Mari

“You know we have concerts in our world,” I raised an eyebrow.

“Your fox boyfriend’s band?” Kenna drawled at the same time.

Boyfriend? Fox? At first I thought she meant fox like hot then I realized she meant fox literally.

“You’re dating a fox? Isn’t that…problematic?” As in wouldn’t he be dead long before you?

“Oh it’s not monogamous. Phoenixes don’t mate for life,” Blaise waved her hand dismissing the topic.

“Didn’t have to choose a possible spy.”

“Spy?” I asked.

Kenna turned to me, “Foxes are not native to Volant, so we send someone to keep an eye on them.”

“That’s how we met,” Blaise smiled.

“You started dating someone you were surveilling?” No, on second thought that didn’t surprise me in regards to Blaise.

“He’s not a spy.”

“How can you be sure when you can’t do your job properly, and you want to be a Councilor,” Kenna snorted.

We reached a street corner with a purple stand, Blaise walked up and placed her hand on top of it. I forgot all about our conversation when a purple glow lit up around her hand, “What was that?”

“She’s hailing a taxi. Do you not have taxis in your world?” Kenna looked at me like I was the idiot.

“We don’t have glowing purple thingies to call them over, we just raise our arm and wave it around,” maybe I am an idiot.

“And that works?” Kenna looked skeptical.

“Sometimes,” I mumbled. “But I don’t understand why you’re working so hard to get on the Council, Blaise,” I said to get the focus back where it needed to be, away from me.

Blaise looked at me confused, “That is the seat for the greatest magician in Volant, and I’ve sat on it both my previous lifetimes.”

“But you hate following the rules, being in an authoritative position where you have to make others follow rules seems like an oxymoron for you.”

Blaise cocked her head, but before she could respond the taxi arrived.

A brown carriage, words probably reading taxi written on its side, rolled up beside us. While the vehicles I’ve seen on the road had the front and back seats facing each other, the taxi driver’s seat faced forward while the seat next to him faced the inside.

The driver was a short, skinny man with salt and pepper hair. His eyes bulged seeing us—were phoenixes celebrities here? Or were they like cruel overlords?

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Again something must have slipped on my face because Blaise said, “He’s just not used to seeing phoenixes taking a taxi, but someone refuses to fly.” Was that a hint of annoyance in her voice?

I really need to control my expressions better.

The carriage didn’t jostle like I expected instead moving smoothly through the streets. We didn’t go faster than 25 miles per hour but it still felt fast in the narrow, two lane roads. Despite it being the capital city, we left it behind within twenty minutes.

The end of the city was marked by an abrupt change from building to trees, with a couple of random phoenix towers peeking through.

The trees, the bushes, the clouds, the road…it all looked familiar yet grander, larger than back home. Maybe it was the thick, sweet air playing tricks with my mind.

We arrived at a booth on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere. Inside the booth stood a muscular giant of a man with black and red striped hair. “Ticket?” He growled not nearly as impressed as the driver by the sight of two phoenixes.

“I’m on the list. Blaise,” Blaise grinned, “Plus two.”

The man stared at a sheet on the counter for several excruciating minutes before growling in the same tone, “Go in.”

“Grumpy cat,” Blaise muttered as she led us into the woods.

Despite looking like a wild forest, there was a clear path through the trees for us to walk through. I hadn’t realized how much time we had spent in the sun until the coolness of the shade draped over me; like walking into an air conditioned room after being in the humid June heat.

As we walked I heard what sounded like an electric guitar trailing off.

The path ended in a field filled with…animals.

Birds covered the branches; monkeys screeched, tigers growled, rabbits huddled in a corner, and phoenixes loomed over them all. Except a few, judging by their size, phoenixes in human skin hanging at the rear.

The stage looked like any other stage I’ve ever seen. And the band…what the hey! Was nothing original in any universe? I screamed inside my head.

A singer, two guitar players and a drummer stood on the stage. Sure the guitars glowed and were more oval than hourglass but distinctly still guitars. And the drum set, complete with several cymbals, looked like any drum set that existed in my world.

The lead singer didn’t have a microphone but wore a choker that glowed. Considering I was in a fantasy world full of magic, I assumed that magnified his voice.

“Hello! And welcome! We are the Nomads,” the lead singer shouted but by how his voice carried he could have whispered and everyone would have heard, “and that’s all you need to know.” He nodded his head and the drummer started a riff.

The audience reacted; even some phoenixes sent up screeches, one breathed fire. Holy smokes! I almost giggled but swallowed it down.

Then the guitar thrummed signaling the start of a song. The drums changed to match, reverberating inside me and before I knew it a new yet somehow familiar rock song filled the field. The beat boomed, reflecting and uplifting my heartbeat, until it filled every nook and cranny of my mind. Nothing existed outside that beat. That short lead singer’s voice turned gravely, almost sultry as he began a song about running away and making it on his own.

My feet moved on their own, my head bobbing. I looked to see Blaise dancing like a drunk girl and the animals…were…dancing? Bunny tails shook; tigers stood on hind paws, heads bopping; well the snakes slithered, nothing new there.

The next song was slower, a love song?

Each song seemed to melt into the next, flowing up into a frenzy and then down into a lulling heart song; and all our energy flowed right with them.

The last song ended, I found myself yelling as loudly as the rest of the audience.

“See, you had fun,” Blaise clapped my shoulder, “Come, let me introduce you.”

We almost forgot Kenna before her giant hands clamped down on both our shoulders. “She doesn’t need to meet your spy boyfriend,” she glared at both of us.

“But look—she’s having fun—this is the biggest smile I’ve seen on her face since I’ve met her,” Blaise also had a giant smile on her face.

For the first time I realized I was happy. It felt like the music worked all my frustration out of my body leaving my body feeling boneless and relaxed. Heck, if my only job today was to have fun then let’s have fun.

“Let’s meet the band!” I yelled.