Before the Moonrise

by Dawn Gray

  “I don’t get it,” Kylie whispered. “Does this mean that Lily is a descendent of that Indian woman and the vampire?”

  “For all reasoning, yes,” Jean replied and sat forward in his chair. “The heritage that Lily holds is a great asset.”

  “To her or to the vampires?” she questioned, turning to her friend. “I’m sorry I brought you down here, I’m sorry I dragged you along.”

  “You didn’t drag me, Ky, and stop apologizing. I’m very happy that I came down here.” Lily smiled, looking over at Jared, who seemed to be sitting there quietly, ignoring the others. “I need some information though. What is a moonrise? Is that like the full moon we have every month?”

  “No, not exactly,” Jean replied, as he moved into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. He offered one to each and watched them all agree. “You see, a moonrise happens on a full moon, but only once every decade is there a true one. It happens during a blue moon month, when there are two full moons in a 28-day cycle, like this month. The second full moon holds mystical powers associated with the vampires and brings out the possibility of discovering the woman who could bring them the light.”

  “She said that there were a few more days before the moonrise,” Kylie mused. “Couldn’t we just get on a plane and go home?”

  “They would follow you,” Jared spoke up as he glanced at her. “You would lead them back to your families and your children, and they wouldn’t stop until they had you.”

  “So how do we stop them?” She sighed.

  “They have to take her before the moonrise, and sacrifice her, using her blood to bring the light into them.” Jean bluntly stated, which got the attention of all three of them. He looked over their faces and sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m so used to speaking with people that the legends don’t concern. Anyway, it’s not very clear on what goes on to get the vampires what they need. I do know one thing for certain, they didn’t have a werewolf to contend with at any other moonrise.”

  “You people keep saying werewolf? Who is the werewolf?” Kylie said softly, looking around at the other three occupants of the room. Jean and Lily looked over at Jared, who rolled his eyes and sighed. “No way! I don’t believe it!”

  “Whether you choose to or not, it’s true,” Jared growled, crossing his arms over his chest, watching as Kylie sat down. “My name is Gerard du Claverack; do you need anymore explanation than that?”

  She shook her head, disbelief in her eyes, and Jared stood quickly, making his way towards the door. He was angry, more with himself than Kylie, and he couldn’t stand to be in the room with the others anymore. He flung the door open and stepped out into the hallway. With a deep breath, he moved down towards the stairs when he heard the suite’s door close again.

  “Jared, wait!” Lily’s sweet voice moved through him and his feet anchored to the floor, making it impossible for him to run away from her. He looked down as she moved to stand in front of him. “Don’t leave me.”

  “Leave you?” He smiled, shaking his head. “That’s my fear, Lil, it shouldn’t be yours.”

  “Where are you going?” she questioned, looking over his face, searching his eyes for something besides the anger she felt pulsating off him. “Please, don’t go out there, not outside the gate.”

  “Collin isn’t going to touch me, Lil. He hasn’t in two-hundred years, he isn’t going to now.” He watched her shudder and slowly he wrapped his arms around her.

  “It’s not Collin that frightens me,” she whispered, and looked up at his face. Gently, he brushed her cheek with the tips of his fingers and sighed. “It’s the blond one from the other night; there was something about him that scares me.”

  “He won’t touch you, I swear.” Jared leaned down and brushed her lips with his. “Mmm,” he moaned, licking his lips after, “you taste good enough to eat.”

  Lily smiled. “Good distraction.”

  “It worked,” he said.

  As his hands cupped her face and he brought her to him once again, kissing her passionately on the mouth, his thoughts raced to the strange sensations in his heart. He knew that he would never stop wanting to kiss her, never stop needing to feel her so close. Slowly he backed away.

  “What is it, Jared?” Lily whispered, touching his soft lips with her fingertips. “You have the same look in your eyes that you did earlier and you said it was nothing. I know it’s something, so spit it out.”

