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Chapter Twenty-Two – The Return of the Phantom and other Calamities

Persia 1875

I stare dumbfounded at Erik. "You put her in harm's way? How could you!" I yell mercilessly, walking with great purpose towards him. "She's a child, Erik! She's not even my age and you do this to her?"

"God damn it, Christine, stop accusing me!" He says back, harsh tones mixed with his voice. "I promised her I wouldn't tell anybody and I didn't! You know that I've been by your side since we left. How could I have told?" His eyes have grown incredibly lackluster in the years since I left him, but I only truly notice now; when he had great emotion, his eyes always sparkled. They no longer do. Damn it, Christine, it's your own fault he's like this. He didn't have you and he didn't have anything.

"I believe you, Erik," I respond, much more calmly, running my palm along his shoulder and arm in comfort. "But what are we going to do?" I continue, holding Lalitha once again, soothing her with shushing sounds and gentle caresses.

I watch as he ponders the situation, his brow slightly furrowed, his eyes half closed, some of his muscles tense. "I have to go after her," he states after a few long seconds. "I'm the reason she's in this mess and I have to get her out of it." Lalitha lets out a little whimper and clings to me like a baby to its mother.

Almost instantly, I reply, "I'll go with you."

"Are you mad, Christine?" Erik responds fiercely. "You cannot go back there, not now, not ever. You'd be in too much danger." The considerate side of the man everyone thought to be a monster shows through now as he tries to stop my attempt at bravery. I watch as he swallows hard and says, "I can't lose you to them. Not again."

Lalitha's head pops up. "You know him?" she says. "After all he did to you…you knew him the whole time?" I nod solemnly. "But how…"

"It's a long story, Lalitha," I say to quiet her. "But yes, I do know him." She opens her mouth to speak and once again is silenced by me. "No more questions now." She nods and looks at Erik, sadness written all over her face.

"Tell me you can save my sister," she says. Erik looks at her, then at me, and I nod, knowing that he is asking my permission to say what I know he will.

"I've done more complicated things."

Later…

As I close the door of Erik's room at the inn, I secretly worry for Lalitha. She has told me that she'll be fine alone, that she doesn't want to face Chandra and Indira yet, but I worry. "Christine!" Erik says sharply from up ahead. "You wanted to come, so come!" I speed up my pace and fall into step just behind Erik. I feel so out of place in the dress he had for me, a very simple maid's dress, but it's better than my shift. Erik, on the other hand, is dressed to kill in his signature black pants and white poet's shirt. He has switched masks, and is now donning a black one to cover his eyes and the sides of his face, very similar to his mask from Don Juan.

We hurry down the streets of Sardes, down alleyways and past merchants' stalls, until we are before the palace. Before I can say anything, Erik has pulled me into a small alley just across from the entrance to the harem, his hand a firm hold on my arm. "What is it, Erik?" I ask him, sounding almost concerned.

"Christine, let me do the talking. I don't want you getting yourself into any more trouble," he advises, almost reprimanding me. I nod gently, and he continues, "I mean it, Christine. If you get hurt…"

"Erik," I interrupt, "please have faith in me." His eyes search me at this, and I keep going. "I know that I lost your trust many years ago, Erik, and what I did then was wrong. But please, I am not a child. I can take care of myself now." That, I suddenly realize, was a mistake.

"Christine Daaè, do you think you would've gotten yourself into this situation if you could care for yourself?" he shouts at me, anger radiating from every part of him. "If I thought you could care for yourself I'd never have come after you, Christine. Listen to me; you were a part of something much bigger than yourself, whether you admit it or not. You were a pawn to that wicked woman and her husband, Christine! I know because I've been there! So don't tell me you can care for yourself, Christine. You may be a woman now and you may understand your mistakes as a girl, but you do not understand the entirety of this situation you've gotten yourself into. Do you understand me?"

I cast my eyes to the ground and focus on something other than his words. "Christine," he says, much softer now, "I am telling you this because you need to hear it, not because I want to reprimand you like a small child."

"Then why yell at me like a child?" I shout in response. "It didn't work back then and it won't work now!" I say, remembering all too clearly the time when I pulled his mask off in his lair and was thrown to the ground, reprimanded like a young girl who'd done something incredibly wicked. "Well?"

Erik looks me straight in the eye and says, "Because…because…" As he stutters, I think back to Lalitha in the room at the inn, wondering about her sister's fate. "Because I…"

"Erik, we'll talk about this later. Right now there are more important things than how we treat each other." I grab his hand and pull him out onto the streets again, hurrying to the door of the palace.

Later…

"Ah, the Phantom has returned." I watch from beyond the doorway as Erik makes his way across the room towards Chandra and the Shah. They are both lying on the elegant array of pillows on which I first met the Khanum, drinking wine and eating grapes. "Did you bring the girl back with you, or are you just looking for more trouble?"

"I hear that you are executing one of your own tomorrow at dawn," he accuses them, the power in his voice almost deafening, reminding me painfully of his days as the Phantom.

"She disobeyed the laws clearly set down for her," the Shah responds, rising from the pillows, "the punishment for which is death. If you would like to join her…" Erik takes a purposeful step towards him but stops when the Shah pulls a long golden sword from its scabbard at his side. My hand flies to my mouth and I suppress a terrified scream. "Then again, if you'd prefer it over now, I'd be happy to oblige." I watch with intent to see what Erik and the Shah do next when I feel a strong pair of hands on my arms.

"Risa, it has been too long." Dear Lord above, it is Hamir. "You really shouldn't get behind on your work, now, should you?" he says, sweeping my hair away from the side of my neck and kissing the skin there. I bite my lip, trying to ignore it, trying to watch Erik. "However, you may repent for that now if you wish," Hamir adds, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me back against him, starting to drag me down the hallway.

I grab at the doorframe and shout out, "Erik!" He turns away from the Shah and watches with horror in his eyes as Hamir drags me down the hallway. As I finally cannot hold onto the doorframe any longer, I catch a glimpse of the Shah clubbing Erik's turned head with the butt of his sword. "Erik!" I cry as I see him fall to the floor in a crumpled heap.