He had the power to assume a pleasing shape, but would he take to
the stage?
The audience was merry indeed when a third devilish imp bounded
onstage to join the two that had been written into the script. But
backstage all was uproar. The third demon seemed too much like the
real thing. Even Nicholas Bracewell, the company mainstay, was
shaken when, next time the play was given, only one devil appeared.
The second, poor fellow, was now only a little red heap under the
stage. Dead.
Before the curtain rose again, Lord Westfield's Men would suffer
the sermons of a Puritan fanatic, the enchantment of passion, the
terror of a London madhouse, prophecies of a famous alchemist, and
danger as they'd never known it before . . .
