SINS OF THE PAST
by Laura Ann Troise, 1995
lat13@columbia.edu
sequal to Memnoch: The Devil


History:
	In the nearly three years that past after the ending of Memnoch
the Devil it would appear that little has changed within the vampire
coven.  Marius went to live with Pandora and try to recreate their past
love.  Armand went with Daniel so that he might heal from his time with
Lestat.  And, perhaps most importantly, Lestat and Louis came together as
lovers.
	But appearances are not everything.  Pandora has not healed from
Akasha's death and Marius despairs of ever reaching her.  Some days all he
can think of is Armand and the time they were together.  Armand who is now
only just beginning to truly understand the pain of silence that exists
between him and his beloved child Daniel.
	Louis was horribly wounded during his time with Juliano and the
memories of that threaten to take over his mind.  To keep them at bay he
has shut down the most vulnerable part of his heart and, in the process,
shut Lestat out as well.
	Lestat, too, is haunted.  The knowledge that Louis nearly died
hangs over him like a spector and casts a dark cloud on their love.  He
knows that Louis is shutting him out, but doesn't know what to do about
it.  He is terrified that if he pushes too hard, he will lose Louis
forever.
	So the two of them spend their days in what seems like a
never-ending honeymoon.  Only David saw the lie that they were living.  He
tried to make them see the truth, to make them face their fears and begin
to heal but they would not listen.  Unable to watch his friends destroy
themselves he moved out of the Rue Royale flat in the hopes that this
would shock them into reality.  He found a home nearby and watched in
sadness as their pain remains hidden inside of them, a bomb waiting to
explode.  Their honeymoon goes on.
	The fuse is about to be lit.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Setting:  New Orleans, an office building.
Time:  Early evening, nearly three years after the ending of Memnoch The Devil.
--------------------------------------------------------------

	"Are you sure you want to do this, Sebastian?"
	Sebastian Melmoth leaned back in his chair and smiled. 
"Absolutely sure, Ryan.  Why else would I be here if I was not?"
	Ryan Mayfair looked at his client.  "It's just that this is a lot
of money, Sebastian, and I--"
	"Money is no problem, Ryan, it never has been and it never will
be."
	"But Jean...."  Ryan stopped.  He flicked his eyes briefly towards
the man standing behind Sebastian--the man who was *not* Jean and whom
Sebastian had not seen fit to introduce, the connotations of which he did
not want to ponder.
	"Jean must not be told about this as I said."
	"Sebastian, let me try to explain.  I've represented both you *and*
Jean for over a year now and it would not be ethical of me to take this
amount of money, in fact any amout of money, from your joint account
without permission from both of you no matter what you intend to do with
it."
	"I know this, Ryan.  That is why you will take the money out of the
separate, private account that I have given you the number for."
	Ryan frowned.  "Does Jean know that you have this account?"
	Sebastian moved forward and looked Ryan straight in the eyes. 
"Ryan," he said, not breaking the gaze, "I understand your concerns but
there is nothing to worry about here.  You will use as much of my money as
you need to purchase this house, hire people to fix it and decorate it to
the specifications that I've given you.  Jean will be told about this once
it's finished.  Now give me those papers so that I may sign them and give
you authority over this project."
	"I'm not even sure that the owners want to sell the house, Sebastian."
	Sebastian grinned.  "Offer them the amount of money I suggested
and not only will they sell the house they'll throw in their firstborn as
part of the bargan.  Trust me, Ryan."
	Ryan sighed.  "All right.  I know there's no changing your mind
once you've set it on something.  Just give me a moment to make a few
inquiries."
	"Of course."  Sebastian nodded his head to Ryan as the lawyer left
the room and then began to sign the papers in front of him.
	"That took forever!  Can't we go now?"
	Sebastian turned in his chair to face the man who had stood behind
him. "Daniel, remind me again why you're here?"
	Daniel folded his arms in resignation.  "Because I asked--"
	"You *begged*."
	Daniel rolled his eyes.  "*Begged* you to let me borrow your
Porche tonight and you wouldn't let me get my hands on it until you were
done here."
	"Exactly!  So keep quiet!"
	"Honestly, Lestat, I don't know why you're making me go through
*this* though.  Couldn't you just have walked or used the Harley?"
	"Couldn't you have bought your own Porche?"
	Daniel cleared his throat, somewhat embarrassed.  "I'm somewhat in
debt at the moment.  I don't have the great wealth that you do remember! 
Not since Armand took control of my finances at any rate.  Anyway, tonight
is a rare occaision that Armand and I aren't fighting and I intend to ride
that for all it's worth--"
	Lestat snorted.  "Pun intended I assume?"
	Daniel ignored him.  "--and Armand has been wanting to get his
hands on a classic Porche for quite some time.  Yours seemed the logical
choice."
	"You sure you don't want to rethink that logic, Daniel?  After all,
Armand and I have only recently gotten back on speaking terms.  I don't
imagine that his idea of a good night out includes *my* car."
	"Positive," Daniel said.  "You were far more upset about the whole
thing than he was.  Besides, I think a nice dose of guilt will serve my
purposes well this evening.  That is, if I ever *get* to this evening."
	"Watch it, Daniel!  After all, it's only recently that I've
forgiven *you* for letting the movie rights of Louis' story slip into the
hands of that moronic Hollywood producer!"
	"Oh don't you dare start that up again!  I happen to know that you
and Louis saw that movie *ten* times without complaint so don't even think
of laying some sort of guilt trip on me!  Anyway, I might not have let
those rights slip if I hadn't been so busy looking after Armand after a
certain someone had a hissy fit!"
	Lestat glared at Daniel, his eyes blazing, then burst into a fit
of laughter.  "I'd hate to be in Armand's shoes tonight!  All right then,
point well taken and the movie wasn't *that* bad I suppose, even Tom
Cruise attempting to play *me* of all things.  It's just that--well, his
*hair*!  I swear to you, Daniel, I may have done a lot of things in the
18th century but discover the crimping iron I did not!  Ah well, my movie
will be better I assure you."
	Daniel raised his eyebrows.  "You're intending to do a movie?"
	Lestat shrugged.  "Seems the natural thing to do.  I'm not sure if
I'll keep the original actors or get all of us to star in it.  I'll have
to ask Louis what he thinks."
	"Is that what all this is for?" Daniel asked, motioning towards the
papers Lestat just signed.  "A bribe for Louis?"
	"No, it's just a gift.  I can do that you know, give something
without expecting something in return."
	"Would you mind teaching that to Armand?  Anyway, what is all this?"
	Lestat smiled, looking very proud of himself.  "It's Louis' dream
home. I've picked a house that he's had his eyes on for years now and I'm
filling it with everything that he's ever wanted.  Books, paintings,
furniture, music--you name it.  If he's ever indicated to me in the
slightest way that something caught his fancy, it will be in this home. 
It'll have things in it for me too of course but the essential plan is
him."
	Daniel looked impressed.  "And you're doing this for no reason at
all? Just giving this to him out of the blue?"
	"Well no, there is a reason."
	"But I thought you just said there wasn't?"
	"I said that I didn't want anything in return, not that there was
no reason for me to give this to him."
	"Why then?"
	"Because, my friend, in a very short time it will be Louis and my
anniversary.  The date on which I first set eyes upon him in that tavern
centuries ago."
	"I can't believe it!"
	Lestat looked confused.  "No, really.  I checked the date.  I even
looked in Louis' old diary to be sure.  He made an entry about it: 
'Tonight some *thing* attacked me...'"
	"You're pulling my leg."
	"Well, it's not poetry I'll admit but I'll take what I can get."
	Daniel waved this off.  "No, no, no.  Not that.  I mean I can't
believe you--this!  You mean to tell me that you, Lestat, the so-called
Brat Prince who fills novels speaking about his dastardly deads and how he
doesn't care about the world so long as he's happy, is actually a hopeless
romantic?"
	"Oh," Lestat said.  "Is that what you would call this?  Never mind,
it's exactly what anyone would call it.  I guess I am then.  As far as
Louis is concerned anyway.  Don't you dare breathe a word of this to
anyone though, do you hear me!"
	Whatever Daniel's reply might have been was cut off by the
reappearance of Ryan.
	"The owners have indicated that they might be interested.  I'll
have to do some more checking though."
	Lestat got up from his chair.  "That's fine, Ryan.  I trust you
implicity.  Keep me posted on the developments."  With that he left,
Daniel close behind. 

---------------------------------------------------------------
Time: later that same evening.
---------------------------------------------------------------

	Lestat paused outside the door to the Rue Royale flat and scanned
to see who was inside.  Ever since David had moved out the year before,
Lestat had made a habit of doing this.  Not that he expected some intruder
to be lurking on the other side--what he found was always the same--but he
liked being able to find it.
	He closed his eyes and let his mind slip down into his
subconscious as he read the information that his telepathic sense gave
him.  He moved quickly over the mundane things, the material things that
made up the flat, until he found It.  The sense of the one with whom he
shared his home.
	A slight smile appeared on Lestat's lips when he saw it, that blue
form that was the essense of Louis, Louis who was home now and waiting in
the parlor for Lestat to return.
	This was a new thing and one that by all vampiric knowledge should
not occur.  For all the millenia that vampires had existed the silence
that lived between Master and Child was a given.  Cruel perhaps, but
unchangable.
	Until now.
	Neither Lestat nor Louis understood how it had happened, how the
bond was suddenly there--oh they had their theories, Louis in particular
thought that the bond had always been there and that the infusion of
Lestat's powerful blood into his viens had simply amplified it--but
neither of them were going to question it either.  For the time being,
they were content that it was there and kept it to themselves as a secret
that only they knew.  The others could find out when they needed to know.
	Filled with pleasure at Louis' presence, Lestat entered the flat
and immediately went to Louis's side.  He put his arm around Louis and
kissed him.
	"Miss me, beautiful one?"
	"Lestat, I want this to stop."
	Lestat pulled back, suddenly worried.  "Louis, I know I'm still
new to this 'commited relationship' thing but I swear to you I honestly
don't remember our having a fight."
	Louis looked at him.  "What?  Oh no, not you, not this," he lifted
a hand and caressed Lestat's cheek.  "*That*," he said, pointing to the
answering machine.
	"You no longer like the answering machine?"
	Louis shot him a look that could maim.  "Lestat, please be
serious. Listen to this, we recieved another one."  He pressed the button
on the machine and the message on it began to play.  The voice was
distorted, but could still be made out:
	"You thought you could escape me but you didn't...I found you then
and I found you now...I've come for you...I've come for all of you....the
sins you have made have come for you!!"
	Louis looked to Lestat.  "What do you think?"
	Lestat leaned against a nearby table.  "I think whoever it is
should invent in a high quality telephone.  The reception on that is
awful."
	"Lestat!"
	"What do you want me to say, Louis?  You can't expect me to be
truly worried about this can you?"
	"It's the fifth time this week, Lestat!  What does that tell you?"
	"That whoever is doing this has far too much time on their hands. 
Louis, who makes threats over the telephone?  The last time that happened
was before my concert and I'd wager that most of the ones who made those
threats to me never showed up.  If they had the courage to do so they
would have threatened me to my face.  And who would want to do that to me
now?"
	"Do you want this list alphabetically or in order of importance?"
	Lestat smirked.  "Sarcasm doesn't become you, Louis."
	"So you will not take this seriously?"
	"No!  And I don't know why you are."
	Louis looked down at the floor then back up at Lestat.  "I don't
know, Lestat, it's just--I don't know.  It's a feeling.  Call it instinct,
a gut reaction, whatever but something about this truely bothers me."
	Lestat put his hand on Louis' shoulder.  "You're really worried
about this aren't you?"
	Louis nodded.  "Yes."
	"But why, Louis?  You have my strong blood in you.  Anything that I
could do to this threat you can do as well.  Why ask me to take care of
it?"
	"You know why," Louis said.  "Besides, unlike me, you enjoy dealing
with this sort of thing.  Or do you suddenly need a reason to run around
acting like James Bond?"
	Lestat grinned.  "All right then, beautiful one, tell me what I
should do to make you feel better and I shall do it.  I don't want
anything making you unhappy."
	Louis looked away, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.
	Lestat cupped Louis' chin in his hand and turned his head back so
that Louis faced him again.  "Louis?"
	"Yes?"
	"Did you have anything in mind for me to do at all?"
	"Well... no."
	"What!"
	"I was hoping you would think of something!"
	"Oh really?  Like what?"  Lestat gestured towards the answering
machine. "What on earth did you expect me to do about that?  It's just an
answering machine, Louis, it's not like I can go out and find the person
who did this!"
	"I know!"
	"I mean I would have if I could, Louis!  And I was perfectly
willing to do whatever you wanted me to about this but what do you expect
me to do with nothing?"
	"I don't know!  And I know you don't know who is doing this!  I
just wanted something to be done!  Why don't you think of it if you're so
clever!"
	"Sure!  Fine!"  Lestat threw his hands up into the air.  "It's an
answering machine, I'll just change our message!  'Hi, you've reached
Lestat and Louis.  We can't come to the phone right now but if you leave
your name, number and threat on our lives at the sound of the tone I'll
come around later to rip your heart out and show it to you before you die. 
Beep!'"
	Louis was helpless with laughter.  "Oh shut up!  I hate you!  I
absolutely hate you!"  He snatched a pillow off of the couch and threw it
at Lestat.  "Leave me alone!"
	"No!"  Lestat caught the pillow and tossed it aside.  He then
grabbed Louis by the wrist and held him tight.  "Not until you apologize!"
	"Never!"  Louis shoved Lestat who tripped over the chair behind him
and fell onto the floor pulling Louis along with him.  Louis tried to
escape but Lestat pinned him down before he could move.  "Let me go you
beast!"
	"Apologize!"
	"Don't hold your breath!"  Louis managed to free himself and nearly
hit Lestat but Lestat caught both of his hands and pinned them behind
Louis' back.
	"Now what do you say?"
	"Get off me you oaf!"
	Lestat twisted Louis' arms a little.  "What was that?"
	"Ah!  That hurts!  Let go!"
	"After you apologize.  It's easy!  Just say 'I, Louis, do solemnly
declare that you, Lestat, were absolutely right in this matter and I had
no right to blow things out of proportion and make you feel guilty about
it.  I'm sorry'."
	"I'm glad you felt guilty!  You--ow!"  Louis cried out as Lestat
twisted his arms a little more.  "Stop that!"
	"I will if you apologize."
	"Fine, fine,"  Louis sighed.  "I, Louis, do solemnly declare that
you, Lestat, are a complete and utter pain in my ass and you'll see pigs
fly before you ever hear me say the words 'I'm sorry'."
	"You're forgiven," Lestat grinned and let Louis go.  "Now was that
so hard?"
	"Go to hell,"  Louis sat up and rubbed his arms.  "That really hurt!"
	"I'm sorry," Lestat said and rubbed Louis' arms as well.  "But you
can't tell me that it was worse than anything else we've ever done."
	Louis smiled, remembering.  "No.  I certainly can't."  
	"Feeling better now?"
	"Much, thank you,"  Louis kissed him.  "I can always rely on you
for that."
	"Comforting to know that I'm good for something," Lestat propped
his head up on his arm.  "I hesitate to ask this, but were there any other
messages besides you-know-what?"
	"Not on the machine, but Ryan did call while you were out.  He
wanted to know if 'Sebastian' and 'Jean' were still planning on coming to
the party that Mayfair and Mayfair is having tomorrow night.  I told him
yes, I assume that's fine with you."
	Lestat shrugged.  "If it's fine with you it's fine with me.  I'm
still shocked that you want to go to this.  You normally hate that sort of
thing."
	"I know, but Ryan said that some of the people there will be
experts in New Orleans history.  I'd be interested in talking with them,
seeing what they know.  Plus I think it would be good for 'Sebastian' and
'Jean' to be seen at something like this.  Stop people like Ryan from
asking questions."
	"No arguement there,"  Lestat said.  "Anyway it actually sounds
like fun. I'd be interested in seeing some of these other clients Ryan
has.  From what I understand it's quite a collection.  Though I wonder why
he didn't ask me about the party.  After all, he and I just--"
	Louis looked at Lestat when he stopped speaking.  "You and he just
what?"
	Lestat thought quickly.  "He and I just haven't talked in I don't
know how long Louis.  but enough of this, Louis.  I believe you were in
the process of offering me an apology?" 
	"I beg your pardon?"
	Lestat silenced this with a kiss and ran his hands down Louis' back. 
	Louis sighed, letting his body relax into Lestat's.  He slid one
hand into Lestat's hair, holding him in that position, while the other
hand began unbuttoning Lestat's shirt.  He tugged at Lestat's hair,
breaking the kiss, then began to slowly nibble down Lestat's jawline.
	"You know," he said, his lips tickling Lestat's neck, "I believe
you're right." 

-----------------------------------------------------------
Time: early evening, the next day.
-----------------------------------------------------------

	Rowan took a long drag on her cigarette and exhaled slowly.  She
studied herself in the mirror, trying to focus on the image in front of
her, the real, the tangible and not... 
	:Rowan...:
	She shook her head but could not stop it, stop the vision from
happening again:
	*Walking down the stairs and out into the garden her feet leading
her towards the tree no matter what she did the ground exploding dirt
flying and the decrepit form of a man appearing moving towards her arms
outstretched reaching for her flesh dripping from the body :Rowan, how
could you do this to me!  How could you!  You will get what is yours,
Rowan!  I demand my payment, Rowan!: running screaming but always :Rowan!:
always--*
	"Rowan?"
	She jumped, nearly dropping her cigarette.  But it was only Mona
standing at her bedroom door.
	"Rowan, most of the guests are downstairs and I think Ryan will
have a fit if you don't join them soon."
	Rowan stabbed out the remains of her cigarette.  "I'll be down in
a minute, Mona."
	"Ok," Mona said.  She turned to leave but stopped.  "Are you
alright?"
	For a moment Rowan considered telling her.  After all, Mona was a
powerful witch, perhaps she knew something Rowan did not about these
dreams that would not go away no matter what Rowan did.  But then she
decided against it. Mona had enough problems of her own to deal with ever
since Morrigan had left with Ash so many months ago, she did not need
Rowan to add to that.
	"I'm fine," she replied.  "Let's go."
	
	The party downstairs was in full swing by the time they got there
and it seemed to Rowan that every room was filled with guests.  No small
feat considering that outside raged one of the worst thunderstorms Rowan
had ever seen in her life.  In fact, this storm seemed unnaturally bad as
it shook the house with each crash of thunder.  But Rowan did not want to
think of that.
	She forced a smile onto her face and attempted to try to find
Michael in the throng of people.
	"Rowan!  There you are!  I have some clients I'd like you to meet." 
It was Ryan's voice, rising out of the crowd.  Rowan was in no mood for
meeting anyone but she knew if she didn't do this now she'd have to spend
hours with Ryan later explaining why.
	"What I won't do for Mayfair Medical," she muttered under her breath.
	Ryan approached her, with what had to be two of his best-looking
clients in tow.  "Rowan, I'd like you to meet Sebastian Melmoth and Jean
LeCoeur, two of our biggest clients.  Jean, Sebastian, I'd like you to
meet my cousin Rowan Mayfair."
	The one Ryan had indicated as being named Jean extended his hand. 
"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Mayfair.  Ryan has told us much about your
work in the medical community.  I must say that I'm most impressed."
	"Thank you," she said, shaking his hand.  "And call me Rowan please."
	"Rowan, then," he replied, and smiled.
	"Ahem?" Mona cleared her throat and stared pointedly at Ryan.
	Ryan sighed then said.  "And this is my niece Mona."
	Mona gave Ryan a deceptively sweet smile then turned her attention
to their guests.  "Mona Mayfair, CEO of Mona One that is."
	"Oh really?" said Sebastian.  "And what, exactly, is 'Mona One'?"
	"Only the best investment company you're ever likely to find," Mona
said. "You'd be wise to send your money my way."
	"Mona, really!" Ryan said.  "I'm sure our guests don't want to
discuss this with you."
	"And why not?" asked Mona.  "Isn't the purpose of this party to
network? I'd think you'd be proud of me, Uncle Ryan."
	"I don't think--" 
	"No, it's all right, Ryan," Sebastian interrupted.  "I'd actually
like to listen to what Mona has to say."
	"Thank you," Mona said.  "It's good to know that some people
haven't lost their sense of manners.  Now where were we?" 

	Julie Stratford stood on the porch of the Mayfair House and tried
to find some way of calming her nerves.
	"We don't have to go in, Julie.  We could go home right now if you
liked."  These words were spoken by the man who stood beside her, the man
she loved.
	"No, no.  We'll go in.  I don't mind," she said.  "It would be
silly not to simply on the basis of some letters."
	She held the latest of these letters in her hand.  It had appeared
in their hotel room earlier that day and read exactly like the others,
even down to the last sentence:  "The past has come for you!"
	"Security at the hotel is doing everything they can to find who
left the letter."
	"I know," she said, returning the letter to her purse.  "Forget
this. I'm being foolish.  Let's go in and enjoy ourselves.  Or get out of
this rain at the very least!"
	He smiled at this and took her hand.  Finding the front door
unlocked they entered into the party which rivaled the storm in its noise. 
They searched the crowd and found Ryan Mayfair, one of their many lawyers
and the reason why they were at the party in the first place, standing by
the staircase with some people whom they assumed to be his clients.  They
went to join them.
	"It's good to see you again, Ryan," Julie said.
	"Ah, Julie, Ramsey, how good of you to come," he replied.  "I was
worried that the storm had kept you away."
	"It isn't that bad," said Ramsey.  "At least, not when we left the
hotel."
	"Good, good," Ryan said.  "But where are my manners?  Allow me to
introduce Sebastian Melmoth, Jean LeCoeur, Rowan Mayfair and Mona Mayfair
who are my clients, cousin and niece respectively.  Everyone, this is
Julie Stratford and Dr. Ramsey two of my clients from Europe."
	"A pleasure," said Jean.  "Dr. Ramsey?  Have we another medical
doctor in our presence?"
	Ramsey shook his head.  "No such luck, my doctorate is in
archeology I'm afraid."
	Jean seemed interested.  "Really?  Might I ask what you specialize in?"
	"Ancient Egypt and both Julie and I study it."  Ramsey said.
	Sebastian studied him.  "Ramsey... that name sounds familiar to
me.  Have we met before?"
	Ramsey thought for a bit.  "I don't believe so.  I can't say that
your name is familiar to me."
	"Interesting..." Sebastian replied, still studying him.
	"Forgive me," Jean said, "but I have something of a fascination
with Ancient Egyptian culture.  Would you mind telling me of your studies
or would that be too much of an imposition?"
	"Not at all," Julie replied.  "But I warn you, you might hear more
from us than you ever wanted."
	"I assure you that that won't be a problem," Jean said, smiling
warmly. And with that the three of them went off to another room. 

	A short while later Lestat found Louis standing by himself,
watching the storm outside.  Lestat went over to join him.
	"What's wrong, Louis?  Didn't you enjoy Dr. Ramsey and his lovely
companion?"
	Louis shrugged.  "No, they were fine.  It's just that I can't seem
to get comfortable.  Something's wrong, Lestat, and I can't figure out
what it is."
	"It's not that phone message again, is it, Louis?"
	"Yes--no.  I don't know.  Something just doesn't seem right."
	"Like what?"
	Louis thought.  "I don't know.  It's all little things but still,
I wonder.  The people here for example, the Mayfairs.  Didn't you notice
something odd about them?"
	Lestat grinned.  "You mean besides the fact that their family tree
has less branches in it than your brother-in-law's?  I swear it's like
being in Hamlet, 'my uncle-father and my aunt-mother.' It's amazing that
they're not all walking around with two heads."
	Louis chuckled.  "Well, yes, there is that.  But that's not what I
meant. Did you notice how strongly shielded some of them are?  Especially
Rowan and Mona.  I'd wager not even you could read their minds."
	"True," said Lestat.  "But not unexplainable.  From what I've
picked up from Ryan's mind this family has had more than its share of
tragedy.  Many mortals learn to shield themselves unconsciously when
they've been hurt.  I was undoubtedly like this as a mortal."
	"I suppose," Louis said.  "What about Ramsey and Julie though? 
They don't feel like regular mortals to me.  To be honest, when I first
saw them I thought they were vampires.  They aren't, of course.  But
still, something's there."
	"I know," Lestat said.  "I noticed it too.  And I'm certain I've
heard his name before.  I just can't remember where."
	"Might you have read one of his books?  Ramsey's written a few from
what I understand."
	"That's it!"  Lestat said.  "He's not Dr. Ramsey he's Ramse--"
	A loud crash filled the house, drowning out any other sound.  The
lights flared brightly, then stopped, plunging everyone into total
blackness.  Wind lashed at the windows as though trying to find a way
inside until the windows in the living room shattered, spraying everyone
with glass.
	"Keep calm!" Rowan shouted.  "It's just the storm!  Everything will
be all right in a minute!"
	But the wind would not listen.  Instead it ripped through the
room, destroying everything it touched.  People were shoved against each
other by the pressure of the wind alone.  Then, just as it seemed that it
might have calmed down, someone yelled out:
	"FIRE!"
	The crowd needed no further impetus.  Everyone ran for the nearest
way out, letting nothing stand in their way until a voice spoke as if
through the wind and froze seven of them in their tracks.
	:THE SINS OF THE PAST DEMAND THEIR PAYMENT!!!:

----------------------------------------------------------
Time: later that same night.
----------------------------------------------------------

	Michael ushered the last of the police officers out of the house,
shutting the door firmly behind them.  It had taken some convincing to
make them believe that their help was not needed.  Fortunately no one had
been seriously hurt or some serious explanations would have been
necessary.
	He turned to face Rowan who was sitting on the staircase with
Mona.  Her face looked ashen.  He walked over to her, took her head in his
hands and made her face him.
	"Rowan, it will be alright."
	"No it won't!  It's him, Michael.  I know it, Mona knows it and you
know it."
	"But how can you be sure?"
	Rowan turned and looked out the window--out at the oak tree in the
garden, the tree that was now split in two from one single bolt of
lightening.
	"I know."
	"Forgive me," said a female voice from behind Michael.  "But I'm
afraid this might be our fault."
	Michael whirled around in surprise.  No one should have been in
the house at all but there before him stood Ramsey, Julie, Sebastian and
Jean.
	"What are you doing here?" he demanded.  "What do you mean?"
	Julie stepped forward and drew a sheet of paper out of her purse. 
"I think that whoever started the fire was trying to hurt Ramsey and me. 
We've been recieving these threats which, you can see, are like the one
that was shouted out after the fire."
	Mona was suddenly attentive.  "How did you hear that?  That wasn't
spoken out--"
	"Quiet, Mona,"  Rowan said.  She stood and addressed Sebastian and
Jean. "Why do you remain here?"
	It was Jean who answered.  "For the past few days, we too have
been recieving a threat similar to the one heard earlier."
	"That still doesn't answer my question of how any of you heard it
in the first place," Mona said.
	"Perhaps I can explain," Ramsey said.  "After the house was
evacuated the four of us happened to come upon one another in the garden. 
During our conversation we discovered that not only had we all recieved
similar threats but that we, shall we say, had pasts that were quite
similar.  Due to the type and similarity of these pasts we decided that it
would be best to return here and see if our pasts had affected you as
innocent bystanders or if somehow you shared this past with us.  Your
comments about knowing who has done this makes us believe that you are
connected in some way and that we might all be facing a common enemy."
	"I don't follow you," said Michael.
	"Oh for the love of Heaven!" said Sebastian.  "The sun will be up
soon and I haven't the time for this!  Look, he and I are not named
Sebastian nor Jean but Lestat de Lioncourt and Louis de Pointe du Lac. 
We're both vampires and if any of you has happened upon a movie theatre
lately you know the essense of that horrid little tale--no offense, Louis. 
*He* is not Dr. Ramsey but Ramses the Damned and both he a Julie are a
different type of immortal altogether but immortal nonetheless.  And *you*
are three of the most mentally powerful mortals that either Louis and I
have ever seen.  Now it's very obvious that all of us have been threatened
by the same person and since the three of you seem to know who that is I
suggest you fill the rest of us in on it before I lose my patience
alltogether."
	"Lestat, that had all the tact of a traffic accident," Louis said.
"Forgive him, it's been a long night for us all."
	"Believe me, I know," said Rowan.
	"All this aside," Julie said, "we are still apparently united
against a common enemy.  I think it would be best if we were to tell each
other as much as we can now so that we can prepare ourselves for what
might come next."
	"All right," said Michael.  "His name is--"
	"Michael wait!" said Mona.  She jumped off the stairs, disappeared
into another room for a moment, the reappeared carrying a Victrola.  She
wound it up and music began to play.  "I think we'll be needing this
again."
	"Thank you, Mona, I'd forgotten," Michael said.  At the curious
looks of the others he explained.  "The one who is responsible for this is
named Lasher and he is a spirit.  He's strong but he cannot hear what we
say over the sound of music."
	"When you say he is strong," Louis said, "what do you mean by this? 
What are his powers?"
	"You name it, you got it," Mona said.  "He can read minds, move
objects, affect matter on a cellular level--"
	Rowan put her head in her hands.
	"--cause storms--"
	"Like the one before," Julie said.
	"--posses bodies--"
	"Oh God," Lestat groaned.  "Can we change the subject?"
	Louis patted Lestat's arm.  "Forgive me, but this does not explain
what this Lasher would want with us."
	"Lasher's been haunting this family for centuries," Rowan said. 
"It was one of my witch ancestors who first summoned him.  For years he
existed as a kind of familiar to us until about a year ago when he was
able to take control of a mortal body and nearly killed me in the process. 
He would have succeded if Michael had not killed him first.  But no, I
don't know what Lasher would want with any of you.  In my dreams, when he
would threaten me, I saw none of you."
	"It seems too much of a coincidence that we were all threatened in
this past week and that we were all here tonight when part of that threat
was carried out," Ramses said.  "There must be something that holds us in
common."
	"I hate to suggest this," said Michael, "but what about the
Talamasca?"
	"The venerable order of moss-backed snoops?  They couldn't hurt a
fly," Lestat said.
	"I agree," said Ramses.  "My dealings with the Talamasca have
always been passive.  They're annoying, but no more."
	Michael shook his head.  "Not lately.  Recently a small faction of
them formed within the Order with the hopes that they would bring together
two Taltos, that is two of a human-like, nearly immortal species that is
practically extinct.  This faction masqueraded as the Elders, decieved
everyone and even killed one of their members, Aaron Lightener, in the
process."
	"Aaron's dead?" Louis said.  "David and Jesse aren't going to be
happy to hear that."
	"Rowan and I, with the help of one of these Taltos, thought we had
put an end to this conspiracy," Michael said.  "But it is possible that we
only scratched the surface."
	"David and Jesse aren't going to be happy about hearing that
either," Lestat said.
	"The more I hear," Ramses said, "the more I'm convinced that we
here only know part of what's going on.  As it is nearly sunrise and
Lestat and Louis will have to leave, might I suggest that we all part for
the time being, contact our other immortal friends to see if they too have
been threatened or put in danger, then come back here tonight and compare
what we've found?"
	"I agree," said Rowan.  "I don't want to admit this, but there's
nothing we can do now with what we have.  We'll have to get together
tonight and form a real plan.  Here's as good a home base as any."
	"Would it be possible for you to contact these Taltos?" Julie
asked. "They might know something as well."
	Rowan looked over to Mona.  "I don't know if we'll be able to
reach them, but we'll try to see if they're interested in coming."
	"They have to come," Mona said.  "All of them, Taltos, vampire,
immortal. We're going to need all the strength we can get.  I can feel
it."
	"I can too," Louis said.
	"Tonight then," said Ramses.
	"Tonight," said Michael.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  early evening, that night.
--------------------------------------------------------------

