Dirges in the Dark

By Antoinette Corvo

When actress Cassidy May lands the lead in the story of Hellen Grimaldi's life, she believes it could be the boost her career needs. However, the more she looks into the past of Hellen and the shocking events which led to her death, the more fearful Cassidy becomes about taking the role. Did Hellen truly summon demons during that fateful performance? Was Cassidy about to unleash the same hell that Hellen had? What dark forces were really at play behind the curtain? When actress Cassidy May lands the lead in the story of Hellen Grimaldi's life, she believes it could be the boost her career needs. However, the more she looks into the past of Hellen and the shocking events which led to her death, the more fearful Cassidy becomes about taking the role. Did Hellen truly summon demons during that fateful performance? Was Cassidy about to unleash the same hell that Hellen had? What dark forces were really at play behind the curtain?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Red Cape Publishing
• Release date: Feb 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393241294

Book preview

Prologue

Tell me who you are.

It laughed. Micah looked directly into its pale, white, cloudy eyes and, in a stern voice, commanded, Tell me your name.

The cunt won't be freed. Not now. Not ever. You failed like your pathetic King. It spat on the floor.

Tell me your name! Micah shouted, veins popping, eyes wide, fury unleashed. It recoiled a little, having never heard such anger from one like Micah. It smirked a wicked crescent of a smile. Was it winning? Curled up in the dark corner, it hissed, trying to speak, but unable to say anything except these words: Prince Vassago. Dumbstruck, the Prince covered his mouth like a child who had just said a naughty word. Micah was winning.

"Who are you?" Vassago panted. Furious.

In the name of my King I command you, Prince Vassago, to leave this vessel ... now. Micah stood up over it, leaning into its face, unafraid. Its voice trembled.

"You see? We already got you, Micah. It took anger to get my filthy name out of your pure mouth and anger is a sin after all." It tried to hide its fear. Vassago was a prince and not a king. What would his superiors do to him?

In the name of....

Your King wept!

...all that is pure and good....

Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying... it sang.

"Prince Vassago, be gone!"

Your King wept. Your King will weep. Your King is weeping, it hissed out in a whisper, then the voice of spite and wickedness ebbed away. The vessel collapsed onto the bed.

Still alive. Micah checked the vessel's pulse. He'd won this battle, but the war was far, far from over. He knew he would meet up with Prince Vassago again but not yet - not just yet, anyway. There will be more of him and his kind to challenge.

The vessel slept peacefully. A doctor stepped into the hospital room and checked her vitals. She seems okay. Doctor Ruben spoke his thoughts aloud. I just can't believe it worked.

How did this happen? Micah, having only more to contend with, knew this war was everlasting.

She was from that theater.

Theater? This was news to Micah.

"The theater. That theater. Don't you hear the news?"

Micah didn't know how to answer. He wasn't from these parts. He only recently discovered where he was from and by whom.

Tell me more. He sat on a chair and looked directly into Ruben's eyes - lie detecting. Doctor Ruben shook his head wildly and quickly replied, "No, no, no, no. I will not mention her name. I will not speak of it. It is forbidden to speak of it. All the patients I've seen with these symptoms have got a picture of her, or a story of her, or a fucking blog about her on the Internet. Her name is never to be said. She is never to be spoken about. It's the only way to keep them, those things, from making us their toys."

You mean her? Micah pointed to the little lady resting on the bed recovering and in a deep sleep.

No. Not her. I don't know how she even managed to make it out of that fucking theater. Ruben shook his head with his hand cupping his chin.

The little room where the vessel of Vassago rested was cold, machine-ridden, heartless, but a heavy weight had been lifted. The feeling of dread left with Vassago. All in shambles, unshaven, and a complete mess, Micah was tired - tired of it all. He rested his head on his palm, kept his eyes closed, and tiredly asked, How am I supposed to deal with these things if I don't even know what the fuck I'm going up against? Who is the one behind it all? What is this theater you speak of? Seriously, just tell me.

I'm too scared. Seasoned old Doctor Ruben's voice quivered.

I am here. I will protect you. Just tell me... Micah said patiently. I have never failed, and I've never been wrong before. I've faced far worse than Vassago. The way you understand the mind and medicine is the way I understand these things. Tell me.

Chapter One

South Oxford Street, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York. It had been an old underground theater district. It might not have been Times Square, but it was up and coming, chic and artsy. It was also cheaper, and all that Henry Grimaldi could afford right now. Henry rented the place from an old man and theater financier called Jude Slattery and refurbished the theater from the last time it was used that fateful night, five years ago. It had been abandoned before Henry Grimaldi put his meat-hooks into it. It was a small place - like a small school auditorium with rows of old wooden chairs and a small cabaret-like stage. It was past its prime.

