Before the Moonrise

by Dawn Gray

  “Damn!” Jean sighed and shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. “I’ve killed them,” he whispered to himself. “I’ve damned them both to hell.”

  “The night isn’t over with yet, Monsieur de Martien,” the haggard old woman’s voice cracked against the silence of the night as she stepped out of the darkness. Her eyes were a blind white, yet she walked straight at him, her cane tapping on the sidewalk was the only sound her old body made.

  Jean looked over as the grizzly man moved silently towards them from the other direction. His eyes hidden under the scruff of his beard, but he too made no sound as he approached, his stare locked on the lighted vampire in the middle.

  “There is a way to defeat Collin and the vampires,” he growled, his deep voice ricocheting off the buildings that surrounded them. “And you will need all of us to do so.”

  “The moonrise is only a few hours away and there aren’t enough of us to completely destroy his clans,” Jean whispered, his voice defeated. He glanced around at the three people that surrounded him. “What could we possibly have in our favor?”

  “Your light is connected to two men, not just one, my darling.” Morna smiled, wrapping her arm around the crook of his. “You forget that she turned her own little vampire in our favor.”

  “And they buried him alive!” Jean growled.

  “Yes, but his heart will find the will to come to her aid, just as Jared’s found it to come to her all those months ago,” the hag added, and turned back to the dark corner from where she had appeared. “My followers will be where you need them precisely when you need them; all you have to do is call.”

  “My league awaits your signal,” the man replied and turned, taking his leave as well.

  Jean shook his head, and turned towards the beautiful woman at his side. “My faith must not be what it used to be.”

  “Take heart, my love. Lily and Jared will be fine,” Morna replied, resting her head on his shoulder as he took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles lightly. His thoughts traveled to Kylie and he wondered just what she would do should her friend perish this night.

  

  Jared could feel the anger rising in him as he felt the silver chains clasp around his wrists and ankles, holding him tightly against the cold, damp wall of the cave. The moon was close to its peak time and he had never had the strength to keep from changing into his wolf before. He was afraid that on the night he needed the most self-control, he wasn’t going to have it.

  He could feel Lily from where he stood, as she walked into the room, dressed in a sheer white gown. Her eyes were silver fire and she watched him without expression as she sat down upon the stone table in the middle of the stage, where Collin’s throne had stood the last time they had walked into the cavern.

  She seemed calm on the outside, but inside he could feel her torture as the heat built up in her chest, squeezing her lungs so that she was barely able to breathe. Her fingers twitched, as if they were no longer part of her body, and he could see the pain in her eyes. She looked up at Collin, her eyes trained on his, as her lips slightly parted and her breath came out in a whisper. Collin smiled, running a cold hand over the side of her cheek. Lily closed her eyes to a slit, turning her attention to Jared, who wanted to shiver at the iciness within them.

  

  The words Collin spoke to her never registered. They sounded garbled and alien to her ears, but she could make out one sound in the room; one unique sound that drew her attention to the creature near the wall. His heartbeat. It thudded in her ear like a beacon, pulling her from the darkness that surrounded her. She wanted him, wanted nothing except the man that held that beat in his chest.

  She couldn’t even remember who she was. Flashes of the past seemed to take her every now and again, but her first vivid memory was the light of the moon as the two demons beside her brought her out of the darkness. She had been so many women, at so many different times in history, and always they had been the same. Weak hearted and mild. This one seemed different, this soul was strong. While her host had always submitted to the vampires, this one longed for the man whose heart echoed in her ears.

  Slowly, she turned back to the raven-haired vampire before her and smiled, knowing that he was not the one she was here for. She had one companion—one vampire who was destined for what she had to offer—but this meager, petty thing before her was not he. She could feel him close by, but she felt him differently. He felt like the other in the room, as if the light was already belonged to him and she was there merely to observe the moonrise as she had done so for so many centuries.

  With a sigh, she let him lay her back on the cold stone beneath her and slowly closed her eyes. Memories from her host flashed forward, memories of the man and of their coupling, and this eased the burning in her veins. Yes, this host was strong willed and wanted nothing more than to go to her love, to be free of the light and live with the man she had found. It wasn’t in her design to give her host what she wanted, but as the memories went on, she found that she too wanted her to be with her love. A new fire began to burn in her soul.

  The light given on this night wouldn’t be as any other. This light would be only for the hearts that beat as one.

  

  Damon opened his eyes quickly, without feeling the dirt and grit that bore into them. He felt the pull in his veins. Lily was close, the woman who had given him his soul was within the walls of the cavern and he wanted nothing more than to fight his way to her. He assumed it was because of her gift that they were linked, and although the assumption irritated him inside, he found that he had a purpose … to help the one who had helped him.

  He stretched and shifted as the loose dirt gave way. He found he was able to pack it against itself, creating a space to move his arms and hands. Gradually he began to dig his way out of the pit. Dirt filled his mouth, as he tried to remember not to breathe in. Unfortunately the heart that beat within his chest fought for some air, even a miniscule amount, to survive.

