Chapter 12
DEANDRA
The walk to Café Beignet was brief but tense. The restaurant was exactly the kind of local spot that tourists walked past without noticing, which was how my sisters and I liked it. They had small tables, strong coffee, and the kind of regulars who had been coming there for decades.
I nudged Dani's shoulder and gestured to a man that central casting would order for 'elderly jazz musician'.
He had silver hair, weathered hands that spoke of decades of trumpet playing, and eyes that held the kind of wisdom that came from a lifetime of music.
My empathic senses told me it was Claude even before I noticed the presence about him that made my magical abilities take notice.
"Mr. Moreau?" Dani approached his table with what I hoped was a friendly smile. "My name is Dani Smith, and these are my sisters. We're hoping to ask you some questions."
His expression immediately became guarded. "I don't talk to reporters or genealogy people. Too many folks been asking questions lately, and I don't much care for the attention."
"We're not reporters," Lia said as she pulled out one of the photographs from the vault. "We're more like... crisis managers. And we think your family might be in danger."
Claude's eyes widened as he studied the photograph of the genealogical carvings. "Where did you get this?"
"From a place your ancestors wanted kept hidden," Dani replied carefully. "Mr. Moreau, what do you know about Les Gardiens du Voile?"
The coffee cup slipped from his hands and clattered against the saucer, but didn't break. "How do you know that name?"
"We're trying to stop something terrible from happening and heard it in our investigation," I said gently, sending out calming vibes through my empathic powers. "We're working to keep something your ancestors helped bind over a century ago locked away."
Claude looked around the café nervously, then leaned forward.
"My grandmother used to tell stories about 'singing away the darkness'.
She said our family had a responsibility to keep certain songs alive and that we play them at certain times.
I always thought it was just Creole folklore.
" He gestured to the vacant chairs around him.
"What kind of songs?" Phi asked as she pulled a chair over and took a seat. The rest of us did the same.
"They were old spirituals, mostly. Some jazz standards, but with different lyrics. They were family versions that my grandmother said were 'more important than the pretty ones they play for tourists'."
"Would you mind if my sister demonstrated something?
" Dani asked. "Dea has abilities that might help you understand what we're talking about.
" Lia and Dre muttered something under their breath.
When the air vibrated, I realized they had erected a magical screen of sorts that would keep mundanes from seeing anything magical.
The cafe was almost empty but it wouldn't be good to be seen.
Claude nodded hesitantly. I closed my eyes and reached out with my spiritual senses. Almost immediately, the temperature around our table dropped. A second later, Claude's eyes widened as ghostly figures began to materialize around us.
"Sweet Mary and Joseph," he whispered. "Please tell me this isn't another trick of my mind."
"You've been seeing spirits?" I clarified as I leaned closer to Claude.
"My whole life," Claude admitted. "Especially when I play certain songs. Sometimes I feel like I'm calling to something... or someone. Like the music is reaching across the veil."
"That's exactly what it's doing," I explained. "Your family has the ability to communicate with and bind spirits through music. It's not folklore. It's real magic that's been passed down through generations."
Claude sat back in his chair, processing this information. "The songs really do something?"
"More than you know," Lia said. "We think your performances have been maintaining protective barriers. Every time you play those family songs, you're strengthening magical defenses that keep supernatural threats at bay."
"But there's a problem," Dani continued when Lia fell silent. "Someone's been hunting families like yours. People have been disappearing, and we think you might be next on the list."
Claude's expression darkened. "That would explain the strangers who've been asking questions. They said they were music historians. I found it odd that they wanted to know about family traditions, inherited instruments, and old recordings."
"What did you tell them?" Phi asked urgently.
"Nothing much. But..." Claude hesitated. "There might be a problem. My grandson Marcus has been talking to some of them. He's excited about preserving our family history."
My sisters and I exchanged alarmed glances. "What can you tell us about that?" Dani asked carefully.
"Marcus has been helping these researchers document traditional music families. He said they were particularly interested in instruments and sheet music that had been passed down through generations."
