Part Ten
"Yo, Gumbo."
Remy looked up from his bike, tipping his head to one side. "Yeah, Logan?"
"Where ya headed?"
"Out to dis bar I know of," Remy answered, wondering why the man was asking. "Rhiannon is playin' dere. I 'aven't seen 'er in a couple of weeks, I t'ought I would go an' see her sing."
Logan nodded a faint smile on his face. "I thought that's where ya might be headed. Mind if I tag along? I'd like to see the kid at work myself. Been a long time since I heard her sing."
Remy thought about it and shrugged. Since Rhiannon would be performing most of the time, it might be nice to have someone along to sit with. "Okay."
"Good. Let me just go get my bike."
When they arrived at the bar, it was not yet eight o'clock, and the parking lot was already getting crowded with cars. They parked their bikes near the front. "Hmm," Logan commented, looking around. "She's got a good audience. Gonna be a wild night, I'll bet."
"Why you say dat?" Remy asked, unbuttoning his jacket.
Logan pointed up to the sky. "Full moon. All the crazies are out tonight."
Remy frowned. Something Rhiannon had told him about a full moon. What was it? He thought for a moment, but could not remember. The last two weeks had been very busy, not giving him much time at all to think. Oh well, if it's that important, I'm sure I'll remember, he thought as they walked in the place.
Although Darkstar was not scheduled to go on for another hour, the place was already fairly crowded. The History of Rock and Roll, Part Two was blaring from the jukebox, over badly blown speakers. Logan winced as they made their way to an empty table. "Hope Star's got a better sound system than this one," he muttered as they sat down.
"Much better," Remy assured him.
Several minutes past and neither of them could see a waitress. Logan volunteered to go to the bar and get them drinks. While Logan was fighting his way through the crowd, Remy leaned back against the wall and lit a cigarette.
"Hey there!"
He turned his head in the direction of the unknown voice. There was a woman standing near his table, holding two bottles of Miller beer. She had long, honey blonde hair with midnight black roots, a lot of makeup, and one of those fashionable, reed-thin bodies. She wore one of those tight spandex dresses that women had to roll to get over their bodies and left little to the imagination. He looked her over and smiled, what he hoped was just a mildly polite smile. "'Ello."
Her head cocked to the left, as if to hear him better. "Say something!" she demanded.
Puzzled, he looked at her. "What you wan' me t'say, Chere?" The History of Rock and Roll Part Two had finished and his voice carried quite well as the jukebox looked for its next selection.
Her eyes widened. "Wow, that's an outrageous accent! I love it!"
"Uh, t'anks." At that moment the jukebox began playing another song, Wasting Time, by Collective Soul. Dat's appropriate, he thought.
Although he had not asked, she sat down at the table and put one of the beers in front of him. "I saw you come in and thought you might want a beer. Your friend will be up there for awhile." She motioned casually to the bar, which was getting thicker and thicker with people.
He looked at the beer, wondering what the price was if he accepted it. He had a funny feeling it would not have anything to do with cash. He also did not feel he wanted to pay it, at least not tonight and not with this woman. "Uh, dat's okay, I can wait. I'm not dat t'irsty."
"Aw, no need for that," she dismissed his objections with a wave of her hand, showing off her dagger length nails, painted deep purple. "Go on, take it."
He did not say anything, just let the beer sit there. She took his lack of comment as acceptance and took a drink from the other bottle. "So, where you from?" she asked.
"Ireland," he lied.
"Really? I've never been there. What's it like?"
His eyes widened. Wow, de reason why blonde jokes were invented, he thought. "It's nice," he said, trying to bring a tone of dismissal into his voice.
"I'll bet it is," she agreed, not taking the hint. "My name is Shasta, Shasta Barnes. What's yours?"
"Thomas J. O'Malley," he lied again.
"Nice to meet you, Tommy." She smiled, showing almost artificially white teeth.
"Thomas," he corrected. "I don' like bein' called Tommy."
"Why? Tommy is such a cute name!"
He looked around, hoping Logan was heading back with the beers. With any luck, Logan would either scare Shasta into leaving, or decide to take a go at her himself. Unfortunately, he could not even see his friend, which told Remy he was in the middle of the crowd that was gathered around the bar.
"So, what do you do for a living?" Shasta asked, determined to get him talking.
