A Night of Bloody Tears |
Disclaimer & Waffle:
20,Oct,02
Yup another Vamp fict ^_^ tehe.. well you can blame all
the other fict writers out there, it's their fault ^_^. and besides
I was a bit lost after finishing off the YYH fict I did, and not
really being arsed to carry on anything else I'm in the process of
^_^
While writing this I'm listening to Paradise Lost, Host
and One Second. So it might help in the mood I wish to catcher in
this fict ^_^ tehe, nothing like a good bit of depression to
brighten up a story I always say ^_^
PS: Paradise Lost came from the very small town in
which I now write this fict ^_^, and no not Bradford!
This fict is Pre Merrick ok ^_^
Lestat–X-Louis (obviously) |
A Night of Bloody Tears
Lestat was growing worried, It was almost to close to
dawn and Louis had not returned, It was not like his fledgling to be
out this late. He felt something was dreadfully wrong. He was about
to leave when he felt Marius touch his mind.
'Marius?' he answered in half concealed annoyance.
'Lestat!' Marius's mind voice said with a worried
flavour, 'Are you with Louis? Where is he!'
Lestat growled, 'No' he snapped to both question's, 'He
hasn't come home, I was about to go look for him, it too early for
him to be out.'
'Shit!' Marius said with almost a snarl.
'Why!?' Lestat shouted through the link, 'Where is he!
What’s happened?!'
'David's with me' he replied, 'We just heard Louis
screaming for help, I fear something happened to him. Where did he
go?'
Lestat froze at this information, 'He... He just went
out to feed.' he stuttered. 'He said he would not be long...'
'Damn.' Marius replied, 'It's to late for even us to do
anything... Lestat.' he said firmly. 'Don’t go out, get some sleep
and me and David will be over tomorrow night.'
'BUT!!' Lestat raged half in panic now, Louis wasn’t
strong enough to defend himself
against
a gang of mortal's never
mind anything else that might have crossed his path.
'NO' Marius snapped, 'We can do nothing for him if we
have incapacitated ourselves, Sit tight, Please Lestat.'
He could now feel the light of day seeping over the
horizon, and the death sleep was soon to follow, with a snarled he
began retreating to Louis room.
'Lestat?' Marius asked in worry.
'If your not here one hour after dusk I'll look by
myself!' he retorted then closed his mind tight as he looked down at
the empty coffin.
Since that one night in the shower, every dawn he had
crawled into the box to curl up
against
Louis cold form, pulling
the unresisting fledgling into his arms possessively.
But tonight he would not open his eye's and then wait
for Louis to revive, Bright green eye's would not open to him, a
smile would not cross that beautiful face at seeing him still there,
a soft breath would not touch his face as the other sighed
contentedly.
He felt something trickle down his face, as he wiped it
away he realized that he was weeping.
Marius opened his eyes with a deep sigh. He had felt
the brat prince’s distress through the link, and he had been
surprised at the depth of that feeling.
"Well?" David asked as he sat on a chair
across from him, they had both been surprised and then horrified by
the strength of Louis cry. So filled with pain and fear, the only
word he voiced was the brat's name repeatedly, the tone begging for
the only person in his thought's that he wanted help from, and the
only person that could not hear him.
"He will stay until we arrive." He answered
the other vampire. "I leave it to you to keep him from tearing
off and doing something foolish."
David nodded, "Can you feel where Louis is?"
Marius shook his head sadly, "I lost him as soon
as the cry stopped, I fear we are dealing with rogue vampire's
here."
David sat back with a deep sigh, "Poor Louis, this
is all he need's."
Marius nodded with agreement, "We can do nothing
else but find him."
"Let's just hope we find him in one peace, I'd
hate to think of what Lestat would be now without him." David
wiped his eyes as he sagged in the chair.
Marius nodded again. "Louis is the only one that
can calm Lestat nature, or at least he's there when he's being
reckless..." He sighed again. "I fear if we do not find
Louis soon we may lose what we have all come to tolerate and love in
Lestat... We may lose him too in more way's than one."
David stood up suddenly with a sigh, "I'll bid you
good night Marius." he said the emotion raw in his voice, as he
left for the guest room.
"I'll contact all I can to make sure they know
what's going on..."
David nodded as he stopped by the door, "Wish me
to see if I can find Armand? Tell him what's happening?"
"Yes." Marius smiled, forgetting how involved
Armand had been with both Lestat and Louis in the past. "Tell
him to stay put too, I don’t want to be stumbling over the whole
coven in this search."
Then David was gone as Marius concentrated on all those
still awake.
Louis fought his way out of his death sleep, as he
remembered what had happened the night before.
He was being chased, at first they had blocked his path
back home, there seemed to be hundreds of them, all weaker than him,
he knew, but there were just too many! Constantly forcing him away
from the one person who could help him, from the one place he could
feel some kind of safety.
