O’Shea and I talked to the fans, answering questions about anything from being in the studio and writing again to the cities we were going on hit on the tour. Jonas and Chase were doing the same not far from us. We posed for pictures and left the voicemail greetings on a few people’s cell phones. We signed T-shirts people were getting from the merchandise booth and even a few guitars people had brought in.
Life was so crazy lately with everything that had been going on for me and Aurora, it was nice to be surrounded by my normal version of crazy once again. It was soothing to my soul to spend time with the fans who I’ve always claimed were like our extended family. They were just as excited about the new album and tour as we were, and that is a feeling you just can’t put into words. After an hour, I could tell that I’d spoken to all of the fans who wanted to meet with me and things were starting to calm down a little bit. Neon brought me a bottle of water, and I took a drink to make him happy while he asked if I needed anything. I swallowed the water to answer him, but I spotted my father watching me from across the room.
“Yeah, actually,” I said. “I could use a few minutes. Be right back.” Neon didn’t argue, although he looked a little puzzled. O’Shea looked up at me as I walked past him, but he gave me an encouraging thumbs-up when he saw who I was walking toward. Dad was talking with Aurora and Kacie, but his eyes were on me as I approached.
“Hello, son,” he said. “That was quite the show you put on tonight.”
“Glad you made it,” I said to him, surprised by how sincerely I meant what I said. “Sorry it took me so long to get over here to talk with you.”
“Are you kidding me?” he said, smiling. “Let’s be honest, son. There just isn’t enough of you to go around in a crowd like this. You have to spend time with the people who buy your music.” He frowned, and I wasn’t sure what was wrong until he spoke again. “You have to give back to the people who have supported you from day one. We haven’t all done that like we should have.”
I offered him my hand in a truce, and he shook it, grinning at me and slapping me on the back with his other hand. “You’re here now,” I said.
Beck walked over at that moment with several copies of the new album in hand. “Here’s yours, Mr. Decker,” he said, handing one over to my father with a wad of change back. Dad took the CD and studied the cover closely.
“Your daughter-in-law painted that,” I told him.
He raised an eyebrow at Aurora who smiled graciously. “This is your work?”
“That depends on whether or not you like it,” she said with a grin.
“Like it? It’s amazing. You two are quite the pair. You both have talent oozing out of your ears.”
I decided to let Aurora and Dad get to know each other for a minute. I put my hand on Beck’s shoulder and turned him to face the group of label reps who had huddled up in one corner to talk with the radio deejays. “There are some people you should meet,” I said to him. “Come on.”
Beck followed me over to the group where I introduced him to Clyde, one of the label reps. “Beck is looking to get a start in the industry,” I said to them. “He’s a hard worker, and he’s about as loyal as they come. He won’t even mind working a graveyard shift, would you Beck?”
“Not at all,” Beck said, nodding agreeably.
“That’s a pretty high recommendation, coming from Trey,” Clyde said, shaking Beck’s hand enthusiastically. “With that in mind, we might just have a place for you at Celebrity Dent Records. Why don’t I get your information, and we’ll get in touch?”
“Sounds great,” Beck said. “Thanks.”
“That was easy,” I said with a laugh. “My job here is done.”
“I loved the set tonight, Trey,” said Dan, a local radio deejay. “When are you guys going to come on the air with us and do an interview? Our listeners have been going crazy over “You Only Live Twice.”
“We’ll definitely have to set up an interview,” I told him. “We’d love to stop by and do a few acoustic songs for your listeners. Talk to Neon, and he’ll arrange everything.”
“It’s a plan,” Dan said.
I left Beck to mingle with the suits and the radio deejays and made my way over to where Aurora was sitting with my dad and the small clan of vampires I’d invited. It was a strange sight, to say the least.
“The party seems to be a big success,” Mark said. “Congrats.”
I shook his hand and said, “Thanks. I’m glad you guys could make it.”
“I have this urge to go and brag to all your fans that I heard an impromptu acoustic performance of some of these songs earlier this week,” Hana said to me, grinning.
“You did, didn’t you,” I said slowly. “Well, go for it. Why not?”
“Well, I’m definitely going to go get a copy of the record,” she concluded. “Come on, Mark.” She took Mark’s hand and led him away.
What acoustic performance is she talking about? Aurora projected into my mind.
I was playing for you at the beach house, I projected back. You probably don’t remember but-
I heard you, she thought back. I could definitely hear your voice through the fog. But I wouldn’t mind a repeat performance sometime that I can remember clearly.
Deal, I thought back, smiling at her.
Just then a man approached me from behind, tapping me on the shoulder. “Excuse me, Mr. Decker,” he said. “A package just came for you. I didn’t know what to do with it, so I had it taken backstage.”
“Okay. Thanks for the heads up.”
“What’s that about?” Aurora asked.
“Wish I knew.”
“I’m sure you get random gifts from people all the time, right?” Dad piped in.
“Sure,” I said to appease him. “I’ll be right back. Excuse me.”
