Lot's of positive feedback on that last chapter! Alright! To be honest, I kind of expected to be burned for making Amarie kiss Erik. But I guess we're all over that now, so here's the next chapter...
I regret to say that there's only a few chapters left... (sniff) This has been so much fun and you guys have been awesome! So give yourselves a pat on the back and enjoy the new chapter!
XxXxX
Erik exhaled heavily as he prepared himself to go out on stage and sing his bit with Passarino. The opera was going smoothly enough, yet from the time the curtains were raised, Erik could feel the small hairs on the back of his neck pricking up. He had a bad feeling…
"Passarino, faithful friend, once again recite the plan," Erik sang.
His partner sang, "Your young guest believes I'm you – I, the master, you, the man."
"When you met you wore my cloak, with my scarf you hid your face," Erik returned. "She believes she dines with me, in her master's borrowed place!"
They finished their scene and Erik headed off into the wings. The pricking at the back of his neck was becoming rather annoying and increasing in its intensity. No… something was definitelynot right at all…
XxXxX
Réale slipped into Firmin and Andre's box. "It's about time you got here!" Firmin grumbled. "Where are the others?"
"I told them to stay away."
"Do you think that is wise?"
"It'll be better if there's fewer of us. Besides… I intend to make it quick and clean…" he showed them the butt of his pistol, hidden in his jacket. "I think the finale shall be very interesting."
Firmin nodded, turning to Andre, who had his gaze fixed on something below them. Following his gaze, he noticed a woman in the audience below, who was staring up at them.
"Richard…" Andre said. "Does that woman look familiar to you…?"
XxXxX
Amarie glided onto the stage, singing sweetly. "…no thoughts within her head, but thoughts of joy! No dreams within her heart but dreams of love!"
"Oh…" Erik thought. "She really does sing like an angel…"
Erik stepped out onto the stage. "Passarino – go away! For the trap is set and waits for its prey…" Erik inhaled deeply and addressed Amarie as he sang. "You have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge, in pursuit of that wish, which till now has been silent… silent… I have brought you, that our passions may fuse and merge.In your mind you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defences, completely succumbed to me. Now you are here with me. No second thoughts, you've decided… decided…" Erik began advancing upon her. It was amazing, with the grace and confidence with which he walked, no one would have guessed that he was blind. He just knew where she was. She was there… just a few feet away now. "Past the point of no return. No backward glances. Ourgames of make-believe are at an end… Past all thought of 'if' or 'when'. No use resisting. Abandon thought, and let the dream descend…" Erik slipped his arms around her, pulling her close. One arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her towards him in a possessive gesture. The other slipped up to her face and caressed her cheek. "What raging fire shall flood the soul? What rich desire unlocks its door? What sweet seduction lies before us? Past the point of no return, the final threshold. What warm, unspoken secrets will we learn? Beyond the point of no return…"
Now it was Amarie's turn. Erik smiled faintly as he noticed she was breathing exactly as he had instructed her to, in order to maximize the power of her voice. "You have brought me to that moment where words run dry, to that moment where speech disappears into silence… silence… I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why… In my mind, I've already imagined our bodies entwining defenceless and silent. Now I am here with you. No second thoughts, I've decided… decided…" She took his hand and led the blind Don Juan to the bridge. "Past the point of no return. No going back now. Our passion-play has now, at last, begun… Past all thought of right or wrong. One final question: how long should we two wait, before we're one? When will the blood begin to race, the sleeping bud burst into bloom? When will the flames, at last, consume us?"
Now they were standing at the centre of the bridge. This was it. Erik was holding Amarie in his arms. Yet the damned pricking at the back of his neck refused to stop. For the first time, Erik actually feared for Amarie's safety. It was dangerous for them to be up there on that stage together. He knew it. He just wanted to get the scene over with so he could get her out of there. Instinctively, he pulled Amarie closer to himself, attempting to shield her from the dangers that might come. Of course, to the audience, it merely looked like Don Juan was seducing little Aminta by tempting her with the firmness of his own body. How devilish.
Erik and Amarie, who was now wrapped up in his protective embrace, began singing their final duet together. "Past the point of no return, the final threshold. The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn… We've passed the point of no return…"
Erik breathed heavily, his breaths coming out shaky and uneven. Amarie noticed.
"Erik…" she whispered. "Are you alright?"
Erik swallowed and turned Amarie to face him, keeping her close to his chest, with his arms wrapped around her small shoulders. "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime… Lead me, save me from my solitude… Say you want me with you, here beside you… Anywhere you go, let me go too! Love me, that's all I ask of–"
"Erik! He has a gun!"