"Not'ing," he murmured. "I go from one woman to de next, letting dem support me until dey get sick of me an' kick me out."
"No!" she disagreed, waving her fingers at him. "You're bullshitting me."
"Non, I'm not." He managed to keep a straight face. "It's not much, but it's a way t'survive."
"Why would anyone kick you out?" Shasta asked, actually looking bewildered.
"Yes, please, tell us why anyone would kick you out," someone else chimed in
"Rhiannon!" he turned his head in the direction of her voice. She was standing on the other side of the table, a few feet away. She was wearing a pair of grass stained jeans and an oversized football jersey that hung off one shoulder. Her hair was tied back and she had a Pawtucket Redsox ball cap on her head. Her eyes glittered under the brim of the cap, but in the dim light, he could not tell what color they were. Even dressed in this tomboy fashion, she was a more sensual creature than Shasta could ever hope to be. Her sexuality was a part of her, as natural to her as breathing. Shasta's was a carefully created image.
"Who is this?" Shasta asked, a worried look crossing her face. Apparently when it came to someone else walking on what she hoped was her territory, she was not quite as slow on the uptake.
Rhiannon looked Shasta over with the same sort of expression she might use on a particularly vile bug she found crawling on her bed. She looked over at Remy for a quick second, her eyes glittering even brighter, then turned her attention back to Shasta. "His sister," she said smoothly.
Oh, t'ank you so much! he thought, glaring at Rhiannon for a moment. Why would she not help him with this? She returned his gaze with a blank look, as if she did not know what in the world could be his problem.
"Oh, it's so nice to meet you!" Shasta exclaimed, oblivious to the looks they were exchanging. "Are you from Ireland too?"
"No, I'm from Germany. Long story," she dismissed Shasta with a wave of her hand and turned her attention back to Remy. "I just thought I would come over and see how you were doing. But, I can see you're doing just fine. So, I'll leave you to your new friend. I hope the both of you find lots to talk about. I have to go get ready." Without saying goodbye to Shasta, she turned and walked off, weaving her way through the crowded room easily.
Remy considered going after her, but by the time he was out of the chair, she had slipped through a door that obviously lead backstage. Standing by the door were two very formidable looking men. He had the feeling neither of them would be thrilled if he decided to go back there. He could probably take them both out with little effort, but it would cause a scene.
"Shit!" he fumed. Had she not seen what was happening? Did she really think he was interested in Shasta? He had not even wanted to talk to her; she had been the one who insisted on sitting with him.
"What's wrong?" Shasta asked, obviously puzzled.
"He's havin' a bad hair day," Logan said, coming up to the table, holding two beers. He handed one to Remy.
"Huh?" Shasta said.
Remy looked at Logan, a pained expression on his face that clearly said, "Help! How do I get rid of her?"
Logan suppressed a chuckle. He had seen most of the exchange between Remy, Rhiannon, and Shasta as he headed over here and it was obvious it had Remy ruffled. This was not the first time he had been out drinking with Remy, and he had seen the man get rid of women a million times, politely and impolitely. I don't know what you're doin' to the boy, Rhiannon, he thought. But it's obviously some pretty powerful stuff. You're making him blow his cool. He looked over at Shasta. "I understand you wanna talk to him, but this really ain't a good time. He's been through a really bad break up recently an' he needs some time."
"Oh!" Shasta's eyes widened in sympathy. "I'm so sorry to hear that! What happened?"
Hmm, maybe that was not the best excuse to use. This frail will want to comfort him. Okay, better zing her and zing her quick. Logan leaned over and whispered into Shasta's ear. As he spoke, she turned pale and stared at Remy.
When Logan finished, she stood up from the table, her face almost as white as her teeth. "Uh, I've gotta go... see what my friends are doing. It was nice meeting you."
Before Remy could respond, she turned and started quickly making her way across the bar to where her friends sat. Remy breathed a sigh of relief, just glad to see her gone. "T'anks."
"No problem." Logan sat down.
Remy lit a cigarette and took a long swallow of the beer Logan had brought him. These simple gestures helped him calm down. "What did you say to her dat got her out of here so fast?" he asked.
"I told her that your girlfriend left you because she found you in bed with another guy and a goat," Logan said, calmly.
Remy had been in the process of taking another swallow from the bottle. Shocked, he snorted, spraying beer through his nose. "What!"
