Hello my fellow readers,
I want to thank the few of you who have reviewed my story. I'm trying to keep my chin up through this experience and keep on writing. Chapter 8 is the turning point for our two characters. I daresay nothing will be the same after this.
Enjoy,
J.D.
Chapter 8
He was evidently some rich, boorish man who felt entitled to the world. He stood outside the Opera House as he shivered from the biting gush of autumns flourishing wind. He wore a plain black suit, with a charming bow tie clasped around his slim neck. On his arm rested the elegantly gloved hand of his mistress who upon getting dressed, must have decided to personify a pluming Peacock for the gown she wore flowed in a sea of purples, blues and greens. If her dress wasn't loud enough, her voice most definitely bellowed out above the rest of the awaiting crowd.
It was finally the night of Kristina's performance, and I found myself rudely denied access to my box as it was sold the very night before. To add to my ever growing irritation, management had placed extra security all around the Opera to impede any opportunity for me to join the festivities. They should really expect more from their descended inhabitant, for I had already created work arounds for all their feeble attempts to thwart me. They forgot who they were dealing with.
As the crowd slowly moved forward to the box office, I stalked patiently in the shadows, my hat turned down low over the cream colored mask I saved for the off chance this emperor of darkness ever had to ascend back up to the world. I slinked toward the front entrance and the fidgeting crowd, my heart jittery in my chest as I closed in. With nimble fingers, I readied myself for the wealthy man's pocket. There it was, my chance to watch my little protégé up close and personal. My only hope was that on this moonless night, God did not cast his eyes down on me for I needed all the blind luck I could muster.
The line began to move again. I took the opportunity and bumped into the oblivious couple. We all stumbled forwarded and the man clung to his mistress to right themselves. I plunged my fingers numbly into his warm, wool pocket and pulled out the two tickets. I muttered an apology and veered away from the crowd and down the street as they spat indignant curses behind my back. It didn't affect me either way, for I successfully stole their evening together. In my hand I clutched my prize and piece by piece they were shredded and carried away by the persistent breeze.
I entered the building on the opposite side of the crowd and began the arduous journey to my seat. The halls were empty as everyone had conjugated towards the stage in order to prepare for the first act. Security was busy keeping the lobby occupied and the theater under control. I would have to be just a bit more careful tonight to avoid their searchlights.
The corridors were winding and as I came closer to the theater, the excited voices of the audience began to filter down the halls. I passed the dancing rooms and turned down another hallway. The lobby came into view and before I entered the hidden doorway in the wall, I paused to witness an argument between security and a very upset couple. The large pluming dress filled with purples, blues and greens weaved around as they both shouted at the two security officers standing in front of them.
"This is ridiculous! I paid good money for that Box!" The wealthy man shouted. "I demand to speak to management."
"I'm sorry, sir, no tickets, no entry. If you would like, you can purchase two tickets from the Box office over there." The first patrolman pointed back outside to the entry room.
"I already paid for my Box. My tickets were in my pocket. Someone must have stolen them. Where are the managers? I demand a refund!"
"They will be here when they can, its opening night and they are very busy." The second patrolman said.
"I don't give a shit if the opera house is on fire! Get them down here! I have never in my life been treated this way." The spoiled brat's eyes were bulging out of his head while he panted in rage. The peacock rubbed his arm comfortingly.
I shook my head and chuckled. The price you pay to be so self-centered.
The angry screams of the sop lingered for a few steps before I was completely immersed in the structures innards of utter silence. My gloved fingers trailed the cement wall as I gingerly made my way to the ladder which leads to Box 5. The rush of anticipation to see my beautiful Kristina singing on stage caused a rather joyous spring in my usually begrudging step. This feeling was so foreign to me, I fought the urge to release the tears which had started as a lump in my throat. I swallowed hard again.
Arriving at the hollow column within the box, I stopped and listened intently. So far no one was in the room. I cracked the sliding door a hair to see a full house anxiously chatting away as they waited. The lights dimmed twice, alerting the audience it was almost show time.