Erik raised his head. "Christine?"
Amarie looked out to see Christine Daaé trying desperately to get onto the stage. Looking up, her gaze fell upon the box where Réale was standing. And she saw what Erik couldn't…
"Erik! Get down!" Amarie shoved Erik to the floor. He heard a shot ring out as Amarie landed on top of him. Erik grabbed her and covered her with his body, shielding her from any further gunfire.
The audience was panicking. Erik leaned down and spoke to Amarie. "Amarie? Are you alright?"
No answer.
"Amarie?" A wave of nausea hit Erik as the smell of blood wafted up to his nose.
"Amarie! No! No! No! Please, God! It can't be true!"
But it was true. Amarie put herself in front of the bullet that was meant for Erik. Now the little angel flew back to Heaven once more. Christine knelt by Erik, who held Amarie's lifeless body in his arms.
"Erik…"
"Christine… What are you doing here?"
"I had to see you! Oh, Erik! I missed you! I need you!"
"Christine… Where is he?"
"Who?"
"The man who shot her!" He held Amarie's body tightly in his arms.
"I… I saw him run down to the cellar…"
Erik lay Amarie on her back, folding her hands on her chest. He headed to the wings, where he stooped down and groped around the floor. His hands touched a length of rope. He grabbed it up. Christine could see him tying it into a slipknot even as he was making his way to the cellar.
"Erik! Where are you going?"
"I'm going to avenge my angel!" he snarled.
She raced to his side. "I'm coming with you!"
"No! It's too dangerous!"
"Erik… please…" She touched the rope in his hands. "You may need a pair of eyes."
Erik stared blankly for a moment, then gave a firm nod. "Come on!"
Christine and Erik went down the stairs into the cellar, two hunters intent on their prey. Christine stopped in her tracks as they reached the cellar.
"What is it?" Erik's voice was dripping with murderous desire.
"It's dark, Erik! I can't see a thing!"
"I'll bet that's what he was counting on!" Erik reached out and took her hand. "Come. Darkness is my friend."
Christine followed Erik as he made his way into the depths of the cellar with ease. His grip on her hand was hard and cold. Those hands were aching to kill again. Aching to slake his murderous lust. Those hands wanted to seek out the man who had ripped his angel from him, and squeeze the breath from his lungs.
"Wait, Erik!"
"What?" He was quickly becoming frustrated. He wanted to kill. He wanted to kill, now!
"I think I've found a lamp… and some matches…" She groped around a wooden table by the nearest wall. Successfully striking a match, she lit the lamp and illuminated the room. It was small, crammed full of props and costumes and set pieces from performances played long ago. Christine scanned the small room. "Perhaps he left?"
"No," Erik whispered. "He's here."
Suddenly, a box over in the corner fell over, spilling its contents, and a man cursed.
"He's there, Erik! Ten feet! To your right! Down low!"
Erik threw the noose and caught his victim around the neck with a satisfying choke escaping the man's lips. He pulled the noose tight and threw the man against the wall.
"I'll give you one minute to beg for mercy before I snap your neck!" Erik screamed.
"I'm not begging nothing from you, freak!"
Erik's eyes flew wide. Not because of the insult, but because he recognized the voice.
"You…" Erik whispered. "You were there… the night Raoul de Chagny died!" Dragging the man by the noose, Erik turned Réale to face Christine. "Behold, Christine!" Erik said to her. "The man responsible for your fiancé's death!"
A hand flew to Christine's mouth. "My… my Raoul?"
"That rich chap I bumped off in the streets?" Réale sniggered. "Didn't even get my money's worth!"
Erik turned Réale to face him. "And I'll venture to guess that it was you who dishonoured Amarie last night!"
Réale licked his lips. "You should have been there… she was tough… the way she cried and screamed for some bloke named 'Erik'. She was good! Ah… and the fear in her eyes…"
Erik cut him off by punching him hard in the jaw. "And I shall greatly enjoy hearing your screams of horror as you breathe your last!" With that, Erik tore off his mask, revealing his monstrous face to the one who was the true monster. A scream ripped through the cellar, and the look of sheer terror was forever engraved on Réale's face as Erik viciously broke the man's neck in two.
XxXxX
Whoa, damn...
Who thinks Erik's life sucks, raise your hand...
(Thousands of phans raise their hands)
Poor Erik... His best friend got shot... Is there no end to his torment?
Perhaps not...
But hey... at least he still has a million adoring phan girls who still love him!
Review please, and let me know how much you all hate me for Amarie's untimely death...