Before the Moonrise

by Dawn Gray

  “Jared?” Lily mumbled, closing her eyes as flashes of his defined backside filled her mind. Slowly she opened them to look at the young man. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.” His voice rippled through her, sending sparks over her skin. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I was attacked by a vampire,” she retorted, watching the caution flash in his eyes from over Kylie’s shoulder. She gently pushed her friend away, and gave her a small smile.

  “Oh, Lily, that isn’t funny!” her friend moaned.

  Lily made her way over to the loveseat and sat down, watching Jared the whole time. Smiling at the connection between them, Kylie moved into the kitchenette, where Lily could smell the coffee brewing. She slid closer to her new acquaintance.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. Jared smiled, glancing in Kylie’s direction.

  “I thought you would be happy to see me after last night,” he replied sarcastically.

  “You’re a goddamned vampire, Jared. After last night, I never want to see another one of you again!” She moved to stand and found herself off balance from the quick movement, and suddenly strong arms were supporting her. She looked up into his eyes, since he towered a head above her, and she rested her hands on his upper arms. “I don’t want to get hurt, Jared, and I don’t want to see Kylie hurt either.”

  “I’m not here to hurt you,” he told her, staring deeply into her eyes. He stepped closer to her, letting the heat radiate between them. “Why didn’t you do what the old woman told you to do? Why didn’t you find a priest?”

  “How do you know about that?” she inquired, beginning to shake.

  “I told you that you had to be more careful, but you stubborn Northerners never listen, so I followed you. I couldn’t let you get hurt.” She could see the anger at himself growing as he replied through clenched teeth.

  “Where were you when he took me then, if you’re so set on protecting me?”

  Jared struggled to control the anger within himself, and as she watched his eyes became dull silver. He opened his mouth, breathing in deeply as he looked around, avoiding her eyes. Lily went against everything inside her, screaming at her to stop, and lightly touched his face with her fingertips. The shock of her warm touch to his cool skin brought his gaze down upon her and his hands grasped her waist a bit more forcefully.

  “Forgive me,” he whispered with a long sigh. He then stepped back away from her reach, placing his hands on his hips. “I don’t understand much of what I’m feeling.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked. Instead of answering, Jared shook his head and moved towards the hallway, his eyes locked on hers. “You’re leaving?”

  “You’re safe during the day,” he answered, his voice not growing any louder. “Excuse me.”

  Then, he was gone.

  

  Kylie stepped in the room as she heard the door close behind him and she looked questioningly at Lily. “What happened?”

  “He had to leave, I guess.” Lily shrugged and sat down on the chair again, covering her eyes with her hands. She could smell the fresh coffee in the cup that Kylie held out to her and sat up to take it. “What the hell happened last night? I don’t remember him bringing me home, or where you were for that matter.”

  “When I sat up, you were gone and I started to freak out! He was walking by and heard me calling for you. It seemed like he knew just where to look and sent me back here while he rescued you from whoever that psycho was.” Kylie sighed, shaking visibly. Lily took her hand. “I shouldn’t have gotten drunk.”

  “Don’t blame yourself, Ky. The guy who took me was the same one who scratched me yesterday.” Lily rubbed her forehead and sighed, then looked over at Kylie from the top of her coffee cup as she took a sip. “I must say though, if I could get rescued by him every night, I would love to play the damsel in distress.”

  This made Kylie burst out laughing, but Lily wasn’t so sure that she meant it. Her dreams that night had been quite vivid and erotic, leaving her feeling not quite satisfied when she woke up. She had a feeling that more had gone on when her savior brought her home than she remembered.

  “Are you up for exploring today?” Kylie inquired. She waited for Lily to say no, but the young woman only smiled and nodded. “Great, I know just the place.”

  

  Jared moved swiftly through the shaded streets of the French Quarter, down Chartres towards the Saint Louis Cathedral. With a glance around, and a tug on his coat to pull it tightly around him, he moved into a small, darkened doorway just off of Pere Antoine, the opening hidden in the shadows. With the last of his strength he pushed the door open, moving into the cool darkness. He slid to the cold cement floor as the door shut behind him.

