1. It's Venetian.
Copy !req
2. A contemporary
of Tintoretto's.
Copy !req
3. "Marius de Romanus."
Copy !req
4. Never heard of him.
Copy !req
5. Little of his work survives.
Copy !req
6. Mr. De Pointe du Lac
covets the rare.
Copy !req
7. Do you hear that?
Copy !req
8. I keep hearing that sound.
Copy !req
9. Well, the building
sways a bit,
Copy !req
10. but that is according
to its design, given the height.
Copy !req
11. We call it the groan.
Copy !req
12. It won't disturb your meal,
which is ready now.
Copy !req
13. Did you always work
for him?
Copy !req
14. Please have a seat.
Copy !req
15. Sign an NDA?
Copy !req
16. I mean, is it only work
or are you and he...?
Copy !req
17. I serve a god.
Copy !req
18. It is my honor to serve.
Copy !req
19. Mr. De Pointe du Lac
will join you at course seven.
Copy !req
20. Seven? Wait, but how many
courses are there?
Copy !req
21. Fattening me up
for the inevitable end?
Copy !req
22. Butler #1: Duck foie gras
terrine, pickled fruit,
Copy !req
23. roasted apple bonbon.
Copy !req
24. There he is.
Copy !req
25. You missed at least three
or four endangered species.
Copy !req
26. I want to apologize
for my outburst earlier.
Copy !req
27. I can assure you,
it will not happen again.
Copy !req
28. Memory is a monster.
Copy !req
29. We forget, it doesn't.
Copy !req
30. Uh, this is session two,
Louis de Pointe du Lac.
Copy !req
31. Eh, can we turn down
the music?
Copy !req
32. Butler #1: Ajoblanco.
Copy !req
33. Bread, crushed almonds, garlic,
olive oil, and salt,
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34. a garnish of green grapes,
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35. and AB negative,
fresh from the farm.
Copy !req
36. Bon appétit.
Copy !req
37. Part of me wants to ask
about the farm.
Copy !req
38. Two vampires walk
into a church.
Copy !req
39. That's where we left off.
Copy !req
40. Blissing out
post-priesticide.
Copy !req
41. The bliss was merely
a stage in my transformation—
Copy !req
42. pain followed, a seizing
and unrelenting pain,
Copy !req
43. through which I would pass
before my apprenticeship began.
Copy !req
44. What's happening?
Copy !req
45. Your body is confused.
Copy !req
46. Your lungs feel like water,
your heart, fire.
Copy !req
47. You feel as if you're dying,
Copy !req
48. because you are.
Copy !req
49. And then,
there's the retching.
Copy !req
50. I recognize the hypocrite
I am,
Copy !req
51. emphasizing cleanliness
after I overindulged,
Copy !req
52. but a proper disposal is
the penance of a sated vampire.
Copy !req
53. And you won't always have
a conveniently located graveyard
Copy !req
54. nearby, so...
Copy !req
55. Nuh-uh-uh-uh.
Copy !req
56. Nuh-uh-uh.
Copy !req
57. We live off the blood
of the living.
Copy !req
58. Lap up the blood
of the deceased
Copy !req
59. and it'll suck you
right down into death,
Copy !req
60. along with your victim.
Copy !req
61. Hmm?
Copy !req
62. Ugh.
Copy !req
63. Uh.
Copy !req
64. Louis.
Copy !req
65. There's the spark.
Copy !req
66. Lestat's blood was
giggling inside me,
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67. teasing my senses,
illuminating the district
Copy !req
68. with overwhelming detail,
Copy !req
69. as if I had walked
my entire life as a dead man,
Copy !req
70. and now, dead,
could finally receive
Copy !req
71. the secrets of existence.
Copy !req
72. You were fucking loaded.
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73. Beyond articulation.
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74. Your ears will
pick up the world
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75. like a maddening symphony.
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76. Follow my voice,
a single strain.
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77. Your eyes will wander,
led by your hunger.
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78. Are you hungry, Louis?
Copy !req
79. Uh-huh.
Copy !req
80. They were your brothers
and sisters once,
Copy !req
81. but now they're
your savory inferiors.
Copy !req
82. A young Tempranillo,
fleshy and tart.
Copy !req
83. A Primitivo, hints of iron,
rather plain otherwise.
Copy !req
84. A pair of oak-aged cabernet,
thick-skinned and chewy.
Copy !req
85. You have the power to subdue
anyone you want,
Copy !req
86. but sometimes restraint
is your most powerful weapon.
Copy !req
87. Straight
to the prettiest girl
Copy !req
88. at the party.
Copy !req
89. I admire the aesthetic,
Copy !req
90. but you'll spend
most of your evening
Copy !req
91. trying to separate him
from his crew.
Copy !req
92. You'll race the sun
to the kill,
Copy !req
93. and when he turns up
missing in the morning,
Copy !req
94. you'll have half the frigate
on the prowl, looking for him.
Copy !req
95. In the beginning, it's best
to let the food come to you.
Copy !req
96. Here you go.
Copy !req
97. I was a baby bird
in Lestat's nest—
Copy !req
98. not yet ready to hunt,
but desperate to feed.
Copy !req
99. So, I'm taking my daughter
Copy !req
100. to— to look at horses,
uh, Palominos.
Copy !req
101. You know, those—
those Indian types that—
Copy !req
102. that they run free out West,
and, uh, I gotta tell you,
Copy !req
103. I'm, uh, I'm doing pretty good
for myself, you know?