  Damon felt his hand breach the top of the soil, and with little effort he climbed out into the darkness of the catacombs. Silently he rested against the moist cavern walls, as water seeped in from the seams that surrounded him. He rose, listening to the sounds of the lair, and made his way down the darkened corridor. He hoped to slip past the crowd and get to Lily before Collin had a chance to harm her. However, he met face to face with two of the vampires that had helped entomb him. They moved towards him, smiling evilly as they held their sharpened staffs.

  “Come on now, boys, there’s no need for fighting,” Damon said shrugging, his hands raised to show he was unarmed. But the two moved closer still, pushing him back in the darkness. “Oh, I see how it’s going to be. Well then, I suppose we should get started.”

  Damon charged towards the two, knocking them both over without effort, for their hands were full and they had yet to drop their staffs. He clawed at them, using the only weapons he had to defend himself. One fell quickly, bleeding from the neck and several chest wounds, which he might have recovered from were it not for the staff that protruded from his chest.

  Damon looked up as the second guard dove to slice at his neck with a silver blade, but he moved quickly out of the way, knocking the man aside. He never saw the third vampire approach, his every sense trained on the one before him. Suddenly there was a staff at his throat, choking him from behind.

  Damon kicked and squirmed, trying to shake himself free, but to no avail. It seemed he had trapped himself in a tight situation. He was about to lash backwards with his claws when the staff suddenly moved away. The second guard leapt at him, hand drawn back as if ready to strike. As quickly as Damon could move, the guard was on his back.

  His light brown eyes began to glow a fiery red as he stared in the direction of the two new vampires. One was tall, a man with dark brown hair and silver eyes, clearly a lighted vampire like himself. The other was a beautiful woman, tall and slender with the eyes of a predator, yet Damon coul
dn’t tell whether she was lighted or just very old.

  “Old indeed!” she snapped, her harmonic voice whistling through him like a spell. He stiffened, having heard the old tales of the Queen of the New Orleans vampires.

  “Madame, forgive me,” Damon said, touching his hand to his chest as he bowed to her respectfully. “You are quite beautiful.”

  “Oh, do not try to flatter yourself out of this one, youngster!” she scolded, smiling down at him. “You must be Lily’s vampire; we were just coming to rescue you.”

  “It seems you have arrived just in time,” Damon said, looking at the two dead vampires at his feet and the mangled third against the wall. “I need to get to her before Collin has a chance to harm her. She’s in the cavern now, I can feel her. Oddly enough, in a way it’s not her that’s here.”

  “It’s the light that is inside her,” the man answered. Damon recognized him as the man whom he had left Lily in the care of before. Damon stepped forward, ready to question why her safety was not his top priority, but he caught the look in the man’s eyes and stopped.

  “They have her mate then?” Damon questioned, and watched the two of them nod. “We need to get him out, him first, for he will be able to assist us the most.”

  “You’re not like any of the other lighted youngsters I’ve met,” Morna whispered, looking him over.

  “You mean I’m not head over heels in love with my companion and it baffles you.” Damon smiled, watching her blink at his tone. “I knew she was with the anim … Jared, when I took her blood. She was already linked with him. What we share is a common bond.”

  “Interesting,” Jean replied, shrugging. “Listen, boy, you need to stop Collin from completing the bloodletting. Lily’s life depends on that. The spirit inside her will see to the rest.”

  “Whatever I have to do to distract him, believe me, I will.” And with that, Damon picked up the silver–bladed knife and walked away from them, moving towards the assembly hall.

  His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for the open opportunity to try to stop this hell. His time came and he was able to send the knife soaring through the air. Just as he watched it strike home, in the center of Collins back, the sharp tip of a sword nicked Damon’s neck. He looked over at Madame LaQue and her evil smile.

  “You wanted him dead,” Damon whispered, looking her directly in the eyes as she pushed the sword against him.

  “Yes, if he was unable to get to the light, I wanted him dead.” She grinned. “I was finished waiting for him, so that we could be together. Now, it seems he and I will be together always.”

  Damon looked at her as if she were insane. Then he glanced over at Lily, as the strange vibration in the air sent shivers down his spine.

  

  She watched the devil above her move with a quickness that stunned even her, as he turned and roared out into the crowd. Her eyes glanced over at the knife that protruded from his back and a smile crossed her face. Her followers had come, the time to end the moonrise was near, and slowly she began to register the other voices in the room.

  Jean-Luc de Martien’s voice bellowed in her ears, and she remembered the way he fought for her life, and his own, on the night that he had become one of the first lighted vampires. He gave orders in every direction as vampires from every clan clashed against one another. A soft, melodic voice picked up in her ears. Madame Morna Dominique, the original vampire, sung out instructions in her own angelic voice. The one sound she heard, above all the others, was the continuous beat of the lover’s heart.

  She sat up to watch him, straining against the chains that held him bound to one spot, and her eyes traveled over the length of his body. She slowly realized why he felt so different from the others. He was a loup, a wolf, and he struggled deeply with the change that should have taken over him long ago.

  Jean moved to free the man just as she rose from the table, her arms out at her side, for she could no longer take the heat that burned through the body. She knew it was time. Time to go and take her leave until the next moonrise, but if she couldn’t do it this time without ensuring her host’s life, she wouldn’t allow this one to suffer as the others had. With graceful ease, she made her way through the cluster of bodies, touching those whose hearts were black and souls had passed on long before.