He had tried leading them away so he could cut across
and double back on himself, but he had finally been forced into the
park.
They had surrounded him there, all coming slowly in for
the kill. He was weak from not being able to feed; they had found
him as he was about to have his first victim.
Then, as one, they had jumped him.
He remembered the searing pane as teeth sank into his
flesh, He remembered he had at least taken a few before they had
over whelmed him completely by shear blinding numbers.
As he had struggled, screaming; he had felt his mind
explode as a gag was forced between his teeth. He had let his last
strength go with that desperate mental cry, hopping someone, anyone,
would hear him.
Now he was laid on a cold stone floor, Blackness
greeted his eyes when he opened them. He tried to sit up but found
his ankles and hand's had been bound together beneath his back
painfully, Cold steal bit into his flesh in the form of thick chain,
and to add too it all he was desperately hungry.
It seemed he was laid like that for days before a door
finally opened admitting a thin pail light into the room.
He groaned in shock from behind his gag as he saw about
six figures all sat in a cercal about him, they all looked to be
concentrating as in some kind of Buddhist trance.
Then he watched as a short and ugly man came in,
followed by a raged bunch. He leered at Louis as he stepped inside
the cercal.
Louis tried to scoot back as the man bobbed down
infront of him, but it was useless, his body wrecked with pain.
The man reached out and stroked his cheek in an almost
sensual way as he addressed the others.
"This is what our companions gave their lives
for." he said in a ruff southern American accent. "This is
an old one. His blood, some of you have already tasted, is sweet
with the power and age our master lacked, he will make us strong so
we may take the other's!"
There were cheers and shouts of excitement as the man
sat infront of Louis stood up. "But we must be careful."
he said in a series voice to the others as the room fell silent.
Louis looked around the room quickly in panic, they
were all vampires and all looked like they had been made not so long
ago. And as far as his muddled mind could fathom, they all shared
the same maker, which was the reason they were all so weak. Those he
had killed were probably the last to be made; the blood would have
been thin by then. He guessed there were about fifteen if not more.
Then the man, who was obviously the leader, began his
speech again.
"We have all read the book's!, We know what we are
facing here." he snarled as he looked about the group. "We
must all lay low until we are finished with this one, one slip and
we could all perish! I only picked this one because he is the
weakest of them." he turned and emphasised his point by kicking
Louis in the chest.
There was an audible snap as a rib gave under the
force. Making Louis gasp in pain.
"So feed my fellow's! We will be strong!"
Louis only had a second to realize what the man had
just said before he felt himself pulled up and fangs sank viciously
into his neck.
Chapter 2
It was the fifteenth night now that they had searched
to no avail. The others of the cover had also looked now, but still
no one had found even a shred of a thought from Louis.
David was even out now looking for anything, but most
of them had given up now on the physical search, but keaped there
minds open for any sign.
Every lead, how ever slight, was looked into.
Marius sat watching Lestat now, as the younger vampire
lay sprawled on the sofa, He was wearing nothing but black, and had
been since the second day, the clothes looked a little worn and he
had not changed from them yet, not at all like his normal flamboyant
self, he was also extremely quiet as he stared into the fire.
As Marius observed him he noted how he wore the black
turtleneck sweater. He was huddled
against the back of the sofa,
clutching the black material of the neck over his mouth and nose as
if trying to hide. One of Louis book's rested in his lap forgotten.
He had also never let go of that book, some modern bit of ‘off the
shelf’ literature.
"Lestat?" He whispered in concern.
The now dull grey eyes did not look at him as he moved
his head slightly in an acknowledging gesture.
"We will find him..." He began, trying to
reassure him.
Lestat suddenly glared at him, as he moved the material
from his mouth, "Then why haven’t we all ready?!" he
snarled.
Marius could feel the raw emotions slip through Lestat
shielding, and he could do nothing but blink in surprise. He had
never realized just how much Lestat felt for the weakest member of
their coven. He had always assumed Lestat loved him as he loved all
of them, but this was something much more than that.
"Lestat..." he breathed, "I..."
"Shut up!" Lestat growled as he shot to his
feet, the book clutched in one hand. "I can’t just site here
and do nothing! I can’t suffer this much longer!" he shrieked
as he loomed over Marius. "What the hell good is all this power
if we can do nothing to find one of our own!"
"Lestat calm down!" Marius soothed. "We
are doing all we can, you know everyone will not give up until we
find him. All of us have our mind's open to him,"
Lestat suddenly sagged in on himself, clutching the
book to his chest like a shield. "But I can do nothing to help
him." He whispered as he collapsed to his knees infront of
Marius, "I could not even hear him calling for help... Maybe I
could have helped him..."
Marius reached out and laid his hand on his head.
"There was nothing you could have done..."
