Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own the Phantom of the Opera…

Come With Me

I stood quietly in the shadows and watched Raoul and Christine leaving. He had let them go. Good. That meant he had finally realised that Christine didn't belong to him.

Softly I took a few steps towards Erik who knelt on the ground, crying soundlessly. He lifted his head and looked at me.

"You were right," he whispered with a broken voice. "You were right."

I smiled slightly.

"I wish I weren't."

I stopped two metres before him and did not venture closer. For a long time none of us moved. He sat on the ground, still crying, and I stood motionless, like a statue.

"The mob is on its way," I said suddenly. "They will be here soon."

He nodded and stood up. The heartbreak in his eyes almost made me cry. Me, the fearsome vampiress, who hadn't cried in over three hundred years.

Erik looked around his home – it looked so empty and forlorn now that Christine was no longer there. Slowly he turned to me.

"Does your offer still stand?"

His voice didn't shake and his yellow eyes met my dark ones without hesitation. My offer – to turn him into a vampire and take him with me, into a world of darkness where he wouldn't be lonely anymore.

---

It had been two weeks ago:

I was prowling the nighttime streets of Paris, searching for a victim. I had quickly found one, too. A drunken thief lying in some gutter. Hungrily I had bitten into his neck and drank his sweet blood. After my meal I let the body slide to the ground and looked up to find myself staring straight into Erik's eyes.

He stood only a few metres away from me and didn't move when I saw him. He was dressed all in black, with a long cloak, and wore a white mask that covered his entire face. He just stood there and stared at me. I knew he wasn't afraid of me, but I didn't know why. It made me curious. I approached him slowly.

"What is your name?" I asked softly.

"Erik."

He still didn't move, though his hold on his hidden lasso tightened a bit.

"You are not afraid of me. Why?"

"A man who has lost everything, has no longer a reason to be afraid," he said quietly and I could sense great pain in his words.

I met his eyes and for a short moment I was able to read his mind. So much pain!

"And will you tell me your name – vampire?" he asked.

I smiled. So he had guessed my nature correctly.

"Lilith."

For some time we just looked at each other. Then I made a decision.

"Will you come with me?" I asked him. "Will you leave your old life behind and become a child of the night? Will you let the darkness be your salvation?"

He didn't answer right away, and I could see that he was tempted. Finally he shook his head.

"I can't. There is something that needs to be finished."

I locked eyes with him and nodded slightly. I walked a few steps away from him, then I changed my mind and turned back to him.

"She doesn't belong to you."

Having said that, I vanished into the night.

---

"Yes," I said quietly. "My offer still stands."

He nodded.

"I accept."

With a few steps I was at his side and drew him into my arms. I tilted his head carefully to the side and sank my teeth into his neck. His blood was sweet and hot as it filled my mouth. With it came glimpses from his past. His life must have been far more horrible than I had thought.

Now it was almost done, his heart slowed and he sank against me. I lowered him to the ground, bit into my wrist and offered it to him. Immediately his lips closed over the wound and he drank my powerful blood.

When I judged that he'd had enough, I pulled my wrist back and stood up.

Several minutes passed, then a change came over Erik. His skin became white, his eyes darkened a bit and his fangs started to show. He stood gracefully up and came to me.

"When will we leave?"

"Whenever you're ready. Is there nothing you wish to take with you?"

He surveyed the place, which had been his home for so long. Then he quickly gathered some of his notes, his long black cloak and picked up his mask.

"I'm ready."

I smiled and took his hand. Together we left the cellars of the Opera house and walked out into the beautiful Parisian night.

Come with me and bless the night
Let the darkness be your salvation
Curse the day escape the light
Break the chains of imagination

Come with me and seize the night
Now's the time for some inspiration
Leave the day and loose the night
No taboo's only new sensations