Trio in Rio

Chapter Eight

Louis stirred. He tried to turn over, but he was blocked by something. He opened his eyes. He could see Lestat. He knew that it was David at his back.

"Where are we?" Louis asked.

"Ah, Louis, you are awake," David said.

"Do you remember anything of last night, cher?" Lestat asked.

Louis tried to pull himself free of Lestat and David, but there was no room. "I can't breathe."

"Yes you can Louis. Answer my question," Lestat said.

"Is it a coffin?" Louis asked.

"It seems to be some sort of box, yes," David answered.

"Can't we get out?" Louis asked, barely masking his growing alarm.

"There are mortals outside. Mortals that neither David nor I can read," Lestat said.

"Let's get out," Louis said, as if this information was completely irrelevant.

"Wait, Louis," David said. "Please, tell us what you remember about last night."

"Nothing . . .no, I remember being with Lestat in the hotel room. And you returning, David. And then we left. I went to hunt. I woke up here. I think we should get out now," Louis told him.

"You don't remember anything else?" David pressed.

"No, David! Lestat, for Christ's sake, can't you just break it open?!"

"Alright, Louis, alright!" Lestat said, lifting his free arm and giving a strong push. The lid flew off and clattered to the ground. Lestat grabbed the edge of the box and stood up, motioning for the other two to stay down. They obeyed. Lestat saw seven mortals forming a circle around the box they'd been imprisoned in. All white-haired, very old, four women and three men. They all stood and looked at him.

"What do you want?!" Lestat asked loudly, stepping out of the box.

"Vampire," an old woman approached him and bowed her head. "We wish to thank you for performing the ritual , and allowing us to bear witness to it."

"What ritual?" Lestat asked.

"The sacred ritual, that which has no name," another answered.

Lestat looked down into the box. "David, get up here."

David rose, straightening his red shirt and white shorts. Louis stood as well. He looked down at himself and then to Lestat and then David. He was relieved to see that they were all dressed. He'd had the oddest feeling for a moment that they wouldn't be.

David recognized the robes the mortals were wearing as colors belonging to the highest clergy of the Candomble faith. "May I ask what is the purpose of the ritual that has no name?"

"That we sacrifice to you and you sacrifice to us, Vampire," said a man.

"Did you put us in this box?" Louis asked.

"Yes, Vampire, it is the end of the ritual. We watched over you all day. We kept our vigil faithfully," said a woman.

"What did you sacrifice to us?" David inquired.

"The blood of a virgin, the blood of a stranger, the seed of a virgin as well as the elixir in the blood of our young," said one of them.

"What did we sacrifice to you?" They asked together.

"Love." The elders answered in unison.

"Love?" The three vampires asked.

"Yes, Vampires. That even blood drinkers can love each other, it is the holiest sacrament," the other man said.

"What do you mean by 'love each other'?" Louis asked uneasily.

"It is evident in what you share that you love each other, Vampire," said another.

"Is the ritual completed?" David asked.

"Yes, Vampire," said a woman.

"Then we'll leave," Lestat said. At the same time, he and David took hold of Louis and rose immediately into the air. They traveled to the hotel, and went directly to their room.

"What did that mean, David?" Louis asked.

"Nothing." David answered him. "The ritual that has no name is a generic term for any supernatural occurrence. Apparently we must have fed together before them last night. In their philosophy that would amount to the sharing of an agape meal." David thought it best not to mention the aphrodisiacs usually involved, nor the sexual nature of the ritual that has no name. The elders had kept their minds closed, so Lestat had no idea. It was best left unsaid, especially since he really had no idea what had happened.

Lestat shook his head and went about packing their things into the luggage. Louis donned his sweat suit over his clothing. Outside it was eerily quiet. The carnival was over and most of the tourists had gone home during the day.

"Leaving, Lestat?" David asked.

"Yes, we are. The carnival is over, David. It's time to go home," Lestat answered, zipping up a bag.

"I see," David said, noncommittally.

"Are you going to stay, David?" Louis asked.

"I haven't really thought about it, Louis," David answered.

"Oh, David, you aren't fooling anyone. You are far too intrigued by us and Anne and everything else you have read about to let us go without you. So don't play hard to get," Lestat said.

David laughed.

"Besides, I am going to start writing when we get home, and as Louis can tell you, that is unbelievably stimulating to watch."

"You are making it so I can't resist," David joked.

"Well, the typos can be interesting," Louis told him.

"Exactly. Louis, help with these bags, will you?" Lestat handed a suitcase to Louis, who obligingly took it. David grabbed some as well.

"Come with me." Lestat led them to the lobby, where he paid the bill. He gave Louis a look when he was handed the bill from the gift shop. Then they left the bags with the concierge. Lestat tipped him an obscene sum of money to have the bags shipped to his apartment in New Orleans. Once outside Lestat said, "We need to hunt quickly before we return home."

They walked out into the street. "It seems that the hunt is where our memories of last night begin to go blank," David said.

"Yes. More specifically, Louis remembers until he went to hunt, and we remember until we saw him after he hunted. We'll have to be careful." Lestat looked at Louis "I'll hunt and then come back for you and we will go together. Stay right here! Don't move an inch!" Lestat disappeared.

David looked over at Louis. "He can be a bit imperious, can't he."

Louis laughed, "Not to mention dominating, controlling and bossy."

Louis began walking away from the hotel, David suppressed a smile and followed at his side.

"So, he will begin writing now?" David asked.

"Mmmm," Louis answered.

"What does that mean.?" David asked.

