Chapter Text
Before the Storm
Du Lac, you there?
Two nights had passed since Daniel had tried to reach Louis. The vampire had never answered. It was strange—like the connection was there, but Louis was ignoring him on purpose.
And something else had started nagging at Daniel: Lestat was silent too. Ever since they’d come back from San Diego, Lestat hadn’t shown even a shadow of himself. Impressive, for someone whose presence was usually loud enough to pick up from two or three galaxies away.
That night, Daniel was at the airport, about to board a flight that would take him to California again. Once he landed in Sacramento, he’d stay at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento Hotel, where Fareed had already arranged a couple of suites with blackout curtains fit for vampires. Daniel was glad Fareed had offered to spend some time with him before they reached Maharet’s house; it soothed him, took the edge off his nerves.
With no vampiric way to reach his own kind, Daniel grabbed his phone and dialed Christine Claire.
“Hello?”
“Christine, it’s Daniel.”
“Oh, finally, Mr. Molloy! I’ve tried calling you countless times!”
“Yeah, well, I really wasn’t in the mo—”
“Lestat’s missing.”
Daniel went silent, long enough to repeat that absurd piece of news to himself a couple of times.
“What the hell do you mean missing?”
“Missing means missing. Poof. Vaporized!”
“You know, when you’re talking about people like us, ‘vaporized’ isn’t exactly the word I’d use.”
“Oh, please.”
“When’s the last time you saw or heard from him?”
“When the band split up after we got back from San Diego, he and I stayed together for a bit. He was quiet. Very nervous. When I asked him what was wrong, he cut me off and said he needed to find Mr. Du Lac. And that he’d get in touch.”
“And you didn’t think something was off.”
“I thought he just needed sex! He always needs sex!”
“Yeah, that checks out.”
“Well, I’m not his mother. Whatever he’s doing isn’t my damn business. But the concert in San Francisco is in a few days. If he doesn’t show up, we’re going to be drowning in legal trouble.”
“I bet. Thanks, Christine. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
Daniel hung up before she could answer.
Lestat?
Silence.
Lestat, buddy, you’d better be dead, because your lawyer might be considering killing you herself.
He didn’t expect the provocation to work, but hey—worth a shot.
Daniel was genuinely nervous now. He didn’t even realize he’d already walked all the way to the private jet he’d rented to Sacramento. He’d chosen the same company Lestat’s band used and requested their integrated service for his “dietary needs.” Good thing his book was doing so well, and Louis’s ten million dollars were nowhere near running out. At least he wouldn’t starve on the way.
Daniel felt particularly grateful when the jet touched down in Sacramento, and he mentally noted that turbulence was not, in fact, any better for vampires. Those damn air pockets had always made him clench his ass in unpleasant ways, and he wondered if he’d ever manage to master the Cloud Gift with his pre-existing aversion to the unpredictability of flight.
“Daniel!”
Fareed stood out among the crowd of mortals around him. He was dressed in black from head to toe, except for a mala of dark Rudraksha seeds with a small red tassel. His shock of white hair gleamed in all that darkness, as did the red lenses of his glasses and his bright smile. Daniel felt his heart warm.
“Fareed,” he said, hugging him tightly.
“You look good, Daniel. Though you have the air of someone who’s eaten too little and thought too much.”
“A description that fits me way too well lately.”
“I figured you hadn’t fed enough, but as it happens, you’re a particularly lucky vampire.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Oh, yes. Because I, on the other hand, fed more than enough for both of us before coming here.”
Daniel felt his fangs itch, already savoring what was coming. Fuck, he’d missed Fareed.
“Lead the way.”
They reached the hotel in twenty minutes. In less than ten, they were inside the suite Fareed had booked.
“You said you booked a couple of suites,” Daniel panted into the other vampire’s mouth, trying to catch his breath between one assault of tongue and the next.
“I lied.”
The frenzy of hunger and the desire to completely ruin the vampire in front of him gave Daniel the strength to lift Fareed, gripping him by the thighs, and dump him onto the first flat surface available. A bunch of unidentifiable objects crashed to the floor and shattered.
“I’m guessing I just lost the depo—AH!”
With all the speed possessed, Daniel ripped off Fareed’s pants and underwear and began sucking greedily from his femoral artery, holding his legs spread wide in obscene fashion. The Vampire had really prepared himself that night. His legs were smooth like velvet and warm in a way that made Daniel’s head spin in the sweetest damn way.
Everything about him tasted like sin.
“Remind me that your husband will never come asking for my head,” Daniel said, pulling back from Fareed’s groin and licking his lips clean of that delicious blood.
“He likes you. You know that.”
“You were right, Dr. Bhansali.” Fareed raised an eyebrow at him, breath heavy, and Daniel added, “I really am one lucky bastard.”
By dawn, the suite looked more like a crime scene than a luxury hotel room. Daniel hadn’t realized how much tension he’d been carrying these past weeks and Fareed had shown up like a delicious offering on the altar of some god.
“How many times—”
“Four.”
