Pigalle Palace

by Niyah Moore

  “So what are you going to tell the family?” A hint of agony replaced her happiness. “I hope it’s as easy as you’re making it seem.”

  “There is a certain way to approach my parents about certain things. Have you ever known love like this?”

  “I’ve only been in love once and it was with my high school sweetheart. We were engaged. I told him that I was half-blooded because I didn’t want to hide any secrets from him. One night, I was walking home from bartending and I was attacked and bitten by a vampire. He would’ve killed me if he hadn’t been scared off by the police officer. I transformed in the hospital. The sun coming through the window burned my skin and that’s how I knew. I found out later that my fiancé sent the vampire to kill me.”

  “One of your parents was a human?”

  “Yes, my mother. Maybe that’s why this happened?”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “Because we both were born to human women.”

  “Could be..I won’t hurt you, Soleil. Those days are long gone. I’m going to show you a whole new definition of love.”

  She rubbed the scarred side of my face. “You want to tell me how that scar got there now?”

  I was ready to tell her. I took a deep breath and replied, “I have one memory from when I was about eleven years old. I was playing outside of the house and some men came. They were looking for my birth mother and father. One of them grabbed me by the neck to make my parents come outside. He held the knife to my face and cut me. My mother came outside and begged them not to kill me. He flung me to the ground and I watched them kill her and then my father. My godparents appeared like out of nowhere, killed the men, and saved me and my siblings…”

  Soleil continued to caress my face with tears in her eyes. “I hope our son looks just like you.”

  I ran my fingers through her curly mane. “He will.”

  She giggled. “You’re supposed to say that he will look like me.”

  “Why would I lie to you?”

  She laughed and I laughed with her to ease the sad mood.

  “Our child will be beautiful no matter what because he is ours,” I said. “Now, give me a kiss.

  * * *

  Soleil had been sick the past few mornings after she broke the news to me. She didn’t feel well enough to try to hunt animals to feed on, so I told her we would get a thermal of donated blood from the club.

  When we arrived at the club, Mother and Father were already there. When I saw them, nervousness swirled inside of me. I wanted to be the one to tell them what we had done, but I could tell by the look on Mother’s face that she had already known.

  As soon as my mother took one look at Soleil, her large eyes amplified as if she’d seen a ghost.

  “Do you want me to go grab a thermal?” Soleil asked nervously.

  Mother’s eyes nearly came out of her head. She shot up quickly from her seat and swiftly levitated before us. Father was right behind her.

  “Mother… Father,” I said calmly.

  Mother examined Soleil from her hair to her manicured fingernails. Soleil’s skin was glowing as if she were alive. Entranced by her glow, my parents couldn’t take their eyes off Soleil.

  “She’s pregnant,” Mother said. “I see it.”

  “How is that possible?” Father asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “But it’s true and it’s possible.”

  Soleil froze and didn’t utter a word.

  “Impossible.” Mother casually laughed it off as if she were in denial.

  “Soleil is my girlfriend and I want to protect her and the baby.”

  “Are you trying to tear what’s left of this family apart?” Mother asked with tears coming to her eyes.

  “No. We’ve never seen a vampire pregnant. This has to mean something.”

  “Never mind the meaning. How did this happen? Did you cast a spell or something?”

  “We don’t know any spells to cast, Mother. My siblings and I were born to a human. She was born to a human, too. Do you think that has something to do with it?”

  Mother threw her back toward us. It still bothered her that we weren’t her birth children. Whenever we spoke of our birth mother, she always got sensitive about it.

  I added, “The Divination spoke of a Daywalker… Maybe we were wrong about Rain. Maybe he isn’t the one. Maybe it will be my baby.”

  “How dare you curse the Divination,” Father yelled. “You don’t know better than any of us.”

  “When have you seen Rain walk in the sun? When have you seen Rain fulfill or carry out anything that was said in the Divination? Soleil is pregnant with a child that has the same DNA as our family. The Divination must’ve been talking about this child.”

  “This is outrageous,” Mother nearly screamed. “The Préfet will not understand how this happened. We’ve managed to break almost every rule of Pigalle Palace as of recently. We won’t have enough time to explain anything to them once they discover this. We can’t expose this. We will be killed.”

  “Why should we hide?” I retorted. “Why would the Préfet be upset about something that they’ve been waiting for?”

  “Get me out of here before I snatch his head off his body,” Mother said.

  Father followed behind her without saying another word. With tears in my eyes, I watched the both of them until they vanished around the corner.

  “Do you think the Préfet will be upset? What do you think they’ll do to us?”

  Fear was in her eyes; I could see it.

  I reached for her hands. “I’ll protect you. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect the both of you.”

  “Maybe we should abort the baby.”

  “No, I can feel that something very special is going to happen. So, calm down, baby,” I said, rubbing both of her arms.

  Soleil took a deep breath for a second before she asked, “I’m your girlfriend?”

  “Aren’t you?”

  “When did I get that title?”

  “You’re having my baby, aren’t you?”