Lestat looked up and Marius saw tears in his eyes,
"I was going to follow him that night..." He whispered in
a harsh voice, "Watch him feed," His face folded in a
tight smile of pain. "He hated me watching him... But... We
argued, He wouldn't come to a concert with me the next night so I
threatened to burn his book..." Marius noted him clutch the one
in his arms a little tighter. "He stormed out, I didn’t
follow him... It's my fault!"
Marius scooped Lestat up in his arms as the other began
to sob bitterly, bloody tears streaking down his face.
Lestat had fallen asleep like that when David came
back.
Lestat's other fledgling flopped down on the sofa
opposite, the look on his face told Marius all he wanted to know.
"He's still wearing Louis clothes then?"
David observed with a razed eyebrow. "I thought you might have
got him out of them."
"I would if I had known." Marius replied,
"What about the book?"
David shrugged, "I think it might be what Louis
was reading that night." he smiled wearily. "It still some
time's surprises me that they stay together as they do, I moved out
because I could no longer take the argument’s they sometimes had.
Or the continues bickering."
Marius hugged Lestat a bit closer to him, "Well he
is our brat prince."
David nodded, "A brat he is. I still remember the
first time I saw Lestat eye to eye. So full of himself; without a
care in the world. What he didn’t say in that book he wrote is how
he tried to keep my attention from Louis just in the other
room."
There was a question Marius had to ask, and he could
think of no better time to ask it. "I always wondered, what
happened when you turned up as you are now? I wouldn’t think Louis
being to impressed."
David chuckled, "It took me some convincing him,
But I assume after all they have been through together, he knew
Lestat was capable of such a thing. He told me the guest room should
be mine, and that he knew Lestat would not be long before
returning."
"I would have though Louis a bit more upset."
Marius confessed.
David shook his head. "He seemed to just accepted
it, I think he knew it was coming, though I can’t say he made me
feel unwelcome." he shrugged, "But nether did he care much
for my presence."
"What about when you all went to Ryo?"
"Apart from Lestat being his normal self, I noted
even then he was more protective over Louis, I actually thought when
we all split up that he had gone to follow him." he shrugged
again. "Even though they never really did anything but argue,
or ignore each other, I still found them staring at one another when
they thought the other wasn’t looking."
"I imagine you must have been a bit put out by
this." Marius mused, "After all, we all hold some love for
our maker's."
David sighed as he looked at Lestat, "I suppose I
did, but then just reading there book's I could tell what they
really felt towards each other... Even in Louis book, how ever much
he thought he hated Lestat, you can still hear his love..."
"Poor Louis..." Marius whispered as Lestat
sturd in his arm's then open his eyes. "Come, dawn is almost
here."
The look of grief and sorrow on Lestat's face almost
made Marius weep, as the younger vampire stood.
"David..." Lestat acknowledged, not asking if
he had found anything, as he began walking into the hall, his feet
almost dragging on the thick carpet.
Marius watched him as he wandered into what he believed
was Louis room. He looked at David who shook his head.
"We are loosing him." Was all David said as
he stood. "And there is nothing any of US can do to stop
it."
Marius followed him to his room where he had placed his
coffin. His heart felt heavy as he pulled the lid closed, then
drifted into sleep.
David had gone to Las Angeles to see Armand and Danny,
to see if they knew anything. He had been gone two week's now and
Marius was fearing for Lestat's sanity.
He didn’t do anything really, just wandered around
the house aimlessly or wandered the streets without really seeing
anything.
Marius had lost him for a spell tonight as he had
watched Lestat hunt. But had soon found him in the cemetery.
As he approached he could see Lestat huddled up
against a grave, his long fingers tracing the groove of letter's.
With his keen eye's he saw the name, 'Louis de Point du
Lac', the date, obscured by Lestat's arm, but he didn’t need to
see that to know it was their Louis last mortal reminder to this
world.
Marius approached, letting the gravel crunch beneath
his feet. "Come Lestat." He said softly, "It serves
no purpose being here."
Lestat growled under his breath, not looking up.
"Even when we were apart," he said in a soft, all to calm
voice. "I knew he was alive, just like I know Gabriel is still
around... I knew, some how, some way, I would find him again, win
his heart the way I tried before..."
Marius stood silently as he let Lestat talk, there was
nothing else he could do in this city of the dead.
"But I cant feel him anymore... nothing..."
his fingers traced the letter's again. "This may as well be his
grave... Do I have to morn over empty soil, Just like his mortal
family so long ago? Is this my punishment?... Just like he was my
eternal guilt? My sorrow?"
Marius shook his head. "You know I can’t answer
that one Lestat, and nether can you, non of us can... Thing's
happen, even we die..."
Suddenly Lestat shot to his feet. "Louis didn’t
die!" he shrieked, as he faced Marius, "I shell never
believe he is dead till I see his ash's! He would not leave
me!" Tears were poring down his face now as he sagged
against
Marius's shoulder, "He said he would never leave me... He
promised..."