	Lestat heard the music long before he could see the Mayfair house.
Apparently some enterprising soul had replaced the Victrola with the
stereo and was taking advantage of the latter's greater volume.
	He could sense the many others at the house.  Louis who, unlike
Lestat, had decided to hunt later in the night, was there as well. 
Entering the house he found Louis and Daniel standing in the hallway,
looking into the livingroom at Armand and Mona who themselves were deep in
a discussion about Lasher.
	"It's like they're looking into a mirror," Daniel said.
	"The twins:  the early years," Lestat laughed.
	"Don't let Maharet hear you say that," Louis said.
	"Is she here?"
	Louis shook his head.  "No.  They felt that having the whole coven
here would be too much.  Jesse and Marius came.  David too, of course."
	"Where is David?"
	"Talking with Jesse.  They're still in shock about what happened at
the Talamasca.  David especially since it would seem that some of this was
going on while he was Superior General."
	"I cannot concieve of a more pompous term," Lestat said.  "So what
are we waiting for?"
	"Some friends of the Mayfairs," Daniel said.  "The Tal-whatevers."
	"Taltos," said a voice behind them.
	Lestat turned and looked up, then up some more at the one who had
spoken. "I must say, it's an apt name."
	Ash laughed.  "I never thought of it that way.  You must be
Lestat, I'm Ashlar and this is Morrigan."
	"Is there anyone who doesn't know you, Lestat?" Daniel asked.
	"We've read his books," Morrigan said.  "What a wonderful idea for
a creature of a unique species to write of his experiences.  I believe I
shall do the same one day.  To make a record of what the Taltos are and
what we do would be invaluable to the world don't you think?"
	"Morrigan!"  Mona came running to join them.  A look of confusion
passed over her face as she looked from Morrigan to Ash and back again. 
"It's only the two of you?"
	"Samuel elected not to join us," Ash said, deliberately ignoring
the true nature of the question.  He made a motion with his hand,
indicating that they should join the others.  "If we are all here, should
we not begin?"
	The dining room had been elected as an impromtu headquarters and
all those in the house took a seat at the table.  As if by unspoken
agreement, everyone sat with one of their kind.  Looking around the table,
Lestat could see Rowan, Michael, Mona, Ash, Morrigan, Jesse, David,
Marius, Armand, Daniel, Louis, Ramses, Julie and Elliott, the latter of
whom was a friend of Ramses and another immortal.
	Lestat watched with amusement as a servant moved around the room
offering refreshments.  The vampires, of course, declined.
	Ramses waited until the servant had left before beginning to
speak.
	"I fear that things have progressed faster than we had originally
expected them to.  This morning, Elliott's home was set on fire. 
Fortunately he was not in it at the time, but the implication is clear."
	"Is it?" Michael asked.  "How do we know if it was a warning or an
attempt to kill him?"
	"It's a warning," Armand said.  "Trust me, if our enemy intended to
kill Elliott, Elliott would have been in the house at the time.  No one
would waste their time on such an effort and not ensure that the victim
was exactly where they wanted him to be."
	"And he knows whereof he speaks," Daniel said, indicating Armand.
	"But this brings us back to our original question of who our enemy
is," Julie said.  "If not Lasher then who?"
	"It's Lasher," said Rowan.  "He attacked the house last night that
much is for certain.  The question is what connects him to all of you?"
	"Which brings us to the Talamasca," Ash said.  "It could be that
the conspiracy within it was deeper than we had at first surmised.  If it
was possible for members within it to capture a Taltos and to attack the
Mayfair family then it is possible that they wish to connect all of us
somehow."
	"But for what end?" Marius asked.  "In all of my observations,
nothing has indicated to me that there was a need to bring us together. 
The Talamasca collects the research of thousands over the years, how could
they make a connection that one of us could not see?  Or rather, how could
mortal observers see what those of us who live this did not?"
	"Why does there need to be a reason at all?" Lestat asked.  "If I
had known that all of us existed I would want to bring us together just to
see what would happen!  No reason needed beyond that."
	Mona shook her head.  "It takes a lot of effort and energy on
Lasher's part to do the littlest thing.  The display we saw last night
would have exhausted him, even when he was at his most powerful.  To do
that as an attempt to get revenge on our family would be understandable
but to waste more energy on harming you for no reason?  It makes no sense. 
Besides, in the past Lasher got his energy from the Mayfair witches.  He
needs someone to give him the strength to do what he does.  If it's not
one of us, then who?"
	"Which again brings us back to the Talamasca question," Ash said.
"David, you were once the Superior General, could you shed some light on
this for us?"
	"I'm not sure that I can," David said.  "None of this makes sense
to me in the light of the Talamasca as I understand it, as I was in charge
of it.  Our role was to observe and no more.  If two kinds of differing
immortals came together we would note it but it would end there.  In fact,
chances are we would not even notice it since we would assign our members
to specific things.  Jesse for vampires and Aaron for witches, for
example.
	"However, I was not aware of the conspiracy involving the Taltos so
there may certainly be something else happening.  But to associate such a
thing with the Talamasca is unthinkable to me."
	"I disagree," Jesse said.  "The Talamasca, for all the good within
it, was ready for anyone with some foresight to take advantage of it.  It
fell victim to its own mysteries.  Why someone hasn't thought of
pretending to be one of the Elders before this is beyond me.  And, David,
you and I are living examples of how seductive our subjects are.  If the
Superior General could break from the rule to observe only, how many
others can and did?"
	"And what about those who were once part of the Talamasca but were
thrown out?" Elliott asked.  "It seems to me that one such as that, one
armed with the knowledge but not surrounded by the discipline, could do a
lot of damage."
	"I don't want to hear a word out of any of you," Lestat said,
glaring at the vampires beside him.
	"Might I point out," Julie said, "that we may be hobbling ourselves
by focusing solely on the Talamasca?  There could be other people and
organizations that we have in common that we are currently ignoring."
	"Taking into consideration all that we know so far," Morrigan said,
"it seems to me that our best course to set is to follow through on both
options. Some of us should come together and share what we know of our
pasts so that we might search them for common enemies while others search
through what the Talamasca knows about all of us to see where a conspiracy
might occur."
	"How can we do that?" Michael asked.  "After the whole Taltos
conspiracy the Talamasca closed ranks.  They won't even speak to us
anymore."
	"Simple," Morrigan said.  "Most of the Talamasca's files are stored
on computers and the conspirators relied heavily upon computer technology
to help them achieve their goals.  All we need to do is to break into the
Talamasca's database and find what we need to know."
	"I'll do it," Lestat and Mona said in unison.
	"Me too," Jesse said.  "I was the one who started putting the files
on the computer in the first place so I should know where most everything
is."
	"Fine," said Lestat.  "We can each take on one of the major
Motherhouses. You take Rome, I'll take Amsterdam and Mona can have London. 
Where are the computers?"
	"Upstairs," Mona said, getting up from the table.  "I set up one of
the rooms as a lab of sorts.  We'll have all that we need there." 

	A short time later Lestat found himself in front of a computer
screen, downloading most of the files from the Amsterdam Motherhouse. 
Occaisionally someone at the other end of the connection would try to cut
him off but he'd successfully foiled each attempt so far.
	"Enjoying yourself?"
	Lestat turned to see Louis standing beside him.  "Really, Louis,
you shouldn't spy on me.  Makes me think you don't trust me."
	"I don't trust you," Louis said, a smile playing upon his lips. 
"But I wasn't spying upon you either.  I just got here."
	"Downstairs too boring?"
	"No, not at all," Louis said.  "It's quite interesting.  Lestat,
you'd be amazed at the history that is in this house.  Taltos, immortal,
Mayfair. Astonishing.  Ash was telling me of his past.  Lestat, he's older
than the Twins!  Can you concieve of such a thing?  To think that a being
can live that long, see that much and still keep going.  Do you think we
could have the stamina for that?"
	"Why not, Louis?" Lestat asked.  "What would stop us?"
	"I'm not sure I'd want to know the answer to that question," Louis
said. He leaned against the desk and stared down at the carpet for a
moment.  Then he shook himself as though to wake up.  "No, I couldn't bear
to think of it.  Some things can remain a mystery to me as far as I'm
concerned.  It's sad about Ash though."
	"How so?"
	Louis looked over to Mona and Jesse at the other computers and
lowered his voice so they could not hear.  "He and Morrigan were supposed
to have a child but for some reason could not.  Ash thinks he might be too
old to impregnate Morrigan and this frightens him.  They're the last of
their kind, Lestat.  If something should happen to them the Taltos could
be lost forever."
	"Didn't Rowan give birth to a Taltos baby?" Lestat asked.  "Why not
have another?"
	"She can't have any more children," Louis said.  "The trait to give
birth to a Taltos is apparently common in the Mayfair family but it's
extremely dangerous.  Giving birth to Morrigan nearly killed Mona."
	"*Mona* is Morrigan's mother?  And you think *I'm* full of
surprises!" Lestat said, but not loud enough for Mona to hear.  A beep
from the computer alerted him to another effort to disconnect him.  With a
few keystrokes he aborted the attempt.
	"How much longer do you think you will be?" Louis asked, looking at
the computer sceen.
	"Not that much longer," Lestat said.  "Jesse's practically finished
and I'd give Mona and myself about another half hour before we're done. 
Why?"
	"I'm hungry," Louis said quietly.  "And being around these mortals
is too distracting.  I can't wait any longer."
	"Do you want me to come with you?"
	Louis shook his head.  "No.  You stay here and finish.  I
shouldn't be that long."
	"What if we're done before you are?"
	Louis considered this.  "Start without me then.  You can always
fill me in on what I missed."
	"Alright then, beautiful one.  Of course this means that I shall
have to pay attention to the discussion but I cheerfully make such
sacrifices for you."
	"The continuing hardships of your life, Lestat.  I don't know how
you endure." Louis said with a smile.  He got up from the desk and went to
leave when Lestat took him by the arm and pulled him back.
	"Forgetting something, Louis?"  Lestat said, giving Louis his
sweetest grin.
	"Lestat, you are the bane of my existance," Louis sighed.  He
checked to see that Jesse and Mona were intent upon their computers before
bending down and kissing Lestat.  "One of these days you shall push me
over the edge and I shall have no recourse but to strangle you in your
sleep."
	"Louis, please, you must be kidding," Lestat said.  "It would be
far more satisfying to kill someone like me when I was awake and begging
for mercy don't you think?"
	"True," said Louis.  "But I've never heard you beg for anything in
your whole life so I don't imagine you'd start now."
	"I'd beg for the right person, Louis," Lestat said, sliding his arm
around Louis' waist.
	"Don't tempt me," Louis said.  He pushed Lestat's arm away, kissed
him one more time and left him to his work. 

	Ramses looked up as Lestat, Mona and Jesse came downstairs
carrying stacks of computer paper in their arms.
	"Finished already?" Daniel asked.
	"Yes," Jesse said.  "There weren't as many files as we had hoped
there would be.  We accessed all we could but it would appear that not all
of our records have been put on computer yet."
	"Is it possible that there were files that you missed?" Ramses
asked.
	"It's a possibility," said Mona.  "They could have been moved to
the database of another Motherhouse or stored on a computer that doesn't
have a modem.  It would take some time to find out though."
	"Someone else's time you mean," Lestat said.  He threw the papers
he was carrying onto a nearby table.  "I am not meant to waste my time
sifting through files and you can't make me do it again.  You can find
yourselves another librarian as far as I'm concerned."
	"You volunteered to do it," Armand said.
	"What's your point?"
	"If I may," Ramses said, interrupting Armand's reply.  "Why don't
we read through all that we have so far before making decisions on what
our next step is?"
	"No need," Lestat said.  "I've read them already."
	"You have?" Michael asked.
	"Yes, it only took a moment," Lestat said.  "There's not much there
really."
	 "A *moment*?" Michael looked at the stacks of papers in amazement. 
	"It's a vampire thing," Daniel said.  "So what did they say?"
	"Not much.  There's a lot about the Mayfair family, but we knew
that already.  Ramses has a couple of files but nothing useful for us to
look at. Quite a few files about vampires but it's the standard drek. 
Files about me... about the Theatre of the Vampires... about...." 
Lestat's voice drifted off.  He looked around in confusion and tried to
start speaking again, but couldn't.
	"Lestat?" David got up from his chair and stood next to his friend. 
"Are you allright?"
	"Yes... no... I..."  Lestat leaned against a nearby chair.
"Something--something's wrong.  Something's not right."
	"What?" David asked.
	"I don't know.  I just felt it all of a sudden.  Like a pressure,
right here," Lestat said, pressing his hand against his chest.  "Like
something grabbed me.  Some....  Louis!  Something's happened to Louis! 
Bastards!  I'll kill!"
	Lestat pushed himself away from the table.  Frantic, he looked for
a way out of the house but David held on to him.
	"Lestat what are you saying?  How could something have happened to
Louis? None of us here felt anything."
	"Let go of me, David!  Something's happened to Louis and I'm going
to kill the son of a bitch that did it!"
	"Who, Lestat?  Who are you going to kill?"  David demanded, holding
on to Lestat with all of his strength.  "What are you talking about?"
	"I'm talking about Louis!  Let go of me now!"  Lestat shoved David
hard enough to make him fall back a few steps.  Lestat turned to leave but
found himself surrounded by the rest of the group.  He looked at each of
them in turn before moving towards Mona.  "Out of my way!"
	"No!" Mona said.  "David's right!  You're surrounded by witches and
vampires, if there was anything to be done we would have sensed it!  If
Louis was anywere in New Orleans we would have sensed it!  He's gone,
Lestat, you have to face that."
	"Oh *shut up* Claudia!"
	"Mona."
	"Whatever!"  Lestat turned away from her and found himself face to
face with Ramses.
	"She's right," Ramses said, laying a hand on Lestat's shoulder.
"Whatever has happened to Louis, you're needed here, my friend."
	"My *friend*," Lestat hissed.  "If you don't get your hand off me
right now I'll rip your head off and see if you grow a new one!"
	"That's it!" Marius said.  "Take him into another room."
	David and Jesse stepped forward and, with Ramses help, managed to
drag Lestat into an ajoining room.  They closed the door behind them but
Lestat's swears could still be heard.
	"He can't be held there," Rowan said.  "Not for long."
	"I know," Marius said, rubbing his forhead with his hand.  "Might
you have a well-stocked medicine chest and a pet you're not particularly
fond of?"
	"There's a stray dog that keeps digging through our trash and
plenty of supplies in the bathroom next to the kitchen," Michael said. 
"Why?"
	"I'm going to have to make use of both of them," Marius said. 
"I'll be back in a moment.  Armand, Daniel, you stay with Lestat and the
others until I get back.  Don't let him leave!"
	"Like we have a choice," Daniel said.  He followed Armand into the
other room as Marius left for the kitchen.
	Marius reappeared a few minutes later, carrying what appeared to
be a large glass of dark, red wine.  He entered the room where Lestat was,
closing the door behind him.  There was the sound of a few crashes and
some shouting which suddenly stopped, as though someone turned off a
switch.
	The door opened and everyone but Lestat came out.  Marius came out
last, making sure to close and lock the door behind him.
	"That won't hold him for long," he said, sinking into a nearby
chair. "But it will give us some temporary peace and quiet in which to
think."
	"What did you do?" Ash asked.
	"Slipped him a Mickey," Daniel snorted.
	"I don't understand."
	"Vampires are affected by whatever is in the blood they drink,"
Marius said.  "If we drink from someone who is drunk, we become drunk.  If
we drink from someone who is high, we become high."
	"And if you drank the blood of an animal that was drugged?" Rowan
asked.
	"We'd become drugged," Marius said.  "By the way, you're out of
what I estimate to be a year's worth of Valium.  I hope you don't mind."
	"It's alright," Michael said.  "I wasn't using it anymore."
	"That's good," Marius said.  "I disposed of the animal's body as
well so you won't be bothered by that.  Now then, Lestat is currently
passed out and, from what I was able to make him drink, I belive that
he'll be out for an hour or so but Lestat rarely does anything that I
believe him to do so I'm not betting on it, as they say.  In the meantime,
what are we to do about Louis?"
	"I don't know," David said.  "Ever since Lestat first said he felt
something, I've been trying to scan for Louis, but I can't find him.  It
could be that Louis is shielding himself well, but I read no signs of that
either."
	"Louis would be back by now if everything was alright," Armand
said.  "He doesn't like to take long when he hunts."
	"I know" said David.  "Considering that he had only to walk a block
to find a victim that suits him he should have been back an hour ago.  I
don't know how Lestat knew this before we did, but I think we must face
the fact that something terribly wrong has happened to Louis."
	Marius looked at the door that separated them from Lestat.
	"I was afraid you were going to say that."
	
--------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  later that night
--------------------------------------------------------------

	Marius watched as Lestat began to stir.  The younger vampire
slowly opened his eyes, groaned and pressed his face into a pillow.
	"How do you feel?"  Marius asked.
	"How do I look?"
	"Like Hell."
	"Strange coincidence.  That's exactly how I feel." Lestat snapped. 
He sat up, winced at an apparent rush of pain and lay his head in his
hands.
	"I'm sorry."
	"No you're not.  Don't lie to me."
	"I didn't mean about that, I meant about Louis."
	Lestat let one hand drop into his lap and, with other other,
rubbed his temples.  "From that can I infer that Louis has not returned
home?"
	"No," Marius said softly.
	"Merde," Lestat whispered and, when that did not offer him any
comfort, he tried the same word in all the languages he knew.  It didn't
help.
	"Lestat, we tried everything we could.  We even contacted the
others in the coven to see if they knew were he was but there was no sign
of him.  It's as though he disappeared from the face of the earth," Marius
said, then he realized the implication of his words.  "He's not dead,
Lestat.  I didn't mean that.  If he--if something like that had happened
all of us would have felt it no matter how shielded he was.  Even that
little witch Mona agrees that Louis is alive. We don't know where he is,
but he's alive."
	"What difference does it make?  He might as well be dead for all
the good I can do him!  Can't you see?  It's happening all over again and
I can't do a thing to stop it!"  Lestat got up from the couch and began to
pace.
	"What's happening again?"
	Lestat stood beside the fireplace.  There were logs already inside
it and with a thought Lestat set them on fire.  He stared at the blaze as
it reached up into the chimney.  Then, in a voice too soft for mortal ears
to hear, he began to speak.
	"I see it, Marius, in my nightmares.  When I'm deep asleep and I
think my dreams are that of perfection it comes to me.  The sight of him
like that.  The sight of him so hurt and so lost and all I can see are his
eyes, his beautiful green eyes which never changed even though the rest of
him was beyond recognition.  I see him, Marius, and he's hurt and he's
dying and I'm running to save him, running to give him my blood and make
it better but I never make it in time and I reach him just as the light
passes out of him, out of his beautiful, never-changing, green eyes.  And
he's gone.  And I can never, ever get him back."
	"But it didn't happen that way, Lestat.  You did make it in time,
he drank your blood and he's stronger than ever now."
	"Someone still took him dammit!"  Lestat shouted.  He grabbed a
vase off of the mantel and threw it against the wall.  "Someone snuck in
when I wasn't around and snatched him away from me and I couldn't stop it! 
I can never stop it!  First Armand, then Memnoch now this.  When is it my
turn, Marius?  When do I get to take him away from everyone else and have
him all to myself?"
	"You'll get him back.  He'll come back to us and wonder why we
worried so, like you always do after something like this happens.  Then
you'll write a book about it and life will go back to normal."
	"Do you think so?" Lestat asked.  He sat on the arm of a chair
beside the fireplace.  "Do you think it was like that for him when I was
away?  When I was underground, when I was with Akasha and with James?  Was
he like I am now?"
	"You know he was, Lestat.  He was in utter misery not knowing where
you where or how you were or even if you wanted to come back at all."
	"If I wanted to come back?  How could he doubt that?  Of course I
wanted to come back.  I always do, don't I?"
	"That's not the point, Lestat.  And I think the day you finally
figure that out is the day that you stop wondering the same thing about
Louis."
	"What are you getting at?"
	"Think about it for a bit, you'll get the answer.  Not now, though. 
Now we are needed back with the others," Marius said, walking towards the
door. "Are you coming or not?"
	"I'm coming," Lestat said.  "But, before we go, might I have one
more word with you?"
	Marius was about to answer when Lestat slammed him into a wall. 
He then grabbed Marius by the throat and held him so that their faces were
inches apart.
	"If you *ever* try that little trick with the blood on me again,"
Lestat snarled, his eyes blazing.  "I'll tell Pandora that you and Armand
are having an affair.  Is this understood?'
	"Yes," Marius choked out.
	"Good," Lestat said.  He removed his hand and Marius fell to the
floor. "I'm glad we cleared that up.  Now we can get back to finding out
who has Louis so I can make sure that my intentions are clear to them as
well.  Are you coming or not?" 

-------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  sometime the next day
-------------------------------------------------------------

	*Blood*
	The smell of it hit Louis' nostrils and it was gushing into his
mouth before he became consciously aware of having reached for the source
and brought it to his lips.  The hunger filled his every thought and he
reached again and again for a new source as each font at his mouth dried
up.
	Rats.
	He dropped the last one in disgust as he finally realized what he
had been drinking.  He wanted to spit out the last drop in some sort of
symbolic gesture but the hunger would not let him.  He closed his eyes,
swallowed hard, and felt the pain of the desire fade away.
	As it faded away, Louis became more and more aware of himself as
though the hunger had taken up his entire being and was only now giving it
back bit by bit.  And, with each bit, Louis could feel his hair loose
about his shoulders, the dirt on his face and the stone floor beneath him
that was so cold that not even the blood of the rats could make him feel
warm again.
	Louis pushed himself off of this floor and stood in an attempt to
get his bearings.  His green eyes eagerly took in everything around him
and told him that which, deep down, he had already known.  He was in a
prison.
	But this was no usual prision.  Though he was in a usual cell. 
The floor, ceiling and walls were made of stone and before him stood the
door of steel bars meant to shut all prisioners in.  Beyond that, however,
was not the sight one expected to see.  There were no other cells or
barren hallways. Rather, a labratory stood beyond the bars.  A labratory
filled with computers and papers and test tubes and all manner of
scientific equipment.  Louis could even see the cages from which the rats
he had just killed undoubtedly came.
	Louis paused a moment and tried to make sense of it all.  Why was
he here?  For what purpose had his captor stalked him, waited until he was
in a daze from the blood of his latest victim, then grabbed him and
brought him here? No Memnoch this.  This was a jailor who intended to use
Louis for a reason.
	Whatever that reason might be, Louis was not going to wait to find
out. He had had his fill of being the captured victim thank you.  Juliano
had done that job quite nicely and Louis had the memories of the painful
burns to his body to prove it.  He did not intend to stay for an encore.
	He took hold of the bars of the cell door and, with a pull that
would have been strong enough to rip apart the stone walls around him,
tore the door off its hinges.
	At least, that is what was supposed to have happened. 
	Louis stared in suprise at the door which did not budge an inch
from his attempt to dislodge it.  Impossible.  The bars were steel, yes,
but even before Louis had been given his second, stronger infusion of
Lestat's blood a door such as this should not have been an obstacle.  By
all rights the door should have been in a mangled heap on the opposite
side of the cell, not standing in its original position.
	Louis grabbed onto the bars and once again tried to free himself. 
No luck.  The door remained.
	"This cannot be," he said.  He walked along the length of the bars,
examining them to see why they stayed in his way.  He could find no
blocks, no magnets, nothing except steel bars and the door that would not
open.
	Fine, the door had a strong lock then.  That was easily fixed. 
Louis closed his eyes and pictured the lock in his mind.  :Turn, open: he
commanded it.
	But there was no click.  No sound of the bolt returning into its
home. No feeling in Louis' mind of having controlled the mechanism.  He
tried again and again there was nothing.
	Louis felt his heart begin to beat faster.  What was wrong?  Why
did nothing work?  He should be free by now!
	"Calm yourself, Louis, think rationally," he said.  "You're a
prisoner so someone is holding you captive.  Find them!"
	He scanned the area around him for signs of life.  First the lab,
then whatever lay beyond it.  He came up with nothing.  He sighed in
relief, knowing that, at the very least, he would have some time alone to
sort out his problem.
	He turned his attention back to the door.  If his strength was not
enough and his mind was not clear enough perhaps he could pick the lock? 
It seemed a simple enough lock and Lestat had taught him how to unlock
doors such as this in case Louis ever had a need.  Well he certainly had a
need now!
	"Lestat, remind me not to scold you so often," Louis said as he
peered into the keyhole.  Yes, it was a simple lock.  Louis could probably
use his belt buckle to unlock it and set himself free.
	He was about to undo his belt when he heard something that made
him freeze.  Voices.  Human voices where before he had felt no humans! 
Desperately he scanned the area that the voices were coming from but he
felt nothing, not even the indications that show the presence of a person
who is shielding themself.
	Louis could no longer read human minds!
	The shock of this threatened to take over Louis' mind but the
sound of the voices was getting louder.  The speakers would be upon him
soon.  On an impulse, Louis lay back down in the position he had been in
when he awakened. He shut his eyes and cleared his mind of any thoughts
that would betray his conscious state.
	He heard the lab door open and the voices came in with it.
	"You see, Trevor?  I told you that everything would be fine.  He's
in the cage, safe and sound."
	"He could have been hurt, Aiken!  And that idiot spirit hardly let
him finish the girl!  How am I to be expected to do my work if my
instructions aren't followed out?"
	Louis suppressed his surprise at the sound of the other man's
name. Aiken.  Could it be Aiken Drumm, one of the 'little people' Ash had
told him about?  He had to find out.  He opened his eyes enough so that he
could see, his long lashes giving the appearance that he was still asleep. 
The man Louis saw could only be Aiken Drumm.  Who else would fit the
description of the gnarled little body that Ash had described?
	But what had the other one said?  The spirit hardly let him finish
the girl?  Had he been trapped by Lasher?
	Louis quickly shut his eyes and stopped this train of thought as
he saw Aiken approach the cell.
	"What are you complaining about, Trevor?  He drank enough for us to
get him.  And he certainly wolfed down the rats you left.  He's as
helpless as a newborn babe," Aiken chuckled and Louis could feel his
wrinkled hand patting his cheek.
	"Don't touch him!  I mean, leave us alone.  Now that he's here I
need to start checking him or we may as well forget the whole thing."
	"Fine, get back to your little pets," Aiken said.  "Remember
though, *he's* going to want to see him so he'd better be in good
condition."
	Louis heard Aiken get up and leave the lab, closing the lab door
behind him.
	"*He* will get him in better condition than I got him from you
barbarians, I assure you," Trevor said.  "Things will be a lot better,
you'll see.  Ah, but Aiken's gone now, he could not stay.  He left without
even saying good-bye.  It's so hard to say good-bye."
	There was the sound of footsteps and a shadow fell across Louis'
face. Trevor was now where Aiken had just been. 
	"You can open your eyes now, Louis.  We're alone."
	The voice which had before been cold and angry was now kind and
almost dreamlike.  Unsure what to make of this, Louis opened his eyes, sat
up, and faced Trevor.
	He was a mortal, no doubt of that in Louis' mind, the scent was
unmistakeable.  In his thirties perhaps.  He had a lean, rakish figure
and, though he was squatting next to the cell, he appeared to be quite
short. Shorter than Louis at any rate.  His hair was the dark, uniform
black of one who had mistakenly used a cheap dye and Louis could see a
light brown color at the roots.  Dark brown eyes watched Louis from a face
that was at some angles equine and at others handsome.  An earring shaped
like a human fingerbone dangled from one ear and it swayed back and forth
as though keeping time with Trevor's heartbeat.
	"How did you know I was awake?" Louis finally asked.
	"I knew, I felt it," Trevor said.  "I felt it as soon as I came in. 
Not that I blame you, Aiken's a beast.  I can't believe how he treated
you! Knocking you out like that and dragging you here as though you were
an animal. Reptile.  You don't mind, do you, that I read your mind like
that?  It's just that when I heard what had happened with Aiken I got so
worried and I had to check to see if you were alright.  I need to know
that you're ok.  It comes down to this."
	"I'm fine," Louis said.  "I don't even remember Aiken bringing me
here. The last thing I remember is drinking from that girl.  It's all a
blank after that."
	"Beast!  Blame Aiken for that.  Him and that idiot spirit.  I'm
sorry, Louis.  When I told him to bring you here as soon as possible, I
didn't think that they would be so cruel.  Aiken, you're too cruel."
	"You asked to bring me here, monsieur?  I thought it was someone
else."
	"Well, *he* would have brought you here eventually.  He wanted to
talk to you before it all came out.  But I told him to bring you here now,
everything was ready for you so why not bring you now?  And call me
Trevor.  Louis, you can call me anything you want."
	"He who, Trevor?  And what's ready for me?"
	"You mean you don't know?" Trevor looked crestfallen.  "Don't you
feel anything different?  Changes?"
	"What sort of changes?" Louis asked, not sure he wanted to know the
answer.
	"What sort of changes?  *The* changes, Louis!  The changes you
want!  My gift to you, Louis.  Wonderful you."
	"That I want?  I don't undertand you, Trevor.  How do you know what
I want?"
	"How do I--"  Trevor got up and began to walk back and forth in
front of the bars.  Louis stood as well but Trevor paid no attention to
this and continued speaking.  "How can you ask me that, Louis?  Of course
I know you! I've known you my whole life!  As soon as I read your book,
Louis, I knew you. I knew you were real.  My friends, they laughed at me,
told me I was crazy, but I knew.  I knew that you were out there,
somewhere, waiting for me.  Somewhere out there.  I looked for you.  I
looked in New Orleans and San Francisco but I couldn't find you.  I
understood, though.  You were hiding from all those that would hurt you. 
I had to prove to you that I wouldn't hurt you.  Once I proved that, then
we'll be together.
	"I joined the Talamasca.  They knew.  They put me on your case.  I
created most of the file that exists on you, Louis.  That's when I found
you. You were in San Francisco, sitting in a bar all by yourself and I saw
you and you saw me and we both knew.  I followed you for years, watching
you, making sure that no one would hurt you.  Every breath you take every
move you make I was watching you, Louis."
	"I don't remember this, Trevor," Louis said softly, not wanting to
believe it.  "I never saw you."
	"That's because the Talamasca took me off the case!  They put that
bitch Jesse on it.  Said I was getting too close.  That I was too
involved.  And what does she do?  Go to your house and rip it apart! 
Rifles through your things like some sort of parasite and even touches
Claudia's doll!  She disturbed Claudia, Louis, how dare she?  You're going
to get what you deserve.  She didn't understand, Louis, she never
understood.  She didn't know."
	"And you?  You understand me?"
	"Of course I do, Louis.  I brought you here, didn't I?  Look, I
even got your things for you," Trevor went over to one of the closets in
the lab and pulled out a cardboard box.  He dragged it over to the cell
and showed Louis the decaying contents inside.  "See?  Here's your coat
and your shirt and your hankerchief and your diary and your copy of Oliver
Twist and--"
	"Where did you get these, Trevor?"
	"From the flat, Louis.  I saved them before Jesse could get them. 
I knew you'd want them."
	Louis stared in horror at what he saw.  The objects were his, yes,
but he had not laid a hand on them for centuries.  Some of them were so
old that they existed only as a dark, mold-ridden lump inside of the box. 
The remains of Louis' past life.
	"Is-is this your gift to me?" he asked.
	"No!  This is for later, when we'll be together.  You already have
my gift to you."
	"I do?"
	"Yes!  The girl and the rats, they had my gift to you in their
blood, Louis.  My lifelong impossible dream."
	"What?" Louis wanted to say more but a sudden, sharp pain stopped
him. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest in agony.  A wave of nausea
overcame him and, before he could stop himself, he began to retch
violently.  A black, foul-smelling bile dripped from his mouth until
finally he vomited and a pool of it spread out around him.  Sickened by
the sight of this, he crawled to the other side of the cell, gasping for
air.
	"What-what have you done to me!" 
	"Given you what you want, Louis.  Made you what you want to be. 
It's not perfect yet, I know.  But if you keep drinking the blood I give
you then I can do for you what no one else on God's green earth can do."
	Louis' heart was pounding.  "It was you.  You took away my powers.
You're the reason why I can't read minds or bend bars anymore.  Why,
Trevor? Why did you do this to me?  I never wanted this!"
	"That's all you see, Louis?"  Trevor whispered.  "Don't you see the
big picture?  Once I improve the formula, make it better, make it so you
don't get sick anymore, make it stronger, don't you see what will happen? 
You'll want it, Louis.  Of course you want it!  Why would I give you
something you don't want? I will love you more than life."
	"This is your love?  Making me sick, putting me in a cage?  I have
love, Trevor, I don't need this kind."
	"Don't say that!" Trevor screamed.  "Don't even think it!  Don't
even think of him, Louis!  He doesn't love you!  He made you what you are! 
He took you when you were most vulnerable and forced his blood on you and
made you his slave.  Thinks he knows what he wants.  I love you, Louis. 
I'm going to set you free.  Give you back what he took away from you. 
Then he'll kill the fiend that did this to you and we can be together."
	"What do you mean 'give back what he took away'?"
	"The light, Louis," Trevor knelt in front of the cell.  "Don't you
see? Once I figure out how to make the formula stronger I can give you the
sunlight again.  I want to see the sunlight in your hair."
	"That's not possible, Trevor.  I'm a vampire, I'll die in the sun."
	"Not if I can help you," Trevor said.  "That's how he helped us,
Louis. He found the files.  He saw the way.  He knew I could fix it, make
it better, make it for you.  Only you."
	For a moment, Louis believed this.  He believed that this mortal
could answer his prayers and take away the hunger that had haunted him for
so many years.  He allowed himself, just for a moment, to think that the
pain would end.
	But he knew it wasn't so.
	He knew that this was only a fantasy, a hope that even he had
abandoned long ago.  It was never meant to be.
	The formula, ultimately, did nothing.
	Louis knew this and he saw it clearly because he was no longer
powerless as he once was.  The formula had been expelled from his body and
with it had gone the effects that it had had.  He was himself again.
	"I'm sorry, Trevor," he whispered.  "But I cannot stand this any
longer."
	Louis fixed his eyes upon Trevor's and with a thought made Trevor
sink in a heap to the floor.  He was not dead, Louis did not have it in
him to kill Trevor, but he was unconscious and would be for quite some
time.
	The cell door was Louis' next target and it gave easily at his
touch.  A wave of exhaustion flowed through Louis and he realized that,
wherever he was, it was nearly dawn.  He needed to sleep.  Quickly
scanning the area around him, he found the perfect spot.  With hardly any
time left, he ran from the lab, through the corridor outside, down a
staircase and secreted himself inside of a dusty cabinet that had
apparently not been touched in years.
	Darkness came to him then.  A darkness that would not let him
reflect upon what he had seen outside the lab.  He felt himself pulled
down into the blackness that swelled in his mind, down deep along a path
into himself until he was at the very core of his being.  Louis was asleep
then, safe in his own soul, naturally shielded from his enemies and
dreaming all too real vampire dreams.
	:Lestat, I am safe....:

