Chapter 5
Mirror, Mirror on the wall
Clay landed in a room full of mirrors. They surrounded him, they were everywhere. He turned in circles, trying to see Joe. All he saw was his image in the mirror, reflecting off of all of them to confuse him. Turning he almost ran into the Phantom's trademark noose. He jumped back. Suddenly a hand on his shoulder made him jump. It was only Madame Giry. She led him out of the maze of mirrors. They wet through another tunnel, where Clay convinced her to tell him about the Phantom. She agreed and opened a door that led off from the tunnel and into a small room.
Ten minutes into her story, Alyssa interrupted them. "What's going on?" Madame Giry demanded.
"Relax mother, I thought I would bring you some tea." Alyssa answered, moving so that she blocked the doorway, she didn't want the Madame to accidentally see Heather and Scot.
Madame Giry gratefully took the cup from Alyssa and took a sip. They waited five minutes after she had finished the tea to begin questioning her. Once they were sure that the spell was in place Alyssa ushered in Heather and Scot.
"Madame Giry, what is it that you aren't telling anyone about the Phantom. What is it that you don't want anyone to fine out?" Heather asked her. Madame Giry looked uneasy, but with a small urge from Heather, she began to talk.
"It was about ten years after I saved Eric from the circus. I was nineteen, and he was, we figured, about twenty. I was seeing one of the male dancers, his name was Pierre. I thought I was in love, Eric thought it was foolishness. Eric was right though, it was foolishness. I caught Pierre with another woman. I went to Eric for comfort, and we ended up comforting each other. A month later I realized I was with child," she finished.
Alyssa and Heather gasped, and looked at each other, shocked at what they had just heard. The Phantom was Meg's father!
Upstairs, at the party, Paige handed Andre and Firimin another glass of wine. This was each about their sixth glass, and they were getting loose-tongued. She wanted them drunk enough so that she could get information from them without them remembering it. Once they finished that glass, she smiled.
"Tell me, Monsieur's, have you been noticing the absence of accidents lately?" she asked them.
"Why yes my dear, of course we have," Andre answered for both of them, his eyes a little out of focus with drunkenness. "How could we not?"
"I was just wondering, Monsieur's, do you think he could be waiting to do something big?"
"Of course, that would be smart." Andre replied.
"Yes, indeed it is smart. That's why he's waiting for the right time." Firimin added.
"But my good Monsieur's," Paige said, using the Phantom's phrase, "When exactly is the right time?"
"My dear, I thought that was quite obvious, the cemetery. The cemetery!"
"Why the cemetery?" Paige acted stupid, to see if they would give any details.
"Because, the Viscount will be there." Andre replied with a cold gleam in his eye. Firimin looked the same way.
Paige suppressed a shudder as her mind imagined some gruesome pictures. "What a great idea! A perfect opportunity!" praised Paige, pasting a smile on her face.
Andre and Firimin smiled their appreciation. "We know, but now I'm afraid we have to leave. We have more people to see!" Paige nodded, still smiling. The two men stumbled out of the lounge room and into the front hallway. People moved out of their way as they continued out the door.
"Pansies can't even hold six glasses." Paige snorted, "They'll have one hangover in the morning." She set her glass on a table and headed to her dressing room where they were all going to meet.
After another ten minutes of questioning, they didn't get very much useful information. Heather sighed. She was expecting more. She noted that Madame Giry's eyes went out of focus for a couple seconds; a sign that meant the spell was beginning to wear off. "Come on guys, time to go. The spell's wearing off. Clay, don't forget to let her finish her story before you leave." Clay nodded and the other three left the cramped room.
Quietly Heather, Alyssa, and Scot slipped out of the room and followed the tunnels till they found the one that led to the kitchen. Then they too headed for Paige's room. Once there they waited for Clay to show up before sharing their information. Once he got there, Paige insisted that they share their news first. She didn't want to spoil it for the rest of them.
"Well," Alyssa said, taking a deep breath, "the Phantom turns out to be Meg's father."
"What!" exclaimed Paige in shock. Heather almost laughed at the expression on her face.
"Yep, it's true. I never would have guessed either. She looks nothing like him. The real one, I mean." Heather told her. The others agreed. "So what did you find out?"
Paige shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Well, uh," she paused trying to think of how to say it. "He wants to um, killClay." She finally managed to say, running the last words together.
"Well, that's no surprise, I mean, that's what the Phantom is supposed to do to Raoul." Heather said.
"No, I mean he wants to kill him at the cemetery, like, right away. No wasting time. And if we don't figure out something, he will. He's got something up his sleeve." Paige said.
Heather fainted. Clay caught her before she could fall. He picked her up and laid her on Paige's chaise lounge. He sat on the edge, gently smoothing her hair and holding her hand. After fifteen seconds or so, Heather woke up.
"Hey, are you okay?" Clay said softly.
Heather shook her head. Clay leaned down and hugged her. They sat that way for a couple of minutes. The others looked away, giving them some time to themselves. Heather let go of Clay. He sat back, "Okay now?" he teased.
Heather gave a watery smile back, "Yeah."
Sitting up, she leaned against Clay for comfort and support. He put his arm around her waist. "This is all my fault. We should just skip the cemetery. I refuse to go." Heather told everyone stubbornly.
"But, Heather, you have to go. It's the only way to finish the past and go home." Scot reminded her gently.
"And it's not all your fault. It's just as much mine, too," insisted Paige.
Scot shook his head, "No, it's no one's fault. We were all willing to see the movie. Nobody forced us to go."
"We're the ones being targeted. Not you. Mostly me, but it's always out fault. We're the witches here, with tons of enemies. If you guys weren't with us, none of this would ever happen to you. We put you in danger. You'd all be better off without us." Heather cut in. Paige and Alyssa nodded in agreement and support.
Clay and Scot both shook their heads. "NO," they said firmly. "We're not going anywhere. We're all in this together."
"I love you." Clay told Heather.
"I love you." Scot said to Paige.
Alyssa sighed and rolled her eyes, "Okay, okay already, enough of the mushy stuff. Jeesh!" They looked at her and laughed.
The group of friends sat around and talked till about 1:30 in the morning. Alyssa and Scot left together because they were going the same way. Clay walked Heather to her room and kissed her goodnight. They he got a chair and set it up outside the door so he could keep watch.
After changing clothes, Heather lay awake for a long time. She was waiting for dawn, when she would have to go to the cemetery. As soon as she saw the first light, she got up. She eased open the door, revealing a sleeping Clay. Heather paused long enough to touch his cheek. Then she was gone, slipping outside to the stables. Paying the driver, she grabbed a cloak from its hook. Turning around she saw Joe in the drivers seat. She climbed in. "To my father's grave, please." Joe nodded and started the horses.
Clay awoke with a start at the sound of the horse's hooves on the cobblestones. Jumping up, he saw the door was open. Running to the window, he looked out just in time to see the carriage turn the corner. Quickly he ran outside. "Where did they go?" he demanded of the cab driver.
"To the cemetry," he grumbled, rubbing his head where a bump was beginning to form. Clay jumped onto a nearby horse and took off in the same direction. He knew he was running out of time. He had to catch up.