Before the Moonrise Read online

  Testing the water with her fingers, she moved over to the wall unit and switched on the jets for the tub, turning it into a Jacuzzi. She disrobed, languidly sliding into the hot water. As the liquid swirled around her, Lily relaxed, letting her eyes close and her limbs grow heavy.

  Her thoughts flowed into a dream state, as colors moved all around her, before they slowly began to fade, bringing her into a dimly lit hallway. She felt herself floating towards the doorway at the end, and as she gazed through the steam that filled the room, she found that she stood in a bathroom. She stopped there, not wanting to enter further, and saw a man step in from a door on the opposite side of the room. He stood with his back to her, and she recognized the black head of hair in front of her. Now, truly convinced that she was obsessed, Lily watched the muscles under his dark-navy dress shirt ripple as he unbuttoned the front. Her gaze traveled down to his well-defined backside, which fit quite well in the dark jeans he wore, but her eyes snapped back to his shoulders as the shirt fell away. As Lily looked on, the unique pattern of a tattoo began to unfold.

  The intricate tribal pattern started as two points in the middle of his neck, rising up to his black hair, and flared out across both shoulders. Then it came down under his blades, to a point that disappeared below the waist of his jeans. Lily gasped, following the black swirls over his pale body, and taking in all of the chiseled features that made him the complete, model-perfect package.

  He turned at the sound of her gasp, looking cautiously at the door. She was in shock, and unable to move as those pale blue eyes scanned the room around him, coming to rest on the very spot where she stood. He reached out with his hand as he stepped forward, and then clutched those fingers together inches from her transparent body. Lily could feel the heat from him, even in the dream. As she slowly backed out of the room, he was left standing there, arms draped at his side. One hand clenched in a fist, he stood staring out at her as she disappeared.

  With a deep breath, Lily sat up in the cold water. The jets had stopped, and she felt goose bumps rising up over her flesh. Shivering, she reached over and turned on the spray for the shower, as the tub began to empty of its contents. For a moment, she stood under the hot stream, bringing color and feeling back to her chilled body. She simply could not get rid of the vision of the stranger in her head. As she dressed and settled down into bed, she knew that it wouldn’t be long before she saw him again.

  

  It wasn’t quite nine in the morning when Kylie opened the door and jumped on the bed next to Lily. She opened her eyes and looked at her friend, then moaned and covered her head with the blanket.

  “Are you okay?” Kylie questioned.

  “Yeah,” Lily whispered. “I’m just getting used to the time change.”

  “Well, come on, I’m hungry and I know a great place to get breakfast.” Kylie tugged on the blanket and smiled. “Also, I found out where St. Louis cemetery number one is from here. It’s actually close by. I want to check it out, there has to be some great pictures there.”

  “Okay, give me ten minutes to get dressed and we’ll be on our way.” Kylie kissed her on the forehead and hopped out the door, while Lily stared at the ceiling. “Here we go.”

  Within ten minutes, Lily was standing in the living room smiling down at Kylie, who was pretending to be asleep on the couch.

  “I didn’t take that long.” Lily laughed, which got a smile from the blonde friend, and she nudged her leg. “Come on, now I’m hungry.”

  

  “So where is this breakfast place?” she asked as she and Kylie walked down the street. She glanced around at the old buildings and decided she couldn’t wait to take some night shots. She also knew that Kylie was already prepared with her camera set to go in the small pack that rested on her back.

  “Right up there.”

  Lily glanced at the blue sign just up ahead. The Café Fleur-de-lis was a small place, with maybe eight tables lining each side of its walls, but the line seemed to stretch out the door. Surprisingly, the two women were able to find an empty table and began to look over the paper menu before them. Kylie seemed to drool at every selection, but Lily was set on pancakes and chocolate milk.

  “Chocolate milk? Do you realize the last time you had chocolate milk you were about sixteen?” Kylie laughed, but Lily brushed her off with a grin and got up to stand in line to place the order. Once done, she returned to the table with a slip of paper, a number, and her chocolate milk. “So what do you think of your vacation so far?”