  His skin burned from exposure and his eyes seemed to have swollen from the sunlight. Luckily he could still make out the shape of the man who loomed above him in the darkness.

  “What have you done to yourself, my friend?” the man questioned, as he reached down and grabbed Jared by his arm, pulling him up to his weakened legs. “You should be more aware of the sun’s height by now, Jared.”

  “I’m perfectly aware of what time it is, Jean, otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” he answered, letting the man lead him almost blindly down the hallway.

  Setting Jared down on a leather recliner, he walked over to the basin, which was filled with cold water. Dunking a cloth down in and wringing it out, he looked over at him.

  “There was a homicide last night,” Jean mumbled as he placed the cold cloth over Jared’s eyes. “Would you know anything about this?”

  “I’m only going to assume that it struck your morbid curiosity and you looked into it, otherwise you wouldn’t have asked.” Jared removed the compress and looked at the man, who was pouring dark red liquid from an antique bottle. “I stopped an attack last night. It’s possible that the vampire, having been quite unsatisfied, moved on to another victim.”

  “It’s not in your nature to interfere with the affairs of vampires, Jared, so what is this particular victim to you?” Jean held out the glass to him, and the pungent odor was not one that Jared could ignore. Greedily he took the offering and downed it in one swig of the glass. “Who is she?”

  “A woman, nothing more. At least I haven’t learned any more than that.” Jared sighed, letting the fluid flow through his system. Jean nodded and crossed one leg over the other, settling comfortably in the chair. “She sets me on fire. Her touch does nothing but awaken the beast in me, yet I can’t stay away from her. She raises a desire that I haven’t felt in so long.”

  “Maybe she is your other half,” Jean spoke. The statement made Jared stare and shake his head.

  “This old, black woman told me that she was my light.” He sighed.

  “Obviously the vampires have also noticed her and marked her for themselves.”

  “Yes, but I can’t let them have her,” Jared spat. “Something in me will not allow it.”

  “Rest here awhile, my friend, and then go to her.” Jean stood and walked past him, resting a hand gently on his shoulder as he passed.

  Jared listened to the door close behind him, and then happily let his burning eyes rest as he fell into a light sleep.

  

  Lily looked up at the cathedral before her, unable to take her eyes from the blue sky that surrounded the towers looming above her. She was slightly shocked when Kylie suggested stopping at the century’s old church, on their way back from a stop at one of the small coffee shops along Royal Street. They had gone up and down the street, searching each side for quaint little shops and oddities for unique pictures to add to Kylie’s collection. When they stopped at the front door of the church, Lily’s heart jumped.

  A gentle hand touched hers and she looked up at Kylie’s brown eyes, smiling at her as she tugged Lily into the cool interior of the church. Lily looked around, taking in the beautiful stained glass windows and paintings that decorated the main hall. Again, her senses p
icked up something just a bit out of the ordinary.

  She turned as he approached. A tall man, with dark brown hair and distinguished features, walked up beside the two women. He kept glancing around in the same directions that Kylie’s eyes seemed to go.

  “You have a very good eye for detail,” he said quietly. His distinct French accent caught Kylie by surprise and she giggled quietly to herself.

  “Thank you, I’m working on my portfolio and thought that this would be a wonderful place for pictures,” Kylie replied, smiling up at him. Lily looked deep into the man’s eyes as he glanced at her, and then involuntarily shook as he looked away. “Actually, I was wondering if you could help me. My friend and I were told that we might find a gentleman down here that could give us a bit of history on a family vault in Saint Louis One.”

  “And the family’s name?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. Kylie looked over at Lily, who had gone back to looking around.

  “Lily, what was the name?” Kylie asked, grabbing her attention.

  “Oh, Jean Morton,” Lily murmured, trying to pretend that she had been paying attention.

