Unchained Melody

by S. K Munt

  ‘Science.’ Hendra smiled weakly. ‘Technology mostly now. Once upon a time, she was only needed for things such as astronomy or what not but now, we are all fading beside her. And thanks to the ease at which the push of a button can now begin and end a war, less people are eager to reach for it and so...’ she motioned to herself. ‘Off I go.’

  Calliope wondered what the Muse of Technology would be like and why she and Imogen even attempted to compete with her. ‘I am sorry for your…’

  ‘Obliteration?’ Hendra supplied. ‘It is okay. I imagine that some day soon, I will accept Josiah as my soul mate, and transfer my passion for my cause, to the pursuit of happiness.’

  ‘You have a soul mate too?’

  ‘We all do. It’s part of our deal.’

  ‘But you’re into yours? Ardos told me that I all but kick him away!’

  Hendra giggled, and for a moment, she was more vibrant. Callie thought of Marnie’s older brother who was still in the Middle East on active duty, and made a note to herself not to encourage Hendra’s influence by making her laugh again. ‘Actually, I’ve seen you kick Ardos clear across the meadow several times…you, Imogen, Thespia, Renee and Raina chase your mates off like they are lice-ridden and suffering from the plague.’

  ‘Why?’ Calliope shook her head. ‘Ardos seems lovely.’

  ‘Yes, he’s perfect for you, in absolutely every way. But that is the exact reason why you reject him, Calliope. Simply put; you love music more than you desire love. Mate with Ardos and you’ll lose the gig to the kid you’ll have as a result.’

  Callie didn’t know what to make of that! ‘What? How?’

  ‘Our soul mates are the gold retirement watch of destinies, and most of us want none of it- which is precisely why I’ve torn you from his side- looking out for you as you would for yourself if you had your memories- by getting you the hell away from Ardos before he can knock you up.’ Callie shrank away from Hendra’s passionate declaration, and her sister smiled quickly. ‘Don’t get me wrong: Ardos is a good man, but at the end of the day his existence is reliant on your presence. We were all given soul mates; as human men they were champions, almost as revered as the gods were in some cases. They were made immortal and delivered to us as gifts- only not one of us responded with gratitude, but fury. Fury that we were not given a choice. It took a millennia for Polyhymnia to succumb to her guilt and mate with Mycos, and though she is happy, we know that she misses being a Muse desperately.’

  ‘So you’re saying there’s little satisfaction in being a stay at home Muse?’ Callie couldn’t help but giggle.

  But Hendra did not laugh this time. ‘There wouldn’t be for you. Which is why you need to leave now, complete your purpose and get your powers back before it’s too late.’

  Callie blinked. ‘Is there some rush?’ She asked. ‘Some deadline?’

  ‘Only if you care about your protégé, and still desire to help him.’ When Callie stared at her blankly, Hendra rolled her dark eyes and went on: ‘Time passes here differently Callie, depending on the power of the Muse. Imogen can come and go as she pleases without missing a beat, as you once could and hopefully will again. And for me, the time on earth is crawling by as it is here. I am rushing to get you out of here because for me, it feels like you have been here for years. For you, a mortal- it feels like…?’

  ‘Two days?’ Callie guessed.

  ‘That sounds about right yes, two sunsets. But Callie… for every night you pass here, a year passes on earth.’ Hendra motioned to the horizon. ‘When that sun rises, you would have been missing for three years.’

  Callie felt herself go cold all over. Then she remembered something Imogen had said about the boys having been investigated a while ago, but only a few seconds before for her. Callie had passed out after that, and been so wrapped up in Ardos since then, that she had not given it a second thought. But now her hand went to her throat. ‘My parents have been waiting to hear from me for three years?!’

  Hendra nodded. ‘And your protege’s wheels have been spinning since. He has graduated, relocated from his parent’s home, and started pursuing vocations that are of not much good to him; I know this only because Imogen spied on him early last night.’

  Callie began to feel panicked. ‘But what am I supposed to do? I don’t know anything about being a Muse! I can’t just show up out of thin air and say: “Hey guys, remember me? The girl who ran from the would-be orgy? Mind if we get the band started again?” They’d flip!’

