Adrian Phoenix - In the Blood

Relief curled through Heather, and for a moment, her mind shut up. Sleep, for all of them. And when twilight shimmered across the horizon once more, they’d tear up the highway once again.

She looked at Dante and traced the edge of his beautiful face. Smelled autumn leaves and blood. Von’s words glimmered like gold in her mind: He is the never-ending Road .

She would follow the road home to New Orleans. Her and Annie and Eerie.

“I’m right here beside you, Baptiste,” Heather whispered.

Ahead, the road unwound.

TO MAKE THINGS AS simple as possible, I’ve listed not only words, but phrases used in the story. Please keep in mind that Cajun is different from Parisian French and the French generally spoken in Europe. Different grammatically and even, sometimes, in pronunciation and spelling.

For the Irish and Welsh words—including the ones I’ve created—pronunciation is provided.

One final thing: Prejeanis pronounced PRAY-zhawn.

Aingeal(AIN-gyahl), angel. Fallen/Elohim word.

Ami, (m) friend, (f) amie. Mon ami,my friend.

Ami intime, close friend, beloved friend.

Anhrefncathl(ann-HREVN-cathl), chaos song; the song of a Maker. Fallen/Elohim word.

Bien, well, very.

Bon, good, nice, fine, kind.

Bonne chance ce soir, good luck tonight.

Bonne nuit, good night.

Buono, (Italian) good.

Ça fait pas rien, you’re welcome, it’s nothing.

Calon-cyfaill, (KAW-lawn-CUHV-aisle) bondmate, heartmate.

Cara mia, (Italian) my beloved.

Catin, (f) doll, dear, sweetheart.

Ça y est, that’s it.

Cercle de Druide, Circle of Druids, a conclave of vampire Elders.

C’est bon, that’s good.

Chalkydri(chal-KOO-dree), winged serpentine demons of Sheol, subservient to the Elohim.

Cher,dear, beloved. Mon cher,(m) my dear or my beloved.

Cher ami, mon,(m) my dearest friend, my best friend; intimate, implying a special relationship.

Chéri,(m) dearest, darling, honey (f) chérie.

Comme çi, comme ça, so-so.

Coup d’état, rebellion, revolution, uprising.

Creawdwr(KRAY-OW-dooer), creator; maker/unmaker; an extremely rare branch of the Elohim believed to be extinct. Last known creawdwr was Yahweh.

Cydymaith(kuh-DUH-mith), companion.

D’accord,okay.

De mal en pire, from bad to worse.

Elohim,(s and pl) the Fallen; the beings mythologized as fallen angels.

Et toi,and you.

Fallen,see Elohim.

Fi’ de garce, son of a bitch.

Filidh, Irish poet caste whose members were believed to be a combination of poet, magician, lawgiver, judge and counselor to the ruling chiefs and king.

Fille de sang,(f) blood-daughter; “turned” female offspring of a vampire.

Fils, son.

Fola Fior, True Blood, pure.

Gêné toi pas, don’t be bashful.

Gris-gris, (m) spell, charm.

J’ai faim,I’m hungry.

Je comprend, I understand.

Je m’en fichu, I could care less.

Je pense bien, I think so.

Je sais pas,I don’t know.

Je regrette,I’m sorry.

J’su ici, I’m here.

J’su ici, mon princesse, j’su ici, I’m here, my princess, I’m here.

J’su pas fou de ça, I’m not crazy about that.

Je t’aime, mon fils. Toujours, I love you, my son. Always.

Je te manque, I miss you.

La passée, the night hunt.

Llygad,(THLOO-gad) (s) eye; a watcher; keeper of immortal history; story-shaper. Llygaid(THLOO-guide) pl.

Loa,(Haitian) spirit; associated with voodoo.

Ma mère, my mother.

Merci,thank you. Merci beaucoup,thanks a lot. Merci bien,thanks very much.

Merde, shit.

Minou, (m) endearing name for a cat.

M’selle,(f) abbreviated spoken form of mademoiselle,Miss, young lady.

M’sieu,(m) abbreviated spoken form of monsieur,Mr., sir, gentleman.

Naturellement, naturally, of course.

Nephilim, the offspring resulting from Fallen and mortal unions.

Nightbringer,a name/title given to Lucien De Noir.

Nightkind,(s and pl) vampire; term for vampires.

Nomad, name for the pagan, gypsy-style clans who ride across the land.

Oui,yes.

Père de sang,(m) blood-father; male vampire who has turned another and become their “parent.”

P’tit, mon,(m) my little one; p’tite, ma(f). (Generally affectionate.)

Peut-être que oui, peut-être que non, maybe yes, maybe no.

Pourquoi, why.

Sì, (Italian) yes.

S’il te plaît,please (informal).

Tais toi,shut up.

T’a menti, you lied, you lie.

T’es sûr de sa,are you sure about that? T’es sûr, you sure?

Toi t’a pas de la place pour parler, you have no room to talk.

Tracassé toi pas, don’t worry.

Très, very.

Très belle,(f) very beautiful.

Très bien,very good, very well.

Très joli,(m) very pretty.

True Blood,born vampire, rare and powerful.

Va jouer dans ta cour a toi, go play in your own yard.

Vévé, an intricate symbol of a loa, used in rituals.

Wybrcathl(OOEEBR-cathl), sky-song. Fallen/Elohim word.

The song Dante sings to Annie: Laissez-faire, laissez-faire, ma jolie, bons temps rouler , allons danser, toute la nuit… Let it be, let it be, my pretty one, good times roll, let’s dance all night… Si toi t’es presse et occupe, mon ami, courir ici, courir la-bas… If you’re rushed and busy, my friend, running here, running there…

From “Laissez Faire” by Bruce Daigrepont (Bayou PonPon, ASCAP) from Stir up the Roux on Rounder Records. Used with permission.