1.10
"But Mom!" Nicole whined.
"I said no. I'm not letting you go down to New Orleans
alone," her mom
rebuttleded.
"I won't be alone! There will be people I met on the
inter--" She was
interrupted.
"Now it's definitely no! I'm not letting my 15-year old
daughter go to
meet some people she met on that damn computer. I've listened to
the
news!" her mom said.
"Well, can't you call Joy and ask her to talk to Jen?"
Joy and Nicole's
mom have been friends for over 30 years and Jen was Joy's baby
sister
who lived in New Orleans. "Jen can make sure I don't get
killed."
"Nicole!?" he mom yelled.
"I'm kidding about being killed. You know, a joke?" she
grinned.
"I'll call, but…" her mom didn't finish. Nicole
had jetted up the stairs
and into her room to pack. She tossed about all she had into 2
suitcases. She knew that as soon as she got Mom think about a
'yes' it
would be definite. She gripped the ticket that was sent to her,
her
portable CD player and all of her CD and called a cab.
Half an hour later Nicole was waiting for the cab. Her mom was
totally
against this, but Joy called back 10 minutes ago saying Jen would
watch
out for her. Nicole had heard this and ran up to get out of her
black
outfit she wore since her parents had said no into jeans,
tee-shirt, and
her clogs. She also had her knee brace on. It gave out under her
about a
month ago and now she had to wear it when running. She guessed a
scavenger hunt was like running so she wore it.
The cab pulled up and Nicole kissed her mom good bye. The whole
ride up
to the Newark airport, Nicole told the diver why she was going to
New
Orleans and that she knew she would get down there before she was
18,
and so on…
At the airport, she checked in her luggage and found the nearest
pay
phone. She had to call Marissa, her best friend, and tell her
about
this. She only had 50 dollars on her so she called collect.
"What?" Marissa asked half sleeping.
"Maris? It's Nicole you'll never guess where I'm calling
from!" Nicole
said.
"Paris?" she answered as a joke.
"No! The airport!" Nicole said.
"On your way to Paris?" Marissa asked a joke.
"Close. New Orleans!" Nicole said jumping up and down.
"And I wasn't invited?" she asked.
"What? You have to speak up!" The noise was too loud
for Nicole to hear
Marissa.
"Why wasn't I--" Marissa started.
"Hey Maris, I can't hear you and I got go anyway. Talk to
you later!
Bye!" She hung up.
Nicole went to find one of those thingies that told you if a
flight was
on time or not. Hers was on time so she started down towards the
gate,
even though she had a half-hour. She got her CD player out and
put in
her Matchbox 20 CD and started to dance her way down. She could
tell
people thought she was crazy, but she didn't care. She was going
to be
out of New Jersey in a little bit.
Five minutes before she boarded the plane, she started to ask
herself
questions: *How am I going to get to Sorsha's house? Where is
Sorsha's
house? What if I act stupid? What is no one likes me? What if I
keep
everyone down cause I'm 15?* Question after question filled her
head.
When she got to the flight attendant to give him her ticket, she
asked
aloud, "What if I do something to really piss them
off?" She got a
strange look for that.
Walking down that hallway before the plane, she said to herself,
"Nicole
you'll be fine, you'll be great. Know why? Cause you're good
enough,
you're smart enough and gosh darn it, people like you. You
couldn't help
yourself could you, Nicole? And why are you still speaking in the
third
person?" She laughed at herself, which was great.
Nicole had the whole row to herself so after take-off, she took
off her
seat belt and laid her legs across the seats. The flight
attendant came
around handing out headphones for the in-flight movie. She
figured she
would buy a pair. He slipped the head set over her head and
turned on to
the channel that would have the movie. She closed her eyes and
drifted
to sleep.
The first words she heard before opening here eyes were: "So
you want me
to tell you the story of my life." Nicole couldn't help but
crack up.
What irony, she though. The man sitting behind her placed his
hand over
the seat and onto her shoulder.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Well it's pretty ironic that while on a flight to New
Orleans they are
playing a movie that is set in New Orleans," she answered.
"Well, the whole story takes place in San Francisco. The
flashbacks are
primarily New Orleans," he corrected her. "So, you're
first time going
to the Big Easy?" he then asked.