  He watched her smile, knowing that she was trying to ease his mind, making him feel like he could tell her anything. He shook his head, unable to form the words he moved away … creating space between them as he released her flesh. He licked his lips, shook his head, and turned to walk away. Lily closed her eyes, knowing that he was upset about something, but when she opened them, he was gone.

  

  She was such easy prey, he thought as her big brown doe eyes locked onto his. He smiled politely down at her, placing the apple she had dropped into her basket.

  Damon’s shining eyes captured her in a stare, locking him into her mind.

  “May I help you with your groceries, my dear?” He grinned and watched her blush, feeling the heat rise up to her face. “They must be heavy.”

  “Thank you,” she replied, letting the kind man take the wicker basket full of fruits and vegetables. The two of them turned and moved back in the direction of the sanctuary where the woman Collin so desperately needed was hiding. “It’s very kind of you to help me out.”

  “It’s my pleasure, miss,” he replied and the two of them walked in silence until they arrived at the door. “Would you care for some help inside?”

  “I’m afraid that we’re not allowed to invite strangers into our home,” she replied nervously, taking the basket from him. Damon reached up and touched her cheek, gently moving his fingers over her full lips. “Thank you again for your help.”

  Damon’s eyes began to glow bright fiery red, his body moving closer to the girl as her eyes grew wide. “You will invite me in, my dear.”

  “Yes, of course,” she replied, in a monotone voice, as if she had no emotion left. She opened the door with an old skeleton key, before turning to him once more. “Won’t you come in?”

  He gestured for her to go first and followed her into the darkened hallways of the building. The old brick walls kept the hall dark and cool, and even Damon shivered against the chill, but what he felt more was the burning in his veins for blood, as being out in any light weakened him.

  He pulled the girl into a darkened corner, making her drop the basket that she held tightly to her, and pushed her back against the wall. She squirmed against him, trying to protest, but her voice was lost to call for help. Damon gripped her hair, taking a fist full at the back of her head, and held her there as he moved down to her neck. She wanted to scream, to cry out for assistance. Unfortunately, since he held her enthralled, she could do nothing except cry. A tear slid down her cheek as his teeth sank into her skin.

  She could feel the life drain out of her, feel the pull of her veins as her will was sucked from her being. The last thing she saw as her eyes faded to black, was the sight of the blond-haired man smiling down at her. With her blood covering his pale chin, an awful laugh of triumph escaped his mouth and it was the last sound she heard before she died.

  Stealthily he moved though the building, following the link he had formed with the woman the day he marked her as his, to the third floor suites. He was silent and invisible, and he stopped quickly as the heavy wooden door before him opened, the man from the church stepping out into the hallway.

  “I’ll find him, Lily. Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s not far,” the man shouted back into the room. As he turned to walk by, he stopped.

  Damon watched the goose flesh rise on the man’s arm, knowing that whoever this man was, he could feel death nearby. He watched him shake his head and step away, without making sure to lock the door tight. Damon slipped in, just before the door closed fully, and moved quietly through the suite. He watched
the beautiful woman pace the carpeted sitting room, as her friend sat watching, and he ducked into the room where her scent was strong.

  The animal was nowhere around, his scent weak, and Damon knew that this would be the opportune time to get some rest. As he slipped silently into the closet with the slotted doors, Damon smiled at his luck. He wrapped his black coat around him, and slowly closed his eyes.

  

  Lily looked up as the chill passed through her. She couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from, or where it had gone, but something about it scared her. She turned to look at Kylie, and sighed.

  “I can’t stand that we’re trapped in here,” Lily said, with irritation in her voice. “I can’t believe we’re even in this situation.”

  “Relax. If this moonrise thing is only a few days away then when Jared and Jean get us out of it, we’ll be able to enjoy the rest of the last week we’re here,” Kylie replied, looking out the window behind her as the sun began to set. She rubbed her eyes and stretched out once again. “Besides, with as much action as you’ve been seeing, I would think you were enjoying this.”

