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I swallowed the lump in my throat as I nodded. “Y-yeah, that’s me.”
He held out his hand to me. “First, might I take a look at this flute?”
I cast an uncertain glance at Ben, but he nodded. With some apprehension, I removed the flute from its case and walked over to the strange man. I set the flute in his palm and he grasped it in both hands as he held it up to his face.
“Very interesting,” he mused as he studied the surface. My heart gave a leap as doubts crept into my mind about the professor being the only one able to read them. “These are rather unusual symbols.”
“I, um, got carried away with doodling,” I told him.
He rolled his questioning eyes up to me. “Do you always get carried away with doodles that involve you grafting them onto surfaces via magic?”
I shrugged. “I have strange habits.”
The man stared at me a moment longer before he grasped one end of the flute in his hand and held the instrument out to me. “If you cannot be serious about your instrument then I cannot agree to your request.”
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
My heart droppedand I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to take it that way. I just don’t know what to think of them.”
“The runes were on the surface when the item was dropped into our possession,” Ben spoke up as he moved to stand by my side. “Unfortunately, they are beyond our understanding, sir. We’re not even sure if they won’t affect the sound of the instrument.”
Our host dropped his attention back to the instrument. “I won’t have that.”
I blinked at him. “You won’t have what?”
He didn’t raise his eyes from the flute. “That formal tongue the count speaks. ‘Phantom’ will do as far as formalities are concerned.”
Ben folded his arms over his chest and smiled at the seated fellow. “Then I’ll have to insist on ‘Ben.’”
“And I’m Millie,” I chimed in as I held out my hand to the singer. “Pleased to meet you, Phantom.”
His eyes flickered between my hand and face, and a smile curled onto his lips. “A pleasure, Millie.” He reached out and grasped my hand. A strange jolt shot through me. The shock was so hard that I jerked back and out of his grasp. The Phantom’s smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “Is something the matter?”
I grasped my hand in my other palm and gave him a sheepish grin. “It’s nothing. I think I just dragged my feet across your nice carpet, that’s all.”
“I see,” he murmured as he returned his attention to the flute.
I noticed him set his fingers in place. “Can you play it?”
He raised the flute to his face and placed his lips over the blow hole where they finally parted to reveal a set of normal white teeth. “Let’s find out.”
He closed his eyes and a soft tremor of music floated out of the flute. At the same moment a dozen threads of soft light drifted from the foot of the instrument. They were all a different dazzling color, and they intertwined to create a tapestry of beauty that cast the world in brilliant hues.
The lights matched the notes as they swooped up and down in a playful tune that made my feet itch. I slipped up to Ben and offered him my hands and a grin. “Shall we?”
He smiled and bowed his head. “It would be my pleasure.”
Ben grasped my hands and drew me into a fast-paced waltz. In one smooth motion, he spun me in a tight circle and drew me against his chest, leaving me a little dizzy and breathless. I looked up and found his mischievous eyes twinkling down at me.
“How do you like my dancing?” he teased.
I snorted. “It leaves me a little dizzy.”
He spun us in a full circle and grinned. “Then we must practice more often to cure you of your dizziness.”
Our current practice was cut short when the sweet melody tapered to an end. The Phantom lowered the flute and had only eyes for the instrument. “This is a magnificent piece. Where did you happen to find it?”
“A gift from an admirer,” Ben told him as he turned us to face the maestro. “But I must compliment you on your playing. I’ve rarely heard anything as beautiful.”
