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‘Because Ulf said so, and I do as he says. He’s the guy who hired me. Best damn sound and light engineer in the business.’
She’d never heard of him.
‘He also just happens to be my uncle.’ Luthor held open a door for her to pass through, and they began to climb, up towards the top of the building. ‘My guess is that he wants you out of the way until the soundcheck is done, so that Xane isn’t distracted.’
‘I wouldn’t distract him.’
‘Course not.’ Luthor made an appraising sweep of her body. ‘I bet Xane maintains complete focus when you’re present, just not on the music.’ His gaze lingered on her cleavage.
Dani covered her mouth and coughed, astonished by how blatantly he’d assessed her. Guys didn’t normally hit on her. This was a new thing that had only started happening since Xane took an interest. She guessed they all thought she must have something special hiding beneath her ordinary appearance to have ensnared a man with such a huge sexual appetite, or maybe they thought stealing her away would prove they were shit-hot too.
No man had a chance against Xane.
In retaliation, she shot a glance at Luthor. He had gloriously good arms, and legs that were tanned by the sun and covered with fine golden hairs. Crazy good looks too, if you liked guys who were all light and golden. She guessed she preferred them dark and brooding.
Luthor was fit, but he wasn’t a patch on her man.
‘Where’ve you been?’ grumbled an older man, his long hair and beard threaded with silver, as they entered a glass-fronted room overlooking the stage. They were perched high up in the auditorium, almost on a level with the lighting rig. ‘You walked off with my duct tape. Gimme.’ He snatched the roll of tape that Luthor mined from his pocket and began tearing off strips and fixing assorted cables to the floor. After a moment or two, he turned his webbed face upon her. ‘So you’re the one he ran off with, are you?’
‘Be nice,’ Luthor counselled. ‘She is.’
‘Really? Didn’t think Xane did nice. He normally lands the absolute bitches.’ He thoughtfully rubbed one nicotine-stained finger across his lips before stepping closer, which meant he had to bend his head to look at her, for he was tall, even taller than Luthor, and stocky too, with tattoos that covered his bare arms like sleeves. ‘Are you sure this is the right girl?’
‘I am, yes.’ Dani politely stuck out a hand for him to shake.
Ulf clapped his hand against hers but didn’t shake it. ‘Take a seat. I’ll let you at him once I’m done with him.’
A swivel chair materialised behind her, courtesy of Luthor. Dani gingerly lowered herself into it. She’d got it into her head that the only people she’d have to face in order to join the tour were the members of Black Halo. Somehow she’d overlooked the fact that there was a team of people involved in managing them and delivering their sound to the masses. ‘What are you doing to him?’ Nothing too terrible, she hoped. He’d sounded pretty low when they’d spoken last night. Leastways, he had at the start of their conversation. Not so much by the end, after he’d made her burn with excitement.
‘Hopefully dragging his sorry arse through this set.’ Ulf put on a pair of headphones and turned a nearby microphone towards him. ‘Are you fuckers ready yet?’
She couldn’t hear the response, but Ulf scowled. ‘Nope, we’re apparently having a pissing contest.’ He settled back in his chair with his arms and ankles crossed. ‘This could take a while.’ He checked his watch. ‘You might have to call your lot,’ he said to Luthor after a minute or so of waiting.
His understudy, who had been securing leads to the floor so no one would trip over them, looked up eagerly.
‘You’re shite, but at least you might manage a song or two for the punters. I’m not sure Black Halo are going to have their act together in time.’ Ulf said the last part into the mic.
‘Are they arguing?’ Dani leaned forward in her seat, concerned. If she rose and pressed her face to the glass at the front of the booth, would she be able to see down into the auditorium?
‘Not as such. Mr Geist hasn’t joined us yet. They’ve sent Rock Giant to coax him out from whatever hole he’s wedged himself into.’
‘Ulf!’ Luthor shook his head and nodded towards Dani. ‘Girlfriend, remember.’
‘I didn’t mean that sort of hole. I’m not the one with a filthy mind.’ Clearly bored, Ulf flicked a few switches and checked a few things before settling back into his original pose.
‘So, you’re in a band?’ Dani asked Luthor, disliking the silence that’d crept over them. She felt out of place already, which made her jittery enough, without the added insinuation that Xane was late for the soundcheck because he was making some groupie happy. ‘Is it one of the support acts?’
