Chapter 3

      The sound of Spook’s rhythm parts being played repetitiously greeted Xane as he and Rock Giant entered the auditorium. It served to drag his attention away from the band’s relationship politics and back to where he needed it to be, on the music. They could deal with the travel arrangements later. First they had a soundcheck and the gig to get through, and even though he’d done it a thousand times before, there was still a flutter of self-doubt in his stomach when he first walked onto the stage.

      The rest of the band were already positioned on their X-marked spots. Ash joined the sound of his lead guitar to Spook’s as Xane headed to his mic. They were running through the lead and rhythm parts of their newest addition to the set, ‘Taken’, one of the songs Xane had written about Steve. Tonight would be their first live performance of the track, and the plan was to record it, so they needed to nail it or risk delaying the release until they could arrange another live recording or book some studio time.

      Having exchanged nods with both guitarists and already bashed heads with bassist Rock Giant, Xane turned his attention to Elspeth. Their relationship remained particularly fraught. Throughout the tour planning, they’d exchanged only basic civilities. However, mindful of Rock Giant’s warning shots in the corridor, Xane battened down his feelings and offered her something like a friendly smile. If this was the price of buying Dani’s place on the tour bus, without a load of aggro, then he guessed he’d do it. ‘How are you doing?’

      Seriously not well, if her appearance was anything to go on. Elspeth had always cultivated a wan, faded beauty, but she looked like a glass about to shatter. The change to her hair, while dramatic, certainly hadn’t helped, for it drained her of what little colour she did possess. Once blonde, after the funeral she’d dyed her hair black, complete with a Lily Munster white streak.

      Instead of responding to Xane’s gesture, her gaze remained fixed upon the empty space where Steve ought to have been. His drumkit was all set up, but they’d be relying on old recordings rather than a live drummer to make up for his absence. At least, that was supposed to be the plan.

      ‘What the fuck?’ he growled, noticing the guy behind the drumkit looking perky and ready for action. The nearby microphone unfortunately picked up his voice and amplified it to an ear-splitting level. It got everyone’s attention.

      Ash’s footsteps sounded like a stampede as he moved to intercept Xane before he dragged the guy out from behind the drums.

      ‘Xane. Can we talk?’ Ash wrapped himself like a straitjacket around Xane’s torso.

      ‘In a minute, when he’s got the fuck away from Steve’s drums.’

      ‘Now,’ Ash insisted, manhandling him sideways into the wings, away from the microphones. ‘There’s no point in getting all Robocop on his arse, when I’m the one responsible. Yell at me about it.’

      ‘Get the fuck off me.’ Xane shook off Ash’s hold. ‘What the hell are you playing at? Who is he? Why is he here?’

      ‘I’m making sure we don’t sound like shit. It’s a lovely idea, Xane, us all pretending Steve’s still here, but you know what? He isn’t, and the backing track seriously doesn’t cut it. We’ll be laughed off if we use it.’

      ‘If that were the case, Ulf would have said so.’ Their chief sound technician was a straight-talking, gruff old bastard who’d worked with them on their last four tours, and was responsible for such gems of wisdom as ‘You’ll be cutting off your collective bollocks if you sing that soppy crap.’ He never minced words.

      ‘The crew haven’t said anything because they’re all scared they’re going to end up out of work. When you broke us up a few weeks back, they’re the ones it hit hardest. We all might have money enough to pay the bills, but most of the crew are living from paycheck to paycheck.’

      ‘That still doesn’t give you the right to employ a drummer. We’re a band. It should have gone to a vote.’

      ‘True,’ Ash admitted. He released his hold on Xane and pushed his hands into his pockets. ‘But everyone’s so stressed out, I thought I’d cut the preamble. It’s not as if there’s an actual discussion to have. Give it one song and you’ll be agreeing with me. The balance is wrong without live drums, and no, the sound guys can’t fix it, because if they amplify it, the track just ends up drowning out everything else. Xane, those recordings were never intended for this sort of thing. Please. I know why we said we didn’t want to employ anyone, but we have to.’

      Xane willed his fists to unclench. He wasn’t so big a dick that he couldn’t comprehend what Ash was saying, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Even contemplating slotting someone into Steve’s place felt sacrilegious. The truth was, he wanted to see this new drummer off with a sledgehammer, but he also knew he’d ultimately go with what was right for the band.

      He folded his arms across his stomach, suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of nausea. Steve’s loss remained an open wound. They might have buried him, but he didn’t know if he’d ever truly manage to lay him to rest.

      Where in the hell was Dani? He needed her here.

      ‘This is for the best, Xane.’ Ash spoke slowly, with as much calm as he could muster. Mediation wasn’t his usual role. Normally it was Spook trying to smooth things out.

      ‘Who is he?’ Xane asked distrustfully, suspicious of where Ash had magicked someone from, given that decent rock drummers were few and far between. The last thing they needed was a feud developing because they’d poached some other group’s drum fiend. They had enough axes hanging over them as it was.

      ‘It’s Iain,’ Ash replied, as if that were supposed to mean something.

      ‘Who?’ He’d met numerous Iains, but none who was particularly known for playing drums.

      ‘Iain Willows.’

      It took a moment for the name to click. ‘Ash, you have to be effing kidding me. Is this a joke?’ It had to be. ‘The guy hates my guts. He’s done nothing but badmouth me for years.’

      ‘Bit of friendly rivalry, that’s all,’ Ash reassured him. He flicked his swathe of black hair from his eyes. ‘You know how it is. The punters love a good feud. Come on, Xane. We’ve all thrown a few crass remarks about at some point. Besides, he’s a decent drummer, he’s knows our stuff and he’s available for the whole tour. We’re not going to find anyone else of similar calibre that just happens to have a six-month opening on their calendar, starting today.’

      Yeah, so how come Mr Willows did?

      Xane shook his head. ‘You should have discussed this. Springing him on us like this is wrong.’

      ‘It’s only what you’re planning to do with Dani. Besides, if I’d brought it up sooner, you’d simply have vetoed the idea, and then where would we be?’

      ‘What do you mean, this is what I’m doing with Dani? She’s not joining the band.’

      ‘She’s as good as. However, in the interests of democracy, why don’t we vote on it? Iain, I mean. Not Dani. I’m happy for her to be around if it keeps you sweet. Guys! Over here a minute.’

      The rest of the band slowly sloped over, Elspeth and Rock Giant first, then Spook, with his purple Washburn guitar suspended from its strap and his fingers still dancing over the strings in a repetitive cycle.

      ‘What’s the verdict, then?’ Rock Giant asked. Rather than flick his gaze over to their prospective drummer, he looked up towards the sound booth in the rafters. ‘Are we set for this soundcheck or what? If we don’t get our butts in gear soon, Ulf’s going to go all Captain Caveman on us.’

      ‘We’re