  “I think it’s upsetting my brain,” Lily said, which caused Kylie to roll her eyes. “I’m obsessing over the guy I saw last night.”

  “Oh yeah, in what way?” she asked as she waved the server over with their food.

  “When I was in the bath last night, I had a dream that I was watching him undress in the bathroom.” Kylie almost choked on her juice and waited for the come back, but it was the look in Kylie’s eyes that made Lily dismiss it. “I saw him last night you know.”

  “I know. When we were standing at the corner,” she answered, but watched as Lily shook her head. “What other time did you see him?”

  Lily poured the syrup over her plate and sighed, looking up at Kylie from under her lashes.

  “On the walk near the river.” She set down her fork as she pushed her hair back behind her ears. “Do you remember the guy that ran by? The one that almost knocked me over?” Kylie nodded. “I didn’t move out of the way, I was pulled. I’m pretty sure it was the guy from earlier. He had the same black hair and face, and I was able to see his eyes. They were pale blue, like ocean water, and I got the chills just being near him. Unfortunately, by the time you turned to see if I was okay, he had already walked away.”

  “Wow, how come you never told me that?” she inquired, but Lily shrugged.

  “I thought you saw him, but just didn’t bother to acknowledge it because you were too pissed off at the other guy.” Lily bit into the pancakes in front of her and savored the taste, but as she ate, she felt those eyes and the presence of danger once again. “Do you feel that?”

  “The feel of syrupy goodness sliding down my throat? Nope, I got eggs and toast.” She saw her friend’s eyes darken. “What are you feeling?”

  “Like someone is watching me, like the hairs on my neck are standing on end.” Lily shrugged, taking another piece of her breakfast.

  “Well that doesn’t surprise me. You can feel the Earth move, what would make it impossible for you not to feel the dead?” Kylie replied, quite literally shrugging it off as if it were an everyday occurrence.

  “That’s just it, I felt it on the overlook last night, and on the river walk just before that guy came up to us.” She shook her head, leaning forward to dig into the pancake and trying to shake it off, but Lily couldn’t get rid of it. “Maybe you’re right, it’s probably just the city, or the plane ride yesterday.”

  “More than likely.” Kylie looked up, surveying the room and looking for anyone with interest in Lily. She saw no one, and decided that Lily was just on edge. “Anyway, so are we off to the cemetery after this?”

  “Sure, sounds good to me.” Lily sat back, smiling at the joy in Kylie’s eyes, knowing that she had just made her friend very happy.

  

  The walk to the cemetery was twenty minutes long, passing through six streets and just outside the French Quarter. The girls were in awe when they approached the tall, white walls of it. Once inside the gates, they found themselves surrounded by family crypts no longer than six feet in length. Some were crumpling to the ground, while others stood strong and true, holding up against the damaging weather and Hurricane Katrina.

  It didn’t take long for them to separate, but the cemetery was only a small block in size and completely enclosed, so they felt safe going their own ways.

  Lily was caught up in the peacefulness, despite the apartment complexes just outside the walls. Pausing, she stopped to look closer at one of the better-kept
crypts. It was surrounded by a wrought iron fence and peaked almost like the roof of a house, but it was the large cross that sat on top of the gate that caught her attention. The loving detail put into the cross gave it just the right look. Inscribed in the iron were several Latin words, which Lily tried to memorize, but each attempt to remember the words were scrambled by thoughts of the stranger. She forced her eyes to look up at the family named etched in stone, signifying the family that was buried there.

  DeLaCroix

  She read on as the list of names below changed several times, moving from the above titled name to the last man buried there in 1902 with the last name of Claverack. For some reason the first name was scratched out and illegible. Lily couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity as she stood in front of this tomb. A cool wind, blowing briskly through her hair, made her move towards the direction that Kylie had gone. She didn’t understand why she felt such a strange connection to things in this town, but she was going to find out one way or another.

