Page 8 of Last Note
“Come on, princess.” Lucien mocks me over his shoulder as he walks away. “Let’s patch you up before you swoon like a girl from blood loss.”
Grinding my teeth, I follow him, with Moël’s chuckle ringing in my ears.
6
Melody
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Craning my neck, I watch the broken-down neighborhood through the window in horror. “We are getting murdered here, aren’t we?”
“You are always so dramatic, Melody.” Sighing tiredly, Harmony leans her head on the headrest, closing her eyes. “It’s a new thing they are doing now. Revamping old areas to bring them to life.”
For whatever reason, hearing her say revamping sends a shiver down my spine. Shaking off the uncomfortable feeling, I mesh my lips together tightly so I don’t say a word. I don’t like this. The whole situation is weird. First, I kept tossing and turning all night, that French guy Ethan chasing me through ruined buildings calling my name only to disappear when I stopped running. Now, this crazy ass neighborhood that looks like it comes out of my worst nightmare is setting off alarms in my head, telling me to run and hide. While all I keep thinking about is him, the urge to call out his name forcing me to bite my tongue and taste blood in my mouth. What the hell is wrong with me? I don’t even know him, and no matter how hard things are, I’ve never needed a guy to save me.Maybe you should try dating sometimes, Melody. That way you won’t get too excited about the first hot guy that says hi to you.The snide voice in my head sneers.
“I’m actually quite excited about this,” Vi pipes in from behind the wheel.
“When are you not excited, Viola?” Harmony sounds like a robot, there is no inflection in her voice.
“Maybe we should turn around and go home.” Before they get a chance to argue the point, I hurry to explain. “All of us are out of sorts. We can’t play like this; we will just embarrass ourselves.”
“Too late, we are here.” Vi slows down the car and slides into a parking spot across from what looks like an old church.
A very old, ancient church.
“We are joining the church choir?” The incredulous sound that comes out of Harmony gives me hope. It’s the most emotion I’ve heard from her since that night.
I snicker.
“Hilarious guys,” Vi says drily,” When I spoke to the owner, she said the place was abandoned, and they redid everything in hopes to make it mysterious and unlike anything the city has seen.” Pursing her lips, she leans over Harmony to take a better look. “I’d say it worked.”
“I’m still not sure about this.” Mumbling, I press my face to the window, fogging the glass to get a better look at the monstrosity of a building across the road.
“Well, I’m not going to sit in the car wasting time.” Harmony opens the door and jumps out. “Let’s check it out. We can always leave if we don’t like it.”
I keep my mouth shut when she yanks my door open and drags her Cello out from the back seat. We somehow made our little bend work. Me and Vi playing the violin and Harmony her Cello. Turning classical pieces into modern music and modern pieces into classical is what we are known for. What we were known for, I should say. With a shiver, I follow suit and pull myself out of the car, clutching my violin like a lifeline.
The beep of Vi locking the car almost makes me jump out of my skin. Chuckling, she comes next to me and bumps my shoulder with hers.
“You’ll forget all about your anxiety as soon as you hold that violin, Melody. Come on, you know you’re dying to play.” Vi starts walking, and reluctantly, I follow her.
She’s not wrong. The thought of playing for people stirs the excitement in my chest. Palms sweaty, and heart beating in my throat, I enter the front gates of the old church. Gasping, I choke on a breath when we step through them. Intense energy like gripping fingers tugs at the center of my chest, causing beads of sweat to gather on my forehead and upper lip. What the hell?
Before I can ask if my other two friends felt the same, the large double doors in front of us open and a middle aged, well-kept woman smiles brightly at us. It puts me at ease instantly. She has that kind, motherly vibe coming from her and my shoulders sag. Jeez, maybe Vi and Harmony are right, I am paranoid for no reason.
“Viola, I presume?” She looks from me to my other two friends.
“Yes”—Vi hurries up to her–“that will be me. We spoke on the phone.” Reaching out, she grasps the woman’s hand, shaking it with vigor.
Harmony groans.
“Great,” she mumbles to me while glaring at Viola. “Now the woman will think we are desperate.”
“We are desperate.” Giggling, I grin when she turns her glare at me, showing more teeth than necessary.
“Well, come on in!” The woman waves us in, already ushering Vi with a hand on her back. “I’m Seraphina. Welcome to the Chalice.”
“What a cool name,” Vi says excitedly, looking over her shoulder at us, and Harmony gives me a pointed look.
“I’m Melody.” Giving Seraphina a tight smile, I hook a thumb sideways. “And that’s Harmony.”