"Your girlfriend could handle the other guy, she always suspected you were bisexual, but the goat was just too much," Logan continued, with a straight face. "She raised that goat as part of a 4-H project and is very fond of him."
"Logan!" Remy's eyes watered as the beer dripped from his nose. He wiped it on the sleeve of his jacket. "I don' believe you!"
"Well, I don't believe you either. You've got some disgusting sexual practices, Remy."
"Logan!" Remy shouted. "'Ow could you do dat to me?"
"What's the problem?" Logan said, managing to look bewildered, an expression he so rarely had on his face that anyone who knew him would have to know it was faked. "You wanted me to git rid o'her an' I did."
"But I didn't want you to make me out to be some sort of pervert!" Remy protested.
"Like it really matters. Planning to date her any time soon? Or even hangin' in the same circles she does?"
Remy shook his head. "Non."
"Then who gives a damn." Logan took a long swallow of his beer. "Girls like that one are persistent. If ya wanna get rid o' them, ya gotta go for the rough stuff."
"Hmm," was Remy's only response as he lit a fresh cigarette, thinking.
"What's on yer mind, Gumbo?" Logan asked.
Remy looked up at him. "Why din' Rhiannon help me out wit' Shasta?"
"Shasta? What kind 'o name is that?" Logan grinned. "And I don't have the slightest clue. What do you think Rhiannon should o' done?"
"I dunno... mebe not tell her dat we were brother an' sister!" Remy said, frowning. "She could've indicated dat we've been seein' each other."
"Why should she do that?" Logan asked.
"Because we are!"
"Yeah, you two have gotten together a few times. But have you made any sort 'o commitment to each other?"
Remy shook his head. "Non. I don' t'ink she wants to be tied down."
"You ask her that?"
Remy's brows furrowed. "What are you sayin' Logan."
"Me?" Logan shrugged. "I'm not sayin' anything. Except that maybe, Rhiannon saw you talkin' t' Shasta an' figured you wanted t' be talkin' to her. If there is nothing' in the rules that says neither of you can see anyone else, how's she t'know what you do in your free time."
"Dat's true," Remy began, then his frown deepened. "Den dat mean..." he began.
"That you don't know what she's doin' in her free time," Logan finished. "Or, who she's doin' it with. Life is a bitch, huh?"
Remy bit his lip, not knowing quite what to say to that, or why it was bothering him.
Frowning, Rhiannon looked over the play list that Danny, her lead guitar, and male vocal player handed her. "I don't like it," she said, handing it back to him and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Okay, what do you suggest?" Danny knew better than to argue with Rhiannon/Darkstar. Until she came along, they had been nothing but another garage band, hoping for a break. The break had been Rhiannon. Her voice and the way she moved, the way she drew everyone into the music had enabled them to get somewhere. While playing small bars might not be considered the big time, they were able to make some sort of a living at music, which was more than a lot of people could say. They had a following. Danny was not stupid, he knew 99% of this success was due to Darkstar, and if she did not like the play list, then it was changed. Especially when she stared at him like she did now, her eyes glittering and changing colors rapidly. She's in a mean mood tonight, he thought.
Rolling her eyes, she grabbed a pen and began writing on the paper. A few minutes later, she handed it back to him. "This ought to do it."
He scanned the page and whistled. "Feeling particularly pissed off tonight, darling? Have a little penned up rage you want to express?"
Her eyes narrowed into steely slits. "Let's just say I'm feeling a bit... hungry."
"Yeah, sure, whatever." He knew better than to push her when she was in one of these moods. "I'll tell the rest of the band. You gonna get ready?"
She nodded, turning away from him and heading to the changing area. He watched her enter the room, shaking his head. Sometimes I hate playing with her when there's a full moon.
At exactly nine o'clock, a hush came over the bar, although nothing had really started on the stage yet. Remy grinned. Just like de first night I came here, he thought. He looked over at Logan. "Ready t'see Rhiannon in action?" he asked.
"Yeah," Logan said, turning his attention to the stage. "She certainly has the crowd eatin' out o' the palm o' her hands, and she ain't even out here yet."
"Dat's cause de've seen her b'fore, I'll bet," Remy said.
"Uh huh," Logan said. He started to say something else, but was interrupted when the lights to the stage came up revealing the band.
