“That’s perfect!” Ava cried, bouncing a little on the bench. “Oh, Charlie! Our fans are going to love this!”
I stopped playing. “Ourfans?”
“Um, well… I guess? They like us both, so I guess they’reours.”
It was nice to have something that wasours— besides Oberi— though I’d never admit it.
“I think I’ve got a good handle on the chord progression,” I said. “It repeats the same four chords until that key change. How does this sound?”
I played the chord progression a few times, throwing in an arpeggio to make it interesting.
“That sounds really good,” Ava remarked. “Keep going.”
I continued playing, and Ava started singing. I couldn’t get over how amazing the song was, even after half an hour passed and I must’ve heard it a dozen times.
“I think we’re ready to record something,” Ava said.
“I’m set if you are,” I agreed.
“Let me just get the camera set up—”
Ava’s words halted as both of us felt the shift. Silence dominated the prison. The only sound I heard was our ragged breathing. It was like that for nearly ten seconds before sound resumed in the prison again, and the air ceased to be fragile.
She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Did you notice that?”
“Yes. Kallie stopped time,” I said.
“Why?” Ava asked. “We agreed she wouldn’t unless—”
Ava cut off as the door to the music room burst open. Several people stumbled inside, before the door slammed shut behind them.
“Behind the piano!” Kallie barked. A moment later, the sound of a light switch clicked. She must’ve turned the lights off. I heard the sound of Alette’s wings flutter as she crossed the room.
Marcus whimpered and scurried behind the piano. He must’ve stepped on Rishi’s tail, because the cat yowled. Oberi stomped her hooves, like she was worried.
“Ancestors!” Ava cried, shooting up from her seat.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
“Everybody quiet!” Kallie hissed. “Get down!”
Ava yanked on my shirt. We both ducked behind the piano beside Kallie and Marcus. I slipped on something wet when I went to hide, and I fell onto my knees. Oberi shifted into a husky and ducked beneath the bench.
Outside, I heard people shouting— which was saying something, because the music room was supposed to be soundproof.
“Where’d that motherfucker go?” someone screamed.
“This way!” someone else called.
“Marcus, what happened to your face?” Ava hissed in a low whisper.
A chill rippled through my stomach when I realized I’d slipped in blood.
“Shh!” Kallie snapped.
Nobody moved. I didn’t think we breathed for a good thirty seconds. Even after the voices faded down the hall, we waited.
After at least a minute, Kallie finally stood. “I think the coast is clear.”