  As she looked up and down the uneven alleyways of the cemetery, Lily stopped and glanced around. She had that strange feeling once again, and this time she wasn’t going to let it get away. Turning in the direction the feeling seemed to emanate from, she moved towards it. As she peered through vaults and around corners, she felt it grow stronger. Until, as she looked to her left, she ran straight into a wall. Suddenly she was tumbling, and found herself looking up at the clear afternoon sky, trying to catch her breath. It was the low moan to her right that made her turn quickly in that direction.

  He shook his head, pushing himself up from the ground from the waist up. Then he came to rest on his lower arms, and slowly turned his head in her direction. His pale blue eyes connected with hers and instantly Lily could feel the electricity, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end. With clumsy hands, he searched for his sunglasses, but Lily found them tucked under her. Grabbing them, she held them out for him to take. His eyes locked on hers as he reached to take the dark glasses from her, and when their hands touched heat spread quickly through Lily. She could feel him in her, feel the pulse of his heart in his touch. The feeling of completion almost made her weep, but he took his hand away quickly.

  “You need to be more careful,” he whispered, and that soft voice vibrated through her body.

  “Who—” she started to ask, but he placed the tips of his fingers against her cheek.

  “Not yet,” he spoke, and then he was gone.

  Unable to believe what had just happened, Lily scrambled to her feet, desperately needing to find her friend. Kylie stood only two rows over, taking angled shots of a large mausoleum. When she looked at Lily, she lowered the camera and worry filled her eyes.

  “What happened?” she asked, uncertainty filling her voice. Lily shook her head, leaning over to place her hands on her thighs and catch her breath.

  “Nothing, I just lost myself and when I couldn’t find you, I panicked. No big deal.” Lily stressed the last few words. Kylie’s brow scrunched into a look of disbelief and she nodded.

  “Uh-ha,” she answered, raising the camera back up to look through the viewer. “I’m almost done here. This place is amazing.”

  “Yeah,” Lily whispered. “It really is. I wonder if we someone could help me uncover the history of a family that is buried here.”

  “Find something that grabbed your interest?” Kylie questioned as she packed the camera away. As the two of them headed for the main entrance, Lily nodded. “Well do tell, my dear. Don’t keep a woman waiting.”

  Smiling, she glanced down. “It was just an old vault, but the name on it seemed somehow familiar. I thought I might inquire about it, maybe use it in a story.”

  “Hmm, I’m sure we’ll find someone within the next two weeks. Want to swing up Bourbon Street after dinner tonight?”

  Lily nodded, smiling at the thought of a cold drink, preferably with alcohol in it to ease her nerves. “Where do you want to go to dinner?”

  “Hell, we could dine on Bourbon Street if you want.”

  “That sounds like a plan! Let’s go back to the resort so I can clean up a bit. I tripped over a root and got dirt all over the back of my jeans and shirt.”

  Kylie rolled her eyes. “You just want to get beautified.”

  “Well, yeah!”

  

  He stood with his back against the shaded side of one of the larger family vaults, trying to catch his breath and get a handle on the feelings that raged through him. He hadn’t expected to see her there, let alone where she had been standing. He watched her for a while, memorizing the petite form of her body and the way her hips curved around, giving her rear just the right shape.

  When she moved, all he wanted to do was watch her. Somehow she seemed to have felt his presence. She sensed where he was hiding, and the fact that she moved towards him, not away, had frozen him in his spot. When they collided, the electricity that went through him was nothing he had ever felt before. It shocked the wind out of him, knocking him to the ground along with her. It was a moment of weakness he never thought he would experience again. Now she stood within the walls of his family’s resting place, her presence reverberating off of every wall, bouncing from even the most discarded of tombs.

  He wondered if what he had felt in his home was truly this young woman, for he had never had a visitor before … at least not of the astral kind. He had reached out to grasp it, but felt nothing except the warm spot where the temperature had changed. Then he could smell her, and even standing in his hiding spot now, he could remember what it was … the scent of raspberries and vanilla.

