Page 116 of Semblance

“Any day now,” Sinister was growing impatient. It was never good to leave a psychopath waiting and so I began.

The sounds from the piano immediately flooded the auditorium as my fingers danced across the smooth ivory surface of the instrument. Never had I taken greater care in playing a piece, my mind focused solely on the music. I prayed that the muscle memory in my fingers didn’t fail me as they rapidly scaled up and down the piano, filling the room with the beautiful song.

As I continued to play, I channeled all my emotions into it, injecting life and personality into the piece. I was determined to make this performance a masterpiece—one that had the equivalent value of another human life.

I had lost track of time as to how long I played for, but when I reached the finale ofGaspar de la Nuit, I was exhausted.

But I did it. I had no idea how, but I did it.

I had playedGaspard de la Nuitflawlessly.

The silence that followed the last note of the song was unnerving. What did Sinister think? Was it good enough for his standards to allow Justin to live?

From listening to the song so many times before, I knew technically that it was flawless.

Sinister slowly rose to his feet and began applauding.

Was that a sign of his approval? I held my breath as I waited for him to speak.

“Brilliant,” he said. “It was absolutely brilliant. That performance does solidify you as one of the world’s best.”

I was relieved.

“You’ll let Justin go then?” I asked.

“Good heavens, no. I’m afraid he’ll have to burn.” Sinister’s reply tore me apart.

“You bastard!” I shouted. “I did what you asked. I played Gaspard de la Nuit perfectly.”

“Actually, there was one minor error in your piece,” Sinister pointed out.

“There was none,” Shadow said. “I listened to that song thousands of times. It was perfect.”

Sinister shook his head. “Uh-uh,” he refuted like a ten-year old.

I was in complete disbelief. I thought everything was perfect. What did I do wrong?

As if the sadistic bastard had read my mind, he looked at me with a sick delight in his eyes as he revealed my ‘error.’

“The forty-fifth bar in the song, second stanza, it should have been played as mezzo forte instead of forte,” he stated. “Aside from that, the performance was flawless, really.”

I wanted to die. The mistake was a petty one, open to interpretation. It was the equivalent of saying tomato one way instead of the other.

“Don’t do this,” I pleaded. “Let him go. He’s innocent.”

Sinister laughed. “Now that’s a lie my dear. None of us are innocent. It’s true that he’s an outsider and unfortunate collateral damage to this game we play, but don’t mistake him for being innocent. He knows about the Midnight Society, and that in itself is a sin.”

Oh God, this was my fault. I should have never told Justin about the party and the Midnight Society. At the time, I had thought to myself, what’s the harm of telling just one person?

Now I knew.

If I had only kept my mouth shut; and now, Justin was going to die because of me.

“Take me instead,” Shadow said suddenly. “Let them both go and burn me instead and end this feud.”

Sinister was surprised by the suggestion. “Well look at you,” he jested. “Shadow’s trying to be a sacrificial Messiah all of a sudden. You’re willing to give up your life so your whore girlfriend can end up screwing a sad, pathetic commoner in the end?”

“Just let them go,” Shadow repeated. “We have history between us Sinister. I know it’s my life you want. Let Aria, Justin, and Calisto walk out of here safe and unharmed and you can have me instead. Finish what you started with my father and mother.”

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