people who they ought to be based on how they were born. So don't listen to them. Unless you're afraid your family will actually imprison or restrain you, you need to go back and tell them who you want to be."
"They won't listen," he said sullenly.
"Then you tell them again and again and you become what you want to be in spite of them," Nora said. "And know that they may never accept who you truly are. And believe me I know how hard that is going to be."
"So do I," Leah added.
Lightning flashed across the sky followed by thunder so loud they were nearly deafened. Then the skies opened up and it started to pour down rain.
Ryuu's eyes were glowing. "They've found me," he said. Although he didn't seem to raise his voice they had no problems hearing him.
"Ryuu, please don't run away again," Maryann shouted over the torrential rain. "They'll find you and you'll just have to run away again. You'll spend your whole life running. You don't want that, do you?"
He shook his head. "No." He stood up. "You're right. I have to go back. I'm sorry for the trouble."
"It's fine!" Leah bellowed. "You were a great roadie!"
"We'll miss you!" Maryann screamed. "Good luck with your family!"
He smiled and took a few steps forward away from the vans. His whole body started to glow and stretch. Within a minute, his shape was not even remotely human. He was about thirty feet long, serpentine, with two front legs and two back legs that seemed small relative to his total size, and a draconian head. His scales shimmered between blinding white to gray that was nearly black and his purple-blue color-shifting eyes flashed with lightning.
The band did the only reasonable thing - they screamed and stumbled backwards into the van.
"This is why I took a human form," Ryuu said in a voice that sounded like a breeze rustling thousands of sails.
"Thank you," Leah managed to say in a small voice.
He heard her over the driving rain and smiled. "Thank you again for allowing me to travel with you. Perhaps we shall meet again."
They nodded mutely. The storm-dragon launched into the air. They stuck their heads out and stared at the dark sky. Flashes of lightning illuminated Ryuu as well as several other similar-looking creatures, although some seemed much, much larger. After about ten minutes of near constant lightning and thunder the rain stopped and the clouds started to break up.
"A freakin' dragon! Are you kidding me?" Leah said. "Of all the things we've met and I thought we'd ever met, I actually never thought we'd really meet a dragon!"
"I'm not sure it was actually a dragon," Isabella replied. "It's more like a storm elemental, I think. It's not a spirit, I know that."
"What I know is that we're damn lucky we hadn't unloaded any of our gear yet," Nora said. "Now we'd better find someone in charge and find out what happens now. I mean, obviously the festival is canceled but we should find out if they're planning to reschedule."
"We just met a dragon!" Maryann said breathlessly. "And you're thinking about that?"
Nora shrugged. "Someone needs to focus. That was pretty incredible, but we do have a gig to worry about."
"You know, we should have figured there was something weird about that guy when Maryann didn't fall for him straight away," Leah said.
"Hey!" Maryann replied.
"Ladies! Come on, Nora is right. We can be awed later. Now we've got work to do."
"For all that, I hope things work out for Ryuu with his family," Maryann said.
Leah and Nora looked at each other. "We hope so too," Leah said. “Oh, darn it!”
“What?” Maryann asked.
“It just occurred to me having a dragon traveling with us may be why everything's been so quiet lately. He would have been great to have at the Pandemonium Festival.”
“Oh, damn it, you're right,” Nora sighed.
“Well, it's better this way,” Maryann said.
They closed up the van and followed Isabella in search of the festival managers.
The Lyrics:
The conversation turns cold
Thunder rumbles in the skies
Darkness and stillness reign
Lightning flashes in your eyes
A light, sunny and fun day
Is now dark and overcast
Anger mounts like thunderheads
The front is approaching fast
Refrain: Changes are unexpected
But you're being true to form
The tension builds but nothing is said
In the calm before the storm
The conversation turns sharp
As you continue to seethe
The pressure is increasing
I hardly dare to breathe
Silence says nothing to me
And fights make my heart ache
Please, why can't you talk to me
Before the thunderstorm breaks?
Refrain
Now comes the emotional deluge
And there is no place to find refuge
And now the rain has passed through
And please know I care for you
And I know you're only doing your best
But I just can't endure another tempest
We need to find a better way; a new norm
Let's find a way to calm the angry storm.
