Before the Moonrise

by Dawn Gray

  Kylie bathed her, washing her hair gently in a large tub as Lily sat with her knees to her chest listening to her friend say nonsense things. The loss that Lily felt was deep, and although she knew that Kylie was there for her, she just couldn’t seem to come out and grieve.

  It took almost two days for Lily to come around. The first thing she wanted was not to cry, but was to be out in the air of New Orleans, a city that Jared had defended with his life. Quietly, just the two of them, Kylie and Lily made their way out of the square and down to Café Du Monde, where they sat at one of the corner tables and watched the people pass by.

  “Do you want to go home, or stay the rest of the week?” Kylie asked. Lily’s eyes, covered by her sunglasses, darted back and forth as crowds of pedestrians moved by. Nonchalantly, she turned her head and looked at Kylie’s brown eyes.

  “I don’t know if I can stay,” she answered, sighing. “With Jared gone, it’s just not the same. It’s like the light has gone out of it.”

  “Have you heard anything from Morna?” Kylie asked, sipping on the hot chocolate in front of her. Lily crossed her arms and shook her head.

  “I haven’t heard anything. I can’t feel him, I can’t sense him.” Lily looked over at Kylie and shrugged. “I loved him and he’s gone.”

  “He might not be gone, Lil—”

  “Then why can’t I feel him?” she yelled, cutting Kylie off mid-sentence. Kylie sighed and let her look about for a short while. Then the two stood, quietly making their way down the River Walk and back to the church.

  

  She closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than to feel the darkness surround her, to not feel, move, or breathe. She knew that there was nothing she could do about any of those, so she lay there in the blackness of the room. Thoughts of Jared filled her mind and slowly she felt herself floating, moving up through the air as colors swirled around her.

  The haze in her eyes cleared and she looked around the large room, trying to place where she might have seen it before. On bare tiptoes, she moved across the hardwood floor, to the large four-poster bed that sat against the furthest wall. She could feel the fireplace from there, and the orange glow from the flames gave the room a romantic feel.

  “You must be lost,” a deep, masculine voice whispered from behind her. With a smile, Lily turned to look at the man in the doorway. He stood with one hand up against the doorsill, the other on his bare hip. His impressive torso was bare of clothing, showing off the ripples of muscle beneath the skin, and all he wore otherwise was a faded pair of blue jeans. “But then again, you look very at home here. So maybe I’m the one who’s lost.”

  “Where are we?” Lily questioned, sitting down on the bed, the light nightgown she wore sliding up her thighs.

  “Oh, here or there, I haven’t quite figured that out yet.” He smiled, and Lily grinned. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know whether to run to you or not,” she whispered.

  “Let me answer that for you.” He grinned, moving over to her. With a smile on his face, he leaned down and touched her lips softly with his. “Better?”

  “Much,” she answered. Cupping his face in her hands, she brought him to her once more.

  His lips captured hers, possessing them with a heat that she had never felt before. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her down to the bed, settling on top of her as their kiss became more passionate. Jared invaded her, swirling within her as if he were never going to get enough of her taste, and Lily loved every minute of it. Gradually, he released her to place affectionate kisses along her cheek.

  “Why is it that whenever I want you, there you are, completely ready for me?” He laughed as his hand slid up her bare thigh, pushing the nightgown up over her hip.

  “Because we were made for each other,” she answered, watching as he kissed his way down along the material that separated them. His eyes locked on to hers, showing her the depth of his love as he knelt down between her warm thighs.

  He laid a trail of kisses along her legs, caressing the back of her knees as well before coming up and wrapping his hands around her waist. She giggled as he kissed her belly button, then the soft patch of pink skin just under the curls of her hair, her giggles turning to sighs as his tongue played tricks with her mind.

  He turned on the fire until it burned in her like molten lava, then he moved up as she shivered, removing the cloth that separated their bodies. She could feel him hard pressed against her legs as he settled there for just a moment, caressing the side of her cheek with the back of his hand.

