by Claire Kane
Miraculously, the stage and its lighting were all still in place. Right in the center stood Gerald Zigmund, arms high above his head, chanting so loudly that she could hear it over the winds and the tremors. His voice was deep, resonating supernaturally across the whole scene. Then, for a terrifying instant, Lacey caught a glimpse of a cloud of blackened souls all around him.
She cried out in fear, and, somehow, Zigmund seemed to notice. He stopped his chanting, then whirled and pointed directly at her. Against her will, she found herself drifting up off the ground.
“No, you don’t,” a man said from behind her. A pair of hands locked onto her ankles, and her upward motion stopped. “You ain’t stealin’ my little girl,” Butch said below Lacey. Zigmund, however, simply laughed. With barely a nod of his head, a shockwave ripped out toward Lacey and her father, and she jerked backwards as he was blown over the side of the theater. His grip failed, and she heard him tumbling away behind her, even as she was pulled down toward the stage by some invisible, magical hand.
She landed with surprising gentleness on the stage, where a smiling Zigmund stepped up to greet her. “Ah, Fräulein Ling,” he said smoothly. “You look as beautiful as ever. I am ever so glad you were able to join me for my last performance.”
Lacey’s hand shot out to slap him, only to be stopped by the same force that had plucked her from the walls like a delicate, Asian flower. “Ah, ah, Fräulein,” the magician said, smirking, “I didn’t bring you here to berate me. You simply don’t understand the majesty of what it is I’m doing.”
“You’re slaughtering innocent people,” Lacey spat. “There’s no majesty in that.”
He waved it away, and sighed. “Small minds never understand great ones. I had thought about making you one of my queens, in my new kingdom, but if you insist on petty and arbitrary morals, you can simply be a concubine. We’ll give you more appropriate attire when we reach my master’s kingdom.” With a wave of his hands, an invisible force clamped around her wrists, freezing her in her place.
“Why are you doing this?” Lacey demanded, pulling against the unseen restraints.
“Because I can,” he replied simply. “I always knew I was destined for greatness. My idiot brother was in the way, so I had to remove him. Thank you for being so gullible as to believe I was him, that night, when I called you and told you to come down to our prop room. I still cannot believe you fell for that. You really did make the perfect scapegoat. You even did me the favor of putting your own bullet into him as well, not that they would have been able to trace mine; you see, magically-fired bullets defy ballistic analysis.”
Lacey growled, angry both at the deception and for being so easy to fool. “You were to blame for everything, weren’t you? Not only Chanel’s death, but Ross’s. I pulled the trigger, but you set the target.”
His eyebrows went up, and he nodded as if it should have been obvious. “Of course. I’ve spent years engineering this. That’s part of why I could take advantage of fortunate opportunities such as framing nosy reporters. Everything was my doing.
“Mister Konski was a cheap tool that could be controlled with meager bribes. When I learned that yet another ‘investigator’ was coming for us, a little money persuaded the fool to attack you in your own room. Clearly, I didn’t pay him enough, since someone of your meager strength was able to drive him away. At that point, I decided on different tactics.
“The time our cats escaped? That was my genius as well. Chanel spotted your guardian angel intruding on our interview. She was sitting among my dancers, when she notified me. A thought came to mind. We needed to test this angel’s boundaries, see how far he’d go to defy Heaven for you, his love. The test worked. Seeing that he’d readily possess a body, was what we needed to know. Having him open a portal to evil spirits wouldn’t be much harder, then, would it? Especially, since he is such a naïve guardian, isn’t he?”
Lacey’s eyes widened in shock. They had used Victor’s love for her against him.
“That crazy witch, Cindra, actually thought to sabotage me, too. I allowed her to help me because she was so good at summoning that I knew I could use her. But once I learned her ways, she was of no use. And to think she thought she could betray and murder me.” He chuckled darkly.
“Chanel? She loved me. Wanted power. And so I gave it to her, using her known drug habits as a natural cover for her death against when the coroner came to call. And it worked.”
