Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales: An Anthology(73)

Rackham. That’s what Clara called him. I didn’t want to use him in the play, but Clara insisted, and now I’m stuck with the damn thing. He’s not . . . natural. He’s like Clara. I don’t think he can die.

I’m ashamed to admit it, maybe you’ll think less of me, but I’ve tried to kill him—more than once. He speaks to me in Clara’s goddamned voice. Starlings are mimics, everyone knows that, but this is different. I tried to drown him in a glass of brandy. I tried to wring his neck and throw him into the fire. Do you know what he did? He flapped right back out into my face with his wings singed and still smoking.

To add insult to injury, he threw my own goddamn voice back at me, a perfect imitation. He said, “Leading ladies are a disease. You breathe them in without meaning to, and they lie dormant in your system. Years later, you realize you’re infected, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. You spend the rest of your life dying slowly of them, and there’s no such thing as a cure.”

Do you remember? I said that to you, years ago. At least it sounds like the kind of pretentious thing I would say, doesn’t it? I was probably trying to be clever or impress you. Did it work?

Pretentious or not, it is true. I’m infected, and Clara is my disease. She’s here, under my skin, even though she’s gone. Everyone’s gone, Will. Even you.

Well, goddamn you all to hell then for leaving me here alone.

Yours, ever,

Raymond



Items Displayed in the Lobby of the

new Victory Theater

1. Playbill—The Secret of Flight (1955)—Good Condition (unsigned)

2. Playbill—Onward to Victory! (1950)—Fair Condition (signed—Raymond Barrow, Director; William Hunter, Marion Fairchild, Anna Hammond, cast)

3. Complete Script—The Secret of Flight (1955)—Good Condition (signed, Owen Covington)

4. Press Clipping—Herald Star—June 17, 1925

“Victory Theater Under New Ownership”

A staged publicity photo shows Richard Covington shaking hands with former theater owner Terrance Dent. Richard’s brother, Arthur Covington, stands to the side. The article details plans for the theater’s renovation and scheduled reopening. The article provides brief background on the brothers’ recent immigration to America from England. A second photograph shows the family posed and preparing to board a ship to America. Arthur Covington stands toward the left of the frame. Richard stands next to his wife, Elizabeth, his arm at her waist. Elizabeth rests both hands on the shoulders of their three-year-old son, Owen, keeping him close. None of the family members are smiling. To the right of the frame, standing with the luggage, is an unidentified young woman with dark hair thought to be Owen Covington’s nanny. A shadow near the woman’s right shoulder vaguely suggests the shape of a bird.


5. Press Clipping—Herald Star—August 7, 1976

“Fire Destroys Historic Victory Theater”

A half-page image shows the burned and partially collapsed walls of the Victory Theater. Dark smudges above the ruins show a sky still heavy with smoke. Certain patches might be mistaken for a densely packed flock of birds. The article offers scant detail beyond that the fire started early in the morning of August 6, cause unknown. The blaze took several hours to bring under control. No casualties reported.


6. Press Clipping—Herald Star—December 1, 2012

“A New Life for the Victory Theater”

The image at the top of the page shows the exterior of the New Victory Theater. A brushed stainless-steel sign bears the theater’s name, and below it, an LED marquee screen shows the word WELCOME. The article discusses the successful fund-raising campaign leading to the construction of the New Victory Theater at the site of the original building. Brief mention is made of the architects’ intent to incorporate elements salvaged from the old theater into the new design, however all the historic pieces are held by an anonymous collector who was unwilling to donate or sell them. The majority of the page is given over to pictures of the gala opening. The article notes that Raymond Barrow was invited to serve as honorary chair of the event, but he declined.




Incomplete Draft of Murmuration by Arthur Covington—

typed manuscript with handwritten notes

(CLAIRE glances over her shoulder before hurrying to EDWARD’s desk, rifling through the drawers.)

CLAIRE (to herself): Where is it? Where is he keeping it?

(As her search grows more frantic, she fails to notice EDWARD entering the room. EDWARD grabs CLAIRE by the arm.)

EDWARD: Are you trying to steal from me?

CLAIRE: You stole from me first. Where is it?

EDWARD: Stole from you? You live in my house. You eat my food. Everything you own is mine.

(CLAIRE tries to strike him. EDWARD catches her hand. He leans close, his jaw clenched in anger.)

EDWARD: Show me how it works, and I might forget about your attempted thievery.

(CLAIRE doesn’t answer. EDWARD grips her harder, shaking her.)

EDWARD: There’s some trick to it. Look at this.

(EDWARD rolls up his sleeve and shows CLAIRE a long gash on his arm.)

EDWARD: I shouldn’t be able to bleed anymore. I shouldn’t be able to die.

CLAIRE (her voice hard): It was never going to work for you, Edward. You can’t steal a feather from a bird and expect to fly, or steal a scale from a fish and breathe underwater. You can’t change the nature of a thing just by dressing it up as something else.