Muse Song, #1

by Sarah Biglow

  The doctor stepped around the chair and exited the room, leaving us alone in the room with the instruments and chairs. The door clicked shut behind her and Rosa slumped over in her seat. Retrieving the bottle of water that had rolled under my bed, I pressed it into Rosa’s hands. “Are you all right?”

  “I am tired. I have never done it for so long before. It was like she was pulling it out of me.”

  “Why did she leave the door open? Didn’t she think we’d run?” Erin turned the organ off.

  I took the seat our captor had vacated. “I think it was a challenge. And to show us she’s in charge.”

  Rosa gulped the water and it brought a little color back to her cheeks. She could have done with some food. We all could. But there was no telling whether our efforts had earned that kind of reward.

  Erin scooted her chair around so that we formed a triangle. She smoothed out a few strands of Rosa’s hair. “That feeling … like everything hurt and you could throw up at any second. Is that what you guys felt before when she brought me in?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, but it wasn’t as intense this time.”

  Rosa wiped sweat from her upper lip. “We must figure out what is going on before she does it again.”

  “I think we’ve got a chance.” My body vibrated with sudden energy. “Did either of you happen to notice what was in the next room?”

  The other girls shook their heads in the negative.

  “That room is full of books just like I thought.” I rubbed my hands together to burn off some of the energy. “The first chance we get, we’re going to grab anything we can.”

  16

  I got home to find my stepmother in the kitchen pouring three glasses of wine. She didn’t turn but acknowledged my presence with a curt, “Good you’re home.”

  A rumbling laugh that didn’t belong to my father came from the next room. Our dinner guest had already arrived. A tall man—rivalling my father in height—dressed in a police uniform followed my father from the dining room into the kitchen. My stepmother handed two of the wine glasses out and kept one for herself. My father beckoned me forward with a wave of his hand. “Liam, this is a very good friend of mine, Captain Rhys Holden.”

  Swallowing the lump in my throat, I approached. My assumption about our guest’s identity was right. I tried not to appear nervous as I studied the man everyone kept warning me was dangerous. The captain sported short-cropped, red hair and his eyes were an icy blue that sent chills down my spine. Captain Holden extended his hand and I took two tentative steps closer to shake just the tips of the man’s fingers. All at once, the man’s aura blazed into a bright violet haze. I tried to look away, but his presence kept my eyes glued open and my body immobile. A deep, seething anger and desire to do harm to those around me gnawed at my gut. In the back of my head I started strategizing a plan of attack; the desires subsided the moment physical contact ended. The aura did not die down and it started to make me nauseous, forcing me to take slow, deep breaths.

  My father smiled. “Liam has certain … talents for identifying our kind.”

  Captain Holden raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

  Nodding, I bit down hard on my lip to keep from throwing up lunch. After another minute of staring at each other, the man’s aura faded and I stumbled sideways into the counter. Relief washed over me and my stomach settled. I had assumed Captain Holden was like my father and, based on the intensity of the man’s aura, he wasn’t some minor god. There was no way my father would associate with anyone who didn’t have real weight to throw around. I just wished I could figure out who he was without resorting to research.

  My father set his wine glass down on the kitchen table, untouched. “Liam, go to your room. Your mother will call you when dinner is ready. We have some business to discuss that’s not appropriate for children’s ears.”

  Rolling my eyes at his insinuation that I was too young to understand their conversation, I left the kitchen. I needed to figure out Captain Holden’s godly identity and this break before dinner was the perfect opportunity. I made it as far as the stairs when I heard footsteps moving into the living room. Settling on the landing just out of sight, I pulled out my phone and made sure it was on silent. I could research and eavesdrop at the same time. Captain Holden’s deep voice echoed in the next room. “Have you made any progress since we last corresponded?”

  My father stepped momentarily into view before he paced back in the other direction. “Why don’t you update us, Priscilla?”

  She cleared her throat. “I’ve moved to the last part of the plan. I have to admit it would have been easier with the others. They’re more cooperative and already on our side.”

  Captain Holden waved his hand dismissively. “You know we need their particular gifts.”

  My stepmother paced into view. “Anyway, we made some good progress earlier today. I anticipate it will be ready to test in a week. Maybe less.”

  Without even googling I assumed that Captain Holden wasn’t Zeus or Poseidon. Historically, they had always been on opposing sides with my father and the captain was clearly in on Abbie’s kidnapping. I tried to catch a glimpse around the corner and saw him take a sip of wine before speaking again. “Good, we have waited too long for this. We may finally be able to win this battle.”

  Opening the Google app on my phone, I typed in ‘Greek God of Battle’. One of the first hits was a Wikipedia entry on Ares, God of War. Teaming up with the God of War made sense. Who better to have on your side than the guy who invented fighting?

  My father came into view again. He turned toward the stairs and I ducked out of sight. “I agree. Have you had any success in locating the others?”

  Captain Holden shook his head and sipped from his glass. “It would appear our counterparts are doing their best to keep the rest hidden.” He laughed that deep, booming laugh again. “They must be kicking themselves for letting these three slip through the cracks.”

