CHAPTER 27
It was the same dream again. He'd known it would come from the moment consciousness made way for the intangible world. There he was, singing to Christine with all the passion and earnest he could convey; compelling her into his realm of night by the words and whisper of his music, the ineffable music of the night. And it was working. He could see it in the entranced way she saw only him, unblinking and unaware of the reality around her.
Every inflection of his voice and gesture of his hand drew her deeper into the darkness. The thrill made him feel drunk, swollen with the power he held over her very soul. He could almost imagine that he held her essence in his cold palm, hot and fluttering against the stroking night air. He had the feeling again that he could crush it, or make it raise and sour with the strength of his will.
But then it all changed. Her face, that had been so filled with wonder now stood transfixed and distorted in a horrific scream made all the more gruesome by the lack of sound. In a silence that stretched across the desert of his life, she turned and fled from him. He reached out to stop her, but his hands were too wet with blood to gain a grip. His skin was bleeding, but not from any injury. The sticky thickening slime emerged from his pours like sweat and stained his clothes.
He fell to the ground as the weight of all that blood multiplied and pushed until he lay down prostrate on the ground. All of a sudden the backdrop of his lair dissipated, there were feet all around him, but the increasing heaviness of the blood that had even begun to pour from his brow would not allow him to look up or move. Before he could panic it had pooled closely around him and he'd started to drown. The hot fire of the blood flooded into his mouth and nostrils as he disappeared under its rising waves.
Erik opened his eyes to see the familiar black of his bedroom. Though the illusion had become familiar, he felt more rattled by it than ever before. He hadn't dreamed like that in weeks, not since before Gustave's accident. There was a time when it would visit him several times a week. Perhaps it was his concern for the boy that had kept it at bay, but Erik knew better than to believe that.
It was still dark out and the house laid still and quiet. They'd been back in their home for nearly a week now, but the once familiar rooms continued to feel alien and empty. It always felt like he was waiting for something, or something. Like the sound of a particular voice, or a smell that you didn't usually notice when it was constantly there, but when it was gone the air was left lacking.
Even Gustave had mentioned it, as much as he mentioned missing the mansion, the old woman, the nosey maid, and her. He didn't want to think about her, picture her face or remember her kindness and touch. If he did a deep longing would pull at his insides, like a hunger that could never be satisfied. It was both pleasure and pain.
Since he'd left the mansion Erik had talked to himself about what it was he was doing. It had only taken two weeks, and here he was more than infatuated with a woman who'd forced her way into their lives. How had she done it and why had he succumb? Could he really dare risking the same pain he'd experienced from Christine's denial, love, then death? No, he wouldn't be able to survive it. It would be best for all of them if he forgot it ever happened, but that was a difficult endeavor with Gustave's ever present reminders.
3 days after their return home, Dr. Gilles had made one last visit to his young patient. He was as genial as ever with Gustave, and seemed glad to announce him fully recovered though he still recommended against allowing him to roam the city for a time. From that moment on the child had started making plans for them to not only call on Madam Aguilar, but to invite the entire trio to their residence and take them for a tour of Phantasma.
Erik had been able for the time being to defer the boy's requests to arrange such excursions, saying he was too busy. It was partly true. Many things were put on hold while Mr. Y had been waylaid in the city tending to his son. In the park preparations were being made for a special fall festival that would signal the end of the season for amusement park.
Some of his employees had gone lax during his absence and he quickly had to rein them in. Even Madam Giry seemed less focused and more apt to allowing her company of dancers to give subpar performances. She was also being borderline insubordinate, but Erik didn't have the time or inkling to address whatever grievance was causing her ill conduct.
The Monster Ball was a complicated production and the dancers were only a part of his vision. Only a month remained and the music needing fine tuning as well as the stage direction, so Mr. Y remained thankfully distracted.
Lisa had her own fires to put out. For the 2 days after she'd last seen Erik, she walked around on a cloud. Had she suspected what was coming, she might have been more conscientious about her behavior. In the wake of the party Mama Aguilar had come down with a hacking cough. Dr. Gilles had come and prescribed her with several tonics as well as speaking animatedly with Kara about special diet and her special remedies.
Lisa was too concerned for her mother to focus on Erik and Gustave for any length of time, but neither was far from her thoughts. She relived their moment in the sitting room several times a day until it seemed more like a daydream than an actual event.
Gloria Aguilar hadn't failed to notice, even with her illness. After nearly a week of watching Lisa gaze off into the distance lost in thought, the matron felt it about time that her daughter spilled the beans.
"I think I recognize that look." remarked the old woman one morning.
"What are you talking about?" asked Lisa, feeling a little embarrassed at being caught with a far off expression.
"I'm talking about whatever you and Mr. Destler talked about in the sitting room at 4 in the morning the other day and why it's making you dither and thither like a debutant. Now don't look at me that way, just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm deaf. I sleep only two doors down, my darling." Mama Aguilar enjoyed the small feeling of accomplishment her daughter's flushed face gave her.
"Um… we just talked." Lisa tried.