-------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  Early the next night
-------------------------------------------------------------

	Lestat stuffed his hands into his pockets and whistled as he
walked through the Mayfair garden.  He could still feel the delicious heat
from the blood of his latest victim coursing though his body.  And, if he
didn't think about it too hard, he could still feel the wonderful pleasure
leftover from his sleep that day.
	Should he tell them?  Should he let the others in the house know
that Louis had spoken to him that day, told him that everything was fine?
	Nah, let them suffer.  After all, Louis wouldn't have been in
trouble in the first place if they hadn't insisted on doing nothing. 
Besides, Louis wasn't home yet.  As far as Lestat was concerned that meant
that everyone responsible had a short time left to live upon this earth
before he decended on them like the wrath of God and made them pay for
taking his beautiful Louis away.
	The others could be told when they needed to know.  Say, after
Louis was back.  That should give them enough time to stew in their own
guilt.  Served them right.
	A quick mental search of the house told him that those inside were
in the kitchen.  Lestat walked around to the back and entered the kitchen
directly.  He found Rowan, Jesse and Daniel sitting around a table,
looking over the Talamasca files.
	"What?  No one else wanted to come to the party?" Lestat asked,
sitting down in a chair and proping his feet up on the table.
	"You're in an awfully cheerful mood," Daniel said. "What gives?"
	"Aren't I allowed my few, brief moments of happines? Honestly,
Daniel, to listen to you I'd think you expected me to go around slamming
people into walls or something.  Where is Marius by the way?"
	"He and most of the others are out taking care of personal
details," Jesse said.  "They wanted to make sure that they didn't leave
loose ends lying around for our beloved enemy to find."
	"Fair enough," Lestat said.  "Why are you here then?  I thought the
files were useless."
	"There was nothing obvious in them," Rowan said.  "But I know
something's here.  I can't put my finger on it, but I know there's
something we're overlooking.  Plus, there are a lot of odd things about
these files."
	"Like what?" Daniel asked.
	"Louis' file, for example," Rowan pulled it out.  "Here Jesse,
perhaps you can explain this to me.  The entries on him are so, I don't
know, spotty."
	"How do you mean?" Jesse asked, looking over Rowan's shoulder.
	"It's like a cycle of feast and famine," Rowan said.  "Look here,
in 1976, when he had his interview with Daniel, there's practically
nothing on him. Then a couple of years later there's every detail you ever
needed to know. Where he lived, what he wore, what he did, who he liked to
eat--"
	"I could have told you that one," Lestat smiled.
	"Gods, Lestat, I could have lived my whole life without hearing
that," Daniel sighed.  "Is there anything about your life that's too
private or will we be hearing more lovely details like that in the
future?"
	"I don't know Daniel, ask me that after I find out how the seats of
my Porche got marked up like that."
	"Lestat, please, Jesse and Rowan want to talk about the files,"
Daniel said, a light blush appearing at his collar.  "Ladies, please
continue."
	"If you boys are through," Jesse said.  "I can explain this part of
the file.  Not too long after Louis' story came out the Talamasca assigned
a new researcher to his case.  I think his name was Trevor Rezton or
something like that.  I never met him personally but from what I
understand he got really involved in it.  They finally took him off the
case when they found out he was breaking into houses in an attempt to find
Louis when he was sleeping.  That's when I got assigned to it.  He wasn't
too thrilled with that.  Apparently he had a thing for Louis.  It got so
bad that they threw him out of the Order."
	"Where is he now?" Rowan asked.
	"Well, if I had to make an educated guess, I'd say he's probably
holed up in some movie theatre mooning over Brad Pitt," Jesse grinned. 
"Not that I'm implying that that's a bad thing."
	"Jesse, if you liked his performance so much why don't you go and
find him?" Daniel asked.  "After all, if you can tongue kiss the rock star
over here in the middle of a concert I'm sure you can show your
appreciation to a mere mortal actor."
	"I guess I just don't have the savior faire around vampires that
you did as a mortal, reporterboy," Jesse replied sweetly.
	"That's different," Daniel said.  "I wasn't acting like some
hormone crazed groupie."
	"Oh no?" said Jesse.  "Then what would you call someone who follows
a vampire all around the world in the hopes of getting into bed with him?"
	"From what I hear that would be:  Yes, Daniel, oh yes Daniel, I
love it Daniel, *more* Daniel," Lestat said.
	"What!" Daniel yelled.  "How did you--?"
	"If you want privacy," said Lestat, "you should have Armand turn
off the security cameras in your bedroom.  And while you're at it, tell
him to stop taping over the movies I lend him.  I lost a perfectly good
copy of The Bride to the sight of the two of you ruining a box spring."
	"At least I'm not writing books about the first time I've used a
bathroom in 200 years!"
	"Oh, how you wound me!" Lestat said, making an exaggerated show of
clutching his heart.  "I cannot respond to such witty reparte!  Talk about
Oscar Wilde!"
	"If I may interrupt," Jesse said.  "We do have serious business to
discuss.  Could you two possibly act your age?"
	Lestat mimed dropping dead.
	"You can see how the idea of all of us living together on an island
lasted a good hot minute," Jesse said to Rowan.
	"I've just been sitting here thanking God I have no brothers and
sisters," Rowan said.  "Cousins yes, but nothing like this."
	"But that's the fun of it all," Lestat said.  "We are blood
relations of a type.  Deep down we're one happy family."
	"Currently in therapy," Daniel added.
	"Of course," Lestat said.  "Now I believe we were talking about
Louis' file?"
	"Yes," said Rowan.  "Here's something else that I don't understand.
There are entries about Louis' life during the late 18th century but they
were written in 1830.  How could they know what his life was like after
the fact? Lestat's file is like that too."
	"That's actually an interesting story," Jesse said.  "In early 1830
someone broke into the motherhouse in London and stole quite a few files. 
They were never able to get them back and the best they could do was to
try to remember what was in the files and write it down again."
	"Who did it?" asked Daniel.
	"That's the truly interesting part, no one knows.  There were only
a couple of witnesses who saw anything and their stories conflict.  One of
them said it was a burgler while the other said it was a poltergeist. 
They were never able to figure it out."
	"Wait a minute," Rowan said and she began searching through the
other files.  "I seem to remember reading something about that in one of
the files. Someone made a list of what files were taken."
	"You think it might be our friend?" Daniel asked.
	"Could be," Rowan said.  "Here we are.  Yes, files about the
Mayfairs and files about Lestat, Louis, Armand and the Theatre of the
Vampires were taken. Whoever wrote this also noted that a few other random
files were taken but that it was only the most current files.  It doesn't
say anything about Ramses though.  Maybe this is a dead end."
	"Ramses was underground until the early 20th century," Lestat said. 
"The files weren't there to get."
	"What if they went back?" Jesse asked.  She took Ramses' file off
of the pile and searched through it.  "Bingo!  In 1932 there was another
break in and someone took the current file on Ramses and Julie and--get
this boys and girls--they also took files about the Mayfairs, Ash,
Santino, Marius, Mael, Eric and Pandora.  The file also says that, while
there were no further break ins, during later years copies of the files as
they were updated would also disappear.  The latest mention of this is
last year."
	"Everyone," said Daniel.  "I'd like to introduce you to our connection."

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  The same night
---------------------------------------------------------------------

	Louis awoke slowly, drifting up from the blackness like a diver
floating up to the surface of the ocean.  As he awoke his senses gave him
information about his surroundings so that before he opened his eyes he
knew he was still in the cabinet that he had hid himself in when the sun
rose and that he was alone.
	He got up from his position on the floor, stretched, checked again
to make sure no one was outside, opened the cabinet door and stepped out
of it into a deserted hallway.
	And it was deserted.  The stone walls were dusty and dank and the
light from the torches along the walls did not reveal a single form of
life save for the bugs that crawled along the floor.
	So why did Louis feel so afraid?  He didn't understand it but
there was a sense of foreboding within him as though the Sword of Damocles
hung over his head.  Something told him that he knew were he was but the
suggestion of what that place might be was too terrible to think of so
Louis did not dwell on it long enough for the actual name to form in his
head.
	To prove to himself that he was not where he thought he was he
walked down the hallway which, though it looked just as his memory
recalled, was not what his memory said, to the stairwell which was where
it should be though this was not the place it was in, up to the passage
that he'd been through so many times though he'd never been here before to
the doorway that did not exist.
	Memnoch's Temple.  Juliano's chambers.
	A stab of fear sliced through Louis' body and he wrapped his arms
around his chest to try to quell the draining feeling that had made its
home right next to his heart.  He began to breathe in short little pants
as his lungs were no longer capable of taking in the air around him.
	"No.  It's not real.  It can't be," he whispered.
	But it was real.  All of it, including the carvings on the chamber
door that Juliano had loved so much.  It was Memnoch's Temple.  Like a
demon it had risen from the dead exactly as it was before.
	In a daze Louis stared at the carvings on the door, focusing all
his attention on them lest his mind turn to his surroundings and he lost
himself alltogether.  With one hand he reached out and traced the patterns
over and over again, letting his fingers slowly give him the information
that he did not want to have.
	Finally, he began to feel calm and centered again.  The memories
of what had happened here, though still close, had been forced back from
his conscious mind and the tension slowly slid out of his shoulders.  He
took a deep breath and laid his hand on the door to relax.
	He jumped back in shock as the door swung open from the pressure
of his hand.  Again he took deep breaths to calm himself before taking a
step forward and looking though the doorway.
	It was Juliano's chambers all right.  The furniture and artifacts
within were exactly the same but Juliano was not inside.  Instead, Louis
saw a beautiful immortal woman with dark black hair and eyes and beside
her was a handsome male vampire with long brown hair and deep brown eyes
and what in the candlelight appeared to be a pair of brown gloves on his
hands.
	"Ah," said the woman.  "It appears that your friend has arrived, my
dear."
	"So he has," said the man, with an accent Louis recognized as being
old French.  "Louis, please come in and join us."
	Louis took a few steps forward so that he was barely in the room. 
He looked all around for signs of Juliano but there were none to be found.
	"You're right, my darling," the woman said.  "He is very pretty. 
Too bad I cannot stay and get to know him better.  Later perhaps.  Aren't
you going to introduce me before I leave?"
	"Bien sur," the man said.  "Louis, I would like you to meet her
majesty, Cleopatra."
	She extended her hand and Louis, driven by years of gentlemanly
instinct, kissed it.  She laughed, a low throaty laugh.
	"Oh yes, I shall definately like to know this one better.  But I
shall leave you alone now.  We will have plenty of time for this...
later."  She smiled at Louis then left the room, shutting the door behind
her.
	"But who are you?" Louis said.  He sensed that this vampire was as
powerful as he was but he couldn't stop himself from asking.  "How is it
that I am here?"
	"I must apologize for that," the man said.  "Louis, that was an
utter fiasco and you must belive me when I say I never meant for it to
happen that way.  You see, I knew that you might not come if I asked you
since all you've heard about me are lies so I told Aiken and Lasher to
bring you here. Unbeknownst to me, Trevor stepped in when I was not here
and took advantage of the situation.  I swear to you, Louis, as soon as I
heard what happened I imediately went to rectify things but you had
already gone.  Lasher told me that you had not left entirely so I knew
things were not completely wrong.  I left Trevor's punishment for you to
decide.  It only seems fair since it was you he tried to hurt, not me."
	"But who are you?" Louis repeated.
	"That's right, I forgot that you and I have not yet met formally,"
the man said.  He bowed to Louis in the old style.  "Allow me to introduce
myself. I am Nicolas de L'Enfant."
	"That can't be!" Louis gasped.  "Lestat said you were dead."
	"Correction.  Armand said to Eleni that I was dead, Eleni said to
Lestat that I was dead and Lestat said to most of the world that I was
dead.  But, as in most cases, Armand lied."
	"Why would he do such a thing?" Louis asked.
	"Because he thought it to be true," Nicolas said.  "Perhaps I
should explain.  Not long after the Theatre des Vampyres formed I realized
that, so long as it was under Armand's control, it would never be that
which I wanted it to be.  You saw this, Louis.  It was a mockery of
eveything I created it for. The other vampires agreed with me but Armand
would not let me take control again.  He locked me in his tower and kept
me away from the rest of the group. They tried to reason with him but he
would not listen.  Finally, I knew that I had to give up the Theatre and
get away from Armand.  Knowing that he would not willingly let me go, I
tricked him into letting me out of the dungeon long enough for me to fake
my own death.  The other vampires would have killed Armand had they known
I died while under his 'care' as he called it so he made up the story
about my commiting suicide in a great pyre.  He said there were other
vampires there so that he would not be the focus of the blame and, to
remove suspicion from himself entirely, he even told them that he and I
had reconciled and that he had given back to me that which he had taken. 
You can see how true *that* was."
	Nicolas held out his hands and, to his horror, Louis saw that he
was not wearing gloves at all and that his hands, unlike the rest of his
body, were the natural dark color of the natives that lived near the
temple.
	"Mortal hands, Louis.  For centuries I've had to live with mortal
hands. And I must constantly replace them for they never last long.  But
even this would be alright if only they did not hurt me so," Nicolas let
out a hissing sound.  He shook one of the hands and began to rub it,
finger by finger.
	"How did you know to do this?" Louis asked.  "I was told you had no
instruction.  Was this a lie as well?"
	"No, that was the truth," Nicolas said, still rubbing his hand. 
"They left me in complete ignorance.  I learned most of what I know now
from the Talamasca.  I met one of their members not long after I left the
continent and, in his eagerness not to die, he let me into the Motherhouse
and showed me the files on our kind.  That's how I learned about you,
Louis.  The more I read about you, the more I wanted to know you.  I only
wish it hadn't taken so long for us to meet."
	"I'm surprised," Louis said.  "I thought you would hate me since
Lestat--"
	"You thought I would be mad since Lestat ran into your arms after
leaving me?" Nicolas said, interrupting Louis.  "That I would be jealous? 
Well then, I must thank you for giving me the opportunity to clear up one
of the great misconceptions that our dear Lestat has put forth in that
gastly novel of his. And it is this:  he and I were never in love!  I
never loved him and he never loved me.  Our entire relationship was based
on two things: bad wine and good sex.  We went to Paris together because
it was cheaper with both of us paying for things.  It disgusts me that he
wrote those lies in that horrid little book and he was made into a hero
about it!  The mortals even created a fan club for him, did you know that
Louis?  We're the ones who should have a fan club!" Nicolas let out a bark
of laughter.  "The 'I've been fucked by the vampire Lestat' fan club. The
members can send in their money and get a secret decoder cock ring in the
mail."
	Louis blushed and looked the other way.
	"I'm sorry, Louis," Nicolas said.  "You must forgive me.  I've been
spending the past few years with only Aiken and Lasher for male
companionship and I forget that there are men such as you who prefer to
carry themselves with a bit of class.  I won't say such things again.  I
wouldn't want to offend you, Louis.  I respect you too much."
	"You do?"
	"Of course I do, Louis!  Ever since I read about you in that
Talamasca file, I've respected you and wanted to know you," he laughed. 
"Of course, when I heard about how you put Lestat in his place, I wanted
to know you even more."
	"Put him in his place?  How do you mean?  Where did you hear this
from? Not his novels, surely."
	"Ironically enough, yes," Nicolas said.  "I usually don't bother
reading his trash but Cleopatra convinced me to read a part of that latest
one of his, what was it called?  Oh yes, Body Thief.  The part where he
came begging to you to give him his immortality back and you turned him
down.  I loved it!"
	"But that is not the latest book, Nicolas," Louis said.  "There was
one after it, where he explained how I came to be how I am now.  Did you
not hear of it?  Have you not read any of the other books?"
	"I already know the story of how you got your powers, Louis,"
Nicolas said.  "You got hurt fighting that idiot Juliano and one of the
older vampires gave you their blood.  Not that it mattered, you were
strong enough already.  It was your story that was important, Louis.  Your
book that I read and which moved me the most."
	"Mine?  How so?"
	"Because I could have written it myself, Louis.  Our story is the
same, mon ami.  We were forced into this life by the whim of another, had
everything we ever loved ripped away from us and only we saw the truth of
it all.  Only we know this life to be the evil that it is and when we
tried to tell the others they refused to listen and put us down for
trying.  But all of that will end now, Louis."
	Nicolas put his hands on Louis' shoulders and smiled.  The smile
disappeared, though, as he looked at Louis.  "Louis, you're so pale.  Have
you fed yet?  No, of course you haven't.  Would you like me to get a
mortal victim for you?  Or maybe I should call Cleopatra back, she would
love it for you to drink her blood.  Have you ever drunk immortal blood,
Louis?"
	"No," Louis said.  "I've never met an immortal before this week."
	"What a shame.  You should try it, Louis, it's nothing like mortal
or vampire blood.  Their bodies create the blood as fast as we can drink
it.  No need to clean up countless mortal bodies after ending a fast.  And
their powers, Louis!  Strength like you cannot believe--it was Cleopatra's
blood that made me as strong as you are, mon ami--and powers beyond those
of what vampires can give you.  Louis, they are not weak to the sun.  They
thrive in it!  Light is to them what blood is to us and once you drink of
their blood you gain that power as well.
	"It's true, Louis.  I tried it.  One morning, instead of hiding
away from the dawn, I stood naked by the window and let the light hit me. 
It was beyond imagining!  Lasher pulled me away before the sun fully rose
but for that brief moment, I knew heaven.  That inner fire that filled me
as each ray caressed my body, filling me with light--"
	"Stop it!  Please I cannot bear anymore!"  Louis wrapped his arms
around himself and began to shake.  "I-I cannot stay.  I must go.  I can't
stay here. I must leave this place!"
	"No, Louis!  That would be the worst thing you could do!" Nicolas
took Louis by the arms and looked him in the eyes.  "I know what Juliano
did to you, Louis, but you must face that fear.  This is only a place,
Louis, a thing.  It was Juliano who made this a place of evil and he's
gone forever, Louis.  He can't come back."
	"N-no, you don't understand," Louis said, tears streaming down his
face. "What he did to me--you can't understand.  And the memories, oh God
the memories.  It's like a flood and I can't s-stop them.  Let me go,
please let me go."
	"Shh, Louis, memories can't hurt you," Nicolas said, gently.  He
led Louis over to a couch and had him sit down.  Nicolas then sat beside
him.  "You lived through the reality, how could the memories be worse?"
	"Because they don't stop.  I try and I try but I can't make them
stop and they go on and on and get worse and worse and--" Louis' voice
cracked.  He covered his eyes with his hand and his body shook with sobs. 
"This place is awful.  The memories are everywhere here.  Outside I could
forget but here--You don't know what it's like, no one knows what it's
like.  I'm all alone and the memories won't stay away and no one
understands."
	"I understand, Louis," Nicolas sighed.  "Louis, you are starving
for blood, that's why you can't fight these memories off.  Please, let me
get a mortal for you."
	"No," Louis said, his voice almost too soft for Nicolas to hear. 
"All I want is to go and to make these memories go away.  Please let me
go, Nicolas, please.  Let me be alone."
	"I'm not going to leave you, Louis," Nicolas said.  "Fine, if you
won't let me get a mortal for you then you leave me no choice."
	Louis felt Nicolas pull away and he was suddenly terrified that
Nicolas had finally listened to him and was going to leave him alone in
this awful room. He was about to speak when the sharp, metallic smell of
blood hit his nostrils. He pulled his hand away from his eyes and saw that
Nicolas had bitten into his arm, not near the wrist where the mortal hand
was, but in the middle of his forearm.  The scent of blood filled the
room. Louis took a deep, shuddering breath as he saw a drop of Nicolas's
blood slowly seep out of the wound and glide down Nicolas's arm.  Nicolas
was beside him again, sitting closer than before.  When he spoke, Louis
could feel his breath on his ear.
	"Drink it, Louis," Nicolas whispered.  "Take your fill."
	Louis put his hand on Nicolas's elbow and moved his arm closer. 
Pushing Nicolas's sleeve up higher, Louis leaned forward and caught the
escaping drop of blood on his lower lip.  Then, with his tongue, he traced
the trail of blood back to its source.  He dipped his tongue into the
wound before fastening his lips around it entirely.  He sucked at it
gently, then with increasing strength as his mouth once again felt the
cycle of being empty then full, empty then full.
	"That's it, Louis.  Go on.  I know what it's like."
	As Nicolas said this, a vision appeared in Louis' mind and took
hold of him as the heat of the blood flowed through his body.  He saw the
mortal Nicolas, trapped in a cage under Les Innocents, sick and confused,
bite marks covering his body as the Children of Darkness danced around
him.  He saw Nicolas as a vampire, locked in a dungeon, weak, starving for
blood as Armand laughed, tormented him with fire, then tied him down, took
out and ax and--
	Louis' head jerked away.  The vision faded.  He was barely
conscious of licking the blood off his lips or of the wound on Nicolas's
arm healing.  He looked at Nicolas, sitting there, watching him, waiting
to see what he would do.
	"I didn't know," he said finally.  "Nicki, I'm so sorry."
	Nicolas shrugged.  "How were you to know?  It's not important,
Louis. It's in the past, it doesn't matter anymore.  What matters is the
here and now. And now is when it ends, Louis.  We're going to put a stop
to this, see that it never happens again.  All of us, Lasher, Aiken,
Cleopatra, me and you."
	"What do you mean 'it ends'?" Louis asked.  "Nicki, what are you
talking about?"
	"I'm talking about ending the chain of lies, Louis, taking away the
happy face that the others have put on what we are and letting the truth
come out. That's why I rebuilt this temple.  What better place for mortals
to see the truth than in this former temple of lies?"
	"You can't hurt the mortals, Nicki, I won't let you.  Let them live
their lives in peace."
	"How can they live their lives in peace when everyday they walk
amoung evil and do not know it?" Nicolas asked.  "The charade must end,
Louis!  Before another Juliano rises and claims to be God or worse,
another Akasha who slaughtered thousands with a thought and made them beg
for more."
	"Akasha's dead, Nicki," Louis said.  "It's better now, can't you
see?"
	"Better?  Why is it better, Louis, because it is the same as
before?  Or can't *you* see?  The revolution happened and Napoleon is in
charge!  The pigs rule the farm, Louis, nothing has changed!  Mekare
became the queen and we are kept under the same dictatorship as before. 
Unless they are stopped we will be trapped forever in their web of power
and deceit."
	"It's not like that, Nicki, you don't understand."
	"Oh don't I?"  Nicolas got up from the couch.  He took Louis by the
hand and led him to a nearby table on which a single candle burned.  "So
you can tell me that I am wrong?  That Rowan tried to stop Ash and
Morrigan from breeding mortals out of extistance?  That Ramses shared his
elixir with the doctors of the world so they might use it to heal the
sick?  That Maharet told you that by drinking the blood of an immortal you
could do this?"
	Nicolas put Louis' hand into the candle flame.  Louis tried to
pull away but Nicolas would not let him.  Louis watched in facination as
the flame burned around his hand, yet he felt nothing.  Nicolas then took
Louis' hand out of the fire and showed it to him.  It was unharmed.
	"You've only taken a bit of my blood, Louis, and see what it has
done. Imagine what Cleopatra's blood could do for you.  Maharet knew this,
Louis.  She knew that there was a way to make this pain stop but she told
no one.  She kept it to herself and because of that the rest must live in
fear of the light.  It has to stop, Louis.  It has to come to an end.  The
plan is in place, it has already begun.  But before it goes any further,
you must tell me:  Will you come, or no?"
	Louis stared at his hand, watching the candlelight flicker over
it, carressing the curves that bore no scars.  He closed his hand then,
his fingers folding over the palm so that he could not see it any longer
and only then did he speak.
	"What would you want me to do?"

---------------------------------------------------------------
 Time:  nearly dawn, the same night.
---------------------------------------------------------------

               David returned to the Mayfair house and was greeted
         with the sound of arguing.  The stereo continued to play in
         the background as it had always done and the gentle music
         that came from it stood out in sharp contrast to the human
         voices coming from the kitchen.  He followed the noise to its
         source and found Rowan, Mona, Michael, Daniel and Armand
         gathered around the kitchen table.
               "But this doesn't really tell us anything!" Michael
         said.  "How are we now any better off than we were before?"
               "It does show a definite trend," Mona said.  "That has
         to mean something."
               "I know it means something, honey," said Michael, "But
         knowing that it means something doesn't put us any closer to
         finding our enemy than we were before."
               "What is the item in question?" David asked.
               "We discovered that the only files that were ever
         stolen from the Talamasca had something to do with all of
         us," Rowan said.  "Our enemy had to be the one behind it."
               "Which means that we've narrowed the possible
         candidates down to everyone in the world *but* the
         Talamasca," Daniel said.  "That makes it *much* easier."
               "Or perhaps we should not eliminate the Talamasca,"
         Armand said, looking at David.  "We cannot yet rule out the
         possibility of inside help now can we?"
               "No, we can't," David said.  "I'm afraid it's provided
         too many surprises for me to discount any possibilities."
               "So we're back to square one," Daniel said.  "Great."
               "Not really," said Mona.  "Since we know that our enemy
         took these files, all we have to do is figure out why and
         that should lead us to him."
               "David, I know you will have to sleep soon, but would
         you mind helping us with this before you go?" Rowan asked.
               "Not at all.  I don't know what help I can give, but
         I'm at your disposal," David said.  He paused for a moment
         and frowned slightly.  "Where is Lestat?  I thought he was
         here."
               "He's out back," Daniel said.  "He's been out there for
         a while.  I guess he got bored looking at all these files."
               "Indeed," David said.  "If you will excuse me, I think
         I'd like to speak with Lestat before I offer you my
         assistance here.  Do you mind?"
               "That's fine," Rowan said.
               "Thank you." David replied.  He gave a nod to everyone
         in the room then made his way outside.  His eyes quickly
         adjusted to the darkness and he looked around him for signs
         of his friend.  As a mortal, David could have found him
         easily, but ever since he had become a vampire that
         connection had been shut forever.
               He saw him, finally, standing under one of the many
         trees that undoubtedly provided the house with welcome shade
         in the daytime.  As he approached, he could hear Lestat
         speaking to himself in a breathless whisper.
               "What happened, Louis?  What's gone wrong?  It
         shouldn't be this way...."
               David cleared his throat to attract Lestat's attention.
          The blonde-haired vampire's head snapped up and the eyes
         that fixed on him grew cold.
               "Go away, David!  I don't want to speak with you now!"
               "Lestat, please, do you think I wanted it to be this
         way?  My friend, I swear to you, if there was anything on
         this earth that I wanted to be wrong about, it was this."
               "Silence, David!  I won't hear another word from you!"
          Lestat turned to walk away but David stepped in front of him
         and barred the way.
               "You have to, Lestat," David said, gently but firmly.
         "You have to face this now.  You can't deny it any longer."
               "And what might that be, David?" Lestat said.  "Hmm?
         Tell me O Wise One, what have I been denying?  After all, you
         can see into my mind so well--oh that's right, you can't!
         Ever since I pumped you full of my blood you couldn't read my
         thoughts if you got down on your hands and knees and begged
         me for them!"
               "I know you, Lestat, and I know what you're
         feeling.  You're worried about Louis.  You thought he was
         alright but he hasn't come home and now you're starting to
         wonder.  If he's not being forced to stay where he is, maybe
         he's not coming back because he doesn't want to?"
               "Shut up, shut up, shut up!  Don't you ever say such
         things to me!  How dare you!  I never gave you permission to
         speak to me this way!"
               "You did the second you called me 'friend'," David
         said.  "Lestat, I'm not saying these things to hurt you,
         truly I'm not.  I can't stand to see you in pain.  I want
         Louis to come home just as much as you do but you have to
         help me first."
               Lestat grew quiet.  He folded his arms and shifted his
         balance from one foot onto the other.  He looked over at the
         Mayfair house and did not move his gaze back to David but he
         did not move away from him either.
               "What happened, Lestat?" David asked, softly.  "What
         happened to Louis?  How do you know?"
               "I can feel it, deep down.  He and I are connected and
         I can feel what he feels deep inside of me.  When I woke up
         tonight he was fine but something's changed.  He doesn't feel
         the way he did before," Lestat stopped and focused his
         attention completely on the Mayfair house.  "What are they
         saying?  That the Talamasca is responsible for this?  That's
         it!  I will not stay here a minute longer when I know who the
         culprit is!"
               "Lestat, no!" David said.  "They're trying to find out
         who stole the files.  They only think the Talamasca might be
         behind it, they don't know for sure."
               "Well then I shall find out for sure," Lestat said.
         "I'm sick of this sitting around and talking about the
         problem and no one does anything!  You want to know if the
         Talamasca is behind this?  I'll go get the answer from them!"
               "Lestat, please be sensible!  If you can't be persuaded
         to leave the Talamasca alone then at least stop and notice
         that the sun is rising!  You'll have to fly the entire length
         of the Earth to get there!"
               "If that's what I have to do, then so be it!" Lestat
         said and before David could stop him rose directly into the
         air and disappeared from sight.
               "No!" David shouted, but it was of no use.  Lestat was
         gone and David was helpless to find him.
               "David, what's wrong?" Ash walked up to him.  "You
         haven't heard already have you?"
               "Lestat's gone to the Talamasca and God alone knows
         what he will do," David sighed.  He could feel the sun
         beginning to rise and made his way back to the safety of the
         house.  He was halfway there when the rest of what Ash had
         said sunk in.  "Ash, what did you think I had heard?"
               Ash walked beside David and politely stood between him
         and the light of the sun.  There was a look of sadness in his
         eyes.  "Jessica and Julie have not come home.  Our enemy has
         struck again."