  ‘I know that, I’m not saying you run back to them straight away- only that you get back to where time passes at a more manageable pace!’ She nodded to the thick clouds blanketing the mountains. ‘As for strategy, I can help with that. Stirring trouble, ensuring victories… kind of my thing.’ She winked. ‘For starters, you need to become glorious.’

  ‘Glorious?’ Callie rolled her eyes. ‘Gee can’t I just shoot for fabulous?’

  ‘The Calliope I know wouldn’t settle for less than glorious.’ Hendra simpered. ‘You don’t have your powers anymore, but songs have been written about human women too Calliope and you need to become one of them. You need to be the best version of yourself that you can be; prettier, more confident, sexier- successful and provocative… pursue a career, take a few years to come to terms with all of this.’ She smiled. ‘Then, once you’ve reached your human potential you need to return to Hunter, use your wiles to make him fall in love with you, and when he does-’ She smacked her fist into her palm. ‘Ditch him for the other one and then farewell them both, as harshly as you are able. It will break Hunter’s heart and unleash his potential, hopefully restoring your memories and your glory.’

  Callie’s features mimicked the way her stomach twisted at the awful plan. ‘That sounds horrible!’

  ‘But effective- you cannot lose sight of the fact that Hunter needs you as a Muse Calliope, not a friend.’ The gleam of excitement caused by simply imagining conflict faded from Hendra’s eyes. ‘And then you can return and do whatever the hell you feel like and make your decision about Ardos and Oblivion and everything else with a clear head. But you have to leave now before Hunter and Ryan forget your name!’

  ‘I can’t believe Ardos kept the time thing from me!’ Callie bemoaned, glancing back over her shoulder to where Ardos still slept. She felt betrayed.

  Hendra steered Callie towards the edge of the cliff. ‘Don’t be too hard on the poor guy- he’s trying to make you fall in love with him now, so that when your memories return, you will have the memory of having forged a bond with him to counteract millennia of you wanting to kill him. Any one of us would do the same thing, sister.’

  Callie smoothed her skirt sadly. ‘I thought I could trust him.’

  ‘You can trust him to love you Calliope, but that’s it. And unfortunately, love brings out the worst in most people; Muse, Demigod or human.’ She sighed. ‘You were out of it when Clio searched through your mind and shared what she learnt of your human life with us. I’ve seen Ardos unhappy before but when he heard about what your friends had almost gotten you to do, he flew into a jealous rage, which is unusual. He knows that you’ve been with thousands of men before- ’

  ‘Thousands?’ Callie squeaked, feeling her face go hot.

  ‘Over thousands of years. It’s not so scandalous.’ Hendra chortled. ‘But it’s clear that this time around, you were about to give your heart away and that is a first. I do not blame Ardos for feeling hurt, or fearing that you will both end up in Oblivion over a guitarist who’s no Santana yet!’

  Callie felt yet another flicker of guilt. ‘What happens to him when I’m gone? He said something about being locked here?’

  ‘That’s true. Ardos cannot leave Helicon unless you ask him to come.’

  ‘So what does he do when I’m gone?’

  Hendra shrugs. ‘Like me, he flickers in and out of Oblivion, reads, eavesdrops on all of us to keep track of what’s going on...’ She made a face. ‘But that doesn’t matter right now Callie- you’re
really not getting the ‘hurry up’ part. As a human your influence was weaker than usual but at least then you were actively singing and dancing. I fear that the music of the past few years that you’ve spent here has fallen slightly short of your usual standards.’

  Callie’s eyes widened. ‘What? How short?’

  ‘Nothing awful, but Imogen was bragging about Metal and Rhythm And Blues being overtaken by Rap… and something about letting dogs out and a Jay-low?’

  Callie scowled at the idea of Rock ‘N Roll fading away and felt, for the first time- a stirring of desire, not for herself, but for the music- the need to be what she was supposed to be for it; the source of inspiration. ‘So she’s really out for me huh?’

  ‘Just be wary of her. You’ve said that she approached you several times… and even spoke directly to your protégé and friends?’

  Callie nodded hard. ‘Yes! She did.’

  ‘Then do not let her get so close again- a Muse making eye contact with another Muse’s protégé is just asking for trouble!’ Hendra took one of Callie’s hands and led her to the rise. ‘Now come on! I’ve sent word, assembled some reinforcements and now Thespia is waiting for you. Don’t forget, every minute here is days on earth so she’ll be getting impatient!’

