Chapter 31

Going behind enemy lines, we got an up close and personal look at the opulent lobby of the grandest entertainment venue in all of Hell. A stones throw away from Detroit, Michigan, the previously abandoned theater was once the pride of a booming economy built on steel. Now just a shadow if its former glory, The Plaza had become not only a victim of urban decay, but also a symbol of an entire communities decline.

But that didn't make it any less majestic.

Especially since Serenity had swooped in and re-decorated the place for tonight's festivities. The Gothic-Punk inspired theme featured painted black walls with crimson-red silks that draped down from a lofty three-story balcony to pool on the shiny marble floor like blood. Ancient looking black lace blanketed row after row of tables, while fresh red roses, silver crosses, thick chains, and skulls hung suspended from heavy silver chandeliers.

"You can take off your coat and place it here," Luna ordered as she removed her cloak. Following her direction, I placed my jacket inside an alcove tucked underneath an impressive wide staircase, leading to the upper balconies.

Moments later, a woman in her early twenties appeared out of thin air. Dressed in a sleek, full-length black dress, the sash she wore tied around her narrow waist reminded me of a Gypsy. After hanging up our belongings, she silently slipped Luna a gold token.

Tucking it in a fold in her own skirt, Luna turned to me and said, "Remove your violin, leave the case here with Yesenia, and follow me."

Irritated at being ordered around like a child, I flicked open the clasps, grabbed my instrument, and shoved the case harder than I meant to at Yesenia. She gave a smirk and sauntered away, looking every inch like a beautiful seductress with olive skin, long wavy chestnut hair, and icy pale blue eyes that peered out from behind a Zorro mask, making her seem distant and cold.

I begrudgingly followed Luna up to the first balcony. From there I had a birds-eye view of the gathering below. Built to accommodate at least three thousand people, the folding seats had all been torn out, resulting in one ginormous mosh pit—complete with bubbling cauldrons filled to the brim with an eerie green liquid that glowed in the darkness. I couldn't help noticing how the only light cast from the full moon, shown through a gaping hole where the roof must've caved in long ago from disrepair.

How convenient.

A sudden thought made shivers race up and down my spine. With so many witches all practicing the dark art of magic, the feeling in the massive room was like pure concentrated evil.

"As you make your way to the stage, try to blend in like me," Luna whispered in my ear.

I glanced at her astonishingly premature white hair and frowned. She stood out in a crowd like a sore thumb. "Yeah. You blend."

Sounds of musicians warming up wafted to my ears, making my fingertips tingle with the anticipation of playing my violin again. I couldn't even begin to recall how long it had been. One month? Two?

"You go get settled," Luna began. "I'll stay here to keep an eye on things." I started to walk away when she reached out an arm and stopped me dead in my tracks. "Just remember to wait for my signal."

Tossing her my best be-careful-I-bite glare, I waited for her to release me. "Don't worry, I'm not stupid."

Luna nodded, but for some strange reason I didn't think she believed me. About the waiting part, that is.

I couldn't quite muster a smile under the circumstances, so I grimaced in an effort to be as reassuring as possible, before heading to a spiral staircase that descended directly onto the gilded stage. With plenty of room to host a full symphony orchestra, over one hundred performers were divided into strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.

A computerized DJ station sat empty on the far right of the stage, complete with an enormous sound station, including mammoth sized speakers. The cost of the expensive equipment alone made me wonder why anyone would go through all the trouble of assembling a group of musicians to play live, when you could just hook up the computer to play a wide assortment of pre-recorded music.

Taking an empty seat in the front row of the string section, I gazed around at over a thousand faces in the crowd, annoyed by the utter absence of anyone even remotely resembling Serenity.

And worse, much, much worse, I didn't see any signs of Thomas.

"What coven are you from?" a group of female voices inquired in unison.

I turned around in my chair and spied three curious faces staring back at me. Like Yesenia, the women all seemed to be in their early twenties. One had short, chin length black hair, one had long blonde hair that reached all the way down to the floor, and the other had medium length, dark auburn hair. Their figure-hugging, black strapless dresses all featured varying peek-a-boo panel cutouts, racy thigh-high slits, and attached full-length opera gloves. How they managed to play their violins wearing gloves, I didn't have a clue.

Probably not very well.

"I don't belong to a coven," I mumbled.

"You must belong to a coven," they insisted, speaking as one. It was unnerving as hell. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be here." They acted haughty, like this was some kind of upper-crust country club, and I didn't belong due to bad breeding.

At least they got the bad part right.

Right then what I really, really wanted to do was slap the smug look off their faces, but I didn't want to get witch on my hand.

Lucky for them, an invisible order made everyone stop talking and ready their instruments. Including the bitches of Eastwick.

When the four-note opening motif of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony began, I cringed, suddenly realizing I was lost with no sheet music to follow. Instead of the distinctive rhythm that went dit-dit-dit-duuuh, it ended up sounding more like shit-shit-shit-FUUUCK!

In my head, anyway.

"I am so totally screwed," I mouthed to Luna.

She motioned wildly with her hands, which I took to mean that she wanted me to at least pretend to play along. Giving the performance of a lifetime, I somehow managed to severely mangle one of the best-known compositions in classical music.

Not that anyone could blame me, of course.

After all, I'd never actually performed a song by Beethoven before. Not to mention the fact that the last time I remembered hearing it, I was strapped to the Dentist's chair while getting a filling, and obviously not paying much attention. 

"What's wrong with you?" the hocus-pocus sisters spat at me.

"Nothing a little DJ equipment can't fix," I replied, getting shushed from everyone in the orchestra sitting close enough to hear our exchange.

Once the music ended I stormed over to the DJ Booth, typed a song into the computer, and returned to stand in the center of the stage. With no conductor present, there was no one to stop me. Spying the three evil step-sisters, I said, "Feel free to join in if you think you can keep up."

I conveniently forgot to mention the fact that the song I selected—Chopin's Nocturne in c-sharp minor—just happened to be a solo piece. Marked by a soft, sad introduction, the main theme began with a kick-ass dubstep remix, imparting a deep synthesized reverberating bass to go along with the haunting sound of my violin.

In one word the combination was...magic.

I even got so swept up in the final moments of the song, causing sheets of roaring flames to shoot out of my bow as I drew it back and forth across the strings with blazing speed.

Thinking it was all part of the show, cheers erupted from the crowd.

Cheeks turning deep red from embarassment and now matching my hair, I all but stomped on my violin to put out the fire, before feeling a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, half expecting Luna to start yelling at me for not sticking to the plan.

 Instead, the tempestuous trio lashed out at me like a three-headed snake. "You got a name, violin girl?"

Raising my chin defiantly, I allowed the power I carried around like a torch to secretly curl deep inside. "Yeah. The name's, Chaos, bitches. Where's Serenity?"

This time, only the blonde spoke up in a dark voice. "She's standing right behind you."

I gasped and swung around, coming face to face with my mortal enemy. I hadn't exactly planned out what I would say to her when the time came, so I just kinda stood there motionless with my mouth hanging open.

Before I could even get one pathetic word out, something sharp stabbed me painfully in the neck. Reaching up, I yanked out a huge dart, big enough to take down a full-grown elephant, before raising my head to find Sebastian poised beside Serenity with a very large gun pointed at my head.

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Please remember to vote if you liked this chapter!!!

And, SORRY!!!  I wish I could've found a song by Chopin for violins with a dubstep remix. You'll just have to be like me and envision the music without the piano, and with strings instead.

I know, right?!!  I'm bummed too!!!