CHAPTER 40

Erik gestured to Nadir and Raoul to split up as they came before the chateau. Nadir ran towards the back, Raoul took to the left side of the house and he ran to the right side.

Erik grinned as he came upon an iron trellis that led up to the second floor balcony, which spanned almost completely across the chateau. He made his way up in stealth and secured himself at the top. With his cape around him and the cloak of midnight at his back, he was virtually invisible. He crouched low and began to look from window to window.

Nadir viewed the inside of the chateau from a shaded gazebo that sat by a large bay window. To his surprise, he only spotted three men, being entertained by seven women.

He waited awhile, to be sure there were no others. As he was about to leave he saw a man with a bag and an older woman meet beyond the salon, just shy of his line of sight. The older woman shook the man's hand and they walked off. Nadir assumed to the front door. He left his position at the gazebo and carefully walked around to the left side of the chateau.

Raoul came across a servant's entrance and a small window that displayed the kitchen area. It was dimly lit and to his knowledge, empty. He tried the door, but it was locked. Cursing under his breath he turned to make his way to the front of the chateau. Suddenly, a giant arm came from behind him and held him back across his neck. Raoul tried to speak, but the vice-like hold left him no room to utter a sound, let alone breathe.

"Only mischief is caused at this late hour and unfortunately for you, it shall be your last," the large voice boomed, applying pressure to his hold.

Just as Raoul was about to lose consciousness, the large man loosened his grip and Raoul heard a loud thud as the man fell to the floor behind him. Holding onto his neck and trying to fill his lungs with air, Raoul turned around and spotted Nadir pulling his Jambiya dagger from the large man's body and wiping his blade across the dead man's back.

"Never hesitate, Vicomte, for they will not," Nadir said calmly.

Raoul could only nod as he continued to catch his breath.

Nadir dragged the body into the bushes then grabbed Raoul by the arm. "Come, let us move to the front."

So far, all the rooms Erik had peered into turned up no sign of Christine or Meg. There were two more windows to inspect and Erik hoped they would be in one of them. Looking carefully into one, he spotted a blonde girl brushing her hair in front of a small mirror. As she finished, she stood up and turned. "Meg!" he thought with relief, as he glanced around the room for any sign of Christine. He didn't see her and he began to worry. Erik tapped on the window to get Meg's attention. Meg furrowed her brow and looked around, and then she realized the sound was coming from the window. As she got closer, she could see a pair of eyes shrouded in darkness, looking back at her. Meg gasped in surprise as Erik motioned with his finger to his lip for her to be silent.

Meg propped open the window. It only opened a few inches. "Christine said you would come for us and I prayed you would! Where is Maman? Where are the Gendarmes?"

"Shhhh… you are safe. There's no time for questions. Listen to me now. Stay in this room and no matter what you hear, do not leave this room unless Nadir, le Vicomte, or I come for you," Erik instructed.

Meg nodded as Erik asked, "Where is Christine?"

"She is in the room next door, but…" Meg paused.

"What is it, Meg?" Erik said impatiently.

"She is very ill. Philippe did not allow a doctor to see her until now. It has been two days and…" Meg stopped talking as she realized he was gone.

Nadir and Raoul came to the front of the chateau, blending within the safety of the large bushes that surrounded the property. They watched as a man exited and took off down the road in his carriage. An older lady waved then disappeared into the chateau.

Before Nadir and Raoul made to move from their spot, a young man came walking up the drive, whistling. Nadir came up with a plan and told Raoul to play along.

As the young man came closer, Raoul stepped away from the bushes and feigned being injured. "Please, someone, I have been stabbed by some lunatic!"

Luc ran over to the well-dressed man and bent over to help him up. "Monsieur, are you alright?"

Luc heard a click as he slowly stood up.

"He will be just fine. You, on the other hand, may not be unless you cooperate," Nadir said, holding Raoul's pistol in his hand.

Raoul took his pistol from Nadir as he secured their captive with his Jambiya.

"What is it that you want to know?" Luc asked nervously.

"Who are you and what is your purpose here at the chateau?" Raoul said simply.

"My name is Luc, Luc Aiton, and I am here with my two brothers Marcel and Arnaud. I do not work here, Monsieur," Luc answered.

Nadir scratched his head. "Two? But there were three men I spotted inside."

"That would be le Comte Philippe de Chagny, Monsieur," Luc said without hesitation.

"Tell me boy, there was a man that left moments ago and an older woman saw him out. Do you know of whom I speak?" Nadir inquired.

"That was Dr. Monroe. He came to tend to Mademoiselle Christine and the older woman you speak of is Madame Brigitte, owner of this bordello," Luc confirmed.

Raoul and Nadir looked at each other and then Raoul turned to Luc and asked, "Mademoiselle Christine, is she alright? Did you see another girl with her?

"Mademoiselle Christine is ill and to my knowledge, it does not look good. Mademoiselle Meg is in better condition, aside from her large bruise that covers the left side of her face," Luc said sorrowfully.

Raoul cocked his pistol and shoved it under Luc's chin. "If you laid a hand on eitherone of them I swear before God to end your life!"

