Only By Moonlight

by Emery, Lynn

  “I might as well be prepared in case they come at me in the day time. Right, Monmon?” LaShaun tilted her head as though expecting an answer.

  Then she continued the search for answers. For two hours she read. Seated in a cane rocker with her grandmother’s favorite throw across her lap, LaShaun traveled back in time. She needed to understand who and what she would be up against later. Soon she was lost in the late eighteenth century when her ancestor Alcide LeGrange began to prosper. The son of a former slave in Saint Domingue, present day Haiti, he narrated his extraordinary life. He befriended LaShaun’s other ancestor Claude Alsace Rousselle. Twenty years later their children married. Yet their friendship becomes strained. Alcide heard strange tales of how Claude gained his wealth and influence. His wife, also a native of Haiti, waves away his concerns. Then he becomes suspicious that she, too, was involved in voodoo rituals.

  Alcide wrote, “They have no shame in these untamed gatherings. To my horror I have learned that my wife, Marie-Claire, has been sneaking away to take part. I will not allow such ungodly behavior in my household.”

  His journal ended with that entry. The next account LaShaun reads refers to his untimely death and funeral. A prickle of gloom started at the base of LaShaun’s spine. Alcide hadn’t died of natural causes, despite what the entry by his youngest son says. LaShaun scanned two dozen pages hoping to find letters or anything written by Marie-Claire.

  “Damn. I’ll have to leave that mystery for another day,” LaShaun mumbled to herself.

  She was about to close a container when she glanced at a stack of papers again. Carefully, she un-wrapped the acid free sheets around them. These were letters written in French and English. LaShaun put her bilingual reading skills to the test as she switched between the two. Written over several years in the early to mid eighteen hundreds, the grandchildren of Marie-Claire and Alcide kept in touch. From their accounts the two families, LeGrange and Rousselle, seemed to have suffered a series of setbacks. The Americanization of Louisiana after the Louisiana Purchase made life hard for Blacks, including Creoles of Color. Therese-Claire Rousselle complained bitterly about their loss in social status.

  “We must call on our spirits again, sister,” Therese-Claire wrote in 1824. “Lest our lands and livestock be swept away. I know you are reluctant. Our grandfather’s words contain wisdom on controlling the…”

  LaShaun strained, but couldn’t make out the rest of the sentence. The ink was smudged in some places, faded in others. Desperate, she sorted through the rest of the letters until she found a reference to the family cemetery. Suddenly LaShaun felt tiny needles along her forearms again. She dropped the letters and went to a framed antique map on the wall. Her forefinger traced a line from landmark to landmark. Gazing at it, LaShaun prayed she was right. Minutes later she raced to town in Chase’s truck, pushing past the speed limit.

  “I have to find the source,” she whispered.

  Chapter 20

  By seven o’clock that night LaShaun had returned home and made preparations. Savannah sent an e-mail confirming LaShaun’s hunch. Manny Young hadn’t contacted the True Justice Project. Montgomery and Juridicus had reached out to him first. Over six weeks of visits, Montgomery had built a relationship with him. Finally Manny agreed to hire him for an appeal.

  Chase hadn’t called, but she was sure he would come. No doubt Montgomery and the others were waiting for nightfall. The only other reason they hadn’t arrived was most likely because of orders from Abiku. All this LaShaun knew with the certainty because of her paranormal extra sense. She’d prayed about what she must do. Miss Rose and the twins called to give her counsel as well. The three women insisted that they should be present, but LaShaun did not want them in harm’s way. She did her best to reassure them. When she called Chase he picked up on the first ring.

  “Why aren’t you here by now, cher?” LaShaun asked, her heart thumping. “You told Katie and Adrianna you’d see me tonight. I hope you’re not still working. M.J. shouldn’t be pushing you so hard.”

  Chase’s rich, deep baritone laugh came through the phone’s speaker. “Ah, so M.J. is to blame. No, I’m at the scene of another murder. A body was found way down near Vermilion Bay. I’ll be late, but I’ll definitely come to you tonight love. Please forgive the smell of death on me.”