  Callie was fairly certain she would never forget that again. ‘And I can trust this Thespia person?’ Calliope asked with a quickening heart mentally running over names: Lania, dead. Hendra, fading but seems helpful. Thespia, trust-worthy and into acting if the name is anything to go by… Renee… Art. Urania, Raina- Internet. Clio, nosey bitch. Polyhymnia; sell-out. Imogen; Cunt.

  ‘Yes. You are the only two of all of us whose existence helps the other without threat of overwhelming each’s cause. Thespia is the Muse of Comedy and Tragedy or as the modern world would label it: Acting.’

  Calliope nodded. If there was a beauty greater than song and tragedy, working as one and celebrated by dancers, she couldn’t imagine what. Wasn’t that what she’d always wanted to do with her life? The BIG dream? Broadway? ‘Thank you!’ Quickly, Calliope enfolded Hendra into a hug and almost yelped when she felt the girl’s skin warm from that of the air, to the temperature of her own. Calliope pulled back, and stared at the girl in amazement when she saw her ashen cheeks flushing, and her previously plain dark eyes sparkle in delight.

  ‘You are more than welcome.’

  ‘Hugging you isn’t going to you know... start a war or anything down there, is it?’

  Hendra rolled her eyes. ‘You need to turn on the news when you get back down there Calliope- there’s always a war raging.’ She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking dismal. ‘But they don’t need me. They have their hate as inspiration and no worthy cause aside from what damn Clio plagues them with.’

  ‘And Clio’s cause is…?’

  ‘History. She was the second of us born, and the closest to our mother in potential.’ When Calliope opened her mouth to ask about Memoria, Hendra groaned and shoved her. ‘Ask Thespia! And send her my love!’

  Callie stumbled into blackness.

  Araulen Valley, 2004

  16.

  ‘This is bullshit.’ Ryan grumbled, kicking a pebble into the wall of the convention centre before stuffing his hands into his pockets. ‘Can’t we just bail and practice instead?’

  Hunter lit a cigarette and exhaled the initial drawn smoke into a cloud in front of him, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet to Lose Yourself, which was shaking the windows of a car in the McDonalds drive-thru across the street. The movement was reflexive to the beat and a means to keep himself warm. ‘I’m telling yah man, Eva’s best friend is hot! She’s got-’

  ‘Long blonde hair and long blonde legs and long blonde eyes, I get it.’ Ryan waved at him with his own cigarette, leaving a squiggle of smoky annoyance in the air before him. ‘Just like every girl you try to hook me up with. But I like brunettes, you know.’

  Hunter wanted to guffaw at the idea of Ryan Weaver having a preference of hair color- as he’d not returned the calls of as many brunettes as he had blondes over the years. ‘I’m not trying to marry you off here, you know- just to get you laid. I can tell it’s been a few months because you’re chain-smoking lately.’

  ‘Hunter Marks!’ Hunter twisted and his stomach fell to see that Eva and Jo had arrived while they’d been talking, and Eva was now pressing her mittened hands to Jo’s ears and giving him a poisonous look. He felt Ryan’s elbow jam him hard in the ribs and grimaced.

  ‘Hey!’ Hunter recovered from his mortification and internal bleeding and waved his smoke dismissively. ‘Come on girls- you know I talk crap.’

  ‘You should be forbidden from talking at all,’ his girlfriend muttered, still looking pissed. Hunter felt bad, for Eva had been begging him to set their best friends up on a blind date for a very long time and now he’d gone and made them both look like neanderthals before the ballet had even started! But then he glanced over at Jo and realized that his tactlessness didn’t matter anyway, for Jo was gaping at Ryan like every other woman on the planet did; her tongue practically rolling out like a red carpet, her eyes soft and unfocused as she drank in her blind date, clearly saying a silent prayer of gratitude for her eyesight.

  ‘Hi Ryan…’ she ducked her head coyly, sweetly. ‘I’m Jo. I’ve heard a lot about you.’