Marius held him tightly and was about to take him home
when he felt David touching his mind excitedly.
'What is it?' He asked
'Marius... Don’t excite Lestat, but we have found
something!' David's mind was full of hope. Something none of them
felt anymore.
'What's going on?' he asked.
'We found a fledgling vampire, he's weaker than Louis
ever was, but Armand found him. Marius! He stinks of Louis blood!
This may be it.'
Marius sighed in relief. 'Don’t get to enthusiastic,
I doubt we will find Louis in any fir state, if we find him alive at
all.'
'I know...' David said, 'Get here now! I think our
captive will be in the death sleep before you get here, but it
leaves us tomorrow to find Louis... How ever we find him.'
'We are coming.' he replied then broke the link, eager
to be off. He shook Lestat from his weeping. "It may seem both
our children may have found the best lead we have had in a long
time."
Lestat gasped up at him. "Where?"
"LA, David said Armand found a new fledgling, said
he smells strongly of… Louis."
Lestat's eye's lit up, "We have to go now!"
he breathed, He was about to set off before he stopped, "I have
to get something... from the house..." he said then he was
gone.
Marius court up with him in his room. He was quickly
dressing in some of his own clothes, Blue velvet with a white shirt.
Then he darted to his large coffin, throwing the lid off, he took
out what looked like a fluffy deep blue throw-over from the bottom,
he quickly folded it, putting the book he still carried in the
fold's, and tucked the whole lot under his arm.
Marius just stood and watched till Lestat faced him, a
determined grin on his face.
"Come on, there is enough night to get there
before dawn!"
Then he was gone again.
As predicted, almost as soon as they arrived in LA,
dawn was so close the sky was almost red.
Lestat had almost been willing to bear the sunlight,
but even he could do nothing againced the death sleep.
He was up before everyone as always and he paced the
floor of Armand's apartment. Waiting for the others to awaken. It
wasn’t long before Armand, David and Marius joined him.
"So where is this vampire wanabe then?" He
demanded.
David stepped forwards, "We don’t want you doing
anything rash, Lestat" he said calmly. "We have to get
information out of him first.."
Lestat growled at him, "Where is he!"
"I'll get him” Armand said as he left.
David did all he could to stop Lestat from following
Armand; He knew how worried his maker was, they all were.
And here, finally was some proof as to Louis
whereabouts.
Finally Armand came back holding a scruffy looking
youth. Teeth beard as he was thrown to the floor.
“Stupid brat!” The youth yelled at Armand, not
seeing the others, when he did his almost human pallor paled
considerably.
“Where is he!” Lestat stepped forwards as he
contained his furry.
The weak vampire backed up on his backside, one hand
held up as if to fend off any attack. “Where is who?” he
twittered as his wide eyes flicked from one ancient vampire to the
next.
Lestat knelt down in front of the youth. “You know
full well who I mean…” He snarled as he leaned forwards, “I
can smell him all over you…”
David could smell it too. That rich sweet aroma
combined with a subtle smell of dust and old books.
Marius put a firm hand on Lestat’s shoulder. “Young
one, There is no point denying your involvement to the one we seek,
he is in your mind now and all here can read your thoughts…”
David could have kicked himself; he hadn’t thought of
that, he opened his mind to the weaker vampires.
Instantly he was seeing through the others eyes. ::An
old rickety warehouse on the outskirts of town, There were lots of
others, non he considered friend, then an image of his maker and the
maker of all those in the dark and musty building. Tall, never
coming into any light, always hidden in a hooded robe.
They all feared this one and his high ambitions that he
would make an army of them all, then wipe out the old ones and the
mortals, that they would rule supreme.
Then there came another more disturbing image, of a
form huddled
against
the shadows in a basement room, fear leaked
from this being that had once fought them all and killed a few
brothers before he became too weak to resist even the most pathetic
of them.
He had drunk the first sweet blood from this being, now
it had turned pail and bitter, their master would not let them feed
it for fear that it might take strength from it.
David pulled sickeningly from the vampires mind, one
hand over his mouth.::
Marius pulled a fuming Lestat of the screaming youth
then turned to Armand, “See to him…” was all he said as Armand
complied, taking the youth from the room. There were a few desperate
screams then the vampire disappeared from his senses. Then Armand
left the building. The young vampire obviously too young to turn to
ash.
“We leave now!” Lestat was shaking, “I will not
let this go on a moment longer!”
David could find no argument in Lestat’s command, and
neither could the others.
At least Louis had been alive two day’s ago; it
remained to be seen if this still could not all turn out disastrous.
Chapter 3
Marius was the first to get to the room that hung
heavily in all the little vampires minds.
It was locked with a large padlock; he knew even Louis
could brake. With a quick thought the lock fell from the door.
Taking a deep breath he throw the door open.
