The Phantom's Apprentice by Heather Webb

Author:Heather Webb [Webb, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Guilded Age, magic, love story, illusionists, Romance, magicians, Phantom of the Opera, Belle Epoque, Suspense, stage, opera, historical fiction, gothic, Fiction
Publisher: Sonnet Press
Published: 2018-02-06T06:00:00+00:00

“I think I need a bigger cloak to obscure the entire thing,” I said, stepping back from the trunk.

As I suspected, Georges was delighted to help me build a cabinet with a false bottom. When I had shown the machinist my drawings, he looked stunned, but quickly got to work.

Claudette stood beside a large crate, hand on her hip. Not only had she been amenable to working on illusions, but she relished being part of my evolving skills. I couldn’t imagine working through them without her.

“You’re smiling,” she said, untying her apron. It had been nothing but a nuisance each time she tried to escape the sack inside the trunk.

“You would make a wonderful assistant,” I said. “A real one, on a stage. You’re pretty and spirited. You’ve got just the right amount of showmanship, yet you seem to know when to be reserved. You’re a natural.”

And she was endlessly patient while we practiced. Since we had begun, I worked constantly. Why I needed to perfect these illusions was a mystery to me—it wasn’t as if I would have the chance to perform them.

Except perhaps at a salon, a voice in my head said.

But it was an absurd idea. The salonnières would want me to sing, not perform illusions with my maid-assistant.

I ran a hand over my hair. “Let’s wrap it up for tonight. I need a break.”

Hungry from the evening’s exertions, I devoured leftover potage and bread before heading to bed. After practicing all week during the day, and music lessons at night with the Angel, I felt the pull of deep fatigue. Within minutes, sleep seduced me and I found myself standing on a stage. In my dream, I pranced like a ballerina and twirled in a white costume adorned with sashes in blues and silvers that lapped like waves against my body.

Claudette walked toward me. She shimmered in her own costume layered with alternating patches of color that resembled fish scales. The dress ended well above her knees. As she moved, the light caught sparkles painted carefully along her brow and dotted across the rounds of her cheeks. Behind us, a set flat mimicked the sea with fish and corals, an octopus, and even a squid.

Claudette waved a long swatch of fabric in the same watery hues over my body.

I disappeared and a faceless crowd cheered.

A new set whirred as it moved into place. This time, a grand organ rolled to center stage, and bodiless skeleton arms appeared from hidden panels in the wall, cradling violins. On cue, the violins and organ played in unison—without the help of human hands.

The crowd applauded once more.

With a puff of smoke and a flash of light, I reappeared, this time in a billowing white gown and gloves. I raised my arms toward the ceiling of the theatre and sang an aria I didn’t recognize. My voice carried over the instruments and filled the auditorium. As I sang, I glanced out of the corner of my eye at something moving in the wings of the stage.

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