"Yeah. What about you?"
"No. This is my annual pilgrimage down there. I go to all
places that
Anne Rice has written about. You read Anne Rice?"
"Read?" she thought. "Yes. All but two of the
books." She tried to stop
herself from asking this next question, but she couldn't help
herself.
"So…you ever ran into any of the vampires from the
Vampire Chronicles?"
she said, trying to keep a straight face.
"Ha! I wish! I've never told anyone this, but at night I
actually walk
the streets in search of them," he told her.
She laughed silently. She couldn't tell him, so she didn't. The
man sank
back in his seat and watched the movie. Nicole tried, but she was
laughing too much.
1.11
Once in New Orleans, Nicole made her way down to the luggage
carousel.
She picked up her two bags and went to find a pay phone. She was
about
to put the money in to call Sorsha when a young man, not much
taller
then her, with auburn hair picked up her bags.
Nicole charged the man from behind and knocked him down.
"Wow! I stopped
a thief!" Nicole thought.
"Get off me," he said in a low voice.
Nicole stood up and watched as the man turned from his stomach to
his
back. As soon as she saw the face, Nicole shut her eyes as if to
make
what just happened go away. She could feel her face growing read.
"Aw
man," she whispered.
"Is this how you treat all those who try to help you?"
he asked
playfully.
She shook her head 'no' and started to open her eyes to see what
she had
done. "Why me?" she asked no one.
"Because you're Nicole," he said.
They both laughed at this. She gave him her hand to help him up.
He
picked up her bags again and they walked out into the parking
lot. He
placed her bags in the trunk of a car and they started to walk
back to
the airport.
"So, Nic. Mind if I call you Nic? Of course not, Nic. We'll
get you
some real food, pick up Beverley and David, and then go to
Sorsha's
house. You do know who I am by now, right?" he asked.
"Armand?" she said with a questioning.
"Okay. So what do feel like? Hamburgers? Cheeseburgers? Hot
dog?" he
asked.
"Just a salad," she said.
"No meat?" he asked surprised. "Whenever I offer
to buy food, everyone
wants something like steak."
"I'm a vegetarian, so no meat. Well, red meat, at
least," she replied.
"Wow! A real life vegetarian!" he said.
"In the flesh," she said.
"Bad pun."
"I know!" she said with a smile
After Nicole had eaten her salad, she and Armand got talking. You
name
it, they touched on it.
"Now, you said we were picking up Beverley and David. What
time does
their flight get in?" Nicole asked.
"9 o'clock," he replied
"Um, Armand. Well then, we've got 5 minutes to get to the
gate."
"You're kidding," he said looking at his watch.
"Maybe not. Well I guess
we need to run."
They shot up out of their seats and ran towards the international
part
of the airport.
"Great!" Nicole thought, "I tackle the first
person I met in New Orleans
and now I'll be late to meet the next two. What luck do I
have?"
1.12
"But I thought private planes were supposed to be
reliable!" Beverley
exclaimed. "The damn thing only made it to Paris before we
had to land,
and then we have to arrive here, at the wrong gate, the farthest
one
from civilization!"
"The oil pressure switch was faulty. The pilot really had no
choice,"
David replied, smiling at her irritability.
"Are you sure it wasn't Armand's idea of a joke?"
Beverley asked. "From
what you tell me of him I think that would be possible."
Beverley
hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and gazed around the airport.
New
Orleans! Even the air smelled different here.
David put his arm protectively around her shoulder and guided her
towards the huge, sliding airport doors.
"Actually it would be more of a Lestat trick," he
grinned. " Especially
if the scavenger hunt was underway. I'm not sure if acting as a
referee
is such a good idea."
"But they chose you because you're so level headed and you
won't cheat,"
Beverley said, grateful for David's guidance as the airport was
teeming
with life.
"I thought Marius would have made a good choice," added
David as they
rushed through the door.
"When I spoke to Sorsha she said she hadn't chosen Marius
because Armand
would have seduced him into giving the vamps an unfair
advantage,"
Beverley laughed, and then groaned as she saw the huge queue at
the taxi
rank. "Where have all these people come from?"
