Lullaby (The Fable Series, Book 2)

Chapter Forty One

"I'm fine!" I say a little too forcefully. "Really, there's nothing to worry about. Let's get going."

"Ok then, if you're sure," Micah says. "By the way, what were you doing sitting on the bench alone reading a book?" He hands me Grace's copy of Alice in Wonderland, his eyes guarded, creased with concern.

"Why even bring a book to a thing like this?" Alix asks. "Ever heard of iBooks? Or Wattpad? If you wanna be a total nerd and sit in the corner reading in public, at least do it on your phone."

"It's Grace's book, actually," I begin, not sure where I'm going to take this. "We were sitting on that bench, and... Grace had got a call..."

"On her non-existent phone, you mean?" Alix asks. "You think I don't hear you and Zee blabbering non-stop about how unfair it is that Grace's mom won't let her have a phone? Grace wasn't with you, was she? What were you really doing out here alone?"

"She was here though..." I say, peering over the punch stand, where Grace was hiding.

She ran off after that creepy Robert guy called her Discordia. What was with that, anyway?

She couldn't be involved in all this stuff... could she?

Note to self: have a serious talk with Grace asap.

"Forget about it," I say, forcing a radiant smile onto my face. "Let's go get set up."

*****

"You ready for this?" Alix asks half an hour later, plugging a cable into the large black amp at the edge of the stage.

We've finally finished setting up and tuning our instruments, and it's almost time for us to play.

Sound check. Done. Mic check. Done.

Time to face the music. Literally.

"I've never been more ready," I say, trying to sound confident but knowing that just under the surface, I'm trembling.

Even the sight of Alix dressed up in a furry wolf outfit (minus the mask, which he threw away somewhere), and Micah in his way-too-small Robin Hood outfit, clingy brown tights and all, isn't enough to drown out the creeping anxiety.

I try to keep my eyes on the small, safe confines of the stage, elevated from the chaos of the kaleidoscopic crowd down below, a whirlwind of fairy tale characters cheering, laughing, partying the night away... and now, waiting.

Waiting for me.

To the left of the stage, two seniors dressed as Ash and Pikachu – not quite on point with regards the fairy tale theme, but close enough I guess – are manning the sound system. They keep looking our way, waiting for the moment we'll signal them to turn off the playlist, hook us up.

Why am I feeling this way? I've played in front of random strangers at the Night Owl countless times before. I've been hanging out with the world's most famous rock band for the past two months. I've watched a woman's face dissolve into black flames right before my eyes, for God's sake. Why am I so scared now?

This is nothing, a walk in the park compared the past few months, the dreams and the nightmares, the echoes of my seriously screwed up past, the craziness that is Fable.

Fable.

I wish they were here tonight.

Felix. Alastaire. Ben. Lyall. Elliot.

What are they doing right now? Mixing the final track? Eating dinner? Packing their bags? They'll be going back to England next week...

An unwelcome memory flashes before my eyes.