“I’d do it four more.”
“You’re talking to me with your eyes closed, Daniel.”
“Yeah, well, maybe once I actually wake up,” he said, letting out a loud yawn.
Fareed laughed brightly, “When you wake up, you’ll have bigger problems to deal with.”
Daniel didn’t have time to ask what he meant. The sun had risen, and he passed out like the dead.
When he opened his eyes, Daniel saw Fareed wrapped in a soft bathrobe. The doctor was half-lying on a chaise longue, sipping blood from a red-wine glass and watching him with a warm expression. His wet, silky hair fell in loose waves over his forehead and shoulders.
“Your hair’s longer.”
“Haven’t cut it in a while. Seth likes it better this way lately.”
“Ah, right. Seth. Your immortal Companion.”
“Daniel,” Fareed said, laughing. “could you just relax already?”
Daniel slid out from under the silk sheets Fareed had obviously draped over him during his death-sleep and crawled across the mattress toward the foot of the bed.
“Come here.”
Fareed moved to set the glass down, but Daniel stopped him. “Don’t. Come here.”
Curious, the vampire came closer. When he was within reach, Daniel slipped a hand under the robe and started stroking him along his whole length.
“Keep drinking.”
Fareed obeyed. He closed his eyes, brought the glass to his lips, loosened the belt and gave Daniel a full view of his naked body. His body hair had grown back, but it didn’t take away from those bronze-carved lines. The blood and the stimulation pushed the doctor to orgasm fast, moaning under Daniel’s practiced hands, then collapsing on top of him, wrapped in his arms.
“Back to what I was saying, Dr. Fareed—I don’t relax. Because if I try for even a second to imagine myself in his place and—”
“And Armand in mine,” Fareed said, practical and amused.
“And Armand in yours… I think I’d put the head of any man who tried to touch even one of his hairs on a damn pike.”
“Mmh. So you think I should be the one worried? You think your Maker would try to rip my head off if he knew?”
“Pff. He doesn’t give a fuck who I sleep with. I could fuck every vampire in America and beyond and he wouldn’t look up.”
Fareed stayed quiet. He didn’t argue. His face shifted—like he’d slipped into some deep puzzle inside his head.
“You want to share with the class, or do I have to dig in there myself?”
“Oh, you talk like you’d be able to.”
They both burst out laughing. The moment slipped away.
“It’s eight-thirty. Early for a fledgling.”
“Apparently I do a lot of prodigious things for a fledgling.”
“Like what?”
“The Talamasca agent I’m dealing with was surprised I could talk to him telepathically even though we were both in New York. It’s not a big deal. I reached Louis from a distance too, when he was in Dubai, and—”
Daniel stopped. Everything from the past weeks came crashing back—Maharet in his dream, Louis and Lestat missing.
“Fareed, how long before we reach Sonoma?”
They rented a car, a Lucid Air Zenith Red, and Daniel started updating Fareed on everything he hadn’t had time to say the night before.
“Daniel, you really didn’t think to tell me all this yesterday?”
“When exactly? Between sucking your blood and sucking your cock?”
“Mmh…”
It was the first time he’d seen Fareed worried. It almost snapped Daniel’s patience too, but before he could speak, the doctor continued:
“It’s not Maharet I’m worried about. By the way, the fact that you reached her mind in your sleep—that is prodigious. I’m worried about Lestat disappearing.”
“So we don’t give a damn about Louis?”
“With all due respect, Daniel, Louis de Pointe du Lac is not our priority. Think about what Maharet told you and do the math.”
The realization hit him like a train.
“She said the Queen would go after the one who woke her up.”
“Bingo.”
“You think… you think Lestat is dead?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
Daniel looked out the window and noticed that Fareed had taken a road that looked rural. They had left the main roads behind a while ago, and now a large Art Nouveau-style villa rose ahead of them, wrapped in tall vegetation. Daniel turned his head left and saw the mountain from his dream. He had already been here.
Fareed parked in a wide circular courtyard with a dead fountain in the middle, surrounded by several dark, elegant cars. The doctor turned toward Daniel and brushed a hand over his cheek.
“If the Queen took Lestat, I have good reason to assume he’s alive. It happened before — Lestat stirring something in her. Centuries ago, when he lived with Marius. In Greece, if I remember correctly.”
“When he lived with…”
“We don’t have time, Daniel. We need to go in. They’re all here already.”
At those words, Daniel felt his blood freeze in his veins. They were already here. Armand was here.
The two vampires moved in silence toward the entrance of the manor. Someone stood on the threshold, likely waiting for them.
“Fareed, at last. We’ve been expecting you.”
“Good evening, Mael. The trip took longer than expected.”
The vampire turned to Daniel. “And you must be young Daniel Molloy.”
“That’s me”
Daniel reached out to shake his hand and took a moment to study him properly. Mael was incredibly tall — Daniel suspected he easily cleared six foot three. He had an oval face, a square jaw, and deep-set eyes. Daniel couldn’t even begin to guess how old he’d been the day he was turned.