“Hurry back,” Aurora said, smiling at me. I made my way back to the dressing room and found a large box wrapped in silver waiting on the table next to what was left of the meat and cheese tray. I was alone in the room, but I still felt the need to look around for some reason before I opened it. I untied the smooth, black ribbon that secured the lid on and slid it off. Inside the box I found five bottles of Vidic Vineyard’s finest blood-laced wine. There was a note resting on the top of them. I picked it up and was surprised to see that it was an old-fashioned piece of parchment and not just regular paper. A wax seal bearing the mark of two capital V’s that shadowed each other held the fold in the parchment closed. I pulled it open and read the inscription inside. The handwriting was flawless with a lot of straight and angular lines, but there was a crude quality to the ink that led me to believe the note had been scrawled with a quill.
To help in celebrating your latest accomplishment.
Congratulations on the new record.
If your track record says anything of your future success,
I’m certain your up-and-coming tour will be victorious.
I was only too happy to help you and your young bride,
and I expect you would gladly return the favor
should I ever require one in the future.
-S
The note was signed simply -S but there was no doubt that it was from Stanislav Vidic. Mark had warned me about owing a powerful vampire a favor, but I hadn’t had a choice. Aurora’s life was at stake. I didn’t regret what I’d done to save her. In fact, I would do it all again, if I had to. I reread the words on the parchment, feeling a chill travel up my spine at the implied threat in the last line. The fact that I hadn’t had a choice didn’t mean that Mark wasn’t right.
Chapter 57
Aurora
TREY HAD BEEN GONE for a few minutes, and I was starting to wonder why he wasn’t coming back. I’d have gone to look for him, but a few girls were asking me questions, and I didn’t feel like I could just walk away from them.
“Are you going to release photos from the wedding?” one of them asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “We haven’t really talked abou
t that.”
“You should,” another added, flipping her hair. “I’m just dying to see what your dress looked like.”
“I bet the ceremony was so romantic,” one said. “Trey just seems like the kind of guy who would really sweep you off your feet.”
I’d just noticed Trey approaching from behind the fans. He heard that last comment, and as if he wanted to prove them right, he hurried around to me and spun me to face him, giving me a quick kiss.
“There you are,” I said, smiling at him.
“Trey,” one of the fans said, sounding a little breathless. “I didn’t know you were there.”
“I have mad ninja skills,” Trey managed with a straight face. “Didn’t you know?” The girls giggled, and I couldn’t help but laugh with them.
“You sounded great tonight,” one of them said to him.
“Thank you,” he said. “It’s always a little nerve wracking letting you guys hear new music. The guys and I are never really sure what you’ll think.”
“I think I was nervous enough for all of you,” one added.
“You can stop worrying,” another said. “We all loved the new songs.”
Just then Jon Decker walked up and put his hand on Trey’s shoulder. Trey turned to look at him, chuckling when he saw Jon wearing one of the new zombie Catalyst T-shirts with the glow in the dark eyes.
“I see you’ve been to the merch booth,” Trey said.
“I have to add it to my collection at home,” Jon said.
Trey grinned and gestured to his dad with a sweep of his hand. “Everyone, this is my dad, Jon Decker. Dad, this is everyone.” The all-around surprised looks on the girls’ faces made me smile.
“Mr. Decker,” one of them managed. “It’s an honor to meet you. We’re all such big fans of your son. You must be so proud.”
“I am,” Jon said, letting the girls pull him into the middle of their circle for questioning. I smiled at Trey, and he shook his head, grinning at the scene before us.
“Your dad seems to be enjoying himself,” O’Shea said as he and Kacie walked over.
“Yeah,” Trey said. “I think he is.”
Chase and Jonas came over, too. Jonas had a camera in one hand.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to sleep better tonight knowing that the fans are excited about our new material,” Chase said.
“They’re more than excited. And don’t pretend you have a problem sleeping,” O’Shea retorted. Then he looked at Trey with a scrutinizing eye.
“What?” Trey asked, feeling his gaze.
“I was just thinking married life must be good for you,” O’Shea said, elbowing me lightly without taking his eyes off of Trey. “You were spot on tonight, man. Seriously.”
“I was starting to think no one noticed,” Trey said in a cocky voice that might have been believable, if he’d been able to keep a straight face. Just then, a man in a suit approached and asked Trey if they could speak for a moment. Trey called the man by name and said he’d only be a minute as he walked away with him.
“Label execs,” O’Shea said. He must have been watching me watch Trey. “We’re lucky, really,” he added. “Most record labels aren’t as cool as ours.”
“I think they’re the lucky ones,” I told him. “You must be feeling pretty good right now. The party was a huge success.”
“It was, wasn’t it,” he said, grinning. Then Chase and Jonas pulled him aside for something and left Kacie and I standing there to watch from a distance.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Kacie said to me. “And this all started because Trey and O’Shea came into The Waking Moon that night. I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me you’d met a famous musician at Carlie’s.”
“I didn’t know,” I said truthfully. “I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into….”
“And?”
