Ruling Rue Royale
Chapter Three
David and Anne took to the street a block or so before the doors. They waited for Louis and Lestat.
"This is rather odd," David commented. "It certainly should not be taking them this long."
"Hopefully they aren't fighting somewhere." Anne sighed.
"Shall we go in without them?" David asked.
"Yes, let's." Anne answered. "We have no idea how long they may be."
Lestat caught Louis almost seven blocks away. If it had been a challenge of just speed, he would have caught him much sooner. But Louis was very good at feinting left and running right, slipping into shadows, stealing soundlessly through windows and doors, and of course diversionary tactics. Lestat relied entirely too much upon his telepathy when tracking victims and other vampires, and so he was unused to chasing "blind" as he had to since he could not read his fledgling.
He tried to see Louis in the minds of the surrounding mortals, but Louis knew he would do this, and mostly passed them unseen. Louis had to stay somewhat near to mortals, however, to hide his heartbeat and breathing, which he knew Lestat was powerful enough to hear.
Lestat was also a bit distracted, as his mind kept wandering back to why Louis wanted to do this. It was exhilarating fun, definitely, but that was more a rationale that he would use, not Louis. Was Louis distracting him from something? Leading him into something? Had he finally gone insane? Lestat spotted him, hiding in a doorway. Louis was looking about, searching for Lestat. Not seeing his blond pursuer, Louis climbed the wall of the building and went into an open window. Lestat followed, just watching, waiting to see what he would do. Louis ran through the building, it happened to be a restaurant, and exited out a window on the other side, jumping to the alleyway. Lestat could see that he was radiant with happy excitement, an extremely unusual state of being for Louis. What was going on here?
Louis entered an apartment building and crawled out of a window to the roof. Lestat immediately willed himself to the roof and grabbed him from behind.
"You are captured, Pointe du Lac, surrender or die!" Lestat snarled triumphantly in Louis's ear.
"I'll never surrender!" Louis retorted.
"Resistance is futile." Lestat jumped from the roof with him and landed in a deserted courtyard. He turned Louis to face him and lifted him into the air. "You are vanquished, throw yourself upon my mercy!"
"Jamais!" Louis declared.
"Never?" Lestat tossed him into the air and caught him. "Did you say never?"
Louis laughed.
Lestat brought Louis nose to nose with him. "You DIDN'T say NEVER to ME, did you?"
Louis bit his bottom lip in an attempt to stop laughing. He nodded.
Lestat shook his head sadly. "Well, I suppose I shall be forced to torture you."
"Do your worst, demon Marquis. You will never break me!" Louis challenged him defiantly.
"Pretty little Creole." Lestat traced Louis's cheek bone with his fingernail. "It is a pity really, that I must crush your spirit and bend you to my will."
"You cannot do either, Lioncourt. You haven't the strength."
Lestat was being overcome with Louis's spirit and bedazzled by the glitter in his eyes and the color in his cheeks. He held Louis closer, bringing them chest to chest. "You don't think so?"
Louis lifted his face, offering his mouth to Lestat. "No," he breathed.
Lestat kissed him hard, and then took his wrists and held them behind his back.
"Ow." Louis commented casually.
"Now, what is all this, running along the roofs of New Orleans and playing about with me? Have you lost your mind or something?" Lestat asked.
Louis shyly looked down. "I don't know."
"It's damned unusual for you."
"Yes."
Lestat waited for a few minutes. "What is the explanation, Louis?"
Louis shrugged, "Everything feels a bit different now, since I was burnt. More intense, sharper, it is as if there is a new purity to my senses and even my emotions. It feels very good to be home. I am happy that you were impressed with the office. And it feels so familiar to be out with you again. I suppose it put me in a silly mood."
"Silly? A 'silly' mood?" Lestat captured his mouth again. "I was just thinking how sexy it was."
Louis blushed. "Is this the torture you were speaking of?"
"Why? Are you suffering?"
"Always. Don't you read your own books?"
Lestat laughed. "My beautiful angel of sorrows."
"We should go. Anne and David will wonder what happened to us." Louis said, though he made no move to free his wrists or get away.
"Mmmmm, yes. You're right." Lestat agreed, and then nipped at Louis's bottom lip with his fangs.
"No, really, we should." Louis said, with no conviction at all.
"We are in complete accord over the subject." Lestat took Louis's wrists in one hand and loosened Louis's tie and unfastened his two top buttons with the other.
"We both consent then." Louis looked deep into Lestat's eyes, they were an intense shade of violet.
"Two minds with but a single thought." Lestat leaned close and lightly ran his fangs down Louis's throat.
"HEY! ROMEO AND ROMEO! GET A ROOM ALREADY!" A window of the apartment building banged shut.
Startled, Louis stepped back and almost tripped over a branch. Luckily, Lestat still had his wrists in his grip. Lestat released his wrists and caught him around the waist. "Relax, Louis. I don't think they're going to tell your mother."
Louis laughed nervously. "I think we really should find . . .um . . .ummm. . . ."
"David and Anne?" Lestat offered.
"Yes, them." Louis laughed harder. Lestat joined him.
"Alright Romeo. Is it acceptable to fly this time?"
"Yes, Romeo, it is."
By the time they arrived at Leitz-Egan, Anne and David were already deep into the story of 'Jonathan' with a very sympathetic woman who was introduced to them as Anna Mae.