‘That’s a good un.’ Ulf belched a peal of laughter. He slapped the sound deck, unintentionally knocking several of the sliders, which he then had to reset. ‘What I said earlier was a joke. Perish the thought of his lot walking on stage. It’d be like Eurovision, only a zillion times more excruciating and minus any of the charm.’
Luthor put his head down and kept on at his task, but she could see from the tension in his back that he was hurt by the remark.
‘What are you called?’ she asked, hoping her interest would restore his easy smile.
‘It doesn’t matter. You won’t have heard of us. We’re pretty unknown outside Sweden.’
‘They’re unknown inside Sweden,’ Ulf added, shaking his head. ‘This is why he’s better off here earning some cash and seeing how the pros do it, instead of wasting his time touring a load of fleapits.’
‘It was a good set of venues we had booked.’
‘Dives. You’re too good for them, son. Your lyricist writes dire teenaged drivel. He has no concept of what real agony feels like.’
‘Actually, Lykke’s started writing most of the lyrics now.’
‘Aren’t you being a little harsh?’ Dani remarked, annoyed to see Luthor gritting his teeth. He hung his head forward, so that his long hair masked his expression.
‘Sometimes the truth is harsh,’ Ulf insisted. ‘It hurts to hear it, but we all need someone to be brave enough to tell us when we sound shit. You’ve talent enough to make it big, but not with that outfit. This Fear or whatever it is you’re called.’
‘Denna Rädsla,’ Luthor corrected him.
‘That’s what I said.’
They stared grimly at one another. ‘So, when are you going to tell your precious darlings that they sound shit?’ Luthor asked. ‘Or aren’t you man enough for that?’ He rose to his feet.
‘When it’s the right moment. Which it isn’t yet.’
‘What?’ Dani jumped out of her chair. Her gaze danced expectantly between the two men, seeking clarification. ‘Do you mean Black Halo? They’re not awful.’ A horrid thought struck her. ‘Is something wrong with Xane’s voice? He’s not ill, is he?’ Maybe that’s why they were keeping her away from him.
Ulf sucked his front teeth. ‘He’s fine, or as fine as you’d expect given that the man he was screwing has just died.’
‘I know that, but something prompted that remark.’ She looked to Luthor for an answer, since it had been his comment. She was terrified by the thought that Black Halo might be about to split again.
Luthor flicked a glance at Ulf, who showed no sign of explaining further. ‘They need a live drummer. Using old recordings of Steve Matlock playing doesn’t work. It sounds shit.’
‘But Steve … this is about honouring and remembering him. How can they replace him?’ Not taking on a new drummer was the one thing Xane had said they’d all agreed on.
‘They might not want to, but they need to. Otherwise, they’re going to get the worst slating of their careers from the fans and music press.’
Ulf shook his head. ‘It won’t come to that. Xane will realise it himself as soon as the soundcheck starts. They all will.’
‘But doesn’t the actual gig start in just over two hours?’ Dani shot them both a look of disbelief. Even if, as Ulf claimed, the band realised their mistake, where were they supposed to produce a drummer from at such short notice? Then she looked at Luthor again and everything dropped into place. Ulf hadn’t employed him to crew for the band, he meant him to drum for them. ‘Wow!’ She sank back into her seat. She ought to have twigged that sooner. He had drummer’s arms, after all, though his haircut was more emo than most of the lead guitarists out there. ‘So you’re going to step in and save the day?’
‘Not exactly. I’ll offer my services, yes.’
‘You know that Xane and Steve were really close?’ Far closer than she liked to admit. She’d watched Xane during one outpouring of grief cover the walls of a hotel room in lyrics about the guy. She knew they’d been lovers – a fact that inspired nightmarish fears. Xane was completely at ease with his sexuality, but she was only gradually coming to terms with it. There was a lot of baggage in her past she needed to work through. ‘Actually, I don’t know that Xane’s ready to take on someone new.’ She could only guess about the rest of the band, but presumably Elspeth would throw up objections too.
‘And that is exactly why I haven’t said anything yet.’ Ulf raised his bushy brows and gave her a tight-lipped smile. ‘Give it half an hour. I guarantee, they’ll be begging me to find them a drummer, and, because I’m prepared, I have one all lined up.’
Chapter 3 (#ulink_53ca150e-74ee-59a3-93d2-ca0066dde643)
The sound of Spook’s rhythm parts being played repetitiously greeted Xane as he and Rock Giant entered the auditorium. It served to drag his attention away from the band’s relationship politics and back to where he needed it to be, on the music. They could deal with the travel arrangements later. First they had a soundcheck and the gig to get through, and even though he’d done it a thousand times before, there was still a flutter of self-doubt in his stomach when he first walked onto the stage.
