Dragon Song by Aiden Bates

Author:Aiden Bates [Bates, Aiden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-04-03T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Almost three weeks had passed since Nik was shot in Florida. During that time, the record label had rented the band a luxurious beach house in West Palm Beach that had a small but impressive music studio, and Nik’s doctors and therapists made house calls as needed. While his bandmates and crew were, of course, concerned about their lead singer’s health, they also weren’t too upset to have some time off after the scare. Wade’s husband flew over for a little vacation, Carlos flew out to Texas to see his parents and sister (who were all understandably freaked out after the violence at the Tampa show), and AJ and Michael flew back and forth so that they could spend as much time together as possible.

Finally, it was time to head to Italy for their next performance.

Nik was ready. He’d been doing vocal exercises from the comfort of the studio couch ever since he got out of the hospital, and the band practiced whenever all of them were together. That first week, Nik was just sore and tired, but a slow-building itch to move and be on stage had been going on for about ten days and, as they boarded the plane bound for Milan, he was excited. The other guys seemed so, as well.

The first night, they ran through their set at a local studio, and then had nothing to do but explore and enjoy the sights and flavors of Milan. Nik asked their cab driver to take them by the venue where they’d be performing, a place he’d never seen except in photos, the Piazza di Corragio. It was even more breathtaking than they expected—an outdoor amphitheater situated in a city square with the backdrop of an old gothic cathedral. The band was absolutely giddy as they walked around.

“I don’t know which is better, this, or Red Rocks,” Carlos said, with awe in his voice. They were staring up at the dramatically lit architecture of the cathedral.

“Apples and oranges, brother. Apples and oranges,” replied AJ. Surprisingly, there was awe in his voice, as well. Nik knew that AJ, like himself, had seen his share of cathedrals and natural marvels, but that was the great thing about being just a little bit human: they were still capable of ecstatic wonder. It would be hard to get to sleep that night.

The new security detail was impressive and intimidating. All of the staff wore black suits, headsets, and sunglasses—“Just like in the movies!” Carlos said—and the day of the show, the band and crew were required to wear identification tags with holograms to get through two checkpoints before getting backstage. At the security company’s insistence, Pyromancer had put out press releases telling ticket holders that they needed to bring ID to get into the venue. No costumes would be allowed. Walk-through metal detectors had been rented and utilized, at no-doubt considerable expense, but Nik agreed that it was the right thing to do: he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.

If anyone thought the Army of Saint George wouldn’t be at the show in Italy, they were proven wrong.

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