! Tally no.” Oliver begged. “Please don’t cry. I just wanted you to lose your temper.”

Tally brought her hands to her face. “I know. I can’t help it.” She wiped her cheeks dry with the back of her hands. “I’ve just experienced a lot in the last few days
. It is just too much to take in.”

Oliver put a gentle arm around her shoulders. “Then stop taking it in
. Let it out.” He pulled away to correct himself. “Not with crying. No more of that please.”

He bent over and picked up a small red leaf. “Keep this in the air.
” He flung it high in the sky.

Tally watched the leaf and tried to reme
mber how the vibration began. In vain, she willed her body to vibrate. She groaned as the leaf twirled and floated to the ground.

“I can’t do it.”

Oliver walked to stand next to her. “You have already proven you can. Stop trying so hard. You weren’t trying when you whipped that mini storm up a few minutes ago.” He stood behind her, gripping her arms. “Remember what you felt.”

“Overwhelmed.”

“Then let yourself be overwhelmed again. You survived the last two times. This time you will control it.”

Tally let herself feel the hurt of Oliver’s words, the sting of Roland’s rejection
. Her heart ached. Just when she thought she would cry, she redirected it, channeled it. The vibration returned, a steady hum that brought comfort, then her vision blurred slightly before she felt it.

The breeze was gentle
. It caressed her and tickled her cheeks. It rustled the leaves on the ground and stirred them into a whirlpool of autumn color.

“That’s it
. Bring it higher.” Oliver encouraged.

The churning gold and red began to rise and the breeze became a wind
. Tally didn’t move for fear of losing her concentration. Soon the leaves whirled above both of their heads. The sky remained blue. Lightning didn’t threaten to strike. Tally’s eyes widened and a smile crept onto her face.

“Okay, let’s bring it down again. Don’t want to overdo it
,” Oliver coached.

Tally stopped projecting and t
he wind disappeared, releasing the leaves to the ground.

“I did it!
” Tally squealed, turned around and wrapped her arms around Oliver’s neck so tight she might have choked him.

“You did it!” Oliver joined her in the hug. He only hoped that Roland wouldn’t be too angry when he found out what he did to make it happen.