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EXCERPT
Théâtre de Passion
PHANTOM OF THE NIGHT
By
Michelle M Pillow
Note from Author
Having grown up fascinated with tortured
lovers and dark characters, I can’t help but draw upon those wonderful tales
when writing my own. Christine and the two men in her life are a favorite. Which
brings me to Phantom of the Night….
In a reality much like our own, the theaters
and opera houses of old have evolved into a community of actors, actresses,
singers and dancers. In this secretive, private world of the Pavilion, the
members of the International Acting Troop live and work. The theater is their
life and the stage is their children’s playground. This is a magical place,
where fantasy is everyday and today’s fashions have no meaning. It’s not
uncommon to see a man in a toga next to a Victorian lady. Much like the turn of
the century operas and theaters, this world is revered and wondered at by those
living outside its gilded doors.
It is into this world I take you.
Enjoy,
Michelle
Prologue
The Graye Family’s Home
“M’lady Sparrow,” Jude said, hands boldly on
hips. His dark eyes sparkled with mischief as they always did, contradicting his
arrogant pose. Lily Graye covered her mouth with her hand, giggling at the
nickname he’d given her when she was a baby. He said it was because she cheeped
like a hungry baby sparrow.
Smiling, she nodded enthusiastically. She’d
known Jude the whole eleven years of her life. When he returned the look with a
grin of his own, dimples appeared on the sides of his cheeks. Jude was much
older than her, but that didn’t seem to matter in their friendship. A college
student by trade, he had the life and vitality that came from such an
occupation. Her brother, Jude’s best friend, went to the same school.
“This performance is for you,” Jude said.
“Are you paying attention?”
“Yes, Lord Livingston,” Lily answered. How
she wished they did live in a time of lords and ladies! Everyday life was just
so boring compared to the things she read of in her father’s books. “Please
continue.”
Jude nodded. “Very well.”
Lily listened to Jude’s performance with awe, as he paced back
and forth in her living room. His dark hair whipped about his head as he recited
words memorized from her favorite Shakespeare play, The
Taming of the Shrew. He
had an attentive audience in the Graye family. There were only three of
them--Lily, her older brother Sethan who was currently lying on the floor with
his head propped up on a pillow, and her father Professor Gregory Graye who sat
in his favorite blue chair with a doily on the back that her late mother had
made. Lily didn’t remember her mother, but loved hearing stories of her. The
Grayes were close and Jude was around so much over the years that he felt like a
member of their family. Only to the eleven year old Lily, he wasn’t exactly a
brother.
Jude was the whole reason she woke up in the
morning. Sethan teased her that it was just a girlhood crush, but Lily knew it
was more. She was in love with Jude and someday she would marry him. Then he
would really be a member of her family. That day would be the happiest day in
her life. Her family would be complete--for real.
Mrs. Lily Livingston. Mr. and Mrs. Jude Livingston,
she thought, hiding a smile. Lady Lily Livingston. Lord and Lady Livingston.
Jude understood her. His head was always off
in the clouds, just like hers. He felt things--passionately, deeply--and he saw
life through the eyes of one who understood the meaning of it. It’s why he was
such a great actor. He actually felt the character’s emotions as if they were
his own.
Though, with Jude there was a lot of stiff
competition when it came to females in his life. He was one of the most popular
guys at the local college and was never without a date. Lily didn’t care. She
knew in her heart that he’d someday be hers.
The television was turned off, which wasn’t
unusual for the Graye household. Her father watched the news and Sethan watched
sports. That was about it. Who needed television when they had books and plays?
Her father was a writer, preferring the written word to movies and her mother
had been a ballerina, a wonderful dancer who gave up her career at the Pavilion
to marry her father. It was terribly romantic and Lily knew that someday she’d
have a romantic story of her own to tell her children.
Her mother’s sister, Lily’s only relative
outside her immediate family circle, belonged to the International Acting
Troop--a group of actors, dancers and singers who performed in the largest
acting complex in the world. The Pavilion was where her mother had grown up and
was a magical place where everyone wore costumes and lived for the theater. Aunt
Isabelle visited twice a year and the stories she told stirred Lily’s
blood--almost as much as Jude did. Unfortunately, her father’s job didn’t allow
for them to live at the Pavilion and she was left to dream of someday running
away and joining the troop. Though, she had a feeling it would always be a
dream. She loved her family and would never run out on them.
“You forgot two words!” Lily said, laughing
as Jude arched a brow at her interruption.
He stopped, frowned and then nodded. “You’re
right, M’lady Sparrow. I did.”
“Jude, we have to get going,” Sethan said,
rolling up from the floor.
