The invitation arrived a few days later when Thomas Colton called at the Manor. While delivering the invitation, Thomas invited Joan to accompany him to an art exhibition. Agreeing to join him, Joan rapidly acquainted herself with him and, in doing so, gained all the information she need to set her plan into motion.
It was now on the night of the theater's grand opening that Joan stood in front of the mirror while Rita fussed around her, pulling her hair into an elegant bun on top of her head. Joan rarely liked to dress up, however she was required her to look presentable for an occasion such as this. As Rita finished up with her hair, Joan stood up and examined herself in the mirror, rubbing away imaginary creases upon her dark gown. She didn't particularly like this one, her shoulder s and arms were bare and the dress seemed much too tight for her liking, but she had no choice but to deal with it. Her mark had been covered up by a pair of dark gloves that extend to her elbows,which went perfectly with the dress.As Rita left the room , Avander suddenly appeared beside her.
"How long have you been there?" Joan asked, barely sparing him a glance as she continued to assess her reflection.
"A while." Avander replied with a smirk. "Don't you look beautiful?"
Joan was vaguely aware of the demon's much too interested gaze lingering over her. She threw him a dirty look. "As if demons would know anything about beauty." She muttered.
"I beg to differ." Avander said, placing both his hands on the dressing table behind Joan, trapping her in between. "I've had my fair share of pretty little mortals." He added, leaning closer.
"Get away from me demon." Joan hissed. "I have neither the time nor the patience to deal with such foolishness."
"As you wish." The demon pulled away, still smiling evilly. Joan glared at him before regaining her businesslike composure."
"Now, you know what you are supposed to do I hope?" she asked.
"Yes." Avander replied.
"Good." Joan said with a nod. "We cannot afford any blunders. If things don't go the way they should and Colton escapes, we may not have a second chance. Understood?"
"You worry too much." Avander said in an offhand way. "Everything will go perfectly. Your enemy will be dead by the time this night is over and I shall devour another soul. "
Before Joan could snap at him for his relaxed manner, there was a knock on the door and Arnold announced that her escort had arrived.
Sweeping out of the room and walking down the stairs, Joan saw Rita waiting for her with Heidi. The little girl beamed at her.
"You look really pretty Joan." She said as Rita helped Joan into her coat.
"Thank you Heidi." Joan smiled at the girl. "Now, don't stay up too long. You should be fast asleep by the time I come back."
It was strange for her to fuss about someone, but in the short while that Heidi had been at the manor, Joan finally learned what it felt like to have a sibling. She earlier thought of bringing Heidi along with her to the show, but had decided against it. If things went according to the plan, she did not want Heidi to see what would happen at the theater.
Stepping out into the cold, Joan was greeted by Thomas Colton, who had kindly offered to escort her. They exchanged brief pleasantries before the coach set off.
Upon arriving at the theater, the pair of them were greeted by hired guards running round the outside of the theater, ushering guests and visitors in. Coaches stood on either side of the streets with rich and important looking people pouring out from them. Guided in, Joan was quickly introduced to Colton's colleagues and associates by Thomas before being lead to the main auditorium where they took their seats.
Slowly the hall filled up, the tide of people ebbing as chatter and voices filled the air. The lights begin to dim and the chatter died as Colton appeared upon the stage. Scattered applause followed and Joan joined in watching Colton take his position at a podium, smiling at the crowd and waving down the applause.
"Did he like the speech I wrote?" She asked Thomas casually.
"He didn't even bother looking at it when I tried to show it to him." Thomas laughed. "He doesn't even know you wrote most of it. I tried to tell him, but he wouldn't be bothered. "
"It's not a problem." Joan said. "I'm just glad I could help out."
Colton cleared his throat. He had a piece of paper clutched in his hand. A small smile appeared across Joan's face.
Let the show begin. She thought to herself.
***
Standing on stage, Henry Colton squinted against the glare of the stage light, forcing a fake smile onto his face as he waved at the crowd, which instantly fell silent. With an inaudible sigh he looked down at the paper in his hands, upon which his speech was written by his son. He hadn't bothered looking at it before the opening. He never learned his speeches by heart; it was too much of a nuisance for him. He would just read from the paper when the time would come, not giving a damn if it was considered rude or unprofessional to any pompous fool. Even now, he was in a hurry to get it over with.