I hung back in the column and waited as well. I didn't want to sit out in the box while the lights were blazing. Even though the cream colored mask helped to blend in as skin, there was still a blatant distinction between leather and flesh. I danced my fingers between each other as the silk of my glove swirled and created a soothing melody to aid in relaxing my tension. I wasn't worried in the least that Kristina's abilities would not awe the audience tonight. My confidence in her was unyielding as was my faith in her voice.
It was only hours before that she stood in the dressing room and gushed with excitement. We had practiced all of her solos for the performance and she didn't miss a single note; not one was out of pitch or tune.
"You are ready, Kristina, to bring tears to Paris tonight. You have faithfully committed yourself to this music and to me. Tonight, your dreams shall come true."
"It's all because of you! I couldn't ask you for anything else. Will you be there with me, Angel?" She asked me, as her hands wrung around in tight circles.
"Of course, for wherever you go Kristina, I shall follow." I breathed out, amazed at the way her face displayed such warmth at my words.
She left the dressing room with a smile planted on her face and an air of utter happiness. I couldn't help but wonder if there was hope for it still. Could I possibly be able to show her myself and she still smile as brightly?
'You know exactly what would happen. She would take one look at you- scream and run. You pathetic demon.' The voice within my head snarled.
I waved the thoughts away as the theater was enveloped in darkness. The audience grew silent as the curtain began to open to reveal a modestly dressed stage and the ballet group all lined up, their partners behind them. Their heads were facing down towards the floor as their arms were out in front of them. The orchestra strung up and started with a soft melody as the dancers lifted their heads. They scurried around the stage, their flowing skirts and leotards swirling in a sea of pastel colors and spits of shimmering gauze. Every once in a while, the beading on their costumes would sparkle in the stage lights. The music heightened and the dancers grew feverish in their movements to match the growing rhythm.
I looked out through the crack in the column. Everyone else was focused on the stage, their eyes drinking in the beautiful spectacle like a scorched desert plain. I slid back the column door and sat down under the shadows of the box's curtains.
The dancers split up and two separate groups huddled on either sides of the stage. A blonde haired dancer dressed in a red leotard and flaring tutu seductively danced down the middle of the stage, her legs gracefully floating above the floor. Her body stretched and she pirouetted towards a man standing at the far end of the stage, his hand out beckoning to her to join him. She raced across the stage and when the dancer's hands met, she was twisted up into the male's arms. They mirrored their movements as their embrace became sultrier.
I felt the heat coursing through my veins and creeping up my neck as I sat mesmerized by the lovers dance. They joined the rest of the company and filed off of the stage with a series of pirouettes and spins. Cass may be the most irritating woman I had ever come into contract with, however she was able to portray such emotion in the ways of her dancing. She was absolutely breath taking.
'A ballet rat nonetheless. A most irritating rat.'
As the curtain closed for a scene change, I adjusted myself in my seat to a more comfortable position. It had been a few seasons since I had allowed myself the privilege of viewing a performance from my box. The deafening shrill of the previous soprano, whose name I cared not to remember, was more than enough to dissuade my interest in attendance. I did all of Paris a favor when she mysteriously slipped and broke her ankle. Perhaps if she wasn't strutting around in her own arrogance, she would have noticed the set piece in front of her. Karma had an unusual way of dealing favorable punishments. As do opera ghosts who had idiots for landlords.
The rest of the first act whizzed by in chorus and dance as the audience was carried away with the romance of the story line. The male lead, I was almost afraid to admit, was well placed for his role. He was young, easy on the eyes, yet his voice was well trained. Even after admitting this to myself, the boy lacked the sound understanding of the music he sung. Though, I resigned to the notion that not all could be blessed with an angel of music and smirked to myself. He stalked off the stage and the room was bathed in darkness once more for another scene change.