"Mr. Moreau," Dre said seriously, "we need to know exactly what you told these people. And more importantly, what your grandson might have shared with them. Has he seemed odd lately?"
Claude rubbed his forehead. "I have no idea what he told them. Marcus has access to everything. I inherited a collection of special instruments, old sheet music, and recordings from way back. It's all stored in a secret room beneath Preservation Hall."
"A secret room?" Kota leaned forward.
"It's only accessible during the new moon, when the building's... well, when it feels different. Safer." Claude looked embarrassed. "I know that sounds crazy."
"It doesn't sound crazy at all," Dani assured him. "What's in this collection?"
"A trumpet made from silver that my great-grandmother said was blessed by Marie Laveau herself. Sheet music that glows when you play the songs. And old cylinder recordings of songs that sound like nothing I've ever heard in any church or concert hall."
I felt my pulse quicken as the implications hit me. "Mr. Moreau, we need to see this collection. Tonight, during the new moon."
"I don't understand," Claude said. "What does any of this have to do with people disappearing?"
"Someone is trying to collect artifacts and knowledge while eliminating members of families like yours," Dani explained. "They're using the information to break something out that should stay locked up."
"It's a creature," Kota offered with a grimace. "Your grandmother likely told you about some hungry monster your songs kept in prison."
"It's called the Collector," I added quietly, making Claude visibly shudder.
"You know that name?" Lia asked sharply.
"My grandmother... she used to have nightmares. She'd wake up screaming about 'the Collector coming for the music'. She said it fed on songs and souls." Claude's hands were shaking now. "I thought it was just an old woman's fears."
"It's not," Dani said grimly. "And if these researchers have been asking about your family's musical traditions..."
"They've been mapping the Guardian network," Phi concluded. "They could be using the music to track down bloodlines."
Claude stood up abruptly. "I need to call Marcus and warn him not to share anything else."
"Mr. Moreau, wait," Dani said, grabbing his arm gently. "What if Marcus isn't in danger? What if he's working with them willingly?"
The color drained from Claude's face. "That's... that's not possible. He's family."
"Family members have betrayed the Guardians before," I said softly, feeling the weight of centuries-old pain. "It's how the Collector has been hunting you for so long."
Claude sank back into his chair. "If that's true... if Marcus has been feeding them information... they know everything. Where the collection is stored, when it's accessible, and what songs contain power according to the tales."
"Then we need to get to that collection before they do," Dani decided. "Tonight, during the new moon. Can you get us into Preservation Hall?"
"I have keys," Claude said numbly. "But if they know about the collection..."
"It might be a trap," Kota finished.
"If that's the case, we spring it carefully," Dani replied. "With enough backup to handle whatever they throw at us."
"There's something else," Claude said quietly. "In the past few months, young musicians have been disappearing. Talented kids who were learning the old songs and showing real promise. The police think they're just leaving town to chase bigger opportunities, but..."
"But you don't think that's what happened," I said, already sensing where this was going.
"These kids loved the music too much to just abandon it. And they were starting to remind me of myself when I was young."
"The Collector's been harvesting them," Dani realized with growing horror. "Anyone with Guardian blood who starts manifesting abilities."
"We should assume they are setting a trap for us. They know we are their biggest obstacle. We need to come up with a plan before tonight," Lia said with a nod.
Claude looked at us with a mixture of fear and hope. "You really think you can stop this thing?"
"We've stopped worse," Dani replied with more confidence than I felt through our sister bond. "But we're going to need your help. And your music."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Tonight, you're going to play the most important concert of your life," Dani told him. "And with any luck, it'll be the last time you have to sing away the darkness."
"For now," Dre began, "lay low. Don't go home, don't contact Marcus, and don't trust anyone. We'll meet you at Preservation Hall at eleven-thirty tonight."
Claude nodded slowly, his weathered hands still trembling slightly. "What about the other families? If what you're saying is true..."
"We're going to find them," Dani promised, pushing back from the table. "Right now."