Bittersweet (6 page)

“She wants you back... and she wants me dead.”

 

 

“I wish we could get out of here,” I murmured. With my world crumbling around me, school was the last place I felt like being. But even in the midst of crisis life pressed on. Besides, explaining to the office that I needed to be excused from the rest of my classes because a psychotic witch was after me would land me in the guidance councilor's office.

Adrius looked over at me. “I thought you didn't want to run.”

“Not run. Just.... escape, for a while.” I sounded like a whiny two-year-old, but I really didn't care.

His golden olive eyes were distant, brooding. For a second, a flicker of pain crossed them. “I'd like nothing more than to take you away from here. But I think you are safer staying put for the time being. Right next to me.”

It was the irresistible velvet of his voice that held me in place, the arm he wrapped around my waist was just added insurance.

The urge to take off was outweighed by my need to stay. Adrius was here. For now. My very human friends were here. And since my mother was still in town playing the responsible semi-doting parent, cutting class wasn't any more of an option than running. But Venus was here too, and I couldn't help but feel violated.

Inside the auditorium I felt trapped. The crimson stage curtains were drawn and the whole room lit with the amber glow of the house lights. We perched on the stage, my legs dangling over the edge restlessly. I leaned into the warmth of Adrius, determined to ignore the panic gnawing at me. I couldn't shake the feeling that any moment now Venus would storm in and destroy us all.

Mr. Smythe greeted everyone with a wide grin. “Good afternoon, class. As many of you know, the vocal competitions went over quite well. So well, we decided to make Phantom of the Opera the theme for our end of year performance.”

A collective groan echoed in the hall. The score meant a lot more to me than to most, but even I couldn't muster any enthusiasm.

Undaunted, he continued, “And if that doesn't motivate you, perhaps the fact that your cheerful participation will count toward 50% of your final grade will.”

No one said a word.

He motioned to an AV student and the curtains parted to reveal a full set, complete with a massive chandelier hanging over center stage. Gasps echoed through the room. It really was spectacular.

Mr. Smythe proceeded to tell everyone their part. I didn't need to be on the receiving end of Brianne's accusatory glare to know which part she got, or rather didn't get.

“Last but not least, Lorelei and Adrius. Christine and Raoul. Our Phantom is absent today.” I turned to Adrius with a sullen pout. The knots in my stomach tightened.

“What?” his gaze ran up and down my face.

“Apparently the duet we sang was a little too good.” I washed my hands over my face. “This is perfect. How am I going to get out of this without failing the class?”

“You know this score inside and out. Don't you think you're overreacting?”

“Pretty sure an ‘F' in vocals won't get me an acceptance letter from Juilliard.”

Transcripts and failing grades weren't really what was stressing me out. I didn't have the energy or mental power to focus on another performance. I had way bigger problems to deal with. We both did.

“I'm not really in the mood to sing right now.” My breathing was still too shaky and uneven.

“This will be good for you, Lorelei. Something to take your mind away from other issues,” he whispered. “You still have a life here in this world, and you should try to live it as normally as possible.”

I didn't know how he expected me to think of anything other than what was going on, but I nodded.

He ran his finger along my forearm, lightly tracing a line next to my cut. “That is going to leave a scar.”

“I've never had one before.” The cut had sealed but was still just as sore. It used to take seconds for any wound to heal. Anxiety kicked up a notch. My failing ability to heal was just another disturbing piece in the unsolvable puzzle plaguing us.

Adrius took my hand, lifting my arm to kiss the long red scratch. As always, he vaporized my resistance and melted my anxiety. All I could think about was remembering how to breathe. Until I heard my name.

Mr. Smythe cleared his throat as he walked past us with a cordless mic stand. “The
kiss
scene isn't in this act, Mr. Thanduir,” he said tersely. “Lorelei, I need you on stage. We're going to run through your performance piece.”

I shuffled to the center stage.

Our music teacher rubbed his hands together, beaming with excitement. “You're going to make a wonderful Christine.”

“'Think Of Me'. From the top please,” Mr. Smythe directed, and the pianist struck her first chord.