The cops combed the area and still there was no proof of where all those people went five years ago. It was as if they had disappeared. The audience and the players of the show just simply seemed to vanish off the face of the Earth one night. The case was never really closed but it was never investigated further. Police officers assumed it was all performance art from quirky theater people. Friends and family of the missing people begged to differ.

There had only been one level, a parquet floor, smelling of pine sol, and the little stage which led to where she had last performed. The troupe of performers sat on the chairs, faced Henry, their new boss - the director, producer, and co-writer of the play depicting her.

You were all very brave to be part of this show. Henry spoke openly to his audience of actors - the big fish in the little bowl. The actors were nobodies and were all he could afford however they were extremely gifted - some diamonds in the rough. He hit a goldmine when he discovered Cassidy May. She was one of the most gifted opera singers he had heard, and she was perfect to play her. Like his sister, Cassidy was half Caucasian and half African American - as lovely as she was too.

Henry and his assistant and co-writer, Deborah, handed out the scripts to the players. Some would call them the luckiest players in the world of theater. The play had received so much hype and promotion. It was more than just a show. It was to be an event.

"She, Hellen, never wanted to eat meat. My sister wanted to be a vegetarian but...she wasn't allowed to be by our father - even at 26. That's how it was. That's how she was. Like a kid trapped in a grown woman's body. In spite of what you had heard about her, she was once a good person. Troubled. I wish I knew how I could've helped her. Hopefully, this play we wrote depicting her life will do her justice and tell her truth. It's the least I could do for my twin."

None of this sat well with Cassidy May, the one destined to play Hellen. Henry's intentions seemed good but still, how could someone sell out their sister, their very own twin for a buck. Just let Hellen rest in peace, she thought. The less people spoke of her, the better, and more distance would grow between that event, that night, and the present until it is called yesterday's news and not such a hot topic. Resurrecting Hellen and awakening the same theater she performed in that fateful night did not seem smart. It felt yucky. Nevertheless, Cassidy had bills to pay, so she worked in a supermarket deli during the day and performed at night in clubs through the city where most of her audience didn't even care for opera. If she was ever to get recognition for her talent now was the chance, via Hellen. How could she refuse?

Cassidy May came from humble beginnings in Flatbush and remained ever humble and down to earth. She hated artsy theater people - their phoniness, their pretentious attitudes, and their backstabbing ways. Cassidy had to play the game to keep her role. She was playing two parts: the actress and the archetypical theater person, and more importantly she landed the role of a lifetime, playing Hellen Grimaldi.

"You'll see from the script we wrote that Hellen was really troubled. Some people blame her for that night five years ago in this very theater - the night they came to see the play Yule and were never seen again. How Hellen was responsible, people would wonder. She was dead and her understudy played her in Yule. My sister was raped and murdered and probably the first victim of this theater unless, that is, if she cursed it. This is our city's Roanoke. Patrons, audience, actors, crew, gone - except for the one survivor being played by Miss Reul. He pointed in Reul's direction. Reul smiled when the attention was on her. That one survivor claims that Hellen raised hell on earth, and all were put to the devil except her. Do I believe it? I know my sister. Read the script and tell me what you think. Come back in around a week. Me or Debs will call you guys. I suggest you memorize the whole script so you get to know the characters of those around you and so you can feed off each other. Congratulations everyone."

Henry dismissed the players. He came across as nice and tolerable for a boss. Henry moved his hands a lot when he spoke. That, Cassidy thought, was the Italian half in him. He was very animated and excited. However, there was just something about those two, Henry and Deborah, which left a bitter taste in Cassidy's mouth. Despite his apparent pleasantness, there was just something not likable about those two and she couldn't fathom why. A hunch? Cassidy took it upon herself to approach him.

Mr. Grimaldi? Cassidy stood beside him.

Call me Henry. He smiled at her.

Ok Henry. I just wanted to thank you for giving me the role of a lifetime and I hope I do your sister justice. I am personally sorry for your loss. It really is a tragedy. Where did you get your strength from to do all this for your sister?

My Dad mostly. We felt her story had to be told and we knew her best. He smiled and nodded.

I understand, I think. I will dig deep and do right by Hellen, I promise. I won't let you down.

Thanks.

Cassidy looked at the small stage, where Hellen had once stood. It impressed her how one moment a singer on the edge of victory was going to showcase her talent to the world, only to be killed and reimagined as a monster to