  

  Jared’s eyes filled with wonder as the light filled the room, stretching over every individual as it slithered through the crowd, like snakes making their way to their nests. As they moved, he watched in horror as the very vampires before him burst into flames. Some were left untouched and backed away, running from the cavern, lucky to have survived. Some were tortured in the turbulence of the flames that surrounded them, and burned to a cinder. But it was Lily’s movements that fascinated him.

  She stopped in front of Collin, who had turned at the sounds of the screams, and stared at her in awe. Her bright silver eyes gazed back at him without malice.

  “Get away, Lily!” Jared screamed above the sounds of death. Jean, who had removed the shackles, pressed a hand against his chest, holding his friend in place as they both stared after her.

  “The light that flows through Lily is of the purest power. She is a messenger who has come to bring those lost souls back to hell itself, and to set those who have honor free. Her blood is like gold; no matter who drinks it, ultimately good or evil will remain the same, having been granted freedom from the night. Lily’s hand is like the hand of God, all will be judged by their souls.”

  They watched, as if in slow motion, as Lily reached out and touched Collin on the chest, just above his heart. She took a step back, placing her hand at her side as he reached up and touched where her hand had just been.

  There seemed to be nothing happening, and Collin smiled, thinking to have survived Lily’s wrath. Then he could feel the burn start in his chest, and spread through every vein in his body. He choked, as if inhaling smoke, and his face began to change. They watched as the veins that ran there protruded from his skin, bright red and inflamed. Suddenly, his hair caught on fire.

  The bright, orange blaze took over his body, engulfing him. Collin’s scream echoed above the rest of the dying vampires. Jared watched as the two red-haired twins made their escape. One turned and looked back at him. Half of his face was gone, burnt up from Lily’s light, but his hair blazed atop of his head. The other was a blackened corpse, slung over his brother’s shoulder. With a snarling look of hatred and revenge, they turned and scurried out of the underground cavern.

  Jared caught the movement out of the corner of his eyes, as LaQue’s voice screeched out in disbelief. She raised the sword above her head, having taken it away from the blond vampire’s neck, and charged after the woman in white, who stood motionless in the middle of the room. Her violent screams seemed to penetrate his sensitive ears and he broke away from Jean, moving swiftly towards Lily.

  She turned in time to see the tip of the sword come crashing down, slicing through Jared’s chest, and her eyes grew wide in horror. Damon raced to save Lily from the death that LaQue had hoped for, but as he watched her mate sacrifice himself for the woman, Damon could only seek his revenge.

  He caught Jared in mid-fall, holding the hefty man easily as he slashed out at the voodoo priestess with one swift swoop of his hand, his claws as razor sharp as her sword. For a moment, she stood like her former lover before her, in disbelief of her end, and then slowly the blood seeped from the slice in her neck. As she looked down at Damon and Jared, her lips twisted in an eternal snarl. Her head rolled across the floor as her body crumpled to the ground.

  Damon looked up to see the stunned woman before him kneel down beside Jared. She reached out, touching the spot on his chest where the sword had entered. With a nod to Jean, he pulled it free. Jared could feel her inside him, the vivid thoughts of what their life would be together when he came home with her. He could feel her love flow through him, but he couldn’t stop the pain that filled his body, or the coldness that paralyz
ed him while the blood seeped from it.

  Slowly, Jared closed his eyes, wanting the sight of Lily to be the last one he saw as he slipped into the darkness.

  She felt him fleeing, the echo of the lover’s heartbeat in her ears began to fade and quickly she made the only decision she could. With her eyes raised to the sky, she pressed her hand down upon his chest. And with one last sigh, she followed that heart beat down until all the light had left her body.

  Lily inhaled quickly, her lungs taking in the smell of burning flesh. She looked around at all of the destruction that surrounded her, but her eyes followed Damon’s he looked down upon the body that lay motionless in his lap. Her heart skipped, as her eyes filled up with tears and her fingers fought to find the pulse beneath the flesh of his chest.

  Lily shook her head, tears streaming from her face, as she reached over, took hold of Jared’s cheeks, and turned him towards her. Her mouth moved as if to say something, but she choked back the bile that rose in the back of her throat. Slowly she leaned down, kissing him softly upon the lips. She looked up at Damon, her chin quivering with grief, and she saw his eyes tell her everything she feared.

  She rested her cheek against his silent chest, and stretched her body out beside him. The night was over, the moonrise had occurred, and Jared had the freedom he had longed for two-centuries ago.

  

  Damon held her tightly in his arms as they stepped from the darkness of the cavern. Her hazel eyes seemed faded and bleak as they stared straight ahead. He carried her weightlessly to the church at the square and brought her down to the room that she and Jared had once shared.

  He whispered to her, telling her things of no consequence. He held her tightly while Kylie hurried about the room, trying to arrange things to help ease her pain. Jean stood in the doorway, watching the three with a quiet stance, wanting to do nothing to disturb what the two were trying to accomplish.