The rest of the band were already positioned on their X-marked spots. Ash joined the sound of his lead guitar to Spook’s as Xane headed to his mic. They were running through the lead and rhythm parts of their newest addition to the set, ‘Taken’, one of the songs Xane had written about Steve. Tonight would be their first live performance of the track, and the plan was to record it, so they needed to nail it or risk delaying the release until they could arrange another live recording or book some studio time.
Having exchanged nods with both guitarists and already bashed heads with bassist Rock Giant, Xane turned his attention to Elspeth. Their relationship remained particularly fraught. Throughout the tour planning, they’d exchanged only basic civilities. However, mindful of Rock Giant’s warning shots in the corridor, Xane battened down his feelings and offered her something like a friendly smile. If this was the price of buying Dani’s place on the tour bus, without a load of aggro, then he guessed he’d do it. ‘How are you doing?’
Seriously not well, if her appearance was anything to go on. Elspeth had always cultivated a wan, faded beauty, but she looked like a glass about to shatter. The change to her hair, while dramatic, certainly hadn’t helped, for it drained her of what little colour she did possess. Once blonde, after the funeral she’d dyed her hair black, complete with a Lily Munster white streak.
Instead of responding to Xane’s gesture, her gaze remained fixed upon the empty space where Steve ought to have been. His drumkit was all set up, but they’d be relying on old recordings rather than a live drummer to make up for his absence. At least, that was supposed to be the plan.
‘What the fuck?’ he growled, noticing the guy behind the drumkit looking perky and ready for action. The nearby microphone unfortunately picked up his voice and amplified it to an ear-splitting level. It got everyone’s attention.
Ash’s footsteps sounded like a stampede as he moved to intercept Xane before he dragged the guy out from behind the drums.
‘Xane. Can we talk?’ Ash wrapped himself like a straitjacket around Xane’s torso.
‘In a minute, when he’s got the fuck away from Steve’s drums.’
‘Now,’ Ash insisted, manhandling him sideways into the wings, away from the microphones. ‘There’s no point in getting all Robocop on his arse, when I’m the one responsible. Yell at me about it.’
‘Get the fuck off me.’ Xane shook off Ash’s hold. ‘What the hell are you playing at? Who is he? Why is he here?’
‘I’m making sure we don’t sound like shit. It’s a lovely idea, Xane, us all pretending Steve’s still here, but you know what? He isn’t, and the backing track seriously doesn’t cut it. We’ll be laughed off if we use it.’
‘If that were the case, Ulf would have said so.’ Their chief sound technician was a straight-talking, gruff old bastard who’d worked with them on their last four tours, and was responsible for such gems of wisdom as ‘You’ll be cutting off your collective bollocks if you sing that soppy crap.’ He never minced words.
‘The crew haven’t said anything because they’re all scared they’re going to end up out of work. When you broke us up a few weeks back, they’re the ones it hit hardest. We all might have money enough to pay the bills, but most of the crew are living from paycheck to paycheck.’
‘That still doesn’t give you the right to employ a drummer. We’re a band. It should have gone to a vote.’
‘True,’ Ash admitted. He released his hold on Xane and pushed his hands into his pockets. ‘But everyone’s so stressed out, I thought I’d cut the preamble. It’s not as if there’s an actual discussion to have. Give it one song and you’ll be agreeing with me. The balance is wrong without live drums, and no, the sound guys can’t fix it, because if they amplify it, the track just ends up drowning out everything else. Xane, those recordings were never intended for this sort of thing. Please. I know why we said we didn’t want to employ anyone, but we have to.’
Xane willed his fists to unclench. He wasn’t so big a dick that he couldn’t comprehend what Ash was saying, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Even contemplating slotting someone into Steve’s place felt sacrilegious. The truth was, he wanted to see this new drummer off with a sledgehammer, but he also knew he’d ultimately go with what was right for the band.
He folded his arms across his stomach, suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of nausea. Steve’s loss remained an open wound. They might have buried him, but he didn’t know if he’d ever truly manage to lay him to rest.
Where in the hell was Dani? He needed her here.
‘This is for the best, Xane.’ Ash spoke slowly, with as much calm as he could muster. Mediation wasn’t his usual role. Normally it was Spook trying to smooth things out.