  “Just because I’m having your baby doesn’t make me your girlfriend.”

  “You know what your problem is, Soleil?”

  A wild fire was in her eyes. “What’s my problem?”

  “You think too much. I want this baby and I want you. Know that. Believe that.”

  She rolled her eyes, but I saw a small smile ease at the corners of her mouth. She wanted me to confirm what she already knew. Soleil was officially my woman.

  CHAPTER 17

  RAIN

  “What is this?” Essence asked, flipping out over her iPad while sitting at the kitchen table. “My professors have reported me as a missing person.”

  She nearly spilled over the vase full of flowers with her rage. Even though she swore she wasn’t concerned with anyone looking for her, she kept her nose in the news to see if she would turn up in it. Sometimes, she laughed at the news and sometimes, she cried. I didn’t know why she worked herself up over that crap. Rumors were the only things those journalists believed in and they actually convinced the world it was the truth. They never apologized when they gave out false information, either.

  I had just arrived home from work. I wasn’t in the mood to fight with her, especially when we were finally trying to bond as a married couple.

  “I need to show back up at school,” she said.

  “You can take night classes like Colette. She’s learned to go to different campuses, so no one would think anything funny.”

  “I guess that’s the only choice I have. That means I would have to withdraw out of my day classes. This is so messed up. I’m going to have to move back into my dorm.”

  “You don’t have to live back on campus.”

  “That’s the only way my life will feel normal again. Will you be able to come by and visit?”

  I sighed at the thought of being restricted from her company. This wasn’t going my way. I started walking toward the front door.

  “Whe
re are you going?”

  “I have to get some air.”

  * * *

  “What are you doing here?” Onyx asked, opening his front door for me.

  I spent my whole day thinking until I couldn’t focus anymore. It was almost nine o’clock at night on a Sunday and we were going to have to be at the club in an hour. I took off my shoes at the door and followed him inside.

  “Essence read her missing person’s report today.”

  He frowned. “Didn’t you explain to her that she would be filed as a missing person if she didn’t go back to school?”

  “I told her, but she wants to go back to school, and she wants me to give her the space to do what makes her comfortable.”

  “How are you really feeling? It doesn’t seem like you and the new bride are getting along too well.”

  “This is all becoming more complicated than it needs to be.”

  “I’m sure this was what Father meant when he said we had to choose our brides carefully…”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking on my way over here.”

  “Well, I have some news to share,” Onyx announced.

  “Yeah? What’s that?”

  “I got Soleil pregnant.”

  “Soleil? The bartender?”

  “Yeah…”

  I frowned deeply. “Wait, is that even possible?”

  “Mother gave her an ultrasound earlier this evening… Yes, there’s a baby and he or she is growing.”

  This couldn’t be true. He had to be joking. “Yeah right.”

  “I swear to you.”

  As I tried to process the news, Soleil walked into the kitchen and Onyx’s face lit up.

  I thought we were in the house alone. She actually startled me a little bit. I straightened up and waved. “Bonsoir, Soleil.”

  “Bonsoir, Rain. How are you?”

  “I’m good. How are you?”

  “I’m doing pretty well.”

  “Congratulations on the baby.”

  “Thank you.” She held on to Onyx.

  Onyx kissed the side of her face.

  “I’m going to head to the club. Thanks for being an ear, Onyx,” I said. “I’ll see you there.”

  “No problem, bro. I’m here for you whenever you need me.”

  This would be the very first vampire-born baby in over two centuries. Worry filled me. It was time for me to face the one thing I had been running away from, the Divination.

  CHAPTER 18

  LEGEND

  I went into the living room and the sliding door to the balcony was opened. Chantal went out to view the city as the lights twinkled underneath the moonlight.

  I joined her. “Hey, baby? What you out here thinking about?”

  “I’m just thinking…”

  “I can see that. What’s on your mind?”

  She hesitated for a moment as if she didn’t want to tell me. After a few seconds of silence, she said, “I don’t think I’m ready for this.”

  “You don’t think you’re ready for what?”

  “Is there a way to turn me back human?” She took off her wedding ring and placed it in my hand.

  I stared down at the ring, feeling very confused. I scowled deeply. “This is not a game, Chantal. This is irreversible. I thought this was something you wanted.”

  “I can’t do this anymore. I’m going back to Chicago.”

  Seemed like her mind was made up. There was no point in arguing with her.

  “When?”

  “Tomorrow night.”

  “You do know that the life you used to know is no more, right? No one there will understand the change in you. Vampires aren’t accepted like that over there, and you will find that you will start to hate them. You might even kill a few of them. See, Pigalle Palace isn’t just a place of erotic indiscretion. It’s our home. The only place we can be safe in.”

  Chantal shrugged. “I don’t care. I want to go home. I don’t belong here.”

  “So, you don’t plan on coming back?”

  Her eyes became vacant, empty, and she seemed to space out. “…No.”

  I chewed on the inside of my jaw to contain the sadness my heart instantly felt. “I see you gave this some thought?”

  “Of course I did. I jumped into this head first without much thought about my life back at home. I can’t stop thinking about home.”