  LaShaun shivered as chill bumps spread up her arms. “I won’t give him up to you so easily you know.”

  Chase’s voice changed completely. The accent and manner of speech came from another time. “Ah, a challenge. I love the fight in you. Maybe we will make love on the ground beneath the moonlight after, eh?”

  “Bastard,” LaShaun hissed in reply.

  “LaShaun?” Chase replied. “I’m way out in the middle of nowhere so you’re breaking up. I have bad news. We found another body.”

  LaShaun felt no surprise that suddenly her Chase was back. She whispered a prayer into the phone. “I know. You just told me.”

  “I did?” Chase was silent for several seconds. “Maybe I should stay away from you until I get my head together. The last few days are a blur.”

  “Chase, listen to me. You have to come to my house tonight. Trust me, you’re not going crazy, and it’s not post traumatic stress disorder from your days in the war. We need each other to get through this.”

  “You know what’s happening, don’t you?” Chase said low into the phone. Voices of his colleagues were in the background.

  “Yes. Promise you’ll come to me no matter what,” LaShaun said with force.

  “Of course we’ll be there. I would not reach my full power without my dear wife by my side,” Chase said in a light tone, his voice changing again.

  “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,” she said quoting Proverbs 16:18.

  “You really should stop reading that silly book, my sweet. Until we meet beneath the moonlight.” A soft kissing sound followed by laughter came through before the call clicked off.

  “I’m gonna kick your ass back to hell,” LaShaun shouted into the phone. She tossed the handset across the room where it landed on the sofa.

  For another hour LaShaun had to restrain herself. Though impatient to find answers, the fragile antique documents had to be handled with care. As she read LaShaun paced and glanced at the wall clock from time to time. A slight sound caught her attention. When she glanced out of her kitchen window LaShaun saw nothing. Only a small lamp was on in the large formal parlor. LaShaun hurried down the hallway. Through one of the three windows she detected movement just beyond a stand of trees. A bumpy gravel path led to the Rousselle family cemetery.

  “Cars, three of them moving slow with their lights off. So the gang’s all here,” she murmured to herself.

  Shadowy outlines of the vehicles inched along. Soon she couldn’t see them at all. That could only mean they’d reached the curve in the path leading deeper into the woods and to the cemetery. LaShaun was in no hurry to confront the group alone. She could only guess at what they were prepared to do, these fanatics convinced they would be rulers in a new world order. LaShaun let them think they had crept onto her land unnoticed. She went to the small family parlor, knelt and prayed. Someone, or some thing, banged loudly on her back door. LaShaun armed herself with the silver knife. Next she calmly loaded silver bullets into her small derringer. She walked to the kitchen with unhurried steps. As the knob turned, LaShaun put on her jacket. Her boots were warm, sturdy and would allow her to move quickly.

  “LaShaun?” Chase stood in the doorway with an uncertain expression. “I don’t know what’s supposed to happen but…”

  “We don’t have much time.” LaShaun made the sign of the cross, grabbed both his hands and continued the prayer she’d been reciting for two hours. She spoke rapidly in French and then switched to Latin. She struggled over the pronunciations.

  “What are you doing? I…” Chase started, but stopped when LaShaun squeezed his hands tightly.

  “Say you love me, promise you
’ll trust me tonight. I don’t have all of the answers, but we have to go anyway,” LaShaun said. She checked her pockets as she spoke.

  “Go where? Feels like my head is splitting apart these days, and I can’t be sure what the hell is going on half the time. So I’m gonna need you to explain.” Chase jerked back when LaShaun tried to lead him back outside.

  “Do you remember us going to the Sweet Olive B&B?” LaShaun glanced past him to the woods. She saw flashes of light.

  “Yeah.” Chase rubbed his forehead. “Kinda.”

  “Then what happened? Think about where you were after that, what you remember,” LaShaun insisted. A hint of blue appeared. “Think honey. We have to hurry.”

  “Then I… went to work and you… were wearing a wedding dress. Wait, that sounds crazy. Where did I get that about a wedding dress?” Chase tilted his head to one side as though listening.

