AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My voice was almost a whisper, so afraid was I to provoke something nasty out of him since he was opening up. “Where did you grow up, Apollo?”
A horrible grin wound its way across his face. “Poor Priscilla. She really did love Emory. Her obsession was so strong that, when he found out she had supposedly conceived a child by him, he offered her an arrangement: to work for him in his primary household as a maid. A cleaning lady. And my adoptive mother, a superstar of her day, accepted. She accepted his offer!”
My eyes widened. The tale of the Brock family was ludicrous in general, but for some reason that was the wildest thing I’d heard yet.
Apollo picked up on my disbelief and nodded, smirking. “Yes. She’d rather work as his maid and give up her entire career than be parted from the man she loved. Sad, really. Anyway, that’s where I grew up. In the mansion of Emory Brock, looking up at the man who I was told was my father and not being allowed to call him such. Then, finally, being called upon as one of five – five! – when he summoned his illegitimate children to train as his heirs. Heaven knows where she got me from – or how she faked the evidence – but I don’t doubt she did it.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I tried to focus on what it was I needed to get through to Apollo. “It’s not too late to shake off all that expectation and do your own thing.”
He laughed bitterly. “What would I do? Open a florist? Write the next Great American Novel? Pack bags at the grocery store?”
“I don’t know. But you are a person. Everyone’s a person.”
He played it off as sarcasm, but even I could see the vulnerability behind his next question. “Even me?”
“Even you.” And then I risked a small smile. “Probably.”
He glanced away, made awkward by the sincerity, perhaps. “Yeah, well, your belief in me is... admirable, Luna Black. You know, you weren’t such bad company. And we did make a number one bestselling book together. Say, fancy running away with me to a tropical island somewhere?”
I choked back a laugh. “Um. No offense but absolutely not.”
He shrugged and swept towards the exit, not looking back and giving me a lazy wave farewell. “Worth a try. Alright. Showbiz calls.Sayonara.”
He walked out through the door and into the hallway. I watched from the door frame as he went down the stairs.Showbiz callsimplied he was still planning to storm the stage. What could I do? Was there any point in trying to stop him?
A deep, purring voice echoed in the corridor: “What a lovely performance tonight, Ms. Luna Black. A shame we couldn’t publicly duet on that stage. Maybe the world isn’t quite ready for us just yet.”
I struggled for a moment to find the location of the voice. Then I turned to the right to see Priscilla standing at the doorway of the second private viewing box, just next door. She beckoned me with those purple claws of hers.
I was torn – between fascinatedly seeing what on earth was going to happen next with Priscilla, or running to warn Sylvester that Apollo was about to storm the stage. He’d known that it was a possibility something dramatic would happen tonight – but I don’t think he’d counted on Apollo showing up in person, intending to steal the show.
Seeing my indecision, Priscilla stepped back and two of her guards slunk out of the door and grasped me by the arm, walking me forwards so that my decision was made for me. Priscilla had plans for me, it seemed.
“I hear my son’s about to shut this concert down.” Priscilla’s grin gleamed in the hallway lighting. Had she heard the whole conversation with me? Or just the part where he’d sent his guards on ahead to prepare to part the crowds? “You can watch with me from the sound box.” She gestured to her guards. “C’mon. Time to commandeer the sound and lights.”
The majority of Priscilla’s guards led the way to the technician’s area. Priscilla followed, and I came last, dragged along by guards on either side of me, digging their hands into my upper arms so hard they’d surely leave bruises.
I felt helpless, but there was little I would have been able to do to help Sylvester, anyway, besides give him a heads up. Just like Priscilla, I was committed to seeing how things played out. We had all committed to that when we had made this plan to send a message to Apollo in a way that he would hear it.
Ahead of us, Priscilla’s guards forced the doors open and pulled the technicians out of their booths. I was shoved into the back of the sound booth, held in place still. Through the glass window, I could see the crowd was being parted by a small mob of Apollo’s guards, and that he had made it two thirds of the way to the stage. None of the members ofNeedleheadseemed to have noticed yet: they were still playing, fully absorbed in their own music and the cheers of the crowd.
“Alright, gentlemen. Cut the sound to everything. Be prepared to bring it back up solely for whatever microphone Apollo reaches first.”
Sylvester
My whole body felt electric. The crowd screamed and cheered. I was intoxicated with the glare of the stage lights, the rising heat and scent of sweat from the crowd.
We’d done our part for tonight. We’d delivered our message. The next part was to wait and see if Apollo had received it.
Reed thanked the crowd for enjoying our new material, and then we geared up for our next song. Mark started up on the bass, Pete on the drums, and then–
Abruptly, the sound on all the instruments cut out. Mark’s hands were moving, but there was no audible sound. Just–
Silence.
“What the fuck?” I may as well have mouthed the words. The mics were down too. I squinted in the direction of the sound desk, though it was so far away that I couldn’t even make out the shape of it to the right of the private viewing booths on the topmost level of the concert arena.
Then I saw something happening closer to the stage, in the crowds. A group of attendees, dressed all in black, were pushing their way through the crowd – quite rudely, forcing people out of their way, so that the crowd started anticipating their arrival and parting in advance so as not to get shoved.
