To Christine's horror the little bells began to ring again with a frantic might. Erik, who had been smiling through the window at Raoul an his own handiwork, jerked his head up as if in alarm. He obviously had not been expecting any more "guests".
With a cold smile he pressed his hands spider-like against the glass and peered in on the frantic Raoul. Already he was stumbling, trying to keep his balance in Erik's inferno of heat and mirrors. "Did you plan ahead good sir? How very much out of character for you. Bring one of your aristocrat friends along with you? I hope for your sake that he has a better aim than you." Erik smiled as Raoul struggled to walk toward the sound of his voice, probably the only thing he had left to grasp in his delirium. "What?.." he said weakly, his eyes searching what to him appeared to be a mirror.
But Erik had already turned away from the miserable sight of Raoul and was heading toward the front door. "Erik please..." Christine reached out for his arm as he passed by but let go when she saw his flinch of pain. "Oh Erik , I'm sorry, you're arm, I'd forgotten..." Erik looked down on her with eyes full of venom. "You liar! You did that on purpose you little whore! You just don't know the meaning of fair play do you Christine?" He had spit the words out so hatefully that Christine winced and now stammered for a reply. Erik was not pleased. "Stop sniffling like a child you little brat! What is it you want? Speak!"
"Oh Erik It's just that..." without realizing what she meant to do she reached out and clasped Erik's hand in her own and pressed her forehead to it. "Erik, it's just that so many people have already been hurt tonight. Please, whoever this is, don't harm them, for, my sake." Quickly he pulled his hand away as if that simple touch which would have granted him pleasure only days before, burned like the flames of hell. The look in her eyes was even more painful to him, but he had come to far, he had done so much already, his convictions were too strong. He would not be led astray by this lying harlot. With narrowed eyes he bent close to her face, just enough to scare her. " If you think I do anything for your sake any longer you are terribly mistaken." He said through clenched teeth. With a growl of frustration he turned away to go through the front door and slam it behind him.
*****
As Kaylen made her way down the shore line she realized with a shock that she had no plan whatsoever. Even if she could find the hidden door, which she doubted, she had no way of opening it. It seemed that everything Erik made had a strange alteration to it that no other human might put in their inventions. A secret opening here, a trap there, special ways to turn keys that would have left anyone else rolling on the floor in pure frustration, and still they would never figure out how to run any of it.
Headstrong as usual Kaylen made her way to where she thought the door was. "I'll knock on the wall until he lets me in if I have to!" she thought. The air around her seemed to grow colder with every step she took and she pulled the cloak more tightly around herm lowering the hood to just above her eyes. She had the small lantern still and she held it about eye level. If he did come out she wanted Erik to see it was her. She was sure that he wouldn't harm her if he knew who it was.
Just then, she heard the sound of a door slamming behind her. Or was it in front of her. Deciding the best thing to do was to stand still she raised the little lantern above her head in hopes of seeing someone or something but the light was dying. The wick on the lantern had already burnt low from being used often, but now as she stared at it, the strong flame began to grew sickly and finally burned out in a tiny puff of smoke.
******
Erik watched the light disappear with a smile . He was only too glad to have that flame put out. Even though this fool, whoever it was, had his back toward him, capturing him in the light would have proven difficult. But this was perfect! The light had been there just long enough to show Erik exactly where his victim stood.
*****
Kaylen tried to control her breathing, hoping that in doing so she could avoid anyone who was out there, but despite her efforts, her breathing became short gasps of panic.
And she knew someone was here. She could hear the crunch of gravel under their feet. But the cavernous echo made it impossible to tell from which side they where coming from. Suddenly all sound stopped, and Kaylen stood there feeling utterly alone. If it were not for the fact that her feet actually touched something solid, she might have imagined herself floating in space, the only living thing in a void of nothingness.
Suddenly she felt the pressure of an arm around her waist and a hand clamped over her mouth. She made to scream but any sound she made was muffled by that hand. She kicked wildly in vain, trying to escape, twisted and writhed to try to get out of his arms. "Stop it! You won't get away I assure you, monsieur, and you're luck I've not ended your life yet!" He was right of course. Hopelessness swept like a calming wave over her and she stopped struggling, allowing herself to be hauled backwards along the shore.
