The Link 3 - The Huntress

Chapter 30 - Kato

I stopped playing. Never had I ever stopped playing in front of an audience. The awful sound I had just scraped off my violin reminded me of when I was six and first picked up the instrument. No, it was worse. A small girl in the first row was cringing, and a delayed shiver ran through her body. I took a deep breath and turned away from them all. Something sharp had pierced my mind and, by habit, I transferred the thought into a ghastly sound with my hands. I squeezed my eyes and let the pain dissipate. Maybe I needed sunglasses. The stage lights never did more than irritate me before, but something had injected itself into my flow.

The audience was murmuring, and my manager was signaling for me to start again. I nodded to him but remained with my eyes turned from the lights. A little time was all I needed. It was a small crowd, half students. I pretended to examine my instrument. A feeble man blames his tools, but it would give me time. It would be my luck that a critic had snuck in on the one performance I screwed up.

The world shifted, and beautiful music filled my mind. It was a symphony of many, guided by a rhythm I recognized well. The stage became a lovely place to be. I chuckled at my silly error and turned to the crowd. They came to hear music, my one gift to the world, and by God, they'd hear it.

"My bow slipped. The sun was in my eyes. My dog ate my sheet music," I said loudly. Laughter filled the banquet hall. The girl in the front row was giggling. Apology accepted.

"Help us," Teegan thought. She was so lovely, an angel with a song that I could feel in my heart. I could hear the taint in her song. It was dark and out of sync with her perfection. Nothing I couldn't drown out. I smiled to the crowd.

"Something new then," I announced. My bow moved with incredible ease as I played Teegan's song, adding volume and my inner strength. It was love for the ears. My audience's smiles grew.

I am the angel's amplifier.