“Come, the others are in the inner garden.”
Daniel followed the two vampires through arches and wide corridors until they reached an inner portico overlooking a magnificent courtyard of pale stone and wild greenery. At the far end, a long table hosted several figures; Armand was not among them. Daniel immediately recognized the Red Witch, Maharet, who turned to look at him the moment he formed a thought about her. She rose from her seat at the head of the table and walked toward them, brushed past Mael with a dismissive nod, and smiled.
“Welcome, Dr. Bhansali. Welcome, Daniel Molloy — under my invitation this time.”
Fareed hurried to kiss her hand and headed toward the table, leaving Daniel alone with the Elder. Daniel copied Fareed’s gesture, though with the clumsy approximation of a modern man performing an actual hand-kiss. Maharet smiled, amused, clearly entertained.
“Daniel, walk with me. Fareed will update the table on everything they need to know. I have something to discuss with you.”
Daniel nodded without a word and followed her deeper into the garden; when he turned, he caught a pair of icy blue eyes fixed on him. Their owner — a vampire with long, nearly white hair — looked away as if Daniel’s presence were beneath all notice. When Maharet reached a small round table with a glass top, she sat and gestured for Daniel to sit. He obeyed, though he couldn’t stop thinking about those iridescent cobalt eyes.
Where had he seen them before?
“So, Daniel, we finally meet.”
Daniel met her gaze. She was exactly as he remembered her: timeless beauty, hard, strong. Her power radiated without effort — Daniel could feel it across his skin — yet he wasn’t afraid. Not really. What he felt was closer to reverence, the kind described in books about certain enlightened Beings.
“You’re exactly like in my dream.”
“It wasn’t exactly a dream. Think of it more as an unplanned astral projection. You were asleep, but your mind wandered until it found mine.”
“I didn’t think I was strong enough to get inside your head.”
“Oh no. You were strong enough to come knocking at my door, so to speak. I let you in. Don’t get me wrong — it’s still nearly unheard of for a vampire so young.”
Daniel let out a low, ironic laugh. “I don’t know what to do with it, you know? Last time I was supposed to use my powers for something useful, someone had to step in. I nearly died.”
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you, Daniel.”
Daniel immediately thought of Armand and the coven he had burned to the ground but Maharet shook her head. “That matter has been settled. Armand and the other vampires involved have been held accountable and the issue resolved in your absence. Two vampires from that coven tried to kill you — it was within your Maker’s rights to avenge the wrong done to you.”
“So… he left?”
Maharet held his gaze for a moment. “No. He asked permission to step away briefly, just before you and Fareed appeared on my doorstep. He’ll be back shortly.”
“Mh. All right. Thank you.”
Maharet seemed to weigh her next words. “Bonds between vampires are extremely complicated, most of the time. For some of us, not even eternity is enough to heal certain wounds. We die and remain stuck forever in the moment we left — in body and, to a degree, in soul.”
“So you’re telling me we’re doomed never to change? Forever slaves to our failures?”
“Mh… I don’t truly know how to answer that. Our nature is volatile, young vampire, and my mind is ancient and far removed from this age. What I do know is that I see something in your eyes — something I’ve only seen a couple of times in six millennia.”
“And that would be?”
“A shameless, indomitable resolve.” She smiled, then continued, “What I wanted was to make you an offer. When all this is over, if you want, come find me. I’d like to give you my guidance… help you develop your potential.”
Daniel smiled. “Jedi training.”
Maharet frowned, puzzled. Daniel added, “Forget it. Thank you, Maharet. When… whatever this is… is finally over, I’ll gladly take you up on that.”
At his words, the vampire seemed pleased. “Very well, fledgling. It’s time to rejoin the others. We have much to discuss.”
“Saving the world from the Evil Queen?”
“Something like that.”
Daniel followed Maharet back toward the main garden, smiling to himself, thinking that maybe things wouldn’t go as badly as he’d expected. He had been terrified of these Elders, but if they were all like Maharet, he felt significantly safer.
Once they reached the table, Daniel pulled himself from his thoughts and noticed Fareed’s gaze. The doctor’s expression — usually bright, soft — was now really dark and worried. Beside him, an empty chair was clearly meant for Daniel, so he walked over and put a hand on Fareed’s arm. Fareed shifted his gaze toward the other end of the table and only then did Daniel understand what had cast that shadow over him.
Daniel felt as if a frozen blade had been driven straight through his heart.
The blond vampire was leaning in to speak against the ear of a face Daniel knew too well: the face of his Maker.
Armand.
Daniel finally remembered where he had seen those eyes before: he had seen them in Armand’s memories, the very first time Daniel had drunk his blood, during his turning.
Marius de Romanus was speaking into Armand’s ear, twirling Armand’s black curls around his long marble-white fingers; his other hand rested — presumably — on Armand’s knee or thigh, supporting himself as he bent toward him.
Armand wasn’t looking at Daniel. He stared at the table in front of him, his face tilted slightly toward the lips of his Maker. His Master.
Daniel felt like throwing up.