****
Erik held the dead weight of the man in his arms while he struggled to open the door. The man had not moved on his own since Erik had yelled at him, and he was silent now without having to be gagged. Whatever else this man was, he was not stupid, he knew to take the threats of a known murderer seriously.
The lock clicked twice and Erik pushed open the heavy door to see Christine where he had left her sitting on the couch staring through the window at Raoul . The boy's condition had decreased significantly and Erik, impatient to see the Raoul's suffering, threw the man in a heap by the couch before moving over to stand in front of the mirror again. The glass was now so hot that he could fell the heat through this mask though he stood more that a foot away from it.
A rustling of cloth behind him told him that the man had stood up but Erik made no move to turn around. Hopefully the young man would not be foolish enough to attack him from behind, but if he did Erik knew that he could kill him in a matter of seconds. He thought about this even as he ran his thumb over the fine wire of the Punjab lasso still concealed beneath his cloak.
******
Kaylen stood up slowly and surveyed the room around her. Christine lay terrified on the couch starring oat Erik through glass eyes. Kaylen followed her line of gaze to Erik and then past him to see through the window .
Raoul lay on the ground. She could see that even though he lay where the air might be cooler, he was suffering through excruciating pain and heat. Her hand went automatically to her mouth and her eyes filled with pity for the young vicomte
****
"Oh my God, Erik, what have you done?"
Erik winced visibly. He knew that vice. And as he heard it, that sweet, loving, trusting, voice, all his convictions, which had held strong even in the face of Christine's pleading eyes, tumbled away from him. He turned to face her very slowly, knowing even before it happened how her sharp stare would stab him through the heart. She had been the only one in the whole world it seemed that had not viewed him as a monster, deciding on her own that he was human. Erik had loved having her trust, fed on it, kept it as an amulet to hold dear to his heart when things where not going so well, until the day Christine had turned away from him and he had tossed it away as if it had meant nothing to him.
Her eyes told him what he meant to her now. Inhuman, freak, monster. Suddenly he began to falter and stumble, much like Raoul in the next room. He wanted to apologize for forsaking their friendship. He tried to make his way towards her and almost tripped on a rug but Kaylen was there in a moment, placing her hands on his shoulders and preventing him from falling.
"Kaylen...I..."
She helped him to the couch where he sat, unaware of the cringing Christine sitting only a few feet away. "You don't have to make excuses, Erik. I know what you have done. But Erik please, it's time to end this. So many people have been hurt already." Her voice sounded familiar and slowly melded into Christine's voice in his head. 'Erik, its just that so many people have already been hurt tonight.'
He slowly raised his head to face Kaylen, his face full of slow recognition. "You're on their side." he whispered.
"What? What are you talking about Erik?...Erik please let Raoul go."
"No!" he said jumping off the couch so that he towered over her once more. "No compassion! No pity! No mercy. My dear, my heart has been stabbed some many times in my lifetime that I fear it has been turned to stone. My plan goes on around us and sorry to inform Kaylen, but you must stay here until it's come to an end...for better or worse."
"I'm a prisoner? You're holding me hostage, Erik?"
"Prisoner? Never. Hostage? Such a vulgar word. No my dear, you're merely my guest. And as my guest it is only proper that you have a front row seat at our entertainment tonight." Erik guided her down to the couch where he had been sitting a moment ago. "Only the best for my guests. I have so few, you see, that every detail counts. Now Christine, you've been indecisive for so long, why don't you make your decision. Come, come now my dear how much longer do you think that poor boy has in there? Hours, minutes,...seconds. Perhaps he's already dead, I haven't seen him move in quite a while."
Erik turned to see that in fact he lay perfectly still, face down in the sand, but then, as if he had heard Erik's words he lifted his head and raised a pleading hand toward the window. Erik would have cursed, had there not been ladies present, to see that Raoul, even in his pathetically weakened state still defied him. "Well, perhaps not dead yet." he said with sarcastic regret. "But how long will you let him suffer? Make your decision!"
Christine sat silent for a moment, her face finally calm even under Erik's hard stare. "Let him go Erik. I'll stay here with you, just let him go." Kaylen looked at Christine in surprise and then to Erik She felt out of place here and very helpless. She could not help Christine, she couldn't help Erik either now. Something she had said had angered him. Something maybe beyond repair. And she wondered now as Erik flipped the switch that turned off the heating lamps in the next room, if she wanted their friendship back.