"Well, you won't see much of him at first, but when you do see him, he will be in an extraordinarily good mood. That is until the galleys come back and he decides he hates every single word, at which time you'll want to keep him away from sharp objects. Oh and avoid crossing the line of fire when the vases start hitting the walls. Don't waste your time hiding them, he'll just go out and buy more so that he can bring them home and smash them. That lasts until it is published. But if it doesn't stay on the bestseller list over six weeks, I advise that you unobtrusively suggest that he go and see his friend, David Tal -. . . oh, no . . ." Louis looked at David. " I'll have to think of something new now."

David laughed hysterically.

"I suppose I'll have to try and fob him off on Armand. But London is so much farther away," Louis said wistfully.

"So I was your last resort was, I?" David asked, recovering a tiny bit of composure.

"Yes, well, you see, London being six hours ahead of New Orleans would force him to stop at least twice, even at his top speed, to wait for the rotation to keep him out of the sun. Therefore, no matter what a mood he was in, he would usually be over it by the time he reached London. You know how mercurial Lestat's moods can be. So, I wouldn't have to deal with it, and neither would you."

"Logical." David was still chuckling.

"It was nice while it lasted anyway," Louis sighed. After a few minutes of quiet walking, he said, "The Carnival was beautiful, David. Thank you for inviting me."

"I am happy you accepted, Louis. Lestat certainly enjoyed it," David observed.

"Lestat has a great capacity for joy. I wish I had that talent," Louis said.

"Are you happy to be returning to New Orleans?" David asked.

"I am happy that we shall all be there." Louis smiled.

"Yes, so am I," David returned.

Louis looked toward an alley. He saw the logic of hunting early, though he loathed to do it. "Excuse me a moment, won't you?" He asked David.

"Certainly," David replied courteously.



Lestat headed straight for the site of the Candomble gathering. He was determined to find out exactly what had happened to them. But he found the street deserted, all evidence of dancers, food, altars or candles gone. Damn them all! He scanned all of the mortals in this area. None had any knowledge of Candomble. He scanned all the mortals he could reach. Suddenly, within the tumult of thoughts came one bright flare, "VAMPIRE!"

Then shields went down. But Lestat had found his victim. He flew quickly to the small home he had seen. It was far removed from the city, and almost hidden behind banana trees. There was a wizened old woman standing outside the door, waiting for him. He appeared before her.


"I thought you would be the one to come, Vampire," she said. "You are one who cannot leave a mystery unsolved."

Lestat fixed his ice blue gaze on her, and gave her his cruelest smile. "And you know what I want, mortal?" He asked, mimicking her form of address.

"You want my blood, Vampire, and my life. But mostly you want your memory back," She answered calmly.

"Yes." Lestat bared his fangs.

"You will enjoy it, Vampire. The green eyed one would not. The tall one knows the ritual but not his part in it." She stepped forward and offered him her neck.

Lestat kissed her, and then pierced her vein, draining her in a matter of seconds.



Louis reappeared, warmer and pinker. "Will you stay in New Orleans a while with us, David?"

"For as long as you'll have me," David answered him.

"Lestat believes we are a coven." Louis told him.

"Yes, I believe he mentioned that to me. What do you think?" .

"Being part of a coven was a rather enjoyable experience, on the whole, compared with being on one's own. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, of course."

"Hmm," David appeared to think on that a moment. "Will you excuse me?"

"Certainly."



Lestat pulled every drop of blood from her, even sucking out her heart. He knew everything. He knew who they were. He knew what they had done to Louis, David and himself. He knew how and he knew why. And the old woman had been right. He did enjoy it. Especially the sight of his fledglings in the menage-a-trois with him. Wonderful image. Ah, it had been a good night. He healed the wounds of the body and left it within the house. He then returned to meet Louis and David.

David returned, also warmer and pinker. "I meant about the three of us, specifically."

"Well, Lestat needs some sort of keeper. We agree on this, oui?"

"Definitely," David affirmed.

"And the two of us seem to communicate well, so that I believe we would be well suited to perform this function."

"For the good of mankind."

"And also as some sort of bizarre, unending penance, which of course, is exactly what I want, if you believe Lestat's books. Therefore, I think that we should agree to be a coven," Louis concluded.

"It does seem to fit, doesn't it?"

"Comfortably well."

"Besides, we have already been on what one would call 'a bender' together, so we are already bonded," David observed.

"Oh, is that all it takes? I believe I had bonded with over half of New Orleans in my day."

"And just what part of 'STAY HERE' do you not understand?" Lestat had appeared before them without warning.

"Lestat, we were just looking for you," David said, conversationally.

"We want to go home," Louis added.

"Do we?" Lestat asked looking from one to the other. They made him so happy, more than they could ever know. His little fledglings, he wanted to take them both in his arms and never let them go. He let his anger melt away. "Well, then I suppose we will." He pulled Louis to him. "Fold your hands in front of you cher, and lean against them. This will be fast and I want them out of the wind. Put your head down." Lestat guided Louis's face in to the crook of his neck. He locked his hands tightly around Louis's back. "Are you ready to say goodbye to Rio, David?" He looked to his younger fledgling.

"Not goodbye, Lestat, but merely au revoir. I shall be here for the next carnival. And with the same company, I hope." David smiled.

"But of course, David!" Lestat exclaimed.

Louis lifted his head, " Umm . . .I'll have to check my schedule on that."

And the trio bid Rio adio.

-FINIS-

The Rise and Fall of a Coven: Book Three - Ruling Rue Royale

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