The curtain lifted to reveal an evening landscape, with savory blue lighting and a glistening moon. A few set trees finished the scene, their branches looming over the empty stage. Kristina walked from behind the trees, her soft steps revealing the slower half of the first act. She was stunning in a cream satin dress and her hair fell in perfect ringlets to rest just below her chest. Throwing all inhibitions, I leaned over the velvet banister of the box. She took one steadying breath and began her first aria of the night. From the very first notes, I was utterly captivated by her voice. It circled around my heart and set my blackened soul aflame. She listened well in our lessons and executed what she learned from her maestro.
I gleamed in pride as the lump within my throat surged to a suffocating size. My gloved hand clamped over my trembling lips as a choke threatened to spill out. The breath within my chest caught and I struggled to keep myself composed to hear the remainder of the aria.
Just as she was about to bellow out the last note of the song, I heard faint voices bleeding through the hall behind the curtain covering the box. Anger poured into my veins as I fled to the column. Just as I slid the door shut, I heard the box keeper screech the curtain open. Through the sliver of the door, I saw the wealthy man and his belligerent mistress take a hefty seat where I was moments before.
'Insolent little shits!'
Through the pounding in my head, I heard the thunderous applause from the ending of the first act. My fists began to crumble into tight balls against the wooden structure. Indecision toyed with my moral consciousness. I could always dispel of the two loiters, but they may bring even more unwanted attention to an already complicated situation.
I relinquished my box, for now. The thought of being actively pursued in my own home was very tiring and threatened to put a wedge further between me and my beloved Kristina. Perhaps I could go back behind the stage and check on how she was doing. It should please her to know her angel of music was there listening to her every note.
Backstage was a hum of busied stagehands, prop masters, and performers all gathered around the wings of the stage. Their exuberance emanated energy enough to entice even me into their world. My eyes narrowed through the mass of people but Kristina was nowhere to be seen. I slipped passed the stage to the dressing rooms, and there in our little music room, where together we produced such an ethereal space, she stood fixing her hair. I was about to call out to her, until I noticed a rather pretty blonde dressed in a red tutu sitting in the back, stretching her feet.
"I just don't think it would be a good idea, Cass. London is so far away." Kristina worried her bottom lip. My heart stuttered. Where was she planning to go?
"Don't be so melodramatic, Kristina. It's only two hours by train." Cass gave up on her stretching as she sauntered over to her friend.
"I've just really started my gig here. If I leave they might replace me."
"They wouldn't dream of it. You floored people already, and it's just now the second act. Plus, after this performance, we go on holiday. If you ask me, now is the perfect time. You'll be back before the start of the next season." She placed a slender hand on Kristina's shoulder.
"My angel would not agree to this, Cass. In fact, he would be infuriated." She turned toward the ballerina and bowed her head low.
"Do you really think your angel is going to be here ten years from now Kristina!? I doubt it. But you will be, and if you truly wish to pursue this as your career, make this your life's work, why in the hell would you not go!?" She shook her lightly as if to knock some sense into her.
Kristina growled in frustration. "I don't know. Maybe...maybe it wouldn't be so bad."
"If your angel is really here for your benefit, then he would not be able to deny this trip would be a great opportunity for your career."
"Do you really think so?" Her brows furrowed as tears began to well in Kristina's eyes.
"Let him stop you." Cass dared, as she peered pointedly at the large mirror in front of them. My hands instinctively imploded into my palms.
The door creaked open and the stage director poked her grayed head through the crack.
"Two minutes ladies. Please start making your way to the stage." She was gone.
The two women collected their things but the ballerina stopped with her hand on the opened door.
"You need to do this Kristina. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to study in one of the finest opera houses besides here. You don't want to look back at this opportunity with regret."
Kristina's eyes lit up as absolution took hold. "You're right. I suppose I could go on the retreat. I will have to pack tonight." They embraced and rushed out the door.