  LaShaun shivered, but not because of the cold air coming in through the still open back door. She wrapped both arms around his waist and pulled him close. “We love each other, no matter what has happened. Say it.”

  Chase smiled down at her. “I hate to interrupt this tender moment, but we need to take a walk. I will make a promise. Tonight I’ll pleasure you until we are both breathless. But first, to business.”

  “Bastard,” LaShaun screamed.

  She beat her fists against his chest while Chase laughed at her. He grabbed both her wrists. In seconds the strong arms that had held her close in adoring embraces dragged her across the back lawn to the woods. A soft blue mist glimmered in the distances. LaShaun tried to dig her heels into the soft ground, but the rubber slid easily on damp grass.

  “I don’t know why you seem so reluctant to visit your beloved forest tonight,” the demon said. The sound of his voice seemed to scrape out of Chase’s throat.

  “You turned it into a filthy dung heap, you and those worms you call followers,” LaShaun snapped. She tried to twist free of his iron grip, but the defense techniques she knew were no match against his superior strength.

  “Such hostility when I’m trying to make you a queen.” Chase suddenly stopped and yanked LaShaun against his body. A pulsing heat came through the layers of his clothes. “I am going to transform this pathetic man you chose as a mate into a world ruler. You should thank me.”

  LaShaun pushed against him, but froze at his words. Heart pounding, she looked up into eyes that gleamed with cruelty, and triumph. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your ancestors called me forth, and then left behind mewling offspring. They whined about Him,” Chase spat as he pointed to the sky. “They got down on their knees and crawled begging Him to forgive. My cunning and power had enriched the LeGrange and Rousselle families, but I was ignored. Still I knew the true nature of man would win out. So I waited. Finally another one called on me. I grew stronger. And I waited again. Two generations later you came along to captivate me with your beauty, intelligence, and ruthlessness. You were the best of them all, until you crawled in the dirt on your knees as well. Lighting candles and mumbling empty words. I was sorely disappointed in you until you gave me this gift, a vessel. A body to let me enjoy the pleasures of the flesh. We can be together.”

  “No, we won’t,” LaShaun shouted back at him. She felt dizzy at the impact of what he said.

  “Face the truth, ma cherie. You delivered Chase into my hands the day you ensnared him in your love. He could not fight his passion for you. Do not lie to yourself, LaShaun. You knew,” the voice coming from Chase’s lips now bore no resemblance to the man she cherished. “Just as you pulled other men into your sensuous web to get your way, you set just as delicious of a trap for this one. Oui?”

  “Liar.” LaShaun kicked his legs with as much force as she could.

  Chase stumbled, but held on firmly to her. “Why deny who you really are deep inside? I’m giving you this man. Feel him; the body that brings you delight.”

  “Stop.” LaShaun tried to pull away, but couldn’t. She could feel the heat from Chase’s body, and his arousal as he pressed his pelvis against her.

  “Even now your body responds to him,” he whispered in her ear.

  Though she whipped her head from side to side in denial, LaShaun could not look away from the dark eyes that had captured her heart. Their mouths touched, and a flash of fire seemed to lick at her very soul. More than physical desire, LaShaun felt an overwhelming hunger to have him inside her. A powerful memory of the way Chase felt when they made love left her weak. Though a small part of her mind rebelled, LaShaun clutched at Chase with a moan. She kissed him greedily, raking her hands over his body. After a few seconds he pushed her away.

  “Chase,” LaShaun gasped.

  “Sweet one, we will have plenty of time later. But right now we have one more task before we can taste the delights of human lust.” He laughed and yanked her farther into the darkness.

  LaShaun clawed at his arms in pure rage born of frustration. She’d allowed his filth into her mind. For a brief moment she almost gave in to the temptation. His suggestion that she accept him as Chase should have sickened her. Instead LaShaun became seduced. Anger with herself as much as with the deceiver burned like a hot branding iron.

  “You don’t know me,” LaShaun rasped, panting with exertion against her own inner demons and the one made flesh in the man she loved.

