Chapter 44 Daily Update and Stirring Protection

Chapter 42 Like Some Crazy Fiction Story
EVEET -

Immediately, Eveet's mind went back to her mother's letter and the Mambo that came to visit. Her mother had told her that the Night Crawlers were out to get her. Had she written that letter after the attack at the Opera house?

"Let's say I believe you, and she was being controlled by something like that, why would they want my death?" She shrugged with a light lift of her shoulder. "Who am I to warrant such violence?"

"Heir to the Matranga line. Only child of Sam Corallo." He shrugged as well, before lifting his cup to his lips for a sip. "There are many reasons your death would benefit others. The Priestess told us that your presence in this world had the possibility of ending not just one bloodline but two."

Aghast, Eveet sputtered before finally saying, "That's ridiculous."

"Is it? My family has known of vampires for decades. We have no idea what drives them or what stops them. We know how to kill them, but how do you kill something you can't find?"

Once more, Eveet thought of her mother's letter. It spoke of fire and ash being able to kill the Night Crawlers, but it didn't speak of who they were.

"How did the Priestess know so much? Or how to find you for that matter? Why not go to my father?"

He shook his head. "Your father would not have believed any such tale. He would have dismissed it and potentially harmed her for simply suggesting such a thing. She felt the only place she could turn was to us."

"Why? What does any of this have to do with her?" Eveet couldn't understand. It all sounded so far-fetched. How convenient that someone knew about what was going on, and they knew exactly who to go to and why. Eveet refused to believe that it was all just the right place at the right time.

"I don't know. All she would say was that her bloodline was the second one, and if she didn't come forward, her line would also fall."

Eveet stood up then and paced the length of the booth a few times. She didn't like how she felt. For the first time in a long time, something stirred in her chest, and she hated it. She wanted to go back to feeling nothing. To exist emotionless and without confusion. I'm not some special thing that's out to end bloodlines.

What did that even mean anyway? End bloodlines. Did that mean she would kill entire families? Would her future hold the deaths of entire generations?

"Eveet." He said her name softly, and in his French accent, it rolled off his tongue with ease. "Sit. Drink. The tea will help, I promise."

"I don't want any fucking tea." She blurted. Anger showing its head for the first time.

"Then sit all the same. We still have much to discuss."

Eveet wasn't sure she wanted to hear anymore. What he'd said already was nearly too much, but she'd come here for answers, and she wasn't going to chicken out now.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and pulled her chaotic emotions back in. When she felt she could handle more, she slid back into the booth. When she looked back up at him, he gestured to her cup of tea. Exhaling in frustration, she did as he'd asked and sipped the tea.

"We know there's a coven here in New Orleans, but we don't know who they are. The Priestess wouldn't tell us."

She set her cup back down, but she kept her fingers wrapped around the warm porcelain as she spoke. "Did she tell you her name? The Priestess?"

"Aye, but you won't be able to find her, if that's what you're thinking. I wouldn't suggest it anyway. The magic in this city is insanely strong."

"Magic? You mean Voodoo, don't you?"

At her words, Jean-Baptiste's face squished in on itself, and she watched the wrinkle lines crease deeply. With more chaotic and confusing emotions, she couldn't help but realize how old he was.

How he had lived in the same city as her, so far from his home, yet she'd never known about him.

Finally, he nodded and said, "I do. To answer your question, she said her name was Celestine."

Somehow, it didn't surprise Eveet. It was almost like she had expected him to say that name.

"Why have you never tried to contact me? Tell me that you were here. I would have visited you. I could have known the family. Learned things about my mother."

"We tried to for a while, but your father wouldn't have it. He said he wouldn't trust another Dubois near his family. If one of us was willing to kill his child, then who knows what the rest of us would do."

"Father knew? He knew Mother was trying to kill me?"

He didn't say anything, but after a brief moment, he nodded in confirmation.

This did surprise her, and like puzzle pieces, things began to fall into place. Why he never spoke of Margaux. Why no one would tell her what happened to her mother and who the killer was. That's because it was probably one of his men who did her in, and Sam didn't want Eveet knowing about it.

She wanted to scream. Anger was mounting so high, Eveet grew dizzy.

"Ma petite, breathe easy. Drink."

Ma patite. Memories of her mother calling her the same endearment opened an unhealed crack within her heart, and she couldn't stop the small cry that left her throat or the tears that stung the backs of her eyes.

Jean-Baptiste tsked and grabbed her hands that were still wrapped around the teacup, and he lifted them and the cup to her lips.

As the first tear spilled over, she allowed herself a small sip of the warm brew to help dislodge the lump stuck in her throat. When it touched the back of her throat, she couldn't stop herself from gulping the rest of its hot contents. The burn helping her pull her emotions back into herself.

Then she set the cup down and swiped at the falling tear, ripping the weakness from her body. That's what they were, after all, just a weakness.

Now she knew the truth. Like some insane fiction story, vampires were real, her mother had tried to kill her, and her father had killed her for it. A group of supposed vampires believed she would end their bloodline, and they wanted her dead. And her mother's family lived in town.

"Why are you here still? In New Orleans. Why not go back to France?" Her voice broke, but she ignored it. Another weakness she would destroy. She cleared her throat to do just that.

Another odd smile lifted his lips. "A few reasons. You, being one of them. Margaux was precious to us. When you were born, you became precious to us. For so long, we were barred from you. We tried sending letters, but each one came back. We want you to come back to France with us, and now that you're here, you can."