Black Bird of the Gallows(59)

“It smells like it always does right before…” He takes my hand, then drops it like I burned him. Which I kind of did, I guess. “Look, I get that you don’t want anything to do with me. I’m not asking you to leave with me, but you’ve got to leave.”

“But I’ve finally done it, Reece,” I say, letting his words take their sweet time penetrating. “I’m playing my own music. I’m out here as me, and it’s so amazing I can’t even explain it.”

The whites of his eyes flash. “Yes, and I’m sorry the timing is bad, but you need to get somewhere safe.”

I look around at the packed room which I don’t want to leave. Not tonight. “It’s going to happen right now?”

“I don’t know the exact second.” He takes my hand again and this time, he doesn’t let go. “But you need to go. This is your life, Angie.”

“Whoa, hey. What’s up, Romeo?” Deno inserts his bulk between us and plucks Reece’s hand off me. “I think you’re the one who’s going.” He signals to Tom across the room.

“Angie, it’s coming.” Reece’s voice makes my skin prickle. “I wouldn’t bother you for any other reas—”

A strong hand lands on Reece’s shoulder and swings him away from me. Tom is still sporting the fading bruises he acquired at my last show. “Hey Sparo, is this one giving you problems?”

“No, I…” My words fade off, along with my musical euphoria. The implications of Reece’s warning drain the blood from my head in a world-tilting bout of vertigo.

“Yes, he is,” Deno says with a flick of his fingers. “Off you go, sport.”

Tom nods grimly. Reece’s nostrils flare as Tom jerks him toward the exit.

My stomach rolls with unease. I sink onto a stool and wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans. “We need to get out of here,” I whisper to Lacey.

“Um, no. You’re not going to let your ex derail your show. You’re stronger than that.” She pumps a fist in the air. “You’re in charge.”

But I’m not, really. An event outside of my control is. We may be broken up, but Reece wouldn’t come here with such an urgent warning unless he meant it. “We really need to get out of here.”

Deno takes one look at my face and announces a “quick” break. He puts on a prearranged house mix that will run for a few minutes, and we head for the dressing room. The walls and ceiling are painted black, and it’s as small as a storage closet—which it probably once was. It’s also the only halfway quiet place around here. Inside, I turn to find only Lacey with me. “Where’s Deno?” My jaw clenches. We’re not leaving without him. My head spins with possible options. Can I get the whole place to evacuate? No way: if I told the room out there—half of which have been drinking—to get in their cars right now and head for the interstate, they’d probably think it was part of my act.

“He stopped to talk to some guy.” Lacey hands me a bottle of water. “Angie, you look like you swallowed a fly. What did Reece say to you?”

I hold up a shaking hand. How am I going to explain this? “Look, you’re not going to believe this, but—”

Deno plows inside, bursting with energy. His smile is megawatt as he points at me. “You can lose that terrified look—minds are being blown tonight, girl. Shocked the hell out of our classmates, but they’re all psyched for you. Katie Long wants to interview you for the school newsletter.”

“Deno—” I start, but he holds up a hand and barrels on.

“No, no—wait. I gotta tell you the best part. There’s a guy here from a recording studio in Philadelphia who wants to talk to us. Can you believe it? This is really happening.”

“I can’t—I think I’m going to be sick.” I groan and lean forward, bracing my hands against my thighs. When I tell these two that we need to leave—now—they’re going to want to know why. And if I tell them the truth, they’re going to question my sanity. I won’t blame them.

“Better not be,” Deno says. “We have to be back out there in two minutes.” He checks his phone. “More like a minute and thirty. Let’s get ready. We don’t want dead air out there.”

Lacey rests a hand on my back. “What’s wrong, Angie?”

I get up too fast and close my eyes against a wave of dizziness. “Look guys, you’re not going to believe this, but something much worse than dead air is going to—”

Crack.

Thunder with the power of a hundred lightning bolts.

It’s like nothing I’ve ever heard.

Ever.

We go still and silent and waiting. For one horrible, hopeful moment, everything is still. But then, a deafening boom racks the building, makes the floor move beneath our feet. Lacey grabs my arm with a cry. The walls vibrate. Magazines scatter to the floor as the table tips over.

The lights flick out with a spray of sparks. Our small, windowless room plunges into darkness. Shuffling feet and the confused voices of The Strip Mall’s patrons, pressing for the exit.

“What’s happening?” Lacey shrieks.

“I don’t know,” Deno says. “Something.”

In the dark, tears squeeze out of the corners of my eyes.