Copy !req
104. It's a new century,
Copy !req
105. new job, so I'm actually
entertaining the thought
Copy !req
106. of getting her one of these,
Copy !req
107. you know, a special horse.
Copy !req
108. We go down to the fairground.
Copy !req
109. She says, "Daddy, why is
that horse walking so funny?
Copy !req
110. Why is his— his back
all crumpled up like that?"
Copy !req
111. Well, I tell her, I say,
"Honey, once the work has gotten
Copy !req
112. used all up out of a horse..."
Copy !req
113. "... this is what happens—"
Copy !req
114. Amusing, their relentless
questions at that age.
Copy !req
115. That's right.
Copy !req
116. I tell her, "This is
the nature of things.
Copy !req
117. Someone has to
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118. hew the oats, someone has
to harvest the corn,
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119. the harrow, the tiller."
Copy !req
120. Why are you
gentlemen down here?
Copy !req
121. Uh, now, what do you grow?
You grow cotton?
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122. Sugar.
Copy !req
123. Sugar... Sugar.
Copy !req
124. Careful, mon cher, you're
beginning to frighten the man.
Copy !req
125. Um...
Copy !req
126. So, I look at my daughter's
tear-stained face
Copy !req
127. and I say to her, "Maggie,
Copy !req
128. that's why your daddy
sells tractors."
Copy !req
129. International Harvester Farmall.
Copy !req
130. Go ahead and take that.
Might come in handy.
Copy !req
131. So
Copy !req
132. I am talking about gas-powered,
Copy !req
133. open-geared beast of burden.
Copy !req
134. Ooh-la-la.
Copy !req
135. This is fancy, right here.
Copy !req
136. Uh, just to be clear here,
gents, we—
Copy !req
137. we are here to talk about,
uh, farm equipment.
Copy !req
138. - Am I right?
- Mm.
Copy !req
139. And a streamline tractor,
you know,
Copy !req
140. not only gonna
increase your harvest,
Copy !req
141. but it's gonna keep
your child from tears.
Copy !req
142. Oh, thank y-you.
Copy !req
143. You, uh,
on your sleeve—
Copy !req
144. Whenever you're ready, Louis.
Copy !req
145. I knew it. I knew you—
Copy !req
146. Aah!
Copy !req
147. What the fuck?
Copy !req
148. The neck.
Bite the neck, Louis.
Copy !req
149. No—
Copy !req
150. No, you don't bite the blood.
Copy !req
151. You suck it.
Copy !req
152. Yes, yes, that's better.
Copy !req
153. Good.
Copy !req
154. For our next carpet,
I'm thinking Persian.
Copy !req
155. Arabesque maybe.
Copy !req
156. Certainly need a more efficient
way of ridding the waste.
Copy !req
157. Ugh.
Copy !req
158. The first time is
the most unwieldy.
Copy !req
159. Soon you'll be a natural.
Copy !req
160. You'll come to enjoy it, its
variations, little surprises.
Copy !req
161. I-I gotta go home.
Copy !req
162. This is your home now, Louis. Breathe.
Copy !req
163. I— I gotta collect money
from the cribs.
Copy !req
164. I have all the money we need. Breathe.
Copy !req
165. I have to go see
Grace and Paul.
Copy !req
166. - Oh, dear.
- You ain't fuckin' hearin' me!
Copy !req
167. I— I need to go home.
Copy !req
168. You're going to find
that very difficult.
Copy !req
169. Hey!
Copy !req
170. What the hell?
Copy !req
171. Hey, now.
Copy !req
172. That's coming out of my pay.
Copy !req
173. Lord Jesus!
Copy !req
174. Lemme in!
Copy !req
175. Let me in, God damn it!
Copy !req
176. Open the fucking door!
Copy !req
177. The sun gives life
to everything but us.
Copy !req
178. I should have
taught you that.
Copy !req
179. The life of a vampire
has its challenges
Copy !req
180. and its rewards...
Copy !req
181. but I think New Orleans,
with its music, culture,
Copy !req
182. cuisine, shipping yards, conventioneers,
Copy !req
183. thrill-seeking tourists
far-flung from their homes,
Copy !req
184. the laissez-faire attitude
of the local police force
Copy !req
185. oh, yes...
Copy !req
186. the perfect setting
for a vampire home...
Copy !req
187. a vampire romance.
Copy !req
188. I ain't sleepin' in there.
Copy !req
189. We'll get you
your own soon enough.
Copy !req
190. You've had a long life, Louis,
Copy !req
191. and such an extraordinary
one ahead.
Copy !req
192. Have a rest.
Copy !req
193. It's okay.
Copy !req
194. You can be on top.
Copy !req
195. Helluva bender.
Copy !req
196. He rushed me headlong
through the encounter
Copy !req
197. as if it were something
to put behind us.
Copy !req
198. Death, rebirth, coming out, homicide,
Copy !req
199. too many firsts
for one night.
Copy !req
200. Coming out?
Copy !req
201. You robbed a daughter
of her father, maybe a pet pony.
Copy !req
202. How's sexuality play in that?
Copy !req
203. It's a complicated question, Daniel,
Copy !req
204. and we shouldn't conflate it
with the salesman's death.
Copy !req
205. Humor me.
Copy !req
206. To satisfy your fixation,
being transformed by Lestat,
Copy !req
207. being desired by him,
bedding down with him
Copy !req
208. was an overture of sorts
to that side of my nature.
