The Air Singer (The Cantors) (9 page)

Roland admired the
leather bound books in the facility’s library while waiting for Anna. The stiffness in his back finally subsided after a hot shower at Oliver’s place. He still had clean clothes in his truck from his journey to find Tally and was confident that Anna would not suspect that he had stayed the night at her cabin. Even if she believed that he slept on the sofa, she would not approve. It was frowned upon if a paladin and singer became romantically involved and even a platonic sleep over would border on inappropriate in Anna’s book. 

Of course, if the sleep over would be considered inappropriate, his dreams that night would have been downright illegal
. Why did he torment himself? Did other paladins ever find themselves in this situation? He almost lost himself in his thoughts when Anna entered the room.

“So tell me about our newest
singer.” 

Roland was accustomed to
Anna’s abruptness. There was no need for pleasantries with this woman. She entered from the sleeping quarters opposite the kitchen.

“What would you like to know specifically? I didn’t have much time to get to know her before bringing her to the Cadence.”

“Yes, about that, how did the Spina find her so quickly? I understand that they had an agent in place three months prior to your arrival.”

Damn, why do I have to answer for this?
“There were multiple air events within twenty four hours of the previous singer’s death. It was just dumb luck that they investigated the correct one first.”

Anna scowled at Roland as she took a seat in one of the large chairs. “I don’t believe in luck
. They had to have noticed something we missed. It won’t happen again.” She folded her hands in her lap while her expression lightened a bit. “Tally is not naive to using her psychic gifts. I believe Oliver mentioned that she works as a tarot reader?”

“Yes
. She is extremely sensitive to other people’s energy. Her entire life has been spent developing the ability to block it out. She often feels overwhelmed if she drops her defenses for too long. I think this is going to make training her difficult.” Roland took the chair opposite her, “She doesn’t trust her own abilities. Her development will be a journey of baby steps rather than race to the finish.”

The scowl returned to Anna’s face. “I don’t have time for baby steps and neither does the Cadence.
” Making sure to meet Roland eye to eye, she leaned across the side table. “Your job is to train her so that she can defend herself and the Cadence from Spina attacks. Last I checked we don’t call a time out for training!”

Roland’s temper bristled at Anna’s
outburst, but he maintained a calm expression, “I believe we are not in imminent danger. Air, Fire and Water are under the protection of the Cadence and Earth is too elusive to be a target right now.”

“
Now that we have Air, I am sure that the Spina will be doubling the efforts to find Earth. We need to make sure that we are there first this time. I have been in contact with the council and while our facility focuses on developing Tally, all other paladins and sentries will be dedicated to locating the Earth Singer.”

Roland stood silent at Anna’s revelation.
The last time an Earth Singer had been located was over three centuries ago. The tendency of the Earth Singer to be solitary had been a benefit to the Cadence. As long as the Spina were not hunting an Earth Singer, he would leave the rest of the world alone and the Cadence could rest assured that events would not be influenced to tip the natural balance. The fact that the Cadence was determined to find this singer alerted Roland that things may be going on that Anna was not aware of or was deliberately hiding. He suspected the former, as Anna’s friends held the highest office of the Cadence and few decisions were made without the knowledge of the former paladin. He would speak to Oliver about what this could mean when he and Tally returned from town. For now, he sat back in the leather chair and prepared for another hour of questions and recommendations from his mentor.

“Good thing I cleaned out the trunk of my car or we’d never fit all the bags in!” Oliver shut the trunk lid down and came from behind the car with numerous bags from different department stores.

“Whatever
!” Tally laughed, “I’ve never had to buy a new wardrobe from nothing before. I wanted to make sure I had everything that I would need.” She opened the door to the cabin to allow him in before her. She had enjoyed an entire day of shopping with him. As a man, he had an instinctual aversion to anything resembling a mall, but Oliver attempted to be helpful, even offering an opinion once or twice. He dropped the bags of clothes, shoes, and cosmetics on the dining room table, almost knocking over the candle that had been the source of much disappointment this morning. Tally grabbed it and shoved it in the cabinet under the sink. “So how long does it take for a singer to get the hang of this stuff?”

Oliver sat down on the sofa that had been Roland’s bed just a few hours before. “What stuff are you asking about exactly?”