For a moment, the band stood like statues, posed over their instruments, but not moving. Rhiannon was no where in sight. Then the lights began flashing and they crashed into a song. Then, for a split second, everything onstage when black. When the lights flashed on again, Rhiannon was standing there. "Holy shit," Logan muttered.
"Yeah," Remy agreed, staring at her.
There was no trace of the tomboy in the jeans, football jersey and baseball cap. Rhiannon was wearing a pair of leather pants, so tight they looked almost as if they were painted on. Above, she wore a leather vest that tied in front over her chest. The edges of the vest ended a good two inches before the waistband of the pants. There was no shirt under the vest and her pale skin almost seemed to glisten in the stage lighting. Her hair was loose and she had fluffed it up so it looked wild. Although she must have been wearing some stage make-up, the only thing it looked like she wore was a dark, crimson lipstick. Her eyes were narrowed into glittering, steely slits. On her feet were a pair of boots with a good six inches of spiked heel. A band of silver gleamed from around the upper part of her right arm.
"I always admired her sense of fashion," Logan commented, looking her over with open appreciation.
"Oui," Remy agreed.
She looked around the audience, almost seeming to sneer at them. Then she grabbed the microphone from the stand and began to sing:
Caught you in the
act--can't put up with that
Messing where you shouldn't be
I wanna hear you say you're sorry
Cause nobody takes advantage of me!
She stalked around the stage, looking from one person to the next, eyes glittering brightly. Her voice carried over the room, sweet, beautiful and... angry.
You're missing the mark
Shooting in the dark
I'm pulling the wool from my eyes
Baby don't you push me further
It's gonna hurt you if it happens twice
She had not looked over in Logan and Remy's direction, although she knew at least Remy was there. Instead it seemed that she was looking in ever direction but his.
If looks could kill
You'd be lying on the floor
You'd be begging me please, please
Baby don't hurt me no more.
If looks could kill
You'd be reeling from the pain
And you'd never lie again
If looks could kill
The crowd watched her, with rapt attention. The energy level in the room was high and rising with every note she sang.
She leaped down from the stage, in one smooth motion, landing on her toes, spun around and suddenly looked over at Remy's table. No, not just at the table, at him. Directly at him, her eyes drilling into his.
You're living on the
edge--hanging by a thread
I'm watching every move you make
You don't want to see my anger
So don't you make another mistake
Love is on the line--I ain't about to be kind That's a promise
and a threat
If I was you I'd really cool it
Or risk a night you'll never forget!
"I'm suddenly very glad I'm not you," Logan said softly.
Remy could not hear him; the music was too loud. But if he had, he might have agreed that Logan was indeed luckier than he was at that moment. He stared back at Darkstar. Why are you mad at me? he tried to say, using only his gaze.
She turned away, breaking into the chorus again.
If looks could kill
You'd be lying on the floor
You'd be begging me please, please
Baby don't hurt me no more.
If looks could kill
You'd be reeling from the pain
And you'd never lie again
If looks could kill
She never looked over at their table again as she continued with the song.
I was a fool to believe
in you
A sucker for every line
I'm a little less blind Than I was before
I can see right through your design.
When she broke into the chorus again, the hand not holding the microphone was clenched tightly in a fist. The audience looked at her, focused on her and only her, as if afraid to look anywhere else for fear of getting her angrier.
When she finished that song, she broke right into another one, barely pausing to take a breath. Logan admired the band for being able to keep up with her. Neither he nor Remy recognized the song, but like the first, there was a lot of anger in it.
As the show progressed, Remy noticed a lot of differences from the first night he had seen her sing. She was still doing a lot of different songs, originally done by many different groups, but instead of going the entire emotional range; she seemed to be focusing on negative emotions, mostly anger. No Unchained Melody tonight, no real love songs at all. It was as if there was something black and vile inside her she had to bring out for everyone to see.
The audience did not seem to mind this though. They listened, clapped, and whistled. Rhiannon seemed to be soaking it up, vibrating off it, creating a circle of emotion that traveled around and back to her in some endless loop. She stalked around from table to table, treating various members of the audience to the chance to being sung to, mostly men. Not all of them looked...happy at this, some of them looked almost... frightened, as if when she looked into their eyes, they saw something they were not sure of.
"She sing to you the first night you saw her?" Logan asked, when she had finished a song and was heading back to the stage.