  “Oh my God, Ky, I can’t believe you just said that!” Lily laughed, sitting down as her face turned bright red. “Jared and I, we’re … I mean, he’s just …”

  “What? Just a good time in a faraway state?” Kylie laughed, but she watched Lily’s face and the emotions in her eyes. “Lily, what is he to you? You just met him, and you already look like a girl with a crush.”

  “I’ve known him for some time, it seems,” she answered softly, and watched Kylie nod.

  “That’s right; Madame LaQue did mention something about the panic attacks. What was that all about? How did she know?” Kylie sat forward and stared at Lily, who closed her eyes and sighed. “Jared is the voice, isn’t he? He’s the one that you heard?”

  “Apparently,” she said, looking up with a grin on her face. “The other day, when we were at lunch and he called me flower, do you remember that?”

  Kylie nodded and shook her head. “Holy crap, I never even put two and two together. That’s why you got up and left, wasn’t it, and that’s why you came back crying? I would have never guessed.”

  “He thought I was just a figment of his imagination, something to get him through the hell he was in himself. He said he never thought that I was real, but it would explain why we were so connected, and why I couldn’t get him out of my head.” Lily laughed quietly, but as she looked up at Kylie, her friend watched the tears slide down her cheek. “And I have to leave him to go home.”

  “Don’t you want to go home?” she inquired, moving over to sit near her friend.

  “More than you can imagine. I miss my kids, and my ordinary not-a-damn-thing-happens-to-me life, but Jared is in me. I can feel him when I breathe and I don’t know if I can just get on a plane and leave him here.”

  “How does he feel about you?”

  Lily shook her head. “There’s something going on with him. Like I told Jean, he’s holding something in and he’s not telling me. I don’t expect him to be completely open with me, we’ve only just officially met and things have just spiraled out of control, but there’s an emotion in his eyes that he has tried so hard to hide.”

  “He’s been on this planet over two-hundred years, Lil. Don’t you think he had just a little bit of time to build up a wall, to keep his heart from breaking over and over in that period? Maybe he just doesn’t know what he feels, or how to express it.” Kylie wrapped her arms around her friend and kissed her on the temple as Lily tried to relax. “I’m sure he’s fine, that nothing is really wrong with him, and he just needs time to figure this out. Jean will find him, and the two of you will have however long you need to get this off your chest.”

  Not as long as I hope, Lily’s thoughts whispered to her. She said the moonrise wasn’t very far away.

  

  Jean slowly approached the pacing form that hid in the shadows of a broken street lamp. It had taken him longer than he had expected to find his friend, but as he approached, he could feel Jared’s agitation. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck and arms, the electricity flowing through the air.

  Jared was stalking, like an animal hunting its prey, carefully moving back and forth waiting to get a the jump on whatever approached. He turned quickly as he felt Jean draw closer.

  “This is not a good time, my friend,” he mumbled, his voice deep with pent up frustration.

  “I know.” Jean sighed, taking a seat a little over 5 feet from him. “The full moon is on you and it has been many decades since a moonrise this powerful.”

  “It isn’t just the moonrise!” Jared snarled. Jean laughed quietly to himself and Jared turned quickly in his direction. “You mock me?”

  “To mock you, my dear feral friend, I would have to be laughing at your situation, but I’m not. I laugh because I know what else makes you so uneasy,” Jean replied, brushing his pant legs of the pollen that fell from near-by trees. “She waits for you, you know. And just like you, she has no idea how to feel right now.”

  “I can feel her just as well from here. In fact, I can smell her,” he growled, a deep-throated sound that vibrated through Jean’s mind. “I don’t understand this feeling. My heart feels as if it is going to rip out of my chest. I want her, Jean! I want her so fiercely that I’m afraid I’ll hurt her.”

  “It’s okay to want,” his friend stated.