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  early evening, just after sunset.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

               A figure appeared, blurrily, as Louis opened his eyes
         at the end of his daylight sleep.  Half remembered dreams and
         reality mixed together making the figure appear to be at once
         everyone he knew and no one he had ever met before.  He sat
         up in bed, rubbing his eyes so that he could better see.  The
         form of a man sitting in a chair beside the bed solidified
         before him.  He had long brown hair and a beard and bore a
         disturbing similarity to the statues of Christ that resided
         in the Churches that Louis found such comfort in.
               "No," the man said.  "It is not Nicolas.  Nor is it the
         other name that trips so easily from your lips even though
         now that name is the hardest for you to say."
               The man got up from the chair and crossed over to the
         other side of the room.  As he walked his form seemed to fade
         slightly, as though he were merely the projection from some
         old movie camera in search of a screen on which to live.
               "Lasher," Louis said, recognizing him at last.
               "The one and the same," came the reply, accompanied by
         a slight, sardonic bow.
               "Where is Nicki?" Louis demanded.
               "He had some business to attend to," Lasher said.  He
         picked up a slip of paper from on top of the dresser and read
         from it.  "'Louis, I had to take care of a few important
         matters.  They should not take long.  I will see you later
         tonight.  There are clothes and supplies for you in the
         bathroom.   Lasher will take care of anything else you need.
         Nicolas.' It appears that we are to accompany each other this
         night, Louis."
               Louis gave no response to this and instead got up and
         walked over to the bathroom.  "I shall be taking a shower,"
         he said.
               "Do you want me to join you?"
               "No," Louis said, not breaking his stride.
               "Ah, so you will sleep in the same chambers as Nicolas
         but you will not take my company in your shower?"
               Louis whirled to face the spirit. "What's that supposed
         to mean?"
               "Only what I have said, Louis," Lasher said, holding
         his hands out in a gesture of peace.  "Since we are to be
         together this evening, I was only trying to meet your needs.
          I know that this place has bad memories for you.  It seemed
         only proper that I offer to stay with you as Nicolas has.  I
         thought you didn't like being left alone here."
               Louis stared at Lasher, his eyes searching the spirit's
         face for any sign of deception.  "I can take my shower
         alone," he said.  "Thank you."
               "As you wish," Lasher said.  "I will be here waiting
         for you."
               Louis shut and locked the door behind him.  Not that it
         could keep the spirit out but it made him feel better
         nonetheless.
               The bathroom itself was a marvel.  An addition of
         Nicolas's during the renovations of the temple.  Juliano had
         not given himself such modern comforts.  A sense of peace
         came from knowing that this was a place that Juliano had
         never been.
               Louis stripped his dirty clothes off and placed them
         in a pile on the floor.  They had been stained and torn from
         his capture and Louis did not think he would wear them again.
          He then stepped into the shower, turning the faucets so
         that he felt the full blast of the hot water along his entire
         body.  He stood there for a moment, enjoying the simple
         pleasure of feeling the water massage his skin.
               He would have liked to stay there longer but the
         thought of Lasher waiting outside made relaxing in the shower
         a minor priority.  He quickly picked soap and shampoo from
         the rainbow of selections along the tub and scrubbed away the
         last remnants of dirt and soil.  He allowed himself one more
         minute under the fall of water before turning it off and
         stepping out onto the now warmed bathroom floor.
               Outfits that Nicolas had found for Louis hung from a
         bar on the wall and, after drying himself off, Louis choose
         a plain cotton shirt and a pair of black pants that seemed
         the most practical for his current environment.  Boots,
         underclothes and a band that pulled his black hair back into
         a ponytail completed the look.
               He left the bathroom and walked past his bedroom to the
         room just outside where Nicolas's bed was.  Lasher was
         waiting for him there.
               "You look much better," Lasher said.
               "What now, spirit?" Louis asked, impatiently.
               A flicker of emotion appeared in the spirit's eyes then
         vanished.  "Follow me," said Lasher.  He walked over to the
         chamber door and vanished through it into the hallway
         outside.
               Louis sighed, opened the door and joined Lasher
         outside.  Lasher motioned for Louis to walk down one side of
         the hallway.  Louis did so, Lasher walking beside him.
               "Why do you dislike me so, Louis?" Lasher asked.  "We
         have never met before, shouldn't it be unlike you to hate so
         easily?"
               "You don't know a thing about what I am like," Louis
         said.  The sight of Memnoch's statues along the walls brought
         flickers of memories that Louis would rather not think about.
          He was tempted to wrap his arms around himself to try to
         warm the chill inside of him but he did not want to show such
         a weakness while Lasher was there.
               "And who does know a thing about what you are like,
         Louis?" Lasher asked.  "Does anyone?"
               "Is that one of your infamous riddles, spirit?"
               "It is a question and no more," Lasher said.  "But it
         would appear that it is a question you would not answer.
         Fine then, answer me this:  Do *you* know a thing about what
         *I* am like that would make you hate me so?"
               "I know plenty about you, spirit," Louis said.  "I know
         the names of each of the Mayfair women you selfishly killed
         or tried to kill during your time on this earth.  Rowan, your
         own mother, being one of them."
               "I shall be kind and ignore the obvious irony of a
         vampire judging another for 'selfishly killing' in order to
         make a point which is more important to me.  Do you think I
         wanted them to die, Louis?  Do you think that I was glad to
         see them fade from life, my children dying inside of them?  I
         only wanted companionship on this earth and no more!  How can
         you judge me for that?
               "And as for Rowan, let us remember the kind of woman
         she really is.  It was her and my father who killed *me*,
         Louis, not the other way around.  It is thanks to them that I
         lost my mortal life and my only daughter as well.  But I
         don't suppose you would know what that felt like, would you?"
               Louis walked on in silence, shutting his eyes to the
         memories that appeared to him.
               They arrived, finally, at a set of wooden doors.
               "Here we are," Lasher said, going inside.
               Louis opened the doors and followed.  The room inside
         was at such odds with the hallway outside that Louis had to
         stop a moment and take it all in.
               It was a hospital room.  A modern one with modern
         medical equipment and modern decor.  Louis estimated there to
         be at least 30 patients lying in the beds along the walls of
         the large room.  All of whom where unconscious and unaware of
         the nurses that moved about them, checking pulses, wiping
         brows, giving medicine.
               "What is this?" Louis asked.  "Why are these people
         here?"
               "They are sick beyond any medical help," Lasher said.
         "But they are not sick enough to die on their own.  All that
         can be done for them is to try to take away their pain.
         Nicolas brings them here so that he may feed on them.  You
         may feed on them as well."
               "No," Louis said.  "I cannot take their lives."
               "Why not?" Lasher asked.  "You take the lives of people
         you meet on the street, why can you not take the lives of
         these people here? There is no life inside of them, Louis.
         Death is their only salvation.  Why shouldn't you be the one
         to give them that?"
               "Go away," Louis said.  "I want to be left alone here."
               "As you wish," Lasher said and disappeared from sight.
          If the spirit remained in some form that Louis could not
         see, Louis did not know.
               Louis walked down the aisle between the beds, looking
         at the people who lay in them.  The nurses continued about
         their business as though the sight of a pale stranger in
         their midst was nothing unusual.  Which, Louis thought, was
         probably true.
               He stopped finally at the bed of a young man who
         appeared to be in his thirties.  At a casual glance, the man
         did not look like a man who belonged where he was, in a
         hospital bed.  Beneath the sheets was a body that spoke of an
         athletic past and an active life.  But the rough breathing
         and sickly pallor gave lie to this.
               Louis walked up to the side of the bed and looked
         closely at the man's face.  It was a handsome face, in its
         way.  In modern American culture, this man would have been
         the captain of the football team, the big man on campus who
         grew up to marry the girl next door.
               "What happened to you?" Louis asked him softly.  With
         one hand he reached out and gently ran his fingers along the
         man's forehead, feeling the slight creases and wrinkles that
         come to all men that age.  With his mind, Louis reached out
         and sought to read the man's mind, looking for all the twists
         and turns that come with normal human thought.
               There was nothing.  Where bright flashes of insight and
         bursts of memory should have been was instead a pale, grey,
         emptiness.
               "Head injury," one of the nurses said as she checked
         the chart of the patient in the next bed.  She indicated the
         man beside Louis.  "His mind is gone.  It's a shame really."
         She continued on her way, passing by Louis and the brain dead
         man.  She did not need to check on him, Louis was doing that.
               Louis watched her move down the line of beds before
         turning back to the man beside him.  He knelt down by the bed
         and stroked the man's hair.
               *You must take what I offer you.... I _want_ you to
         kill me....*
               Louis paused for a moment, thinking of the old memory.
               "I'm sorry it must be this way," he whispered.  He
         tilted the man's head back, letting his fingertips lightly
         touch the man's eyelids, then leaned forward and plunged his
         teeth into the man's neck.
               *I _want_ you to kill me....*
               Louis felt the beat of the man's heart throbbing
         against him as he drained the lifeblood from his body.  There
         was no sense of the man as Louis drank, his mind was too
         far gone for that.  Instead, there was only the sense of the
         body, the body that was tired, that knew it was broken, that
         wanted it to end.  And, as the last beat sounded, Louis felt
         the body relax as though to say yes, it is finally done.
               Louis got up and wiped the remainder of blood from his
         lips.  He walked, somewhat dazed, among the other beds and
         wondered if it would always be this way.  Would he finally be
         the Merciful Death that he had been called so long ago,
         bringing an end to these men and women who did not even
         know that they lay in these hospital beds, being cared for by
         those who did not even know them?  Louis looked at them in
         turn.  A woman in her twenties, a man in his forties, a woman
         in her thirties.  Would this be all he knew?
               The sharp clang of metal on metal broke through Louis'
         reverie.  The nurses had moved the now dead man onto a gurney
         and were taking him through a steel doorway near the back of
         the room and beyond there, to where Louis did not know.
               Louis looked at the room around him once again.  This
         room was nothing like what Juliano had created.  Neither was
         the bedroom Louis had slept in the night before.  Nor was the
         laboratory Trevor had kept him in.  Perhaps this was not the
         temple Louis had known so painfully well?
               Perhaps Louis did not know this temple at all.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Time: Late night.
---------------------------------------------------------------
         *Daniel is going to die.*
         Jesse knew this fact with great certainty and it was the first
   thought that came to her mind as she began to wake up.  Her only regret
   was that it would take her some time to get away from wherever she was,
   find her way back to where Daniel was and toss him into the fire herself.
          *I don't care if he's a fledgling like I am.  I don't care if we're
   in the same coven.  I don't care if Armand didn't have a date for 200
   years until he came along.  I'm going to kill him.*
          It was Daniel's fault that Jesse was in her current predicament and
   not back at the Mayfair house.  Daniel had asked Jesse to take his place
   in the search for Julie, who had not come back when she had been expected
   to.  He had been too worried about Armand to want to leave his side, or so
   he told Jesse.  "I don't know what it is," he had said, "But he's not
   acting like he usually does.  I don't want to leave him alone, Jesse,
   please."
          *Last time I do him a favor.*  Jesse thought.  She had gone to
   search for Julie and Daniel stayed behind.  Jesse had found Julie, gotten
   attacked by a gods only knew what, had her throat slit, blood drained,
   body pumped full of some sort of strange blood and then passed out.
   Daniel was probably shacked up with Armand in a hotel room in New Orleans.
         *I really, really hate him.*
         Jesse entertained herself with images of Daniel's demise until she
   felt well enough to move.  Whatever it was in the blood that she'd been
   given had left her with a pounding headache.
          "Jessica?  Are you alright?" a voice, softly accented, broke the
   silence around her.  It was Julie.  Jesse felt Julie's hand gently brush
   her hair back from her face.  "Jessica?"
          "I'm fine, I think," Jesse replied.  She sat up and immediately
   wished she hadn't.  The pain in her head grew worse.  She opened her eyes
   and was only minorly relieved to see that there was no light to make her
   headache worse.  "I can't see a thing.  Where are we?"
          "I don't know," Julie said.  "We're in a truck of some sort and
   before this we were in a plane but I have no idea where we are beyond
   that."
          "What happened?"
          "We were attacked.  They knocked me out not long after they did
   you.  I woke up a few times while we were in transit but I suspect that
   you know as much as I do about who did this or why we are here."
          "Which is to say, nothing at all," Jesse said.  "Well we're both up
   now, let's see what we can find out."
          Jesse stood and braced herself against the walls of the truck as it
   hit something in the road that made it shake.  She heard Julie lose her
   balance and caught her before she fell.  She was surprised to feel how
   thin Julie was.
          "Julie?  Are you ok?" Jesse asked.
          "I'm afraid not," Julie said.  "I was hurt very badly in the attack
   and have not been in the sun since.  I haven't been able to heal."
          "We'll have to get you out in the sun then," Jesse said.
          "How?" Julie asked.  "I've tried to open the doors but they're
   barred shut.  Our enemy knows what we are, Jesse, he would not waste his
   time on jails that would not hold us."
          "Perhaps, perhaps not," Jesse said, making her way to the back door
   of the truck.  "You're not as strong as you usually are, maybe that's why
   you couldn't open it.  Let me see what I can do."
          She found the door in the dark and felt along it until she came to
   what she hoped was the part nearest to the latch.  She reached underneath
   the rim of the door, grabbed it firmly and yanked it upward with all of
   her strength.  The door rattled, but did not budge.
          "Dammit!" she hissed, hitting the door in her frustration.
          "What's wrong?" Julie asked.
          "My strength's gone!" Jesse said.  "I'm as weak as a mortal."
          "Do you think it was the blood they gave you?"
          "Without a doubt," Jesse said.  "You were right on one aspect,
   Julie.  Our enemy didn't waste time on jails that would not hold us but he
   made us to fit the jail, not the other way around.  It's a good thing--oh
   gods!"
          "What?"
          Jesse hit the door again.  "I just realized why I haven't been able
   to read the thoughts of the one driving the truck!  It's not that they're
   shielded, it's that I can't read thoughts anymore.  I really am as weak as
   a mortal!"
          "But how?" Julie asked.  "The blood again?"
          "Yes, though I don't know how," Jesse said.  "I didn't know that
   there was any drug that could take away psychic ability.  Not without
   damaging the user at any rate."
          "Neither was I," Julie said.  "What can we do to stop the effects?"
          "I don't know," Jesse said.  "I've never been under the influence
   of drugged blood before.  I think I have to wait for the effects to wear
   off."
          "Is that all that can be done?" Julie asked.  "Surely there must be
   something else.  Who knows how long this drug will last on its own?"
          "Pure blood might help," Jesse said.  "If I could get my hands on a
   new mortal victim, I might be able to reduce the effects."
          "Perfect," Julie said.  "I could find one for you while the sun is
   up, or perhaps you will have enough time before that to take our driver."
          "What do you mean?" Jesse asked.  "There's plenty of time, the sun
   just set."
          "No it didn't," Julie said.  "Jesse, the sun's been down for hours,
   it will be dawn soon."
          "That can't be!" Jesse said.  "I just woke up!"
          "We did travel in a plane," Julie said. "Who knows where we are
   now?  Your internal clock might be misaligned."
          "Vampires aren't like that," Jesse said.  "Our bodies are attuned
   to the sun no matter where we are.  The sun rises, we sleep; it sets, we
   wake up.  We might catnap a bit at night but our deep sleep is controlled
   by the sun."
          "It did set long ago, Jesse.  I was conscious enough when it
   happened to see it," Julie said, gently.  "You did not wake up at all.  In
   fact, until you started to move a short while ago, I was convinced that
   you were dead."
          "Oh gods," Jesse whispered.  "What the hell did they put into me?
   Julie, if I don't know when the sun is rising and setting, something is
   truly wrong.  What am I going to do?"
          "Let's not panic," Julie said.  She laid a comforting hand on
   Jesse's shoulder.  "We are still in the same situation as we were before.
    You're under the influence of the same drug, only now you know the full
   extent of it.  Our plans have not changed.  Remember that."
          "What are our plans?" Jesse asked.  "We don't really know that much
   about what's going on to plan something around it."
          "I know," Julie said.  "Our goal is to escape, obviously, but how
   to achieve that is uncertain."
          "It's probably for the best," Jesse said.  "Like you said, our
   enemy knows what we are.  Chances are that we're surrounded by telepaths.
    If we had a plan they'd be able to find out about it."
          "True," Julie said.  "We shall have to improvise then."
          "And even that we will have to keep under wraps," Jesse said.
   "We'll have to clear our minds of any revealing thoughts in order to be
   sure that our enemy learns nothing."
          "Agreed," Julie said.
          They sat in silence as the truck moved on.  Hoping that their enemy
   would not realize that they were awake, they let their thoughts drift
   randomly, as a dreamer might.  It was an exercise the Talamasca had taught
   Jesse and she passed the lesson onto Julie as best as she could.  She
   didn't know if Julie was successful, but it was better than nothing.
          Some time later the sound of the truck hitting bumps in the road
   was replaced by the sound of a garage door opening.  The truck rolled
   forward on smoother ground and the sound of the truck's engine echoed
   through what Jesse guessed to be a large building of some sort.
          The truck stopped and Jesse could hear the cab door open and slam
   shut.  The driver called out to someone who answered from the other side
   of the room.  Jesse felt Julie press her arm and she tapped Julie's hand
   to show that she was ready.
          The sound of footsteps approached the truck's rear door.  Someone
   turned a key in the lock and the door was raised.  Jesse and Julie were on
   them in an instant, tackling the men on the other side before the door was
   opened all the way.  Julie's opponent was immediately knocked unconscious,
   Jesse's nearly pinned her to the ground before a well-placed kick to his
   abdomen winded him enough for her to hit him against the wall of the truck
   and disable him.  A trickle of blood ran down from the man's forehead and
   Jesse felt herself become drawn to it.
          "There's no time!" Julie said, grabbing her.  "These men are simple
   workers, they couldn't alert the others.  But if you drank from him our
   enemy would surely feel it!  We must go while we have the chance!"
          The pull of the blood was strong, but not strong enough to disable
   Jesse's logic.  She let Julie drag her along as they ran for safety.  The
   garage door had been closed behind them and locked with an elaborate
   electronic device.  A door nearby it was open and they went to that
   instead.
          They ran down hallways blindly, not knowing where they were or
   where to go, changing direction whenever they saw another person so often
   that they became lost entirely.  Jesse kept up with Julie as best she
   could but her energy was failing.
          "Julie, I can't go on," she finally said, stopping to lean against
   a wall.  "I'm exhausted, I have to sleep."
          "We'll look for a hiding spot then," Julie said, looking around to
   see what direction might be the best to go to find such a place.  "It
   looks like we're in a basement of some sort.  It shouldn't be too hard to
   find a place to stay."
          "No," Jesse said.  "I'll stay, you go.  Julie you're ill.  You need
   to find a way out so you can be in the sunlight, you can't stay with me
   while I'm sleeping."
          "And leave you alone and helpless?  I don't think so," Julie said.
    She slipped her arm around Jesse and supported her as she walked.  "We're
   together for better or worse, my friend."
          "You don't have to do this," Jesse said.  "I'd understand."
          "Well I wouldn't," Julie said, smiling at Jesse.  They had reached
   a part of the basement that seemed to have been unused in quite some
   time.  Julie opened a door at random, found the room to be empty and
   entered.  She lay Jesse down on the floor then shut the door and
   locked it as best as she could.  "You can explain it to me when you wake
   up and maybe then I'll dump you."
          Jesse grinned, starting to fall asleep.  "It's a date."

--------------------------------------------------------
Time:  not long after sunset.
--------------------------------------------------------

          At the main entrance to the Talamasca Motherhouse in London was a
   pair of wooden doors that were nearly 700 years old.  From a distance
   could be seen the marvelous carvings on them of gargoyles and knights.
   Closer inspection would show the detail of these carvings:  the eyes of
   the gargoyles, the crests of the knights, the scrollwork that surrounded
   them all.  These doors had survived for centuries in near perfect
   condition.  There were some marks and holes from battles of long ago when
   a few well-aimed arrows had hit their target, but this only added to the
   beauty of the doors.  Otherwise, the doors had lived through the ages as
   an homage to the skill of their creator, withstanding rebellions, fires,
   natural disasters and even world wars.
          Against a 200 year old vampire with the blood of the Ancients in
   him, they did not stand a chance.
          Lestat exploded through the doors, shattering them to pieces and
   stood in the main hall of the Motherhouse.  Nearby members of the
   Talamasca ran for cover from the flying wood but Lestat reached out with
   his mind and barred all the exits.
          "WHERE IS LOUIS?" he shouted, the power of his voice deafening some
   of the younger scholars.  "Tell me *now* or I shall rip this house to
   shreds and all of you along with it!"
          One of the neonates, a young woman, struggled to her feet and
   managed to speak.  "Who-who are you?  What do you mean?"
          Lestat turned on her and affected a genteel smile.  "Forgive me,
   mademoiselle.  I'd forgotten that the esteemed Talamasca has procedures
   for dealing with creatures like me.  After all, how would you be able to
   write about this incident without the proper information?  My name is
   Lestat, that's L E S T A T, not Lestrad as one of your fools mixed it up.
   I am a vampire as many of your members damn well know and I'm currently
   searching for my companion Louis and if someone here does not tell me
   where he is I will kill you all one by one.  Does that make it clear?"
         "Lestat!" one of the older members hissed.  "Get out of here!  How
   dare you return after all you have done!"
         "Ah, so you do remember me!" Lestat said with exaggerated gaiety.
   "How lovely that you acknowledge my existence!  But how rude to throw me
   out so quickly.  What have I done to you to deserve this cruelty?"
         "David was my friend, you bastard!" the older man snarled.  He
   grabbed one of the swords that hung above the fireplace and advanced on
   Lestat.  "You killed him!  You shall pay for this!"
         One of the younger men held the older man back before he could
   advance any further.  "Get out!" the younger man demanded.  "Haven't you
   done enough to us already?"
         Lestat reached forward and grabbed the younger man by the throat and
   lifted him off the ground.  "I *never* do enough!" Lestat said.  "I'm an
   overachiever that way.  Now tell me where Louis is!"
         "Let him go, Lestat," the woman said, moving towards him.
   "Leave us in peace."
         "Or what?" Lestat asked.  "How do you figure to make me?  Hmm?
   You're not David, you can't make the spirits come after me and even if you
   could it wouldn't help.  I haven't met the spirit yet who could top me!"
         "Oh really?" a new voice asked.  "I'm hurt, Lestat, after all we
   have met before.  How could you forget me so quickly?"
         A wind whipped through the hall and centered like a cyclone near
   Lestat.  The wind spun more and more rapidly until a form appeared in its
   center.  The shape of a man solidified and the wind stopped.
         "Lasher!" the older man said.  "Why must you come here?"
         "Oh calm the hell down," Lasher said.  "I'm not here for your
   precious Tessa.  She was of no use to me when I was alive, she's of less
   use now that I'm not.  I'm here for my dear brother, Lestat."
         Lestat let the younger man drop to the floor and faced Lasher.
   "You're no brother to me, spirit.  Now bring me Louis!"
         "We're brothers in soul, Lestat, and don't you try to deny it,"
   Lasher said.  "And as for your precious Louis, how did you think I would
   bring him here?  After all, I am only a spirit that you could easily top."
         "Use your powers you overrated figment of the imagination," Lestat
   said.  "Or I will show you how easily I can make you fall."
         "You want me to use my powers to bring you Louis?" Lasher asked.
   "As you wish my brother."
         Lasher's form dissolved into a dark cloud then slowly reformed 
into a
   new figure.  Louis' figure.  "Oh, Lestat," Lasher said, imitating Louis'
   voice.  "Do you really miss me so?  Do you really want me back?  Do you
   really think I care?"
         "I'll kill you!" Lestat yelled.  He ran to attack Lasher but the
   spirit vanished just as Lestat reached him.  Lasher reappeared standing
   outside of the now broken doors.
          "Lestat, how could you?" Lasher said, still as Louis.  "After all
   we've been through, how could you try to hurt me?  It's no wonder I left
   you!"
         "Tell me where he is you son of a bitch!" Lestat tried again to
   attack Lasher and again came up with nothing.  Lasher reappeared, floating
   above Lestat's head, continuing to keep Louis' form.
         "You want me so bad, Lestat?" the false Louis said.  "Come and get
   me!"
         Lasher flew up into the clouds and Lestat followed close behind him.
    Lestat tried repeatedly to grab onto Lasher but the spirit constantly
   eluded him.
         "Rather symbolic don't you think?" Lasher called out to Lestat.
   "Here I am, as your beloved Louis, and you couldn't hold on to me if your
   life depended on it, my dear brother."
         "What have you done to him?" Lestat shouted.  "I swear by all the
   demons in Hell if you've hurt him--"
         "And what makes you think I have him at all, brother?" Lasher
   stopped in midair and watched Lestat from his position.
         "I know your powers, spirit.  You can't imitate a person unless
   you've been around them for a while," Lestat said, moving closer to Lasher
   as he spoke.  "You have to be the one who took him."
         "Perhaps, perhaps not," Lasher said.  "Maybe I followed Louis around
   before he was ever involved with this incident.  Did you ever think of
   that, brother?"
         "Why should I believe you, liar?"
         Lasher grinned.  "Laughter.  But you wound me, brother.  However, if
   I must prove myself to you, I will. Does this sound familiar:  I've come
   for you... I've come for you all... the sins you have made have come for
   you!"
         Lestat stopped.  He looked at Lasher warily.  "If that was you,
   spirit, my esteem for you has sunk to new lows.  Have you nothing better
   to do with your afterlife than that?"
         "Perhaps, perhaps not," Lasher said.  "Maybe I'm lying now and I am
   the one who took Louis."
         "You son of a--"
         "Or, perhaps, Louis didn't need taking at all," Lasher said, smiling
   smugly.
         "What the hell is that supposed to mean, spirit?  Are you trying to
   imply that Louis wasn't captured?  And so help me if you say 'perhaps' one
   more time!"
         "Laughter again, brother," Lasher said, he changed back into his
   original form.  "I shall respect your wishes.  But I'm afraid that I can't
   answer your question now.  After all, you clearly won't believe a thing I
   say, why should I tell you anything about Louis now?"
         "You will tell me where he is, spirit, or I will make you tell me!"
   Lestat said, advancing towards Lasher again.
         "Laughter," Lasher's form dissolved and then reformed, this time
   into Lestat's shape.  He imitated Lestat's voice as he spoke.  "How do you
   figure to make me?  Hmm?  You're not David, you can't make the spirits
   come after me.  You can't control the spirits at all, brother.  And I am
   no ordinary spirit!"
         Lasher raised himself up higher in the sky and began to fly
   eastward.  Lestat followed.
         "You certainly aren't an ordinary spirit," Lestat whispered.  "But
   that is the kind of spirit that I know."
         :I doubt that highly, brother.: Lasher's voice said in Lestat's
   mind.
         :Your loss, 'brother'.: Lestat replied.  He focused his mind on the
   connection Lasher had made with his unspoken thoughts.  Lestat's mind was
   strong enough to keep the connection open without Lasher realizing it.
   Lestat began to think of a song then.  One with rhythm and one that he
   found deliciously appropriate.  He focused on the music first, sending its
   pattern deep into Lasher's mind.  He felt the spirit falter.  He thought
   of the lyrics then, and sent them into Lasher's mind as well.
         :/I am the bullet in the gun/And I control you/I am the truth from
   which you run/And I control you/:
         :Stop!  Brother, please!:
         :/I am the silencing machine/And I control you/I am the end of all
   your dreams/And I control you/:
         Lasher stopped, trapped in the beat of the song.  Lestat caught up
   to him then.
         "Spirit, tell me where my lover is or by all the devils I swear your
   pain will be his!"
         "Who says he's in pain, brother?" Lasher asked.  "You assume too
   much, I think."
         Lestat sent the song into Lasher's mind again, repeating it over and
   over until the spirit cried out.  "Mercy, brother!:
         "How the mighty have fallen, 'brother'," Lestat said.  He sneered at
   Lasher as the spirit's form dissolved back into its original shape.
   "You're not as strong without your emerald necklace to guide you, are you
   'brother'?"
         "We're alike that way, brother," Lasher said. "But I'm not going to
   give your precious emeralds back to you.  Louis and his green eyes are
   exactly where they want to be."
         "What does that mean?" Lestat demanded.
         "I'll never tell," Lasher said.  He took advantage of Lestat's anger
   to escape, once again flying eastward.
         Lestat swore, then flew after him.  They disappeared into the
   clouds, tracking each other by telepathy alone as the vapors around them
   obscured their view.  Lestat was finally able to grab onto Lasher's mind
   and sent him the song again, making it seem faster than the first time.
   The spirit was forced to stop.
         "Tell me where he is!" Lestat said, standing over Lasher's still
   form.
         "Clever, brother," Lasher said.  "I cannot resist the song.  But I'm
   afraid it's too late.  I'm too weak to speak anymore, I must go home."
         Lestat took the still solid form of Lasher by the lapels and brought
   him up so that they were face to face.  "You will tell me where Louis is
   *first*, spirit."
         Lasher smiled, sheepishly.  He reached out and gently ran his
   fingers down Lestat's cheek.  "Of course, brother.  How could I leave you
   in agony over your lost Louis?  But, before I tell you where he is, might
   I ask one favor of you?"
         "What?" Lestat asked.
         "Kiss the morning sun hello for me!" Lasher cried and shoved Lestat
   with all his might.  Lestat fell from the clouds and the full force of the
   rising sun hit him.  He screamed as the pain ripped through his body, his
   clothes providing no protection from the blinding rays.  Helpless, he
   dropped from the sky and plummeted deep into the ocean below.
         :Sweet dreams, brother.: Lasher said to Lestat as the water, and the
   blackness, overcame him.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  later the same night.
---------------------------------------------------------------
          Louis made his way back to Nicolas's chambers.  Nicolas was already
   there along with two men Louis had never seen before.
          "I cannot believe you!" Nicolas was shouting.  "I give you one
   simple task and you screw it up!  How is this possible?"
          "But--" one of the men said.
          "Quiet!" Nicolas said.  "I will not hear of your explanations.
   You've wasted enough of my time already!  The two of you are going to go
   and do nothing else until you find them!  I'd better not wake up at the
   next sunset and find them still missing, is this understood?"
          "Yes, sir," the other man said as he lead the first man out of the
   room.  Louis watched them pass by, but the did not return his gaze.
          "Is something wrong, Nicki?" Louis asked.
          "Nothing that you need to concern yourself with, Louis," Nicolas
   said.  He sat down at his desk and stared at the piles of papers that were
   now on it.  "I am constantly bogged down by trivialness, Louis.  You have
   no idea how frustrating that is!"
          Louis sat down on the couch.  "What happened?"
          "*They*," Nicolas said, indicating the men who had left, "failed to
   do their job and have now caused more trouble than they are worth.  In
   addition to all this, Lasher has disappeared on some personal mission and
   I can't find him anywhere.  There is no room for personal vendettas here,
   Louis, I won't abide them!"
          "I didn't have any for you to abide," Louis said.
          "What? Oh yes, yes, of course.  I didn't mean you, Louis, forgive
   me." Nicolas got up from his chair and began to pace.  "Have you fed?
   Good.  Lasher at least got that right.  That is, I assume he showed you
   where to go."
          "He showed me the hospital," Louis said.  "Nicki, from where do
   those people come?"
          "From all over the world, Louis, it doesn't matter.  Their
   backgrounds did nothing to stop them from becoming the living death that
   they are.  It is their sad fate, we can only help them meet the end."
          "I suppose," Louis said.  "Though I wish it didn't have to be that
   way."
          "Don't we all?" Nicolas said.  He began to rub his hands.  "Blast
   it!  Will nothing stop this infernal pain?"
          "Are you all right?" Louis asked.  "Is there something I can do?"
          "I'm not all right, but that's nothing for you to worry about,"
   Nicolas said.  "I've had this pain for years, I've gotten accustomed to
   it.  And you don't have to worry about what you can do either.  There is
   nothing here that requires your attention, Louis."
          Louis frowned.  "At all?"
          "No, nothing at all."
          "Then why am I here?"
          "Because I needed to know you were with me in spirit, mon ami.  It
   is your beliefs, not your actions that matter to me."
          "There are those that would argue that my beliefs and my actions
   are one in the same."
          "Only those who feel that you have to prove yourself to them,"
   Nicolas said.  "You don't have to prove anything to me, Louis."
          "Thank you," Louis said.
          "Besides, you still need to heal from your time with Juliano.  That
   is more important for you to do right now.  At least you are better than
   you were last night.  The blood did help you in that respect."
          "There are some things that even the blood cannot heal," Louis said
   softly.
          "That you must leave to time," Nicolas said, laying a hand on
   Louis' shoulder.  "Trust me, it does get better eventually."
          "Eventually is so long a time," Louis said.  "I don't know if I can
   bear it."
          "You will, mon ami.  You have survived much worse than this, you
   will survive worse still."
          Louis laughed hesitantly.  "A dubious comfort at best."
          Nicolas smiled.  "Don't worry, Louis.  It will all work out,
   you'll see.  I--dammit!" he swore and rubbed his hands again.
          "Nicki, please, let me do something to help you," Louis said.  "I'm
   not the only one who needs to take care of himself."
          "I must concede," Nicolas said.  "This has come to the point of
   riduculousness.  Alright, you can take over for me here.  It's nothing
   major, but I do need all of those papers destroyed.  I was burning them in
   the fireplace when those two fools came in."
          Louis walked over to the desk and looked at all of the papers.
   "What are they?"
          "Legal documents, mostly," Nicolas said.  "I had my associates
   take them from those who would oppose us."
          Louis scanned the topmost sheets and saw the names of
   Mayfair, Ramsey and Malloy.  "And me?" he asked.  "Did you take anything
   that was mine as well?"
          "No, why would I?" Nicolas said.  "You are my friend.  Louis, I had
   to know what they were doing so that I could better understand the
   situation we are in.  You wouldn't want me to accuse people blindly now
   would you?"
          "I suppose not," Louis said.  "But these are precious documents,
   Nicki, I don't think they should be destroyed."
          "They're only copies of documents," Nicolas said.  "I never took
   the real thing.  But they do contain valuable information which is exactly
   why they should be destroyed now."
          "I'm sorry," Louis said.  "I didn't realize--"
          "Don't worry about it," Nicolas said.  "Louis, I want you here for
   your common sense and practical nature.  If you didn't raise questions
   like this, you wouldn't be doing your job.  Don't ever censor yourself,
   thinking I won't want to hear what you have to say."
          "I'll try not to," Louis said.  He gathered up all of the papers
   and brought them to the fireplace which still had a fire in it from the
   papers Nicolas had already burned.  He took a handful of files and threw
   them onto the flames, making them dim for a moment, then flare brightly as
   they devoured their new fuel.
          Nicolas jumped at the flash of light and shielded his eyes.
   "Louis, please!" he said.  "It took a great amount of effort to rebuild
   this temple.  I'd like to keep it for a bit longer before you turn it back
   into ashes." he added with a grin.
          "Well," Louis said.  "I can't say that I share those sentiments,
   but I'll try to respect your wishes."
          Nicolas laughed.  "Ah, it's so good that you're here, mon ami.
   You've only been here for a day yet I cannot imagine how I lived without
   your company."
          Louis was surprised to see that Nicolas actually meant this.
   "Thank you, Nicki," he said.  "I don't hear such sentiments very often
   I'm afraid."
          "Which only shows that you are wasted among those around you,"
   Nicolas said.  "That too, ends here.  But I am digressing into the useless
   past when I should be taking advantage of this time you have given me to
   rest and let my hands recover.  I shall be in my bedroom if you need me."
    Nicolas gave Louis one last smile before retreating into his own room.
          Louis knelt down in front of the fireplace and fed more papers into
   the flames.  The chambers were cool so the heat of the fire was not
   oppressive and he could actually enjoy the warmth that it gave.  But he
   had always loved fires.  Even here, in Juliano's old chambers, he could
   relax in front of the orange glow.
          He tossed more papers onto the fire.  Wondering what the rest of
   the papers were, he flipped through them.  As Nicolas had said, they were
   mostly legal documents that detailed money arrangements or real estate
   projects.
          A familiar scrawled signature caught his eye.  He tried to pull the
   sheet of paper that it was on out of the pile, but it was attached to a
   whole set of papers that Louis had to free before he could see any of
   them.  He did this, then looked at what had attracted his attention.
          It was Lestat's signature.  Louis felt a slight twinge when he saw
   this.  He was holding a copy of a contract Lestat had signed to get some
   work done on an old house.  Louis could remember when Lestat had done
   this.  It was after Lestat had returned from his trouble with Raglan James
   and had gone back to the flat on Rue Royale to fix it up.  Louis would
   have given anything, just then, to go back to that time.  Back when they
   were starting over, before there had been any trouble, before...
          Louis broke off from this memory.  He didn't want to think of what
   had happened after.  Instead he focused on the document in front of him,
   reading the legalese that even he found boring, but better than what his
   mind had conjured.  He didn't pay attention to the words, but let
   his eyes travel down the pages in an effort to keep himself rooted in the
   present.
          The contract was mostly a standard form with lots of legal phrases
   in it broken only by the occasional line that was filled in by a human
   hand which provided the information about addresses and names.  It was the
   former that drew Louis' attention as he realized that the address written
   down was not the address of the Rue Royale flat.  Skimming through the
   rest of the contract, he saw that nothing that had been filled in applied
   to the flat.  Thinking that he had mistakenly read an old contract of
   Lestat's, he checked the date and was surprised to discover that the
   contract had been drawn up earlier that very week.
          *What on earth?* Louis wondered.  *Lestat didn't tell me anything
   about this.*
          Louis looked at the papers that had been attached to the contract
   and found that they all applied to the same project, which had nothing to
   do with the flat that they lived in.  All of which had Lestat's signature
   as Sebastian Melmoth on it, all of which had been drawn up earlier in the
   week.
          "I don't understand," he whispered, tearing through the pages again
   in the hopes that something would make it all clear.  A smaller sheet of
   paper fell onto the floor as he did this.  He picked it up and read it:
          "Ryan,  Here's the last of the contracts you needed.  There should
   be enough money to finish the whole thing but if you need more you can
   take it out of my private account.  I'd like this done as quickly as
   possible and the sooner I can arrange the move out of this flat, the
   better.  Remember that you are to tell Jean none of this!  --Sebastian"
          Louis gave a strangled cry and threw the papers onto the fire.  He
   got up and tried to walk but a sickening wave of dizziness overcame him
   and he stumbled over to the couch.  "No," he whispered.  "Oh God please
   no.  I'm so sorry.  Oh God I ruined it.  I didn't mean to.  I'm so sorry.
    Oh God no, please, no, no!"  But the note did not lie and Louis knew it.
     He collapsed onto the couch and buried his head in his hands, sobbing.
          *Lestat, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.  I didn't mean to push you away
   like that.  I thought I could do it, I thought I could be what you needed.
   God, I love him so much, please don't make him leave me!*
          "Louis?  Louis, what's wrong?" Nicolas was beside him, looking at
   him with concern.
          "It's never going to be what I thought, is it?" Louis asked,
   hoarsely.
          "What do you mean, Louis?"
          Louis got up from the couch and wiped the tears away from his eyes.
    He walked a few paces away from Nicolas, folded his arms and stared at
   nothing in particular.
          "Louis?" Nicolas asked again.
          "When you were a child, did you ever dream about what your life
   would be like when you got older, about what you would be?" Louis asked
   softly.
          "I wasn't allowed those dreams, Louis.  I was the idiot son who
   took up the violin too late, remember?  I was tolerated because I was the
   first born, but it ended there."
          "But the violin, that was something of a dream," Louis said, his
   voice sounding far away.  "It was something that you wanted and you got
   it.  For whatever reason, it gave you pleasure."
          "I guess so," Nicolas shrugged.  He moved closer to Louis, but
   Louis did not look up at him.
          "I had no such dreams," Louis said.  "I never wanted anything very
   complex out of life.  My family, they wanted me to marry and have
   children, but I didn't care.  I never really cared about things like that.
    When my brother died, I knew that only one thing mattered to me."
          "What is that?"
          "I wanted," Louis stopped and wrapped his arms around himself
   before speaking again.  "I wanted some... thing that was... *mine*.
   Something beyond all this pain.  I wanted just one thing on this earth
   that made me... happy.  I never asked for anything else.  I never wanted
   anything else.  If I could only have that one thing, I could bear it all,
   no matter what happened to me.  I could stand the deepest pits of Hell.
          "But I'm not going to have that one thing, am I?  I thought I did,
   but I lost it.  I ruined my chance to have it and now I'll never get it
   back and all that is left is the pain.  That's all I'll ever have."
          "There's life beyond the pain, Louis," Nicolas said.
          Louis laughed, bitterly.  "There's existence beyond the pain, but
   life?  No.  What a cruel world this would be if what I do now is called
   'living'.  And if I do not live, then perhaps I should die.  It makes
   sense, don't you think?"
          "No it doesn't!" Nicolas said.  "Louis, if you die now then they
   will have won!  You cannot let them have that victory.
          "Louis, you are far better than any of them.  They have no right to
   have this power over you.  And that's what they have now, mon ami.  They
   took you from the moment you were born and said 'If you wish to be happy,
   you must fulfill our dreams.'  Your family said that you must love who
   they tell you to if you want to be happy.  Vampires told you that you must
   act like they act if you want to be happy.  But you cannot fulfill their
   dreams, Louis, you must fulfill yours!
          "The world is full of lies and deceit.  You cannot look to
   others to help you.  If you want the truth, you will find it *here*," he
   said, stabbing his finger at his chest, "and nowhere else on this earth.
    You must look there or look nowhere at all."
          "But I'm so tired..." Louis said.
          "That's why you're here, mon ami," Nicolas said.  He reached out
   and took Louis by the hand.  Louis looked up, startled.  "It's alright,
   I'm not going to hurt you.  You must trust me, Louis, and trust yourself.
    You are tired because you've been in pain for so long and you never
   stopped to try to heal.  But you can do that now.  You can stay here, and
   rest, and be safe from all those who made you feel this pain.  And
   perhaps, finally, you will be able to feel what you need to feel right
   here." He put Louis' hand on his chest and placed his own hand on top of
   it so that they could both feel the beat of Louis' heart.
          Louis swallowed, looked down at the ground then up into Nicolas's
   brown eyes.  "Thank you, mon ami," he said.
          "I do not need your thanks, Louis," Nicolas said.  "I do not do
   this for your gratitude but because you are my friend and that it what
   friends should do.  To abandon you now, when you most need this care, is a
   cruelty that is beyond words."
          "I know," Louis said, softly.
          "But tell me, Louis.  What brought this on in the first place?"
          "Nothing," Louis said, looking over at the fireplace.  "At least,
   nothing that matters anymore."

