Family Harmony

Excerpt:

Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater, Virginia Beach, Va
5:30pm

Lakon Montgomery was in the middle of rehearsing his current number-one hit when something caught his attention. Specifically, a perfectly shaped, denim covered, feminine derriere drew his attention away from the business at hand.
He half-heartedly plucked at his guitar as the young lady emerged from behind an enormous speaker. The lead singer from the opening band walked over, noticing the direction of his gaze.
“Don’t even bother, big guy. She won’t give you the time of day,” the man laughed at him shaking his head.
As Lakon moved his eyes back to the girl, he saw a handsome young man helping her up. The young man and the girl bore a strong resemblance to each other.
“C’mon, luvvie, let’s go to the beach and see just how many clothes each of us has to shed to cause an accident,” the young man suggested.
“Loser buys the booze, right?” the girl laughed.
“Guess you’d better get your tiniest bib, eh?” he elbowed her, taking her hand.
“Guess you better get your biggest pair of socks, eh?” she elbowed him back.
When the couple walked away, Lakon turned back to the other singer.
“Who was that?” he asked.
“She does sound, her brother does lights, or vise versa. Hey man, catch ya later–I’m following them to the beach. I may never get to touch but at least I can look.” The other man left.
Fighting his body’s reaction to the image of that delectable body in a skimpy bikini, Lakon stood staring after the girl and inhaling the intriguing scent she’d left behind.
****
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pa
2:30am Wednesday
Lakon was surprised to hear voices as he and his manager, cousin and fellow werewolf, Yancey Livingston, slipped into the concert hall. They’d been out hunting on this, their first night in Philadelphia, and had just transformed back to human form. Both had left clothes in Lakon’s dressing room and the two thought they could come and go unnoticed. Usually after two in the morning, the area was deserted.
“Who’s here?” Lakon asked Yancey once they’d reached his dressing room. They hadn’t been spotted.
“It’s got to be Mya and Myles Brooks. They do lights, sound, and set design. They write a little, too.” Yancey explained. He pronounced her name Mie-ah. “They like to work when nobody’s around. They’re good. Wanna let them know we’re here?”
“Naw,” answered Lakon. “I’ve always wanted to see how they figure out what colors to use.”
The two men quietly eased into the Center’s seating area, but stayed back in the darkness.
For a few minutes, they watched and listened as Myles manipulated lights from a booth near the ceiling while Mya danced around the stage calling out colors. They could hear Lakon’s own voice singing as it was played over the sound system.
Watching from the shadows, Lakon couldn’t take his eyes off the small brunette beauty. Her long, artfully mussed, sable colored hair begged a man to plunge his hands into it.
She had an oval face framed by a dainty chin, elegant cheekbones, and well-shaped, delicate eyebrows. Her eyes were a rich light brown the color of aged bourbon, rimmed by impossibly long lashes. It had been a while since any woman, human or Were, had garnered his attention.
“Okay, Myles,” came her melodious voice. “Hit me!” She had a mild English accent.
Lakon’s recorded voice stopped and the luxurious notes of a saxophone began to play. The young girl grinned broadly and said, “Play Mr. Montgomery’s song, Sweet!”
The tune changed to the notes of “Smooth Operator” by Sade and Mya raised her hands over her head and sang the first verse and chorus. Her hips swayed sensuously.
“That was magic, Luvie!” the girl smiled.
The saxophone music changed to Lakon’s most popular song. She danced around the stage calling out colors again and pointing. As she did, the spotlights of color swept her slender body.
Finally, they heard Myles’s voice boom from overhead.
“Come, let's away to prison; We two alone will sing like birds I' th' cage."
The tinkling sounds of the girl’s laughter echoed in surround sound as she responded to Myles’s King Lear quote.
“As You Like It, my love: Now go we in content; To liberty, and not to banishment.” she stood shielding her eyes with an open palm, looking up at his booth.
“Right in one, Pet. Now, let’s get thee to a Pub, shall we? We’ll finish off tomorrow night.”
Still laughing, she swept a low bow and made her way off the stage as all the lights went off. Lakon recognized that curved derriere from the day before. He and Yancey sat silently, waiting to see what would happen next.
They watched as a young, dark haired man came through a doorway under a muted light. In one hand he carried what Lakon realized was a saxophone in its black case. His free hand reached for the girl’s as the two headed for the door.
"I could fair murder a kebab and a plate of chips” they heard Myles say.
The men heard them call out to the security guard as they left the building.
Lakon turned to Yancey.
“That was definitely entertaining,” he stated blandly. “Why haven’t I seen those two before?”
“They only come out at night, Lake. Maybe it’s easier to work with the lights at night.” Yancey thought about this a minute. “They don’t mix a lot with others – especially the girl. Myles keeps his distance, too, though.”
“They’re not Vamps are they?” Lakon asked in alarm. He didn’t mind working with Vampires but he did like to know when they were around.
“No, of course not! I would have run it by you before I hired a Vamp, you know that.” Yancey sounded a little hurt that Lakon would question his common sense.
“Stop acting like an old woman, Yance, it was a fair question,” he laughed at his cousin.
“Hmmph.” Yancey conceded. Lakon’s chuckle died away as his eyes began to narrow.
“If they purposefully avoid others, they’re hiding something. Find out what you can. Let’s do this again tomorrow.” Yancey agreed and the men returned to their hotel.