The stench that filled his nostrils was almost
nauseating; it wasn’t the smell of human blood but that of a
vampires gone bad.
Gingerly he entered the dark room. On first glances it
just looked like a room that had not been used in some time, dust
hung heavy in the air but could not be as heavy as the overall
smell.
What looked like boxes and old furnishers covered in
old dustsheet's lined the walls as if hastily stacked or recently
pushed there. Then his eye's fell on a pile of filthy rags in the
centre of a chalked out cercal in the middle of the room.
Four candles burned at each corner of it giving the
room it's only hazy light.
Slowly he approached the rag's, unsure of what he would
find underneath the all to convenient sized mound. Carefully he bent
down and from one end of the rag's he could see strands of black
hair and his heart froze.
With a groaned he pulled the rags away, flinging them
against
the far wall.
He gave a start and jumped to his feet as he looked in
horror at what he had revealed.
What was once the most charismatic, beautiful and
weakest vampire of their coven, now lay on his side in a loos
pheatle position, his pail skin now the only thing covering his
protruding bone's.
Marius knelt down and touched the fragile skin, it was
cold and dry to the touch, and the bite marks that littered that
flesh showed up in vivid tares and unhealed gouges. Gently he began
to brush matted black hair from Louis face, and again he could not
suppress the shear gasp of horror of what greeted his eyes.
Louis lips were as shrivelled as the rest of him,
pulled back from his pure white teeth; His eyes were closed but
dreadfully sunken. He looked like he was a corpse that had been left
in the desert or arctic waist's for millennia, and about as
lifeless.
They were too late, there was no way Louis could have
survived this abuse for so long. He doubted any of them could.
"Oww Louis..." He whispered. "What have
they done to you..." He let a sob brack his voice.
To his surprise a long bony finger twitched.
Marius gasped in hope. "Louis?.. Can you hear me
Louis?"
Another twitch of skeletal finger's.
Marius grasped the hand in relief, but Louis face
pulled slightly into the parody of pain, making Marius release it
immediately, He tried to touch the young vampires mind but all he
got was a deep tormented blackness and one name repeated over and
over again, and even that was muted in the unbearable chaos that
remained of Louis shattered mind.
He heard someone else coming and realised it was David,
he heard the gasp of revulsion behind him then the youngling kneel
besides him.
"Is… Is he alive?" David breathed.
Marius nodded, "But barely, where are the
other's?"
"Killing the last of the bastards" David
growled as he touched Louis face genially.
"I don’t think we should let Lestat see
this" Marius said firmly.
David looked at him with a shocked frown.
"But...?"
"Not here... We could take him back to the
Hotel... we could make the Ru Royal if we hurry."
"No!" David protested "Can't you here
him? We could do more damage to him, you can feel how weak he is and
his mind is so fragmented right now..." he sighed looking back
down at Louis, "He need's Lestat..." he said simply.
"I can feel his distress at you and me being here... I think
only Lestat and maybe Armand are the one's he would be more
comfortable around in such a state."
Marius knew David was speaking the plain truth. "I
fear more Lestat’s reaction on seeing him in such a way... Even
going to ground for years would not have such a diabolical
effect."
David was just about to reach for the rag's to cover
Louis's damaged body when they both heard Lestat thundering down the
stairs.
"To late." Marius whispered as Lestat came in
the door.
Both Marius and David stood as Lestat approached; his
large grey eyes fixed on Louis as his hand covered his mouth. He was
trembling a little as he fell to his knees.
"He is calling for you, Lestat." David said
softly. “He needs you.”
Marius pulled David over to the door as he grabbed
Armand who also arrived at the same time.
Silently they all stood and watched, all helpless to do
anything else.
Lestat could do nothing for a moment as he stared at
his beautiful one, broken and lifeless. His mouth was dry as he
brushed his fingers over a painfully sunken cheekbone, then across
sunken eyes.
"Louis?" He whispered feeling tears begin to
seep from his eye's in a mix of relief and horror. How could anyone
do this to HIS Louis? How could anyone try and destroy such beauty?
He felt something touch a knee, he looked down to see
Louis's once so perfect finger's trying to lift up, Gently Lestat
took the hand in his own and rested the bone thin palm
against
his
own cheek.
"I'm here, Louis." he whispered, "I'm
here"
There was a movement of the drawn lips, then the teeth
opened a little.
"Don’t speak, chere." Lestat said laying a
finger over the ruin of his mouth. "Nothing will harm you now,
I'll look after you..." He chocked back on a sob as he pulled
the shrunken form into his arms.
He pulled the throw-over, Louis had loved so much, from
where he had stuffed it down the back of his jeans, and with care
wrapped his precious one in it. Trying to give what little comfort
he could.
Lestat heard Armand’s intake of breath then the
vampire was besides him, his fingers reaching to touch Louis face,
but pulled back at the last moment.