-------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  hours after sunset.
-------------------------------------------------------------

          They found him, finally, lying on a beach in Japan.  What instinct
   or force had propelled him the many miles to shore, they did not know.
   All they knew was the sound of his pain-filled cry deafening their minds
   as the sun hit him, and then, more alarming, the only faint trace of life
   that emanated from him now and served as their guide in finding him.
          David had heard nothing, of course.  But Marius, Armand and Daniel
   had heard it all and it was that, along with the telepathic assistance
   from Khayman who had also heard the cry, but could not leave the side of
   Maharet who feared the loss of Jesse, which led them to him.
         Finding him along the shoreline proved to be an almost more
   difficult task than finding out the proper shoreline of all the continents
   and islands on Earth on which to search.  They patrolled up and down the
   beach, trying to lock on to the fading signal of his mind when Marius
   spied a form half-buried in the sand.
          :By the gods!:  Marius's shock projected the thought into David and
   Daniel's minds.  Armand looked at Daniel in surprise when he saw him and
   David begin to run to join Marius.
          "Daniel, what are you doing?" Armand called.
          "He's found him!" Daniel shouted back.  He continued to run until
   he saw Marius digging through a pile of seaweed.  Armand was beside him
   suddenly and together they watched as Marius pulled the unconscious form
   of Lestat out of the sand.  Marius brushed the sand and hair away from
   Lestat's face and gently shook him.  Daniel saw Lestat move a little, look
   up at Marius with half-opened eyes and say something that he could not
   hear over the roar of the waves.  Armand had heard it, though, and he
   stiffened and clenched his fists once the words were spoken.  David looked
   at Armand's reaction curiously, but said nothing, nor did he tell Daniel
   what had been said.
          Whatever it was, Marius was shaking his head in response to it.
   Lestat closed his eyes and his head lolled to the side.  Marius picked up
   the younger vampire and carried him back to the others.  Daniel could see
   him better now and he looked a perfect horror.  His luxurious golden hair
   was now matted and sparse, his skin was burnt to a dark brown and had
   shrunken around him so that he looked skeletal.  He lay still in Marius's
   arms.  So still that, if he breathed, Daniel could see no proof of it.
          "I have a home near this area," Marius said.  "I'm going to take
   him there.  David, you know where it is, you can show Armand and Daniel."
          "Of course," David said.  "We'll be there as soon as we can."
          Marius gave a quick nod at this then ascended into the air and
   disappeared from sight, Lestat with him.
          Trying to locate Lestat had taken so long that the four of them had
   been able to use conventional means of transport to get to Japan and even
   to the beach in question.  Neither Armand nor Daniel could fly and, since
   David could not carry two, they relied on the limo that had driven them
   there to take them to Marius's home.
          "How did you know of this place?" Armand asked David once they were
   safely in the car and on their way.
          David looked away from the window, distracted.  "Pardon?  Oh yes.
   He told me about it years ago."
          "When?"
          "I believe it was not long after we returned from South America."
          There was no need to specify further.  They all knew which time
   that was.  They passed the rest of the trip in silence.  Daniel caught
   Armand staring at him and David occasionally, but he could never catch
   Armand's eye long enough to ask him why.
          They soon arrived at Marius's dwelling.  Hardly waiting for the car
   to come to a complete stop, they immediately went inside.  Marius emerged
   from a back room and joined them in the living room as soon as they came
   in.
          "How is he?" Daniel asked.
          Marius sighed.  "Not good I'm afraid.  I was able to get him to
   drink some of my blood but I don't know if it will help.  He was hurt
   pretty badly."
          "No, that's not so," David said.  "I saw him after the last time he
   was in the sun and, even though it was a few days after the exposure, he
   looked much worse than he does now.  I think this is the vampiric
   equivalent of a flesh wound."
          "David," Marius said, "I don't believe it is the sun that is the
   problem."
          "What do you mean?" David asked.
          "Physically, this is nothing for Lestat," Marius said.  "He's lived
   through much worse than this brief exposure to sunlight.  His body is very
   strong.  Physically, I don't think anything could really hurt him."
          "So he's fine," Armand said.
          "I didn't say that," Marius said.  "I said that physically, he is
   fine.  But the problem is, his real wounds are not physical."
          "But he's gone through that sort of thing before," Armand said.
   "He always lives through it."
          "Yes," Marius said.  "But that's because he wanted to."
          "What are you saying?" asked David.
          "I'm saying," Marius sighed again.  "I'm saying I had to force my
   blood on him.  I'm saying that I don't think Lestat wants to live through
   this."
          "I don't believe that," David said, but he looked unsure.
          Marius walked over to David and placed his hands on his shoulders.
    "David," he said.  "He pushed me away.  Even with his mouth full of my
   blood he pushed me away and tried to stop me from making him drink.
   That's not right.  The blood is our life, you know this.  Even if you do
   not feel like hunting, the blood will make you.  For Lestat to be able to
   push me away with so much blood present, David, you know what that means."
          "What *does* it mean?" Daniel asked.
          "It means that he's trying to imply that I wasn't attacked, but
   that I once again tried to kill myself," Lestat said.  He walked into the
   room and leaned against the fireplace.  He looked somewhat better than he
   had on the beach.  His skin was lighter and Marius had washed him and
   given him new clothes.  But his sunken cheeks and shaking hands belied
   this appearance of health.
          "Did you?" David asked.
          "No," Lestat said.  "Lasher was the kind soul who brought me into
   the light.  But perhaps soon I can thank him for that.  Who knows?  You're
   the expert on this, David.  Do you think I would become a spirit like he
   is or will I vanish into nothingness as I've always thought?"
          "Lestat, what are you saying?" David demanded.
          Lestat laughed.  "Honestly, David, have you ever been so repetitive
   in your life?  Or has my appearance changed so much that I now look like
   Marius?"
          "Lestat!"
          "My you're touchy," Lestat said.  "Fine, in answer to your question
   of the evening I'm saying that Marius had the right idea about me, but
   he's off in his timing.  I didn't try to kill myself earlier today,
   however I will be doing it later this night.  Is that better?"
          "The hell you will!" David said.  "I might not have been able to
   stop you before but I'll be damned if I let you do it now!"
          "I don't recall asking you this time, David" Lestat said.  "And how
   dare you try to keep me from this!  You don't know what I saw today, you
   don't know what I feel!  You.  Don't.  Know."
          "Then tell us, Lestat," Marius said.  "What is it?"
          Lestat folded his arms behind his back and walked towards the
   middle of the room.  Once there, he turned on his heel and faced them all.
    He spread his arms then, as if to show off the whole world.  "It's
   pointless!" he cried, like a sideshow barker.  "Completely and utterly
   useless!"
          "What is?"
          "My life!"  Lestat laughed.  "Don't you get it?  It's all a big
   joke!  Come watch Lestat as he leaps over hurdles, trying to grab that
   golden ring!  Nevermind that he's never going to get it, it doesn't exist!
   It's all a big, fat joke and that's all it will ever be.  The truly
   pathetic thing is that it took me over 200 years to realize this.  But, I
   guess that's just part of the joke.  Oh well, at least now I know to stop
   trying.  Yes, I'm tired of playing by their rules.  I'm going to quit now,
   maybe try a new playing field, see what that's like."
          "Lestat, that's insanity," Marius said.
          "Yeah, what about Louis?" asked Daniel.
          Lestat faced Daniel and bowed.  "Thank you my friend, I thought no
   one was going to ask," he came over to Daniel and put his arm around him
   and continued speaking in a stage whisper.  "You see, that's the
   punchline.  Here I was, thinking all this time that if I tried hard
   enough, I could have my beautiful Louis by my side.  That was my golden
   ring, Daniel.  Nice one too, don't you think?  Certainly caught my
   attention and that's quite an accomplishment.  But--and get this, this is
   the funny part--instead of never letting me near him, I was able to get
   close enough to him and then--this is the good part--they took him away!
   Isn't that wild?  What a great practical joke!"
          Marius came forward.  "We'll get him back, Lestat.  The two of you
   will be together again."
          "No we won't," Lestat said.  He laughed again, a clownish chuckle.
    "He's not ever coming back to me.  Nope, not ever.  Ha!  This is so good.
    Isn't this good, Daniel?  If you were going to play a practical joke on
   someone, isn't this the sort of thing you would do?"
          "I think he's coming back, Lestat," Daniel said.
          "Well that's because you don't know what I know," Lestat said.
          "Enlighten me."
          Lestat's face fell and he let go of Daniel.  He faced David when he
   spoke.  "I can't feel him anymore.  It's-it's gone."
          "No," David said softly.
          Lestat nodded.  "I tried to, at least I think I tried, when I was
   under the water but I couldn't feel him.  I couldn't feel my beautiful
   Louis!  He wasn't there, not even the tiniest, little--" a sob broke from
   Lestat's throat.
          "He's your child, you're not supposed to feel him," Daniel said.
          "No," Lestat said.  "It wasn't that way between me and Louis.  We
   broke through it somehow.  After Memnoch, I could feel him, but now it's
   gone.  And if it's gone then he--"
          "We would have felt it, Lestat," Marius said.  "If Louis was dead
   all of us would have felt it, you know that."
          "So he's alive, and that is supposed to make me feel better?"
   Lestat asked.  "After the visions I had under the water, no, no it won't.
    You didn't see what I saw, Marius.  I've lost him.  Doesn't matter if
   he's dead or alive, I've lost him and I'll never get him back."
          "Lestat, you were sick, what you saw, no matter what it was, that
   is not reality," Marius said.  He took Lestat's face in his hands.  "You
   are too weak to think clearly right now, Lestat.  You cannot rely on
   sun-induced visions."
          "But they felt so real," Lestat whispered.  Tears streamed down his
   cheeks onto Marius's palms.
          "Oh you selfish bastard!" Armand said.  "All of this drama over a
   dream?  This is too much even for you!"
          "Armand!" Marius shouted.
          "No," Lestat said.  He moved out of Marius's hold and stood in
   front of Armand.  "Let him speak.  I'd like to hear what the little devil
   has to say."
          "If there is any devil here, it is you," Armand said.  "God I hate
   you!  You come in here with your little problems, whining about how your
   world is over.  You have it so easy!  You have everything you ever wanted,
   Lestat.  All you have to do is snap your fingers and the world falls to
   your feet.  Well what about the rest of us?  Louis is gone and all you can
   think about is how it affects you!  Nevermind how we feel about it,
   nevermind how he feels!
          "The rest of us must scrape and crawl for the merest scrap of
   happiness.  While you, you feast on the glory that should be ours!  You
   can't feel your child anymore?  Well too bad!  Neither can the rest of us,
   get used to it!   Poor little brat prince.  The world stops revolving
   around you so it has to come to an end.  How horrible your life must be!"
          "You like my life?" Lestat asked.  "You want it so much?  You can
   have it!  Yes, Armand, my life is perfect, that's why I'm just so damn
   happy all the time!"
          "At least you have what you want!"
          "Where?  Where is what I want, care to tell me, Armand?  I have
   *nothing* of what I want!  There is only one thing on this earth that I
   want and he's gone so I'd like to know where this mythical fountain of
   happiness is in my life!
          "Or maybe I should be like you?  How does that sound?  I'll go
   around a bitter old vampire, too miserable to do anything about his own
   damn life so he goes out and tries to ruin everyone else's!  Hey, maybe I
   can even dig up one of my old lovers to take Daniel away!"
          "Oh you'll never let me live that down, will you?" Armand said.
   "It's not my fault that Louis was taken and you damn well know it!  I'll
   tell you what is my fault though:  assuming that you would ever understand
   *anything* that required a little sensitivity!  No, forget it.  I give up.
    You'll never change, Lestat, so I'm not even going to bother to try.  You
   go ahead and blame me for your every little problem and I'll just sit here
   and take it like I always do because God forbid you're ever unhappy."
          "I'll do you one better," Lestat said.  "I'll make sure you never
   have to deal with me and my every little problem ever again.  I'm through
   with you, Armand, and with everyone else in this room!  And I'm through
   with this life!  I wash my hands of the whole damn thing!"
          Lestat stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
          "Armand, what the hell is wrong with you?" Marius demanded.  "I've
   never seen you act so cruelly in your whole life!"
          "If you have to ask, then you'll never know," Armand said.
          "I'd better go after Lestat," David said.
          "No, I'll do it," Marius said.  "He needs someone who can read his
   thoughts.  You stay here, I'll take care of it."
          "That's it, Marius, go after him," Armand said.  "After all, it's
   not like you're needed *here*."
          "Armand, for the first time in my life I wonder if I really know
   you at all," Marius said as he left them.
          "Then I guess you never did," Armand whispered.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Time: An hour later.
---------------------------------------------------------------
          Daniel walked along the shoreline, picking his way through the
   rocks and seashells.  Whatever had possessed Lestat to come back here,
   where he had been found, Daniel did not know.
          He found him leaning against a boulder, staring out into the ocean.
    He was alone.  His face was emotionless and Daniel didn't know if he
   should feel relief that Lestat didn't look depressed, or worry that he
   didn't look anything at all.  Unsure of how to approach the older vampire,
   Daniel sent a mental feeler ahead to see if he could gauge Lestat's mood.
    He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head which forced him to break the
   connection.
          "Try that little stunt again," Lestat said, "and I'll slap you back
   into the Western hemisphere."
          "Sorry," Daniel said.  "But did you have to be so rough?"
          Lestat turned to look at him.  "I'm in a bad mood," he said.  "I'm
   allowed to be rough.  Why are you here anyway?  Did Marius send you?"
          Daniel considered lying but thought better of it.  "Yeah, he did,"
   he admitted.
          Lestat turned back towards the ocean.  "Lovely.  Apparently the
   phrase 'leave me alone' holds no meaning for him.  Well you can tell
   Monsieur Marius that I *had* a father and was considerably unimpressed by
   his job performance.  I've stopped looking to fill that now vacant
   position and I don't care if he wants it or not!"
          "Does he?"
          "Mind your own damn business."
          "And what is that exactly?" Daniel asked.
          "Back at the house, which is where I'd prefer you to be."
          "Not on your life," Daniel said.  He walked up to Lestat and leaned
   against the rock beside him.  "Armand's in a bitch mood and I don't
   particularly feel like sitting around bearing the brunt of it.  He can
   fight with Marius on his own time.  I'll stay here and listen to your
   charming attempts at humor."
          Lestat frowned.  "Armand and Marius are fighting?"
          "Well, not as such," Daniel said.  "They're actually going around
   the house trying to prove which one of them can not speak to the other the
   longest.  David cut out to hunt twenty minutes ago.  I gave up not long
   after."
          "What are they fighting about?"
          "Hell if I know.  I thought I might ask you."
          Lestat shook his head.  "I don't know anything about it," he said.
    "Yet another thing going on in my life that I'm completely unaware of."
          "You're worried about Louis, aren't you?"
          "No, Daniel, I'm worried about the ozone layer!  What on earth are
   you thinking of?"
          "Hey!  There's no need to be sarcastic, I'm worried about him too,
   you know!"
          "So go do something about it," Lestat snapped.  "It's not like
   anything that I do is going to help him."
          "What are you talking about?  So you didn't find out anything at
   the Talamasca, big deal.  Something's got to come up soon and he'll be
   back sooner than you think."
          "It's not just the Talamasca, Daniel," Lestat said.  "This goes
   back long before that."
          Now it was Daniel's turn to frown.  "Really?  How so?"
          Lestat studied Daniel's face for a moment.  "Level with me, Daniel.
    You and Armand, what's going on there?"
          "You're changing the subject."
          "Fancy me doing whatever the hell I want.  Don't change the subject
   in return, answer the question."
          Daniel shrugged.  "I don't know.  He's so hard to live with
   sometimes.  I think I'm getting close to him, then he does something
   stupid and shoves me away.  Sometimes it's fun, but sometimes.... I don't
   know."
          "Do you love him?"
          Daniel tried to think of a snappy comeback and failed.  "Yeah," he
   said.  "I honestly do."
          Lestat nodded then looked back at the water.  "Good.  Stick with
   it, Daniel.  It'll be an uphill battle, but he'll come through for you in
   the end.  At least you'll have that." He sighed then spoke as if to
   himself.  "It's more than I ever had."
          "Lestat," Daniel said.  "With all due respect to the fact that
   you're older and significantly stronger than I am, can I ask you
   something?"
          "Sure."
          "What the hell are you talking about?"
          "I beg your pardon!"
          "How can you say that it's more than you ever had when you have
   Louis?" Daniel said.
          "Daniel," Lestat said.  "With all due respect to the fact that I'm
   pointing out the glaringly obvious, no I don't.  Don't push this, Daniel."
          "But--"
          "I said, don't push this," Lestat said.  He began to walk away.
          Daniel followed.  "Lestat, he's still alive, he's not hurt, he's
   coming back."
          Lestat stopped so abruptly that Daniel nearly crashed into him.
   "Yes," he said through clenched teeth.  "He's still alive, he's not hurt
   and there's nothing that can stand in his way of coming back now is
   there so what does that tell you?"
          "I--"
          "I'll tell you what it tells you!  It tells you that the reason
   he's not coming back is because he doesn't want to!  He doesn't want to,
   Daniel!  He doesn't want me!"
          "Are you insane?  God, Lestat, are you really this dense?"
          "Watch it, Daniel!"
          "No!  I want to know if you really think he doesn't love you."
          "I'm not stupid, Daniel.  Even I can piece evidence together."
          "What evidence is that?"
          "Besides the fact that he's not here now?" Lestat asked.  "More
   than I care to mention."
          "Give me one then."
          Lestat folded his arms and looked Daniel right in the eye.  "He
   shut me out," Lestat said.  "He always did.  I'm not only speaking about
   what happened with Juliano, this was all of our lives."
          "How do you mean?"
          "God, Daniel, are you really this dense?" Lestat mimicked Daniel's
   tone of voice.  "Come on, Daniel, this piece of information was tailored
   just for you."
          "So I'm a little slow at picking it up," Daniel said.  "Tell me
   anyway."
          "You honestly--" Lestat put his hand to his forehead and walked a
   few steps away.  "Daniel, he felt more comfortable telling his God damn
   life story to some stranger he met in a bar than he ever did in telling it
   to me!  Does that spell it out for you?  Hell, it was even mostly true.
   All save that part about seeing me at the end.  I really did treat him
   like crap, Daniel, why would he ever want to come back to me?"
          Daniel was stunned.  "You mean--he never told you about that?  Told
   you why?"
          "No, Daniel," Lestat said, speaking with exaggerated slowness.
   "He did not tell me why.  He did not tell me anything.  Ever."
          "It was a dream, Lestat," Daniel said.
          "Come now, Daniel, can't you come up with something better than an
   old cliche?  If you're going to lie to me, put some originality into it."
          "I'm not lying!" Daniel sighed.  "Lestat, there was a whole other
   part to that interview that never made it to any book or movie.  He knew
   that the part about him seeing you again in New Orleans wasn't true.
   That was the dream.  He'd been having it for the whole week before I ever
   met him.  He couldn't stand it.  He hadn't heard a thing about you in
   years and the dream only told him what he didn't want to know:  Either you
   were dead or so far gone that you'd be better off that way."
          "That doesn't prove anything," Lestat said.
          "You should have seen him when he was talking," Daniel said.  "I
   still curse the fact that I had no video equipment with me.  He was so sad
   that night, there was this emptiness in his eyes that never left him."
          "How unlike him to be depressed." Lestat sneered, or tried to.
          Daniel ignored him.  "It never left him, except when he talked
   about you.  His words, they only hinted at it.  I think he was scared to
   admit how much he cared because he thought you were gone.  But his face!
   There was this look about him whenever he said your name, spoke of going
   out with you, of being with you.  This look of pure joy and happiness that
   I never saw again until years later."
          "And when was that?"
          "When he actually saw you again, Lestat."
          Lestat grew still.  "But, why did he lie?" he asked softly.
          "In some part, he wanted everyone to know the truth.  He wanted to
   take away some of the glamour that vampires had gotten.  He thought that
   speaking of his time and loneliness might help."
          "And the other part?"
          "He wanted it to be true.  He wanted, in some small way, for it to
   be true that you were alive somewhere.  He told me to write it that way.
   That way, to him, you would still be alive.  Even if it was only in a
   book."
          "Really," Lestat said, thinking about it, not challenging what
   Daniel had said.
          "There's another part to it," Daniel said.  "He knew the truth
   about Claudia.  He knew that he never should have let it happen--"
          "It wasn't his fault--"
          "It was as much his fault as yours.  He knew that.  That's why he
   wanted to speak to me and why he wanted the dream conversation put in.
   That way, if you were alive, you would know that he was admitting his
   guilt."
          "I thought he blamed me for it," Lestat said.  "It's his right, it
   was my fault, all of it."
          "I'm not saying that he thought you were a saint," Daniel said.
   "He was angry about some of the things you had done.  However, he told me
   that he realized that he hadn't been a prize to live with either, that you
   weren't entirely to blame for it all."
          Lestat grinned.  "He actually said 'I was no prize to live with
   either'?"
          "Well, I'm paraphrasing a bit," Daniel smiled.  "But the sentiment
   is there.  You can listen to the tapes if you want, I still have them."
          Lestat shook his head.  "No, that's too personal.  I wouldn't do
   that to Louis."
          "Wait a minute, I thought you said you read his diary," Daniel
   asked.
          "That was different," Lestat said.  "I *checked* his diary to see
   that I had the right date for our anniversary, I didn't read the whole
   thing.  There's something that I don't understand though."
          "What is it?
          "Did he attack you or was that too made up?"
          "That was true," Daniel said.  "And everything I said which
   inspired him to do it is true as well.  I only cut out the parts
   in-between the telling of his dream and his asking me to write it as
   though it had actually happened."
          "And you did it even though he attacked you?"
          Daniel shrugged.  "It was Louis.  I couldn't *not* do it, even
   though he drank from me."
          Lestat nodded.  "I know the feeling."
          "He loves you, Lestat," Daniel said.  "He loved you then and he
   loves you now.  If something is making him stay away, it's not you."
          "Perhaps you're right," Lestat said.  He then began to walk away.
          "Where are you going?" Daniel asked, suddenly worried.
          "Out to find the best spot to watch the sunrise, I'm going to do it
   right this time," Lestat called back.
          "*What!*" Daniel cried.
          Lestat looked at Daniel from over his shoulder and grinned,
   mischievously.  "I'm kidding!  Honestly, Daniel, take a joke once in a
   while."
          "Some joke!" Daniel gasped.
          Lestat walked back to him, put his arm around him and led him
   down the beach.  "Come along, my friend!  We've a long night ahead of us."
          "Doing what?" Daniel asked, suspiciously.
          "What else?  We're going to go hunt and then we're going to find my
   beautiful Louis.  And nothing, but *nothing* will keep me from him this
   time!"
-----------------------------------------------------------
Time: afternoon.
-----------------------------------------------------------