I flushed with panic, unsure my voice or my stomach would hold. It would be just my luck to open my mouth and croak the first note. My stomach clenched tighter. Would this ever get any easier?

My music teacher had described my voice as a beautiful, clear soprano with a haunting lilt. While my mother and others agreed— none of them knew it was because of Zanthiel. My dark faerie of music. He no longer controlled my voice. Yet here I was, on stage sweating at the possibility that I'd been wrong.

The pianist played the intro and I waited for my cue. My hands began to sweat and my heartbeat accelerated. Finally it arrived, and despite my reservations and the nausea that accompanied every stage performance, I began to sing. As the notes swelled the music inside me took hold and for a time I forgot where I was. The melody of “Think of Me” filled my soul, pushing all thoughts of Adrius and the veil and Venus aside. There was only me and the music. Each note in perfect pitch and every lyric remembered.

Mr. Smythe nodded his approval repeatedly, gesturing for me to expand and give even more.

I pushed myself further, and as I did, I felt another presence. As sure as I felt my own. The music took on a shape, a form, and though no one else could tell, I knew that I was no longer alone on stage. Zanthiel was here with me... inside me, adding his touch to my performance, and a depth to my voice. The back door of the auditorium opened and swung closed. Venus strolled in, and slid into a seat in the back row.

Immediately, I stopped singing.

Venus caught my gaze, her emerald glare pierced through me.

The power surged, lights flickered and went dead. The auditorium was pitch dark and soundless. Then footsteps approached. They came closer and slower. Then stopped.

Seconds later the light came back and Venus was nowhere in sight. Things looked just as they had before. Except, I couldn't shake the tremble in my hands.

I stayed rooted in the middle of the stage as the spotlights clicked back on, temporarily blinding me. What would it take for a fire drill right now? I'd even settle for the real thing if it meant escaping this torture.

“That's showbiz folks, and the show must go on. Adrius, I wonder if you would indulge me.” Mr. Smythe shuffled his pages and consulted with the pianist. He peered up from over his glasses and motioned for Adrius to join me on stage.

“Could we try the duet, ‘All I Ask of You'? I'd like to get a feel for your range. Lorelei?”

I nodded, swallowing back nerves. The only thing worse than performing was performing a song I'd never rehearsed. At least not outside my bedroom.

I sang the first chorus, the melody clear but tentative. Then Adrius came in with his part as Raoul. I was about to continue, when I heard a disembodied voice in my head.

“
I've given you my music.
”

A cold chill rippled through me and I stopped singing. The words literally stuck in my throat, sounding like someone choked a frog mid croak.

Snickers and giggles erupted backstage. I ignored them. The deep melodic tone resonated inside my body, though I would have sworn it came from backstage. Impossible. No one had been cast as the Phantom yet, no one else seemed to have heard it, and no one had that depth of tenor. Except…

The doors at the back of the auditorium opened and shut in quick succession. With it came a gust of air that scattered the pages of Mr. Smythe's score. I peered into the darkness. Only our music teacher was visible, bent over collecting and sorting his papers. But someone else was out there. I felt them.

“I uh… just need a minute,” I said. I rolled my sheet music into a scroll and shoved it in my back pocket. Waves rocked my stomach, but it wasn't nerves. Not this time. This was different. A cold dread that something bad was about to happen. Again.

I scrubbed both hands over my face.

Adrius frowned as he leaned toward me. “Lorelei. What's wrong?”

“Nothing.” I cracked my knuckles one at a time, my gaze darted to the sea of darkness and the invisible body that lurked there. “Just nerves. I'm doing the best I can, considering I've had zero time to rehearse. Tomorrow will be better.” Would it?

He took my hands in his. “It's different. This isn't stage fright. I see you and it looks like you're singing to me and I to you. It would appear that way to everyone who doesn't know you the way I do.” He bent his forehead to mine. “But I know there's someone else on stage with us, Lorelei.”

I pulled my hands away, not wanting him to feel their slight tremor. “I'm sorry. I don't know how to separate Zanthiel from my music yet.”