‘Who is he?’ Xane asked distrustfully, suspicious of where Ash had magicked someone from, given that decent rock drummers were few and far between. The last thing they needed was a feud developing because they’d poached some other group’s drum fiend. They had enough axes hanging over them as it was.
‘It’s Iain,’ Ash replied, as if that were supposed to mean something.
‘Who?’ He’d met numerous Iains, but none who was particularly known for playing drums.
‘Iain Willows.’
It took a moment for the name to click. ‘Ash, you have to be effing kidding me. Is this a joke?’ It had to be. ‘The guy hates my guts. He’s done nothing but badmouth me for years.’
‘Bit of friendly rivalry, that’s all,’ Ash reassured him. He flicked his swathe of black hair from his eyes. ‘You know how it is. The punters love a good feud. Come on, Xane. We’ve all thrown a few crass remarks about at some point. Besides, he’s a decent drummer, he’s knows our stuff and he’s available for the whole tour. We’re not going to find anyone else of similar calibre that just happens to have a six-month opening on their calendar, starting today.’
Yeah, so how come Mr Willows did?
Xane shook his head. ‘You should have discussed this. Springing him on us like this is wrong.’
‘It’s only what you’re planning to do with Dani. Besides, if I’d brought it up sooner, you’d simply have vetoed the idea, and then where would we be?’
‘What do you mean, this is what I’m doing with Dani? She’s not joining the band.’
‘She’s as good as. However, in the interests of democracy, why don’t we vote on it? Iain, I mean. Not Dani. I’m happy for her to be around if it keeps you sweet. Guys! Over here a minute.’
The rest of the band slowly sloped over, Elspeth and Rock Giant first, then Spook, with his purple Washburn guitar suspended from its strap and his fingers still dancing over the strings in a repetitive cycle.
‘What’s the verdict, then?’ Rock Giant asked. Rather than flick his gaze over to their prospective drummer, he looked up towards the sound booth in the rafters. ‘Are we set for this soundcheck or what? If we don’t get our butts in gear soon, Ulf’s going to go all Captain Caveman on us.’
‘We’re having a vote,’ Ash explained.
Xane rubbed his brow in despair. ‘Ash wants us to take on a new drummer.’
‘Figured. Didn’t think he was sitting there just for show. Does he come with an explanation?’
‘The backing track sucks,’ Ash responded. ‘And even if it didn’t, personally, I don’t want to play exactly the same set every gig for thirty-odd stops. We’ve always swapped things about, it helps keep it fresh.’
‘What’s your opinion, Spook?’ Xane crossed his fingers that Mr Mortensen had more sense than to blindly agree to this.
Spook stopped playing to take a look at the guy behind the drums. ‘I say give him a trial. See how he handles those sticks. If he works out, then sure, fine. If we need somebody, we need somebody.’
‘Elspeth?’ As if he needed to ask to know her opinion. She looked right through him, focusing instead on something in the middle distance, making him wonder how many times she’d wished he’d been the one whose nose had been broken instead of Steve. Still, he’d take that over the withering glare she cast their wannabe drummer.
‘Why are you even asking me? Of course I don’t want him here. We’re doing this tour for Steve. What does it say about his memory if we’ve already replaced him?’
‘That’s not what we’re doing.’ Ash reached out to her, but she backed away like a startled cat. ‘Elspeth, please. I know this is hard. Steve meant a lot to all of us, but we need a new drummer now. We don’t have the luxury to wait. The tour kicks off tonight.’
‘Well, I don’t see what was wrong with what we had planned.’
Ash shoved his hands into his hair despairingly. ‘Open your ears and listen, woman.’
‘Hey, go easy on her,’ Rock Giant warned.
Ash sighed. ‘Elspeth, we’re not replacing Steve. This isn’t about taking on a new permanent member. It’s about getting through the tour.’
‘For God’s sake, just have your vote, Ash,’ Xane said. The sooner this was over with the better.
‘Ayes?’
Ash raised his hand, so too did Rock Giant. Elspeth shook her head violently even before Ash asked for the nays. Making it two for and two against with Xane’s vote. He wasn’t taking on anyone without hearing them play first. That left Spook with the decider.
Spook stood quietly for a moment, with his fingers flat against the strings of his guitar. ‘I don’t want to replace Steve, but there’s no denying that we need a drummer. The mix isn’t right at the moment, which you’re going to realise the minute you start singing,’ he said looking at Xane. ‘Sorry but –’ he hunched his shoulders apologetically ‘– I guess that makes me a yes. Let’s see what he can do, eh?’