Marius and David still stood by the door as Armand
looked up at him.
"I wish we had not killed them all." The
shorter vampire snarled, "I would stretch out there miserable
death's!"
"We didn’t..." Lestat said sharply, "I
didn't see their leader!"
Louis moved ever so slightly in Lestat's hold, and he
made a shushing sound.
"Lestat...?" Marius said from the corridor
now. "Can you two make it to the Ru Royal tonight?"
Lestat stood then turned, Louis protectively in his
arms, "Of course I can..."
Marius nodded once, "Armand you go with them... I
fear mine and David's presence are disturbing him... We will see all
the others know and stay out of New Orleans until Louis is
well."
"Why Armand?" Lestat fully understood.
"I can deal with this!"
"No you can’t!" Marius growled, "Louis
trust's Armand too, they were together almost as long as you both
were, and also one of you will have to stay with him while the other
hunt's for him!"
Lestat throw a look at Armand, the other vampire just
nodded. "Come" he said as he began to take Louis out of
the abandoned warehouse that now stunk of death.
Chapter 4
Lestat lay Louis out on his bed carefully, afraid that
at any moment he would somehow break the paper-thin skin or shatter
a fragile bone.
It hadn’t taken them long to get back with Lestat
flying Louis in his arm's and Armand clinging to his back.
"There is still some night left." Armand
whispered, "I'll go get something for him..."
Lestat barely acknowledged him as he began to unwrap
his beloved fledgling from the throw over.
He hadn’t noticed before all the bite marks and rips
in Louis skin fragile skin.
They had drained him of everything and not fed him in
return.
He snarled again at what they had done to him, but
Louis stirred and his hand feebly reached for him.
"shhh... My beautiful one" he whispered,
"I will see you as you once were, my love."
Using his power he turned the tap's on in the huge bath
and carefully picked his fledgling up.
Louis stirred again, a dry rasp left his throat, as he
stiffly moved his head into Lestat’s shoulder.
Lestat carefully laid Louis in the warm water and ever
so softly sponged the filth away from the marble white skin; on some
of the worse wounds Lestat could see bone. But no blood flowed into
the water or seeped from the horrible wounds.
Lestat knew there was one quick way to get his
fledgling back to his old self, or something more. But he always
knew Louis would never forgive him if he forced him.
He desperately wanted to force the subject right now,
but he couldn’t, he would not loose his love again, and especially
not to something he did, even if it was saving his immortal life.
"Louis?" he said softly until he got the
smallest of responses, a slight turning of the head. "Louis,
I'm going to give you some of my blood..."
There was an audible groan, something like that of air
rattling over brittle paper and the head turned away a little.
"No, Louis. Listen to me!" he persisted
taking Louis face in his hand's even though he knew his fledgling
couldn’t see him. "Please Louis, I only want to give you
enough so I know I wont loose you during the day! I swear to you I
will not give you more unless you are able to ask me yourself!"
There was a subtle loosening of shoulders as Louis gave
in.
"I promise you. No more than you need..."
Lestat said again as he brought his own wrist to his lips, slashing
it open easily he pressed it to what was Louis mouth.
He gasped in slight pain as he felt Louis sharp teeth
gnaw weakly at his flesh, but the other vampire drank thirstily as
best he could with a dry tong.
Lestat keped a close eye on Louis and some of the more
nasty wounds.
The water in the bath began to be tinged with red as
vanes carried Lestat’s blood through parched flesh and finally
white, dry skin began to try and heal it’s self.
Lestat pulled his arm away. Hopping that he had not
given Louis too much, just enough to see him on his way to healing.
He let the water out the bath and then rinsed Louis off
with the showerhead. Already miner injuries were disappearing but
not fast enough to ease Lestat’s heart.
He had also gained a bit of flesh, only enough so that
his bones were now vagly covered by something other than a thin
layer of skin.
He was carrying his fledgling to his room when Armand
showed up. He was holding by the throat a rather large cat and what
looked like a bag of rat's that thrashed about in their confines.
"I thought about getting a mortal." He said
matter of fact. "But I thought it might be too much for him to
handle at this time." He glanced at Louis and a look of pain
crossed his angelic face for a moment. "Has he woken?"
Lestat bit down his jealousy and nodded. "Only for
a moment... Come he need's that cat." he said disdainfully, but
he knew Armand had been right in getting what he did. Tomorrow he
would hunt out a mortal if he had to.
Chapter 5
Day's passed into a week and still Louis only roused
when either Lestat or Armand slashed the arm of a mortal they had
seduced. And once he had eaten, collapsed into an unholy slumber.
Lestat sat on the side of the bed where Louis lay
during the night, and stroked long black silky hair.
Louis almost looked himself again, His lip's covered
his teeth now and his eye lids now looked as if there was something
beneath, though he had not opened them yet.