“You know, controlling my element: starting dust storms, directing tornados,” Tally took a seat next to the sofa, “blowing out candles.”

Oliver broke into laughter. “Is that w
hy that was out earlier?”

Tally
became defensive.

“Well you said yourself that the quicker I learn, the quicker I get to see my friends and family!” 

Oliver realized that Tally was hurt by his reaction and contained his amusement. “You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry to make light of everything.” He quickly stifled his glee. “You need to stop looking at this like it is just a matter of flipping a switch. If I asked you to run a marathon tomorrow, could you do it?”

“Of course not
, I haven’t ran in years.”

“So? You have legs! You can run! What stops you from running
twenty six miles tomorrow?” Oliver pushed.

“I haven’t trained
. I need time to prepare my body for something like that!”

“Exactly!
How can you expect to be able to use your powers when you haven’t trained or prepared? Why do you think your physical training is so important? It’s not just to get you in shape. It is method to train your mind to understand that real results take time and effort. There is no short cut for this.”

Tally resigned herself to Oliver’s knowledge. It would be months before she saw anyone from her previous life
. “So how often do we train?”

“Every day.
Anna knows that the Spina got close to you. She will want you to develop as fast as possible. Of course, that means that she will be hard on you, but try to remember it is because she is looking out for your safety.”

Anna caring about anything but her precious Cadence, seemed a little farfetched to Tally, but if it meant seeing her friends that much sooner, she could try to believe anything for the time being.

“Well it is close to dinner time and I need to check in with Anna. Want to come along?”

Tally got excited at the prospect of going back to
the facility. Roland would probably be there. “Sure.”

She grabbed her purse and followed Oliver back out to his car.

When they pulled up to the antique store,
Tally’s stomach began to spin. She waited for Oliver to get out of the car first and then rolled down the window. “Can you do that trick with the clairsentient overload?”

“Oops, I almost forgot
. I’m not used to having a singer here.” He walked over and opened her door. Tally stood up and grabbed his hand. Oliver looked puzzled, but closed the door to the car and walked her through the building to the back office with access to the library. Mike had his back to them as he inventoried some shelves at the far side of the store. 

Once they headed down the hidden stairwell, Oliver took his hand away
. Tally followed him from the library to a part of the complex she had never seen. A hallway to the right of the stairs led them to a row of doors. Entering the first room, Tally was amazed at the sight. Eight large LED monitors created a wall of flickering light and color. Images of weather patterns, satellite views of different countries, and a few different news stations all threw hues of blue, green and white across a long table that was littered with maps and newspapers. The far wall held an arsenal of weapons behind glass that reminded Tally of the spy movies. Anna and Roland were standing over the mound of paper engrossed in a conversation about fire.

“Fire always appears volatile, but we both know he is sharper than any
singer in the past fifty years.” Anna stated.

Roland snarled, “Sharp or not, he doesn’t follow instruction. It is impossible to protect someone that
won’t listen. I won’t expose her to that behavior until she is solid in her own power and knows the ways of the Cadence.”

“Well the time may come when we will bring the
singers together and she will be exposed to him whether she is solid or not.” Anna reached across the table and grabbed Roland’s chin to tilt his face up to meet her stare, “Exposure to another singer may be the key to her becoming fully aware of her power.”

Roland pulled her hand away from him and stood straight up. “I will not expose her to him
. Not until she is confident in who she is. He would manipulate her at his first opportunity.”

Tally stopped breathing, scared
to interrupt a discussion undoubtedly about her. Who was the Fire Singer and why was Roland so concerned about him being around her? If he was a member of the Cadence, wouldn’t he be one of the good guys? Clearing his throat, Oliver brought Tally out of her thoughts and alerted the others that they were no longer having a private conversation. 

Roland’s demeanor
switched as if the tense exchange with Anna never occurred. “How was shopping? Did you get everything you need?”

“What were you arguing about?
” Tally decided not to avoid whatever it was she walked in on.

Anna glided from the other side of the table with her arms outstretched as if to embrace Tally. “We weren’t arguing dear
. I was just telling Roland that you may come into your power quicker if you were to spend time with another singer.” She placed her hands on each of Tally’s shoulders and turned her gaze back to Roland, “As your paladin, he is just being a little over protective.”