A large, appallingly dressed taxi driver in a Mickey Mouse tee
shirt
answered her question. " Didn't you know, hon? It's the
annual blood
donor convention this weekend. These guys all met at their local
centers
and they come to the Big Easy once a year and put a hell of a lot
of
Hurricanes into their blood streams. I sure wouldn't mind being
on the
receiving end of one of their donations next week!" He wiped
the back of
his hand across his face and shuffled across to his cab. His
passenger
gave him a murderous look as she didn't appreciate being kept
waiting.
David threw his head back and laughed. "Blood donors!"
He opened his
eyes wide and licked his lips with a flourish.
Beverley slapped him on the shoulder. "David!" she
chastised, "I do
believe a little of Lestat's influence has rubbed off on
you."
"I'm not sure that's a compliment," David said wryly.
"Look, stay here
with your bag while I'll go obtain a taxi."
His tall form disappeared into the crowd and Beverley sat down on
her
bag wearily. How many hours since they left London? Then the wait
in
Paris while the plane was checked and then the long flight.
Luckily the
pilot had been able to make up for lost time on the flight across
the
Atlantic.
Beverley's thoughts drifted as she sat and waited. Finally she
was going
to get to meet the other vamps and her fellow board posters! The
excitement was making her really nervous and the wait was
unbearable.
She hoped David wouldn't be long. Dear David, how she adored his
company. Even in this new form he was still the English gentleman
she
remembered from her childhood. Those long, hot summer days spent
playing
croquet at his beautiful Cotswolds home, the sun reflecting from
the
local honey-colored stone. The evening scent of honeysuckle and
the
village walks where David would buy her lemonade and they would
sit
outside the quaint, thatched pub and watch the cricket team on
the
green.
She sighed deeply. That was the old David. The one she had lost
that
awful day. She still remembered the way her legs had turned to
jelly
when her father told her of David's death. She had run outside to
the
stable yard, saddled her favorite pony and ridden hell for
leather over
the downs, her tears streaming down her face. Beverley shivered.
What a
God awful day that had been.
And then the day he came back to her. She was sitting in his
house
reading an old copy of 'Great Expectations'. A fire crackled in
the
grate and the light in the room was just cozy enough to read by.
She had
just reached the part where Pip meets Miss Havisham when she felt
a
draught as the door opened. "Bonnie, I wish you'd learn to
close doors!"
She thought she was addressing the golden retriever who had a bad
habit
of bounding into the room and wanting company at the most
inopportune
moments.
As she stood up and looked around the book fell from her hands
with a
thud, as there silhouetted in the doorway was a tall, dark haired
man,
who she had never seen in her life before.
"I'm not alone!" she stammered, hoping her voice
sounded authoritative.
"But I know you are, my munchkin," he said, his voice
low and smooth.
"What?" Beverley's eyes widened. 'Munchkin' was the pet
name David had
called her since childhood. No one else ever called her that.
"Don't be afraid," David said softly as he came towards
her. "What I
have to tell you is beyond your wildest imaginings. Sit down,
pour
yourself a large glass of brandy and listen to me." And with
that David
had recounted his whole tale to her while she listened in awed
wonder.
At the end of the story she had no doubt that David had returned
to her
life once more.
All this had been 6 years ago and she had grown to love her old
David in
the new body. Never had she felt threatened by him, they had
shared too
many memories. Beverley felt guilty that she hadn't been able to
share
her secret with her friends, but David had insisted that she
never told
a soul about their relationship.
Although she had never met the other vampires, she knew a great
deal
about them from David. She had given up asking David if she could
meet
Lestat, as David had said quite categorically that Lestat was not
the
kind of guy you set up a casual relationship with. David knew of
her
infatuation with the blond demon and it brought a smile to her
face when
he tried to protect her, how lucky she was to have such a
guardian
devil. Soon she would meet Lestat and all the others.
David's arm around her waist brought her back to reality.
"From the look
on your face you were dreaming about my maker," he said,
trying to look
reproachful. "I can't get a taxi for love or money, so
there's only one
thing we can do." Before she could protest he gathered her
up in his
arms, slung her bag over his shoulder and ran around the back of
a
delivery truck. Out of mortal sight he effortlessly rose into the
air
and sped towards the site of Sorsha's house.