  My stepmother’s high-pitched laugh made me jump. “They were so trusting.”

  “I only wish we had realized the potential sooner,” my father added.

  The captain took another sip of wine. “Well, you live and learn.”

  “Indeed.” My father nodded and finally took a seat out of view.

  The conversation was over. Tiptoeing up the stairs out of earshot as quickly as possible, I’d heard enough to know that Abbie and the other girls had a week at most before they became disposable. I needed a plan of attack. Knowing that my father's friend was a police captain complicated things. It meant I couldn't just run to the cops and share my theory about my father and stepmother’s involvement. Not only did I have to worry about the adults keeping secrets from me at home but I worried Mr. McManus was hiding information too. As I stared blankly at my computer screensaver, it disappeared, replaced by a Skype window with Mum’s picture. I accepted the call.

  "Hi, sweetheart." She waved at me from across the pond.

  I smiled. "Hi. I didn't think we were talking until tomorrow."

  "I know but I just had a feeling you might need someone to talk to."

  Did all mothers have ESP? I moved a little to the right so my image was centered on the screen. "Things have been happening. I told you about my friend, Abbie. I think something happened to her. I know Dad and Priscilla are involved. They brought over Rhys Holden for dinner tonight. He’s still here. I overheard them all talking. They're planning something and it's going to be done soon."

  Her cheeks flushed. "I warned you that man is dangerous."

  I looked away. "You didn't tell me he was a cop. I didn't go near him or anything but he's got power, like a lot. I could see it."

  She tilted her head and gave me a sad smile. "You feel helpless to do anything for your friend?"

  I threw my hands up. "Yeah, and my teacher knows something. He's involved in this too, but he won't let me in. I can help. Hell, he told me to spy."

  Mum shook her head and rubbed her temples with both hands. "I don't wa
nt you getting involved in this, Liam. Please promise me you'll keep your distance."

  Pushing my chair back, I started to stand before I remembered she couldn’t see me if I moved too much. "Mum, how can I? That crazy woman has three kids locked up somewhere and she's doing who knows what to them. I have to find them; I can't back off; I'm sorry. Besides, it's my fault she got Abbie in the first place."

  "Liam, you listen to me.” Mum leaned in close to the screen. “None of this is your fault. Don't you believe that for a second."

  I wanted to believe her but I couldn't shake the sense of guilt that was holding on in the back of my mind. "Thanks, Mum. But I'm still not dropping this.” I heard footsteps in the hallway. “I've got go. Dinnertime." I ended the call.

  She wasn’t going to dissuade me from finding a way to rescue Abbie and whoever the other two girls were. But first I needed a lead.

  17

  On Saturday afternoon, I sat, back to the wall, staring at the keyboard and organ still sitting in the middle of the room. Tapping my fingers against my knees, I barely resisted the urge to sit down and play. Maybe it could inspire a plan to get my hands on those books. Finally, deciding that fighting the urge was stupid, I settled on the bench in front of the keyboard and ran my fingers over the keys. It wasn’t the same as a real piano but there was no other option. Without realizing it, I began playing the same song as the day before. The violin warbled in harmony and when I glanced over my left shoulder, I saw Rosa playing with her eyes closed. After two four counts, Erin joined in on the organ.

  The music filled the small room, reverberating off the walls. A sense of peace wrapped itself around me like a security blanket. Despite the serenity accompanying our three-part harmony, I still worried we would never be found or that we’d starve until the play was complete. The doubts took hold and my fingers faltered on the keys. The other instruments faded a minute later.

  “That song was beautiful.” Rosa set the violin down in her lap.

  Erin pulled the key cover down on the organ. “Yeah, I’ve never heard it before but it was like I knew what I should play.”

  My cheeks warmed. “I wrote it. The piano part anyway.”

  Erin spun to face me. “Whoa. Really?”

  I nodded. “My piano teacher started to teach me last year.”

  Erin’s eyes went wide. “That’s so cool.”

  Rosa pulled one of the folding chairs closer and looked at Erin. “Where did you learn to play the organ?”

  Erin shrugged. “My mom taught me. She plays the organ at our church.”

  “That’s really cool.” Turning to Rosa, I pointed at the violin. “What about you?”

  Rosa sat forward and ran a finger gently over the neck of the instrument. “I have been playing since I was five. My parents love music.”

  Erin twisted her hands in lap. “This is going to sound so stupid but you guys are like the first real friends I’ve had in a long time … since … since all this started.”

  “It is not stupid. I feel the same way.” Rosa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  "If we ever get out of here, we have to hang out.” Erin let out a little hiccup of laughter.

  “That’d be nice.” I looked between them and then down at my hands. “Since I hit puberty, everyone has treated me like a freak. Not exactly prime hang out material.”

  Erin scooted over and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. At least we were bonding. Rosa placed her hand on my knee too. “I wish she would tell us what makes us so special.”

  Erin leaned back, breaking contact with my arm. “Maybe she thinks we already know.”

  “I think she’s enjoying having all the power.” My stomach twisted at the thought. “If she tells us the truth it might give us a hint as to how to fight back and she can’t have that.”