Roland grudgingly agreed, “She’s right Tally
. Singers do seem to develop faster when they are together. I just want to make sure that you have a chance to find your own power before exposing you to someone else’s.”

A
tight-lipped smile appeared on Anna’s face. “Of course she will have that chance.” Her hands dropped from Tally, “But no more days wasted shopping. Your priority needs to be developing your powers.”

Tally opened her mouth to defend herself, when Oliver interrupted. “No worries, Anna. I caught Tally in the middle of some candle work this morning when I picked her up and now that she has some decent shoes, her physical training starts tomorrow.”

Anna’s demeanor immediately changed. “Excellent! I love a self-starter.” She walked past the two of them, “Why don’t all of you stay for dinner tonight? I’m sure none of you want to cook, and I’d rather not dine alone this evening.”

Roland followed Anna and stopped when he reached Tally
and Oliver. “I haven’t seen her so adamant about a singer’s training before.”

Oliver nodded, “Maybe she is concerned that the Spina are planning something big now that
Tally is under the protection of the Cadence.”

“No, something else is going on
. She spoke earlier about the Cadence sending all available paladins to search for the Earth Singer.”

Oliver’s eyes widened. “We have never looked for the Earth Singer
. If it wasn’t for the journals left by previous sentries, I would have thought the existence of an Earth Singer was just a myth.”

“Not to so
und self-absorbed, but what does this mean for me?” Tally interrupted.

Roland and Oliver looked at the newest addition to the Cadence. Oliver smirked, “It means that for the next few weeks you won’t have time to miss your family and friend
s. Your life just became very simple; training, training, and oh yeah, more training.”

Tally’s chest burned with each breath as she tried to keep
from losing her breakfast on her running shoes. Every morning for the last three weeks consisted of yoga and weight training or exhausting runs on different trails around Pinetop. Today’s challenge was a dirt road that winded through the pines for two miles with a steep incline during the last quarter mile. Tally had found a nice boulder to collapse on at the end of the trail. Considering she never ran on a consistent basis before coming here, working up to two miles in less than a month gave her a sense of accomplishment. Oliver did not seem impressed.

“Let’s not waste time here
. We need to head back to the car or you’ll be late for your lessons.”

Tally lifted her head and between breaths responded, “I’m the only student. I doubt class can start without me.”

“You need to keep moving.” Oliver encouraged. “Look, we can walk back if you want. Let’s go.”

Tally stood back up and started
stomping back down the hill. “I just wanted to catch my breath! Give me a break!”

“
Do you think the Spina will give you a break?”

Tally spun around to face him, “Did you take that directly from Anna’s book of motivational quotes or did you come up with it all by yourself?”

Oliver threw his hands up in front of him. “Whoa, calm down. A little touchy today are we?” He let his arms fall to his side, “What is going on?”

“I’m tired of
being told that the
evil
Spina is lurking right around every corner waiting for me to trip up or catch my breath to strike. I’ve been here for close to a month and haven’t seen or heard from them. If Anna is a stereo typical member of the Cadence, I’m beginning to think it is nothing but a paranoid cult.”

“Anna can be a little overwhelming when it comes to the threat of the Spina.
She has her reasons. That doesn’t mean the threat isn’t real.” Oliver tried to calm Tally down. “Look, let’s just walk back to the car, not because of the threat of a Spina attack but because I’m meeting someone for lunch.”

Tally
looked confused. “Who?”

“A friend.”

“You don’t have friends.”

Oliver mirrored Tally’s confusion now. “What does that mean
? I have friends.”

“Roland and I don’t count.”

Now it was Oliver’s turn to stomp down the hill. “You know my life is not centered around your training. It’s not like I spend my day looking for the next trail to run. I have a job and I have a social life. Granted, my social life was a lot more active before Anna needed you brought up to speed so quickly,” Oliver lowered his voice, “but I hope lunch will rectify the situation.

“Holy roses!
You have a girlfriend!” This new information encouraged Tally to catch up to Oliver.

“
Past tense; I had a girlfriend.” He froze midstride. Tally almost ran into him. “Wait, I never said I had a girlfriend! Did Roland tell you? Did you try to read me? I never gave you permission to read me!”