  “I am Jean, mademoiselle. What can I do for you?” He bowed to the two women.

  “I’m sorry,” Lily replied, embarrassed. “The name I was wondering about was DeLaCroix. It was a family vault that I stumbled on and grew curious about. I wanted to know more about them, as well as the last person on the list, who died in 1802. The first name on the place was scratched out, but the last was Claverack.”

  “Ah, the DeLaCroix family is an old name in New Orleans.” Jean smiled, but Lily caught the worry in his eyes as he turned and the three of them started to walk to the back of the church. “The man who sired the family name was Soliece DeLaCroix. He was no normal man, he was one of title and nobility. No one is quite sure how the Marquis de DeLaCroix came to be in the city, for his presence seemed to go unnoticed. His wife—a very beautiful woman, young and supple—was one of the natives of the city. She was a woman born and raised in New Orleans, and also a woman of lower social station. She was still respectable, but nonetheless, she had caught the eye of the Marquis.

  “Her name was Brigitte Vioget, and her hair was said to be like flowing fire. It was so long and supple that it was hard for her to keep it all up, causing most of it to flow freely down her back, which was odd for that time period. Her waist was quite tiny, but her young body was curvaceous, and Soliece was taken with her upon their very meeting.”

  Lily smiled at him as she watched his hands move, as if trying to draw a picture with them. His grin was wide as his thoughts traveled back into his mind, gathering the history of this once glamorous family.

  “It is said that DeLaCroix proposed to the fair Brigitte right there on the spot, wanting nothing more than to have the woman for his wife. Alas, it couldn’t be. His title forbade it, and although she was smitten with him just as deeply, they couldn’t be together. So, Soliece planned and plotted to find a way to be with his love, and came to only one conclusion. He gave up his title of Marquis, forsaking all of his lands, as well as most of his riches and rights, and took the fair Brigitte as his wife.

  “Five sons and three daughters came from their union. After the last child was born, Louis-Philippe, Brigitte became deathly ill and was never able to leave their home again. She died before the youngest was three, ten years after her marriage to Soliece.”

  “How awful!” Kylie exclaimed, shaking her head.

  “Oh, but do not despair, for Soliece went on to be a very well-known and respected man. His sons grew up to be politicians and his daughters married only the finest gentlemen. Only Louis-Philippe was the one to make headlines.” Jean offered the two women a seat as he poured them two glasses of red wine, and bourbon for himself. Casually he handed them each the glass before sitting down across from them to continue his story. “You see, Louis-Philippe was what the English would call a rake. He had very rugged good looks and didn’t seem to have a problem with women falling at his feet. It wasn’t until he got involved with the young daughter of a plantation owner that Louis had trouble.

  “The man claimed that Louis defiled his daughter and went to the sheriff looking for justice. Being of a higher station than DeLaCroix, the man believed him. Louis would be arrested and tried. However, luck seemed to be on Louis’ side and he was acquitted. The plantation owner wanted his revenge for his daughter and cursed Louis-Philippe and all male offspring to a fate worse than death. He told DeLaCroix that his line will die out. Not in the least superstitious, Louis ignores the curse and begins to pursue his true love, trying to persuade her to marry him. Her father, the very man who cursed him, would not allow it.”

  “You would think that he would, since Louis was trying to do right by the girl,” Kylie said.

  “But if he was cursed, and his line was sure to die out, then that would be the father’s fate, too,” Lily replied and turned to Jean, who nodded in response.

  “That is correct. They eloped with only her slave girl as witness, but then tragedy struck and the slave girl died. Her mother, a cook in the father’s kitchen, was distraught by the news and proclaimed that she met her fate because she had taken part in the unsanctioned marriage. Of course blame was placed on the head of Louis, and the woman put yet another voodoo curse on him. La malédiction du loup, the curse of the wolf.