The fierce beating in my chest almost took my breath away. Kristina was leaving the opera house!? Surely, she would t leave without my blessing? From the days leading up to the performance, I must have missed a crucial detail that had displayed somewhere behind my back.
I smelled a rat!
I raced through the hidden corridors behind the stage, and after checking to make sure the coast was clear, I climbed up the ladder leading to the rafters and flies. A young man was crouched by the fly system and before he could even see me, I encircled his arm and neck with mine in a vice grip. His hair parted ever so slightly with my panting, as his breathing became shallow at my unyielding pressure.
He lay down in a heaping pile, unconscious for the time being. Stepping over his form, I made my way to the light systems. They were lined all in a row, an intricate neighboring of wires, hinges and handles. I peered down through the maze of technical equipment to the stage below. The beginning of the second act was underway, and Cass's solo was quickly approaching. The wrath still boiled beneath my skin as the thought of her betrayal pierced my heart again. She could not be doused with water, so perhaps a bit of scorching would finally get the point across.
If I timed it right, the light would hit perfectly upon her blonde head, and once and for all her meddling would be out of the way for good. She would not be able to entice my Kristina to leave me anymore, or even worse, divulge my secret without my proper revealing. She wanted to test me, and now she would have to unfortunately pay the price.
Such is the consequence when you gamble with the Devil.
I counted the measures, and with quick work, unhooked the light perched upon the guard rail. It was much heavier than I had anticipated, but I didn't have ample enough time to recalculate the distance and speed. The dancing pair broke off and Cass inched closer to the center of the stage. She was just a step away from the target, and with a flick of the wrist, the light cascaded down towards its demise.
The gruesome sound of breaking glass, bending metal and plastic erupted into the theater, sending its contents into a sheer panic. Before making my hasty exit to the prop room, I chanced another glance down. To my dismay, there wasn't a crumbled body, but a rather disheveled dancer and her partner, who clutched his leg that was ensnared in the mangled remains of the light fixture.
Druthers! I had miscalculated the distance and missed her by only an inch.
Cass turned her head up towards me and her once worried expression turned sharply into an icy glare. I met her evenly, and for a moment I did not move. I should be fleeing into the safety of the walls, far away from the threat of being caught. For some strange reason, I was transfixed by the look in that woman's eyes.
This wasn't the first misfortune that I had ever expunged from this theater, nor on any given person. And yet, a very foreign emotion began to chip away at the frozen core of my heart.
Guilt.
The heavy fabric of my cape swirled about as I made my way to the prop room. This ballerina, who tore a gaping hole into the seam of balance in my world, tugged emotions out of me I long thought expired. The prop room was too small and lacked sufficient air as the four walls began to close in around me.
I staggered toward the door adjacent to the one from the stage and ripped it open. Instead of leading down towards the bowels of my home, this way lead to an antechamber; a dark circular room with a spiral staircase leading up. I needed space, and the cool stale air of my cavernous abode would not do anything to squander away these 'feelings'.
Paris glittered before me as the stairwell emptied out onto the slated roof. The statues hung protectively around me and I sucked in the cold, biting air. Stumbling over towards the edge of the building, I perched myself between two stoic statues that overlooked the city streets.
How could Kristina leave without confronting me about her little adventure? Surely she wasn't afraid of me? Was she worried I would forbid it?
'Of course I would have, but if she truly wanted to go, I'm sure I could have figured something out. Or at least encouraged her to wait a few seasons. We had come so far over the past few weeks and I was beginning to plan my reveal to her. Now what was I to do?'
It was infuriating to think that a ballet rat out played me at my own game. Shameful even! But as I gazed down at the populous going about their nightly sprawl, I couldn't help feeling defeated. And the most absurd thought was she made me feel guilt for the first time in decades. I had done worse than this and never even batted an eye.