Landing gently, Beverley wiped away the tears caused by the wind
and ran
her hands through her light brown curls. "You could have
told me before
you did that!" she exclaimed.
"You would have said no," David answered pointedly.
The door opened before they could knock and two female forms
tumbled
out. "Beverley!" exclaimed Sorsha as she threw her arms
around her
English friend. Catherine joined them and David watched them, a
smile on
his face, as the three shared a mutual hug.
Beverley broke away and took David by the hand. "Girls, I'd
like you to
meet an old friend of mine," she beamed. Sorsha gave her a
quizzical
look and Beverley whispered, "I'll explain later, but let's
say David
and I go way back."
Sorsha rolled her eyes and laughed. "That's some secret you
were
keeping," she said as they all went inside.
"The other warm blooded guys have all gone out for a bite to
eat."
Catherine smiled at her terminology. "Didn't you see Armand
at the
airport? He went to meet Nicole and then you guys."
"We were delayed a little, and then our flight came in at
the wrong
gate, I guess we missed him," David said.
Sorsha laughed. "He will be in a terrible mood when he gets
back.
First the flour fight and then he can't even find you at the
airport!"
"Maybe he'll phone to see if we are here?" Beverley
said.
"He's not very good with phones! I called him an immortal
idiot once
because he didn't know how to use one!" Daniel's voice came
from the
other room. Shrieks of laughter echoed around the room
Beverley entered Sorsha's living room and held her breath. Louis
was
sitting at a small table totally engrossed in a game of chess
with
Jesse. Daniel was laid on the floor, changing a CD in his
portable
Walkman.
Beverley turned to say something to David and found herself
staring into
Lestat's grey/blue eyes. His hair was loose over his shoulders
and he
was dressed in black jeans and a white cotton shirt.
Lestat raised his eyebrows. " Positively pornographic, is
that what you
thought?" His smile widened showing his tiny but deadly
fangs.
Beverley's heart missed a beat and she blushed. Quickly she shut
her
mind to him, a little trick David had taught her. It was going to
be
more than useful over the next few days!
David's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Lestat, what did I
tell you
about reading people's minds? It is not considered polite."
He tried to
look serious.
"You know me, David. Politeness has never been one of my
virtues!" he
laughed.
"I never knew you had any virtues." Louis' soft voice
floated across the
room.
Lestat turned to look at him. "So it's 'Get-at-Lestat' night
is it,
beloved? You didn't care about my virtues last night," he
said, a growl
in his voice.
Jesse laughed. "You two are so funny. The star-crossed
lovers have
nothing on you two!"
The noise of a door banging upstairs made everyone look up.
"Help,
somebody! Armand has hidden my towel and I am standing here
soaking wet.
I'd catch a cold if I could!" Marius was not at all happy
about his
fledgling's little trick.
"Excuse me!" said Catherine as she dashed upstairs.
Sorsha grinned. "I guess she's gone to dry his back!"
The front door opening made everyone look round. "That Cajun
chicken
was the best I've ever had," a female voice said.
A male voice answered. "Yes, thank you, Gina, it probably
was. Just why
did you have to cover mine with paprika when I was at the
bar?"
Laughter.
"Eddie, your face was a picture! How much water did you
drink?"
"I don't know how you talked me into this, Monique."
Eddie grumbled.
The door to the living room opened.
"Hi guys! Have David and Beverley arrived yet? I thought the
British
were supposed to be punctual. I wonder if David has that 'stiff
upper
lip' attitude?" said Gina as she entered the room.
Her mouth fell open as she gazed at David renewing his
acquaintance with
Lestat in a very passionate embrace, and a lingering French kiss.
1.13
He had been waiting for hours to get a seat to New Orleans.
Normally he
would have booked in advanced, but it had been a busy week at
work and,
therefore, he had not planned to go. Because he had to wait at
each
terminal for a cancellation, it had taken him almost twice as
much time
to get there than it would normally have taken. But at last, here
he
was, on the last flight to New Orleans.