          Ash came into the kitchen just as Rowan put the phone down.
          "The young vampire," he said.  "He is alright?"
          "So it would seem," Rowan said.  "He and Daniel have gone off
   somewhere without telling anyone, but apparently that's a good thing for
   him."
          Ash laughed.  "The impetuousness of youth.  But what of the others?
    Have we heard anything about them?"
          Rowan shook her head.  "Not a word.  Although I think it's safe to
   say that once we find one of them, we'll find the rest."
          "True," Ash said.  "If only that first step was not so difficult."
          "If we weren't stuck *here* perhaps we could get something done,"
   Rowan said.
          "I'm not having much more fun than you are," Mona said as she
   entered the room with Morrigan right behind her.  "But Michael was right.
    They've taken a two vampires and an immortal.  It only makes sense that
   one of us is next."
          "Agreed," Morrigan said.  "It might further be said that our enemy
   not only wanted to bring our species together, but specific members of
   said species.  Our thoughts may have been too general.  Though we have all
   been subject to numerous threats, it would seem that the first stage of
   attack is capturing those of us that he or she wants.  Until we know who
   our enemy wants next, our best plan is to remain guarded at all times.
   Since we have no locations which suggest themselves as being conducive to
   our learning more of our attacker and since Ramses, Michael and Eliott
   are already out checking what avenues of information that we do have, our
   staying here is as proper a plan as any until further information presents
   itself."
          Rowan made a face.  "I know.  It doesn't mean I have to be pleased
   with it though."
          "And I'm feeling completely useless," Mona said.
          "Be careful of what you wish for," Ash said.  "I believe we shall
   certainly regret when it comes true.  Our enemy has proven to be a worthy
   one.  It will not be easy to take him down."
          "Or her," Mona said, absently.
          "We should try to do *something* while we're here," Rowan said.
          "What do you suggest?" Ash asked.
          "Trying to figure out who our enemy wants," Rowan replied.  "If
   Morrigan is right, then the attacks aren't random.  There must be some
   method to it all."
          "That could be any of us," Mona said.  "We can narrow it down to
   the witches and the Taltos, but I don't think we have enough evidence to
   suggest if we can narrow it down further still."
          "Can't we?" Rowan asked, thoughtfully.  "The Taltos are the only
   ones who have not suffered an attack of any kind.  They weren't even at
   the party the night of that 'visit'."
          "We cannot eliminate anyone on the basis of attacks such as those,"
   Morrigan said.  "Remember that Eliott's house was set on fire, yet Julie
   was still taken.  I don't think that we can include such things in our
   equation."
          "There must be some common denominator," Rowan said.
          "It's an elusive one, if there is," Morrigan said.  "The files
   taken from the Talamasca covered the full range of knowledge about us so
   there is no denominator there.  There is no pattern that can be seen from
   how our companions were captured as it was one experienced, male vampire,
   a female fledgling and a female immortal.  It could be suggested that, if
   a pattern existed, the next capture would be a male immortal and one of
   us.  But such a pattern is more mathematical in nature and not the sort
   of one that an actual person of any species would use."
          Ash studied the piles of papers scattered over the kitchen table.
   "If only we could figure out which one of us is next.  That way we could
   keep them protected and draw our enemy out."
          "Or," Rowan said.  "We could leave them open and use them as bait."
          "Rowan, what are you saying?"
          "Don't misunderstand me," Rowan said.  "I'm not suggesting we
   stupidly put ourselves in danger.  But we do have something that our enemy
   wants.  We should use that to our advantage to bring our enemy closer and
   find out more about him."
          "That is far too risky," Ash said.
          "Is it?" Rowan asked.  "Look at who is left around us.  We're all
   very powerful in what we are.  If our enemy could take us, he would have
   done so by now.  I think this last capture is proving too difficult for
   him.  If we opened things up a bit, made it appear that the one he wanted
   was within his range, he might drop his guard long enough for us to find
   out just what we need to know to defeat him."
          "Or perhaps our enemy is waiting so that *we* will drop *our* guard
   long enough for him to take who he needs," Ash said.  "There are many
   things to consider here."
          "I know," Rowan said.  "But it's an idea worth exploring.  Why
   don't we--" The sound of the front doorbell ringing interrupted her.
          "I'll see what it is," Morrigan said and left the room before
   anyone could stop her.
          There was no one waiting for her when she opened the front door.
   She quickly checked to see where the guards where and found them in their
   proper places:  two by the gate and two walking up and down the length of
   the porch.  Curious, she looked around her.  She found a small package
   lying on the floor in front of her.  She picked it up and quickly opened
   it.  Inside there was a small pin in the shape of a monkey.
          "Excuse me," she called to the guards.  "But who left this here?"
          "Someone just dropped it off," one of the guards said.  "They said
   something about giving it to 'the red-haired beauty'.  We didn't want to
   leave our posts so we put it there."
          "I see, thank you," Morrigan said and went back inside.  She
   examined the little trinket and found it to be harmless.  *It must be for
   Mother.  She must have some new suitor that she has not had the time to
   tell me about.*  She put it in her pocket, deciding to give it to Mona
   when they had some time alone and could talk about who had sent it.  Until
   then, she would keep it to herself.  *What a lovely surprise it will be!*

---------------------------------------------------------------
Time: early evening.
---------------------------------------------------------------

          Jesse looked up as Julie came back into the room.
          "Where did you go?" the red-haired vampire asked.
          "Not far," Julie said as she knelt by her friend.  "Things were
   quiet so I thought it would be safe to look around a bit, see where we
   were."
          "Did you find anything?" Jesse asked.
          "Nothing that can help us escape," Julie replied.  "But I did find
   a few places for us to avoid."
          "It's better than nothing," Jesse said.  She stood up and
   began pulling her hair back into a braid.
          "How are you feeling?" Julie asked.
          "A little stronger than I did yesterday," Jesse said.  "But I'm
   starving.  And I feel a little ill, but that might be the hunger.  I've
   never gone this long without a kill before.  You?"
          Julie shrugged.  "I'd be better with a little sunlight, but that
   can't be our main priority now."
          "I know," Jesse said.  "We can't stay here.  The gods alone know
   how we stayed safe for this long.  In fact," she paused and tilted her
   head, "Yes, I don't think our luck will hold out in that respect.  I think
   I hear people.  Although I can't tell you where they are or if I'm only
   hearing them in my head."
          "Let's not chance it then," Julie said.  "Come, I think I've found
   a place where you might be able to get some relief.  This way."
          They left the dark room and proceeded to retrace Julie's steps,
   occasionally stopping to hide in a corner or look like they belonged
   where they were when someone would pass by, until they came to a set of
   wooden doors.
          "Here," Julie whispered.  She opened one of the doors enough so
   that Jesse could look inside.  "It looks like a hospital of some sort.
   Perhaps you could sneak in and drink from one of them?"
          Jesse frowned when she saw the people inside.  "There's something
   odd about this," she said.  Checking to make sure that only the patients
   were inside, she entered and went to the bedside of one of the patients.
          "They're all so young," Julie said sadly as she came in behind
   Jesse.  "How tragic."
          "It's more than that," Jesse said.  She ran a hand along the brow
   of the patient beside her.  "I know him.  What happened here?"
          They both jumped, startled, when another door opened and two nurses
   entered.  One of the nurses looked at them uncertainly.  "Are you supposed
   to be here?" she asked.
          "Of course they are," the other nurse said.  "Remember our
   instructions?  Just leave them alone."
          Jesse tried to look the first nurse in the eyes, straining for any
   glimpse of her thoughts.  "Why shouldn't we be here?" she asked.
          The nurse shook her head.  "No," she said, stepping back as Jesse
   began to catch some of her thoughts. *They never mentioned.... women....
   only.... the dark hair....*
          "Who are you thinking of?" Jesse demanded, trying to force the
   link.  "Tell me!"
          "Get away!" the nurse cried.  She ran behind a desk and hit a
   button on the wall.
          "That's more than enough of that, witch daughter," a voice said as
   the figure of a male form appeared before her.  "You've provided some
   amusement but it's time to go now."
          "There's two of us," Julie pointed out.  "You can't stop us all by
   yourself."
          "How fortunate that I have help then," Lasher said.
          "From them?" Jesse asked, motioning towards the nurses.  "Sorry to
   disappoint you but they don't really frighten me.  Let's go, Julie."
          "You're not going anywhere, you useless witch," a new voice said.
   Jesse felt hands grabbing her and throwing her to the floor.  A short,
   knarled figure stood above her.  "Not until we're done with you."
          "I'm inclined to disagree," Jesse said, but her threat became lost
   in a wave of nausea and dizzying blackness.
          "Let her go!" Julie said.
          "I don't think we will," Lasher said, taking hold of Julie.  "But
   you can stay with her since you two seem so close, does that not sound
   fair?"
          "That bitch deserves no fairness!" a third male voice said.  "We
   should kill her now!"
          "Calm yourself, Trevor," Aiken said.  "You'll get your chance
   *after* our dear lady leader has her time with them."
          Jesse tried to sit up and see who the third person was, but another
   wave of nausea overcame her.
          Julie was not so hindered.  She broke free of Lasher's grasp and
   attacked Aiken, knocking him away from Jesse.  Lasher and Aiken
   quickly subdued her before she could do much more but Jesse was able to
   stand and inflect enough power into her voice to stop the fight.
          "Trevor?" she said, focusing her attention on him and fighting off
   the sickness that she felt.  "Don't you know who I am?  How can you 
   keep us here?"
          "Remember?" Trevor spat.  "Yes, I remember the time.  Whore!  You
   tried to take it all away from me!  You make it all go away.  You took him
   away!"
          "Who?" Jesse asked, trying to catch Trevor's thoughts.
          "I think she's coming out of it," Lasher said, he made a motion
   with his hand for one of the nurses to come over. "She needs a new dose."
          "No!" Julie struggled to get away from Aiken.  The small man hit
   her across the face and she sunk to the floor, only party conscious.
          "Bastard!" Jesse yelled.  She ran to Julie's side but Lasher shoved
   her to the floor again.  The feeling of illness became worse and she
   felt as though her insides were being torn.  Her chest heaved as she tried
   to breathe.  She turned to Trevor again.  "Why are you doing this?  Tell
   me!"
          "You know why!  You dared to approach him, to take his things!  You
   even have the formula that I made for him!  Can't you see that the enemy
   here is you!"  Trevor began to pace frantically.
          "Stop that, Trevor!" Lasher glared at him.  "I've warned you about
   it before!"
          "You can't control me!" Trevor yelled.  "Only he can.  Oh yes, him.
    He's too good for me."
          "Trevor!" Lasher's mental voice became painful to hear.  Trevor
   winced at the sound of it and Jesse took advantage of this weakness to
   plunge into his thoughts.  One image came to her clearly.
          "Louis," she said.  "He's here.  Louis!  Louis!  Can you hear me?
   Louis!"
          "Silence!" Aiken said, kicking her hard enough to make her cry out.
          The nausea came upon her again and she curled into a ball, trying
   to keep from feeling it.  "Louis will come," she gasped.  "He has to."
          "Your beloved Louis has better things to do with his time," Lasher
   said.  "Even if he could hear you, he wouldn't come."
          "Liar!" she said.  "He'll come once he hears me.  He--" a sickening
   wave of dizziness came over her and she began to retch violently.  She
   felt bile begin to come into her mouth but before she could get rid of it
   Lasher took a bottle of red liquid from the nurse who had come forward and
   forced the contents of the bottle down Jesse's throat.  She gagged, then
   could do nothing else but swallow the cold, dead blood.
          "Ah, but he must hear you first, mustn't he?" Lasher said sweetly
   and Jesse once again passed out into blackness.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  Late night.
----------------------------------------------------------------

          Louis stood before the great doorway, staring at it.  It looked
   exactly the same as it had three years ago.  Louis remembered it too well.
    And he remembered what lay beyond it.  He shut his eyes and forced down
   the memories that came drifting to the surface of his mind.
          "They aren't real," he whispered.  "This, now, is real."
          He had left Nicki's chambers with hardly a word and they both knew
   what he had meant to do, what he needed to do.  If he did not, could not
   do this, the consequences were unthinkable.  But so was this.
          "Courage, Louis," he said to himself.  It occurred to him that
   speaking to himself in that manner was a habit he'd picked up from Lestat.
    That, too, was a memory he forced down.
          Finding the memories where he was too hard to bear, he stepped
   through the doorway, eyes still closed, and did not open them until he was
   fully inside.
          Memnoch's Temple.  Memnoch's Alter.
          The feelings and memories flooded through him, filling him,
   crashing inside of him until all he could feel was a tingling numbness.
   He looked around him, searching through the shadows to make himself see it
   all, feel it all like one who cannot help but press their own bruised
   flesh to make themselves feel the pain once again.
          But he felt nothing.
          He had been tortured here.  Beaten, cut, humiliated, nearly
   murdered and more that he did not want to even give words to, but he could
   feel nothing of the pain.
          "Can't go home again, can you?" A lithe female figure stepped out
   of the shadows.  She turned around slowly, her dark eyes taking in the
   full sight of the alter and all around it, before looking up to where
   Louis stood.
          "Perhaps that's a comfort," Louis said.  "Perhaps that's how it is
   meant to be."
          "Perhaps," Cleopatra said.  She shrugged one shoulder and the silk
   sleeve of her dress slid down her arm.  "After all, what is the past to
   creatures such as we?  We who live through all time and trial.  What use
   have we for memories?"
          "What indeed?" Louis said.  He looked around him again, trying to
   find something, but he did not know what.
          "Why are you here, green-eyed one?" Cleopatra asked.
          "I wanted to see this place again," Louis said.  "There are so many
   memories here."
          She waved this off with one of her hands.  "I was not speaking so
   specifically," she said.  "I meant here, with us.  What is your purpose in
   staying here?"
          "Do you think I am your enemy?" Louis asked.  "Have I done
   something to earn your mistrust?"
          "No," she said.  "But you have not spoken of your intent.  Don't
   you have a reason for being here?"
          "Isn't the reason the same for all of us?"
          "Reasons are never the same for anyone," she said.  "Not in any
   matter.  Our goals cross paths so we work together, but our reasons are
   not the same.  Not mine, not Nicki's, not yours.  But you, have you even a
   goal at all?"
          "I thought I did," he said.
          "And now?"
          "Now I don't know what I have."
          "Not even to get the sunlight back?" she asked.  "I heard Nicki
   tell you of his brief moment in the sun but you never came to me to ask of
   it.  I'm surprised."
          "Why?"
          "I thought you would want that.  You spoke so often in your book of
   what you lost, the sun most of all."
          "Are you saying you could give it back to me?"
          She studied him.  "I'm saying that it's interesting that you never
   even explored the option, for all that you said you wanted it."
          "I say a great many things.  I can never mean all of them."
          "So you are a liar then?"
          "No moreso than anyone else," Louis said.  "Who of us really knows
   the truth, even of ourselves?"
          "You sound like Nicki," Cleopatra said.  "Such philosophy usually
   comes from his mouth."
          "Perhaps he's right," Louis said.
          "I prefer not to think of these things, they are not my way," she
   pulled her sleeve back up to her shoulder.  "So I do not interest you at
   all?"
          "As a person with whom I could talk and learn, yes you interest me
   very much," Louis said.  "But as a source of blood, as a possibility that
   I could walk through the sun unharmed, no.  My interest does not lie
   there."
          "Why not?  Surely I am not that horrid?" she grinned at him.
          Louis smiled.  "Quite the opposite.  However, the idea that not
   even the sun could stop me is that horrid.  To me anyway.  Right now I
   cannot bear the thought that nothing on this earth could stop me.  I need
   to know that an end exists, somehow."
          "Are you seeking an end, Louis?  Did you think to find it here?"
          "I am seeking something," he said.  "And it would seem that I have
   looked everywhere but here.  Once I find it, perhaps then I shall seek my
   end.  Or perhaps finding it will be my end.  There is no way I can know
   until it happens."
          "I shall leave you to it then," Cleopatra said.  "Nicki has
   procured a present for me and only now can I enjoy it."
          She turned and walked towards one of the many smaller side
   doorways.
          "Cleopatra," Louis called after her.  "May I ask you one more
   question?"
          She looked back at him.  "Yes?"
          "What is 'your way'?"
          "To never look back and to never look forward," she said.  "I live
   from moment to moment.  That is my way.  But I think the more important
   question here is:  what is yours?"  Saying that, she left.
          Louis stared out at the now empty Temple, turning her question over
   in his mind.  The statues and pictures of Juliano stared back at him,
   silent, until it seemed that they were not there at all, only pieces of
   color upon his eyes that had no meaning or shape.
          He blinked to clear his vision and the colors came together and he
   found himself looking into someone's study.  But it was an old study.  The
   furniture was styled and the books were bound in the way of the late 18th
   century.  Candles provided the only light.  The door to the study opened
   and a young man came in.  He was dressed entirely in a black which matched
   his dark hair which was pulled back into a ponytail like any proper 18th
   century gentleman, though he had only just reached the age when he might
   be called so, and he carried stacks of ledgers in his arms.  These he put
   down on the desk and he began searching through the desk drawers, trying
   to find something with which he could write.
          "What are you doing?" Louis asked the young man.
          "Please, monsieur," the young man said in the old French,
   "Forgive my rudeness but my father has just died.  I cannot stop for idle
   chat."  He looked at Louis briefly and Louis was momentarily stunned by
   how green the young man's eyes were.
          But then Louis' eyes had always been so green.  Even when he was
   this young mortal man.
          "Not even for a moment?" Louis asked.  "Please, I have so much that
   I would speak with you about."
          "I cannot," the young Louis said.  "There's no time.  There is so
   much to take care of.  My entire family is dependent upon me now.  I have
   to concentrate on the running of this plantation or the whole family will
   go into ruin."
          "Surely the plantation can take care of itself," Louis said.  "That
   is what the foreman is for.  You are a young man.  You should go out, be
   with your friends.  Fall in love."
          "There's no time!" the young Louis snapped.  "I need to stay here
   and take care of the family.  I can't spend my energy on trivial things
   like love and friendship.  I need to be here!"
          "But your father just died," Louis said.  "At least take the time
   to mourn him."
          The young Louis rubbed his eyes frantically.  "N-no, I need to
   work.  I can't take the time for that, I need to take care of so many
   things.  Do you expect me to selfishly take care of my needs when the
   family is dependent on me?  I must take care of the family."
          "To hell with 'em," a drunken voice said.  Louis watched as a new,
   older version of himself entered the room.  His hair was half bound, half
   falling into his unshaven face.  His fine clothes were torn and stained
   and he carried a bottle of wine in his hand.  He stumbled over to a chair
   and fell into it.  "What does it matter anyway?  Spend my whole life
   taking care of them and what does it get me?  A fucking murder charge,
   that's what!  Think I killed Paul.  I loved him!  He was the only one who
   understood me!  Oh God, why did he have to die?" the drunken Louis began
   to sob, tears falling down his face.  "Should've been me.  Why wasn't it
   me?  Why can't it be me?  Fuck them all, I don't care anymore!" he took a
   deep swallow from the bottle of wine.
          "Yes you do, it's your family," Louis said.  "Think of your mother,
   your sister.  You need them now more than ever."
          "I don't need anybody," the drunken Louis said.  "All I need I got
   right here," he held up the bottle, "Gimme this an' a gun an' I'm set for
   life."  He giggled.  "Well, death anyway.  Just end it all.  Yeah, that's
   what I need."
          "That's a sin," the young Louis said.
          "Who cares about sin?" a new voice said.  A fourth Louis entered
   the room.  This one was a vampire.  He was dressed in the finest of
   fashions and his clothes were so new that they practically gleamed.  This
   was the Louis of the past three years. "If it's fun do it!  Why should
   I have to go through any pain?  I want pleasure and if I have to get 
   it through sin, all the better.  I'll even make love to a man if I 
   have to."  He leered at the younger Louis and clearly enjoyed watching 
   the younger man squirm.
          "But you love that man," Louis said.  "Your feelings are real."
          "Love doesn't matter," the pleasure-seeking Louis said.  "I don't
   care about that.  I just want distractions.  No pain!"
          "You shouldn't be making love to a man at all," the young Louis
   said.  "You'll go to Hell.  It says so in the Bible."
          "I'm in Hell!" the drunken Louis said.
          "Get yourself a good, cheap whore," the pleasure-seeking Louis 
   said. "That will surely make you feel better."
          "And get him killed," Louis said.
          The pleasure-seeking Louis shrugged.  "Hey, if that's what he
   wants.  It's not my concern."
          "Isn't anything your concern?" Louis asked.
          "Nope," the pleasure-seeking Louis grinned.  "You see, that's the
   fun of it.  I do whatever the hell I want and I don't have to feel any
   pain."
          "How can you say that?" Louis asked.  "Your friends are right by
   your side, Lestat is willing to give his life for you and all you care
   about is yourself?"
          "That's not my problem," the pleasure-seeking Louis said.
          "Amen," the drunken Louis said.  "I don't need that.  Too much
   pressure.  If I got involved with someone now, I'd just screw it up anyway
   so why bother?"
          "Don't you have anything to say about this?" Louis asked his
   younger self.  "What of your plans for the future?  Don't you want to find
   someone to share your life with?"
          "Of course," the young Louis said.  "I have to find someone to
   marry and have children with, it's expected of me."
          "I'm not talking about what's expected of you," Louis said.  "I'm
   talking about passion, love.  Don't you want those things?"
          "I'll take passion," the pleasure-seeking Louis said.
          "That's all a myth," the young Louis said.  "It makes for a good
   story but that doesn't happen in real life.  I'm sure my mother will find
   someone to for me to arrange a marriage with.  Then I can settle down."
          "Why do you want to settle down?" Louis asked.  "Don't you want to
   see the world?  Go exploring?  There's an entire planet out there that you
   only have the faintest idea of."
          "That's too much of a bother," the young Louis said.  "Too
   chaotic."
          "What's wrong with a little chaos?" Louis asked.
          "I'll take his side in this," the pleasure-seeking Louis said.
   "The last thing I need is for the universe to throw me another screwball.
    I'm taking charge of my life, thank you."
          "But what kind of life do you have?" Louis asked.  "You're throwing
   away everything that ever meant something to you."
          "Better to do it yourself before life does it to you," the drunken
   Louis said.  "Nothing matters, nothing has any meaning.  Why hold on to
   what you don't need?"
          "And what do you need?" Louis asked.  "All of you, what do you
   need?"
          "Order," the young Louis said.
          "Escape," the drunken Louis said.
          "Control," the pleasure-seeking Louis said.
          "You think that if you have those things that you will have a
   life?" Louis asked.  "That's not living!  You've completely missed the
   point!"
          He turned to the young Louis.  "You.  You spend your whole time
   locked up in the house, never seeing anything beyond those doors but that
   won't give you a happy life.  You're not interacting with people or with
   anything real.  You keep trying to see the world in black and white and
   you miss all the beautiful colors in between."
          He faced the drunken Louis.  "You spend your whole time lost inside
   of that bottle, thinking that it will keep you from feeling the pain but
   that's what's causing it!  You think that if you keep from taking care of
   yourself you will do your Penance and no one will blame you anymore.  But
   you were never to blame!  If you never fight for your rightful place you
   will always be doomed to failure."
          He looked at the pleasure-seeking Louis.  "And you.  You have
   absolved yourself of all responsibility, thinking that if you ignore
   everything, it will all go away.  Well it does!  You succeed at pushing
   things away so much that you're left with nothing at all."
          "Where do you get off saying this to us?" the drunken Louis said.
          "You made us what we are," the young Louis said.
          "If there is any blame for all of this," the pleasure-seeking Louis
   said, "it lies with you."
          "I know," Louis said and he watched as the vision disappeared.  He
   looked around him at the empty Temple.  "I know."

---------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  late night.
---------------------------------------------------------------

     The Roman Talamasca Motherhouse loomed before them, its very mass a
testament to the strength that lay inside. 
     "What are you waiting for, the Church to proclaim it a miracle? 
Let's go in!" Lestat appeared by Ramses' side so suddenly that the
immortal jumped back. 
     "Where have you been?" he demanded. 
     "Amsterdam," Lestat said.  "They proved exceedingly unhelpful." 
      Ramses narrowed his eyes.  "What did you do?" 
      "Try asking him what he *didn't* do," Daniel said.  He dusted off
his jacket.  "Trust me, it's a shorter list. 
      "It's not my fault they built the Motherhouse so flammable," Lestat
said. 
      "You didn't!" Ramses glared at him. 
      Lestat shrugged.  "I showed up, one thing led to another.  You know
how it goes." 
      "Did you destroy it?" Michael asked. 
      "More importantly do you realize the trouble you have caused?"
Ramses said.  "It is undoubtedly because of you that we cannot get into
this Motherhouse now!  The members at Amsterdam must have used their
powers to warn the members here that you would be coming!" 
      "Or a phone," Lestat said.  "Be that as it may, I still don't see
the problem." 
      "Do you take everything so flippantly?" Ramses asked. 
      "What's with him?" Lestat turned to Michael and Elliott. 
      "Julie was taken the same night you left," Elliott said. 
      "I see," Lestat said.  "Out of curiosity, might I ask if saying 'I
told you so' would be a wrong idea right now?" 
      "I'd say so," Michael said. 
      "They took Jesse too," Ramses said.  "I wouldn't be so smug if I was
you." 
      Lestat fixed Ramses with a steely grey gaze.  "If you think I'm
*smug* about--" 
     "Guys!" Daniel stepped forward.  "Do I have to remind you who we
should be fighting?  There's a Motherhouse full of people who have the
information we need and we're wasting time out here." 
      "Blame him," Ramses said.  "It's his fault the doors are barred
against us." 
      "You're standing out here because of a *locked door*?" Lestat asked. 
"Mon Dieu, I'm surrounded by amateurs!  Come, Daniel, you'll learn a thing
or two." 
      Lestat made a direct line to the Motherhouse doors, the others
following along in his wake. 
      "Good luck trying," Ramses said sarcastically. 
      Lestat put his hand on the doorknob, gave Ramses a quick smile then
ripped the door off its hinges. 
      "It's all in the wrist," Lestat said.  He threw the door to the side
and stepped over the rubble that remained. 
      "Whatever happened to trying the doorbell first?" Daniel said as he
came after him. 
      "Not dramatic enough," Lestat said.  "You have to make a statement,
let them know who they're dealing with." 
      "And who are *we* dealing with?" Michael asked as he entered.  He
surveyed the grand hallway around them.  "They're not very welcoming, are
they?" 
      Lestat folded his arms and looked around him.  "Yes, I'd noticed a
distinct lack of people.  I must say I find this horrendously
anticlimatic." 
      "They're here," Ramses said.  "They wouldn't abandon one of their
main branches, even knowing that we were coming." 
      "What shall we do?"  Elliott asked.  "It seems rather inefficient
for us to have to search through every room." 
      Daniel spotted a small movement out of the corner of his eye.  He
pounced on it and dragged the cause of it out from behind a door.  It was
one of the more elderly members of the Talamasca. 
      "Good catch, Daniel!" Lestat said.  "There's hope for you yet." 
      "Where are the others?" Ramses asked the old man. 
      "Please, let me go," the man said.  "I know nothing, I swear!" 
      "He's lying," Lestat said.  "He knows plenty, I can feel it." 
      "No, I am not what you want," the man said.  "I can tell you
nothing." 
      "Can't or *won't*?" Ramses asked.  "Lestat, what are you reading
from him?" 
      "He's not who we really need," Lestat said.  "But he can lead us to
that person.  The problem is, he's being strongly shielded by someone." 
      "He isn't shielding himself?" Daniel asked. 
      Lestat shook his head.  "He hasn't the strength.  He's a minor
member here at most.  You see, Daniel, if he was shielding himself it
would be a simple matter for me to knock that shield down and plunder his
mind for all I needed. However, since it is someone else, it's harder to
know where to attack." 
      "Can you get around it?" Elliott asked. 
      "Certainly," Lestat said.  "A thourough scan of the area would show
me who was protecting him and therefore who I should go after." 
      "Do it then," Ramses said. 
      "Of course," Lestat continued as though he hadn't heard, "that's not
really any fun for me now is it?  I'd much rather do it the quicker way." 
      "Which is...?" 
      "Observe," Lestat said.  He reached out and grabbed the man from
where he had been cowering behind Daniel.  Shoving the man against a wall,
Lestat bared his fang teeth and licked them, his face inches away from the
man's.  "Now then, shall you talk or shall I help commend your immortal
soul into Hell?" 
      "Up-upstairs," the man whispered.  He collapsed to the floor as
Lestat let him go.  "May God forgive me for my weakness...." 
      "I don't know about God, but I forgive you, Simon," a voice said
from the staircase.  The man it belonged to was younger than Simon and
clearly more powerful.  "After all, what chance did you stand against such
immortals?  Of course, what grand immortals these must be that they attack
a helpless old man." 
      "Who are you that we should care what you think?" Ramses asked. 
      "I am the man you are looking for," he said as he walked down the
stairs.. "At least, the man you are looking for here.  My name is Angelo
Pantaloni--" Lestat snickered "--and not only do I run this Motherhouse
but I know the one who you truly hope to find.  However, you will never
get this information from me so you may as well leave now.  You are
clearly outmatched." 
      "By you?" Daniel asked.  "Try not to take too much offense when I
say I don't think so." 
      "Yes," Ramses said.  "Our respective powers aside, there's a basic
mathematical equation here that you're just not getting." 
      "You are outmatched in more ways than one," Angelo said.  "It
astounds me that you would even try.  It is obvious that your enemy will
win." 
      "And what makes it so obvious?" Lestat asked. 
      Angelo smiled.  "Allow me to put it this way:  nice tan, vampire." 
      Lestat's hand shot out and slapped Angelo to the floor.  "Nice
bruise, mortal.  What's your point?" 
      Angelo spit out blood.  "Go ahead, take your vengence out on me,
kill me. You'll never get the information you want.  It will die with me. 
Not even the other members here know of it.  All they know is that you,
the killer of David Talbot, are now attacking one of their members.  The
second they think you truly pose a threat to me they will descend on all
of you with all of their Power. Everyone of this House.  Is that enough of
a basic mathematical equation for you?" 
      "He's right," Michael said.  "We can't to anything to him here." 
      "Fine," Lestat said.  He took Angelo by the collar and carried him
outside.  "Home it is.  You keep everyone here distracted while I take him
there." 
      "Wait!" Elliott said.  "What can we do to keep them so occupied?" 
      Lestat rolled his eyes.  "Must I think of everything?  Here!"  There
was an explosion as the staircase went up in flames.  Elliott and the
others ran outside to safety whlie Lestat rose up into the air, Angelo in
his grasp.  :That should do it,: he said.  :I'll see you back in New
Orleans.: 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  late night.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