"Monsieur, I did not touch either one of them. They were injured before my brothers and I transported them from the Comte's property in Fontainebleau. Please, my brothers may deserve whatever it is the devil has intended for them, but I have wanted nothing to do with this entire affair. You must believe me," Luc pleaded.

"There is no way to know if you speak the truth or not and we certainly cannot have you running around until this matter is sorted," Nadir spoke honestly.

"I can remedy the situation," Raoul said as he raised his gun in the air and brought it down swiftly to the back of Luc's head.

Before Nadir could warn Raoul, it was too late. As the gun made contact with Luc's head, rendering him unconscious, the pistol fired into the air toward the direction of the chateau. The sound of shattering glass could be heard as Raoul cringed.

Nadir looked at Raoul sharply. "Prepare yourself! We're about to have company."

Erik rushed to the last window as Meg told him she was ill. Looking inside, he saw no one except for a figure lying on the bed. He noticed brown curly locks, hanging off the side of it. "Christine!" he thought as his heart raced. Erik pushed against the window, but like the other, it only opened a few inches. The only way he could access the room would be to break the glass. "There is no easy way to do it. I will just have to kill whoever comes through that door and gets in my way!" Erik thought with finality.

As Erik was about to break the glass he heard a shot ring out. The bullet whirred past him and shattered the window. "That moronic Vicomte! He almost killed me and now everyone will be alerted to our presence!"

Erik brushed the glass aside and quickly brought himself by Christine's side. He looked at her tenderly and leaned forward to whisper to her. "Wake for me, mon ange," Erik said as he placed a kiss to her lips. They were warm against his as he removed his right glove to feel her forehead. Christine was burning up and as much as he tried to coax her, she did not stir. He wrapped her within the blanket and lifted her off the bed.

Philippe and the two Aiton brothers stood up immediately upon hearing the gunshot from outside of the chateau.

"You two go investigate the disturbance. I'm going upstairs to make sure our guests are secure," Philippe instructed as he readied his pistol.

As Philippe ran up the stairs, Marcel and Arnaud took up their pistols and scrambled for the front door. They opened the door slightly inspecting the grounds through the crack. They could make out no sign of anyone. All that could be heard was the sound of crickets in the night.

Both men stepped outside and carefully walked around the grounds, each in opposite directions.

Nadir and Raoul watched the brothers as they separated. Nadir nudged Raoul to follow the man on the left.

Nodding, Raoul took his leave of the Persian.

Nadir bound Luc's unconscious form, and then ran off to the right side of the chateau, after the second man.

As Marcel glanced up toward the iron trellis leading to the second floor balcony, Nadir came up swiftly behind him and slit his throat. Marcel never saw it coming. Nadir wiped his Jambiya blade against the man's jacket and dragged his body into the bushes.

Looking to the trellis, Nadir placed his dagger between his teeth and climbed to the top of the second floor. He came upon a shattered window and as he was about to take a look inside, he heard Philippe's voice beyond the room.

Raoul followed Arnaud and watched him carefully as the man crouched before the bushes to where the body of Bruno, the large bodyguard, now lay.

He cocked his pistol and pointed it in the direction of Arnaud. "Do not move, Monsieur, or I will be forced to shoot," he said, steadying his aim.

Arnaud slowly rose from his crouched position and held onto his pistol firmly.

"I said do not move!" Raoul repeated.

Arnaud quickly aimed at the Vicomte and shot as Raoul did the same. Arnaud fell to the ground as Raoul's bullet struck the man dead between the eyes. Simultaneously, he hissed, realizing Arnaud's bullet had struck him through his right shoulder, exiting clean through the other side. "At least I am still alive," Raoul thought as he turned back to the direction of the front of the chateau.

Erik held Christine in his arms as he faced the window to exit with her. Philippe burst into the room and aimed his pistol at the dark figure before him.

Erik froze as he heard the click of a gun.

"I shall put a bullet through your brain, should you choose to move any further. Now, turn around slowly, so that I may have the pleasure of killing you face to face."

Raoul staggered up the stairs and eyed all the doors before him. Trying each one, he found them locked as he urgently whispered Meg's name. "No doubt these ladies are cowering in their rooms from fear of the unknown," he thought.

As he came to the second to last door, he heard her as he whispered again, "Meg?"

"Raoul, is it really you?" Meg asked desperately.

"Oui, little Meg. Can you not open the door for me?"

"This room is kept locked by a key."

"Step away from the door," Raoul said as he braced himself for the pain.

With an excruciating grunt he forcefully pushed against the door with the right side of his body. He fell to the ground as the door gave and Meg quickly wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh thank God you are here, mon ami!" Meg said with relief. As she looked at him with tears in her eyes, she noticed he was bleeding.

"Mon dieu! You're injured," she gasped.

"The bullet has passed, Meg. I shall be fine," he said as he brushed away her tears.

Looking around the room, Raoul asked confused, "Where is Christine? I thought she would be in here with you."

"She is in the room next door. Erik went to get her and told me to stay here," Meg answered.

