we always stuck in the middle of something weird? I get it. I do. And we don't get answers. We get more questions."
"I guess maybe I'd like some answers every once in a while," she replied softly.
"Me too," Leah sighed. "Me too."
They were silent. They found a hotel, checked in, gratefully went to sleep, and the next day Isabella dropped Leah and Nora off at the church to help clean up while she got the van fixed up. They worked all day, spent another night, and left the next morning for another show.
The Lyrics:
When darkness is all around
And I feel I'm the only one
When dawn is too far away
You are the rising sun.
Such strength could eclipse me
And I feel myself quaver
But although I am frightened
My trust in you never wavers.
Refrain: You're full of hope and light
Whenever there is danger I can't face
Whenever I feel I'm losing myself
I can count on your saving grace.
When despair closes around me
And I am filled with only fear
I will never give up hope
Because I know you're near.
Sometimes I worry you're not there
But when the situation is most dire
Then I know I don't have to ask
Because you'll come with burning fire.
Refrain:
I love and respect all that you are
You frighten and inspire me
Please understand that I never
Would treat your power blithely.
Even though I have faith in you
Sometimes I can't believe what I saw
Once you step down from the choir
I am overwhelmed with awe.
Refrain:
As I walk through the valley of the shadow
I know that I can make it out of this place
As long as I focus on your shining presence
And love and cherish your saving grace.
Track 13 - Where Silence Reigns
The Interview:
Jana: Okay, well, now we've come to the final track, and this is another shift.
Belle: You really think so?
Nico: Well, you go from, erm, restrained power metal, to something like a cross between folk and slow-tempo prog rock. Again, I didn't even know that was a thing.
Lee: There's our new tagline - "Nevermore and the Ravens: Yes, that's a thing."
Jana: [laughs] This is pretty unusual. The music is so stripped down it's almost acoustic. And is there a cello?
Lenore: Yes. Yes, there is in fact a cello. And a violin, and a guitar, and drums.
Nico: What made you decide to use classical instruments?
Anna: It made sense with the song. We wanted something kind of mellow and deep and just a little bit haunting.
Jana: So you thought of a cello?
Belle: We've used a cello before for just that reason. It make sense to us. But we are musicians, which means we see things probably a little differently from everyone else.
Lee: Which is a lot of words just to say, "we're kind of weird that way."
Jana: This song also doesn't have a refrain, which is really unusual, to say the least.
Lenore: We didn't think it needed a refrain. The last line is repeated, so there's kind of a refrain already built into the structure of the song.
Nico: So is this song about death?
Anna: It could be.
Jana: But is it?
Lee: Interpret it however you want. We only make the music; we're not here to tell you how to listen to it.
The Story:
"Why do we do this to ourselves?" Nora asked as the Isabella navigated the borrowed recreational vehicle through the California desert. "It's said insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."
"This isn't the same thing," Maryann replied. "The festival was moved this year."
"They couldn't keep the same location for three years?" Leah asked.
"Something about permits, I guess," the redhead answered, looking confused.
"That is all beside the point," Nora cut in. "Why are we going to the Pandemonium Festival for the third time? The first time we had to run down a literal demon and the second time we ended playing a pick-up game of three-on-three to save someone's soul. Does anyone really think it'll be any less weird or less disastrous this year?"
"It could be," Maryann answered. "Or least maybe we'll miss the bad stuff. I mean, we're just coming in for the last day. Maybe they got all the bugs worked out."
"Isabella? Leah?"
"Yeah, it'll be a disaster," Leah said.
"We'll just prepare for the worst as best we can," Isabella replied. "We're not staying very long this time. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning."
"That's only because we're last on the schedule," Nora countered.
"We might be okay," Maryann countered. "Maybe the problems with the festival are because of the location. Maybe moving it will fix that kind of thing."
"It'll be less of a weirdness magnet?" Leah asked dryly.
"It could be. I mean, I don't know, but it could be."