She felt Christine's little hand on her own and she turned to face her. "His right arm, he's been shot." she whispered to Kaylen before standing up to walk to Erik. He had been shot, fine, but why tell her? Did Christine hope to escape still? Did she have a plan?
Kaylen sat entranced, watching the scene as if it where some play. Erik opened the door to the chamber and dragged Raoul out. He had taken off his dress coat, vest, and rolled up his shirt sleeves to escape the heat but he would not, in gentleman-like modesty, take off his shirt. The cool air seemed to do him good and he opened his eyes to see Christine staring over him. Erik left the room and returned with a small glass of water, which Raoul drank slowly. "When you are able to walk well enough, I will take you back up to the streets. Christine has agreed to stay with me here. She saved your life, boy. " Raoul looked at Christine horrified eve as she stood to stand by Erik. "I'm letting you leave this time but I promise you, should you ever come back, I will kill you."
Christine waved her hand to get Kaylen's attention. Erik did not notice, he was still glaring down at Raoul. Christine's eyes went from Erik to the open torture chamber. Christine rubbed her right arm as if in reminder and Kaylen understood.
What happened next happened in the blink of an eye. Kaylen was up from the couch and running towards Erik He looked up in surprise but too late. Kaylen grabbed his right arm where he had been shot and used his pain to push him into the torture chamber. She shut the door behind him locking him into his own trap. She leaned against the door for a moment before sliding down to sit in front of it in shock at what she had done, and closed her eyes against Erik's yells of fury. It had had to be done. She watched indifferently as Christine found the secret switch that closed the paneling on the window. She heard noises just then, not Erik's yell, but a muffled sound, like a hundred people talking all at once on the other side of the door. Christine was trying to get Kaylen to stand but she sat there, refusing to move.
***
Erik stood banging on the paneling. Christine's voice came to him over the sound of his own. "Kaylen , they've come for him. It's a mob Kaylen, they're ready to kill." They were going to lead them in here. Fine. He was ready for a fight. His arm hurt sorely now, but he believed he still had the strength. The room where he stood was dark now, but that could work to his advantage. His victims would be framed in light when they opened the door. He envisioned them falling one by one and then against his will he imagined them finally overpowering him and beating him to death. He heard his front door open and steps receding. Silence. And then many feet entering his house. He bared his teeth in outrage as he heard them destroying his belongings.
"Where is he?" he heard them shout. "Kaylen , you where here with them when it happened where is he?" Erik waited in tense silence for Kaylen to betray him. To show them the secret lever and condemn him to death.
"He's gone. He ran after Christine and Raoul. He's up there, in the streets."
"We saw Christine and Raoul. He wasn't following them."
"He's the Opera Ghost! He has secret ways! Hurry, go find him before he gets away."
Erik heard many steps leaving with cries for vengeance. It surprised him that such a seemingly gentle group of opera workers and actors could make such a convincing mob, but then again, maybe they where just acting.
"What about you, Kaylen?" Erik recognized the voice as being Meg's.
"My ankle is bothering me again. I think I'll stay here for a while until it stops hurting."
"But what if he comes back?" He recognized Ashley's voice clearly enough.
"I doubt he will. I don't think he'll stop until he finds Christine."
"Or until they find him!" Meg's words made him flinch. It seemed she actually wished for his death.
"Well take this then."
"Meg, a gun? I can't use this!"
"Sure you can. I'll show you." Erik heard the familiar loading, cocking, and un-cocking of the gun. He heard Kaylen say goodbye to her friends who left reluctantly enough, and he waited for what seemed like an eternity for Kaylen to open the door, but she never came. It was him , the darkness and the silence all around him.
"Erik they're gone now. Erik I'm going to let you out now."
Erik heard the click of the latch as the door unlocked. A vertical line of light appeared in the darkness and continued to widen. As his eyes adjusted, he could finally make out the shape of Kaylen framed in candlelight. She had a worried look on her face as if she where about to fee a wild creature and wasn't sure whether it would attack her or leave to find some other prey. Her stance with hands shyly behind her back betrayed her fear. "Erik, don't be angry."
Erik laughed what else could he do?