"He's right, Meg. Stay here and I promise I will come back for you. We're not out of danger yet. I will check on Christine," Raoul said as he stood up.

"But Raoul, you're hurt. How could you possibly…" Meg paused as Raoul reached his hand out to help her up from the floor.

"I will be fine. Brace the door with a chair after I've gone," he looked into her eyes and kissed her tenderly on the lips, then turned on his heel and exited the room.

Meg was left breathless, completely forgetting to bar the door.

Erik turned carefully at the man's insistence. As he came face to face with the Comte, he sneered and laughed eerily at the man aiming the gun at him.

Philippe couldn't believe his eyes. His complexion paled upon his realization of who the dark imposing figure was.

The Phantom of the Opera stood before him, alive.

"Am I imagining this? You're dead! My brother killed you! What manner of trickery is this?" Philippe demanded.

"You cannot kill someone who is already dead," Erik threw his voice menacingly in the ear of the Comte.

Nadir held his Jambiya firmly in his hand, ready to throw it, should the situation get out of hand. He listened carefully to the words being exchanged between the two men. "Erik, I hope you have a plan to get yourself out of this one," Nadir thought as he prayed Allah to give his friend strength.
Raoul stopped before the half open door as he heard his brother's voice. Peering through the crack he could see his Philippe's gun aimed toward Erik and in his arms lay Christine.

Taking up his pistol, he opened the door. "Enough of this, Philippe. It's over!" He announced firmly, pointing his gun at his brother.

"Good of you to show up, brother. It would appear you have some explaining to do. Did you not banish this beast to the pits of hell or did you actually show some compassion for this thing?" Philippe demanded.

"You're not well, Philippe. End this insanity and let me get you the help you need," Raoul insisted.

Philippe did not lower his aim, nor did Raoul.

Erik watched as the tension increased. His thoughts turned to his Punjab, but with Christine in his arms, he could do nothing but remain still. He didn't want to endanger her any further.

Meg's curiosity grew as she heard the raised voices next door. She made her way to the room and carefully peeked inside to see what was going on.

She gripped onto the frame of the door, as she saw Erik with Christine, Philippe pointing his gun at them both, and Raoul pointing his gun at his brother.

The sudden standstill silence was unnerving. No one dared to make a move.

Philippe smiled and then emitted a low snicker, which grew into a maniacal laugh. "This 'insanity' will end, dear brother. I grow tired of this and of you!"

As Philippe took his eyes off of Erik, he aimed the gun at Raoul and was about to shoot him, but Meg pushed the door open to knock Philippe off balance and he ended up shooting the wall.

Meg ran into Raoul's arms and started crying.

Raoul could not believe Meg was sacrificing her safety for his.

Erik took the brief opportunity to place Christine onto the floor and then he reached for his Punjab, slinging it around the neck of the Comte.

Nadir stepped in from the balcony and Erik nodded at him as Nadir crouched over Christine and picked her up.

"Now you die, Comte!" Erik growled furiously as he tightened the Punjab around Philippe's neck.

"Wait! Please, do not kill him! We can take him in so he can get the help that he needs! For God's sake, you don't want to murder him!"

"Oh, but you see? I do!" He roared at Raoul without taking his eyes off of Philippe. His only desire was to kill the man caught within his trusty lasso. "There will be no golden chariot awaiting you where you're going, Comte! Hellfire shall consume you forever, in the bowels of the devil's lair!"

Erik spit viciously in Philippe's face and wrapped the slack around his hand, increasing the pressure around his victim's neck.

"I believe you to be a better man than that, regardless of your past crimes!" Raoul yelled, trying to reach Erik, "You don't want his blood on your hands! Prove to me that you're not a monster, but a man who is worthy of Christine." All Raoul could do was wait, which seemed like an eternity. He hoped that by mention Christine's name, Erik would be able to come to his senses.

Christine was the only one that could ever hold Erik's attention. He heard Raoul's words, but mostly it was his Angel's face that flashed before his eyes. He held his Punjab firmly around the neck of the Comte, watching his face turn a dark shade of purple, before submitting. He closed his eyes and then screamed loudly in anguish as he shoved Philippe to the ground, removing his Punjab from around his neck and kicking the Comte's gun across the floor, to the other end of the room.

Raoul got up, quickly binding his brother's hands and thanked Erik for the mercy he bestowed upon Philippe.

"I do not need your thanks! Just be sure to keep him away from me and my wife or it will take God himself, to stop me from ending his feeble existence upon this earth!" Erik threatened as he curled up his Punjab.

Author's Note
-annoying announcer voice- "Is this the end of the line for our heroes? Will Christine get the dire medical attention she needs? Will Raoul be able to finally get along with Erik? Will Nadir have more fun killing people with his Jambiya dagger? Stay tuned until tomorrow... same phantom time... same phantom channel!" -grins- I'm such a stinker! Hang in there folks! Thanks everyone for the fab reviews. Everyone hates Philippe, so do I! -giggles- I am glad I have been able to give Raoul the much needed respect he deserves. I still love Erik best, but Raoul isn't so bad, is he? -smiles- More fun to come next chapter... I promise!