From Shadows to Starlight

To Revenge, Then

Chapter Nineteen

I will fight until the end, get ready to collide. And I will watch you fall again, I’ll bury you alive. You tried to bring me to my knees, you tried to take it all. Now I will stand and watch you crawl.---RED

To Revenge, Then

Damien returned home, and met Raoul in the parlor, as he often did. The other man stayed overnight once in a while in one of the many guest rooms, so that they would have enough time for their private discussions. The Vicomte had been having a drink, and Damien poured himself a large glass of cognac, filling it all the way to the top and gulping it down. The alcohol burned with a satisfying fire down his throat and into his stomach, which had been turning violently the entire ride back from the Valjeans’ little house. There. That hit the spot.

“So. Have you found anything else out yet?” he asked Raoul, who was sipping a glass of wine.

The other man shook his head. “Nothing. My own personal army of men out there, scouring the streets night and day, along with all the soldiers in the city who know to look out for him, and we still have nothing.” He finished his glass and poured himself another. “What about you?”

Damien braced himself to say it. “Monsieur Cornett paid a visit to me last afternoon. He said he’s definitely here in the city, he saw him. He even took a few shots at him, but of course the bastard escaped.” Damien was working on his second cognac.

Raoul cursed. “Well, at least we finally have someone who’s seen him, which is more than can be said for all the months before.”

Damien nodded, reaching inside his jacket to feel the object hidden deep inside, its familiar cold, hard surface a comfort to him. “We’re getting close. I believe it will only be a matter of time now. Do you remember that music teacher Alana mentioned?”

“That did get my attention, but we can’t assume…”

“He wears a mask.”

Raoul choked on the wine. “What?”

“He wears a mask, Raoul. She told me, back in Rouen. And she mentioned some…strange behavior on his part.”

“Like what?”

Like emotional breakdowns, a secretive, overly defensive nature. She says that he told her he fought in the war.”

“That probably is him, then. The freak seems to be a compulsive liar, and a pretty convincing one at that. At least for some people.” His expression darkened.

“Thank God for Alana,” Damien said, sipping his cognac a little slower now. “Now we actually have some information that can help us. Without her, we would still be chasing shadows.”

“Indeed.” Raoul cocked his head at his friend. “I noticed the way you were looking at her all afternoon by the way,” he said, his blue eyes mischievous. “You think of her as more than a good source of information, don’t you?”

Damien flushed, but he couldn’t deny it. She was a pretty girl, and charming as well. It was painfully obvious that she was poor, but that didn’t make her any less beautiful, or less interesting to him. “Yes,” he replied. “I do.” And she was more than just a pretty girl. Now he knew that she was also a damsel in distress, in desperate need of rescue, trapped in a monster‘s clutches.

“The others didn’t seem to care for her, I thought,” Raoul commented. “Would your parents disapprove of her any less? She’s a nobody, Damien.” He looked at his friend with the utmost seriousness.

Damien was suddenly livid. “She’s not a nobody!” He shot back. “She’s a wonderful, beautiful girl, and she doesn’t need money or power to make me feel the way I feel about her. As if you’re one to talk about this anyway. You went and married a chorus girl for God’s sake!”

“You barely know Alana,” Raoul argued. “I’m only trying to look out for you. And yes, I love Christine, but my life hasn’t been so perfect since I married her. You know how now I’m even more estranged from my parents and my brother than ever, and you’ve heard how everyone talks about me behind my back. You’re all I have left.” He finished his glass of wine and poured yet another. “Let’s not argue.” He clapped a hand on Damien’s shoulder and grimaced when his friend pulled away. “Let’s just focus on finding him, and getting rid of him once and for all,” he said bitterly. “Maybe then things will get better for Christine and me.”

“All you ever think about is yourself!” Damien snapped. “The freak didn’t ruin your life, didn’t take anything away from you. You got what you wanted from him. But now you’re just scared that maybe your precious wife doesn’t love you as much as you thought, that maybe she’s still secretly in love with that monster. Well, I didn’t join you in this vendetta to improve your marriage.” He practically spat the words. “This is about one thing, and one thing only.” He tipped his head back and drained the cognac, pouring still another drink. “Revenge.”

“Agreed.” Solemnly, Raoul raised his glass. “To revenge, then.”

And together they drank, the alcohol fueling the flames that burned inside them.