“Hey!” Tally interrupted, “I didn’t read you and Roland hasn’t said anything
. It doesn’t take a genius to know that men don’t worry about punctuality for lunch with a buddy.” Tally noticed Oliver calm down a bit. “So how long since you broke up?”

“Two weeks.” Oliver started walking again. “
I finally convinced her to have lunch with me and I don’t think it will help my case if I’m late.”

“How long were you together?”

“It won’t matter if I stand her up.”

“Fine, let’s go.” Tally started striding down the hill ahead of Oliver
. She didn’t bother with any more questions. Not because of Oliver’s evasiveness, but if he dated a woman for weeks without Tally knowing, Roland could be too. The thought obsessed her. It made sense. He was a good-looking man. Why wouldn’t he have a girlfriend? He didn’t spend every moment with her. Sure, he spent a few nights on her sofa in the beginning, but then he moved in with Oliver. He could have a woman waiting in his bed every night. Why wouldn’t he have said something? He kept his work and personal life separate, that’s why. Tally fit into the work category. Her heart fell. 

Searching through her memory of the last month, she tried to find some evidence of Roland’s personal life
. They had spent every day together. He would have mentioned if he had a relationship with someone. Wouldn’t he? Tally scanned her memories and realized that Roland always kept the conversations toward topics about her: her childhood, her abilities, her feelings. She knew nothing concrete about the man she had trusted her life to. The link they shared in the diner that fateful day last month gave her a glimpse into his mind. He had no ill intent toward her and she knew he cared, but now it seemed that it was platonic; part of the job.

No! She knew better. He cared about her.
Didn’t he?

He fought for her when she was in danger
. He stayed with her when she was scared. He protected her when Anna wanted to expose her to the Fire Singer. He wouldn’t do those things if he didn’t care.

He is your paladin
. It’s his job to do those things.

Tally faced the reality of the situation
. She knew nothing about the person who was her paladin. She only knew what he wanted her to know. She must change that.

“Are you walking all the way back to town or do you
want to ride in the car?” Tally turned to see that she passed Oliver’s car while lost in thought.

“Sorry
. I was just thinking about my element work.”

“Roland will be glad to have such an enthusiastic student today.” Oliver opened the passenger door for Tally to sit. “Remember, you’re the only student
. You don’t have to work so hard to be teacher’s pet. You win by default.” A friendly smile and wink from him lightened Tally’s mood.

The quiet drive home allowed Tally to finish sorting through her thoughts. Oliver dropped her off in front of her cabin and headed to his place to shower before his lunch date. Tally treated herself to a shower as well and changed into jeans, boots and brown sweater set. Adjusting her top in the mirror, she checked her face and decided on just powder, mascara, and a little lip-gloss. Roland would be here any minute and another disappointing day of meditation and candle work would begin. The candle flame had no reason to fear Tally and danced as if taunting her over the past month. The elemental control just didn’t appear to be getting any better. Her other skills sharpened, but without clients to read, it was difficult to know how much. 

The sound of tires on the gravel in front of her porch alerted her that Roland arrived. Tally went to the kitchen to grab the candles from the cabinet
. After setting them on the table, she opened the front door to see Roland walking toward her. He wore jeans with a blue flannel hanging just over his front pockets. His light eyes met hers and instantly her heart flipped. Tally silently cursed this habit of losing her breath when she saw him for the first time each day. 

“How was your morning run?
” he asked.

“Fine
. Did Oliver get to his date on time?”

Bemused, Roland broadened the
ever present grin, “Yeah, he made it. He’s picking up flowers on the way there.” He reached the front door, “I think it is a waste of money.”

Tally was appalled at his apathy
toward Oliver’s romantic gesture. “Buying a girl flowers is a waste of money?”

“Buying
that
girl flowers is a waste of money, but enough talk about Oliver’s problems.” Roland grabbed Tally’s hand and began to pull her out the door. “Do you have your keys?”

“Yes, but…”

“No buts, I have a surprise for you today!” Roland closed the door behind them and locked it.

Tally forgot her concerns about Roland and allowed a giggle to escape as she got in his truck.
The smile never left Roland’s face as he pulled on to the gravel road.

“So where are we headed?”