"We are so sorry we're late." Lestat said. "I am afraid my brother and I became lost. It has been a long time since we were home."
"Yes, I noticed your accent," Anna Mae said. "Isn't it French?"
"Oui." Lestat unleashed his killer charm. "Parlez-vous français, chere mademoiselle?"
"Un peu." Anna Mae laughed. She looked to David, "But your accent is British, isn't it?"
"I have been away from home for sometime as well." David answered.
"Have you found anything suitable for Jonathan?" Lestat asked, straightening and tightening Louis's tie for him.
"Well, we are still looking." Anne told him.
"Have you anything with tigers on it?" Lestat asked.
"No, I don't believe we do." Anna Mae answered him.
"Hmmmm, any kind of wild animals?" Lestat pressed.
"There probably isn't much call for that in the coffin industry Lestat." Anne told him.
"No I am afraid you are right." Anna Mae nodded. "But we refer to them as caskets."
"Whatever." Anne answered brightly.
"How about guns? Or machetes?" Lestat inquired.
"Tribal dart blowers?" David wondered to himself.
Anna Mae gave him a long look. "Well, I am afraid it is time for me to be closing up. If you'd like to return tomorrow I am sure my brother James would be happy to help you."
"Thank you so much," Louis spoke up for the first time. "We shall do that."
Once outside, Anne turned to David. "This coffin had better last you a long time, you won't be able to show your face in any of these establishments for a while."
David laughed. "Next time I think I'll ask for bats and strings of garlic!"
Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home seemed deserted. Lestat unlocked a back door and they entered. They found the display of coffins rather easily and began perusing them, by the light of the street lamps as it shone through a large picture window. They were commenting upon each one, and rather wrapped up in their opinions when they were interrupted.
"'Scuse me, folks," said a young man, flipping on the lights. "But we only allow da dead in heah aftah hours."
Anne nearly had an episode. "Oh my God! You scared me to death!"
"Okay den, you can stay. But da othah t'ree gotta go," the young man smiled.
"That's not fair!" Lestat protested, "we were dead before her!"
"Uh-huh." the young man looked at him skeptically. "So can I ask why you're hauntin' my showroom?"
"We are looking for a coffin." David said.
"Dat's a likely story." came the reply.
"Excuse me, sir, I am terribly sorry." Louis said, approaching him and extending his hand. "My name is Louis Thibodeaux."
"Shorty." The young man identified himself as he took Louis's hand.
"And we really are looking to purchase a coffin." Anne told him.
"I bet ya are, Anne." Shorty said, reaching to take her hand.
He had come upon them so suddenly that neither Lestat nor David had time to put any suggestions into his mind. Anne took advantage of the situation.
"You know my name?" She asked.
"Aw, don't be modest. Everybody in New Arlins knows your name. I can't believe you're reduced ta stealin' coffins, though. What's da mattah, didn't OUEEN OF THE DAMNED sell as well as you t'ought?" Shorty teased her.
"It sold QUITE well, EXTREMELY well, in fact." Lestat bristled. Louis reached his hand behind Lestat and smacked him.
"What you all lookin' for?" Shorty leaned against a fairly nice brass casket and folded his hands.
"Oh, something, sort of Gothic." David answered.
"Like what? You want crucifixes and cryin' angels and bleedin' roses, dat stuff ?" Shorty asked.
"Exactly." David answered.
"We ain't got it." Shorty told him.
"Ah, I see." Louis sounded disappointed.
"I know where you can get it though, Lonigan and Sons, ovah on Magazine."
"Really? Great!" Anne hugged David in her excitement.
"Yeah, dey prob'ly have whatevah you want. Very, sort of, Cat'olic design to da stock."
"Thank you so much." Louis said.
"Shore. Good luck. Since you all saw yourselves in I assume you all can see yourselves out? I have ta get back downstairs to da customers, before dey get up an' walk out." Shorty grinned and shook their offered hands. Once again in the basement, he made one phone call.
"Lonigan and Sons, Bubba Weisberg."
"Bubba, you won't believe who is comin' ta see you."
"Shorty? Is that you?"
"Yeah, listen-"
"Hold on. Let me call you back, I've got mourners here." Bubba replaced the receiver in it's cradle and opened the door. "Good Evening."
"Good Evening." Lestat said, coming through the door and mesmerizing the man.
"How may I help you?" Bubba asked.
"We would like to see your coffins, please." Anne asked.
"Yes, ma'am. Right this way." He led them down a small set of stairs and into three large rooms filled with coffins. Brass and wood, detailed and ornate, tapered and carved, perfect.
"Is there anything you are looking for in particular?" Bubba asked.
"Could we just have one of each?" Anne said, caught up in the sight a little too much.
Louis laughed. "She's kidding, of course."
"Would we be allowed to browse for a bit?" David asked.
"Please, feel free. I'll be around if you need me. If you can't find me down here I'll be right upstairs in the office," Weisberg answered.
"Fine, thank you," David said.
Weisberg ascended the stairs. Anne and the vampires meandered through the coffins. They saw angels in prayer, sheaves of wheat, roses and acanthus leaves, doves and crosses, Celtic knotwork, even a replica of Da Vinci's last supper, carved into the side of one. In their musings, they separated from each other.
Ruling Rue Royale - Chapter Four
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