Copy !req
209. To the shame
of queer theorists everywhere.
Copy !req
210. I got in that coffin
on my own free will.
Copy !req
211. In the quiet dark,
Copy !req
212. we were equals.
Copy !req
213. White master, Black student,
but equal in the quiet dark.
Copy !req
214. Provocation.
Copy !req
215. Is this the primary tool
one walks away with
Copy !req
216. after downloading
your Internet class?
Copy !req
217. Butler #1: Rabbit, three ways,
and Vulpes rueppellii,
Copy !req
218. or Ruppell's sand fox.
Copy !req
219. Back to the salesman
for a sec.
Copy !req
220. Clearly, you were
haunted by it, the—
Copy !req
221. the taste of his blood
in the back of your throat,
Copy !req
222. up in your gums.
Copy !req
223. Let me ask you, Daniel,
Copy !req
224. do you contemplate the life
of the rabbit before you cut it?
Copy !req
225. Or do you simply cut?
Copy !req
226. Mmm.
Copy !req
227. Vampires are killers,
Copy !req
228. apex predators
whose all-seeing eyes
Copy !req
229. were meant to give
them detachment,
Copy !req
230. the ability to see
a human life in its entirety,
Copy !req
231. not with any mawkish sorrow,
Copy !req
232. but with
the thrilling satisfaction
Copy !req
233. of being the end
of that life
Copy !req
234. and having a hand
in the divine plan.
Copy !req
235. Don't expect every reader
to swallow that one.
Copy !req
236. That's the purpose.
Copy !req
237. Our book must be a warning
as much as anything.
Copy !req
238. It was the right line
of questioning.
Copy !req
239. I was haunted by the salesman,
and as a fledgling vampire,
Copy !req
240. I did not readily
take to killing.
Copy !req
241. When I first started
learning English, I abhorred it.
Copy !req
242. Every word felt like a doorknob
falling out of my mouth.
Copy !req
243. Chapeau is a hat,
étoile was a star—
Copy !req
244. Killin' folks
ain't a second language.
Copy !req
245. But when I started
dreaming in English,
Copy !req
246. that's when I embraced it.
Copy !req
247. And now, I have English
consonants to thank
Copy !req
248. for this astonishing jawline.
Copy !req
249. These are nightmares I'm having,
Lestat, not dreams.
Copy !req
250. Finn, how's your arm?
Copy !req
251. Is it healing properly?
Copy !req
252. You might need a proper doctor,
my friend.
Copy !req
253. Me arm's fine.
Copy !req
254. You let me know
if you need a doc.
Copy !req
255. There is something,
Mr. Du Lac.
Copy !req
256. The new gaming house you're
fixing up for the alderman,
Copy !req
257. I want to manage it.
Copy !req
258. I'm good with people,
and I'm good with numbers.
Copy !req
259. Hmm...
Copy !req
260. I'll take it up
with Fenwick.
Copy !req
261. Much obliged.
Copy !req
262. Mm-hmm.
Copy !req
263. He's lying, you know.
Copy !req
264. He'll figure
I'm a bean counter.
Copy !req
265. No, he wants the job
so he can steal from you.
Copy !req
266. Overcharge
for drinks and women—
Copy !req
267. not enough for you to notice,
but enough to make him
Copy !req
268. "good extra," he calls it.
Copy !req
269. And you know that 'cause
you got in his head just now?
Copy !req
270. Vampires can read minds,
mon cher.
Copy !req
271. Right.
Copy !req
272. And you gon' sit
on that skill for how long?
Copy !req
273. Hmm.
Copy !req
274. You gon' make me beg?
Copy !req
275. One might think the ability
to read a mind
Copy !req
276. a most useful gift, but,
in reality, it's quite mundane.
Copy !req
277. I forget I can do it
most days.
Copy !req
278. Is that right?
Copy !req
279. Every human thought
boils down to three things—
Copy !req
280. "I want food,"I want sex,"
"I want to go home."
Copy !req
281. You see that man
right there?
Copy !req
282. I want you to peel away
every sound
Copy !req
283. until you find his heartbeat.
Copy !req
284. Now hold the heartbeat.
Copy !req
285. You hear his lungs leaking
and flooding air?
Copy !req
286. His mind is just
another bodily sound.
Copy !req
287. Day and a half
since my last meal.
Copy !req
288. Church says, "Pray about it."
Copy !req
289. The Lord can't make me no food.
Copy !req
290. "I want food."
Shall we?
Copy !req
291. It's not cheating
with a woman
Copy !req
292. because I can't get pregnant.
Copy !req
293. "I want sex."
Copy !req
294. I'm gonna ditch this town
and be somebody.
Copy !req
295. That's not—Give it a moment.
Copy !req
296. Or I'll just go home.
Copy !req
297. Voilà.
Copy !req
298. Wait. I saw a little flash
just now of his house.
Copy !req
299. Yes.
Copy !req
300. You'll see,
as your powers grow,
Copy !req
301. you can see their thoughts,
like a one-reeler almost.
Copy !req
302. Dull, monotonous
picture shows.
Copy !req
303. It's a very distracting gift,
the petty musings of meat.
Copy !req
304. Peel back on me then.
Copy !req
305. What am I thinkin' right now?
Copy !req
306. You'll have
to tell me yourself.
Copy !req
307. A sacrifice is made when
the Dark Gift is shared.
