Death Awakens

Chapter 11
Erik was dumbstruck, his eyes searching the darkness of the passageway where she had occupied. One hand finally raised itself and stroked the spot where her lips had brushed against his skin.
She had kissed him. It was unwarranted, unexpected, and she had acted without thought. He could tell by the dazed way she had left the room, but she had kissed him. He, the dreaded phantom had yet again felt the warm lips of a woman.
She was most definitely an intriguing woman.


Lila sat at the edge of her bed, head clutched against her hands. She felt her body trembling as her mind traveled back to the music she had been lost in.
She had been completely lost, completely powerless against the force of his song. The dark shadows of her mind traveled back to the moment when she had hovered between this life and the one she had left, the moment when she had again felt trapped, destined some dark unknown fate, and yet his voice…
Before, he had guided her away from that terrifying blinding light, and again when the clouding power of his music seemed to overtake her, his voice though she was not certain she had heard it, but she had felt it.
She had felt the rich tenor seizing control with her, fighting with her, allowing her to break free. “Erik…” she sighed.

“Yes?” a voice said. Lila jumped and stared open mouthed at the masked man who stood before her. Erik had been standing there a brief moment, watching as she was clearly struggling with some inner turmoil. He had felt intrusive, invading the privacy of her mind just standing in the doorway. He had turned to move but she had spoken.
It was unmistakable. She had said his name.

Lila continued to stare, her vision blurring with the unexpected sting of tears, but she wiped them quickly away and motioned for him to come in.
There was an awkward pause as Erik gazed at the woman in front of him, the woman who showed no fear, who had invited him in as her company.

“I –“ Lila began. She took a deep breath and began again. “I would like to speak with you… if you have a moment.”

Erik finally nodded and took two steps forward, stopping to seat himself across from the bed where she sat. Lila smoothed back her hair and smiled brightly at him.
“You asked me awhile ago who I was, and I never really gave you a straight answer,” she said.
Erik remained silent, allowing her to continue.

She laughed a little, running one hand through her hair, blushing slightly. “You’ll never believe me. It sounds so crazy. So completely crazy…”

“You are talking to a ghost, mademoiselle,” Erik said. “Perhaps, you are already crazy.”

Lila smiled slightly and looked down at her feet. Taking a deep breath, she began relaying the events of her life to bring her to the depths of the Opera Populaire. She spoke quickly, staring at the floor, the smudged ends of shoes she had found in an unburnt section of the ballerinas’ dressing rooms.

“And so now I’m here, living in what my friends and I used to dream about. I don’t know where I would have been if I hadn’t heard you singing. Twice now. I guess that’s a little strange. And yet I don’t mind. Although I’m sure you do.”
“I’m a little scared of what’s going to happen now. Please don’t turn me away. This is an amazing experience, and your music is just unbelievable, and please please please don’t turn me away –“

Lila stopped abruptly, finally registering the smoldering green that was sweeping over her as she rambled on.

“So you know everything?” he purred, leaning back in the chair. Lila allowed her eyes to appreciate the immaculately dressed man in front of her as she nodded. He was so fine in his regalia… a gentleman above all standards. Amazing how he lived in this darkness.
Erik’s voice interrupted her thoughts, as one hand came and rested upon his face. His long fingers traced the strong line of his jaw and moved under full lips to the harsh porcelain that covered the other half.

“Do you know what lies under this?” he asked quietly. Lila gulped at the sensuous sound of his voice and nodded slowly, eyes entranced by the curve of the mask as the light of the room shone off its surface.

Erik felt his heart thrum with anticipation. This feeling was altogether new, an excitement for a comrade. The colorful story of her existence in his life held little effect on his opinion towards the situation now. She understood his life, his pain… he wanted to test her. Just a little bit.
A malicious thought emerged. Perhaps, despite her amazing tale, she was just another person in search of the Opera Ghost and she would quake in terror at the full horror he embodied.

There would be no pity or acceptance for the monster of a man he was. No genius of music could stifle the horrific deformities he possessed. He was something to be loathed.
Erik’s mind settled into a hardened stand of defense as he watched Lila’s eyes entranced by his face… let her scream at the devil’s child.
Without another thought, he cast the mask away from him, standing to his full height, towering over the young woman seated in front of him.
He closed his eyes, jaw set and waited for the scream to follow.


When none came, Erik opened his eyes and looked down at Lila, amazed by what he saw.
She met his gaze, brown eyes to his green. She blinked twice, and smiled genuinely. There was no facial tick that might betray any emotion she was so bravely hiding; she was completely without fear.

Erik sat back down, unsure of where to go in the conversation now. He was naked now, open to her scrutiny, which she was doing quite adamantly. But her expression remained the same, without judgement, without emotion.

Finally, he asked, “What do you think of upon seeing my face?”

Lila blinked again, registering the change in his voice as he spoke to her unmasked. He sounded so vulnerable and lost, so different from the magnificent phantom that she had first met.
Smiling sadly, Lila lifted the hem of her skirt. “My leg,” she replied.

Erik averted his eyes momentarily, but again returned his gaze to the woman who had lifted her skirt to her hip, a bare leg raised daintily in front of her. Green eyes swept across the exposed flesh, but with a new realization as he registered deep scars that were still healing. They criss-crossed angrily across her thighs, down the curve of her calves in an furious warp of flesh.
He looked away again, ashamed at having been awed by the deformity of her flesh. Lila’s voice caused him to turn his attention back.

“It’s really not as bad as it seems, Erik. At least they are now whole.” Lila laughed, “more whole than I had ever thought I could be.” She twirled slightly, allowing her skirt to bell out around her. “I can walk and run and dance when before I had only dreamed of those moments.”
She smiled again, taking a step closer to the man seated in front of her. Placing on hand against the unmasked side of his face, she leaned forward and smiled again.
“Thank you for listening. I feel much better. I think I’m going to go check on the state of the opera house upstairs.”

And turning gracefully away, she quickly disappeared into the passageway.

A second time in the same day, Erik found himself struck dumb. This woman who had kissed him had now seen him in his full deformity and had not even acknowledged the existence of any deformity. She had touched his face and smiled.

Erik stood up hastily, excited now at the prospects this held.

“It is time for an opera,” he whispered