Page 75 of Wild Wolf

It wasn't long before a crowd had gathered to get a sneak peek of the upcoming show.

They played bits of a few songs. Satisfied that everything sounded good, the band came off stage. Everybody was feeling pretty amped about the event. It looked like the weather was going to hold, even though another storm in the Atlantic was headed our way. We were getting hit with a late-season barrage. At the moment, this one was just a tropical depression.

Jack treated the guys to dinner at the Bluewater Bistro. We filled our bellies, then pregamed at Red November. We had a few drinks and mixed and mingled.

By 8:00 PM the avenue was packed with revelers in allmanner of costumes. Ghosts and goblins, headless people, aliens, and your favorite character from movies and TV.

Music spilled into the street, making a collage of sound. The smell of grilled food wafted.

We bounced around for a little bit on the avenue, taking in the sights and sounds, then made our way to the stage a little after 9:00 PM. Security guards escorted us backstage, and we had a brief huddle in the makeshift green room. Dizzy noodled on his guitar, warming up. Styxx banged on anything in sight with his drumsticks.

At 9:30 PM, I took the stage and introduced the band. "Please welcome the mighty Wild Fury!”

The crowd went wild, howling and cheering. The deafening screams pierced the air.

Dizzy struck a power cord that rumbled the earth.

The band rushed on stage and took their positions.

Jack belted into the microphone, and the crowd screamed even louder.

"Are you ready to rock 'n' roll?"

More screams.

The band broke intoVampires and Vixens.

I stood stage-left and watched as they cranked out their brand of party rock, saturating the audience with 120 decibels of ear-splitting mania.

Wild Fury pummeled the revelers with sonic bliss for almost two hours. They came off the stage, drenched insweat and on a euphoric high. There were high-fives all around and plenty of groupies waiting for the band.

In the deafening rumble of the show, I had missed a call from Taryn.

I listened to her voicemail and turned the volume up so I could hear over the noise of the crowd. They still cheered for more of the Fury.

Her message was disturbing.

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At first, I thought Taryn had butt dialed me. She didn't leave a direct message. It just recorded the ambiance of the room.

Then I heard it.

A familiar voice growled, "Give it to me now, or I swear to God I'll blow your fucking head off.”

It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what was going on.

"I don't have it, Oren,” Taryn said.

She had dialed me without his knowledge and was hoping I'd overhear the conversation.

"Bullshit! I know you have it. I want the incantation now!”

"Don't you think you're taking all this too far?”

Oren snarled again. "I haven't taken it far enough, and I'm running out of time.”

"I don't have it."