“This is Sebastien,” Jean Luc said, “And this is Philippe.”
The other vampires bowed their heads. Sebastien was taller than his brother Philippe, and had much darker hair. They each had bright blue eyes, alabaster skin, and wiry frames, and the more I looked at them, the more I wondered if they were siblings born of the same mother.
“Right, well, if you’ll follow me,” I said, “I’ll escort you into the main room where the rest of the guests are waiting.”
The group of vampires followed me into the main room. I felt a little morbid leading a train of the undead into a room full of living, breathing people, but once I finished my first glass of champagne, the apprehensions I had been feeling quickly disappeared.
I wasn’t sure if it was the crowd of vampires or just Delphine who drew the eye of everyone in attendance. The room hadn’t quietened down dramatically or anything like that, but attentions had been sliced in half at the very least. Vampires, it turned out, were way more used to blending in with a crowd of witches than I had given them credit for, especially as the appetizers, champagne, and now fancy martini glasses filled with blood from blood packs, seemed to be flowing more freely.
“You have thrown quite the event,” Jean Luc said as the vampires dispersed to mingle and socialize. “This is a beautiful house.”
“It is,” I said, “I mean, I love my home, but this house has just as much character.”
Jean Luc started to talk about the history of the Garden District, but I couldn’t keep my eyes on him. No matter where my eyes went, they always came back to Delphine and her maroon dress. She moved as if she were standing on a cloud, floating from person to person, smiling brightly, her elongated fangs clearly visible against matte oxblood lipstick. Her grace, her quiet confidence, these were areas I never knew I sucked in until meeting her. When she stopped next to Jared, and I saw the way he smiled that bedroom smile of seduction, I wanted to be better than her.
“Delphine’s looks like an interesting woman,” I said, “I’m pretty excited to finally meet her.”
“Yes, she is quite formidable. And I am sorry you have not met her before tonight. I thought things were already complicated enough, and I never found the right moment, especially after what happened to Nicky.”
“It’s okay. I guess I’m not surprised she’s formidable, as you put it; she’s your sister. Not birth related, though, right?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “She was turned after me, some years after me, in fact. But our creator did not want her, and so she clung to me for support and guidance.”
“Oh… that’s awful,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
“It was a long time ago, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
I let go of his shoulder and cocked my head. “Just out of curiosity, why did your creator not want her?”
Jean Luc seemed to analyze Delphine from afar, and as he stared at her, she turned to look at him and smiled, almost as if she could sense his eyes on her. “When she awoke from death, that very night, a cacophony of moans and groans erupted from cemeteries across New Orleans. The grounds keeper at Saint Louis Cemetery number one was found dead at the foot of a vault which had been broken open from the inside.”
The skin on my arms began to rise. “That’s not a terrifying thought at all,” I said, with the sarcasm dial cranked all the way up to ten.
“Eight more vaults were found open in this manner will help. Or that one man was reported to have been found in the middle of the night, naked and wandering the banks of the Mississippi river by two steamboat crew members. He was covered in ash, and claimed to have risen from the very caveau his ashy remains had been swept into years earlier. He could only remember his family name, but it was cross-checked with the name on one of the broken tombs.”
I shuddered lightly, my skin responding to the phantom finger that story had conjured now working its way down my back.
“What happened to the guy?” I asked.
“He ate one of the crew members. The other only barely escaped with his life.”
“He what?”
“The victim’s body was found tangled in moss at the bank of the river the following morning, with two puncture wounds in his neck.”
“So, the guy was a vampire?”
“If the story is to be believed, yes.”
“And… your creator thought Delphine had woken him up?”
“He and the other seven, yes. But Delphine was young and scared. She had done nothing wrong, so I took her in as my own.”
“I’m… incredibly intrigued by all this.”
“Good,” Jean Luc said, smiling. “I am sure she will tell you more if you ask her.”
“Maybe I will.”
The room was really starting to fill up, and that was a good thing—it meant most, if not all, of our witches had shown up. All that was left now was for me to give the signal, and for Remy to come out and speak to the gathered crowd… and to hope they didn’t eat him alive.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Remy caught my eye as he walked into the room, and with an ounce of concentration and a whispered word, the piano across the room stopped playing music. This caught the crowd’s attention. Most of the gathered checked each other’s faces for an explanation as to why the music had stopped, while others still knew exactly where to look—toward the front of the room.
I walked closer to the head of the crowd as Remy positioned himself next to the piano where a small platform had been set up for him to stand on. He didn’t take it, choosing instead to keep himself level with the rest of the crowd. But when he spoke, everyone, even those standing in the back of the room, heard.
“I’d like to thank you all for coming,” he began. “Most of you know who I am, so I’ll skip the introduction and get straight to the point so you may continue to enjoy this great party Madison arranged for you.”
I smiled at him and nodded comfortingly. Remy nodded in return.
“A long time ago, I did something terrible; I led a brutal campaign of violence against the vampires of New Orleans and the witches who stood beside them. During that time, I did things for which I can never be excused. I lied, I cheated, I manipulated people into doing what I wanted them to do, and I did wrong by people who didn’t deserve it. I won’t stand here and pretend like I’m not to blame for my actions. I won’t expect forgiveness, but I will ask for it.”
Murmurs began to spread through the room like the rising approach of a swarm of bees, but Remy’s voice silenced them as he continued to speak.