Territorial Beasts
By Kabuki
February 2002
Told from Lestat's POV. Violence warning. Hope you enjoy.
It has always been my belief that vampires, by nature are fiercely territorial. They repel any of their own kind who does not bear some former stamp of approval. Most vampires will either attack or ignore any fellow blood drinker who passes through their hunting grounds, yet if a coven is threatened then heaven help the trespasser. A vampire is prone to defending those of its blood, and of course the lair, at all costs. Armand is the most obvious example of this sort of behavior, and as Louis related in his novel the later coven which formed in the Theatre of the Vampires in Paris had much the same inclinations. Even I am not above such actions, as evidenced by my past history in the lush nights of the city of New Orleans when an unnatural child with golden hair and large sapphire eyes bound Louis and me inexorably together. I was not blind to the rules I had broken in creating those two, for both were technically weak and dependent on me for survival. At all times I envisioned the harsh glare I would receive from Marius was he to know of my doings.
Because of the weakness others might have perceived in my fledglings, I made a point of keeping the city of New Orleans clean of any other vampires that may have chanced upon us. I had little to fear in the earliest years of our life together, when I was the only other vampire in the New World to whom they could turn. There would be no other vampires who had formerly been aristocrats washing up on the Mississippi shoreline. Armand's tawdry little coven had succeeded in preventing such a breed of blood-drinker from taking hold in the city of Paris and, I discovered during my travels there, within the French countryside as well. Armand had held sway over all the vampires in France, much to the surprise of Gabrielle and myself during our nightly procession toward Italy. However, New Orleans became a sort of vampire destination when Napoleon sold France's claim in the New World to the upstart former English colonies. I found that I had others of my kind to contend with while keeping Louis and Claudia innocent to the reality of other vampires aside from us.
I was completely unprepared for the first encounter. Claudia, far from the woman-child she would become, never ventured far from me in our kills every night. Even so, I would return her to Louis when she had taken her fill and set out to make my second or third kill. Her smaller stature demanded less blood than mine, and the constant temptation brought about by living so close to mortals, and of course the beguilingly distant Louis, made my hunger increase. I had learned early in our relationship, if one could call it such, that only when I was filled to capacity with human blood and sated by the heady thrill of the kill could I live so close to Louis without supping on his blood. When Claudia and I fed together that particular night, she had chosen our prey with an intuitive skill common among my children. The man and woman had been easy targets for us, stepping with the daintiness of the overly rich through an alleyway. Two boys, barely fifteen and living from the stolen trinkets of their victims that could be pawned, had been following the couple since Canal Street. With a silent command I bid them away and allowed Claudia to continue after the rich couple. I was still wary of allowing her to feed from children so soon after her own creation. The rich couple held her attention completely, however, so there was little for me to do except allow her to decide the night's hunting pattern.
As we moved nearer to the couple I caught the scent of something strange emanating from the man -- blood. Not any ordinary sort of blood, but that of a vampire. It was as though another of our kind had marked this particular mortal for a fledgling. I glanced at Claudia, but she seemed oblivious to that which I could so easily detect. Her movements all indicated a strong desire for the woman, and seeing that her quarry was of little threat I allowed Claudia to pursue her kill while I in privacy pursued mine. She was more than happy to comply, and so I found myself striking up a conversation with the dashing young man. The closer I came to him, the more certain I became that he had somehow been fed the blood of a vampire. I admit I was intrigued. I had thought myself the only vampire from the Old World to migrate this far into the Americas. I had never sensed another of my kind within the city of New Orleans, and so the smell of an unfamiliar vampire was an allure to which I was unaccustomed. I drew him close, as though for a kiss. He may have protested but I held him easily in my thrall, deepening my spell as we spoke. By the time I was prepared to slide my fangs into his tender throat, he was lost in my eyes and in his own thoughts.
It was the feeling of being watched, as I had so often felt in Paris from the vampires of Les Innocents peering at me from trees and cemeteries, which caused me to hesitate. I raised my head, smiling a little as I searched the darkened streets for the other vampire. ::Well, come out then. No use hiding from me.::
There was no response and I, frustrated with the cowardice of such a creature, sank my fangs very deliberately into the throat of my prey. The swoon threatened, but I did not drink but a sip or two, letting the majority of the blood rush down the manâs ebony frock coat to the street. My eyes remained watchful, waiting for the vampire to react. Iâd forgotten how much fun it could be to taunt the silly beasts so.