“Oh? Where you going?” Gregory asked his son.
“College party,” Sethan said. Lily smiled at
his honesty. There was never a reason to lie in her household. Her father was a
good man who didn’t judge his children, only tried to guide them the best he
could.
“Oh, you don’t really have to go, do you?”
Lily asked, pouting her lower lip. She smoothed down her knit dress as she stood
up from the couch, getting a little sick to her stomach at the thought of them
leaving. “Please don’t go tonight. Won’t you stay home?”
“Why?” Sethan asked. He wiggled his brows so
Jude couldn’t see. “You going to miss us?”
Lily wrinkled her nose. She might be in love
with Jude, but she wasn’t ready for him to find out about it. The only reason
Sethan knew was because he’d walked in on her when she was writing in her diary
about it. “I’m worried something might happen tonight. I’ve got a strange
feeling. I don’t think you should go out. Please, stay in and let’s watch a
movie.”
“A movie? Are you sure you’re feeling well,
Lily?” her father asked. “You never want to watch movies.”
Lily ignored him. “Please, Seth.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Lily,” Sethan continued
with a wickedly mischievous grin. It was the kind of grin only a brother about
to torment his little sister could give. Lily tensed. “If anything happens to me
tonight, Jude here will promise to always look after you. Won’t you, Jude?”
Lily felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment.
Oh, how she wanted to strangle her brother!
“Huh?” Jude asked, pulling on his jacket. “Oh
yeah, sure kid. I’ll take care of you. Promise.”
“Swear it on your life!” Sethan demanded with
flair, pointing his arm out as if he carried a sword.
Jude dutifully swept down on one knee and put
his fist to his heart. “I swear to forever protect Lily with my life’s blood.”
“Then I shall dub you,” Sethan said, moving
his pretend sword to each of Jude’s shoulders, “Sir Jude, Protector of Lily
Graye.”
Lily wrinkled her nose. “You’re such a dork,
Seth!”
“So are you,” he quipped. Lily laughed. Yeah,
it was true. They were all dorks when it came to their imaginary worlds.
Luckily, none of them cared.
“But, what if something happens to you, as
well?” Lily persisted, raising a brow to mimic a look she’d seen Jude do often.
“What am I? Chopped liver?” her father asked.
Jude laughed. “Sorry, sir, but it would
appear so.”
“Oh, all right then,” Gregory stood, pulling
a notepad full of writing notes off the end table. He winked at his daughter.
“I’ll just go to work.”
“If anything happens to me, M’lady Sparrow,”
Jude said, coming up to her. He looked down from his impressive height and
tapped her on the end of her nose. “I promise to come down from heaven as a
spirit. You’ll never be rid of me, though you may beg and plead with me to leave
you alone--especially when you’re out on dates and I keep slapping their hands
away.”
“Heaven, eh?” Sethan teased. He, too, had his
jacket on and was heading for the door. “I’m not sure you’re qualified.”
Jude laughed. He pushed past her to tackle
her brother. The two men play fought their way out the door, not giving her a
backwards glance. Lily sighed and went to watch them as they got into Sethan’s
old, beat-up car.
“Someday,” she whispered, touching the cool
pane of glass leading out into the fall night. “Someday I’ll be Lady Lily
Livingston. And it will be the most perfect of days.”
© copyright October 2005, Michelle M.
Pillow
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the
author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living
persons or events is merely coincidence.
REVIEWS
"4 HEARTS! This reviewer was in awe of Ms. Pillow’s passionate
writing and prose. She literally takes you to the edge of your imagination and
then over it, to find a new place to explore and lose yourself in. Theater de Passion 1: Phantom of the Night is one of her best works to
date and this reviewer is highly recommending it to those who enjoy a darker
romantica and multidimensional characters that will make the reader sit up and
notice them!!!"
"4 ANGELS! Michelle M. Pillow crafts another spectacular and moving
love story. ...I really enjoyed the way Ms. Pillow added her own
special touch to what is a very well known story.... Ms. Pillow excels
yet again at what is the first in the Theatre de Passion series. This
paranormal story has something in it for everyone: love, villains, a masculine
and loving hero, and an intriguing ambiguity to keep you spellbound to the
pages." Reviewed by: Sarah W, Fallen Angel Reviews
"A dark tale of murder, innocence, love, and redemption... you should
definitely read Theatre de Passion: Phantom of the Night." Lee, Joyfully
Reviewed, December 2005
"4 1/2 Hearts! The author has invented
very vivid characters in a surreal setting. The love story is gripping and
there are many twists and turns in the plot." Maura Frankman., TRS
October 28, 2005
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