Immortal Darkness (Phantom Diaries #3) (15 page)

“You certainly seemed happy to see me,” he said with a pleased grin.

“I admit, you have an addictive quality about you, but don’t get too cocky,” I teased.

“Never.”  He pulled me into his arms.  “I’m far too pleased to be with you to risk taking you for granted.  I was thrilled when you arrived directly from the Opera House.  I hadn’t thought you’d want to see me again.”

I propped myself up on an elbow to get a better look at him.  “I had to see you again, Eric. You know that.”

“I know,” he said solemnly, almost reverently.

“After last night, Eric…I don’t think I can stay away from you.”

He reached out to hold my hands in his. “I’d never thought we’d get this close.”

Biting my lower lip, I nodded and thought back to the wanton woman who’d emerged out of nowhere.  She’d been fighting to emerge for a while now, constantly seeking a touch, a kiss, a caress.  “It must be something in the New York water.  Believe it or not, I’ve always been pretty tame… boring actually.  The few boys I dated with in high school never even got to first base.”  I laughed softly.  “I think I was fifteen when I first kissed a boy.”

Eric chuckled and pulled me back into his arms.  “I’m kind of happy to hear that.  I think it makes last night, and tonight all the more special and important.  After you left this morning, I was worried you might regret it.  I regretted my own lack of control, but you were impossible to resist.”

“I did come on pretty strong.  I’d like to say I don’t know what got into me, but truth is I just wanted to get close to you.”

He kissed me. “I like the fact that you don’t just come around here to discuss and practice your singing…and the gossip of the Opera House. Speaking of which…”

His jaw instantly tightened and his eyes rolled back with open irritation.

“I spoke to Aaron and, I’m sorry, but there’s no way of changing any of the words… not one.”

“Are you really surprised?”

“No,” I muttered softly.  “I guess not.  But it’s not what you think, Eric.  It’s not a simple matter of turning down your request.  It’s just the enormity of the tasks… the complications involved in making such changes to the storyline.”

He let out a resigned huff and grumbled, “So he’ll go on and produce such a batch of lies.”

“There’s something else I wanted to tell you.  I think Kristine has come back to the Opera House… and she’s causing havoc just like the last time.”

“What makes you say that?”  He seemed suddenly interested, thought reservedly so.

“Things have started happening again.  This afternoon the huge chandelier, the one that had just been safely secured to the ceiling again, came crashing to the floor while some cast members were rehearsing.  Fortunately, no one was standing beneath it at the time, but still…. It shook everyone quite a bit.”

“Perhaps this was intended as a response to Aaron’s unwillingness to change the wording of the opera.”

I gasped.  The chandelier did, indeed, crash right after my meeting with Aaron, right after he refused my proposed changes.  “But why would Kristine want to have those changes made?  The opera flatters her as it is.  It makes no sense.”

“And what makes you think Kristine is behind it?  Perhaps there’s some other cause.”

“What do you mean?  Like another phantom?”

“Have you not considered the possibilities?”

“Eric…”  I choked on his name as his words sunk in.

“The opera, this
Traitor
… it’s absolutely scandalous, even more than you realize.  Not many want this story to be told.  Remember, my dear and innocent Annette, Rupert was an Aragon and when all this happened, the Aragon name was dragged through the muck and temporarily tarnished.  It took a while before the family was able to bring back and degree of honor to the name.

Chap
t
er
16

S
haken up but determined to go on, I headed to the auditorium.  We were working on the final scene, the murder scene.  Everyone was tense and on edge, but it had nothing to do with the content of the scene.

“All right,” Monte called out with a clap of his hands.  The young and handsome director called the entire cast in for a meeting.  Standing center stage, he gazed out at the auditorium where the cast and crew awaited.

“I don’t know where they got him from,” Carmen commented in a lusty whisper, “but I think I’m going to love working on this opera, regardless of all the weird things that have been going on.”

“He is kinda handsome isn’t he?” Gwen added.  “But far too old for you.  He’d be more attracted to a mature woman like me.”

“Too old?  The guy’s barely thirty,” Carmen argued. “Besides, you always said you had a weakness for blondes.  That guy’s hair is as dark as it gets.”

“Yeah, but I love those green eyes.  It makes up for the dark hair.”

I glared at them both and they quieted down.

“I’m happy to see you could all make it,” Monte said in a strong, commanding voice.  “We still have a lot of work to get through, but I know a few of you are a little concerned about the odd occurrences.”

“Someone scribbling, ‘Many may die if
The Traitor
opens,’ is not an odd occurrence,” a crew member argued. “It’s a death threat.”

Everyone spoke at the same time, calling out their concerns and fears.

“Please,” Monte called out with assurance.  “We cannot allow ourselves to lose our heads over such a prank.  This isn’t the first time an opening night has met with idle threats, and little ever came of those threats.  Let’s remain level headed and do what needs to be done.”

“What if the prankster is still here?” someone called out. 

