stand. The lowest, Allie knew, was designed to capture the sound of the guitar; the upper one, her voice. If the balance wasn't just right, Alyssa's performance would be marred.
So it didn't surprise her to see a young sound technician with a board standing next to the amps set up in the other back corner of the room. This was going to be a surround-sound experience from the looks of it.
Alyssa strummed a few bars and looked at Colt who gave the thumbs up. Connor did the same when she looked at him, and finally the tech nodded his agreement. Next she said a few words into the microphone and tested the levels. Finally she sang and played a brief chorus to check the balance. When everything was given the go-ahead, Alyssa smiled and looked around at her audience.
"Hi, it's good to see so many beautiful, powerful people here tonight. I must admit, it is still sometimes daunting for a kid from suburban Portland, who spent quite a few years singing for her supper on the streets of LA, to be performing in front of audiences such as yourselves. I hope you enjoy my songs, all of which I wrote and can be found on my Dark Fantasies Album.
"Some of you might have known a very good friend of mine, Alzhir Akabar, who died so tragically not long ago. It was his belief in me that brings me here tonight. Without him, I might never have found the happiness and purpose I now have in my life. For that I will always be grateful."
If Allie hadn't known what a bastard this Akabar had been, and that it was Alyssa who had helped to bring him down, she would have believed every word the woman said. And reading between the lines, she imagined there was truth in the last part. The Sons had flagged Akabar as a contender for the Inner Sanctum of the Guild and decided the best way to get to him was through his new girlfriend, Alyssa. It seemed like fate that Colt, who had saved Alyssa from a terrible rape four years earlier, should be the one assigned to get close to her. So it was true, had Akabar never taken an interest in Alyssa, the couple might never have met again.
At that moment, an imposing-looking middle-aged man with a balding head of grey hair and a startlingly black moustache and eyebrows, entered the room and took his seat, as if they'd all be waiting on him so the entertainment could start. Alyssa nodded her greeting to the late arrival and began to pick out the melodic introduction to one of her best known songs.
She'd always been addicted to Star Quality and watched the show, even when she was in England. So she'd watched Alyssa's rise through the ranks, as if she was a friend. And now, here she was, meeting the woman for real and being called her sister. Things like that didn't happen to people like her.
People like her? She'd have to rethink that belief, in light of what she now knew about herself. What did happen to genetically engineered new species of people like her? People who could see in the dark, move faster than the wind and hear better than… dogs? She had super-powers like Wonder Woman now. Who knew what could happen to someone like her?
For song after song, Alyssa wove her magical web around her audience, interspersing each song with a little anecdote that added another dimension to the song she sang. But the last song… Dark Fantasies … she didn't talk about. But knowing what Allie now did about how the singer and her lover first met, she understood every word.
What must it be like to love with all your heart and soul like that? To be worthy of being rescued and loved by a hero like Colt? Something inside her ached to know; ached to feel loved like that. To love like that.
Connor was every bit the hero Colt was, she knew. But the intense connection they shared wasn't love. It was chemistry and the procreative urge on overdrive. Love didn't even factor into it. But what would it be like to love Connor with everything she had inside her? What would it be like to feel loved by him in return? Not because she was his
So it didn't surprise her to see a young sound technician with a board standing next to the amps set up in the other back corner of the room. This was going to be a surround-sound experience from the looks of it.
Alyssa strummed a few bars and looked at Colt who gave the thumbs up. Connor did the same when she looked at him, and finally the tech nodded his agreement. Next she said a few words into the microphone and tested the levels. Finally she sang and played a brief chorus to check the balance. When everything was given the go-ahead, Alyssa smiled and looked around at her audience.
"Hi, it's good to see so many beautiful, powerful people here tonight. I must admit, it is still sometimes daunting for a kid from suburban Portland, who spent quite a few years singing for her supper on the streets of LA, to be performing in front of audiences such as yourselves. I hope you enjoy my songs, all of which I wrote and can be found on my Dark Fantasies Album.
"Some of you might have known a very good friend of mine, Alzhir Akabar, who died so tragically not long ago. It was his belief in me that brings me here tonight. Without him, I might never have found the happiness and purpose I now have in my life. For that I will always be grateful."
If Allie hadn't known what a bastard this Akabar had been, and that it was Alyssa who had helped to bring him down, she would have believed every word the woman said. And reading between the lines, she imagined there was truth in the last part. The Sons had flagged Akabar as a contender for the Inner Sanctum of the Guild and decided the best way to get to him was through his new girlfriend, Alyssa. It seemed like fate that Colt, who had saved Alyssa from a terrible rape four years earlier, should be the one assigned to get close to her. So it was true, had Akabar never taken an interest in Alyssa, the couple might never have met again.
At that moment, an imposing-looking middle-aged man with a balding head of grey hair and a startlingly black moustache and eyebrows, entered the room and took his seat, as if they'd all be waiting on him so the entertainment could start. Alyssa nodded her greeting to the late arrival and began to pick out the melodic introduction to one of her best known songs.
She'd always been addicted to Star Quality and watched the show, even when she was in England. So she'd watched Alyssa's rise through the ranks, as if she was a friend. And now, here she was, meeting the woman for real and being called her sister. Things like that didn't happen to people like her.
People like her? She'd have to rethink that belief, in light of what she now knew about herself. What did happen to genetically engineered new species of people like her? People who could see in the dark, move faster than the wind and hear better than… dogs? She had super-powers like Wonder Woman now. Who knew what could happen to someone like her?
For song after song, Alyssa wove her magical web around her audience, interspersing each song with a little anecdote that added another dimension to the song she sang. But the last song… Dark Fantasies … she didn't talk about. But knowing what Allie now did about how the singer and her lover first met, she understood every word.
What must it be like to love with all your heart and soul like that? To be worthy of being rescued and loved by a hero like Colt? Something inside her ached to know; ached to feel loved like that. To love like that.
Connor was every bit the hero Colt was, she knew. But the intense connection they shared wasn't love. It was chemistry and the procreative urge on overdrive. Love didn't even factor into it. But what would it be like to love Connor with everything she had inside her? What would it be like to feel loved by him in return? Not because she was his
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