  “I wish we could stay like this for always,” she murmured, trying to hold back the tears.

  “Remember what I told you.” He spoke softly as he kissed his way down to her breast, looking up as he rested his chin near her right one, where he lay a gentle kiss before coming back up to stare into her eyes. “I will always be in you, deeper than anyone has ever been.”

  With slow fluid motions, he slipped into her heated body, and watched as she closed her eyes. The ease of their union was breathtaking, as they rose and fell with each other’s movements, and the gentle glide of their bodies seemed to hold a rhythm of its own. Jared could feel her cresting; the ebb and flow of her around him brought him slowly to his own peak. With little resistance, both went over in a whirl of brilliant light. Lily’s body shook as she came to rest beneath him, and Jared smiled tenderly at the love in her eyes.

  “It’s been a few days,” he explained, smiling at her as she laughed at his apology. He had wanted it to last longer, to bring her to her climax over and over before giving in himself, but way she felt to him was something he couldn’t control.

  “It just means we have all night to try again.” She grinned, watching his smile widen.

  “Give me about ten minutes and we’ll see what we can do.” Jared laughed as he brought his head down and rested it against her shoulder. “One more thing before the night goes on,” he whispered against her skin, “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she replied and slowly closed her eyes.

  

  She opened her eyes with a sigh, trying not to let go of the fantastic dream that had filled her night, but she had known going in that there was only so much reality in her dreams. Slowly she reached over and turned on the light beside the bed.

  Lily looked around Jackson Square one more time, taking in the sight of the Saint Louis Cathedral, the wrought iron fence that surrounded the garden, and even the balconies and beautiful architecture of the city. Finally she set her eyes on Jean, who was standing in the darkness of the church, Damon by his side. The two men weren’t quite the same height, but they certainly had something in common; both lighted vampires, they were now the only thing each of them had to live with.

  She drew in a deep breath, glanced up at the sky one last time, and stepped into the shuttle. She raised a hand to them as the man closed the door, and slowly they drove away. Kylie touched her shoulder from the seat behind her and Lily smiled. She was fine, at least on the outside. On the inside there was something missing, something that had made her whole once before.

  She shook her head, thinking of the inscription on the DeLaCroix family vault, and sighed, for she had learned what it meant. She glanced down at the photograph of it that she held in her hand. On the back, in Morna Dominique’s unique handwriting was four words and four only.

  Blessed are the Immortals.

  Chapter Nine

  Chloe Jane Edwards, better known to the agent’s world as C.J., blew her nose quite loudly and then removed her glasses to wipe her eyes. Lily, who stood at the large bay window watching Dana and Sean play out in the fenced-in yard, turned and looked over at her friend with a smile. She knew the kids would be okay, because Derek sat on the patio furniture, the neighbor’s oldest sitting right next to him interacting over a video game. Lily crossed her arms, bringing the sweater tighter around her as she moved to sit on the couch across from C.J.

  “That was wonde
rful, Lily, absolutely wonderful,” she whispered, her voice full of the tears that she had shed. “And from the heart. It makes you just fall in love with the lead female character, and her loss of the man she loved. It was heart wrenching, just what the readers are looking for.”

  “New Orleans was definitely a great backdrop for a story.” Lily smiled, trying to seem cheerful about the completion of another novel, but her heart didn’t flutter as it usually did when C.J. gave it praise.

  “How are you, by the way? Your panic attacks and anxiety, are they better?” C.J. questioned, having not seen her since just after her early return trip home.

  “Actually, they’re doing a lot better. I haven’t had a panic attack since I got home, which has surprised my doctors. They recommended I take a trip several times a year to get away from my hectic life style,” Lily replied, feeling the rush of adrenaline, hoping that C.J. would just drop it without digging deeper into her adventure there.

  “That is very good! I am so glad to hear that.” She smiled.