  I went inside, poured some Brandy in a glass from the bar, and placed her ring on the countertop.

  “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” she said as she came inside.

  My mind felt caught in a whirlwind as I tried to find a trace of sadness or any tears in her eyes. Nothing told me she really wanted to be with me. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat and prepared myself for the breakup.

  “Go ahead and leave. Make sure that you leave everything that belongs to me here.”

  She fluttered her eyelashes and frowned as if to ask how I could be so cold all of a sudden. She took out the card from her purse and placed it on the bar next to the ring, looking at me in a way I didn’t recognize. What’d she think? I wasn’t going to let her still have access to my money while she was away.

  “I was hoping I could still use this for a few more weeks, to help me get another place and what not once I get home.”

  I cocked my head to the right slightly and stared at her. She was crazy. “Why would I let you do that?” I picked up the card and waved it in front of her face. “You do have money to get you home without me, right?”

  “Don’t, Legend...”

  “Why not leave right now? Why wait until tomorrow?”

  “You want me to leave right now?”

  “Why not? Since you’re so unhappy.”

  “So, you’re going to be a jackass about this and put me out?”

  “I think you should leave right now before I lose my cool with you.”

  “I still have another twenty-four hours…”

  “I’m not giving you twenty-four hours. I want you to leave right now. Do you need some money to go to a hostel?” I drank and poured more.

  “A hostel? Are you serious? You can’t be serious.”

  “Oh, I’m dead serious.”

  “Don’t play games right now.”

  “You don’t play games. You pull this insane antic on me after I made a very serious commitment to you and you expect me to be nice about it. Trust me when I say that this was a big mistake.”

  “So, this is now the Legend show. Well, let me be the one to break it to you, baby. This is about me, too. …I’ll go ahead and leave right now.” She turned to walk away.

  “Hey, I don’t beg women to stay. I can get any woman I want.”

  She spun around quickly. “Then go get her.”

  After I grabbed the ring and the debit card, I stormed off to my bedroom. I placed them on the dresser in my bedroom. I took off all my clothes except for my boxers before getting in the bed. I needed some sleep.

  Chantal walked in and went into the bathroom. I heard her flush the toilet before she washed her hands and turned off the light. She stopped at the dresser briefly before she lay in the bed next to me, not touching me at first, but then took her hands and placed them in my boxers to rub my dick. She let out a subtle moan as she rested her face, soaked with tears, in the crook of my neck against my dreads.

  “Legend,” she managed to say through her sniffles. “Don’t let me go.”

  That was all she had to say to soften my heart.

  She was becoming my world and it almost felt like my new world was going to end if she left it. Therefore, she stayed.

  CHAPTER 19

  ONYX

  “Hey, you,” Soleil greeted me from behind the bar as she cleaned glasses to prep for the night.

  Even though she had just left my bed, seeing her face at work was like seeing her for the first time in a long time.

  “How are you feeling? Is the baby giving you any problems?”

  “No, the baby is doing just fine. K
icking me like crazy, though.”

  “You look beautiful as always.”

  “Thank you, my love.”

  I wanted to pull her over the bar and land a huge kiss, but that would’ve been inappropriate. I let my thoughts do all the imagining.

  “Have you talked to Azura yet?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I talked to her. She supports whatever we want to do.”

  “That’s good.”

  I leaned over the bar and placed a kiss on her lips briefly. I couldn’t help myself. Her glossed lips were begging me to touch them.

  Rain cleared his throat from behind me. “We have a family meeting upstairs. Right now.”

  I nodded and winked at her. “I’ll see you later.”

  “I’ll be right here,” she replied.

  I headed to the elevator with Rain.

  “You’re one lucky man,” he stated. “I never noticed how hot Soleil was before you starting messing with her.”

  “Keep not noticing, my brotha, because she’s all mine.”

  “Are you nervous about the pregnancy?”

  “Of course I am. I’m worried about what the Préfet will say.”

  “I understand you on that. Well, the pressure is definitely more on me now. That’s for sure. Do you realize how hard it’s been for me? It’s too much pressure.”

  “Rain, can I ask you something?”

  “What’s up?”

  “Have you tried daywalking?”

  Rain answered honestly, “Not yet.”

  “Then, how do you know that you can’t?”

  He became silent. Rain and his damned silence was irritating. Rain was afraid to take responsibility and face it. He wanted to be free and do whatever he pleased, but time was ticking and he needed to be King if that was his true destiny.

  The Divination said that one from our bloodline would reign over Pigalle Palace. He would be the one to finally rule after the murder of King Allemand and his wife, Queen Christione. All broods would have to obey the laws of the new King. Rain wasn’t ready for that.

  We entered the conference room. Father was sitting at the head of the round table with Mother, Legend, and Azura. We joined them.

  “I called this family meeting because our family is on the brink of self-destruction,” Father said. “If we don’t act fast, we all won’t be shown any mercy and beheaded. So, I want to address these matters. Let’s start with Rain. I hear Essence is returning to school.”