Dark Muse by David Simms Page A

over there if Silver Eye wasn’t bluffing.
    “The bottom line is, you need to wait . Got it?”
    A few mumbled, frustrated but dealing with
it.
    “You gonna listen to me? Speak up!”
    Grumbling a disjointed “yes,” they nodded,
four heads in defeat.
    Poe stood up, but instead of heading toward
the door, she ran her fingers over the odd keyboard-ish thing the
old man gave her. “So, what’s the agenda?”
    “What?”
    “You said we’re not ready yet. Fine. I can
deal with that. But tell me what we have to do to get to Zack. You
say we haven’t hit the tip of the scary iceberg that comprises that
little “crossroads” world of yours. If that’s really true, you’re
missing the main point.”
    “Which is? Tell me, little angel.”
    Even with those cloudy eyes, the fire that
sparked in them couldn’t have been missed. “Don’t call me that, old
man,” she said and tossed the instrument back to him. “I’m not your
angel or anyone else’s.”
    Silver Eye raised his hands in mock defeat.
“My apologies, Miss Poe. So, do tell, what am I missing here?”
    “He’s been there for nearly forty-eight hours
and if you’re not shoving a pile through those lips of yours
and if scarier things exist than what we’ve seen over there,
then there’s a good chance—”
    “Don’t,” Muddy whispered, mind already
forming images of what could be.
    “You’re thinking the same thing, so grow up
and deal with it, Edgar.”
    He couldn’t believe she’d just said that. He
sunk inside.
    Otis mouthed the “D” word to him, attempting
to lessen the blow. Muddy did understand, but the lash from her
tongue still stung. She knew how his mom’s passing had affected
him. “He’s not dead.”
    “He might be and you have to prepare yourself
for that,” she said.
    “So, then why do you want to go?” He felt the
filter slip off his lips, not typical of him, even with the band.
“Want to check out a dead body? You never liked him, anyway. Might
be a thrill ride. Right?” Flames nearly followed the words out of
his mouth. Regret immediately trailed behind. Instead of spewing
fire and brimstone, Poe executed the worst retaliation of all.
    She stared right through him, a sheen of
salty liquid coating the clouded lenses of blue. Oh crap. Nothing
else needed to be said. He’d stepped in it, rolled around in it and
had submerged his head until both ears were clogged. He would pay
for this. Didn’t know when or where, but it would come.
    Silver Eye whistled a dire tune. “Boy, you’ve
a lot to learn about women.”
    Despite any intended comebacks storming
within his head, his lips knew the battle was pointless. “I want
all of us there when we go,” the guitarist managed. “Without the
whole group, it won’t work, anyway. I really—”
    “Shut up,” Poe said, wrapping her arms
tightly around herself. “I’m going. The band needs me and I don’t
let people down.” She refused to make eye contact, which was just
fine with him for the moment. “So when do we go?” She looked right
at Silver Eye, the tears already burned away.
    There it began, the would-be woman who
normally reeked of sunshine, was now showing the first signs of a
crack in her armor. Whether it would help or hurt her would reveal
itself soon enough. Muddy wished that when it did, they’d be there
to help her.
    “The lady asked, ‘When do we go?’ “ Otis
sometimes wavered in his bravado, but never his
straightforwardness. “I think we’ve got ourselves a mission.”
    The old man stared at the group for a tense
moment then spoke. “In time.”
    “What?” Muddy spat. “We just agreed that Zack
might be, well, he’s not going to last long there on his own.
You’ve made that clear.”
    “You’re not ready. I said that already. You
go there now and people will die.”
    Corey’s head shot up. “You don’t know that.
If we don’t go there, someone will definitely die.”
    Silver Eye shook his head slowly, as if he
held a deep, dark