Earlier ...
22-year old Mitch Zanden slumped back in his seat, anxiously waiting for this hellish show to be over. His boyfriend, Karl, sat back in his seat, paying rapt attention to the sweet voice of the singer bringing the opera to the climax of the second movement.
The lights in the concert hall dimmed to near blackness when she hit the highest note of her range, then slowly returned to full brilliance, revealing the singer slumped on the floor, and a man in a black cloak and robe, long, wild hair and an evil grin on his face standing over her, and beginning to sing in a low, dark voice.
Silencing a groan, Mitch pushed himself down even further in his seat. He already knew what was going to happen. The mad wizard put a sleeping spell on the lady, and she's going to be taken to his castle/tower/ritual site where he'll threaten her and almost do unsavory things to her before the hero arrives to save the day.
Yay, he thought to himself.
Karl appeared to be enjoying the opera, but he always did. Mitch couldn't understand why he liked the cheesy, ill-run and poorly acted operas they played at Davilon Hall. He'd gone with him countless times and always came out bored, and was considering leaving during the show. Just because Mitch was gay, it didn't mean that he loved operas and musicals and such. That was more Karl's thing. But he loved Karl and that's why he put up with going to these things. Though he had his limits.
A flat and foul note came from the stage. Mitch looked up just in time to see a look of embarrassment wash over the evil wizard's face. The wizard quickly began to sing the next notes, and was relieved when it looked like none of the audience was going to leave, or were even surprised. Most of the audience, in fact, was watching the show as Karl was, apparently enjoying themselves thoroughly.
Mitch decided that he'd finally had enough and got up, right at the climax of the wizard's part. He bent down and told Karl that he was leaving. Karl looked up at him and nodded in understanding, then waved goodbye. Mitch then turned and walked as quickly, yet carefully, as he could by the people in his row. Just as he reached the aisle, he accidentally kicked over a drink that was sitting on the floor, and the little girl to whom it belonged began to cry. Mitch stood up in surprise for a moment, and then looked around. Everyone in the audience and on stage was glaring at him. Terribly embarrassed and not knowing what to do, he pulled a bill out of his pocket and handed it to the girl, and moved quickly for the door. The girl continued to cry as her mother patted her on the shoulder and tried to shush her.
Escaping the theater, Mitch walked quickly towards the door. He sighed, in a little bit of relief, being glad to be out of the opera, and away from the embarrassing glares of the people in the room. He turned his head to look back, and saw that the scene had continued, and heard the voice of the hero singing to what sounded like a march.
Before he turned back to the door, however, he thumped into something. Mitch yelped in surprise, and looked at what he'd hit. In front of him was the evil wizard, looking at him blankly.
"I'm sorry sir," said Mitch. "I didn't see you there. If you'll excuse me ..."
"I don't think so, young man. You interrupted my show, and caused me a terrible embarrassment."
"I'm terribly sorry about that! I accidentally kicked over that little girl's coke, and she started to ..."
The wizard held up one of his hands, holding a bright bronze object, and grabbed Mitch's shirt with the other. "I don't care why you did it. You shouldn't have been leaving in the middle of my piece."
"Hey, hey, I didn't mean to do it. Get your hands off of me!"
Mitch batted the man's hand from his shirt, and moved quickly to get by. The man in the robe grabbed onto his right shoulder, pulling up the sleeve, and slammed the bronze object against it. A sizzling sound came from Mitch's skin, and smoke rose from under the object.
Mitch turned around quickly and pushed the evil wizard away. "Jesus Christ! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"You come here, interrupt one of my performances and then assault me as I try to admonish you? There is no respect in you for others." The wizard's eyes opened wide, and his hair rose up as though he were about to be stuck by lightning. "In all of my years, I meet few who are so insolent. As you have no respect for others, nor will they for you. Any who hold this amulet will have power over your body and mind, even your life."
A blinding flash of light filled Mitch's vision, and when he could see again, the wizard was gone. Turning around and heading to the door, he felt his right shoulder where the amulet had burned him, and he felt a rough patch of skin. What a crazy bastard, he thought. Like his performace was good enough to care about anyway. With that, Mitch ran out of the concert hall and into the lobby.
------
About to go on stage, the robed man polished the amulet, removing the charred skin from it. It gleamed brightly in what light there was. The opera was ending, and the hero was kissing his lady. As the final note ended, the stage lights brightened and all the cast walked onto the stage, bowing. The robed man pulled out the amulet and announced his thanks for to the audience for coming. As the audience applauded, he threw the amulet into the crowd. And once he did, he felt a twinge. He smiled, knowing that the amulet had already been used, sometime in the future. Events had changed. He didn't know what was different about Mitch or his life, but something was. The only question now was whether the same person from the audience would get the amulet.