My thoughts swallowed me as I sat like the neighboring statues, allowing the air to slowly dispel my displeasure from the night. An ambulance had come and gone, and people slowly exited the theater as festivities began to celebrate the end of the performance. I didn't have the heart to watch the party below, but the music began to drift up from the many floors of the opera house.
I paced the uneven ground of the roof until I was sure there were tread marks. Going inside seemed almost like a punishment yet the call of my piano beckoned me to the warmth from within. Grudgingly, I began the journey back to my home. It was utterly quiet by the time I made it to the main floor as the performers retired from their party. No one was left, not even security.
As I passed the dancing wing, I noticed a woman exiting the building alone, and rather tipsy. Without much fear of capture, I followed her outside the stone exit. She stumbled a few times across the lawn, but righted herself before the sidewalk. As she turned to look for oncoming traffic, I recognized the woman to be Cass.
Losing interest, I made to go back into the opera house when out of the corner of my eye, I saw three men begin to follow her. They were dressed all in black, with black caps upon their fat heads. They were of medium build, but I sensed a danger within them that only fellow entities could catch. Groaning, my moral side of my mind gave and I began after the four of them.
The alleyways provided the coverage I sought to keep out of their eyesight. They were horrible criminals, for I could hear their lazy footsteps and their boisterous voices a few yards away. If it were not for the alcoholic state of their target, she would have caught on long ago. They rounded a corner and disappeared from my line of sight. The sidewalk where they just stood provided no clues as to which way they went and only the sound of the wind whistling through the barren trees circled around me. A car turned down the street and I dashed behind an alley before the headlights could catch me.
After the car passed, I heard a disturbance from the other side of the block. With nimble feet, I climbed the ladder, traversed the slopped roof and peered down at the dark alleyway below.
She was cornered, the towering walls of the buildings besides her forbidding an escape as her back was towards the dead end. She held out her hands in front of her, as if to shield herself from whatever weapon they pointed at her. The dumpster panged behind her as the assailants pushed on. One of the men moved forward, grabbed her roughly by the arm and spun it around her back while the other hand rested a shimmering knife against her bare throat.
I took the wrings of the ladder by two as a second man stepped forward. He opened his ugly mouth and addressed the frightened girl.
"Looks like we finally caught ourselves the ballerina, boys." They all grinned. "We've been looking for you.
"I wonder just how pliable she is." He took a step toward her. "Mac said to bring her back alive, but he never said to bring her back untouched"
"I'd kill you before you lay a hand on me!" She grumbled through clenched teeth.
"Oh my little prima ballerina, I don't plan on using my hands." His smile was wicked as he closed in on Cass. He reached out a grimy hand that caressed her collarbone and trailed down her stomach to grip the hem of her dress.
"You're fucking sick! You low-life, inbred, piece of shit!" She screamed as she spat at the man.
He slapped her face and she keeled over, only staying upright from the thugs hold on her. "I was going to be gentle, but now I think I'm going to enjoy splitting you in two." He began to fiddle with his waistline.
"Please- you couldn't fuck a goat!" She snapped.
I chuckled and called out to all four of the unsuspecting persons below, "She's against three men, yet she still has the courage to utterly embarrass you all. You should be dying of shame."
They all looked around the alley, unable to pinpoint the direction of the ghostly voice. The girl took advantage of the distraction afforded to her.
Cass shoved her free elbow into the gut of the man behind her and his knees hit the pavement. She bypassed the brute leader in front of her but was caught in the arms of the third. She wrestled with him for a moment before kneeing him in his groin. Before she could make her escape, she was grabbed by the brute, his thick fingers twisting into her blonde locks. She yelled out in pain and was then thrown into the brick wall, falling unconscious.
Just as the others were beginning to collect themselves, and while the brute prepared himself to violate the ballerina, I had finally descended to the last level of stairs. Skipping the ladder completely, I jumped down from the ledge and landed with an audible thud which drew the attentions away from the slumped woman.
The brute whipped around and instantly grew irritated. "Who the hell are you?"