Copy !req
308. You can't read my mind
anymore?
Copy !req
309. The architects of our creation
mean to humble us.
Copy !req
310. We're at the mercy
of the other's discretion.
Copy !req
311. Just like the meat.
Copy !req
312. Hmm.
Copy !req
313. You're not one of them anymore, fledgling.
Copy !req
314. You chase after phantoms
of your former self.
Copy !req
315. I'll break you of it.
Copy !req
316. My unwillingness
to separate from humanity
Copy !req
317. was a constant struggle
in my vampiric existence.
Copy !req
318. I felt it was essential
to maintain ties.
Copy !req
319. But it was getting
more difficult.
Copy !req
320. The curtain goes up
at eight.
Copy !req
321. We'll only be here an hour.
Copy !req
322. They'll seat us late,
and we'll miss Nora's entrance
Copy !req
323. with the Christmas tree.
Copy !req
324. You ain't gon'
miss anything.
Copy !req
325. Look what the wind blew in.
Copy !req
326. Mama.
Copy !req
327. You remember Lestat.
Copy !req
328. Madame de Pointe du Lac,
Copy !req
329. all the kindness
for the invitation.
Copy !req
330. I don't remember inviting him,
but please,
Copy !req
331. take your overdressed self
and have a fine time.
Copy !req
332. I see you have a banjo band
in your front yard.
Copy !req
333. Mm-hmm.
Copy !req
334. Madame.
Copy !req
335. Louis.
Copy !req
336. Was that necessary?
Copy !req
337. Move half a mile away,
Copy !req
338. don't come see your family
for half a season.
Copy !req
339. Don't come back
fragile, son.
Copy !req
340. Haven't heard a knock
on my door.
Copy !req
341. It's a half-mile
both ways, Mama.
Copy !req
342. Hm.
Copy !req
343. Look at his nails.
Copy !req
344. He's getting his
fingernails done.
Copy !req
345. And the glasses?
Copy !req
346. Some fashion certain men
like him do.
Copy !req
347. Lord.
Copy !req
348. Eye doc says I gotta wear them
from now forward.
Copy !req
349. Sensitive eyes.
Copy !req
350. You seen Grace about?
Copy !req
351. You seen
my alligator, ma'am?
Copy !req
352. Seems I lost it
Copy !req
353. by the punchbowl.
Copy !req
354. Oh, been too long.
Copy !req
355. I know, I know.
Copy !req
356. Wait.
Copy !req
357. Oh, my.
Copy !req
358. You makin' me an uncle
right here?
Copy !req
359. - Who told you?
- No one told me.
Copy !req
360. - It was Levi.
- I could tell by the look...
Copy !req
361. I ain't far enough along... on your face.
Copy !req
362. - He shouldn't be telling anyone.
- And...
Copy !req
363. And what?
And...
Copy !req
364. And what?
Copy !req
365. Gon' be twins.
Copy !req
366. You a fool doctor now?
Copy !req
367. Oh, I miss you, Louis.
Copy !req
368. Yeah.
Copy !req
369. You hearin' me?
Copy !req
370. Look at me, Louis.
Copy !req
371. Take them glasses off
and look at your baby sister.
Copy !req
372. Don't. Gimme those back.
Copy !req
373. Your eyes...
Copy !req
374. like a church window.
Copy !req
375. Same eyes, same me.
Copy !req
376. Different you.
Copy !req
377. Better you, I'd say.
Copy !req
378. You hide from me
this long again,
Copy !req
379. I'll hunt you down
and slap you sideways.
Copy !req
380. I got you something.
Copy !req
381. Oh, no, Louis.
Copy !req
382. What is this?
I don't need your money.
Copy !req
383. It ain't for you,
it's for the babies.
Copy !req
384. Stop it with the "babies".
Copy !req
385. One's gon' be plenty.
Copy !req
386. There's two of 'em.
Copy !req
387. Well.
Copy !req
388. This'll come in handy, then.
Copy !req
389. Levi ain't the businessman
you are.
Copy !req
390. So, how's it
in the district?
Copy !req
391. Must be good
if this here's extra.
Copy !req
392. Oh.
Copy !req
393. Now, I-I know it's hard
to see it now,
Copy !req
394. but Mr. Fenwick
gon' have himself
Copy !req
395. the most profitable
sportin' house
Copy !req
396. this side of Basin Street.
Copy !req
397. The alderman
certainly thinks so,
Copy !req
398. but then you have to
ask yourself why he sent me.
Copy !req
399. New business, new partner.
Copy !req
400. No, sir, Mr. Carlo,
I-I'd do the same thing myself.
Copy !req
401. You got your own
personal attorney, do you, boy?
Copy !req
402. No, sir.
Copy !req
403. But then, I'm not
an alderman, am I?
Copy !req
404. No, you're his partner.
Copy !req
405. Hm.
Copy !req
406. These balconies, they have
to be decorative only.
Copy !req
407. Building codes allow those
for residents, not for business.
Copy !req
408. Well, that's only if you
call it a balcony.
Copy !req
409. What are you callin' it?
Copy !req
410. Fire escape.
Copy !req
411. That's clever, my boy.
Copy !req
412. That's very clever.
Copy !req
413. Right.
Copy !req
414. Dozen rooms, proper acoustics
for the musicians.
Copy !req
415. You know, good
for those waitin'.
Copy !req
416. Best to drown out the business
behind the walls.