He smiled magnanimously, and walked casually toward her, stopping a breath away. “You are so very beautiful, Fräulein. Do not give me reason to change that.” She thought, for a moment, he was going to go all “Jafar” on her and kiss her against her will but, instead, he turned away. “This is the new way of things, Lacey Ling. I will rule in my master’s kingdom, and I will have what I want. You are at liberty to despise it if you wish. But there are rewards for those who serve me. Now if you will kindly excuse me, I have business to finish.”
Lacey spat toward him, but he didn’t even turn. She struggled more against her invisible bonds, but it was useless. “Victor,” she whispered, even knowing he couldn’t hear her. “I thought I’d find you here. Where are you?”
Zigmund strode to the edge of the stage and began to levitate again, chanting something that chilled Lacey despite that she couldn’t understand it. There, on the far side of the stage, a white tiger—the same one who had nearly eaten her just days ago—crouched, glaring. To Lacey’s relief and surprise, Victor was whispering something in its ear. Then, she caught his eye. He smiled big for a brief moment, and then tapped his forehead, and pointed at her.
“What are you trying to tell me, Victor?” she asked, still not hearing him in her mind. He made some hand motions, then gestured at Zigmund.
“You… want me to… do what?”
Zigmund continued his chant above, and Lacey noticed, out of the corner of her eye, that The Palace Theater was now very definitely underground and sinking fast. She shrugged at Victor, who buried his face in his hand, then paused and distinctly mouthed the words, “Distract him.”
*
Victor gaped as he watched Lacey appear at the top of the theater wall, only to be levitated down to the stage itself. Emotions swirled in his heart at the sight of her, but mostly he was just glad she was still alive. When Zigmund prowled toward her, however, he suddenly wasn’t sure how long she’d remain in the land of the living.
By then, he’d already conveyed to Felix everything he had in mind. Now, it was time to just do it. He waited, feeling like an overwound watch spring, until Zigmund finished his little discussion with Lacey. Victor growled at what he heard, but Jessica put a hand on his arm, and he forced himself to calm down at her gentle reminder.
“Lacey’s a big girl, Victor. Don’t get stupid and get her killed. Focus on the plan, and make it happen.”
He nodded grimly, remembering his decision in the abyss, just minutes ago. Then, an idea formed. He locked eyes with Lacey—who seemed to be seeing him for the first time since she landed—and reached out to her mind. The link was still missing, so he turned to charades. When that failed, he just silently spelled it out, hoping she could read lips. When she nodded, relief rippled through him, only to be replaced by more tension. He could only pray this worked.
“Zigmund,” Lacey said abruptly. “What if I can get you another concubine?”
Victor’s eyebrows went up, and he traded looks with Jessica, who simply shrugged. Zigmund paused his chanting, and glanced toward Lacey. “I know what you are trying to do, Fräulein, and it won’t work.” He made a gripping motion with one hand, and Lacey immediately began to choke. Zigmund simply resumed chanting, and Lacey turned desperate eyes toward Victor. He forced himself to remain calm, and looked into Felix’s eyes. An understanding passed between them, and Victor took off flying toward Zigmund.
“You leave her alone,” Victor bellowed.
Zigmund gave Victor an almost lazy look. “Herr angel,” he said blandly, “you show su
rprising interest in this delicate flower. Perhaps it could be the two of you have some kind of connection?”
Victor shot at the magician like a bullet, angling a fist for the man’s face. The German sighed heavily, then, with his free hand, made a swatting motion. Victor felt a crushing, dark force hurl him back toward the void beneath. He wiggled out from beneath the wall of force, then came around in a wide arc to attack him from a different angle.
“Stop,” Zigmund said, “or the girl dies.” Victor froze in mid-air. Lacey was turning purple, and her eyes shone with terror. “I don’t need her,” Zigmund said. “My master will give me all the women I could ever want. Surely, he will have wares that will rival this one. Just because she is more familiar to me does not mean I will spare her.”
“I swear to you—”
“You can swear to whomever you like,” the sorcerer said, “but it will make no difference. Now, I finish.” He waved toward Victor, and another wall of force thrust him toward Lacey. “You’re free to watch her die. Perhaps you can keep her spirit company for the rest of our descent.”