"Oui," Remy said, remembering the way she held onto him, looking into his eyes, singing that song about Mother Dawn. Breathe the light into me... he remembered. If I knew den what I know now... "But it wasn't quite like dis. "
She was up on the stage again, back turned to the audience. She nodded to the band who started playing softly, but the melody held something sinister in it, growing louder and louder as they played.
She suddenly spun around, facing the audience. Her eyes were visibly red now, even through the steely slits. Curling her lips into a snarl, she began to sing, in a voice that sounded almost like a silver whisper, but still held danger in it.
Your cruel device
Your blood, like ice
One look could kill
My pain, your thrill
She took the microphone from the stand and left the stage, stalking around the dance floor, looking from one male audience member to another. Her gaze fell on one guy and she walked over, moving with the music in some terrible, evil sensuality. When she got right in front of him, she rose to her full height, towering over him in her heels and looked down at him. With her free hand, she grabbed his shirt and sang:
I want to love you but
I better not touch
(Don't touch)
As the words were out of her mouth, she let go of him, dropping him back into his chair and straightened up, still singing:
I want to hold you but
my sense tell me to stop
I want to kiss you but I want it too much
(Too much)
She started walking around again, her movements still sensual, but quicker now, as if caught up in some sort of frenzy.
I want to taste you but your lips are venomous poison
You're poison runnin' thru my veins
You're poison, I don't want to break these chains
She moved closer to Remy and Logan. Her eyes were two pools of fire. Catching Logan looking at her, she moved over towards him. Leaning on their table with one hand, her back to Remy, she licked her teeth and looked at Logan. Singing a little softer, she ran the toes of one foot up the side of his leg. Logan never took his gaze off her, his eyes narrowed into steely slits. For a moment, he imagined her leather clad foot to be a snake, trying to wind its way up his leg:
Your mouth, so hot
Your web, I'm caught
Your skin, so wet
Leather and sweat
Suddenly, she straightened out, and spun away from Logan, falling to her knees in front of Remy, looking up at him, her singing rising to an almost screaming level:
I hear you calling and
it's needles and pins
(And pins)
I want to hurt you just to hear you screaming my name!
Remy's eyes widened. There was a part of him that wanted to move back, away from her, but he forced himself to hold steady. It's an act, he told himself. An act. She's playin' up to de audience. He looked into her eyes, commanding himself to hold her gaze.
Don't want to touch you but you're under my skin
(Deep in)
She began rising on her knees, putting one hand on his knee:
I want to kiss you but your lips are venomous poison!
His eyes narrowed. So are your teeth, Chere, he thought, trying to send his message with eye contact alone.
She moved away from him, rising to her feet and turning from their table. For the rest of the song, she avoided the audience, going back on stage instead to finish.
Runnin' deep inside my
veins
Burning deep inside my veins
It's poison
I don't wanna break these chains
Poison.
When the song finished, she slammed the microphone back into the stand and without saying a word, turned and stormed off the stage. Even the band seemed shocked, not doing anything for almost ten seconds. Then, the lead guitar player shook his head, and announced to the audience that the first half of the show was over.
There was another thirty seconds or so of silence from the audience, as if they needed some time to absorb this. Then someone turned up the lights in the bar, which acted as some sort of signal for everyone to start talking.
Logan looked over at Remy. "I was wrong."
"What you mean?" Remy asked.
"I said all the crazies would be out tonight. I think there's just one and she's backstage."
Remy nodded, hearing the words but thinking too. She said something about the full moon affectin' her. Dis what she meant? "I wonder if I can get backstage an' talk to her."
"Are you sure you want to?" Logan asked, a faint trace of a grin on his face.
"I don' know if I want to, but I feel I should." He looked over at the two goons who were still standing by the door. "I bet I can get by dem."
"Only one way t'find out, Gumbo," Logan pointed out.
Nodding, Remy rose from his chair.
Musical Credits
The first song Rhiannon sang was called (naturally) If Looks Could Kill. It was orignally sung by Heart.
The second song was called Poison It was written by Alice Cooper and Desmond Child. Thanks to Darqstar for being a former Alice Cooper freak and remembering that song. :-) I confess that I did change one word in the song to make it fit the story together. No matter how hard I try to strech my imagination, I cannot picture anyone using the term "Black lace and sweat" to describe Logan.
Part Eleven (which will hopefully be coming soon) will contain more scenes of a sexual nature. Be advised.