  “Me, too,” she answered, and faded off into thoughts of the next trip Kylie had planned, which was a cruise to the Bahamas. She could hear C.J. chattering on in the background, but her mind never registered any of it.

  “Lily?” C.J. asked, making her head snap in the other woman’s direction. “Where did you go?”

  Lily was about to respond when a feeling of familiarity floated over her. She looked about the room and stood just as the doorbell rang. Slowly, as C.J. continued talking, Lily moved quietly towards the front door. Her golden retriever bounced around her legs as she stood looking at the brass door handle. Then she slowly turned it, tugging the door open.

  The heat from outside was quite the contrast to the blasting air-conditioning that filled the small two-story house, and Lily looked around to find not only the driveway empty, but also the small field that surrounded the front yard. Max, her dog, sniffed at the package that sat on her doorstep. Lily cautiously bent over and picked it up. Inside the cellophane wrapping—in a beautiful, clear glass vase—was an arrangement of magnolias, roses, and carnations. The different colors cried out New Orleans to her and she smiled as she reached for the note that lay hidden within the petals.

  “Lily?” C.J. queried, stepping into the kitchen. Her eyes widened as she looked upon the flowers that Lily held and she whistled. “Secret admirer?”

  “Old friend,” Lily replied and slipped the note from the envelope. Jean’s handwriting was at least legible as she read the words slowly. “Hmm, he wants me to come back to New Orleans.”

  “Who?” C.J. leaned over, smelling the smaller of the plants deeply, taking in their scent.

  “The man I told you about, Jean Morton, the historian.” Lily sighed, waving the letter about, but she smiled at C.J. and placed it on the counter. “I wonder, do you think I have enough time before the book signing to take a quick flight down? It’s not like Jean to request this of me unless it was extremely important.”

  “I don’t see why not, since you have two weeks before you’re supposed to be in New York.” C.J. smiled and looked over the flowers again. “Are you taking Kylie with you?”

  “I’m sure she would love to go.” She reached for the phone to dial Kylie’s number, and to discuss babysitting arrangements with her mother.

  When the plans were set, and C.J. had left for the day with the manuscript that Lily had finally completed, Lily stood out on her back deck looking up at the setting sun. Her skin was cold, which had been the norm since the moonrise four months before. She wrapped the shawl tightly around her, remembering the night before they left, and her trip to St. Louis number one alone in the dark.

  The vampires, Jean said, were all but wiped out by the time moonrise was over, so there was not much for her to worry about if she wandered alone. Damon held a vigil over her for almost the rest of the stay, concerned for her well-being as well as because of their connection. He felt her loss as deeply as if it were his own and sometimes, when the loneliness was too much for her to take, Damon would slowly slip in and comfort her. Unfortunately, she knew that he would never be who she truly wanted, no matter what blood tie they shared.

  As she stood at the closed gates of the cemetery, looking up at the fading moon, her tears fell swiftly. She said a prayer, one that seemed to float around in her head, and reached out to touch the stonewall. With a deep breath, she turned and was about to walk away from the gates when she spotted a shadow move swiftly through the broken alleyways of the family vaults that lay within.

  Waves of heat floated over her as she stared within the walls of the holy place, and her heart beat swiftly as she waited for the silhouette to move past again. After fifteen minutes of nothing, she turned and moved up Conti back towards the Church.

  

  Lily smiled at the similarity between the last time she had been to New Orleans and this time when she stepped off the plane into the ever-bustling terminal. For the first time in months, her heart felt light, as if she were home. Kylie took her hand and pulled her along as they rushed to the baggage claim to pick up the two small suitcases they had packed.

  The shuttle had gone before they arrived and both girls sighed at their bad run of luck. When Kylie looked up and stared, nudging Lily’s shoulder with her elbow.

  “Would you quit poking me?” Lily laughed and looked up at Kylie’s blank expression. Slowly she turned to look in the same direction.