      "I've said it before, I'll say it again:  I won't tell you a thing."
Angelo leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the table. 
      Rowan took hold of one of his legs and lifted it so that Angelo
became overbalanced and fell backwards onto the floor.  "I'm sorry, but
arrogance was the wrong emotional choice for this evening.  Care to try
again?" 
      Angelo climbed over the fallen chair, righted it and sat down again.
"Frankly, no.  There isn't a thing you could do to harm me.  After all, it
only takes one call from me for reinforcements to come crashing in to save
me." 
      Armand reached out and tipped Angelo's chair over again.  "I'm
afraid it wouldn't.  We've had you so strongly shielded that you couldn't
call for help if, well, if your life depended on it really." 
      Angelo stood up again, started for the chair, thought better of it
and remained standing.  His eyes lost focus as he tried to send out
telepathic feelers and met with the other's resistance.  "So you have," he
said.  "But that still doesn't help you.  You can't break down my shields
and I'm the only one with the information you want.  You have to deal with
me on *my* terms." 
      Lestat laughed.  "How endearing of you to think so!  Look, Angel
Trousers--" 
      "Angelo Pantaloni!" 
      "Whatever," Lestat shoved Angelo back into the chair.  "It's been a
long night, we're all in a bad mood and my estimations of the time you
have left on this earth are decreasing exponentially with every passing
minute.  I suggest that you cooperate with us before I stop exercising
restraint, take you by your hair and paint that wall over there an
interesting color I like to call 'hint of brain'.  Understood?" 
      "You've been using restraint?" Ramses asked. 
      "Hey, it's been hours and I've only made one joke about his name,"
Lestat said.  "What would you call it?" 
      "He's got a point," Daniel said. 
      "I certainly do," Lestat said.  "And Angel Trousers should try to
get on my good side before I ram it through his skull." 
      "Go ahead," Angelo said.  "You'll never hear of your precious Louis
again. Nor of Julie and Jesse." 
      "So you do know where they are?" Mona asked. 
      Angelo shrugged.  "I know a great many things.  Maybe one of them is
the location of your missing loved ones."  He turned to Morrigan.  "And
maybe one of them is the answer to the question that's been plaguing you
for the past year." 
      "What do you mean?" Ash asked. 
      "Nothing that would interest you my tall friend," Angelo said. 
"After all, there is only one Taltos in this room who can breed." 
      "You know of another Taltos male?" Morrigan asked. 
      "What does this have to do with Julie?" Ramses demanded. 
      "Or the rest of us for that matter?" Marius asked. 
      Angelo laughed.  "And why should I tell you?" 
      "Besides the 'we can take your life with a single thought' thing?"
Daniel asked.  "Nothing else comes to mind really." 
      "Why shouldn't you tell us?" David asked. 
      "Yes," Lestat said.  "I'd like to know why you *shouldn't* tell us
what we want to know.  Because if the answer is your fear of retribution
from the one you are protecting let me assure you that any pain he can
inflict on you will not compare to five minutes alone with me." 
      "You don't scare me, vampire." 
      "Really?  That's too bad," Lestat smiled, took Angelo by the wrist
and crushed it with an audible snap.  "Because I should." 
      Angelo stifled his cry of pain.  "Pain doesn't frighten me," he
gasped. 
      "That's fine," Lestat said.  He reached higher and crushed Angelo's
forearm.  "Because it amuses *me* and that's all it really needs to do." 
      "Forget it, Lestat," Michael said.  "He can't know anything.  He's
useless to us." 
      "I know plenty," Angelo said, breathing hard against the agony of
his broken arm.  He faced Morrigan again.  "You'd better stop them from
killing me if you ever want your species to survive." 
      "So you do know where there is a male?" Ash asked. 
      "If there is one," Angelo said, "I'm the only way you'll find out." 
      "Now, you see, that *sounds* like a good idea," Lestat said, "except
that you're not talking.  Whatever can we do about that?" 
      "I think that depends on how many bones he has left in his body,"
Daniel said. 
      "Enough to make this night interesting," Rowan said. 
      "I won't tell you anything," Angelo said. 
      "So what's to stop me from killing you now?" Lestat asked. 
      "You'll loose all my knowledge with me," Angelo said. 
      "Ah, but if you won't talk, then we won't loose anything by killing
you now will we?" Lestat grinned and wrapped his hand around Angelo's
throat. "Don't you hate getting trapped by your own defenses?" 
      Angelo tried to respond but couldn't get air past the pressure of
Lestat's hand.  Lestat moved to give Angelo the final blow when the sound
of the doorbell ringing interrupted him.  Michael went to answer it. 
      "If there's one thing I hate it's getting interrupted in the middle
of a kill," Lestat said as he let Angelo go.  "Who the hell is it?" 
      "It's only a delivery man," Michael called back. 
      "What?" Rowan asked.  "We didn't order anything."  She frowned
suddenly then called out "Michael!  Bring him here!" 
      "Are you sure that's wise?" Elliott asked. 
      "You tell me," Rowan said, but she was looking at Angelo. 
      Michael came back into the room leading the delivery man behind him. 
The man was visibly taken aback by the sight of Angelo. 
      "Nigel," Angelo croaked, "Get out!" 
      "No, Nigel," Armand said, sliding up behind him.  "Do stay." 
      "Why are you here?" Rowan asked. 
      "I'd say it was for this," Armand took a small package from Nigel
and tore the brown wrapping paper from it. 
      "That's just like the package that arrived for Mother," Morrigan
said. 
      "There was another package?" Michael asked. 
       "Yes," Morrigan said.  "It was a monkey made out of gold." 
       "It wasn't for her," Nigel said. 
      "Quiet, Nigel!" Angelo tried to get up from the chair but Lestat
shoved him back into it. 
      "Take your own advice," Lestat said.  "Armand, what is it?" 
      Armand held up a small figurine.  "It's a parrot made out of iron. 
Why?" 
      Nigel looked nervously over to Angelo.  "I was told to deliver it to
her, the tall one.  I--" 
      "Don't tell them any more!" Angelo said.  "So help me if another
word comes from your mouth--"  He stood up and began to walk towards Nigel
but collapsed to the floor, clutching his chest. 
      "That was more than enough from him," Rowan said as she glanced at
the dead body.  "Care to join him, Nigel?" 
      "N-no," Nigel said.  "I won't tell you anymore." 
      "I'd reconsider that if I were you," Lestat said. "Rowan kills them
by stopping the heart with her mind.  I prefer to do it by tearing open
the rib cage and stopping the heart with my bare hands.  Which do you
prefer?"  He tapped Nigel's chest with his finger making Nigel jump back,
alarmed. 
      "No!" Nigel said.  "Please!" 
      "Then talk, mortal," Armand said.  "Who is sending these packages?" 
      "I don't know," Nigel flinched as Lestat stepped forward.  "No!  I
swear it!  They never told me the name.  All they told me was that I had
to deliver the packages here." 
      "Why?" Rowan asked. 
      "They said it was so she would know where to go," he said,
indicating Morrigan.  "They wanted her for some reason, but I don't know
why." 
      "And where should she go?"  Marius asked.  "Is it where the others
are?" 
      "Your friends?" Nigel asked.  "Yes.  It's the same place.  I
overheard Angelo talking about it.  It's a temple of some sort.  He
mentioned the name but I can't remember it." 
       "Where is this temple?" Ramses asked. 
       "South America," Mona said. 
       Michael looked at her, surprised.  "How can you be sure?" 
       "The clues," Mona said.  "Gold, iron, a monkey and a parrot all
have South America in common.  Isn't that right?  Isn't that what Morrigan
was supposed to figure out so you could capture her too?" 
       "Yes," Nigel said.  "Angelo thought the natural curiousity of the
Taltos would make it impossible for her to stay away.  It was all his
idea." 
       "But where in South America?" Ash asked.  "It is a large continent.
Where is there a single temple that would house an enemy of ours?" 
       "Nowhere that I can think of," David said.  He thought for a
moment, then froze, his eyes locked on Lestat.  "Except... Rio." 
      "Son of a bitch!" Lestat said.  He grabbed Nigel and threw him
against a wall.  "Is that it?  Is it Memnoch's Temple?  Is that the name?" 
       "Yes," Nigel said. 
       Lestat cried out and threw Nigel to the floor, killing him
instantly.  He turned his rage on Armand.  "I thought Juliano was dead!" 
       "Don't blame me!" Armand said.  "You're the one who killed him. 
It's not my fault if you failed to finish the job!" 
       "Stop it, both of you!" Marius said.  "This is neither the time nor
the place." 
       "I'll tell you the time and place," Lestat said.  "Now and Rio, I'm
leaving!" 
       "Lestat, for once I agree with you," Marius said.  "Whether our
enemy is Juliano or not, he's bound to know that we've come this far.  We
need to act now before we loose any more advantages we might have." 
       "I'm going with you," Ramses said.  "I won't let Julie be held
there for one more minute." 
       "Fine," Marius said.  "Ash, Rowan and Armand, I'd like you with us
as well.  That way we will have covered every possible encounter." 
       "I'm not staying here," Michael said. 
       "You have to, my friend," Ash said.  "If anything Angelo said is
correct, the idea of breeding Taltos is important to them.  Since you can
still carry on those genes your being there could give our enemy what he
needs.  Rowan and I do not pose that threat." 
        "Alright," Michael said.  "But if there's even the hint of
trouble--" 
        "--we shall expect you to come riding in to help us," Rowan said. 
        "All of you," Marius said as he and the others left.  "But until
then, stay here." 

---------------------------------------------------------
Time:  nearly morning.
---------------------------------------------------------

      Louis walked through the corridors of the temple, leaving the vision
of himself behind him.  He needed to speak with Nicolas now, that he knew. 
But a feeling of hunger came over him and he knew he would have to feed
first.  He would need the strength both for his talk with Nicolas, and for
his trip home. 
      The hospital was not close to Nicolas's quarters but Louis was
grateful for that.  Walking the added distance both ways would give him
the time he needed to compose his thoughts.  How could he explain it to
him?  The past meant so little to Nicolas, but it meant everything to
Louis.  He needed to go back and put closure on it before he could
continue on with his future. 
      *I can't run away from it anymore.  I have to return and face it.
Even--even if I'm not wanted there ever again.*
      An image of Lestat appeared in Louis' mind and, for the first time,
Louis did not push it away.  "Oh, Lestat," he whispered.  "However will I
explain this to you?  Do you still care enough to listen to me this one
last time?" 
      Louis' thoughts were interrupted by a crash as the doors to the
hospital room flew open.  Two attendants appeared, dragging two women
behind them.  One of the women turned her head and Louis saw her face
clearly. 
      "Jessica!"  The shock of it hit him like a bolt to his chest.  He
ran over to her side and pulled her out of the attendant's arms.  "Let go
of her, now! What in Hell do you think you're doing?" 
      "What I've been told to," the attendant said. 
      "By whom?  Who told you to do this to her?" Louis asked, but he
wasn't listening.  He cradled Jesse in his arms, gently nudging her awake. 
"Jesse? Jessica, can you speak?" 
      "Oh come now, Louis, this is melodramatic even for you," Lasher
appeared beside him.  "After all--what is that mortal phrase?  Oh yes: 
you can't have an omlette without breaking some eggs." 
      "What is going on here, spirit?" Louis said, glancing over at
Julie's prone form.  "Why are they here?" 
      "You mean to say you honestly don't know?" 
      Jesse moaned and stirred in Louis' arms.  Louis turned his attention
back to her.  He moved her into the light and was sickened by how weak she
looked. "Jesse?  Cherie?  Can you hear me?" 
      She opened her eyes and looked up at him.  "Louis?  What--where's
Julie?" 
      "Julie is right here," Louis said.  "Jesse, what happened to you?" 
      "I'm so hungry," she whispered.  "I haven't fed... in so long." 
      "Of course," Louis said.  "Here, let me take you to this room
nearby.  You can take a victim there." 
      Jesse took hold of his arm and shook her head.  "No, I can't," she
said. She winced as a spasm of pain rocked through her.  "I.... They....
They're.... Talamasca." 
      "What!"  Louis stood and faced Lasher.  "Is that true?" 
      "Well if the great Jessica Reeves said it, it must be true," Lasher
said. 
      "What's going on here?" Nicolas came through the doorway of the
hospital room. 
      "I might ask you the same question, Nicolas," Louis said. 
      "Louis, what are you saying?" Nicolas looked at him in surprise. 
"I've never heard you speak in that tone before." 
      "Where do those patients come from, Nicolas?  Are they from the
Talamasca?" 
      "Some of them, yes," Nicolas said.  "Forget them, Louis.  They're
not important.  They're just people who tried to stand in my way--*our*
way.  I had to act in our defense, didn't I?" 
      "What about Jessica and Julie?" Louis asked.  "Did they stand in our
way too?  Is their condition from you acting in our defense?" 
      "How can you ask that, Louis?"  Nicolas asked.  "Look at who they
are! She is Ramses' cohort and *she* is Maharet's child!  Think of the
secrets they have kept!  They must be stopped, you know that." 
      "Stopped?  How do you mean 'stopped'?  You explain this to me and
you explain it to me *now* because if it means what I think it means then
you can count on me no longer!" 
      "It has to end, Louis.  We must replace the old with the new.  I
told you that." 
      Louis pulled back.  "Mon Dieu, you mean to kill them!  All of them!
That's what it is, isn't it?  That's what it has always been.  Dear God,
you've been lying to me all this time, haven't you?  Tell me it isn't
true!" 
      "My words have been true from the start, Louis.  As for the rest of
it," Nicolas shrugged, "you believed what you wanted to." 
      "Oh God," Louis whispered.  "What have I done?" 
      "Helped me start the new rule, Louis!"  Nicolas took him by the
shoulders. "Where we will end all that pain.  Yours and everyone else's. 
Can't you see?" 
      "As much as I am loath to interrupt this," Lasher said.  "We have
visitors.  An old flame of yours, I believe." 
      Nicolas let out a bark of laughter.  "Yes!  He always did have good
timing.  Come, Louis, shall we begin the end?" 
      "No!"  Louis pushed Nicolas away.  "I won't let you do this.  You
cannot!" 
      "You plan on stopping us then?" Lasher asked.  "Becoming the
betrayer once again?" 
      Louis looked at them with cold, green eyes.  "If I have to," he said
and disappeared down the corridor. 
      "Blast it!" Nicolas said.  "Lasher, go after him!  Stop him!" 
      Lasher faded into the air and raced after Louis' form but Louis'
vampiric agility was faster than the spirit's.  Louis followed the
telepathic signal of his friends back through the very path he had come
down into the Temple where they had gathered.  He ran out onto the alter
before Lasher caught up with him and tried to pull him back. 
      "Lestat, get out!" Louis cried, struggling in Lasher's hold.  "It's
Nicolas!" 

      "Hello, lover," Nicolas walked out onto the center of the alter.  He
gave Lestat a sweet smile.  "Miss me?" 
      Marius watched as Lestat froze in place, staring first at Nicolas,
then locking his gaze on Louis.  He moved towards the younger vampire but
Lestat waved him back.  Lestat remained that way, his eyes locked on
Louis', for what seemed like an eternity.  Louis stopped fighting Lasher's
hold, the shaking of his head his only movement as he watched Lestat
slowly walk towards the alter. 
      "How could you do it, Louis?" Lestat asked.  "After all I have done
for you, how could you turn on me like this?" 
      "Lestat, no--" 
      "Quiet!" Lestat's shout rang through the Temple.  He turned to
Nicolas. "And you?  Have you turned on me now as well?" 
      "That assumes that I was ever on your side in the first place,"
Nicolas said.  "I'd have to have liked you at some point to have turned on
you now." 
      "I gave you *everything*!" Lestat said.  "You owe your entire life
to me! You'd be *dead* now if it wasn't for me!" 
      Nicolas laughed.  "Well then, how ironic it is that you will be dead
now because of me!" 
      A small figure stepped out of the shadows and, before Marius could
give warning, lifted a scythe and sliced Lestat's leg.  Lestat fell to the
floor, turned to attack the figure and the scythe carved through his
abdomen.  Lestat screamed in pain and curled into a ball, pressing his
hands against his stomach to try to hold back the tide of blood that
poured out around him on the floor. 
     "Bastard!" Louis yelled.  He tried to break free of Lasher's hold,
but couldn't.  "Stop it, Nicolas!  Stop it now!" 
     "Stop what?" Nicolas asked.  "His heart?  Thank you, Louis, I think I
will. Aiken, give me that weapon.  I want to finish the job myself." 
      "You think we'll let you?" Marius asked.  "I'll stop you myself, you
fledgling upstart!" 
      Nicolas laughed again.  "No, no I don't think you will." 
      "And what will stop us?" Armand asked. 
      "You're welcome to try," Nicolas said.  "In fact, I'm surprised you
haven't yet.  What's stopping you?  Come, come forward.  Here, I'll even
put my weapon down.  See?  I'm defenseless.  Try and get me.  I have to
warn you though, this Temple isn't the same one that Juliano had.  You
might find a few new obstacles in your path." 
      "What are you talking about?" Armand asked.  "I see nothing!" 
      "Then stop cowering where you are and come forward!" Nicolas said,
letting his hands caress one of the idols on the alter.  "Or has the
powerful Armand become frightened of a fledgling upstart like me?" 
      "I'll show you fear!"  Armand snarled, stepping forward.  He was
about to reach Lestat's side when Nicolas pushed the idol forward.  There
was a grinding sound as the ceiling of the Temple opened and the rising
sun created a wall of light, barring the way. 
      "Do you like the change?" Nicolas asked, grinning as Armand fell
back in pain from the light.  "I find it helpful." 
      "That light won't stop us, vampire," Ramses said.  "It certainly
won't stop me." 
      "No," a female voice said.  Cleopatra walked through one of the side
doors, carrying two oil lanterns in each hand.  "But these will!"  She
flung them at the immortal, trapping Ramses, Ash and Rowan behind the
spreading flames. 
      "Nicolas, please," Louis said, unable to stop his trembling at the
sight of the sunlight.  "Don't do this." 
      "I have to, Louis," Nicolas said.  "There's no other way."  He
picked up the scythe and placed the blade of it against Lestat's neck.  He
pressed down lightly and blood escaped from where it cut skin.  He lifted
the scythe, then stopped it in midair.  "Your time has come, Lestat.  Your
life ends now.  Have you any last words before I take you?" 
      Lestat spat a mouthful of blood at Nicolas. 
     Nicolas sighed and let the scythe begin its decent.  "Have it your
way." 
     "I wouldn't give you the satisfaction!" Lestat cried.  He rolled away
just as the blade hit the ground and threw himself into the wall of
sunlight.  The sunlight tore at him, turning his body into a living torch. 
The flames covered him, burning so brightly that the entire Temple became
filled with light, then plunged it suddenly into blackness as Lestat
vanished.  A pile of ashes was all that remained. 
      "Dear Lord," Louis whispered.  "No...."

---------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  immediately after the end of Act 22.
---------------------------------------------------------------

          "NO!" Louis screamed it now, struggling even harder in Lasher's
   grip, then stopping suddenly as though his last spark of energy had left
   him.  "No," he said again, softer, mouthing the word more than speaking
   it.  "No."
          Nicolas stood in a stunned silence.  Lestat was dead.  For
   centuries he had dreamed of this.  He laughed to himself.  Lestat had
   always wanted to be the man of his dreams.
          "Don't just stand there like a fool, scatter the ashes!" he yelled.
    Aiken jumped, gave him a quick look, then followed the command.  Nicolas
   watched in delight as Aiken kicked at the small pile of dust that was all
   that remained of the vampire Lestat.
          "Dust to dust," Nicolas whispered.  He laughed again, out loud.  He
   turned to Louis.  "You like the Church, don't you, Louis?  Shall we have a
   funeral?"
          "Will you kill me too?" Louis asked, his voice hoarse.
          Nicolas stared at him.  That had almost sounded like a request.
   Why wasn't Louis happy?  Shocked he could understand but Louis almost
   seemed depressed.  That was not right.
          "Louis, it's all part of the new rule.  This calls for tears of
   joy, not sorrow!"
          "If you have killed Lestat then you can kill me too!" Louis' green
   eyes were hollow and cold as they regarded Nicolas from under his dark
   lashes.  "If Lestat is dead, then I die with him."
          "*If*?  *If*?" Nicolas was incredulous.  "The ashes are there for
   you to see, Louis!  They dance in the sunlight just as he once did.
   Lestat de Lioncourt is no more!"
          "And you think that we shall allow you to do this act unharmed?"
   Marius stepped to the very edge of the wall of ever brightening sunlight.
    "The sun is rising, Nicolas.  You will have to sleep, just like the rest
   of us and as soon as you shut your eyes Ramses, Ash and Rowan will be upon
   you."
          Nicolas ignored this.  "Louis, you and I have to talk.  Lasher,
   find Trevor and bring him here.  Have him take care of our vampire guests.
    Do something to take care of the others as well."
          "What would you have me do?" Lasher asked.
          "Bleeding worked for the female immortal, I'd imagine it would work
   for them as well."
          "What have you done with Julie?" Ramses demanded.  He took a step
   towards the alter but Cleopatra held him back with another burning
   lantern.
          "You'll find out as soon as it happens to you," Nicolas said.
          "Why are you doing this, Nicolas?" Armand staggered in weakness
   from the rising sun.  "Why keep us here if Lestat was the one you wanted?"
          "Because Lestat wasn't the one I wanted," Nicolas said.  "He was no
   more than a trivial annoyance to me.  The one I want is the Taltos.  The
   female one.  Morrigan."
          "Never!" Ash cried.  "I'll kill you before you get your hands on
   her."
          "What use is a Taltos to you?" Rowan asked.
          "A female Taltos?  Coupled with Aiken?" Nicolas grinned.  "Come
   now, one need not be a neurosurgeon to figure this out.  I want to create
   the new rule!"
          "Nothing but an Akasha groupie," Armand sneered.
          "Au contraire," Nicolas said.  "Akasha sought to kill everyone in
   the world and have all of you for her disciples.  I am under no such
   delusion.  I want to control the world, and I know that all of you would
   stand in my way.  If I kill you, then create legions of strong Taltos
   followers, who is there to stop me?"
          "You need to get your hands on Morrigan first," Rowan said.  "The
   others will never let you.  They'd never give her up for you."
          "They would if they thought all of your lives were on the line.  I
   don't think they could get rid of her quick enough if they thought it
   would get you back."
          "So you could kill us later?" Marius asked.  "They would not be so
   stupid.  Once they know--"
          "Ah, but they won't know, now will they?" Nicolas asked.  "After
   all, who will tell them, you?  I don't think so.  All they will know is
   what one of my mortal followers will tell them:  bring Morrigan to me or
   you will all be killed."
          Nicolas felt a weariness come over him.  The light of the sun was
   getting brighter by the minute.  "Enough of this!  I must rest.  Lasher,
   take care of our guests.  Louis, come with me."
          "Nicolas," Cleopatra said.  "If we leave the Temple open, the sun
   will heal Ramses."
          "Close it then," Nicolas said.  "Marius and Armand can live for
   another day.  And I think we can rest assured that our dear Ramses would
   not sacrifice his new friends so that he might live.  Of course, if
   Morrigan is not here by tonight, that decision will no longer be his so we
   shall see what he thinks is more important.  Come, Louis."
          Nicolas left for his chambers, taking the unresisting Louis with
   him.
          "When the sun sets, mon ami," Nicolas hissed in his ear.  "We will
   talk."

-----------------------------------------------------------
Time:  nearly sunset.
-----------------------------------------------------------

          "That is out of the question!" Michael's face was dark red.  "There
   is no way that I will allow--"
          "But if they will die I don't see how I can stay," Morrigan said.
          "We will figure out another way," Elliott said.  "It is folly for
   us to even think of taking the chance of letting them have you."
          "If they want me, I don't see how it will matter if I go willingly
   or not.  This way, at least I spare our friends," tears formed in
   Morrigan's eyes.  "At least, those who are left."
          Those around the table grew silent.  Finally Elliott spoke.  "Do
   you think what that mortal said was true?  Is Lestat really dead?"
          "I can't believe it," Mona said.  "I won't."
          "Whether Lestat is dead or not," Michael said, "it is still clear
   that they are capable of great harm.  Morrigan cannot be allowed anywhere
   near them.  Or Mona for that matter."
          "But what will we do?" Mona asked.  "The others clearly need help
   but we cannot leave Morrigan alone to go help them.  And even with Daniel
   and David, we're a woefully small group."
          "There are other vampires," Elliott said.  "When Daniel and David
   wake up they can contact them and then we will have help."
          "What if the others are on the opposite side of the world?"
   Morrigan asked.  "They could be asleep until the sun rises here and then
   it will be too late."
          "We will have to take that chance," Michael said.
          "I can't accept that," Morrigan said.
          Michael put his arm around her.  "I know it's hard for you, honey.
    It's hard for all of us.  We're all worried about them.  But right now
   this is all we can do.  You understand?"
          Morrigan grew quiet for a moment, then nodded her head.  "Alright,
   Father, if I must."
          "There's a good girl," Michael said.  He kissed her on the cheek
   then let her go.
          "It's rather stuffy in here, does anyone mind if I go out in the
   garden for a moment?" Morrigan asked.  "There are guards out there, I
   should be safe."
          "That's fine," Michael said.  "But stay close to the house."
          "Of course," Morrigan said.  She got up from her chair and left
   through the back door.
          The guards nodded their heads as she passed.  They'd doubled the
   security ever since the others had left.  There wasn't a corner she could
   go to without seeing one of the uniformed figures.  She walked over to the
   old oak tree.  Though it was split in two, she could still find some
   shelter there from the prying eyes of the guards.  She stood there,
   watching as the light faded with the setting sun.
          A shadow stepped out of the trees.  "Do you truly want to stay
   here?"
          Morrigan shook her head.  "I can't stay here.  But they won't let
   me go."
          "Well then, I guess we won't ask for their permission this time now
   will we?"
          Morrigan laughed, partly out of nervousness.  "I guess not.  We
   should go now, while the guards aren't looking."
          "Fine."
          Morrigan stepped forward, then pulled back.  "This won't hurt me,
   will it?  I've never traveled in this way before, is it safe?"
          "Perfectly.  All you have to do is hold on tight and let me do all
   the work.  We'll be in Rio before you know it."
          "Are you sure?" she asked.
          "Positive.  You just have to trust me."
          "Alright," she said.  She checked one last time for the guards,
   then put her arms around the one before her.  "I trust you, David.  After
   all, why shouldn't I?"
          "Why indeed?" David asked, smiling at her gently.  He put his arms
   around her waist and the two of them disappeared into the darkening night
   sky.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Time:  immediately after sunset.
---------------------------------------------------------------

	 Nicolas's eyes opened the precise second that his body felt the
last ray of the sun disappear from his corner of the earth.  He
immediately got out of bed and went into Louis' room.  The other vampire
was still asleep.  Having no patience for this, Nicolas took him by the
arm and dragged him into the other room, caring little whether Louis woke
as he did so or not. 
	 He did wake up and the green eyes stared at him silently from
underneath his dark lashes.  Louis looked much as he did the night Nicolas
had first met him.  His hair was undone, his clothes had been torn and his
eyes seemed devoid of any human emotion.  But those were Nicolas's clothes
and it was Nicolas who had taken him in and offered him the safety of his
Temple and Louis had taken and taken and then given his betrayal in
return. 
	 "Is that what you think it is?" Louis asked.  "That *I* have
betrayed *you*?  You who have spoken nothing but lies to me from the very
moment you saw me?" 
	 "Stop reading my thoughts!" Nicolas snapped. 
	 "They escape from you just like everything else you try to
control," Louis said. 
	 "Lestat certainly didn't escape from me," Nicolas said.  Louis
flinched at this and Nicolas took the opportunity to try to force his way
into Louis' mind.  He didn't get far before Louis shoved him out but he
had gotten far enough to discover one thing. 
	 "You *loved* him!" Nicolas gasped in shock.  "How could you, Louis?
After all that he has done to us how could you side with him!" 
	 "I'm beginning to think that you'll never understand," Louis said. 
	 "Understand?  Understand?  What am I to understand, Louis?  That
after all his selfish evil and all the words you have spoken to me of how
you long for the truth that all this time you have been living this sick,
incestous lie!" Nicolas rubbed his hands and began to pace.  "It's no
wonder that you've lived this long.  All this time you've been slutting
yourself to the strongest vampire around so that you'll get their
protection.  Armand, Lestat, now me." 
	 "I never *slutted* myself anywhere!"  Louis said.  "And only
someone as sick as you could look at my bonds of love, yes love, to Armand
and Lestat and see it as something parasitic.  I offered my friendship and
trust to you and what do you do?  Take the first chance you get to kill
the one who made you, who made us both!"  Louis made a dismissive gesture
with his hand.  "How sad you truly are, Nicolas.  For all your talk of
your precious 'new rule' all that it comes down to in the end is petty
revenge.  The Lover Scorned.  I expected more from a man of your
intelligence.  I clearly overestimated you." 
	 "How dare you!"  Nicolas moved as though to attack Louis but Louis
didn't even blink.  He abandoned this and went back to absentmindedly
rubbing his hands.  "You have no idea of what I have done, of the work I
have accomplished! Do you think that tricking you here was the be all and
end all of my preparations?  This is the work of centuries!  It took *my*
work for Cleopatra to come back from her near death, *my* efforts to break
into the Talamasca, *my* research to discover that vampires could call
spirits such as Lasher, *my* planning to render Ash infertile and *my*
influence for Morrigan to even exist in the first place!" 
	 "As I understand it," Louis said wryly, "Michael and Mona had more
of a say in that then you did." 
	 "Ha!" Nicolas said.  "Do you think that goody-two shoes Michael
would have laid a hand on his 13 year old niece if I hadn't been outside
of the window pressuring him to do it?  It was my presence Mona felt that
night, not Lasher's." 
	 Louis frowned.  "What of Julian?" 
	 Nicolas waved that off.  "I care little for the ramblings of
ghosts.  All that mattered to me was that the female Taltos be made.  Of
course, after Michael destroyed Lasher's body, I had to rethink my plans
but Aiken proved more than willing to help and, as you already know,
Lasher was quite grateful when I brought his spirit form back from the
void." 
	 "All this effort so that you can kill us and create a legion of
Taltos to turn the world to your 'new rule'?" Louis asked.  "Armand was
wrong.  You're not an Akasha groupie, you're a Juliano groupie.  You've
mixed your ideas of revenge with an insane scheme of world conquest and
you expect everyone else to follow you as though you were the Pied Piper. 
Well forgive me, Nicolas, but I've too much of a rational mind to go along
for the journey." 
	 "You went along with it when you thought it suited you," Nicolas
said. "So long as you never had to lift a finger and expend a little
effort you went along with it just fine.  Your problem is that you are not
a man of real action." 
	 Louis' green eyes narrowed.  "Do not tempt me into action,
Nicolas, for I will give you your just reward for attacking Lestat!" 
	 "I'll kill you first," Nicolas said. 
	 "If I die," Louis said, "I'll drag you into Hell with me." 
	 "I've been to Hell," Nicolas said.  "I know more of Hell than you
ever will.  It is time, I think, for Hell to pay Earth a little visit." 
	 A knock at the door startled them both.  Cleopatra entered. 
"Nicolas," she said.  "The Talamasca fledgling has arrived and he has
brought the Taltos girl with him." 
	 "No," Louis said.  "I can't believe that.  David would never do
such a thing." 
	 "The Talamasca does many things that would surprise you, Louis,"
Nicolas said.  "I have found some of my best assistance from them." 
	 "David isn't Talamasca," Louis said.  "He's a vampire now.  He left
them for Lestat." 
	 "And yet he's acting in his own self-interest," Nicolas said.  "How
unusual for someone who agreed with Lestat to act selfishly." 
	 Louis looked away. 
	 "What do you want me to do with the girl?" Cleopatra asked.  "Leave
her alone with Aiken?" 
	 "What indeed?" Nicolas said.  "This is truly the beginning, we must
do something to mark it."  He turned to Louis.  "What do you think we
should do, Louis?  How shall we ring in the new order?  Come, tell me and
redeem yourself." 
	 Louis stared at him icily.  "If you think that my redemption lies
with you," he said, "you're more insane than I thought." 
	 The pain in his hands was all the kept Nicolas from lashing out at
Louis. "You go too far!" he said.  "You have pushed me past the point of
any forgiveness.  I sever all ties with you as of right now, Louis.  You
are as *nothing* to me.  I only regret that I ever gave you my blood." 
	 "Well," Louis said as he bit into his palm, "Allow me to rectify
that." He slapped his bloody hand across Nicolas's face, leaving a bright
red smear over it. 
	 Nicolas screamed in rage.  He grabbed Louis by the hand and threw
him against the wall.  He held him there with his weight, twisting Louis'
arm painfully.  "Is this what you like?" he asked.  "The pain?  Is that
what you want?  Do you miss Juliano that much?  Fine!  You shall have
him!" 
	 He released Louis and turned to Cleopatra.  "We shall ring in the
new order as is befitting this Temple and have a Memnoch Sabbat.  Aiken
will start the birth of the new Taltos right after we end the death of the
old vampires. Starting with Louis.  He shall die just as his beloved
Lestat did.  The scythe then the fire!  In fact, let's have a grand
sacrifice.  Gather all our prisoners together, including those two girls
that we got earlier.  They shall all die tonight." 
	 "No!" Cleopatra said.  "Ramses and Julie are *mine*!  You promised
that I could do with them as I pleased." 
	 "So?" Nicolas asked.  "You were going to kill them anyway.  What
does it matter if I do it now?"  Nicolas brushed past Cleopatra as he left
the room. "Do what you must to prepare but we will have this ceremony
before the night is over.  And, Louis," he said, pausing at the door, "You
should be nice to me or I might not scatter your ashes.  Imagine living
the rest of eternity in that monstrous shape.  I don't think you'd like
it." 
	 Nicolas left then, his mind swimming in the idea of the Sabbat. 
As he closed the door to his chambers behind him, he heard Louis say
"Cleopatra, please listen to me." but he ignored it.  *Let Louis try to
get away,* he thought.  *He won't get anywhere and his failure will make
his death all the sweeter.*

