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

the room. Turning around she saw a tall, dignified woman in her fifties with black hair streaked with silver. Her face appeared tired, but her eyes sparkled with intelligence. Standing next to her was a young man around Roland’s age with chestnut hair worn long but pulled back to a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His expression warmed as he smiled at Tally.
    “ You would think the books would be a dead giveaway.” The woman continued, “You have stepped foot in a library before?”
    Tally stood incredulous to the woman’s mockery. “Yes, but I’ve never had to go through a secret passage to enter. Tell me, do you require blood samples for a library card or will a urinalysis suffice?”
    Roland and the other gentleman stood speechless waiting for the older woman’s response . Anna was the strongest, most respected paladin in modern history. No one crossed her, not even the elder members of the Cadence. Tally just mouthed off at the woman who controlled how she lived for the unforeseeable future.
    Anna stood unaffected by Tally’s comment until the corner of her mouth curved revealing her amusement. “Air singers always are quick with a comeback. I will have to say that they are my favorite to banter with. Just as smart as Fire, but not quite as volatile.” Anna extended her arm toward the hall leading away from the library, “Join me for tea?”
    Tally looked to Roland for guidance . He smiled and started toward Anna. They both walked out of room. Tally followed until she reached the young man that had been at Anna’s side. “Don’t mind Anna. She tries to come off as a hard ass, but she cares about her students.” He offered to shake Tally’s hand, “I’m Oliver.”
    Tally smiled and shook his hand . “Tally.”
    “I know.” Oliver escorted her into a kitchen. It was clean, with concrete countertops, two ovens and a large stainless steel refrigerator. In the center, four covered chairs surrounded a table that appeared to be carved from a solid piece of wood. Anna placed a white china teapot in the center of the table. She turned to face the young men, “Could you please let Mike know that we will be closing the shop early today?” 
    Realizing they were being dismissed, Roland and Oliver began to head back to the library. Roland looked back with a reassuring smile before joining Oliver on the stairs. He hadn’t let her out of sight in the past two days and felt uneasy leaving her, even in the company of his mentor.
    “She survived two Spina attacks, I think she can handle having tea with Anna. ” Oliver whispered over his shoulder.
    Roland erased his concern for Tally from his expression. “I know. She just feels vulnerable right now.” He caught up to Oliver at the top of the stairs. “I’m just helping her be at ease.”
    “Uh-huh” Oliver laughed while he found the switch to move the desk back over the stairs. “You didn’t tell me she was so attractive.”
    “I didn’t notice.” Roland busied himself with unlocking the door to the office.
    “Really? I figured the long blonde hair and those big brown eyes would have peaked your interest.” 
    “ I was too busy doing my job. I’m her paladin, nothing more.” Roland walked out of the office toward the front of the store. “And her eyes are blue.”
    Oliver followed behind laughing, “Yeah, glad we got that straight.”
     
    A feeling of abandonment came over Tally as she realized that Roland had never left her alone in the past two days until now. She stood at the entrance to the kitchen watching Anna retrieve two china cups and saucers from a cabinet. Anna placed the cups on the table in front of two adjacent chairs. “For someone with such a quick lip, you sure are timid.” She sat down and met Tally in the eye. “Take a seat. We need to talk.”
    Tally walked over and took the seat next to Anna . “So do you always make new students feel this welcome?”
    A laugh escaped Anna’s mouth as she placed a silver tea strainer