Free The Air Singer (The Cantors) by K. Huber

“This is the training facility?” The images created in her mind when she thought of the power of a group like the Cadence crumbled as she surveyed the old building. 
    Roland smiled at her confusion. “Haven’t we learned anything about first impressions after the last week?” Hopping out of the truck he strode over to Tally’s door and opened it. “Not everything is as it seems.”
    Tally stayed in the truck. “I don’t do well with antique stores. How about we invite Anna and Oliver to meet us somewhere else?” The energy from the store was already making her stomach spin. “Anywhere else.”
    Roland reached across Tally and released her seatbelt. He grabbed her hand and Tally felt numb . The nausea stopped and the energy emanating from the shop disappeared.
    “How…”
    “I’m your paladin.” Roland smiled as he pulled her out of the truck and shut the door with his free hand. “I’ve trained to protect you from all threats, including clairsentient overload.”
    Tally was amazed at how normal she felt walking into the store. A gangly boy who looked about seventeen was dusting the glass case under the register. His dirty blonde hair was messy and hid his eyes. The polluted air tickled her nose and she exploded into a fit of sneezing that announced her and Roland’s presence in the store.
    “Roland! You ’re back!” The young man exclaimed. Noticing Tally in tow, he introduced himself. “Hey, I’m Mike.” He shoved the dirty rag in his pocket and ran his hand through his hair pulling the bangs away revealing an honest if not naive face. “I’d offer to shake hands, but I wouldn’t want to get you dirty.”
    Tally smiled at the young gentleman, “No problem.”
    “This is Tally.” Roland introduced, “She will be helping Anna with the paperwork in the back office.”
    Tally’ s head shot toward Roland. She began to protest he continued, “Is she here today?”
    Mike smiled and thumbed toward the back, “When isn’t she here?”
    Roland led Tally to the very back of the building. Shelves of glassware, china, and figurines filled the store. Baskets of different shapes and sizes hung from the ceiling. In the far corner behind racks of framed oil paintings, a small door opened to a windowless office. A steel desk reminding Tally of the ones used by teachers at her old high school stood in the middle of the room. File cabinets lined the far wall with wire trays filled with paper and receipts sitting at the top of each.
    “If my training includes filing, I’d rather go deal with Sean and his buddy.” 
    Roland closed the door behind them. Without a word, he took them to the back wall and opened the top drawer of the file cabinet. Still holding Tally’s hand, he reached underneath the open drawer. Tally heard a soft click. Suddenly the desk moved toward the office door blocking it from opening. Only hearing the slightest hum as the desk moved to its new location, Tally saw that it had been hiding a flight of stairs that disappeared into the earth.
    “Now that is cool!” 
    Chuckling under his breath, Roland guided her down the stairs. “I’m glad you approve.” About seven steps down, Roland stopped and flipped what looked like a simple light switch. Light illuminated the room at the bottom of the stairs and a hum from above announced that the desk was returning to its previous position hiding the passage.
    Tally continued following Roland down the stairs to see a library that reminded her of an old English manor. Walls of wood and stone were shelved with books from floor to ceiling. A plush burgundy rug covered the stone floor while oversized vanilla chairs flanked a table with open books and a reading lamp. “What is this place?”
    “ She’s not very observant is she?” An unfamiliar feminine voice filled the room. Before Tally could turn to see who the voice belonged to, Roland ripped his hand from hers as if she were a hot ember. Instantly she sensed that two people had entered