Track 10 - How You Play the Game
The Interview:
Bryan: This next track has the definite feel of 1970s Southern Rock. This also probably is the least dark-toned song both in terms of music and lyrics.
Lee: Wow, how the heck did that happen?
Kelly: [laughs] You should tell us. You wrote the song.
Bryan: Are any of you sports fans? Or did you just like the metaphor?
Lenore: We may or may not be sports fans, yes. But we also like the metaphor.
Kelly: Is there any specific inspiration for this song?
Anna: Yes, actually.
Bryan: Well, what is it?
Belle: A game, obviously.
Kelly: Come on, ladies, you've got to give us something else to go on.
Lee: It was just a pick-up game between us and some people we just met. Just a friendly pick-up game.
Bryan: Friendly? Really? I think maybe that's not entirely true.
Anna: It's not. But really, our inspiration was a game.
Kelly: Wow, I guess with all the vague and evasive answers you've given us during this interview, I didn't expect you to give us a straight answer.
Bryan: Or one that's so, well, normal.
Lee: I said it was just a pick-up game, not that it was normal.
Kelly: You aren't going to expand on that, are you?
Anna: Sorry.
The Inside Story:
The band called Nevermore and the Ravens was on the road again, this time to a familiar location in the Mojave Desert.
“I can't believe we're doing this again,” Nora said irritably.
“I can't believe mi Abuela agreed to lend us the RV after last time,” Leah commented.
“Seriously, why in the world are we doing this? The last time was a disaster,” Nora said.
Isabella sighed from her usual position driving the vehicle, in this case Leah's grandmother's small recreational vehicle. “We're playing the Second Annual Pandemonium Festival because Mr. Rafel booked the show. He said the organizers asked for Nevermore and the Ravens specifically.”
“That's only because we're one of the few bands that got through our set,” she snapped.
“It wasn't that bad,” Maryann said. “I mean, yeah, the weather was weird and the RV got banged up, but we had fun, right?”
Nora narrowed her eyes. “That guy you hooked up with last year isn't going to be here, is he?”
The redhead rolled her eyes. “His name was Alex Crowell, and no. I tried to keep in touch with him, but I think he got hacked or something because I started getting spam from his email and his page disappeared.”
&nb
sp; “Well, maybe he shouldn't be dealing with a chaos goddess.”
“Ladies,” Isabella said firmly. “We are not getting into that. I just hope we don't get the weird weather again. We're set to play tomorrow night; I hope the festival lasts that long.”
“It's still going to be freakin' hot,” Nora muttered.
“I brought lots of sunscreen,” Maryann said brightly.
Isabella navigated the van through the dusty lanes marked by cones and signs. “Well, this is an improvement over last year,” she said. They eventually parked in the area designated for acts and set out to find the various managers to get fully registered. The process went smoothly, and they returned to the RV for dinner.
“You aren't going to complain the whole time again, are you?” Maryann asked Nora as she warmed up dinner in the RV's tiny microwave.
“I didn't complain the whole time last time,” Nora retorted. “But it is hot and the RV just isn't big enough for the four of us and all our gear.”
That was true. Most of the space was taken up by their instruments, costumes, and other band gear, as well as many battery-powered fans as they could fit. Their camping gear was tied to the roof.
“A gig is a gig,” Leah said with a shrug. “Maryann, do you want to pitch some tents outside tonight? It might be cooler than trying to bunk down in the RV.”
“Sure!”
Nora rolled her eyes and shook her head. “So, card games again?”
“You can pick the game,” Maryann said.
“Great. So how early do we have to get up?”
“Early,” Isabella said. “The Festival starts at 10:00 tomorrow, officially. I thought we'd probably want to get out early and drum up some enthusiasm for our show. We're set for 11:00 PM on the Bedlam Stage. Assuming, of course, nothing changes.”
“I am assuming nothing of the sort,” Leah said.
The others agreed. They played some card games for a couple of hours and Maryann and Leah did pitch tents outside. Isabella had room to put down a sleeping bag