“The police have already combed through the entire men’s room where the message was found. Whoever decided to have a laugh at our expense, or attempt to close down this show because they found it controversial will be apprehended. On the bright side, this kind of scandal always makes for good paper and the word will spread like wildfire that our show is about to open.  Ticket sales have already gone up.  So…”  He took a step back and gestured an invitation to the stage with his hand.  “If you’ll all take your places, I think we’re in for a splendid rehearsal.”

I bit down on my fear as I walked to the steps and found my mark on stage.  Calling the threat a prank was an understatement, if ever I’d heard one, and I was far from reassured by the director’s optimism.

Aaron had already confronted me, blaming Eric for the threat.  “He is the only one who stands to lose once this opera hits the stage, at least in his mind he is.  Who else would have any interest at all in closing us down?”

In my heart, despite how Eric despised this particular opera, I knew he couldn’t possibly be behind this.  But who could?

With Chace accompanying me with a sole violin, I sang my song of vengeful plotting.  “You’ll not have my heart.  You’ll not have my soul.  It belongs to another, yet be you so bold.  All I need is your death, your blood in the sands.  All I need is a plot that’ll not stain my hands…”

“Stop!” Monte cried out.

Taken aback, I stared at him.

“Where’s your motivation, Annette?  You're singing the words, but there’s not an ounce of passion behind them.  You're plotting the murder of your betrothed so that you may freely run off to be with another.  I want to see murder in your eyes.  I want to hear torture in your song.”  He clapped his hands three times.  “Start again.”

As Chace played out the introductory notes, I closed my eyes, digging deep for a connection with this song.  It was powerful, yet so vastly different from my own character, it was difficult to relate.

Eric, I thought.  Think of Eric and how you want to be with him.

The first words came out, a little feeble and weak, and I feared Monte would stop me again, but I found the right blend of vulnerability and desperation.  As the pace and violence of the song rose, I balled my fist and eyed the audience with murderous intent.  When the song came to an end, I fell back into the sofa, exhausted.

“Bravo,” Monte said with a proud applause.  “Exactly how I envisioned it.”  He turned to the entire cast.  All right.  All on stage for the closing scene.  Let’s not waste our time and let’s get it right the first time.”

Brandon, the young actor hired to play the part of Eric, came to me, somewhat shy, somewhat guarded.  “That was really good.  I hope I can live up to my part. Playing against you is something I dreamed of since I saw you last year.  Now that I’m here, however, I’m a little nervous.”

I chuckled softly, pleased with the compliment.   “Don’t worry about anything, Brandon.  I saw you in rehearsal the other day and you're brilliant. You have too much talent to be intimidated by someone like me.”

We ran through the entire scene, the highs and lows, the fear and pain, the loss.  Brandon and I had chemistry, despite his nerves and I knew we’d make a good team.  By the time it was over, everyone had forgotten about the Phantom threats and was looking forward to bringing the opera to the people.

After numerous compliments and congratulations, I headed to my dressing room.  The performance was draining and I needed a moment alone.

“You okay?” Chace said as he came up and walked along side me.  “You're all flushed.”

Before I could answer, he slipped his hand under my elbow and walked me to my dressing room.  Once inside, he turned me toward him.  “I know this past week has been spooky, but I want you to know I’m there for you.  Monte’s just trying to lighten things up, but we have to stay on our toes.  Don’t let your guard down.”

“You don’t have to do this, Chace. You don’t have to escort me everywhere.”

“Do you remember the promise I made you?  Remember the transfer to California that I didn’t accept?  I’m here to protect you and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“I’m worried about you, too, Chace.  The last time this Phantom showed up you almost…”  I felt the blood drain from my face at the thought.

“I almost killed Aaron, yeah, I remember.”  He grimaced and glanced away a moment.  “Look,” he said as he brought his gaze back to me.  He’d matured so much these past weeks, almost losing the boyish innocence that had so enchanted me.  But he’d also become so strong and determined.  “You might think this is crazy, but, I think you might have done the right thing by pushing me away.  When I think back on that night with Aaron, how enraged I was…  It surprised me.  I didn’t know I had that kind of anger inside me.  I think if we’d gotten together, if we’d given ourselves to each other…”

He swiped his hand through his hair and turned to look at himself in my full length mirror.  “Sometimes it feels like I don’t recognize myself anymore.  I think of you so much.  I understand and accept your need to cool off our relationship a bit, ‘cause I think if you were mine, I wouldn’t be able to handle the thought of you with someone else.  The thought of you kissing another man already drives me nuts as it is, but the thought of you in another man’s bed…  I’m a little more jealous than I thought.  Then again, I’ve never cared for anyone the way I care about you.”

I smiled and reached out to touch his shoulder.  “I’m happy to have you as a close friend, Chace.  I need someone like you in my life.”

He turned to me and took my hand in his, his fingers threading through mine.  “You know, I think I have a handle on this Kristine chick and if she comes back, I’ll play it cool, but…”  He eyed me with teasing hunger and desire.  “Just in case… I think I need to keep my distance.”

“Okay,” I said with a chuckle as I pulled my hand from his and backed away.  “I promise I’ll keep a safe distance from you, but in exchange you have to promise me something.”