Beautiful Monster 2 (24 page)

“She probably thinks we are stupid enough to fall for the same thing twice. She’ll be waiting in the wings at intermission, per usual.”

“Except she’ll be dead lo
ng before intermission,” I said with certainty.

I ha
d never hated anyone in my life. I remembered reading about death penalty laws, and never believing that death was the answer. People can be redeemed, and death was more of a punishment for the families than the criminal. There was never a time I thought death was the answer, and there was never anything that made me wish death on a person. For me, with my mother’s image haunting us everywhere we turned, death was the worst thing possible.

Until now, with Selene. I wished her a thousand painful deaths;
that her gift of immortality was ripped away from her hands and the pain of her every victim would come down upon her. And that was just for what she had done to us.

“Hopefully,” Liam replied and then laughed. “I hope Connor remembers that he isn’t supposed to kill an audience member every night.”

“Seriously?” I looked up at him

He shook his head.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. He’s smart, and Sarah’s got him wrapped around her little finger.”

“I think they are actually in love,” I replied. “Which is surprising.”

“Why?’ Liam asked, as we rounded one corner of the field and headed towards the other. I was shivering now, but I didn’t want him to know. This was a perfect moment with Liam, vampire or not, under the moonlight and alone. “She was the big squealing fan girl of our relationship. Sarah never… believed in love, for herself. There was sex and lust, and there were relationships, but she never believed in full-out love or happily ever after. She didn’t think herself capable of it. She thought it was all fairy tale stories of times gone by.”

“And now?’

“And now… I don’t know. She sings his praises every second, she tells me everything he says and does and swears she never wants to be without him.”

“Kind of the way I feel about you,” Liam said, nuzzling my neck.

I blushed, pulling away but he persisted. “Stop,” I cried, pulling away but he pulled me in closer. “Leggo!”

“Never!”
He laughed, hugging me. “I will never let you go!”

There was a serious note in
his voice, and I could tell he meant it.

When Sarah expressed her feelings of happily ever after not existing, I had stayed silent. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but when I was alone in the house all day long, it was hard to imagine that there was an actual Prince Charming a few miles away to sweep me off my f
eet. But I held out hope anyway, indulging in the romance movies which made me believe that I would have a fairy tale wedding with a dress that went on for miles.

I shook myself out of my day
dream with a shiver.

“Cold?” Liam asked
.

I nodded, trying to
keep my teeth from chattering. “Sorry, I didn’t want to say anything. I was having too much fun out here.”

“Well, let’s get you inside,” he said, putting his arm around me. “I thi
nk it’s for the best. I need to… get something to eat.”

“Not your typical date,” I tried to joke
, as we headed back towards the school. But I didn’t want it to end, vampire or not.

“Nothing about us is typical,” Liam replied. “But would you really want it to be?”

I considered that, but shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t really have anything to compare it to.”

“Well, I do,” he replied, planting a kiss on my head. “And I don’t want anybody but you, atypical or not.”

I smiled, feeling his love around me like a blanket.

“So, Mr. Phantom, shall we meet for breakfast?”

“We shall,” he promised, as he held open the door for me. “Sleep in as late as you want, and text me when you wake up. I’ll have a breakfast fit for a prima donna waiting.”

“Mmm
.” My stomach rumbled already at the thought of that.

Liam leaned down and our lips met,
and we shared a passionate but quick kiss. I had never kissed him as a vampire, and had to work around the fangs. He pulled back quickly, letting go of my hand.

“I’ll see you soon, my love,” he said, and then turned, and in a flash, was gone, vampire speed taking him off into the night.

I watched him disappear and then headed down the hallway, my head floating. I yawned, exhausted. It had been a long night and we had a long day tomorrow. As I walked down the hallway, still decorated with Christmas lights, I couldn’t help but feel like this was when my fate would be decided; this was when it would all come to a head; everything we had been working for. In a way it would, and yet, in another way, I wondered what adventure would come next.

“And if I catch anybody trying to eat the buffet on stage tonight, it’ll be the last thing you ever eat.”

“You’re just jealous because you can’t eat with the mask on,” Steve called
.

I smiled.
“Alright, everyone, that’s it. Head into costume and makeup and have a great closing night!”

The show had opened to
glowing reviews and a standing ovation, and I couldn’t ask for more. There were always disasters that happened with every performance, of course, and that was to be expected. If a show went off without a hitch, then I would be worried about the things I didn’t know about. People slipped, props got broken, Sarah didn’t go off stage when she was supposed to, but all in all, it was pretty darn good.