“Uh-uh, no clues, and I will block you if I have to!” Roland pointed his finger toward Tally.

“Okay, okay!” She held her hands up in surrender. While training her, Roland learned the ability to block her from grabbing random thoughts from him
. It took quite a bit of effort, but he believed it could be a handy ability. Given the current circumstances, he proved his point.

Tally sat back in the passenger seat of the truck
. “So are we skipping school today?” she teased.

“Let’s think of this as a field trip.” Roland answered as he
turned on to the paved road heading away from Pinetop.

About fifteen minutes later, Rolan
d pulled over. “I need to blindfold you.”

“What?” Tally stared at Roland.

“I want this to be a surprise and you will see it from the truck if you don’t let me hide your eyes.” Roland pleaded.

Tally let the different possibilities run through her head and decided to give in. “Fine, but if I get car sick, you’re cleaning it up.”

Roland chuckled, “Deal”. He pulled a white bandana from his pocket and folded it to make a triangle. Tally turned her back to him in the truck and he secured it behind her head. Tally could see her lap if she looked down, but only the white glow of sunlight through her blindfold was visible in front of her. “Can you see anything?”

“Nope, I am at your mercy.
” Tally replied. A slight jerk alerted her that the truck began moving forward again. After a minute or two, the smooth pavement become gravel and the vehicle crept to a stop.

“I’ll let you out
. Just sit tight.” Roland said just before closing the driver’s side door. Tally’s chest was tight with excitement. She could hear the hum of a conversation, but could not make out the words. The rumble of an engine passing by alerted her that someone else was leaving. She heard the door next to her open and felt Roland’s body lean over hers as he unbuckled her seatbelt. He took both hands from her lap and pulled her out of the truck. With her feet firmly on the ground, Tally let him bring her close enough to feel the warmth of his body next to hers as he shut the truck door behind her. One strong arm wrapped around her waist and the other holding her hand, he directed her forward. Tally listened for clues to her whereabouts, but it was quiet. The crunch of pine needles below her boots was the only sound at first. Then she heard something else stomping the ground. Before she could ask questions, Roland stopped and moved behind her. He untied the bandana but continued to hold it in front of her eyes.

Leaning down he
whispered “I know that you have been having a rough time this past month and I wanted to give you a break.”

Tally’s eyes
watered as soon as he lowered the blind fold. Before her two of the most gorgeous steeds stood tied to a tree, complete with saddles and bridles. Golden brown skin covered the muscular bodies accented by black manes and tails.

“They’re beautiful.” She sighed. 

Roland let his head lean on her shoulder as he wrapped both arms around her waist. “I’m glad you like them. You said that riding was a like a vacation for you. I figured after everything that you deserved one.”

Tally whipped around and threw her arms around Roland’s neck
. “Thank you! I can’t believe you remembered.”

Roland hugged her close to him and relished the feeling of her arms around him
. It took some serious negotiating to get the local stables to let him take the horses without a guide, but he wanted to have this moment with Tally alone. “So are we going to stand here all day and just look at them, or do you want to ride?”

Tally tore herself away from Roland and introduced herself to the nearest mare
. Her hand reached up and stroked the forehead of the animal as it bowed its head lower so that Tally could reach its ears. Tally cooed and glided her hand down the muscular neck. Roland watched in wonder as the beautiful woman in front of him untied her horse and lifted herself into the saddle with the grace of a dancer. Her eyes shone as she walked the horse in circles in front of him. “Are you coming?”

Roland snapped out of his thoughts. “Yeah, just let me grab something real quick
. He ran back to the truck and grabbed a backpack. After he secured it in the saddle bag of the remaining horse, he untied the animal. Roland grabbed the saddle horn and with a strong leap, swung himself onto the steed. 

Tally stared in amazement. “You ride!”

“I’m full of surprises today, aren’t I?” Roland laughed, walking his horse to the trailhead in front of them. Tally brought her horse to his side. “Can you tell me where we are going now?”

“There is a creek
a few miles into the trees that runs to a reservoir. Very few people know about it, so we should have it to ourselves. I thought we could try meditating there today.”

“Lead the way.
” Tally relaxed into the leather saddle and felt the strength of the horse beneath her. She would not let the concerns she had earlier ruin what promised to be a beautiful day.