He cleared his throat before looking down at the paper. The writing was different from that of Thomas's, thin and slanting and unfamiliar. But Colton did not have time to think over it, his audience was waiting. He cleared his throat again and began reading.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends and colleagues, it is a great honor to have you all here at the opening of Brycend theater, one of the few that will soon be opening all over London and beyond to provide all of you with the very best of entertainment the world of drama has to offer."
Fake smiles, meaningless words. Colton doubted anyone was buying what he was saying; it was merely a formality after all. Many of the people here would be sniggering at the word friends. He hated each and every one of the people gathered before him in some way or the other. The feeling was mutual. There was no doubt in his mind that many of these people would like to see him underground, and that included his own son.
If was funny how the world worked for the rich and powerful.
He went on speaking, thanking his generous donors and all those who assisted with the project in a rush of empty words. He only managed a few glances around at the audience, his voice flat and emotionless. The audience too listened politely, although they were as bored as he was.
"As you all know, I, like many of you enjoy a good, dramatic play. Fortunately for us drama lovers, literature and theaters have been flourishing of late and I am happy to help with it." He said, reading the next paragraph and wishing his son had made the speech short like he had wanted it to be.
" In fact, I would humbly give up my soul to the demons that plague the earth to see that drama and literature thrive in this great city."
His tone faltered slightly as he registered the words he had spoken, frowning heavily.He quickly scanned the next few lines to make sure it was safe to read on and was greeted by nothing more than lines upon lines of boring text. Colton relaxed.
Mental note: Have a word with Thomas later. He thought to himself as he continued to read.
"As I said before, the current revival of the theater has lead to a growth in it's popularity. By this means, we have a chance to further develop Literature and the Arts as well and educate the society upon current social matters through entertainment. The Queen herself encourages this development and may the fires of hell reach up and engulf whoever tries to prevent such a thing from happening."
The audience looked a bit surprised by this strange and powerful choice of words. However, Colton felt his blood run cold as he realized what he had just spoken. He stared at the page again, searching for the words he had just spoken and, to his amazement, found nothing but more boring prattle about the importance of reviving drama and theater. His heart thudded against his rib cage as he tried to calm the rising panic inside him.
I'm imagining things. He told himself. That has to be it. Those words aren't even there. I must be losing my mind.
Managing a strained a smile at the crowd, Colton tried to continue his speech, although a voice at the back of his head was whispering for him to get the hell out of the theater. Colton ignored it. There were only a few lines left, and as he scanned the words just to be sure, he saw there was nothing he needed to worry about.
" The opening of this theater has been the source of great joy and pride for me and my family." He said, egging himself on to finish up quickly and then get down from the stage. "I hope you all enjoy your evening here and know that, to this theater and to the development of the arts, I devote my essence, forever more."
Colton realized too late that the words on the paper had changed right before his eyes. The letters and sentences twisted and slithered across the page discreetly, rearranging themselves just as he continued reading. As the last of the words escaped his lips and applause began to ring in his ears, he realized much too late that he had fallen for a trap that was laid right before his eyes.
In those last few seconds, Colton's gaze drifted across the crowd of people, ignoring every one and settling on the one face his eyes sought. He saw Joanne Hale smile at him, an evil, twisted smirk with a look in her eyes that made them seem as though they belonged to the devil. At that moment, he knew he was finished. His end had come.
It is said that, when you are about to die, you see your life flash before your eyes. Colton however only saw Joanne Hale's face. He was still staring at her when he burst into flames, withering serpents of orange twisting and snaking around him, completely engulfing him. His cloths were instantly alight, burning away as his skin bubbled and blackened.
But Henry Colton felt none of this. He did not hear the unearthly laughter that rang out as he burned, he did not see the panicking crowd or hear the screams that filled his beloved theater as the audience ran for the exists. In fact, there was nothing much left of Henry Colton either. He was just a still, standing dark shape among the flickering orange and reds, a figure that slowly crumbled into ashes as the fire began to die.
Henry Colton was dead long before his body burned away. All that remained of him was a pile of ash which had once been an empty, soulless body.
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Sorry about the delay in updating the chapters,but i was suffering from a writers block , especially regarding this chapter you just read.
Anyway,my question was,what did you think of this chapter? I spent a crazy amount of time trying to make this chapter,this scene and Colton's death perfect. Did i pull it off right? If you didn't quite understand what happened,fret not! There shall be an explanation in the next one.
Thank you for all the reads and votes and,more importantly the comments!