"Mi Amor, I'm no fool. A man like that doesn't come around in the middle of the night to chat." implied the old woman. Lisa felt pleasantly defeated and allowed the smile she'd been hiding to spread wide on her face.
"We did talk, and maybe just a little more than that. But nothing that went too far." she admitted reluctantly.
"I know. Remember I lived in the same house with you and Charles, I know what it sounds like when things go too far." She said. Lisa gasped loudly at the comment, but Gloria merely chuckled at her embarrassment. "Besides, I think it's time things went too far. It would be good for both of you to test the waters, especially with what happened." She finished quietly.
"Please don't bring that up Mama, I don't need to be reminded."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I just don't want you to let some silly sense of propriety to stop you from doing what feels right for you." Gloria felt such a load of pain for her daughter's sake. She always knew that something like this would be harder for her than other women. "Have you told him?"
"There's nothing worth telling. It's not like it matters anymore." Lisa finished sadly. Gloria only nodded as she fought the need to cough violently. After the woman had settled down for an afternoon nap, Lisa carried a used food tray to the kitchen where Kara was holed up going over new recipes. She'd been presented with so many options for the party that there was no way she could have tried everything she'd wanted to. Now that she had the time she was eager to experiment.
As Lisa entered the kitchen Kara watched her carefully. She had also noticed the dreamy way her friend had been acting since the recital. Kara had hoped that when Gustave and his father had left, the problem would have solved itself, but it was obvious the worst had happened. It was now or never if she were to save her adopted sister from more pain, heartache, and god only knows what else.
"How's Mama doing?" she asked.
"Much better, we talked for a while and she barely coughed. She finished the broth and her tea. I think she's definitely on the mend." Lisa commented wistfully.
"Good, what did Gilles say?"
"The same, she's looking better every day." Lisa replied.
"I heard him say something else to you, what was it about?"
"Oh, he told he'd been to see Gustave and that he's doing just fine too. He doesn't want him running about the city to be visiting us yet, but very soon it'll be like nothing happened." Lisa said.
"I don't think that will be possible." commented Kara.
"What do you mean?" Lisa asked, curious at Kara's serious tone.
"I need to speak with you about a very serious matter. It's about the father… and the kind of man he is." She said. Lisa breath caught at the statement. She stopped washing the dishes and turned slowly towards Kara, whose serious expression made guilt twist in her stomach. She saw now that Kara held something out to her, a small stack of what looked like newspaper.
Carefully she accepted the documents and opened them. The first was an old faded periodical from France, and she immediately recognized the headline. The second was a slightly newer copy of the NY times dated 3 years ago. Lisa recognized this one as well. She folded the papers back and looked up to Kara.
"Well?" asked the older woman.
"Well what, neither of these articles tells me anything I don't already know." Lisa had very rarely if ever seen Kara lose her composure, so it was in a strange way entertaining to see how her jaw very nearly hit the floor.
"How long have you known" She asked with a strained whisper.
"Long enough and it doesn't matter. He's not that man anymore." Lisa said, hoping more than believing her own words.
"No longer a murderer, kidnapper and con-artist; and who are you to make that judgment? Who are you put me and your mother in danger by letting this thing into our home, into our lives?" Kara's voice was steadily rising, but Lisa remained calm and controlled as she watched her friend take in this information.
"I don't expect you to understand or agree with my decision to keep his secret, but I wouldn't have if I'd believed for a moment he was a threat. He's never…" Lisa tried, but Kara cut her off as her temper got the better of her.
"He's never been trustworthy. Don't you remember he broke into this house and threatened us? Isn't that in character with the Opera Ghost? But I think I see what's happened here. You're just too hot to see reason. That monster has somehow managed to seduce you like he did Miss Daae." Kara accused.
"How dare you, of all people, accuse me of choosing a man over my family? I'm not a child or an idiot. And I don't need you to trust me either." Lisa was finished with this conversation and moved to leave the room.
"Well maybe you need to know a little tidbit of information Madam Giry gave me. According to her, Miss Daae didn't conceive Gustave willingly. She said he forced himself on her and then abandoned her to marry the Vicomte. Then he forced Giry's daughter to whore herself so that he could build his empire. When he was done with her he tossed her aside, and she went mad. That's why she was out there with a gun, to kill herself and the boy, but when your freak lover tried to take the gun it went off and killed Miss Daae." Kara knew it wasn't exactly what Madam Giry had said, but it had been clearly alluded to in their conversation.
Lisa went cold, both inside and out. She wanted to UN-hear what had been said or just ignore it, but it impacted the very place inside of her that Kara had been aiming for. Lisa turned back around to face Erik's accuser.
"Are you certain about this?" she asked. Kara hesitated only a moment before nodding, but it was enough to give Lisa the fighting chance she needed so badly at that moment. Without another word she flew from the kitchen and raced to her room to dress.
Kara remained in the kitchen, feeling strangely rueful. She knew she'd done the right thing, but she also felt like she'd betrayed her friend and caused more pain than the other woman needed. She wanted to speak with Mama Aguilar, who'd been like a mother to her over all the long years. But alerting the old woman with these evils would certainly further endanger her health. No, Kara would have to deal with what came now on her own.