"Yes. And from everything you said, it seems Enkil covets Akasha. That Akasha is the one who now and then... "
"Yes, that's true. " His face became very somber suddenly, and his eyes had a confidential look in them as if we were whispering to each other and fearful another might hear. He waited for a moment as if thinking what to say. "Who knows what Akasha might do if there were no Enkil to hold her? " he whispered. "And why do I pretend that he can't hear this even when I think it? Why do I whisper? He can destroy me anytime that he likes. Maybe Akasha is the only thing keeping him from it. But then what would become of them if he did away with me? "
"Why did they let themselves be burnt by the sun? " I asked.
"How can we know? Perhaps they knew it wouldn't hurt them. It would only hurt and punish those who had done it to them. Perhaps in the state they live in they are slow to realize what is going on outside them. And they did not have time to gather their forces, to wake from their dreams and save themselves. Maybe their movements after it happened-the movements of Akasha I witnessed-were only possible because they had been awakened by the sun. And now they sleep again with their eyes open. And they dream again. And they do not even drink. "
"What did you mean . . . if I choose to drink their blood? " I asked. "How could I not choose? "
"That is something we have to think on, both of us, " he said. "And there is always the possibility that they won't allow you to drink. " I shuddered thinking of one of those arms striking out at me, knocking me twenty feet across the chapel, or perhaps right through the stone floor itself.
"She told you her name, Lestat, " he said. "I think she will let you drink. But if you take her blood, then you will be even more resilient than you are now. A few droplets will strengthen you, but if she gives you more than that, a full measure, hardly any force on earth can destroy you after that. You have to be certain you want it. "
"Why wouldn't I want it? " I said.
"Do you want to be burnt to a cinder and live on in agony? Do you want to be slashed with knives a thousand times over, or shot through and through with guns, and yet live on, a shredded husk that cannot fend for itself? Believe me, Lestat, that can be a terrible thing. You could suffer the sun even, and live through it, burnt beyond recognition, wishing as the old gods did in Egypt that they had died. "
"But won't I heal faster? "
"Not necessarily. Not without another infusion of her blood in the wounded state. Time with its constant measure of human victims or the blood of old ones-these are the restoratives. But you may wish you had died. Think on this. Take your time. "
"What would you do if you were I? "
"I would drink from Those Who Must Be Kept, of course. I would drink to be stronger, more nearly immortal. I would beseech Akasha on my knees to allow it, and then I would go into her arms. But it's easy to say these things. She has never struck out at me. She has never forbidden me, and I know that I want to live forever. I would endure the fire again. I would endure the sun. And all manner of suffering in order to go on. You may not be so sure that eternity is what you want.
"I want it, " I said. "I could pretend to think about it, pretend to be clever and wise as I weigh it. But what the hell? I wouldn't fool you, would I? You knew what I would say. " He smiled.
"Then before you leave we will go into the chapel and we will ask her, humbly, and we will see what she says. "
"And for now, more answers? " I asked. He gestured for me to ask.
"I've seen ghosts, " I said. "Seen the pesty demons you described.
I've seen them possess mortals and dwellings. "
"I know no more than you do. Most ghosts seem to be mere apparitions without knowledge that they are being watched. I have never spoken to a ghost nor been addressed by one. As for the pesty demons, what can I add to Enkil's ancient explanation, that they rage because they do not have bodies. But there are other immortals that are more interesting. "
"What are they? "
"There are at least two in Europe who do not and have never drunk blood. They can walk in the daylight as well as in the dark, and they have bodies and they are very strong. They look exactly like men. There was one in ancient Egypt, known as Ramses the Damned to the Egyptian court, though he was hardly damned as far as I can tell. His name was taken off all the royal monuments after he vanished. You know the Egyptians used to do that, obliterate the name as they sought to kill the being. And I don't know what happened to him. The old scrolls didn't tell. "
"Armand spoke of him, " I said. "Armand told of legends, that Ramses was an ancient vampire. "
"He is not. But I didn't believe what I read of him till I'd seen the others with my own eyes. And again, I have not communicated with them. I have only seen them, and they were terrified of me and fled. I fear them because they walk in the sun. And they are powerful and bloodless and who knows what they might do? But you may live centuries and never see them. "
"But how old are they? How long has it been? "
"They are very old, probably as old as I am. I can't tell. They live as wealthy, powerful men. And possibly there are more of them, they may have some way of propagating themselves, I'm not sure. Pandora said once that there was a woman too. But then Pandora and I couldn't agree upon anything about them. Pandora said they had been what we were, and they were ancient, and had ceased to drink as the Mother and the Father have ceased to drink. I don't think they were ever what we are. They are something else without blood. They don't reflect light as we do. They absorb it. They are just a shade darker than mortals. And they are dense, and strong. You may never see them, but I tell you to warn you. You must never let them know where you lie. They can be more dangerous than humans. "
"But are humans really dangerous? I've found them so easy to deceive. "
"Of course they're dangerous. Humans could wipe us out if they ever really understood about us. They could hunt us by day. Don't ever underestimate that single advantage. Again, the rules of the old covens have their wisdom. Never, never tell mortals about us. Never tell a mortal where you lie or where any vampire lies. It is absolute folly to think you can control mortals. " I nodded, though it was very hard for me to fear mortals. I never had.
"Even the vampire theater in Paris, " he cautioned, "does not flaunt the simplest truths about us. It plays with folklore and illusions. Its audience is completely fooled. " I realized this was true. And that even in her letters to me Eleni always disguised her meanings and never used our full names. And something about this secrecy oppressed me as it always had. But I was racking my brain, trying to discover if I'd ever seen the bloodless things . . . The truth was, I might have mistaken them for rogue vampires.
"There is one other thing I should tell you about supernatural beings, " Marius said.
"What is it? "
"I am not certain of this, but I'll tell you what I think. I suspect that when we are burnt-when we are destroyed utterly-that we can come back again in another form. I don't speak of man now, of human reincarnation. I know nothing of the destiny of human souls. But we do live forever and I think we come back. "
"What makes you say this? " I couldn't help but think of Nicolas.
"The same thing that makes mortals talk of reincarnation. There are those who claim to remember other lives. They come to us as mortals, claiming to know all about us, to have been one of us, and asking to be given the Dark Gift again. Pandora was one of these. She knew many things, and there was no explanation for her knowledge, except perhaps that she imagined it, or drew it, without realizing it, out of my mind. That's a real possibility, that they are merely mortals with hearing that allows them to receive our undirected thoughts.