  “In each generation Vioget’s curse came to pass, and male children were born less and less to the family … on all sides. The last, Gerard de Claverack, was born in 1810. He was cruel and unapproachable to most men, but the women flocked to him, taken by his handsome face and mesmerizing eyes. Like his grandfather, he had no shortage of women. One night, as he stumbled from a bar, he met a man whose woman Gerard had bedded some time before. Had he not been drunk on bourbon, he might have won. Instead he perished at the end of a dagger, and along with him went the bloodline.

  “It is said that the family curse was upon Gerard and he did not truly die, but succumbed to his nature and loped off into the woods, living in the bayou to this very day.” Jean took a deep breath and looked over at Lily, who seemed off in a dream state. Then he smiled at Kylie, who sat forward in her chair, listening intensely. “Do you have any questions?”

  “What do you know about vampires?” Lily sighed, turning to look at him.

  He laughed, relaxing back in his chair. “Much of what others do. If you mean pertaining to here, my dear, I can only say that it would not surprise me to know they are among us.”

  “Thank you.” Lily smiled, rubbing her forehead. “I hadn’t realized that I had chosen a family with such history to check up on.” She laughed to herself. “But why would they cross his name off the plaque?”

  “That I do not know.” Jean frowned. “It’s possible that a descendent of the voodoo woman wanted to erase his very existence, but I cannot say for certain.”

  “Wow,” Kylie exclaimed. “I wouldn’t have guessed that there was so much history on one family here. I can’t imagine how much else you know.”

  “Maybe we could discuss it over dinner sometime, mademoiselle.” Jean grinned and Kylie blushed.

  “I would like that very much,” she answered, which seemed to be Lily’s cue to get up.

  She walked about the library, where they had ended up. Looking at the numerous books that lined the walls, one faded off into her own little world. Chills crept up her spine, sending shivers through her body as the feeling of danger swept over her. Instantly, she froze where she was, looking at the furthest wall of the room, her gaze moving slowly to the right, into the darkened hallway.

  She could barely make it out in the dark, but the shape of a tall, thin man with pale-grayish skin stood staring at her. His eyes began to glow a bright red, like a fire in the darkness, and he reached out towards her. A scream emanated from the walls, and her hands flew to her mouth as her body turned to face him. Hands rested on her shoulders and a silhouette blocked her view. She looked up quickly at Jean, who stood facing her,
his hands grasping her upper arms.

  “What is it?” he asked softly.

  “It was nothing,” she lied, but he saw through her deception and turned to move away. “No! Don’t go out there, that thing … that thing may still be there somewhere.”

  “What thing, ma Cherie?”

  “It …” she paused, looking up at him, as if afraid he would think she were insane. “It was a vampire.”

  “Lily!” Kylie exclaimed, disbelief in her voice. Jean grabbed the thick quill pen from the tabletop beside them and walked out into the darkened hallway. Lily turned to Kylie, her hands shaking uncontrollably, and shook her head. “What did you really see?”

  “A corpse with red glowing eyes,” Lily whispered, reaching for the chair in the corner. “He was so thin, like the walking dead. His eyes were on fire.”

  Kylie sat down beside her and took her hand. “There’s no such thing as vampires, Lily. It had to be your imagination, seeing something that wasn’t there. This place is old and full of shadows.”

  “Don’t tell me what I saw, Ky!” Lily snapped, looking into her best friend’s eyes. “I know what I saw! I didn’t make it up and my imagination is completely under my control.”

  Jean returned, still holding the pen, which he returned to his desk. “I saw nothing.”

  “That’s what I was trying to tell her.” Kylie sighed. “There was nothing out there.”

  “No, you misunderstand,” he corrected. “I saw nothing when I was in the hall, but that does not mean that there was nothing out there.” He looked down at Lily and took her hand, gently rubbing the top with his thumb. “Please allow me to have someone escort you back to your resort. It’s getting late in the afternoon, and the crowd is ever growing with the festival tomorrow. It would make me feel better to know that you arrived safely.”