I stood with my head dipped low under the brim of my hat and didn't respond.
"I said who are you?"
The other two men slowly brought themselves about.
"I'd suggest you leave the girl alone." My voice rumbled out among the brick buildings.
"Oh yeah? And if we don't?"
The three men crept slowly closer to me, their eyes bulging with excitement. They obviously felt confident in their numbers against me.
My head lifted and their attentions were instantly drawn to the white mask contrasted against the darkness.
"What are you some kinda freak?" The knife wielding thug gasped.
The blood in my head began to surge as the familiar ripple of anger tore through me. All my life I've been regarded in such a way and tonight was no different.
"Do you care to find out?"
Boisterous laughter filled the space as all three men keeled over in utter amusement. The knife wielding man slithered towards me. He was but a breath away and my fingers twitched to end this game and be done with them.
"What are you going to do? Stare me to death!" He poked me lightly with the point of the blade.
I grabbed his wrist faster than he could fathom. The bones crunched gruesomely as I twisted and snapped his forearm. He screamed in agony as the knife slipped from his mangled fingers with a clang. He fell to the ground writhing.
My teeth clattered within my skull as something solid contacted my face. The silent thug's momentum sent him stumbling and I took the opportunity to catch the back of his head and slam his face into the brick wall beside me.
The leader reacted, encircling his meaty arms around my neck and tugged me away from his accomplice. My chin hit my chest as I tried to belie the man's attempt to choke me. We circled around the alley until his back met with the brick wall, the impact echoing around us.
The pounding in my head was all I could hear through the scuttle.
The silent thug was back to his feet. He came barreling towards me, slashing blindly with the broken man's weapon. I shoved my boot into the man's groin for the second time that night. He fell to the ground and began to roll while his hands cradled his manhood.
I bucked the leader off of my back. He rounded on me and delivered a punch to my gut. Then to my face.
The cold autumn air caressed the bare skin of my cheek. I looked over to see my mask lying haphazardly on the ground. The brute in front of me froze as his eyes hung wide with horror and then disgust.
"What are you!?" He shrieked, his facing growing pale.
The taste of blood began to mingle within the dryness of my mouth. The clarity in my vision was infiltrated with a sea of red as anger exploded. My hands caught his neck and began tightening around the warm, beating flesh. I pulled him close to my face and his eyes grew wide as his throat gurgled with escaping whimpers.
"I am the Angel of Death."
And I watched as the spark slowly began to dim from his eyes and the pulse beneath my fingers desisted. I dropped the body and began towards the silent thug, still holding his genitalia. The cotton fabric of his shirt screeched as I yanked him up to his feet.
"Collect your friend and get out of here." I flung him to the ground next to his comrade, who was now in a fetal position nursing his deformed arm.
They both limped off and disappeared around the street corner. I slumped against the wall as my chest burned from the excursion of the fight. I looked down at Cass, her wispy blonde hair curtailing with blood from the seeping gash on her forehead. My fingers smoothed over the strands to take a better look at her injury. It would need stitching but I couldn't very well waltz into a hospital without the prying eyes of the staff. Not to mention the questions that would ensue. I turned back towards the dead man's body lying in the middle of the alley. Some careful cleaning needed attending first before a true decision could be made.
The man's head thumped against the ground as his limp body dragged behind me. Staring at the wide eyed face, I felt neither guilt nor pleasure from it, but rather a sense of completion. He wasn't innocent in the least and couldn't have deserved a better fate. I deposited him behind the dumpster and returned the mask to my face.
I peered down at the lifeless girl once more.
Surely I could leave her. My good deed was done and she was still alive. Yet, there was something so innocent about her lying there which made me pause. I was utterly torn in my decision.
A stinging in my forearm brought my attention back to the alley. Looking down, there was a long slash through the sleeve of my dress coat. Blood began to ooze out and drip onto the cement ground below.
'She is the only one in your whole life who saw you as a person, as a man.'
I sighed.