Beams of light shot through Zigmund from behind, and Victor looked up to see Jessica zipping through the air, firing at him. Zigmund growled, but continued chanting, even as he gestured at the demon hunter. She was knocked back, but came at him again. Her distraction was enough to take the pressure off Victor, and he forced himself not to rush to Lacey. Instead, as the woman he loved was slowly strangling to death, he pushed on toward Zigmund again. The dark-haired man spun contemptuously toward Victor, sneering and thrusting a hand toward him. “I put you in the abyss before. This time, no fortune will retrieve you.”
Victor felt an unseen force grip him and began towing him downward again. Jessica still zipped above the performer, doing her best to distract him. She jerked abruptly, with a yelp, and began sinking into the depths as well. He cast a quick glance behind Zigmund, praying desperately that his plan would hold. “Jessica! Link up! We can still cut off his magic!”
Bringing all his will to bear, he managed to slow his descent to a crawl and close in on the blonde demon hunter. Hope filled his heart as he saw her drifting toward him as well. They reached for one another, and Victor noticed that bubbles of light had automatically burst to life around them. He smiled despite the force still shoving him toward the chasm in the theater floor. If he could just link up with Jessica, and then get their shields around Zigmund, they might just—
“STOP!” Zigmund swept his hands apart, hurling a spearlike shockwave directly between the two angels, tearing up everything in its path and even blasting away a portion of the Theater’s outside wall. Victor and Jessica were thrown apart.
“You think I am a fool?” he seethed. “You think your pathetic little distractions will stop me from completing what I am doing? Look around, little fools. This theater already sinks toward my master’s domain. You will be his subjects within the hour. But you will suffer before that happens.” He clenched his fists, and Victor felt a tremendous pressure crushing him. Jessica cried out as well.
Victor clenched his jaw, and clawed his way toward serenity, one painful moment at a time. The pressure began to lessen by degree, then, with a mighty shove, Victor managed to burst his bands. Zigmund staggered backward, gasping. For a moment, Victor was too stunned to think.
Zigmund bounced back more quickly, however. In a smooth motion, he strode over to Lacey and seized her by the throat with one hand, then hefted her into the air. “The girl dies now.” Already her eyes were rolling back in her head, as it lolled to the side.
“Lacey!”
And then, they struck. Twin blurs of roaring fury hit Zigmund from both sides. Teeth and claws ripped and whirled to the tune of the screaming man. Victor turned away as Charly and Felix did their work. It was over in ten seconds flat.
When the roaring faded to satisfied growls, Victor looked upon the tattered remains of Gerald Zigmund. Had Victor been mortal, he was certain he would have retched. Instead, only his heart was pained. Thick, dark smoke rose from the corpse, and he watched as the late magician’s spirit rose up out of his body. Before Victor could even say “exotic dancer,” a dark, leotard-clad shape streaked down upon the magician’s ghost, and seemed to swallow it.
“You lied to me! You never loved me!” Victor stood, stunned, as Chanel attacked Zigmund’s spirit with the same level of savagery he’d seen from the tigers. He gasped to see that Chanel was no longer the innocent little blond he had felt so protective of. Instead, she was haggard, with makeup dripping down her eyes as her face seemed to melt slowly.
“I won’t say I told you so,” Jessica said, appearing by Victor’s side. “I will say that I knew demons were very good at faking appearances. This is who she really was all along.”
As Zigmund fought back, a burning red hand the size of a Volkswagen lurched from the pit and clutched the struggling pair in a death grip. The dead performers screamed and begged as the hand pulled them into the fiery pit below, an unearthly laugh echoing up from above.
Victor braced himself for an attack, but instead rays of light shot down from above. The gaping abyss shuddered even more violently, if possible, and a literal army of angels erupted from the tempest looming over The Palace Theater. The clouds evaporated instantly, and the tornado spun itself into nothingness just as fast. Like streaks of winged lightning, Victor saw the heavenly beings rocket down into the opening to the Underworld, then return just as quickly, hauling at least two people each. The angels flew the fallen souls to safe places beyond the theater, then streaked back for more. A massive roar of defiance bellowed from below, but the angels pressed on, undaunted, until thousands of victims had been rescued.