I'd gained full control of my voice, yes. But some things hadn't changed. Like the stomach churning nerves on stage, and the way his presence melded with mine when I sang. It lifted my music to higher levels, one I might not reach on my own. “I spent so many years unable to control my singing, I just want to be free to give my best all the time. No more performances that suck,” I whispered.

“Maybe, you have to be willing to suck, in order to be free of him,” he replied quietly.

My hands trembled so hard I had to grasp the sleeves of my sweater to still them. I didn't need Zanthiel's help anymore. That's not what this was about. I pulled in a breath. “I am free of him. It's only us here. You and me.” I inclined my head to the side. “And them.”

“Whenever you're ready,” Mr. Smythe called out, once his papers had been rearranged on the seat next to him.

“Ready?” Adrius whispered, receding back to his position.

I gave a determined nod.

Mr. Smythe clapped his hands. “Once again, from the beginning please.” He laced his fingers behind his head, leaned back and closed his eyes. The lights dimmed and the chandelier clicked on, bathing us in a puddle of warm amber light.

The music swelled inside me, taking over any apprehensions and lifting me to a place where I could no longer even see the ground, let alone feel it. I knew Adrius was there, but it wasn't until his part in the duet began, that I could even find him anymore. Surreal. That's the only way to describe the feeling. I was lost somewhere, sometime, wrapped up in the swelling melody until something crashed into my world. The sound of shattering filled my ears. A fragment struck my face as Adrius pushed me to the ground.

Screams. Shouting. The scuffling of feet away from me, and toward me.

When I regained my bearings, I opened my eyes to see Adrius kneeling over me. He helped me sit upright. Pain shot through my head from one temple to the other.

Mr. Smythe sent someone for the nurse, then sent someone else for the custodian and maintenance. He made his way onto the stage.

Perplexed chatter surrounded us.

“How the heck did that happen?” someone said.

“Wasn't supposed to happen ‘til later.”

“It's not supposed to happen at all, idiot, it's just a rehearsal.”

“Wow. It nearly reamed her in the head.”

“Maybe someone's gunning for her.”

“If you're blaming me…” Brianne sounded irate.

“Nah, someone would have been trying to take ‘em both out.”

Their voices muffed into the background, and I scanned the darkness of the auditorium. The house lights came up. I blinked as the girl with hair the color of fire moved through the exit. Pushing onto my knees, I squinted, but when my eyes refocused she was gone. If she'd even been there at all.

Only one redhead could cause this kind of chaos.

Adrius took me backstage. “That was a freakish accident. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. It barely hit me.” I leaned back against the wall and slid down to the ground. My throat burned, and I couldn't catch my breath, so I stayed on the floor with my ice pack pressed against my cheek.

He handed me a bottle of water and his gaze darkened. “What is it, Lorelei?”

I swallowed a mouthful of water. It was hard to know where to begin.

“Is this about your performance? Because I can't begin to describe the effect it had on me.”

He smiled, and the warmth that flooded me was almost enough to wash away the chills of the past few days.

I shook my head, still a little breathless, but for other reasons now.

He slid down the wall to sit next to me. “Are you still worried about Venus? You know I won't let anything happen to you.”

“She was here. In the audience,” I whispered.

His hand fell away from mine and those honeyed olive eyes hardened.

“Where is she?” With the set of his jaw and clenched muscles, he moved brusquely to the curtain and peered out into the audience before returning to my side.

“She's gone.” There was no trace of relief in his voice.

"Think I'm ready to call it a day," I said.

Without another question, Adrius put his hand on my back. "I'll take you home," he said. Then he paused. “Anything else on your mind?” He searched my face.

I'd gotten pretty good at shielding my thoughts from others, especially him, and especially when it came to Zanthiel. I looked up and forced a hollow smile. It made my cheek hurt. Another injury that wasn't healing. “Nothing important.”

I was dismissed from the rest of my classes, sent home after playing up the headache I was only partially faking. My head did hurt, but it wasn't the reason for my need to escape.