"I'm not holding my breath," Nora said.
"Wow, you're getting almost as sarcastic as me," Leah said. "This is the first sign of the impending disaster."
"No, that is," Isabella said, looking at a sign that had been put up for the festival but had another sign with the word "detour" hastily put up over it and an arrow.
"So, it begins," Leah said, almost grimly. "I just hope the RV doesn't get busted up again. Mi abuela is a saint."
"She really is," Maryann agreed.
Isabella followed the rather confused detour to a dishelved attendant at a gate who directed them to another dirt path that eventually seemed to circle behind the main festival to an area marked off for the entertainment acts.
"I'll go find the manager or whoever's in charge to make sure our itenerary is correct," Isabella said.
"It won't be," Nora said irritably.
"I'll be right back," the blonde sighed. She fixed her floppy hat firmly on her head, adjusted her sunglasses, and stepped out into the bright sunlight. The moment she stepped out of the RV she knew something was wrong. She considering telling the others, but decided to take care of the practical considerations first. She found a manager and confirmed Nevermore and the Ravens was still scheduled to play the final show on the Anarchy Stage at eleven that night. As she threaded her way through the crowd, she caught glimpses of something inhuman. She tried to follow up but couldn't quite catch whatever it was, or even determine if there was more than one creature.
"We got costumes!" Maryann said brightly when Isabella returned.
The festival was officially opening for the final day. In the distance a band started to play.
"And we have trouble," Nora said, reading the expression on Isabella's face.
"Wow. Less than an hour. That may be a new record," Leah sighed.
"There's something out there and I don't know what. Let's go mingle. I'll cast spirit sight on everyone and maybe we can see what's going on. There are creatures or something out there."
"Oh, boy, creatures. This is great already," Leah said.
Having learned from previous years, their costumes were light-weight, light-colored material. The mostly white dresses were inspired by old-fashioned tea dresses, although they had shorter hemlines. They also all had floppy hats inspired by the same fashion, modern sunglasses, white sneakers, plenty of sunscreen, and their purses. Isabella cast the spell on them and they all stepped out of the RV.
"Oh boy," Maryann said in a small voice.
Everyone of them knew something was wrong.
"Now I'm really worried," Leah said. "I usually don't get these bad feelings, but I have a bad feeling about this. What the hell am I seeing anyway?"
>
"Echoes," Isabella answered. "After-images. I'm not really sure. We are really close to the spirit realm. We are much closer than we should be."
They set off to search for the creatures Isabella described, but they were hampered by the festival itself. Even on the final day, it seemed as though there were still numerous problems with coordination and equipment. The three stages seemed plagued by bad luck as circuits shorted, feedback loops were created, lights went out, and fuses tripped.
"I have never been to an event so well named," Nora said as they passed the lead singer of a band in an animated and agitated conversation with a manager.
"There!" Maryann said, pointing at a shadowy figure crawling underneath the Bedlam Stage. The backstage area was less crowded than the main festival area, but they still couldn't move quickly. By the time they reached the stage, some wires had shorted out.
"Sounds like the bass just went out," Leah said.
"Yeah, and I'm going to bet that manager isn't going to let us go underneath the stage now," Nora said. "Damn, this is going to get frustrating fast."
And it did. For over three hours they chased down the shadowy creatures but were interrupted by the festival-goers, entertainment acts, management, and even fans. By the time they regrouped for lunch and some water in the RV, they still hadn't gotten a good look at the things.
"One thing's pretty certain," Isabella said. "They're sabotaging the festival."
"Yeah. No wonder things are such a mess when these creatures are going around frying wires and stuff," Maryann agreed. "But why are they doing it?"
"If we could get close enough to see what they were, maybe that would help."
"We've been trying that all morning," Nora interjected. "Can't we figure out a better way?"
"Well, I think it would help if people didn't recognize us," Isabella said.
"But that's the point of getting here early. If we weren't going to engage in shameless self-promotion, we could have just stayed