I was so proud of the students
and my cast and crew. I knew that they had accomplished something great, but it still all came down to tonight. If they couldn’t pull off the show in perfect rhythm, than nothing else mattered.

I was glad, now
that I was on stage, playing the Phantom. Poor Charlie ended up needing throat surgery, and my heart broke for him. But being on stage gave me more power to control things, to save dropped lines and find lost props. As well as make sure Selene was within our grasp.

What bothered me the most
was not knowing what her plan was. She wasn’t coming to just view our show and laugh like an evil villain. She knew how many vampires I had on stage, and so she was probably trying to attack someone, perhaps all of us. I knew that at the height of her power, Selene could bring us down, one by one. I was praying she didn’t notice the multitude of Shields I had working as ushers and stagehands, and if she did, then at the very least, she didn’t know I was bound to Sarah.

I wished that I had cast understudies, not just for the Phantom, but for Meg
Giry. The closer we got to show time, the more my heart pounded at the thought of Amy in danger. I didn’t want her anywhere near this, and yet I knew there was no way to stop her.

The sunset was coming and I could feel the first effects of transformation. Bound to Sarah, who was growing stronger by the hour, I would transform on my own. Nothing supernatural, including other
Shields, could affect me while she was close by. The others, however, were still getting used to the effects of thirty Shields in the room: all pretending to set up chairs and sort out programs, keeping the vampires reasonably human. When Selene’s ticket was scanned, they would scurry backstage, keeping their presence a secret until she was brought on stage.

“Liam
.” Amy came up behind me, startling me.

I jumped a bit, covering it with a grin as I turned, ready to kiss her. Luckily, my peripheral vision caught her father standing right beside me. Of course, he knew we were together, but I didn’t think he would appreciate me sucking face with his daughter in front of him. So instead, I dropped my arm around her and reached to shake his hand.

“Good to see you, sir. What did you think of the show last night?”

“I thought it was great! I’m glad to see all our hard work pulled
it off. The buffet looks particularly amazing.”

“It does,” I agreed, knowing that he helped coordinate it. “A little too good, because I catch actors eating it on stage.”

“That’s what it’s there for. I look forward to tonight’s show.”

“What?” This startled both Amy and I. He had tickets to opening night and last night, purposely, so that he steered clear of tonight.

“The sous chef called out sick, so I’ll be supervising the food props tonight.” He looked from Amy to me and then raised an eyebrow. “Is that alright?”

“Uh…” How many years
had I trained in drama? And I still couldn’t come up with a legitimate answer. “Isn’t there someone else who could do this?”

He laughed.
“You don’t think I could do a good job? It’ll be fine, Liam, I assure you.”

Except we are going to commit murder on stage and the ghost of your dead wife is lurking in the wings, and by the way, I’m a vampire
.

I covered my th
oughts with a smile and nodded. “Of course. Amy, can I speak to you for a second? And, sir, if you want to make sure that all food props stay on the right side of the stage, that’d be great.” I knew I was putting things in jeopardy by keeping him to one side, but if I kept his dead wife on the other side, maybe everything would be fine. Pulling Amy behind the curtain, I made sure we were alone before we spoke. And then I let out a string of swear words.

“What did you want me to do?” she asked, alarmed. “I couldn’t tell him everything.”

“Sometimes I feel like that would be easier.” I reached to hug her, pulling her close. “I wish that I knew you were safe at home tonight, Amy.”

“I’m safe
by your side,” she replied. “Whatever Selene’s plan is, I know we will ruin it. This is it, Liam, this is everything we’ve been waiting for. Tomorrow is a new year, a new chance, a new life.”

“I know
.” I kissed the top of her head. “Just promise me that you’ll be careful tonight.”

“Are you kidding me? Meg Giry is an adventurous creature
.” She clung to me, and I felt strength from her warm human body. “Please, next year can we do Phantom 2?”

I laughed, rolling my eyes.
“Next year you’ll be a full-time actress, Amy. School life doesn’t last forever.”

“Hard to imagine not being here,” she replied, pulling back. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for the kids who have been here since kindergarten.”

“Hopefully, after tonight, they’ll still have a school to come back to,” I said, looking down at my watch. “Go on, get dressed.”

As show time rapidly approached, and my transformation, alone in my dressing room was complete, a different mood struck me. I could smell the blood of the audience, of my actors, of the stage crew, all swirling around me, and despite three shots of whisky and a fresh blood bag, my cravings weren’t being silenced.