--------------------------------------------------------------

	 As he stepped out onto the alter hours later, Nicolas could not
help but think that Juliano had known what he was doing when he created
this.  The feeling of Power that he got as he walked to the center of the
alter was like nothing he had ever felt before. 
	 To his left was Morrigan, tied spread-eagled to the large wooden
table in the middle of the alter.  To his right was Louis.  He had not
been tied down though a steel bar had been bent around his wrists which
were held together behind his back.  His long, dark hair spilled forward,
hiding his eyes from view.  Nicolas ignored him and turned his attention
to the others. 
	 When he'd rebuilt the Temple he designed the alter so that it
could be raised from the ground whenever he desired and as he looked down
at the supernatural beings beneath him, he was glad that he'd thought of
it.  The vampires had all been given Trevor's formula and the others had
been bled but Trevor's formula had a nasty habit of wearing off and who
knew how effective bleeding was in disabling the others?  The last thing
he needed was for one of them to attack the alter at the wrong moment. 
>From the looks of the Temple, they'd put up quite a fight.  Nicolas was
glad that he had not had to deal with it.  The alter was now high enough
that they could not even reach it if they jumped.  Mortal guards were
lined up along the sides of the Temple in case they tried.  Cleopatra,
Lasher and Aiken stood at the far end of the Temple, waiting for his
signal as well. 
	 He then checked to make sure that all his enemies were there. 
Marius, Armand, Rowan and Ash stood together in one group.  Ramses and
Julie were slightly apart from the others as Ramses cradled the weak Julie
on the floor. Jesse stood next to them, supported by another vampire. 
Though Nicolas had never seen this vampire before, he knew who it was. 
	 "David," he said.  "You've changed since I saw you last.  In more
ways than one.  Though, ironically, age is not one of them." 
	 "You *know* him, David?" Marius looked stunned. 
	 "We met, briefly," David said.  "Decades ago.  I had only just
joined the Order when he approached me and asked if I wanted to help him. 
I turned him down.  I knew he was a vampire but I didn't know who he was. 
I reported it to my superior, though strangely nothing came of it." 
	 "That's because your superior was already working for me," Nicolas
said. "Too bad you didn't do the same.  You might have been able to live
past this night.  You do understand, don't you, why I have to kill you.  I
do appreciate that you brought Morrigan to me but if you think that it
would appease me and keep you alive, you were mistaken." 
	 "I had my reasons," David said.  "A conversion to your beliefs was
not one of them." 
	 "Indeed," Nicolas said.  He turned to Louis then.  He took Louis by
the chin and pulled his head up so that he faced him.  "And you?  Now that
your final death is upon you, do you feel a need to convert, my Lady
Jane?" 
	 "Your comparision is an apt one, Nicolas," Louis said.  "For I will
not join you." 
	 "And so you shall die," Nicolas said.  "But, unlike the others,
your death will not be a sacrifice.  For your betrayal to me and the new
order, you shall be executed." 
	 "Is that your executioner?" Louis asked as he looked over Nicolas's
shoulder towards something behind him. 
	 Nicolas followed Louis' gaze and saw a figure standing at the back
of the alter.  He was dressed in a monk's habit with the cowl pulled far
enough forward so that, like the executioners of old, his face could not
be seen.  He held the scythe in his hand and Nicolas could see that the
blade was still red from Lestat's blood.  Nicolas smiled.  Cleopatra had
done well. 
	 "Yes he is," Nicolas said.  He left Louis and walked over to
Morrigan. She squirmed in her bonds.  Nicolas laid a hand on her leg to
calm her.  "Easy my dear.  I know that the scent of Aiken must be driving
you insane but you will have him soon.  There is only this business to
attend to and then he can come forward and fill you with his child.  But
first, the unpleasent details." 
	 Nicolas stepped back and addressed everyone in the Temple.  "The
vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac has been charged and found guilty of
multiple crimes of deceit and betrayal.  For this he has been sentenced
unto death.  Has the condemned anything to say on his behalf?" 
	 Louis squared his shoulders and remained silent. 
	 "Fine," Nicolas said.  "The Executioner shall now do his duty.  May
the Devil take no mercy on your soul." 
	 A silence descended upon the Temple.  Those below the alter
watched as though paralyzed.  Only Jesse made an attempt to move but David
held her back, shaking his head as he did so. 
	 Nicolas watched this with delight.  His every nerve was on fire as
he thought of the scythe slicing through the neck of the beautiful bastard
Louis. In fact, he could almost feel the scythe against his own neck.  It
wasn't until he moved back slightly that he realized that it was. 
	 "Ever get the feeling oh, right about here--" the point of the
scythe rubbed up against the base of his skull "--that you've forgotten
something?" 
	 Nicolas whirled around in shock.  His executioner was right there. 
The hand that was not holding the scythe reached up and removed the cowl. 
	 "Hello, lover," Lestat said.  "Miss me?" 
	 "You're dead!" Nicolas cried.  He tried to move away but found
himself backed up against the table.  "I saw you die!  *He* said you were
dead!" Nicolas jerked his head towards Louis, Louis who had ripped the
steel bar apart easily and was now standing freely. 
	 "I believe you are mistaken," Louis said.  "I said *if* Lestat was
dead then I would want to die too.  As you can see, my words were true
from the start.  As for the rest of it," Louis shrugged, an evil grin
shaping his lips, "you believed what you wanted to." 
	 "Then die now!" Nicolas cried.  "Guards--" 
	 "Stay right were you are unless you want to see your fearless
leader's head detached from his shoulders," Lestat said, holding the full
blade of the scythe against Nicolas's neck.  The guards halted. 
	 "How?" Nicolas asked.  "I saw you die!" 
	 "It was a *trick*," Lestat said.  He shook his head in amazement.
"Honestly, Nicki, you need to get out more.  That has to be the most basic
disappearing act in the book.  A bright flash of light then poof!  Hell,
watch David Copperfield or Penn and Teller for goodness sake!  I didn't
even do it well!  Even Louis knew I wasn't dead.  Although, I'll admit, he
had it easy.  He knew it because I let him know beforehand.  You know,
Louis, that little bond of ours really comes in handy." 
	 "No argument there," Louis said with a smile. 
	 "What about the ashes?" Nicolas demanded.  "If that wasn't you then
what was it?" 
	 "Are you still harping on this?" Lestat asked.  "Gods, even
Doubting Thomas needed less proof than you.  The ashes weren't even part
of it, that happened by accident." 
	 "How?" 
	 Lestat rolled his eyes.  "Does it look like I'm wearing the same
outfit? Here's a quick scientific fact for you:  when you set clothes on
fire, they burn!  That sun wasn't gentle on my blood-drained skin you
know." 
	 "So long as something hurt you," Nicolas said.  "I'm satisfied." 
	 "I'll give you satisfaction," Lestat said.  He drew the scythe back
then sliced forward.  Nicolas dove out of the way and the blade cut
through the bonds around Morrigan's legs.  Lestat then reached up and cut
the ones around her hands.  "Get up, cherie.  Oncle Lestat and Oncle
Nicolas have some work to do. Louis, I'm sure you can take care of things
here." 
	 "Of course," Louis said as he helped Morrigan get up from the
table.  He fixed a cold stare on the Temple.  "I can more than take care
of it." 
	 "Perfect," Lestat said.  He took off the rest of the robe so that
he was dressed only in the shirt, pants and boots beneath it.  "Now
then--" he grabbed Nicolas by the throat and bared his fangs.  "Shall we
have a vampire's duel?" 
	 Without waiting for a reply, Lestat flung Nicolas up into the air. 
He crashed through the ceiling of the Temple and landed on the roof. 
After giving Louis a quick glance, Lestat followed. 
	 The roof of the Temple, though it had been rebuilt, was covered
with moss that flourished in the moist rainforest environment.  Lestat
found that he had to struggle to keep his balance on the slippery
vegetation.  Nicolas was nowhere in sight and Lestat cursed the fact that
he could not read the mind of his vampire child and locate him. 
	 "No I didn't actually."  A burst of pain exploded in his head as
Nicolas struck him with one of the large building stones that littered the
Temple roof. Lestat fell and rolled away, springing to his feet once he
knew he was out of range. 
	 "*What*?" Lestat asked. 
	 "Miss you," Nicolas said.  He lept forward and knocked Lestat flat
onto the roof.  "You asked if I did and I didn't." 
	 "I asked you that three topics ago!" Lestat said as he struck
Nicolas across the face.  "It's no wonder our relationship failed.  You
have the worst communication skills I've ever seen.  Anyway, I'm not that
thrilled to see you either so we're even." 
	 "Our 'relationship'," Nicolas slammed Lestat's head onto the edge
of one of the loose stones, "failed because you are a selfish, evil
bastard who doesn't deserve to live!" 
	 "Typical," Lestat brought his knee up hard enough to make Nicolas
fly off of him.  "It always has to be something dramatic with you.  You
couldn't call me a jerk, I had to be a selfish, evil bastard who doesn't
deserve to live.  You know, that annoyed the hell out of me when we were
living together.  If you weren't such a good lay I would have left you
years before I actually did." 
	 "Fine," Nicolas said.  He ripped one of the thick vines from the
Temple roof and began snapping it at Lestat with such frequency that he
was barely able to duck out of the way each time.  "How about if I say
that it failed because you were a drunken lush that couldn't keep his
pants on?" 
	 "You'd be getting closer to being accurate." Lestat held up his arm
and let the vine wrap around it tightly.  He grabbed on with his other
hand and jerked on it with enough force to make Nicolas loose his bearings
and fall off the side of the roof.  Lestat looked over the edge so that he
could see Nicolas dangling from the end of the vine.  "However, if any one
of us was a lush, it was you.  Or do I have to remind you how many times
you couldn't perform because you were too drunk?  And I don't mean play
your violin!  Gods, if I had to give you the 'No, Nicki, it's ok.  I
understand.  It happens to all of us.' speech *one* more time I think I
would have gone insane." Lestat grinned.  "No offense." 
	 "The very fact that you exist offends me," Nicolas snarled.  He
reached out with one hand and braced himself against the temple wall.  He
kicked with a booted foot and pushed himself back onto the roof, shoving
Lestat down onto his back as he did so. 
	 "*Again* with the drama," Lestat said.  He took Nicolas by the
shoulders and twisted so that the dark haired vampire was now underneath
him.  "Couldn't we just agree to disagree?" 
	 "Never!" Nicolas rolled over and pinned Lestat underneath him.  He
picked up another one of the loose stones and held it high.  "Not until I
see you dead and having your skull crushed to pieces suits that need just
fine!" 
	
	 Louis felt the alter begin its descent back down to the floor of
the Temple as soon as Lestat had left.  It was almost as if the force of
Lestat flying had pushed the alter but Louis knew that wasn't the reason. 
Ash came forward to get Morrigan as soon as she was within reach.  A
movement at the back of the Temple caught Louis' eye. 
	 "Don't come a step further!" Louis said. 
	 "She's mine!" Aiken said.  "She was promised to me and I will be
damned if Ashlar will have her!" 
	 "Test my patience and find yourself truly damned," Louis said. 
	 "Oh really?" Aiken sneered.  He pulled out a knife that he had
hidden on him. 
	 "I warn you," Louis said. 
	 "Stay away from her!" Ash said, standing between Morrigan and the
small man. 
	 Aiken ignored them both.  He lashed out with the knife, aiming for
Ashlar's heart.  Just as he was about to hit his mark he was lifted up as
though by an invisible hand and thrown against the back wall.  He was
killed instantly. 
	 "Anyone else care to try me?" Louis asked. 
	 "I do," Lasher said.  He made a motion with his hand and the mortal
guards that had been lined up against the walls drew their weapons and
advanced towards those gathered on the Temple floor. 
	 Louis made a sweeping motion with his hand and the guards were
pushed back in a tide until they were shoved helpless against the walls. 
	 "Impressive," Lasher said.  "But can you do this?"  A wind began to
run through the Temple with hurricane force.  The huge statues of Memnoch
were tipped over onto the floor and those in the Temple had to scramble
for safety. One statue would have crushed David if Marius had not pulled
him out of the way in time. 
	 "Oh, Lasher," Rowan called.  She held up the emerald necklace. 
"Aren't you forgetting something?" 
	 Lasher stopped the wind at the sight of the old jewel.  "Give that
to me!" 
	 "I don't think so," Rowan said.  She tossed it over to Louis who
took hold of it with his mind and smashed it into dust. 
	 Lasher cried out in a telepathic howl.  "You will pay for that
crime!" he said but he quickly vanished from sight. 
	 The mortal guards beagan to stagger to their feet.  They looked
around for some form of leadership but all they could find was the dead
body of Aiken. Cleopatra was nowhere to be found. 
	 "Here it is," Louis said, "and I will only say it once.  This
temple is going to be destroyed.  I give all of you a fifteen minute head
start before I begin.  Jesse, go down to the hospital and get rid of the
mortals there.  Take Marius with you." 
	 David stepped forward.  "Louis, are you sure that's--" 
	 Louis fixed him with a dead stare.  "Fourteen minutes," he said. 
"Get. Out." 

	 Nicolas brought the stone down sharply.  Lestat's hand shot out
and caught Nicolas's before the stone could touch him. 
	 "I don't think so," Lestat said.  He squeezed his hand tightly
around Nicolas's and noticed as the other vampire shut his eyes in pain. 
"Oh, does that hurt you?" 
	 "Let go you son of a bitch," Nicolas snarled. 
	 "You watch what you say about Gabrielle," Lestat said.  He released
his grip on him.  Nicolas dropped the stone he was holding in favor of
nursing his pain-filled hand.  "In fact, you watch what you do in general. 
You've made nothing but a nuisance of yourself ever since you returned. 
But I'm a bigger man than you so let me help you forget the pain of having
mortal hands." 
	 "How?" Nicolas gasped. 
	 "Like this," Lestat said.  He took hold of Nicolas's left hand,
massaged it with his fingers then grabbed a loose stone and rammed the
sharp end right through the palm, pinning the hand to the roof. 
	 Nicolas screamed.  He held on to his left arm and kicked at the
stone but only managed to rip the hand itself off in the process.  His arm
snapped back reflexively with enough momentum to carry him across the roof
until he fell through the very hole that his body created when he came up
in the first place. He heard even more bones snap as his body hit the
Temple floor. 
	 "So, you've come back," Louis said.  He was still standing on the
alter. Nicolas looked around wildly but could see no one else.  Lestat
came back down and landed with ease next to Louis. 
	 "I see you've got things here under control," Lestat said. 
	 "I do," Louis said.  "I've been quite busy since you left.  In
fact, I even learned a few things." 
	 Lestat looked interested.  "Oh really?  What sort of things?" 
	 "All sorts of useful things," Louis said.  He went over to one of
the idols on the alter.  "Like this for example.  Did you know that not
only does it open the Temple roof--" Louis pushed the idol and the roof of
the Temple opened to let in the faint rays of the rising sun "--but it
also manipulates the sunlight?"  Louis turned the idol and the faint rays
sharpened into a thin but powerful beam. 
	 "The light does not hurt me," Nicolas said. 
	 "Oh but it does," Louis said.  "Or have you forgotten:  'Louis,
please! It took a great amount of effort to rebuild this temple.  I'd like
to keep it for a bit longer before you turn it back into ashes.' That
wasn't the reason why you pulled back!  You shielded yourself because of
the firelight.  You couldn't stand how bright it had gotten.  Now then, if
the light of a simple fire could make you react so, I wonder what the
intensified light of the sun would do to you?"  Louis gave the idol
another twist and the beam of light moved towards Nicolas. 
	 Nicolas scrambled backwards until he hit the back wall of the
Temple. The beam of light went from one side of the Temple to the other,
barring any escape.  The back doors were locked shut.  There was no way
out.  Louis waited until the beam was only an inch away from hitting him
before letting it stop. 
	 "As you can see, Nicki," Lestat said, "Louis and I are *very*
disappointed in you.  Trying to rule the world we could understand but
trying to separate us?  Never!" 
	 "Quite unforgiveable," Louis said.  "You sealed your own fate with
that, really." 
	 "You can't stop me this easily," Nicolas said.  He cradled the
stump of his arm in his lap and tried to glare at Louis and Lestat but the
light of the sun was too blinding.  He squinted his eyes and saw a figure
emerge from one of the side doors.  She walked out directly in the beam of
the sun and stood inside of it as she addressed him. 
	 "Nicki, Nicki, Nicki," Cleopatra said.  "Look at what has become of
you! How unfortunate.  Louis was not given Trevor's formula and the mortal
that was to be the executioner turns out to be Lestat, come for his
revenge.  Why, you'd think that someone deliberately set you up." 
	 "You whore!" Nicolas said.  "How could you?" 
	 "You shouldn't have gone back on your word," she said.  "Making an
enemy of me is such a bad thing to do."  She turned and faced Louis.  "Our
truce ends here, vampire.  We both got what we wanted.  But I warn you,
Ramses and his friends are now free game to me." 
	 "I understand," Louis said.  He smiled, suddenly.  "Of course, I
shall warn them accordingly now." 
	 "Of course," Cleopatra said.  She gave Nicolas one last look of
disgust before leaving.  "I'm bored here.  I think I'll go take a walk. 
After all, it's supposed to be a nice, sunny day." 
	 "She has a point, Louis," Lestat said.  "Let's end this now so we
can go home." 
	 "Agreed," Louis said.  He turned the idol once again and Nicolas
screamed as he was bathed in the beam of light. 
	 "So nice to have our final farewell," Lestat said. 
	 "I'm afraid not, brother," Lasher appeared.  "Cleopatra might not
have any further need of him but I do.  You cannot have him, just yet." 
	 Lasher took Nicolas in his arms and flew up into the air,
disappearing through the opening in the Temple roof. 
	 "Dammit!" Lestat yelled.  He was about to go after them when a
strong hand held him back. 
	 "Forget it, Lestat," Jesse said.  "It's too late.  The sun will be
completely up soon and then where will we be?  He's undoubtedly in the
ground already.  We'll just have to wait for another time." 
	 "She's right," Marius said.  "Nicolas's immediate threat has been
stopped.  Our own safety is now our prime priority.  If we leave now, we
can get back to New Orleans before the sun rises there." 
	 "Fine," Lestat sighed.  "If we must.  Come on, Louis." 
	 "No," Louis said. 
	 "What?" 
	 "I have to finish this," he said.  "Jesse, did you clear out the
hospital?" 
	 "Yes," she said.  "We didn't find Trevor but we were able to get
rid of the other mortals left here." 
	 "Good," Louis said.  He stared out at the empty Temple.  "You go
now. I'll take care of this." 
	 "Yes," Lestat said.  "We'll meet you--" 
	 "You too, Lestat." 
	 Lestat looked stunned.  "Louis, why can't I stay?" 
	 Louis turned to look directly at him.  "I have to do this myself,"
he said softly.  "Go.  I'll join you soon.  I promise." 
	 Jesse took Lestat by the arm.  "Come on, let's go.  We need to get
back to New Orleans ASAP and I need a ride.  Marius is still too weak to
carry me." 
	 Lestat frowned, distracted by her presence.  "Can't you fly on
your own?" 
	 "I haven't fed in so long that I can hardly *walk*," she replied. 
"Now be the gentlemen you pretend to be and carry me." 
	 "Sure," Lestat said.  He put his arm around her waist and waited as
Marius rose up through the Temple roof.  He looked questioningly at Louis,
who had returned to looking out at the Temple itself, then rose up into
the air as well.  Though he directed his body northwest, he could not help
but look back at the temple as a thunderous roar came from it and the
great building collapsed in a cloud of dust. 

---------------------------------------------------------------
Time: early evening, the next night.
---------------------------------------------------------------

	 Louis stood on the street corner, hidden in the shadows, and
watched the activity through the windows of the Mayfair House.  He could
not help but wonder if Lasher had stood on this very spot and performed
this very action.  Of course, Lasher's intent had been to get inside of
the house.  Right now, Louis' was to get away from it.  He hadn't gone
inside yet, the only building in New Orleans that he'd gone into upon his
return was the Rue Royale flat so that he might change out of Nicolas's
clothes and back into his own.  It had felt good to put on his own
clothes.  He could wear them and feel them next to his skin and know that
he was home and closer to himself. 
	 But the flat had been empty so Louis came here.  He didn't find
what he was looking for and he wanted to go after it.  He wasn't sure,
though, if he shouldn't go inside first.  Those inside were undoubtedly
wondering about him. He wished that he dared scan the house to see if they
truly needed him now or if he could disappear for a little while longer
but he didn't want to take the chance that they would discover him out
here and make him come inside if he didn't have to, just yet. 
	 "Don't bother."  Louis turned to see Ramses walking up the street. 
The ancient immortal came up to the younger vampire and watched the house
with him. "Right now they are too busy to need you with them." 
	 "What are they doing?" Louis asked. 
	 "Rowan is trying to see if she can discover what Ash was given to
render him sterile and from that try to find the cure.  Some of the others
from your--how do you call it?  Coven?" 
	 Louis nodded. 
	 "From your coven came to see Jessica.  Most everyone is talking
about what should be done next now that we know that our enemies are out
there. Others are very interested in the nature of the 'bond' that you and
Lestat have and will not talk of anything else but the scientific
implications of it." Ramses gave Louis a sympathetic glance.  "I can see
why the two of you kept the details to yourselves.  Those inside are truly
removing the romance from the idea.  As for me, I have no immediate plans
so I decided to go for a walk." 
	 Louis was suddenly concerned.  "Ramses, do you understand why I
did what I did?  Why I had to?"  Louis meant Cleopatra. 
	 "Yes," Ramses nodded solemnly.  He meant all of it.  "No one can
really judge another, Louis.  All that we can do is live our lives and
make our decisions and hope that we have done the best that we can.  You
need not look at me that way, I know that you were referring to Cleopatra. 
But how can I condemn you for letting her go unless I first condemn myself
for not letting her die? Our choices in this life are not simple.  We do
what we feel we must and try to go on for as long as we can." 
	 "Will you go now?" Louis asked.  "Cleopatra made it very clear that
she did not wish to be with Nicolas again, there is no longer a common
enemy to unite us." 
	 "If there was one lesson to be learned from all of this," Ramses
said, "it is that we should not have needed a common enemy to unite us. 
We--all of us--have spent too many years closing ourselves off from others
and thinking that we are alone in what we are.  We should not need enemies
and common hatred to bring us together.  The ties that bind us should be
those of friendship and love.  By giving us this lesson, our enemies gave
us new strength as well." 
	 Louis nodded.  "There were many lessons to be learned here. 
However, I'm afraid most of them were meant for me.  Now I must prove that
they were not wasted and risk losing that which means the most to me." 
	 Ramses smiled, kindly.  "Lestat is not here." 
	 "But he was here, not long ago, yes?" Louis asked. 
	 "Yes," Ramses said.  "He left about a half hour ago after Ryan came
by to show him some papers.  I don't know where he went though." 
	 "I do," Louis said.  He looked back at the house and shifted
uncertainly in his place. 
	 "Go," Ramses said.  "Be with your lover.  That's what you need
right now." 
	 "What if the others--" 
	 "If the others ask, I will say that I never saw you," Ramses smiled
again, more broadly.  "How could I?  I was out for a walk." 
	 "Thank you," Louis said.  He returned Ramses' smile then vanished
into the dark night. 

	 When he had read the address back in Nicolas's chambers, he had
not recognized it.  But now that he was approaching the building, he
remembered it. 
	 It had been an orphanage, years ago.  Back when tricorne hats were
still in style and the only revolution that anyone cared about was
happening overseas. Louis had been living with Lestat in New Orleans when
he first saw it.  He'd loved the old building--new then.  It reminded him
of the grand plantation that he had grown up on. 
	 Louis hardly recognized the building as he approached.  Workmen's
tools and powerful machines littered the grounds.  The outside facade had
been torn away and a new one was in the process of being put up.  This was
a renovation of a grand scale. 
	 The front door was unlocked when he tried it, though he could see
the wires around it that would soon become part of the expensive home
security system.  The front hall was full of scaffolding and paint cans
and drywall. What little furniture there was had been covered by drop
cloths.  It occured to him to wonder why anyone would bother to undertake
such a large and cumbersome project. 
	 Though he had never been inside the building, he was able to find
his way through the mess of construction to the one place he needed to be. 
He found Lestat in what had to be the largest room of the entire house,
sitting on top of the drop cloth on one of the couches.  Lestat looked up
when Louis entered the room and Louis was about to speak when the full
impact of the room hit him. 
	 Whatever it had been in the past, it was a library now.  It
covered two full stories and shelves filled every wall save for the two
enormous fireplaces on each end and the three arched windows which ran
right up to the ceiling. There were boxes all around and when Louis looked
inside one of the open ones, he saw that the books inside were all
leatherbound copies of his favorite authors. 
	 "For me," Louis whispered.  "You did all of this, for me." 
	 "For us," Lestat said.  "But mostly you." 
	 "I thought you wanted to leave me," Louis said. 
	 "I thought you wanted me to go," Lestat replied. 
	 "Oh God," Louis sighed.  He sank down onto the couch, taking
Lestat's arm and putting it around his shoulders as he did so.  "We're
doing it again, aren't we?" 
	 "That would imply that we ever stopped," Lestat said.  "I hate to
say it, but this is status quo for us." 
	 "I know," Louis said.  He put his head on Lestat's shoulder.  "I
hate this.  I don't want to spend the rest of my life misunderstanding
you." 
	 "It's not that much of a thrill for me either, you know," Lestat
said. He propped his feet up on one of the boxes.  "Why do we keep doing
this?  Why can't we take the easy way for once?" 
	 "We're hardly 'easy' loving people, Lestat," Louis said.  "*You*
would climb up the outside of a building rather than use the elevator
whereas *I*.... I fall madly in love with you rather than settling down,
getting married, having 18 children and an ulcer by the time I'm 30 then
dying of a heart attack." 
	 "Interesting plan for life you had before you met me," Lestat said.
"Would the heart attack be from the ulcer or the children?" 
	 "Neither," Louis said.  "They were fashionable at the time.  All
the men my age were having them." 
	 "I see, and if all the men your age were jumping off a bridge would
you?" 
	 "Ask my mother," Louis said.  "She was the one who cared about that
sort of thing." 
	 "So it was your mother who wanted you to have a heart attack?"
Lestat raised an eyebrow.  Louis nodded.  "And I thought *I* had it rough. 
All my father wanted was for me to sleep with women more often.  That was
a lot easier to do than get a fatal disease." 
	 Louis laughed.  "Well, you can't say I didn't try.  First I tried
drinking but that didn't do it.  Then I met you but that gave *her* a
heart attack." 
	 "You're kidding," Lestat said. 
	 "Oh no," Louis said.  He forced himself to look as serious as he
could. "She didn't get one literally, but she suspected my feelings for
you long before I did and faked one quite admirably.  Then she kept trying
to convert me everytime I saw her.  I began to think my real name was
'Louis you're 30 years old and not married and you're never going to
settle down if you keep seeing that so-called business partner of yours
and you're running your poor old mother into her grave'." 
	 Lestat howled in the throws of a full-blown laughing fit.  "Stop
it!  I can't breathe!" he gasped. 
	 Louis held his sides and tried to take a few deep breaths himself.
"Of-of course," he panted.  "For company it was shortened to 'My son
Louis, who is, you know, *that* way'." 
	 "Shut up!" Lestat warned.  He tried to look stern and failed. 
Louis imitated the look and they both collapsed into helpless laughter. 
	 "You know," Lestat said long after the last giggle had died away,
"I think I gave you the Dark Gift just for that moment." 
	 "It's as good a reason as any," Louis said.  He brushed a stray
lock of hair out of his eyes and looked around him.  "I think I accepted
it just for this room." 
	 "You really like it then?" Lestat asked. 
	 "Yes," Louis smiled.  "Though I have to ask:  two fireplaces? 
Won't that be too much for the typical New Orleans heat?" 
	 Lestat pointed to the vents in the ceiling.  "Air conditioning,"
he said. "By the time the work on this is finished we could raise penguins
in this room if we wanted to." 
	 "You think of everything," Louis said.  "Is the rest of the house
like this?" 
	 "It will be, once it's done," Lestat said.  "I can show you the
plans if you'd like.  Every room will be tailored just for us and it will
be filled with everything you like.  It was going to be an anniversary
present for you." 
	 "Anniversary?" Louis looked at him questioningly. 
	 "Yes, of the night I first set eyes on you," Lestat said. 
	 "You really do love me, don't you?" Louis whispered. 
	 "I do," Lestat said.  "Do--" 
	 "Yes," Louis said.  "I love you too.  Dear God, Lestat, we've got
to stop doing this.  We've got to stop hiding how we feel and pretending
that we know what's going on when we don't and never challenging it and
never letting each other know what we want. 
	 "It's my fault.  I'm the one who has spent the past three years
acting like I didn't care about anyone or anything.  I'm so sorry." 
	 "No," Lestat said.  "It's both our fault.  I'm the one who didn't
try to change all of that.  I thought it would be easy.  That all we would
have to do is say 'we're lovers now' and that's all there would be to it. 
No, I *wanted* it to be easy.  I wanted to believe everything you told me,
even though I knew it was wrong.  It's my fault as much as yours.  I
wanted the wrong thing." 
	 "And what do you want now?" Louis asked. 
	 Lestat thought for a moment before answering.  "Have you ever been
walking through a park or a shopping center and seen a little old couple
walking together?  And, just by looking at them, you know what their lives
were like. She met him when they were in their teens.  He courted her as
best he could though he didn't have a lot of money and the greatest act of
courage he ever did was ask her father's permission for her hand in
marriage. 
	 "Together they faced wars, money problems, temptation, sickness and
death.  They fought for everything that they ever had and even though
they're now rich enough to buy diamonds, the greatest gift they ever gave
one another was their children. 
	 "They've got great-grandchildren now.  And you know that these
children look up at them and think they are so old and so wise.  Their own
children look at them and every day they worry that they're another step
closer to losing them and that they should slow down. 
	 "But when they look at each other, they don't see this.  He looks
at her and sees that smart, kind, beautiful young woman who took his
breath away.  She looks at him and sees that clever, sensitive, handsome
young man who made her quake in the knees.  They don't fear dying. 
Something so small could never hurt them.  They will face it just as they
have everything else; together.  Because not even Heaven matters to them
if they cannot see it as one." 
	 Lestat looked at Louis.  "That is what I want with you.  We may
not grow old and the only children we can ever truly have are our memories
but I want to know that now and a thousand years from now and a thousand
years from then I can look into your eyes and feel that same humiliating
rush of love for you that I did when I first saw you two hundred years
ago.  And, if we ever do die, I want to know that you will be there with
me because nothing, but nothing can tear us apart." 
	 "Damn you," Louis whispered.  He wiped his eyes.  "I live for 200
years being able to count the amount of times I have cried on one hand. 
Then I move in with you and you say things like that and I cry enough to
flood the Mississippi." 
	 Lestat pulled Louis into his arms.  "Alright, beautiful one," he
whispered in his ear.  "How about this?  I want to spend the rest of
eternity with you and I want to fight with you and I want to hear you tell
me I'm a beast who should be locked up and I want to be driven up a wall
by all those annoying things that you do because, aside from being the
smartest, tenderest and *sexiest* man I've ever laid eyes on, you are also
the most frustrating, pretentious and tight-assed man I've ever had the
misfortune to fall in love with." 
	 "Much better," Louis said.  He nuzzled up against Lestat.  "As for
*you*. You are the most obnoxious, self-centered, greedy, vain, arrogant
and generally evil creature on this earth.  But you are also the most
generous, caring, intelligent, strong, sexy and good man that I've ever
known and I love you so much I think I'd die if you stopped loving me." 
	 Lestat crushed Louis' mouth as he kissed him.  "Ah, much, *much*
better," he said as he began kissing down Louis' neck.  "'Generally evil'
hmm?  I like that." 
	 "I thought you would," Louis gasped as Lestat hit a sensitive spot. 
"No, wait."  He put his hand against Lestat's mouth and gently pushed him
away.  "We can't--it's still not easy, Lestat." 
	 "How do you mean?" Lestat asked.  He took Louis' hand in his. 
	 "The memories," Louis said.  "The horror of everything that
happened three years ago is still with me and I can feel it rising up
inside of me.  But this time I have to face it.  I can't deny it or try to
run away anymore.  All I can do is sit still and hurt.  That won't be
easy.  Not on me and certainly not on anyone around me at the time if the
past three years are any indication.  I don't even know how long it will
take.  It might be years before I'm ever fully healed.  If you didn't want
to wait for me, I'd understand." 
	 "You're actually serious so I won't make a joke right now and hurt
you," Lestat said, "but, Louis, really!  First off, I'd have to be the
greatest prick on this earth to tell you that I loved you but only when
you were in a good mood.  Second, Louis, how many times have I come to you
on the edge of or in the middle of a nervous breakdown?  Hell, that's been
the hallmark of the past two centuries!  You are more than due for me to
sit back, shut my big mouth and do nothing but take care of you.  And
moreover, I've been waiting two hundred years for you to give me that
chance." 
	 "Really?" Louis asked.  "And be careful how you answer.  I've got
two hundred years' worth of *not* having a nervous breakdown to catch up
on.  You might not live to regret this." 
	 "I'll take my chances," Lestat said.  "You don't look so tough to
me.  I think I can take you." 
	 "I was rather hoping you would," Louis grinned, slyly.  "Lestat,
when will this house be finished?" 
	 "A few more weeks," Lestat said.  "Not more than a month.  Why, is
there something wrong with that?" 
	 "Only if you went against what I know to be your basic instincts
and told them to do the master bedroom last," Louis said.  "Please tell me
you didn't." 
	 "Actually, I told them to make this room their first priority,"
Lestat said.  "The bedroom came next.  Of course, since the bedroom is
*much* smaller they were able to finish it first." 
	 "So, in theory, we could go up there right now and stay there and
never have to worry about being interrupted by workers or the sunlight or
even other vampires if, in theory, we were so inclined?" 
	 "We could," Lestat gave Louis a look of mock innocence.  "Why,
would you be interested in seeing it?" 
	 "I might," Louis smiled, just as innocently.  "I'll never know
until I see it now will I?" 
	 "Come along then," Lestat said.  He got up, took Louis by the hand
and led him upstairs.  "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." 
	 "I hope so," Louis said.  He stopped then, and tugged on Lestat's
hand to make him stop as well.  "Lestat, are we together now, truly? 
Forever and forever?" 
	 Lestat came down the steps and kissed him until he put his arms
around him and Lestat could carry him the rest of the way.  "Oui,
beautiful one. Forever and Forever." 


			THE END