  “Maybe.” Erin got up and started to pace the distance between the chairs and the blank wall. “Sorry I got mad at you earlier, Abbie. You did have a point. She should have just asked us to help her with the stupid play. It’s not like she wasn’t seeing us all already.”

  “I think she needed all of us together to make it work.” Rosa rested her elbows on her knees.

  I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “How do you figure?”

  “Well, whenever I have made someone do something, it was short. And it was like I saw something in them. But this was very intense, like maybe there was something in her but it did not want to come out. She was even more focused when you were playing. Like it gave her extra … I do not know the right word to describe it in English.”

  Erin stopped pacing and bent over one of the chairs with her hands gripping the back. "I wish we knew what made her so dangerous too. Well, you know besides the obvious kidnapping and starvation part."

  I studied the blank wall that separated us from the room with books. "If we could get into the next room, we might be able to find a book with everything we need.”

  "Yeah, but how?” Erin rocked back on her heels. “She doesn’t let us leave and we don’t know what to look for."

  Rubbing my head, I tried to abate the headache forming. “I keep thinking about what Glaukos said … about Athena. There’s something we missed.”

  “Dr. Phillips said something yesterday too,” Rosa said.

  “She did?” Erin drummed her fingers on the back of the chair.

  Rosa nodded. “It was about the play. It was something about the way the Greeks used to write them.”

  I mentally ran through everything I remembered about Dr. Phillips’s last visit until it hit me. “You’re right. I remember now.” I jumped to my feet. “It was about having people to help the playwrights … inspire them.” She couldn’t have mentioned that in passing. “I know what we need to look for.”

  The others looked at me with expectant expressions. Licking my lips, I pointed at the wall. “We find whatever books we can about Greek mythology. Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Greek playwrights.” I giggled. “It’s been staring us in the face.”

  “We know what to look for but how do we get to them?” Rosa picked up the violin and tuned some of the strings.

  My brain was on fire, ideas shooting around faster than I could hold on to them. I took a deep breath to try to collect my thoughts into coherent sentences. “She was really focused on writing. She didn't look up a lot. It was almost as if she was compelled to keep writing. So one of us can play ... she liked that ... and another one will sneak out and grab whatever they can find."

  “We’d need to hide whatever we found,” Erin said.

  Rosa pointed to her bed. “We could hide it under the blankets or in the pillow cases,” she suggested.

  “Yeah that’s good.” I nodded.

  “Which one of us is going to try it?” Erin left her spot by the chair and headed back toward her bed.

  I opened my mouth to offer myself as the guinea pig but the door scraped open and Dr. Phillips appeared with pen and paper in hand.

  "Time to work on our project some more." She smiled and took up residence in the chair Erin had been leaning on.

  Inhaling, I fought to keep my face a neutral mask and hoped she couldn’t hear my heart palpitating in my chest. "Who is going to help next?"

  "Rosa still. We didn’t finish her part yet."

  Rosa set the violin down and sunk into the chair next to Dr. Phillips. I passed Rosa a bottle of water just in case. This session began much as the first with Dr. Phillips absorbed in her scribbling while Erin and I took turns providing background music. The ache in my muscles and the urge to vomit returned. Reminding myself it was just discomfort that would pass, I focused on the song Erin was playing on the organ and the pain lessened. “I’m going to try to get away.”

  Erin looked over her left shoulder and nodded. “She seems focused. Be careful.”

  Pivoting on the piano bench a few degrees at a time, I finally faced our captor and the open door leading to the next room. Dr. Phillips bent low over the pad, pen scratching along the pages while
Rosa sat at her right elbow humming, hand gently resting on the woman’s knee. It was now or never.

  Rosa’s humming grew louder as did Erin’s playing. They were doing what they could to cover my exit. I crept two steps past where our captor sat. Three more steps and I’d be in the next room. My foot barely left the carpet when every nerve ending caught fire and my muscles spasmed in agony. Trying to put my foot flat on the floor only increased the pain. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead and rolled off the tip of my nose onto my lips, which I was certain had cracked. The world tilted and I landed on my knees. Stomach roiling in angry protest, I wretched dry heaves. Black spots popped in front of my eyes and my vision went fuzzy. Any second now I would pass out and never wake up again. The room grew silent but I didn’t know if the girls had stopped their playing and humming or if my ears had simply stopped registering sound. My brain was doing all it could to keep me breathing. Tears traced tiny tracks down my cheeks and I fought for air. My lungs seized up and my throat closed. Numbness filled my mouth but I couldn’t figure out why. Just as I was ready to succumb to the blackness of unconsciousness, Dr. Phillips appeared in front of me. Her cheeks were bright red and her body shook. "Where do you think you're going, Abbie?"

  It took a full minute for the woman’s words to register. Blinking up at the woman, I managed to regain enough control over my weak muscles to collapse flat on the floor, chin bumping against the carpet. My destination remained just out of reach. I remained immobile in that position for a while before I could make my body respond to simple commands. Curling onto my side, I saw both Erin and Rosa watching me with unshed tears in their eyes. I tried to cough and clear my airway but my mouth wouldn’t open and the effort only sent sharp pains through my chest.