When Claudia finished, I still had heard no sign of my cowardly comrade. Claudia was staring at the woman she had killed with such rapt abandon that for an instant I wondered if she could see the soul tearing itself free of its fleshy prison. She turned to me, instantly noticing the wasted blood upon the cobblestone streets. I waved away her questions impatiently, dropping the corpse of my victim carelessly and kneeling down at eye level with her. âClaudia, I want you to run along home now, and see to it that Louis eats tonight. You know how stubborn he can be.â
âBut father, what of that man? You spilled so much. Are you ill?â
Her eyes were so filled with concern for me, wide and innocent as a lamb. I felt my own anger creeping close, at the thought of her own innocence and my cursed plight which had forced her creation. I stood, towering over her though my voice was devoid of menace. Iâm certain she comprehended my message. âYou shouldnât worry on such maters. Now do as I say.â
As she left the alley, I turned to the vampire. He had moved, the scantest of motions, but I sensed him all the same. His power too I sensed, though that quality was of much less impressive stock. He was so young that his clothes retained a human odor. ::You have talent for one barely a year old. Tell me who it was made you that I might congratulate him on an excellent choice?::
The vampire seemed surprised at mental communication, and stood perplexed before approaching with all the curiosity of a child. Foolish, trusting child. Obviously he knew little of the nature of our kind. As he stepped into the light I picked out the details of his appearance. Nothing special in any sense of the word, though his hair seemed particularly luxurious shade of auburn and his eyes a striking green. I hated him instantaneously, for no vampire should have eyes like those. They would have seemed beautiful had I never before seen the eyes of a certain Creole gentleman who even now bemoaned his ever crossing paths with one such as I. The eyes of this one were little more than a cheap imitation, a mockery of my Louisâ breathtaking melancholic beauty.
The young one approached cautiously, though with obvious eagerness. âI thought I was the only one here in this New World. Iâve been all over, from the northernmost tip of the Americas to the Spanish Floridian glades. I never actually expected to findââ
I had no patience for this novelty. âWere you made here then, in Louisiana? Do you hail from New Orleans or Baton Rouge or any of the other little cities in this place?â
The young one shook his head, claiming to have hailed from Europe near Brittany. I smiled, relieved that he had not brought a coven, or that a vampire was not here creating others to trouble my contentment. I had seen more than enough vampires before coming to care for my father. It was comforting that this one was alone.
He was still talking about his life and adventures when I seized him, locking my fangs upon his tender fledgling throat. Oh, how young and naÃve he was, to think that perhaps this was a customary greeting among our kind! I almost laughed, but then the swoon overtook me. I think he struggled, but against the combined blood of Magnus, Marius, and Akasha that flowed in my veins, he had little hope of escape. I drained him a much as possible, then set fire to his body. He was still alive then, writhing in pain as the flames licked at his fragile skin. We never do die quietly or easily, it seems. I made sure to scatter the ashes after the deed was done.
I think it was better to have killed him. I couldnât tolerate anyone coming to my coven, my family of sorts, and filling their heads with the desire to travel. This city should content them as I was content, or so I reasoned. I was starved for attention, and I longed to regain what I had lost. Musing in my coffin later that evening, as the sun began its steady climb into a New World daylight sky I would never see, I realized I envied the child. He was too inquisitive, too eager to learn all he could from anyone who might approach, no matter what the cost of such knowledge in the future. Yes, I reasoned, he was better off dead. And my family, for what itâs worth, was safe.
Many more vampires would enter our city as the years flew by. I killed or intimidated every one of them. Those who would leave ran to parts unknown, and those who would fight me died at my hands. Iâm not proud of their deaths, but we do what we must. Had Louis or Claudia known I was eliminating the vampires that they sought, Iâm certain events could have played out far differently. Yet, it wasnât to be. Louis never ha a clue as to what I was doing while he and Claudia continued to read volumes together and chat at home near the hearth. It was an issue untouched. If he knew I was killing vampires on a semi-regular basis he gave no sign, though sometimes I could have sworn he was chastising me without words. It was something we never spoke of and, like everything else that went unaddressed, and perhaps this too may have contributed to the growing divide betwixt us. But then, I really canât say. Louis is now, as always, a mystery to me.
~Fin