Copy !req
417. Yes.
Copy !req
418. Oh, you really do have a mind
inside out head of yours,
Copy !req
419. don't you?
Copy !req
420. I-I know some of the finishes
seem penny heavy,
Copy !req
421. but it's the alderman's
name goin' out there,
Copy !req
422. so every detail has to shout
"exclusivity".
Copy !req
423. You're bright
and industrious, huh?
Copy !req
424. I trust you're overseeing all
stages of construction as well?
Copy !req
425. Yes, sir.
Copy !req
426. Fire escape.
Copy !req
427. Now, I must say,
I had my doubts, but
Copy !req
428. you really have earned
your 15%.
Copy !req
429. You truly are
an exceptional Negro.
Copy !req
430. Thank you, sir.
Mm-hmm.
Copy !req
431. Ah, "fire escape."
Copy !req
432. "Exceptional Negro." Ah, yes.
Copy !req
433. "Thank you, sir."
Copy !req
434. It was the call and response
of my entire life.
Copy !req
435. I had let them talk to me
like that so long,
Copy !req
436. I stopped hearing it.
Copy !req
437. "Yes, sir."
Copy !req
438. "Of course, sir."
Copy !req
439. Subject, verb,
agreement, "sir".
Copy !req
440. Smile, nod, "yes, sir."
Copy !req
441. They all came from
the same organ inside me—
Copy !req
442. an organ unknown to science
at the time.
Copy !req
443. Because what scientist would
look for an organ found only
Copy !req
444. in Black men who use
their weakness to rise?
Copy !req
445. But I wasn't a man anymore.
Copy !req
446. I was something else.
Copy !req
447. I had powers now and decades
of rage to process,
Copy !req
448. and it was both random
and unfortunate,
Copy !req
449. the man picked that night
to dabble in fuckery.
Copy !req
450. If not him, would have been
the next man.
Copy !req
451. Louis, my boy, j—
Copy !req
452. This was your man's esquire,
sent in his stead!
Copy !req
453. I was hungry.
Stone's throw
Copy !req
454. from your place
of business.
Copy !req
455. - What were you thinking?
- He disrespected me.
Copy !req
456. How did he do that?
Copy !req
457. He told me I did a good job.
Copy !req
458. You are a library
of confusion.
Copy !req
459. There's some things...
Copy !req
460. you don't get
about America, Lestat.
Copy !req
461. Yes, let's have
this conversation again.
Copy !req
462. Colored, white.
Copy !req
463. Creole, French.
Copy !req
464. Queer, half-queer,
mostly queer, what is it?
Copy !req
465. Non-discriminating.
Copy !req
466. Complicated situation
Copy !req
467. we got here's
what I'm saying.
Copy !req
468. A couple of parish priests
Copy !req
469. go missing, people say,
"Fine.
Copy !req
470. Most likely kid-fiddlers."
Copy !req
471. But this, this was
an important man in town.
Copy !req
472. The police will be looking
for this man, fledgling.
Copy !req
473. That's why we got
this beast, yeah?
Copy !req
474. No, you need to
show restraint, fledgling!
Copy !req
475. Oh, you need to stop using
that word right now,
Copy !req
476. 'cause it's soundin'
a little like "slave".
Copy !req
477. - Don't say it.
- Well, that's what
Copy !req
478. it fuckin' sound like.
Copy !req
479. It's what it feel like sometimes.
Copy !req
480. And the carousel
comes around again.
Copy !req
481. Fuck you.
Copy !req
482. I don't like
sleeping angry.
Copy !req
483. For the record, if disrespect
was done to you,
Copy !req
484. I would have
killed him myself.
Copy !req
485. Well, what can I do
to make it up to you?
Copy !req
486. I wanna buy
the Fair Play Saloon.
Copy !req
487. That's ambitious.
Copy !req
488. If you don't wanna help,
I'll do it myself.
Copy !req
489. Ridiculous of you to mix human
and vampire business.
Copy !req
490. It always ends poorly.
Copy !req
491. But how can I stop you?
Copy !req
492. How can I say no to you?
Copy !req
493. Sign here and here
and here.
Copy !req
494. Well, I do not see
the clause in this paperwork
Copy !req
495. wherein I continue to eat,
drink, and fornicate
Copy !req
496. on the house.
Copy !req
497. Louis?
Copy !req
498. You have my word, and my word
is thicker than paper...
Copy !req
499. Mm.
Tom.
Copy !req
500. It was a grand and loving
gesture on Lestat's part.
Copy !req
501. That's a mighty tall ladder
you're climbin', Mr. Du Lac.
Copy !req
502. And I was now the owner
Copy !req
503. of the brightest club
in the district.
Copy !req
504. My club, my rules.
Copy !req
505. I opened the doors to anyone
with money to burn.
Copy !req
506. I paid the staff better,
paid the band better,
Copy !req
507. all the while helping those
who had been with me
Copy !req
508. down the block
to better themselves.
Copy !req
509. Miss Williams.
Mr. Du Lac.
Copy !req
510. And it was a pointless point
of pride
Copy !req
511. that I paid back every cent
I borrowed from Lestat.
Copy !req
512. It was everything I had
ever wanted or wished for.
Copy !req
513. And it doubled nicely
as a revolving door of prey.
Copy !req
514. You fellas know where I can find
the Fair Play Saloon?
Copy !req
515. You about five years late.
Copy !req
516. So how long are you
in town for?
