Chapter 10 - The Patron Steps Out
The demon called himself the Patron.
“Artists have always needed patrons,” he said.
Nora stood between him and Ava.
“You’re a parasite.”
“So are audiences.”
Ava’s stomach tightened.
The Patron looked pleased.
“You feel it listening.”
Nora grabbed Ava’s hand.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Answer him.”
The Patron laughed.
“Your friend is very brave now that she has nothing left to lose.”
Nora’s jaw tightened.
He continued:
“Tell her, Ava.”
“Tell me what?” Nora asked.
Ava felt dread.
The Patron tilted his head.
“When Ava asked for your gift, she didn’t only ask for technique.”
Ava whispered:
“Stop.”
“She asked for the room.”
Nora looked confused.
The Patron smiled.
“Your ability to make people care.”
Ava had forgotten that part.
She had said all of it.
“You took that too?”
Ava’s voice broke.
“I didn’t understand.”
“Do you now?”
“Yes.”
The Patron stepped closer.
“That is why your friend has felt invisible.”
Nora’s face changed.
Ava remembered faculty walking past Nora.
Students forgetting to invite her.
A photographer asking Nora to move out of Ava’s frame.
Not coincidence.
The bargain was stealing more than dance.
It was stealing attention.
Nora whispered:
“I thought I was being dramatic.”
The Patron smiled.
“You were becoming ordinary.”
Ava squeezed Nora’s hand.
“I’m sorry.”
He looked at their joined hands.
“You see? Pity.”
Nora snapped:
“It isn’t pity.”
“Then what is it?”
Nora did not answer.
The demon looked at Ava.
“That uncertainty feeds me better than applause.”
The bulge inside Ava shifted violently.
Nora caught her.
For a second the stage lights flickered.
In every dark window, Ava saw reflections.
Dozens of girls.
Dancers from different decades.
All carrying the same unnatural curve.
The Patron whispered:
“Opening night is in four days.”
“What happens then?”
“You become unforgettable.”
“And the thing?”
“It becomes you.”
The theater went black.
When the lights returned, the Patron was gone.
Onstage beside Ava lay one black feather.
And a hospital bracelet.
Printed with Ava’s name.
May you like
Admission date:
Four days from now.