My phantom makeup was intact, so no one would be able to tell, but I forgot just how hard it was to keep everything in check. Never in my life had I longed so much for my basement dungeon, where I could scream and snarl to my heart’s content and do no one harm.

I grabbed the walkie
-talkie that I had kept on the ledge and hit the talk button.

“Anyone got eyes on Sarah and Amy? Send them to my dressing room,
stat!” It came out more of a bark than I intended it to, and I felt my ribcage literally shift, accommodating a stronger vampire form. I hadn’t taken into account how hard this would be. Last year, I had Porsche, who kept me human without even blinking, and I thought it would be fine. Somehow, like an idiot, I had forgotten the reason why I was locked in the basement every night.

The door opened, and they both stepped in, quizzical looks on their faces. As soon as Amy entered, the smell of her infected blood calmed my cravings, but I knew it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t spend the whole show as well as the wait up until show time like this.

“Amy, I need you to stay,” I said through clenched teeth. “And Sarah, I need you to go as far away as you can, without jeopardizing the show.”

“Wha
t?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Get out!” I practically barked at her. “You and your binding spell are killing me in a
theater full of people. Take the walkie and stay away until the lights dim, you understand?”

“Jesus, Liam, there’s no need to be rude about it
.” She snatched the walkie from my hand, coming dangerously close and then slammed the door behind her.

If it was anyone else, I would be alarmed, but Sarah and her attitude were something I’d gotten used to. Once we were alone in the room, I closed my eyes, breathing in Amy’s scent. Suddenly, it got stronger.

I opened my eyes to find her peeling off a band aid and picking at an IV wound until it bled. My face softened immediately.

“Amy, baby…”

“It’s ok,” she replied, perching on the makeup ledge and putting her bleeding hand between us. “If it will help, it’s fine.”

“I don’t want this,” I whispered, reaching to cover her hand with mine
.

She just shrugged.
“I can’t be much use to you tonight, Liam, I know that. I’m not a Shield, or a vampire, I’m not strong or fast. But I can do this for you, so let me.”

Sarah must have cleared the building, because my fangs were receding as well. I sucked in a lung full of fresh air, and tried to smile at her.

“Thank you.”

We sat in silence for a few moments, simply enjoying each other’s company.

And then Amy spoke, “What’s the first thing you are going to do when the curse is broken?”

“Geez
.” I had been so focused on getting the show off the ground and seeing Selene’s dead body in front of me that it hadn’t actually occurred to me to consider the after effects. But it was true. Tonight, if all went as planned, then I would draw breath until the end of my natural life and no longer fear the sunset or be a slave to the dawn. One thought darted into my brain like an arrow. “Spend the night with you. Hold you in my arms all night and never let you go. Is that what you had in mind?”

She gave me a sly smile.
“I was thinking a prelude. Candlelit dinner, sunset walk along the beach. And then we could get to that stuff.”

I brought her hand to my mouth, kissing the now clotted wound. A prop ring that I had on my hand caught the light and I knew that this was as good as time as any. I wanted her to know that no matter what happened, human or vampire, I would always love her.

I slipped it off my hand and held it up to her.

“Amy
.” A thousand thoughts slipped through my head. That she would say no, that she wasn’t that serious, that we were both too young. That I might ruin the show if she said no. That she didn’t want to do that to me because of her shortened life expectancy. But I didn’t really care. And I didn’t want to be fancy and elegant about it. I wanted to get straight to the point. “Amy, will you marry me?”

I thought something was wrong
in the way her eyes bugged out and she started choking. I actually dropped the ring in my alarm, reaching to take her in my arms.

“Are you alright?”

She choked a few times and then nodded, but she was trembling as she met my eyes.

“Are you serious?”

“Amy.” I tried to steady her. “Don’t feel pressured. If you think this isn’t right, or you’re not ready or… whatever reason, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. If you say no now, it’s not going to change anything between us. I’m not going to stop loving you, and I’m certainly not going to stop asking. I love you, more than anything, more than I ever thought possible. I didn’t believe in love until I met you, Amy, and you changed everything. I thought my world had been turned upside down when I was made into this monster, but the day you walked into the audition room was the real day my life changed. And I wanted to do this now, before everything went down, because I wanted you to know that no matter what I am, I will always love you. Even if you walk away now. And I’m sorry I’m not prepared, and that this isn’t a diamond, but I’ll get you a diamond and…”