To Victor’s surprise, The Palace Theater not only stopped sinking, but actually began rising slightly as other angels used their power to rapidly seal the breach between earth and the world below. The structure itself, however, began to crumble around them. Victor and Jessica traded looks, then immediately leapt for the sky. They watched as the circular theater collapsed in on itself, sending a tsunami of dust and debris outward, knocking people flat. All around him, he saw waves of light pressing the darkness back toward the portal he had stupidly opened. What had once seemed hopeless was now anything but.
At last, the noise and chaos stopped. Victor gaped at the sight of what was once the humongous theater. The spectacular building was now nothing more than a large mound of junk, surrounded by stunned onlookers. Yet the truth was obvious: the day had been won.
TWENTY-THREE
As the smoke and debris dust cleared, Jessica looked at Victor with smoldering eyes. “You did it, Victor.”
“No, we did it... as a team.” He smiled. In the distance, he saw Lacey. She was smoothing her long hair around her slender neck and over her shoulder. Considering how close she had come to death, she looked surprisingly well—a bit shaken up from everything, but still stunning.
Jessica glanced back at Lacey and then looked at Victor with a knowing smile. “You can’t cut those strings, can you?”
“Hm?” Victor said, clearing his throat and raising his eyebrows.
Jessica made snipping gestures next to her heart.
“Oh, that.” He shoved his hands into his ethereal jeans’ pockets. “I guess it’s harder than you can imagine.”
The blond angel solemnly nodded. “Let me just test something…” She moved forward. “...really quick.” Her soft pink lips pressed against his without further warning. Hands came up around his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss.
Victor stood there, stunned, not moving a muscle, his hands remaining in his pockets. His lips, slightly parted, didn’t even reciprocate. For a long five seconds, he felt intoxicated by the feeling of her mouth playing on his. And it was warm like no other.
But, still, unlike his daft move earlier that night, he wouldn’t pucker. It was impossible. His thoughts inevitably snapped back to Lacey, and the last kiss they’d experienced when she had an out-of-body experience, a
nd they stood together as two angels.
Little did he know, he wasn’t the only one who’d remember that kiss.
*
Lacey took a deep, revitalizing breath, happy to be alive despite the destruction surrounding her. She scanned the immense piles of rubble, seeking her guardian angel. He wasn’t hard to find, lightly glowing in the distance like a beacon. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at the scene. A beacon with closed eyes and leaning downward, a gesture she didn’t quite understand at a moment like this.
She reached out with her mind, praying their connection had somehow been restored. To her delight, she found she could link her mind to his and caught a glimpse of his thoughts. Jessica. He was involved in a kiss with Jessica Simcox. Of course she couldn’t see the woman, since she wasn’t her guardian. Feeling like she had just violated a supreme moment of privacy, Lacey cut her link off, and stood there blinking. What was she supposed to feel?
Jealousy sprouted in her heart, surprising her. It grew rapidly over the thought of Victor kissing his other ex, pumping her heart in hurt and anger. She blinked some more, this time fighting back tears. But I thought I didn’t want him, Lacey mentally scolded herself. The pain intensified, making it feel like her heart was literally tearing in two.
Without warning, her mind went back to that night in Seattle where she had died. She’d seen Victor, and known him in a way she never thought possible as a mortal. In those few minutes of her visit to the afterlife, they had shared a kiss of their own. The memory had been sweet, but she’d locked it away months ago to keep it from souring as she struggled to convince herself of the impossibility of having a relationship with a dead man. And yet, for that one moment...
She turned her back to Victor, so he wouldn’t catch her in a vulnerable moment as crazy and surprisingly tough as this. She let out a quiet sob. “What’s wrong with you?” she whispered to herself. “She’s an angel. Of course they belong together.” With that thought, she set her jaw and fixed her eyes, hardening herself as best as possible.