Copy !req
517. Uh, yeah, I'm just—
Copy !req
518. From 1912 to 1917,
Copy !req
519. I made a mountain of money,
Copy !req
520. enough to retire
and be buried like a pharaoh.
Copy !req
521. But in the essential duties
of the executor in charge,
Copy !req
522. I had been most delinquent.
Copy !req
523. We named him Benjamin.
Copy !req
524. Benny.
Copy !req
525. Did you even meet the twins?
Copy !req
526. No, ma'am.
Ma'am?
Copy !req
527. I look that old to you?
Copy !req
528. No, I mean, I haven't had
the pleasure
Copy !req
529. of meetin' more of the family.
Copy !req
530. I've been so busy with work,
and, you know—
Copy !req
531. Him?
Copy !req
532. You know my situation.
Copy !req
533. How are things
with you and...
Copy !req
534. It's Lestat still, right?
Copy !req
535. Yes, it's Lestat.
Shh!
Copy !req
536. Got some gumbo
on the stove still.
Copy !req
537. Tasted great this evening.
Copy !req
538. Let me fix you something.
Copy !req
539. I'm good.
Copy !req
540. Hold your nephew.
Copy !req
541. He's the quiet one,
this one.
Copy !req
542. The other two...
Copy !req
543. the twins?
Copy !req
544. Lord, help us.
Copy !req
545. All right. Here it is.
Copy !req
546. Still warm.
Copy !req
547. Well?
Copy !req
548. No, please.
Copy !req
549. You look good.
Copy !req
550. You should stay the night.
Copy !req
551. I'm sure Mama would love
to see you.
Copy !req
552. Shh, shh.
Copy !req
553. Let's see if he goes back down,
let's see.
Copy !req
554. Honey, the twins again!
Copy !req
555. - Grace!
- Okay.
Copy !req
556. Let— Let me just see
what the hell is goin' on.
Copy !req
557. Oh, no, I—
Shh.
Copy !req
558. I no longer kill.
Copy !req
559. My last victim
was in the year 2000.
Copy !req
560. Some Y2K disagreement?
Copy !req
561. I want our readers
to understand that.
Copy !req
562. Okay.
Copy !req
563. Did you eat the baby?
Copy !req
564. I sit here a master
of my instincts.
Copy !req
565. Mm-hmm.
Copy !req
566. And what about the others
out there?
Copy !req
567. Have they mastered theirs?
Copy !req
568. Just the opposite.
Copy !req
569. Most of them are slaves
to the blood,
Copy !req
570. exhausted from decades,
centuries of hiding,
Copy !req
571. giddy to increase
their numbers.
Copy !req
572. Mm-hmm.
Copy !req
573. Two questions—
Copy !req
574. did you eat the baby?
Copy !req
575. And is the pandemic the opening
they've been waiting for?
Copy !req
576. Pandemic, the unraveling
of geopolitical foundations.
Copy !req
577. And you know this how?
Copy !req
578. You guys have a thread
on 8chan?
Copy !req
579. I hear them.
Copy !req
580. Our thoughts can travel
thousands of miles
Copy !req
581. to one another.
Copy !req
582. I can stand out on my balcony,
close my eyes,
Copy !req
583. and they're plotting
speeds to me.
Copy !req
584. One of them,
a brute in Madagascar,
Copy !req
585. called it
"the great conversion".
Copy !req
586. The great conversion?
Copy !req
587. Well, good luck with that,
because most people I know like
Copy !req
588. to play little ball
in the afternoon,
Copy !req
589. or maybe going down
to the beach,
Copy !req
590. catching a few rays.
Copy !req
591. Yes.
Copy !req
592. What on earth would
a meth-addicted son
Copy !req
593. of a coal miner in West Virginia
want with eternal life?
Copy !req
594. Did you eat the baby?
Copy !req
595. Or the Arab youth whose family
were wiped from existence...
Copy !req
596. Did you eat the baby? by a Western drone?
Copy !req
597. No, I'm sure you're right.
Copy !req
598. - Hello, Damek.
- Hey.
Copy !req
599. Mmm.
Copy !req
600. Mm-hmm.
Copy !req
601. He's American, Damek.
Copy !req
602. You like Dubai?
Copy !req
603. I haven't had the time
to sight-see.
Copy !req
604. Go to Kite Beach.
Copy !req
605. It's good.
Copy !req
606. Kites.
Copy !req
607. Mmm.
Copy !req
608. Thank you, Damek.
Copy !req
609. See you soon.
Copy !req
610. As I was saying,
I no longer kill.
Copy !req
611. You might have
a drinking problem.
Copy !req
612. Rashid!
Copy !req
613. The baby.
Copy !req
614. Benny? Benny!
Copy !req
615. I had him in my arms...
Copy !req
616. and I was ready
to tear into him.
Copy !req
617. I'm never gon'
get control over it.
Copy !req
618. You've been skipping
meals lately.
Copy !req
619. Don't think
I haven't noticed.
Copy !req
620. It was my nephew.
Copy !req
621. You have to stop seeing them, Louis.
Copy !req
622. They'll grow fearful of you
if they haven't already.
Copy !req
623. I can't do it.
Copy !req
624. It's a rite of passage
for all of us.
Copy !req
625. If you love your family,
as I know you do,
Copy !req
626. spare them all the pain
that you are causing them.
Copy !req
627. I ain't never gon' have
a family of my own, am I?