“And here we are,” I said, making a sweeping gesture at the entire room with my hand. “I wouldn’t change a thing. You?”
“Definitely not,” Kacie said. “Although, I’m really going to miss O’Shea when they leave on tour. Things are just starting to get comfortable between us.”
“You’ll have to come out and spend time with him at their shows,” I said to her.
“I think I’d like that,” she answered. Then she started talking about how fun it would be to go to a Catalyst concert and hang out backstage with the guys. I was only half-listening, because I’d seen Trey make his way over to his father. I could tell by Trey’s posture that the conversation they were having was going well. After a few minutes, they shook hands and Jon headed for the doors. It was a better parting than I’d have expected after witnessing their first encounter in ten years back at the house. Kacie realized I hadn’t been paying attention to her and insisted on repeating back everything she’d just spent the last three minutes saying to me. I listened this time, mostly because I didn’t want to go for round three. O’Shea eventually saved me from the girl-talk by taking Kacie away for dinner. I didn’t have to search hard to find Trey. He was sitting alone on the stage, his feet hanging off the edge when I found him. I sat next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder.
“What does it feel like to finally have the album out?” I asked him after a moment.
“I can’t even tell you how good it feels,” he said, putting a hand on my knee. “It’s taken a lot to get to this point.” I sat up and he smiled at me. “What does it feel like to have your artwork on the cover of said record?”
I looked over my shoulder at the large banner with the Until Sanity album on it. My painting of the giant, guitar-infested tree and all of the guys was printed larger than life on it.
“It’s a little surreal,” I admitted. “I still can’t believe I let the lead singer talk me into it.”
Trey laughed and looked at me. “But I thought he was hot.”
“He is,” I said. “Apparently I’m a sucker for a rock star.” Trey shrugged innocently. “There’s something I think you should know,” I said, my voice more serious now. Trey sensed the change in my mood and looked at me in concern. “Malena ditched her Emissary detail and skipped town. No one knows where she is.”
Trey was silent for a moment. “I thought she was determined to stay in Florida?”
“She skipped town. I doubt if she’s left the state.”
“Huh….” Trey shrugged. “If Malena wants any chance of making a new life, she can’t spend it coming after us, or she’ll be a pathetic excuse for a vampire when her ten year mark hits.”
“You know,” I said, leaning against him. “For a newbie, you’re pretty good at all the vamp politics.”
“That’s Vampire Survival 101, isn’t it?” He took a deep breath and said, “Do you want to get out of here?”
I sat up, giving him a wry smile. “Do you remember what happened the last time you played your guitar for a crowd and then asked me that same question?” He grinned, shaking his head at me. “It was pretty earth-shattering. You might want to reconsider.”
“I’ll take my chances,” he said. “Bring it on.” He stood up, and I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. “I’ve got something backstage I think we’re going to want tonight,” he added. I followed him to the room I’d found him in after the show. He gestured for me to check out a large box sitting on the table. “Go ahead. Open it,” he said.
I lifted the lid off the ornately decorated box and found five bottles of Vidic Vineyard blood/wine. “Where did this come from?” I asked in surprise, taking a bottle in my hands to examine it more closely.
“Stanislav,” Trey said, putting his hands in his pockets.
“This is the really good stuff,” I added. “Is this the package that came for you earlier?” He just nodded. “This is at least five-hundred dollars’ worth of wine. Was there a note or anything explaining it?”
“Yeah,” Trey said. “He said congratulations on the album.”
“Huh….” I put the bottle back in
the box and covered it with the lid again. That seemed exceptionally generous, even for a vampire in Stanislav’s position. “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” Trey said. I thought I saw a flicker of something pass in his deep blue eyes, but it was gone just as quick as it had come. “What do you say we head back home and open up a bottle?”
I smiled and handed the box to him. “Sounds like a plan.”
There were still a few fans hanging around outside the building when Trey and I stepped out into the cool night air.
“Hey, Trey!” they called to him as we walked past on our way to the waiting car.
“Hey,” he said, smiling and waving at them.
“We’ll see you on tour,” they added.
“I’ll hold you to it,” Trey responded with a smirk as the driver opened the door to the backseat for us to climb in.
I knew then that that everything was about to change. I’d been so focused on getting through the last few weeks, on making sure that Trey survived long enough to become a vampire, I hadn’t completely wrapped my head around what would happen next. This life I had known with Trey here in Clearwater was going to shift completely as a new chapter in our lives began. Trey had fans waiting on him, counting on him to bring the new songs to their hometowns. It would be an entirely new adventure in a world that was entirely new to me. I was ready. I was looking forward to it, even. One thing was certain: it wouldn’t be easy. But things had never been easy for Trey and me. After everything we’d been through, I was just grateful we’d be facing it side-by-side.
The End
###
Look for the next book in the Blood And Guitars series, Fangs and Fame, to be released in 2013.
If you enjoyed this book, please let the author know by rating and reviewing it online.
Immortals And Melodies (Blood And Guitars #2) Page 29