  “But I do, love. That’s why you fight with such intensity. I’m a mirror, and you do not like what you see. Enough,” he growled and waved an arm. Cloaked figures separated from the shadows as though they were part of the tree trunks. “We begin.”

  LaShaun pushed back against his effort to play on her deepest doubts and fears. She needed to stall for time. “Why didn’t you inhabit Manny Young? He’d probably love to team up with you.”

  Chase let go of her. “I would have settled for him, but he foolishly became imprisoned. I tried to counsel him, but he has little self-control. His release could take years, if it happens at all. Poor chap.”

  “Like you give a damn about Manny,” LaShaun spat back at him. “If he becomes useless he’s dead. The rest of you better listen up because that goes for you, too. This thing will use you and walk over your dead body when he’s done.”

  He yanked LaShaun against his chest again and put his lips to her ear. “They don’t care. My followers have tasted the freedom I offer.”

  “Freedom? You’re his slaves, his fools. You’re not free,” LaShaun yelled at them. The figures stood still, waiting for orders.

  “Some say I’m entirely too indulgent with you. If I didn’t need you awake for our ceremony, I’d knock you out myself.” Chase’s features twisted into a frightful scowl. He pointed a forefinger at her. “Don’t push me.”

  “Montgomery, this is insane. Serving evil will lead to damnation,” LaShaun shouted, trying to gain time.

  Chase lifted LaShaun in the air in a bear hug. Then he let one hand roam over her body. His breath became ragged. The cloaked figures started to chant. Once again LaShaun felt his arousal as Chase moaned. He brushed a hand across her breasts. Quickly he reached into her jacket and took her knife. Murmurs of admiration came from the figures when he held the knife up. LaShaun counted six, but felt sure more blended in the darkness.

  Montgomery stepped forward wearing a smile of victory. “Ah yes. The legendary sacred knife of purest silver. That will make a nice addition to my collection.”

  “You’re among friends here, no weapons needed,” a familiar female voice cackled.

  “I’m going to cut you first, Gina,” LaShaun snarled in her direction.

  “I said enough.” Chase nodded to someone. While the figures moved around in some kind of purposeful activity, he whispered to LaShaun again. “We’ll finish what we started once this is over. I can’t wait to part your legs.”

  He dragged her to an older part of the family cemetery. They went through the wrought iron gate LaShaun had installed after her grandmother’s burial. Her pulse quickened. Abiku h
eaded in the direction LaShaun had seen on the old map. Moving through thick brush they came to a clearing. A large tree had been cut and only the stump remained. An iron fire pit had been embedded in it. Blue and yellow flames licked the night casting a glow in a wide circle.

  “You have an awful choice. Kill the man you love, and you will banish me. Or accept the inevitable and rule by my side. Of course you must get over that unfortunate need to be good.” The demon twisted Chase’s features into a grimace, as though the word tasted sour on his tongue.

  “I can’t kill you,” LaShaun replied.

  “Of course you can’t, dear one. I’m the man you adore, the man of your dreams. I’m your husband, bound to you by our eternal vows.”

  “Forever to rule this world in darkness, we claim our right to make the meek bow down. Strong is the way of the wicked. Yea, we crush them beneath our boots as we stride across this land,” the cloaked figures changed on cue.

  LaShaun swung a fist hoping to hit Gina first. Strong hands pulled her back to the center of the clearing. Looking down she noticed symbols drawn in the dirt. A raised mound stood opposite the fire pit. She stared hard and realized what looked like a mass of vegetation appeared more solid. LaShaun started for Chase. Three cloaked figures came toward her, but he waved them back.

  LaShaun reached into her lace bra. She held up a silver wolf’s head with black onyx and lapis. “Remember when I gave you this? Here, take this symbol of our commitment. You haven’t worn it lately because of work.”

  Chase pushed the collars of his jacket and shirt away to expose his neck. The cloaked followers murmured in protest, but he chopped a hand in the air demanding silence. He then turned back to LaShaun. His eyes glowed as he looked at her. “This trinket cannot harm me because she gives it freely, a symbol of her devotion. Still warm from the heat of her flesh.”