the velvet curtain (6)

The stories around his life and death had been the stuff of urban legend, but there he was, standing before Elliot as real as anything else in that forgotten room. "You’re dead," Elliot said, though even as he spoke the words, they felt hollow.

The man before him was very much alive—or something close to it. Amadeus chuckled. "Dead? Perhaps in the world you know. But in this place, the theater is life. It sustains me. It can sustain you too, if you wish." Elliot felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"What do you mean?"Amadeus stepped closer, his eyes gleaming. "The theater offers more than fame, Elliot.