Copy !req
628. No sons, no daughters.
Copy !req
629. I'm your family, Louis.
Copy !req
630. You should just throw me
in the incinerator
Copy !req
631. and make another one.
Copy !req
632. Hmm. And what a waste
that would be.
Copy !req
633. I have two centuries walked
this Earth and can report,
Copy !req
634. you have no twin.
Copy !req
635. No one as angry, as stubborn,
as unaccommodating,
Copy !req
636. as maddening—Sound like trash to me.
Copy !req
637. As loving, as dedicated,
as thoughtful,
Copy !req
638. as imperfectly perfect
as you've become.
Copy !req
639. You're a challenge every sunset,
Saint Louis,
Copy !req
640. and I'd have it no other way.
Copy !req
641. Here's an idea—
let's take a holiday.
Copy !req
642. What about Rome?
Copy !req
643. Rome? R-Rome, Italy?
Copy !req
644. Would you prefer
Rome, Wisconsin?
Copy !req
645. I can't just pick up
and go to Rome.
Copy !req
646. I got a business to run.
Copy !req
647. Leave the Azalea to the capable
hands of Miss Bricktop
Copy !req
648. and follow the Appian Way.
Copy !req
649. How you gon' get coffins
across the Atlantic?
Copy !req
650. It can be an inconvenience,
but not impossible, obviously.
Copy !req
651. Well, how do you get them
from ship to train to cab?
Copy !req
652. Ah, the changeovers can
be jarring, I'll give you that.
Copy !req
653. Well, maybe there's a deaf,
blind porter we can hire
Copy !req
654. and kill
when we get to the hotel.
Copy !req
655. Well, I had been
thinking the Inghilterra.
Copy !req
656. Imagine hunting between
the Caffe Greco
Copy !req
657. and the Spanish Steps.
Copy !req
658. But you've made your point. Pity.
Copy !req
659. We'll just have to settle
for Rome coming to us.
Copy !req
660. Oh, another opera.
Copy !req
661. Not another opera.
Copy !req
662. Donizetti's comic masterpiece,
"Don Pasquale."
Copy !req
663. I was an acquaintance of his,
and I saw the premiere
Copy !req
664. at the Salle Ventadour
73 years ago,
Copy !req
665. and I remember it like
it was yesterday.
Copy !req
666. I almost ate my nephew, Lestat.
Copy !req
667. It's the soprano
Sofia Consoli's American debut,
Copy !req
668. her fifth stop in
a 22-city tour,
Copy !req
669. so the orchestra should be
in excellent form.
Copy !req
670. I have a private box,
and I had tuxedos made.
Copy !req
671. I've been neglectful
of our romance.
Copy !req
672. And a steadfast pupil
deserves a divine reward.
Copy !req
673. He had a way about him,
those first years, Lestat.
Copy !req
674. Preternaturally charming,
occasionally thoughtful.
Copy !req
675. He was my murderer, my mentor,
my lover, and my maker—
Copy !req
676. all of those things
at once.
Copy !req
677. He didn't choose me
to be his doormat.
Copy !req
678. I knew he enjoyed it
when I fought back,
Copy !req
679. but there was present
Copy !req
680. a kind of worship on my part.
Copy !req
681. The earth beneath me
always felt liquid.
Copy !req
682. The status I enjoyed
in Storyville
Copy !req
683. did not extend itself
to the operators and patrons
Copy !req
684. of the French Opera House
on Bourbon and Toulouse.
Copy !req
685. We did what we always did
to avoid conflicts there.
Copy !req
686. I performed as his valet,
walked a pace behind him,
Copy !req
687. took his overcoat
once we found our seats,
Copy !req
688. remained standing
in the back of the box
Copy !req
689. until the lights went down,
and only joined next to him
Copy !req
690. once the overture had begun.
Copy !req
691. And again...
Copy !req
692. he had a way about him,
Copy !req
693. so that as I sat there
trying to practice restraint,
Copy !req
694. simmering in my indignation...
Copy !req
695. Lestat seized it as
opportunity to disarm me.
Copy !req
696. There is one thing
about being a vampire
Copy !req
697. that I most fear
above all else...
Copy !req
698. and that is loneliness.
Copy !req
699. You can't imagine
the emptiness—
Copy !req
700. a void stretching out
for decades at a time.
Copy !req
701. You take this feeling away
from me, Louis.
Copy !req
702. We must stay together
and take precaution
Copy !req
703. and never part.
Copy !req
704. How many of us
are out there?
Copy !req
705. We can't be the only ones.
Copy !req
706. How many vampires?
Copy !req
707. Not many, I'm afraid.
Copy !req
708. Maybe 100,
Copy !req
709. 101.
Copy !req
710. The touring production
of "Don Pasquale"
Copy !req
711. was a cheap affair,
Copy !req
712. but the soprano was everything
Lestat said she would be.
Copy !req
713. And music,
Copy !req
714. that was where Lestat
separated man from food.
Copy !req
715. Music pierced his damned soul.
Copy !req
716. And any human who were involved
with the creation of it
Copy !req
717. existed on an elevated plane
in his eyes.
Copy !req
718. I was moved to see he too
had his human attachments.
Copy !req
719. And this woman sang for us,
it seemed,
Copy !req
720. articulating the difficult love
Copy !req
721. we often had trouble
expressing ourselves.
Copy !req
722. There was one issue, however,
Copy !req
723. that threatened to pop the
bubble of our Italian holiday,
Copy !req
724. and that was the tenor
playing Ernesto.
