“Answer me,” the Phantom commands. “Tell me what you have done.”
With a painful writhe, the ghost bursts out, “I had to teach her a lesson. She doesn’t appreciate you, sir. She doesn’t respect you as she should. She occupies all your thoughts when she doesn’t deserve—”
The Phantom lifts his hand and makes a sharp, dismissive gesture. The ghost explodes into scintillating fragments, each one like a glinting mote of dust. All that’s left is the echo of a shriek.
“I wasn’t sure I could still do that.” He inspects his palm.
“Where did she go?”
“She has been dispelled. Annihilated. A little privilege of mine if a spirit is causing harm and havoc in the Afterworld—or here, apparently.” He bends and kisses my forehead hastily. “My darling poet, as much as I have enjoyed our time together, I must find Christine.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I’m not sure she’ll be ready to see you yet,” he cautions. “Perhaps we should give her more time to acclimate to your secret.”
Deflated, I nod. He’s right. It has only been a few hours… Christine hasn’t had time to come to terms with my heritage. She may never be able to accept it.
“Do you think she’s all right?” I ask.
“We know she’s alive. I’ll make sure she remains that way,” he assures me. “You may remain here or follow me to the main floor where I can point you to an exit.”
“I’ll follow you,” I say morosely.
Much as I hate the thought of leaving this dreamlike place and returning to real life, I have no choice. My phone is blowing up with messages and email notifications. The cast and crew will accept that I was hungover or sick, but my sister will demand the truth. I’ll have to give her the only piece of truth I can safely offer—that after hearing my musical performed before an audience for the first time, I was finally able to transform into a wolf. Once I share that news, she won’t care about anything else.
“Text me and let me know how Christine is,” I tell the Phantom. “Please.”
“I swear it.”
I smile a little at his dramatic vow, but part of me adores that about him—his overt, expressive manner, the old-fashioned turns of phrase. It’s charming.
Once he gives me my clothes, I get dressed and follow him through the labyrinthine building to the upper floors. He points me down a hallway toward the exit, but I hesitate, my nostrils flaring when I catch a faint, familiar scent.
“That way.” I point in the opposite direction, toward an area of the New Orpheum that’s currently being renovated. “She’s that way, and she’s afraid or injured. I should go with you.”
“Raoul!” He stops me, his palm against my chest. “Not now. I will care for her. I will text you once she is safe. And I willruinanyone who has harmed her.”
Teeth gritted, I consider defying him. But he looks nearly feral himself at the idea of Christine in pain. I can trust him to handle this.
“One more thing.” I close my fingers over the hand he laid on my chest. “You called me by my name, and I want to know yours.”
His features tighten, dark emotion flitting across them. “My oldname is of no consequence. In this life, I wish to be called Erik.”
“Erik.” I press his hand to my heart for a second before releasing it. “Go. Find her. Help her.”
With a vehement nod, he strides away.
It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, staying away from Christine, letting him go to her alone. But I know he’ll make sure she’s well and happy. And I will do anything to prove to her that she can trust me.
20Christine
The ghost leading me through the bowels of the New Orpheum is moving much too fast. The concrete floor is rough, littered with broken glass, shards of wood, and other detritus, and even with my vampire agility, I’m having trouble keeping up without hurting myself. Probably because I could use a fresh infusion of blood.
It was all I could do not to feed from Raoul or the Angel earlier. But Raoul already seemed unsettled, and I didn’t want to make his trepidation worse. Now I realize that he wasn’t concerned for the reasons I suspected. He wasn’t being a normal human freaked out by the existence of supernaturals—he was a damnwerewolftrying to cope with the fact that the girl he knew back in middle school is a vampire.
Damn it, I got distracted, and I can’t see the ghost anymore. The faint light glowing around her body is gone, too, leaving me in darkness.
My night vision depends on some form of ambient or natural light, like starlight. In the complete absence of light, I can’t really discern much.
