"Eyes of the Undead"

By Nabira

Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom of the Opera. I do own this plot, Selena, William and all other original characters.

Many thanks to my beta, xChristinex from PFN, who is an absolute Godsend!

ooo

Chapter 1

First Meetings

Erik rushed through the dark streets; his only thoughts were of getting back to Christine. Normally, he would not leave her alone in his lair at night-time, but he didn't think it a good idea for the girl to starve to death, either. So it was out into the streets for him to get much needed supplies.

Erik had never seen the sky so cloudy at night. No light shone through to reach the ground; the stars and moon were completely covered. The only light around was the glow that came from the gas lanterns and the golden slivers that peeked through closed curtains. It was obviously about to storm.

Half an hour later, he was heading back to the Opera Populaire, groceries in tow. He travelled down the sidewalk, hiding from the illumination of the lanterns, even though there were very few people about. Erik looked at the sky, half expecting huge raindrops to hit his face. None came and the uneasy feeling that had grown in his gut still remained. He knew it was probably due to the imminent storm, but nevertheless, he reached his hand into his cloak. The touch of the smooth catgut lasso calmed him somewhat.

A burning feeling at the side of his neck made Erik spin around and catch a flash of something dark rush past.

"Who's there?" Erik asked, slightly alarmed. He knew that if the… attacker… was human, he, Erik, would have much better eyesight.

The girl had not seen the man's face before she touched him, but now as he spun around and she saw his luminous eyes, she regretted her actions.

"Forgive me, Monsieur," she said, hiding in the shadows. "I did not realise you were one of…"

The girl's voice trailed off. She had just realised something. The man smelled of life and she could suddenly sense the blood pumping through his veins. She mentally kicked herself. How stupid was she?

Erik felt the familiar glimmer of anger overcome him at the thought of a young woman hiding in the shadows. "Where are you, girl?" he asked crossly.

The girl stepped out from the shadows into the light of the streetlamp. She looked at Erik, a challenge in her eyes.

Erik breathed in sharply at the sight of the young lady standing before him. She was rather tall for a girl, perhaps an inch or two taller than Christine. She was just as thin, however, and the corset and dark, blood red dress she wore accentuated her figure. But the thing that amazed him the most was her face. Her lips were bright red and long, dark lashes framed bright, sapphire blue eyes that glowed in the darkness. Her hair, long and unrestrained, blew in the wind. The contrast between her black tresses and her white, almost transparent, skin was absolute, giving her an almost ethereal look.

Erik watched her, asking, "What is a young lady like you doing out at this time of night? It's not safe."

The girl smiled. "The night is the most beautiful time of the day," she replied pretentiously. "But what are you doing out at night? It's not safe," she smirked.

Erik narrowed his eyes at her comment, but didn't say anything. Breathing in deeply to stop himself from saying something he might regret, he instead settled on, "What is your name, Mademoiselle?"

The girl blinked. "Selena," she replied, a confused expression on her face. "What's yours?"

"Erik," he answered, staring at her pointedly.

"Just Erik?" she asked. "No last name?"

Erik looked at her sharply. "I could say the same about you, Mademoiselle," he retorted.

Selena smiled. "Touché."

Erik pulled his pocket watch out from inside his cloak and looked at it, disbelief obvious on his face. He couldn't believe how much time had passed. He had to get home to Christine.

"I shall take that look as my leave, then," Selena said, a smile spreading evilly across her face. "Good evening, Erik." She disappeared once again into the shadows.

Erik started as he watched the girl go. She seemed to disappear into thin air… Nonsense, Erik told himself. It's just dark, that's why you couldn't keep watching her.

Even so, the uneasy feeling had returned to his stomach. There was something strange about that girl…

ooo

The sound of the door slamming startled William from his book. Putting it down on the table next to him, he watched the hallway, waiting for the girl to come in. He heard her footsteps and, a moment later, Selena made her way into the room, obviously riled up about something.

"Where have you been?" he asked, slightly worried.

Selena walked over to the bookshelf and snatched an old notebook from it. Flipping through the pages furiously, she said, "I haven't eaten yet."

William gave her a disapproving look. "What took so long, then?" he asked, hardly expecting an answer.

Selena sighed. "I was about to eat," she said, still flipping through pages, "But I came across something strange."

William pushed himself out of the chair and went to stand behind Selena. Looking over her shoulder at the flipping pages, he recognised Esme's journal, something that Selena hadn't looked at in years. "What happened, Selena?" he asked, trying to get some sort of idea as to what was going on.

Selena frowned at the page she had found. William, too, looked over her shoulder, but before he could read what was written on the page, Selena had flung the book to the other side of the room. "Speak to Esme?" she exclaimed. "Speak to Esme! Esme is in England! I can't go to England!"

William caught Selena before she started to make too much of a scene. "Selena, what is going on?" he asked.

Selena took a deep breath, anger showing on her face. "I was about to eat," she growled, "But then I saw his face."

William looked at the girl, watching the disbelief crossing her face. "His eyes…" she murmured, looking at the ceiling, "They were… glowing."

William's grip on Selena tightened slightly, realising what she was saying. "Was he a…?" he began, only to be cut off by Selena.

"Yes, he had our eyes, my dear," she said, "But he was of the living. A man with blood in his veins, but he had the eyes of the undead."

William hugged Selena, feeling her slacken in his arms. "What was in the journal?" he asked.

Selena pressed her head to his chest. "The top of the page read 'Vampire Eyes'. Written beneath that was 'If a human has luminous eyes, see Esme'." Selena sighed. "I can't see Esme, she's in England and I'm banned from England for another thirty years still."

William drew away from Selena, gazing into her eyes. "Write a letter to Esmeralda explaining what has happened. I'll go to England and deliver it for you."

Selena looked at William incredulously. "You would do that for me?" she asked, almost pitifully.

William smiled and kissed Selena chastely on the mouth. "For you, my darling, I would do anything," he replied.

ooo