  Ryan looked mortified still, but he shook the girl’s hand, doing that thing he did when he put his other hand on top like a hand sandwich and used the action to pull the girl slightly closer. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and pulled back, still clutching her little hand between his long fingers and smiling intimately at her. ‘Lovely to meet you Jo. And contrary to Hunter’s belief, I do not need to get laid. I smoke because I’d kill Hunter if I didn’t- and it gives his voice a bit of character.’ He released Jo’s hands and jerked his thumb towards the convention centre behind him, which was softly lit from down lights around the edges, making the squat building glow prettily amongst the ferns surrounding it. ‘And this would be the last place I’d expect to pick up anyway. In fact, this is usually the last place I’d ever come.’

  Jo’s head tilted to the side. She was wearing a red beanie and a matching red tweed coat over skinny black jeans and knee high boots. Very stylish and cute. Her hair fell like a blonde curtain as she asked: ‘You don’t like the ballet? Eva says you’re at the AVPAC with her?’ She asked, naming the local performing arts college there in Araulen Valley that Ryan had bullied Hunter into applying to back in ‘oh two when they’re ‘on the road’ dream had fizzled and died after three years of literally playing for peanuts in Brisbane.

  ‘I am. But I skip the dance modules and spend my time in the music rooms.’ Ryan offered his arm. ‘So I might have to insist that you sit next to me despite the horrific first impression I just made, and explain what’s going on when I get lost, okay? I’ll be on my best behavior if you do.’

  ‘God I hope not!’ Jo was clearly a goner. Hunter didn’t know how she could even see where Ryan’s arm was to link with it given how quickly her eyelashes were fluttering! ‘You look like the type who’s more fun when they misbehave.’

  ‘That is also true.’ Ryan leaned close to her ear and whispered: ‘But don’t tell anyone, okay?’ Jo giggled and Hunter shook his head in disbelief as Ryan escorted his now melted puddle of a date towards the entrance doors. He glanced at Eva, and was relieved to see her grinning at him.

  ‘Fuck he’s good,’ she whispered, winding her long, delicate arm around Hunter’s and snuggling into him. ‘But you still need to watch that mouth of yours Hunter! I swear you have the people skills of a four year old sometimes.’

  Hunter snorted. ‘Hey listen lady I was babbling in fear.’ He motioned towards the steps that Ryan and Jo were ascending. ‘I’m going to the ballet for you. You need to cut me some slack.’

  She pinched his butt through his jeans. ‘I went to The Big Day Out last year for you, and almost got trampled,’ she reminded him. ‘Besides, I told you, this
isn’t a classical ballet; they do uptempo songs and have a live orchestra. I’ve seen every production this company has done over the last four years and I’m telling you that they’re fantastic. They might even do some metal like last time!’

  Hunter smiled tightly, trying not to look like he was going to throw up on her coat at the idea of wind instruments doing Zeppelin. Against her back, his fingers thrummed picking out the opening chords to Stairway To Heaven, wishing he was back on campus practicing with his band rather than being forced to watch another.

  The truth was that he didn’t hate ballet- and neither did Ryan. It just bothered them by association. Hunter had once been very interested in ballet technique for the sake of the girl who’d had the best technique in Horizon; the girl who had run from him, ruining his life, almost getting him a criminal record and raping his peace of mind in the process. The girl who was apparently content never to see him again!

  Hunter hated how little he knew about Callie now, and watching the ballet was going to dredge up all sorts of anger and misery. Her parents had reunited with her in the U. S. back in two thousand, but Dr Clay hadn’t spoken to him since the charges had been filed against Ryan and himself after Callie’s vanishing act, and Hunter didn’t blame him. Hunter knew that Callie wasn’t dead because Lauryenne Clay had been kind enough to inform his mother via e-mail when they’d eventually tracked their daughter down, but that had been four years ago and none of them had heard from Callie or her folks since. After Hunter had graduated and taken off with Ryan, his parents had moved to Cairns to escape the lingering gossip, perpetrated by bitches like Meredith- rumors that were never officially denounced because he and Ryan’s ‘victim’ Callie had fallen off the face of the earth. Just thinking about it all made Hunter feel sick. And the fact that he still wanted nothing more than to hear Callie’s voice or see her smile again made him wonder if he was sick. They’d behaved poorly that day, but how could she have cared for them at all to never want to see them again?