Copy !req
725. To be kind,
he did not live
Copy !req
726. in the soprano's
vocal stratosphere...
Copy !req
727. Ah.
Copy !req
728. and Lestat was unamused.
Copy !req
729. I don't understand how someone
like that
Copy !req
730. can make it onto a stage.
Copy !req
731. I understand they're
a rogue company,
Copy !req
732. but are they pulling talent
from roadside gas stations?
Copy !req
733. It didn't help matters that
the majority of the audience
Copy !req
734. didn't seem to notice.
Copy !req
735. And so Lestat oscillated
his disdain between the tenor
Copy !req
736. and the witless swamp-dwellers
in the seats below.
Copy !req
737. The curtain fell
like a guillotine,
Copy !req
738. and Lestat leapt to his feet
in mock appreciation,
Copy !req
739. which could mean
only one thing—
Copy !req
740. the hunt was on.
Copy !req
741. I stood in the lobby bar,
nursing my complicity,
Copy !req
742. as rounds were bought
and fake praise
Copy !req
743. was lavished upon the mark.
Copy !req
744. And I was surprised by a wave
of nausea coming over me.
Copy !req
745. Here I was,
six years his pupil,
Copy !req
746. and it was no different
than the tractor salesman.
Copy !req
747. This poor soul
was someone's son,
Copy !req
748. someone's brother,
Copy !req
749. and he was to be butchered.
Copy !req
750. For what?
Copy !req
751. An offending note?
Copy !req
752. Wrong.
Copy !req
753. He sat the tenor down, opened
up the score in front of him
Copy !req
754. and sang as it was written.
Copy !req
755. And you could see all the
doubts the young man had
Copy !req
756. about his art,
Copy !req
757. about himself, exposed on
his nodding, agreeable face.
Copy !req
758. Lestat removed a lifetime
of confidence, of joy,
Copy !req
759. in less than half an hour.
Copy !req
760. So no more of your sound
can pollute this world.
Copy !req
761. Why do you do this, Lestat?
Copy !req
762. Well, I like to do it.
I enjoy it.
Copy !req
763. Well, I don't.
Copy !req
764. You don't have
to humiliate him.
Copy !req
765. Well, I don't say that
you have to enjoy it!
Copy !req
766. Kill them swiftly
if you have to, but do it!
Copy !req
767. Embrace what you are!
Copy !req
768. You are a killer, Louis!
Copy !req
769. Come now, love,
Copy !req
770. let's get you to
the couch to die.
Copy !req
771. I was in denial.
Copy !req
772. For in bringing death,
Copy !req
773. Lestat was an artist.
Copy !req
774. He had cut the man tenderly so
that he could not call for help,
Copy !req
775. but also so that his death
was slow, meditative.
Copy !req
776. And I felt a charge
witnessing it.
Copy !req
777. I listened to his thoughts
as Lestat drank,
Copy !req
778. and this time,
they came with vision.
Copy !req
779. I could see his life
as he remembered it.
Copy !req
780. Scenes from
an Italian childhood—
Copy !req
781. the Easter pageant
in a mountain village,
Copy !req
782. an afternoon with his father
on the sea,
Copy !req
783. watching the fishing boats
Copy !req
784. slowly encircle
a school of tuna.
Copy !req
785. Something about a wet piece
of bread in his pocket.
Copy !req
786. If you'd listen to me, if you
finally submit to your nature,
Copy !req
787. you will be filled, Louis,
with all the life you can hold.
Copy !req
788. You will see death
in all its beauty,
Copy !req
789. life as it is only known
at the very point of the death.
Copy !req
790. You alone, of all creatures,
Copy !req
791. can see death
with that impunity.
Copy !req
792. You alone,
under the rising moon...
Copy !req
793. can strike
like the hand of God.
Copy !req
794. And I'll say it
for a third time and no more—
Copy !req
795. he had a way about him.
Copy !req
796. And I was still very much
under his power.
Copy !req
797. We would drain the tenor
for hours that night.
Copy !req
798. Lestat completely enthralled.
Copy !req
799. Myself, pretending to be.
Copy !req
800. Afraid to disappoint.
Copy !req
801. Lestat was wrong.
Copy !req
802. I was never going to be
a natural.
Copy !req
803. I was never going to savor
the aftertaste.
Copy !req
804. I was a shame-ridden second,
a— a fumbling,
Copy !req
805. despondent killer,
a botched vampire.
Copy !req
806. I try to have a human dish
once a week
Copy !req
807. to maintain the thread.
Copy !req
808. There was an offhanded remark in
your memoir about this dessert.
Copy !req
809. I hope you don't mind.
Copy !req
810. What does this taste
like to you?
Copy !req
811. Like almost all human food—
Copy !req
812. like paste,
Copy !req
813. chalk,
Copy !req
814. like soap.
Copy !req
815. This is the dessert I had after
I proposed to my first wife,
Copy !req
816. after I got my shit together.
Copy !req
817. We were in Paris.
Copy !req
818. Little cafe
on the Rue Servandoni,
Copy !req
819. up the way from Saint-Sulpice.
Copy !req
820. I know it.
It's a beautiful street.
Copy !req
821. Alice—
Copy !req
822. half of her eyebrow
was blond, like a mutt.
Copy !req
823. She always dyed it back
to brown.
Copy !req
824. I liked it
when she left it alone.
Copy !req