Page 3 of The Dragon With A Girl Tattoo
“Yes.They sent me to find you.”Billie had a slight French accent, her manner of speaking breathy, a trait I’d always admired.“I didn’t think you would be attacked in the toilet.”
Two women entered as I limped out and made my way toward the platform that contained the overnight train to the Czech Republic, amongst other places.Since it was almost midnight, the train station was blessedly sparse of travelers.
“Demons don’t give a damn about things like needing to pee,” was all I said as we hurried.I wrapped an arm around my waist, wondering if the demon had cracked a rib.It certainly hurt to take a breath, and I felt like I might vomit at any second, no doubt heightened by the shambling run I adopted toward the train.“I hope it takes that one a while to get a new form, because if they get on the train with us, I’m a goner.”
“We’ll protect you,” Billie said as she boarded, casting a confident look over her shoulder.I didn’t say anything to that, knowing there was little the three other women who made up our band could do against demons, especially if Candy and Andy—the big guns, demonically speaking—made another appearance.“And once we get to the CR, we should be safe, what with the festival being run by a troll.”
“Vampire,” I said absently, collapsing on the bottom bunk of the compartment we were to share, then corrected myself.“Dark One.And I don’t know how much they have to do with the actual running of the music festival.It’s held on the grounds of one of their castles, but that doesn’t automatically mean it’s a demon no-go zone.No, thanks, I don’t want anything in my stomach until it settles.”
She murmured something about staying hydrated and set down the bottle of water on a tiny table.“I’ll go tell Skye and Deni that you were attacked, and I smashed the demon’s brains in.”
I cocked an eyebrow at the fact that Billie—the mildest of our foursome—looked so pleased at the idea of hitting a demon, but since my ribs and swollen eye and just about every other part of me was in pain, I decided it was far better to simply lie still on what was a surprisingly comfortable bunk until my natural healing abilities kicked in.
Just in case the demon reported my appearance, I crafted a new glamour, ready to don when we hit Prague.
By the time we emerged into the glorious sunshine of a late-summer Czech day, my limp was gone, and although my ribs still hurt, I could walk without wincing.
“Train to Brno is in half an hour,” Skye said as she stopped in front of where Deni, Billie, and I were sitting.She passed out tickets, and cast a critical look over me.“Brunette doesn’t look right on you.You’re too pale for such dark hair.Maybe make some glamours with warmer tones?”
I glanced down at my hands, swearing to myself.I had been out of it so much when I made the glamour that I hadn’t remembered to change my skin tone to match the rest of the new appearance.“Crap.You’re right.I’ll fix it once we’re on the train.”
“Should we form a protective cordon around you, or can you make it to the train without your evil ex sending more demons after you?”she asked some twenty minutes later when we headed for the train.I ignored the spike of guilt that struck whenever the band mentioned my cover story, telling myself that I was doing what I could to make up for the fact that I wasn’t entirely truthful with them.
I couldn’t be.Not if I wanted to make sure they survived.
“I think I’ll be OK, since there were three trains leaving last night, and the demon couldn’t be sure which one we were taking, but let me know if you guys see anyone watching us a bit too closely.”I pushed down the fear that I might have to stop working with the band if the demons tracked me down again.
An hour later, as we sped southeast to the small town of Brno, where a yearly music festival was held, I touched my hair and asked Skye, “OK, I fixed my skin tone.Does it look right with my hair now?”
“Yes, it is much more agreeable to the eye.And the trousers you picked for the glamour are better than that frompty dress you had on before.”She tapped on her phone, bringing up a notes app.“Did you decide on the set?Other than Billie’s ballad?”
“My dress was a bit frumpy, I guess,” I said slowly, mildly insulted that what I thought of as a perfectly nice sundress had drawn criticism.“And yes on the set list.”
The conversation turned to what songs we’d perform at the festival.Deni, Skye’s cousin, who with Billie was sitting opposite us, pulled out an earbud and asked, “Did they update the website?Are the rounds announced?And how much do we get for winning a round?”
“They’re waiting for everyone to check in before announcing the schedule,” Skye said in a soothing tone.“And the money has not changed.It’s a hundred euros per band for each win.If we go all the way through the ...the ...”She paused and glanced at me.
“Brackets,” I answered, gently pressing my side.It didn’t feel too painful, which meant my healing abilities were doing their job, if slowly.I needed to be able to breathe to sing, though, and I wondered if I shouldn’t work up an illusion glamour just in case my voice wasn’t enough to carry us through.
“And a thousand euros guaranteed to the top three teams who make it to the end battle,” Skye said, her eyes back on her book.“Top band takes home five thousand.”
Deni sat back in her seat, a satisfied expression on her face, her eyes on me.“Which will be us, because we have a siren.”
“Half siren,” I corrected, leaning my head against the window, watching as the scenery zipped by.Some of the little farms we passed set up a deep sense of longing in me, a need to have a place of my own, one filled with peace, and happiness, and animals who didn’t give a damn about what magic I could work.
Why couldn’t I have been born to normal parents?Why didn’t they protect themselves better, so I wasn’t left alone at fourteen?And most of all, what demon lord was trying so hard to capture me?
My shoulders drooped as I gave in to worry, miserably wondering what was in store for me.