Armand was out, he had left after bringing the pretty
mortal for Louis then he had gone in pretens of getting rid of the
corpse. Lestat was relieved he was alone now. Though he had to admit
at least to himself that Armand had been of help to him.
"Will you not wake?" Lestat final whispered
to the sleeper, Desperate just to see those eyes again, those same
eyes he had fallen in love with over two hundred years ago.
"Even for me will you not wake?" Lestat felt
a tear in his eye. Quickly he stood, there was no use just sitting
here, there was a new CD he had been meaning to listen too.
With a flourish he left for the front parlour.
He had forgotten the time as he listened to his music
and he felt someone enter the room, he didn’t look up expecting it
to be Armand back from his wandering.
Instead, who ever it was bumped into the sofa he lay
on. He looked up in annoyance ready to give Armand a piece of his
frustrated mind..
Instead his eye's looked upon Louis above him.
Lestat stood up instantly.
Louis was shacking badly, though his beautiful green
eye's never left Lestat’s as he helped him to sit down, then
swiftly sat next to him.
"You should have called." Lestat chided
gently. He could not take his eyes from Louis own, they were dull
and almost lifeless, but at least they were open. "You should
still be sleeping."
Louis gave him a look of complete loss, "Wa..."
his voice was dry, "What happened?" He looked away
suddenly. "I... I can’t remember." He shivered violently
as he wrapped his arms around himself tightly. "Dark...
Cold."
"Shhh..." Lestat said as he held his
fledgling tightly. His heart broke at the shear look of despair on
his beloveds face. Even after all they had been through he had never
seen Louis look so lost. "I wont let anyone harm you now, my
beautiful one. Shh..."
Louis buried his face in Lestat's shoulder. "I...
I recall I was grabbed... I remember thinking it was you and one of
your jokes!" he shivered again, his hands clinging to
Lestat’s shirt as if he were falling. "I remember fighting
but they were to strong for me, I called your name but you never
came!" Suddenly Louis pulled at him, his green eye's wide,
almost accusing. "I... I though after what I said you would
have followed me... but you never came!"
Lestat felt the tears fill in his own eyes. Guilt
tugged at his heart. "I knew I should have, Louis..." he
said hearing his own voice crack. "I would have if you had not
left in such a mood, I though you would hate me if you court
me!"
Suddenly Louis frowned; his lips trembled in a most
human way. "I could never hate you..." he whispered,
"Not now... I never really did…"
Lestat took Louis face in his hands and laid a soft
kiss on his forehead then on his eyelids. Then moved down to his
lips where he lingered a bit, pressing flesh to flesh and nothing
more.
Then he moved his face till he could whisper into Louis
perfect ear, "I'll never leave you again... No matter what you
say..." he felt a bloody tear fall down his cheek and into
Louis hair. "I'd rather have you accusing me of being there,
than not, when you need me. My most my beautiful one." He
kissed the ear then pulled away till he was looking back into Louis
dull green eyes once again. "Come... Do you wish to rest here
on in the bed?"
Louis was biting his lip, obviously fighting back the
tear's he wished not to shed. Then he looked away his body slumped
against Lestat side as he gave a sigh of exhaustion.
"Here." he murmured as he laid an arm over Lestat's
thighs.
Lestat held him as tightly as he dared, then with a
thought sparked the already laid hearth into life. Soft oranges and
yellows filled the room, as it became only source of light.
Before long Lestat felt Louis relax completely as he
drifted into sleep.
He whispered soft nothings into Louis hair. Hopping
that his fledgling would take some solace from it, just knowing he
was safe and warm and loved and home.
It was like that, when Armand found them some time
later.
Lestat looked up and met the other vampire’s steady
gaze with one of his own. Neither of them said anything. But Lestat
noted the quick glance Armand gave Louis, and a hint of regret on
his friends face.
"He shouldn’t be up." Armand said in a
quiet voice.
Lestat nodded as he hugged Louis to him a little more
protectively. "He came here by himself."
Armand nodded as he sat down on one of the plush
chairs. His eyes never leaving Louis. "Then he is coming
around?"
"I should hope so..." Lestat smiled,
"It's eternally boring without him to be displeased with
me."
Armand looked back up at him then, his angelic face
nothing but a mask of hard marble. "You should not be so harsh
on him constantly..." Then a smile appeared on his lips.
"After what happened here so long ago and he coming to me, I
though you would have been more lenient with him."
Lestat hissed at him, knowing the other vampire was
only trying to rub that awful time in Paris in a little more. Though
he felt no malice in it, but it annoyed him anyway.
Louis suddenly gasped in his embrace, then he sat up a
little, but did not trying to brake free of Lestat's hold on him.
Armand sat forwards in his chair, "You awake,
Louis?"
Louis blinked at him then smiled a small smile and
nodded.
