Phantom by Laura DeLuca
The “Phantom” was a musical phenomenon that Rebecca had always found enchanting. She had no idea that her life was about to mirror the play that was her obsession. When her high school drama club chooses “Phantom” as their annual production, Rebecca finds herself in the middle of an unlikely love triangle and the target of a sadistic stalker who uses the lines from the play as their calling card.
Rebecca lands the lead role of Christine, the opera diva, and like her character, she is torn between her two co-stars—Tom the surfer and basketball star who plays the lovable hero, and Justyn, the strangely appealing Goth who is more than realistic in the role of the tortured artist.
Almost immediately after casting, strange things start to happen both on and off the stage. Curtains fall. Mirrors are shattered. People are hurt in true phantom style. They all seem like accidents until Rebecca receives notes and phone calls that hint at something more sinister. Is Justyn bringing to life the twisted character of the phantom? Or in real life are the roles of the hero and the villain reversed? Rebecca doesn’t know who to trust, but she knows she’s running out of time as she gets closer and closer to opening night. Only when the mask is stripped away, will the twenty first century phantom finally be revealed.
Excerpt from Phantom
The orchestra tuned for its virtuoso, and Justyn stood
ready. But no one else was ready for the magical performance he began. Beside
her, Carmen was rambling on about something mundane. Rebecca elbowed her to
silence so she could listen to the perfectly thrilling tenor. As she listened
to the song unfold, the world around her started to slip away. Gone was the
high school auditorium. Gone were the rowdy teenagers. The Gothic stranger on
the stage had become the embodiment of Erik, and Rebecca watched him in all his
dark glory, belting out his tormented love through the words of his song. And
she was as breathless with wonder as Christine herself must have been when the
masked stranger serenaded her in the candlelit labyrinth of the opera house. In
that moment, Justyn wasn’t just portraying the phantom. Justyn was the phantom.
“Let the music touch your soul.
Let the darkness make you whole.
Do not fear what is
unknown.
Your true path has now been shown.
Listen to the words I sing.
Embrace the peace that night will
bring.”
As he continued
to sing in his deep but somehow angelic voice, Rebecca found that she couldn’t
tear her eyes away from him. With every line, her heart began to beat
faster. She truly felt the arms of night
wrapping her in a warm embrace. She could almost feel the hands of the phantom
glide along her body as the words poured forth. The music caressed her. It
possessed her—mind, body and soul. Each word left her longing, yearning for
more.
She was gawking
so obviously, it was hardly surprising when Justyn felt her eyes on him and
steadily met her gaze. She realized her mouth was hanging open in stunned awe,
and she quickly snapped it shut. His lips moved into just a small hint of a
smile. He never took his eyes off her while he sang the final verse, making her
cheeks flush to the point that she felt almost feverish. But it wasn’t
embarrassment but excitement, arousal even, which was sending her mind spinning
in so many directions.
When the song
was over, and Rebecca had recovered just a hint of her composure, she couldn’t
help but burst into a healthy round of applause. A few scattered people joined
in, including Debbie and Carmen after she nudged them in the ribs. But only
Miss King seemed to truly appreciate the brilliance of his talent as much as
Rebecca did.
“That was
amazing, Justyn!” the teacher gushed.
“Lord Justyn,”
he corrected as he stepped down from the stage.
A few others
complimented him as well, but he took in all in stride. In fact, his serious
expression never faltered as he stepped down from the stage. He seemed almost
bored, like it was all he could do to hold back a yawn, despite the smiles and
words of encouragement.
But not everyone
in the crowd was pleased as Justyn glided down the aisle, so ethereal in his
dark garments that he still resonated the spirit of the Opera Ghost. Miss King
might have been excited about the newest male addition to her cast after being
limited for many years, but Tom and his group of boisterous companions glared
at him as he passed them by. Jay sneered
and tossed a balled up piece of paper in Justyn’s direction, but the Goth was
quick, and caught it in his hand without missing a beat.
“I think you
dropped something,” he said.
His speaking voice
was no less melodic than his singing voice, but something about his tone made
Rebecca shiver. He tossed the paper back at Jay, who was nowhere near as
coordinated as Justyn. He practically fell off his seat in his efforts to catch
it.
“Hey vampire,”
Tom called when Justyn went to walk away. “Are you sure you can handle the
competition?”
Justyn smiled, a
cool, sarcastic half-smile, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you?”
Miss King didn’t
notice the short confrontation, and Justyn vanished from the auditorium as
quickly and mysteriously as he had appeared. Only Rebecca had noticed the very
real tension between the two boys. She wondered if it was a bad omen for them
to start off the production with hard feelings and envy. That could only lead
to trouble. The kind of trouble that could end with someone getting hurt. The kind of trouble that Rebecca would do
whatever it took to avoid.
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Author Laura DeLuca
Laura “Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. She loves writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young at heart. In addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the sole author of a popular review blog called New Age Mama. She is an active member of her local pagan community, and has been studying Wicca for close to eight years.
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