  Clenching his teeth, along with his fist, he knocked the back of his head against the concrete in frustration. With a deep breath, he knew it was time to move. The others would be looking for someone like her. Just as he had found her, so would they, and he couldn’t allow that, not anymore.

  

  “So, we have quite a few choices,” Kylie yelled, stepping into the bathroom and standing in the doorway while Lily fixed her hair. “The Embers, which looks expensive, or Johnny White’s. Both are on Bourbon Street and we can sit up on the balcony and be people watchers. Maybe you can even get a glimpse of your mystery man.”

  This made Lily stop and look over at Kylie in the mirror. Her face flushed, and then went pale white, but she smiled quickly and nodded. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to run into him again. Three times in two days seemed to be more than stimulation than she was used to, and she wasn’t sure what she would do if he touched her again.

  “Johnny White’s sounds good,” she replied and quickly put her things away. With a turn, she startled Kylie. Moving towards her, she took her hand. “Let’s go, I’m starved.”

  

  Bourbon Street was bustling with people, and at first Lily hoped not to see her mystery man in the crowd. But, as the usher brought them up to the second floor and sat them at the balcony table, her hopes changed and she wanted nothing more than to run into him. Kylie was in awe of the crowd below, taking pictures of the waves of people moving in and out of the bars and shops that lined one of the French Quarter’s biggest party spots. Her glee seemed to rub off on Lily, who’d finally began to relax.

  The two talked through dinner, making light jokes about some of the people who passed by, especially concerning whether or not they should flash for beads. They had already witnessed this several times earlier that evening. As they were laughing, the waiter approached them.

  “How is everything, ladies?” he inquired. Lily turned and smiled up at him, a genuine smile that seemed to light up her eyes.

  “Very good,” she replied and folded her hands together. “Could you tell me where I might go to find out some information on a family that once lived around here?”

  “Several places actually. What was the family’s name?”

  “DeLaCroix. The last one of the line, a Claverack, seems to have passed away a little over a hundred years ago. I’m not
sure how I would find out about them.” She watched the color drain from the young man’s face and then, as if by magic, it reappeared with a grin.

  “I would think you could ask a man who works over at the St. Louis Cathedral, Jean Morton. He’s the unofficial historian and leads many of the cemetery tours around here. That’s where you saw that name, correct?” Lily nodded, unsure of why the young man was suddenly curious. “You picked a good name to investigate. There are a lot of stories surrounding that name in these parts.”

  “Hmm, that’s good to know. Thank you.” He bowed gracefully and stepped away to the next table, but she couldn’t help wondering just what had brought about his odd reaction to the name. She turned to Kylie and smiled. “People watching from street level or historical fact finding mission, which is your calling?”

  “Are you kidding? I want to go down there and chase after some of those fine looking men that I keep seeing pass by. Also, I believe you need a Daiquiri.” Kylie laughed Lily licked her lips.

  “It has been a while since I’ve had one of those, and ooh does that sound delicious.”

  Paying the bill and leaving a hefty tip, the two left arm in arm. Moving into the crowd below, they traveled with the tide of people as they made their way up and down Bourbon Street. Lily smiled as she walked through the crowd, her hazel eyes scanning the hordes of people around her. She had never been comfortable in crowds, but she was on vacation—away from the bustle of her average life, away from the safety of her home and children—and she never felt more alive. Kylie grabbed her left hand, trying not to lose her in the flow of bodies that moved down Bourbon Street. Clinging tightly to her, she stared up at the magnificent architecture that surrounded them.

  She felt it then, the danger sweeping over her body, caressing every pore with its darkness. Slowly she scanned the crowd, trying to pinpoint just where the feeling was emanating from, but there was nothing, no sign in any direction. And then it hit. The sting of the attack sliced through the side of her upper right arm. For a moment she stopped, placing her hand over the pain, and looking around the crowd once again. Suddenly, it was as if time has stopped.