Lestat smoothed some wayward strand of thick black hair
from green eyes that looked a little more alert. “Are you hungry
my beautiful one?” He was still painfully gaunt, and some of his
wounds and bones still bothered him in his more lucid moments.
Louis didn’t shy away from his touch, which was
something in it’s self. But he winced at what was mostly a simple
question.
“If
you wish I or Armand could go get you something else this night, or
if you want to go out, I will be with you always.”
Louis
sat up a bit, pressing his side against Lestat’s. A subtle gesture
of fear that Lestat didn’t miss.
“I
could take a walk…” He said haltingly with a tremble.
“You
should not strain your self, Louis.” Armand said with something
close to a disapproving glare. “Lestat should have seen you back
to your rest… Come, I take you there.”
Lestat
felt Louis stiffen suddenly. “Maybe I could just stay here for a
little while longer?”
Lestat
caught his breath when green eyes looked up at him with such
pleading. “You may do anything you like,” He smiled down at his
fledgling.
Louis
seemed to settle a little, and Lestat couldn’t help but cast
Armand a smug smile. He would have to ask the other vampire to leave
if he made HIS Louis uncomfortable.
He
doubted Armand would like the prospect much, but it was in Louis
best interests, so there was no way he would take no for an
answer… Well, not that he ever had.
Armand
just returned a cool look then left.
Lestat
felt Louis relaxed again.
“You
really should be asleep.” Lestat whispered into his ear.
Louis
seemed to cuddle closer, then he mumbled something inaudible into
his shoulder.
Lestat
smiled as he easily picked Louis up in his arms.
He
swiftly made his was to Louis room but when he tried to lay Louis
down he only clung on tighter.
“What
is it mo’cher?” he asked softly, slightly confused.
“I
don’t want to be alone…” Louis muttered.
“I’ll
stay here until the death sleep comes.” Lestat said and he
couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips.
Louis
shook his head. “No… Please.”
Lestat
didn’t miss the slight embarrassed over tones and something inside
him warmed to the confession that Louis was letting past his stoic
guards.
“We
will sleep in my room then,” He said making his way across the
hall, then laid his fledgling out on the bed.
Even
though he had taken Louis into his coffin every night since they had
found him, he had half feared that now he was fully conscious that
Louis would want to be alone to brood, to think, to get over all
that had happened to him.
Now
he opened his coffin then went back to his beloved fledgling. He lay
on the bed with his silken black hair fanned out on the pillow.
Lestat couldn’t help but to compare him with that of a dark angel,
who’s wings had been cut, now so lost and alone with only him for
protection and comfort.
His
mental image was so strong that he felt tears come to his eyes.
To
see his Louis, his beautiful one reduced to this was more than he
could take. He may have been a weak specimen of a vampire but
enduring will and resilience had made him stronger than the entire
coven that now existed. This once so proud and independent immortal
brought down to begging for company.
However
much Lestat’s heart warmed and had yearned for this, it was at to
higher a price to have to pay.
Louis
stiffly sat up and looked at him with worry in his green eyes.
“What
is it Lestat?… What’s wrong?”
Lestat
sat down on the bed, cupping Louis face in his hands as he smiled.
“Nothing,” he whispered.
Louis
shook his head as he held Lestat’s hands in return.
“I…
I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.” He said so quietly, “I
would take it all away if I could, take all your pain away…”
Louis
smiled then as he rested his forehead against Lestat’s shoulder.
“Not even you can change history or time, Lestat”.
“I
can try.” Lestat smiled as he held Louis close, he could feel his
Beautiful one growing heavy in his hold, and knew he had to get him
settled.
Carefully
he picked Louis up and they lay down in the large coffin together.
Louis pressed as tight up against Lestat as was possible; his head
tucked in-between Lestat’s chin and shoulder.
“Sleep
well my Beautiful one…” Lestat whispered as his heart sang a
little.
Louis
stirred, then he fell silent and still, Lestat hated it when he
stopped breathing, but he would be there when he finally took his
first breath of the night and he knew all would be well again.
He
hugged his fledgling a little closer, burying his nose in Louis soft
scented hair he drifted off into a mortal sleep.
The
End
Next Fict (Not a sequel) - Explaining Louis
(PS:
“Explaining Louis” is almost a 2nd part to this, or
was meant to be at the time.)
Umm…
This fict was about a year in the making, on and off. And it might
still need another read through, but it was more complete than I
originally thought. This was also written way before “Vampire
Killer Convention”, the start date for this was some time in 2001
:P
Well
hope you liked and I wouldn’t mind feedback… I’m just vane
that way :P so if there’s anything wrong with it then I would like
to know that too! also sorry to those that like to see Louis win the
day, I just like the “Louis gets beaten the crap out of and Lestat
saves the day” ficts, I’m a sap shoot me :P |
Please leave feedback ^_~ By e-Mail - By Live Journal |