As he settled down to watch the movie "Interview with the
Vampire," this
being the first time he could relax in the last week, a girl
sitting in
front of him laughed. Patrick knew the film from having seen it
on more
than one occasion and asked the girl what was so funny. This, as
always,
led him to telling someone why he was heading to New Orleans and
this
time it was her. Well, allright, he told her why he originally
went
there, that first time so many years ago. Not why he was going
there
now. If he did, she would have really had somthing to laugh
about, and
that, of course, was not the idea.
He watched the rest of the film with his headphones on and did
not speak
to the girl again. The next time he got to see her was when they
were
all collecting their luggage from the carousel. She had tackled a
poor
boy who was just trying to help her out. From an outsider's point
of
view, one would have seen a teenager blundering a pass at a young
girl.
But the truth is he is not really a boy, but a man. For although
he
looks about the same age as the girl, he is in fact 500 years
older. Now
who is this child that has seen so many years? It is the Vampire
Armand.
But Patrick has not come to New Orleans this time to hunt
vampires, but
to join them in a little game of treasure hunting. There is no
real
treasure, just things that have to be found. The real treasure is
in the
hunt.
He left the airport and headed towards the center of New Orleans,
hoping
that he would find them reasonably soon. The problem with
vampires is
that they don't always make it easy for mortals to find them, but
this
was going to be diffrent. This time they wanted the mortals to
find
them. So with this in mind, Patrick headed towards Sorsha's house
first. When he arrived to the door, he could hear sounds coming
from
inside that remind him remarkably of a bar.
At the door he knocked hoping to get the attention of those
inside.
Nothing. He again knocked, this time harder, hard enough to wake
up all
the families on the street. Still nothing. Bugger, there was so
much
noise that he doubted that they would have even heard a bomb go
off.
Damn. He tried the door, but it was, of course, locked. Everyone
that
was expected had arrived by now. Patrick closed his eyes, focused
on the
image of the door in front of him until all the clutter of every
day
life cleared from his mind, leaving his mind clear. Next he
brought the
image of the vampires he knew to his mind, intending to call out
to
them. But once again that sadist streak in him reasserted itself.
He
instead brought the image of the vampires in disco gear to mind,
then
with his will, sent that image into the house. There was a scream
from
inside, some shuffling, and then the door was opened by Louis,
looking
pissed off at the thought of wearing such clothing.
"Hi, Louis. What kept you?"
"Hello, Patrick. I suppose you might as well come in."
"Thanks."
As Patrick entered, he saw Lestat laughing at the vision of poor
Louis
in disco clothes. Jesse was trying to get Louis to come back to
the
game of chess they had been busy with…that was until she saw
whom he was
with.
"Patrick, you came. Cool!"
"Hi, Jesse. Yea, I got off work at the last moment and
thought I would
surprise everyone. Gosh, this is something I thought I would
never see:
a room full of vampires and mortals, all playing nicely
together."
Patrick looked around the room getting a closer look to see who
else was
there, then he just crashed on to the floor in hysterics. Armand
was
covered in what looked like flour. Armand, he was even worse than
Lestat
at trying to look his best.
"What is so funny then?"
"Oh, Armie. What have you been doing with yourself?"
"It is not my fault. It was Marius. He was trying out his
cooking
again."
That of course started him off again, remembering the last time
he was
there. Sorsha and Patrick had been invited round for a food
tasting
evening…uhg! Just the thought of that meal could still make
him feel
sick.
He went over to the kitchen to see if he could find any hot
chocolate.
Yes, they knew him so well, his friends. While making some,
Sorsha came
in and joined him at the counter.
"How are you, Myst?"
"Fine thanks. So what are the rules and what are we looking
for?"
"Come finish up in here and when we go through, I will tell
all of you
at once."
They went through to the lounge where the contestants were
sitting.
Patrick naturally went over to Jesse, who had finally given up on
getting any further with her game tonight and was busy packing
away the
pieces. Jesse and Louis would carry on with their game next time
they
met, be it in a week or a century. Patrick sat on the floor in
front of
her, handing a second cup he had made for her. She took it with a
'thank
you.' Patrick knew that it was not for drinking, but for
enjoyment
through her other senses. Smiling at her, he finally turned
towards
Sorsha to hear all.