  Lily stood, from her position on the suitcase, and looked over the blond-haired man that walked towards them with a cocky smile on his face. He was dressed in work boots, faded jeans, and a t-shirt that hugged his muscular chest. The fact that his hair was no longer spiked, and was now buzzed close to his head, made Lily smile as she moved to greet him.

  “Damon!” she murmured as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt his tighten around her waist and his head rested on her shoulder, breathing in deeply as he held her. “I didn’t know you were going to meet us.”

  “Jean sent me,” he said as he pulled the sunglasses down from his eyes, stepping back to smile at Kylie. “He had this odd feeling that you would miss your ride, so he sent one instead.”

  They looked over at the black limo that waited for them just around the corner and the two girls smiled at each other. With Damon in the middle, the ride to the Church was faster than Lily had remembered, and soon they were standing in the middle of the French Quarter once again.

  She looked around at Jackson Square, at the beads that hung from the bushes and lampposts, and smiled. Her lungs filled with the familiar smells; the beignets frying over in Café Du Monde, and the coffee from the Market Café just down Decatur. She couldn’t help but feel Jared’s presence envelop her.

  Damon took her hand and led both her and Kylie into the church, where Jean—who hugged them both with equal affection—met them. They sat down in the library, surrounded by the many shelves of books, and Lily smiled as she spotted some familiar titles.

  “Have you taken up romance novels in your old age?” she asked Jean as she pulled out one of her own volumes.

  Jean smiled and nodded. “I met this fascinating woman several months ago who wrote books, and I just had to see what they were all about. I must say that I find them quite fascinating and stimulating at the same time.”

  “Ah huh, you would,” she answered and the four of them sat down discussing the time that had passed. Lily looked around, knowing that Jean was watching her and she sighed.

  “There is a reason why I asked you to come here,” Jean spoke, catching Lily’s attention. “I’ve been asked to return to France, to explain what happened months ago to an organization that monitors the vampire population.”

  “Are you in trouble?” Kylie questioned as Jean shook his head.

  “No, not at all. But if I could, I would like to speak to Lily about what she might remember from that night,” Jean whispered, looking over at the hazel-eyed girl, but Lily shook her head.

  “I don�
�t remember much. Only when Collin took me out from Morna’s residence and when I came to, when Jared …” She stopped and drew in a deep breath, before glancing up at him. “I need to go to the cemetery.”

  “I know,” Jean stated. “And that was going to be my other thing. There is something that you must see.” He stood and reached a hand out to her. “Come, Damon will take Kylie out for a stroll around the Quarter while we venture off to St. Louis.”

  Lily took his hand, and the two of them slowly walked out, turning onto Pirate’s Alley before reaching Conti. Lily stopped to pick a few flowers from a planter that sat on the side of the road. They walked in silence, saying nothing for the fifteen minutes it took to get to the gates. Lily sighed; the gates again were locked tightly shut.

  Jean smiled down at her as he took the key chain from his pocket and unlocked the bolts that held the large iron doors tightly closed. He then gestured for her to step in, after swinging open the gates. Lily looked up at him, placed a hand to her heart, and stepped across the threshold of the burial ground.

  She walked with her head down, her feet leading her in no specific direction as the hurt and emptiness in her body filled with familiarity and recognition. She stopped, with the DeLaCroix family vault to her left, and closed her eyes briefly before looking over at the cross that lay before her.

  Lily squatted down, reading over the names that marked the vault’s granite stone and sighed as she came to the very last name on the bottom. Her heart sank as she spotted the name engraved deep into to the marble stone.

  Gerard du Claverack. 1810-1902.

  With a shaky breath, Lily reached out and set the flowers down upon the ground, in front of the iron gate. She closed her eyes, trying to control the tears that threatened to flow as a shadow loomed over her.

  “I miss him so much, Jean,” she whispered, stroking the fence with a soft touch of her fingers.

  “I didn’t know anyone actually cared enough to come find me.” His voice vibrated through Lily’s body as her breath caught in her throat.