  “Not this type of want.” Jared sighed, leaning up against the unlit post. “I want her the way the beast does, as an animal would take its mate and claim them. I’ve never felt such desire, such passion, but at the same time such an overwhelming need to dominate.”

  “How does the man feel?”

  Jared shook his head and smiled. “Lost. Every time I look into her eyes, I get lost in them. My heart beats wildly, my hands shake, and I can’t control my breathing. She makes me wonder what is going on in her head every second, and I’ve never felt so empty when she is away.”

  “Sounds like the man and the beast want the same thing, but don’t know how to compromise.” Jean laughed, which finally got a grin from Jared. “What will you do when she goes?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. What should I do? She can’t stay here, she has children. Could I really leave this place, my ancestral home, to start over somewhere I know nothing about?”

  “Yes,” Jean replied, and Jared quickly turned to face him. He stood, looking at the man before him, and patted Jared on the shoulder. “You have protected New Orleans with your life for over two centuries. You have taken the protection of her people against the vampires into your own hands; it is time for her to take care of her own. You found something remarkable in Lily, and nothing says that you need to stay here and lose something you have been waiting for.”

  “I can’t decide, not until I know how this will all end,” Jared said, his voice calm yet weary. “I can’t promise her that I will always be with her, especially when I might die trying to protect her.”

  “Time will decide that, my friend.” The two men turned and looked at the dark Mississippi River and then at each other. “Come, I believe we left two beautiful women alone and in the hands of a voodoo priestess. As much as I would like to, I’m not entirely sure I trust Madame’s word on her home being vampire proof.”

  Jared felt his heart flutter at Jean’s words, but he couldn’t feel any danger from the home, he was too far away. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be right where Lily was, where he could be positive of her protection.

  Chapter Five

  Her scent woke him from his slumber in the darkness of the closet. His eyes, wide and red, looked about the unfamiliar surroundings until everything came into focus. His ears picked up the sounds of the running water in the next room, the steam from the shower carrying the different fragrances that he identified as her to his senses.

  Stepping forward, to look through the slotted door of the closet, he saw her step into the room,
wrapped in a soft white towel. Her wet hair fell in waves over the bare skin of her shoulders. As she bent over to grab the nightshirt from the bed, he traced her legs as they moved up under the short end of the towel, to where the roundness of her bottom peaked out.

  He stared, the blood burning in his veins, as she removed the towel, revealing the curves of her body. She had the classic hourglass shape, but with curves that accentuated her hips as they rounded down to her trim thighs. Her breasts were perky, but enough for a handful of each. The pinkish-brown color of her nipples told him that she had born children, for they were not the virgin color of some of the young tourist girls he had taken before.

  Observing her move set his body on fire, and he felt himself harden unexpectedly at the sight of her, something that hadn’t happened in over fifty years. Damon touched the extended member under the tightness of his pants and reeled back in shock. The one thing that was certain about his life was that a mortal reaction to a naked woman was something that just didn’t happen. Vampires found the eroticism of taking blood from a willing victim the same as sex … the thrill of the orgasm was there without the actual act. He had never wanted a mortal the way he wanted this one, blood and flesh.

  He heard her sigh as she slipped the silk nightgown over her head, letting it fall to mid-thigh before moving under the covers of the bed. She curled up on her side, reaching out to feel the pillow next to hers, as if looking for someone that wasn’t there. Slowly, he felt her fall into a light sleep. With a grin on his face, he stepped out into the darkness of the room and moved quietly over to the bed where the sexy woman lie half in a dream.

  

  Lily could feel the strange pulse in the air as she turned over in bed, pushing the heavy blankets from her body. She was hot, unbearably so, in a room with the air conditioning on, and she couldn’t figure out why. Her dreams were plagued with visions of the vampires invading the house and holding Jared hostage as they took her body, one after the other, but she knew it wasn’t possible. The legends of the vampires stated that they were dead, as far as their body was concerned.