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Chapter Text

I was prepared to kill him.

He was a beautiful creature, that Lestat. In our world of vampires, it was difficult to find anyone to want. If you were given eternity, you would find that no one would seem very special anymore. But something about Lestat resurrected a desire in many. A desire that, in most vampires, had long been dead. He was so interesting, so emotional, reckless, and fresh. But despite all of this, I had no wish to spare him. I did not want to give him pity.

For centuries, Akasha and I had been together, sitting side by side like eternal lovers, as though we were the very definition of "God" and "Goddess". By the time that Lestat came to visit our steward, Marius, we had lived enough lives to be able to predict life. There was no reason to stand from our bench and partake in the world, but we did not want to die.

When there was no longer any hope of seeing or feeling anything beautiful or new ever again, Akasha and I had pledged to at least be there for each other. For as long as we were together, it was simply that we had each other, we had someone, or else neither of us would have survived this long.

It was that oath that gave us any reason to exist at all. It was our purpose to fulfill. For this, I loved her.

She was unhappy. I could feel it, always. And it made me ache. I would have been unhappy, too, but all I had to think was, "I have her," and I would pretend it was enough. It helped me to bury my gloom in a faraway corner. It hurt me that she could not do the same.

When Marius opened the door to our chamber and descended the stairs that memorable night two centuries ago, we already knew he had another with him. We had sensed him as Marius brought him to the house, and for Marius to bring him at all meant that he would be special.

When I first laid eyes on Lestat, I never imagined I would want to hurt him. I never imagined that this vampire would arouse in me a violent desperation to crush him, when no one, mortal or otherwise, had given me any feeling whatsoever for thousands of years.

Just like Marius, I was intrigued by him. And so was Akasha. He had the kind of beauty that made you create a kind of royal status for him in your mind. He was aboveeveryone else. The fact that he was unaware of his desirability made me want, all the more, to take advantage of it.

My awe of him distracted me from the jealousy I felt that Akasha was captivated by him, too. I could hardly blame her, and I didn't think it would make sense to worry about her infatuation. Lestat was only a guest. He would be gone before long, there was no reason to give him anything more than our interest.

But Akasha thought differently. She gave him her name.

Marius told Lestat about Akasha and I, "Those Who Must be Kept". I didn't mind. It was all quite impressive information, I enjoyed seeing Lestat's awe and his shock and his horror. I liked having such a strong impact on someone, it gave me some little, temporary sense of purpose again. While Lestat was captivating to Akasha and I, he was captivated by Akasha and I, and I knew he would not ever forget us.

What I did not know, was how very unpredictable this vampire was. When Marius left the house to Lestat for the day, it was our room that Marius forbade him from trespassing. But Lestat's curiosity of Akasha and I was so strong that he could not bring himself to question what he would do, lest he realize it was wrong, and his questions would go forever unanswered.

The foolish little vampire thought that he could actually do something to make us rise from our bench. He thought he could inspire life back into us, but it was not inspiration that brought me to life.

Instead, he gave me a new purpose, of which I was certain he would regret.

Lestat stepped into our chamber, and walked down those stairs, by himself this time, a violin in hand. By then, I was nervous. I could feel Akasha's fascination of him, and I was concerned of the impact he had on her. I did not want Lestat to change anything.

It was in the moments that followed that my appreciation for Lestat changed to resentment. He played the violin and it was unlike anything we had ever seen or heard before. The magical music felt famous even though I knew he had never played the violin before.

He changed Akasha, I could feel it as he played, and I wanted more and more for him to just stop. The song he was playing was of an exotic melody that you could learn to sing to as you heard it. And while Akasha and I had only allowed ourselves to interact with each other, and pretend to be dead in the face of others as unmoving statues for so long, she broke away from our secrecy. She sung to that song.

She stood up right before Lestat, when for so long she had only moved before me.

She moved forward, and she embraced him, like she had never embraced me.

She gave him her blood, and she took his, in the most intimate manner, right there, right in front of me, as though I did not matter. Lestat was taking her away from me.

Is this what he wanted? If not, then why did he come down here at all?

I was prepared to kill him then. I did not want to give him pity.

I got up, and in moments I had his skull between my palms, and the expression of unleashed terror bursting at me from his eyes. I was in the very process of crushing him, when Marius stopped me.

But the damage was done. Lestat may still be alive, but the peace had already been stolen.

Marius cared to guarantee the safety of his minuscule guest, but he cared not to guarantee the safety of Akasha and I, of whom he had been taking care of for so long.

I developed a grudge against Lestat. Marius could feel it, and he sent Lestat to go far away, and for a long time. He thought my grudge would tire, eventually.

And it might have.

But even 200 years later, Akasha still felt for Lestat, and she abandoned me in pursuit of him.

More than ever, I wanted to crush him, crush his spirit, and Akasha's abandonment was the last straw. I had no more purpose now, nothing would hold me back.

"If you're going to take my love," I thought, "then I will take your's." For I had the power to even see that he had found his love, and just recently, too.

That would be the first thing I would do. There was more. I could not let this go simply. Thousands of years of being together, and becoming gods together,Lestat had taken that away. There was a rage I was giving way to, and for having felt so little for so long, it was invigorating. I merely wanted to show Lestat that this recklessness of his had consequences. He wanted something, anything to happen.

He invited it. And I would accept.

Chapter Text

I was departing from Lestat's house with Louis when I sensed it again. The hostile presence that both Louis and myself had recognized during the riot after Lestat's concert; but Lestat, for some reason, had not. It started with a tingle in my back, and the tingle made my scalp prickle. It was so subtle this time, I couldn't tell if it was real or not. Maybe I was just recalling the incident, remembering the quickly processed emotions that had gone through me when having to rescue Lestat from the many vampires that had decided to punish him for his debut as a "vampire rockstar".

The feeling disappeared quickly enough, and I decided it was nothing after all. As I drove Louis back to his home, I thought nothing more of it. We were listening to the radio, and when a song by The Vampire Lestat happened to come on, I reached forward and turned it up.

All these years gone by and not one day went without my thinking of my boy. Remembering him made me more fond of him than I was when I was still with him. The sweet memories seemed more real than the bitter un-lives we had led together as vampires. The last time I saw him, we were no longer friends, and we were hardly family. Only because of our histories, that we so desperately did not want to discard, did we preserve any ounce of care for each other.

But now that we had reunited, and fallen into each others' arms as though all we had was affection for the other, the old love for my son returned. As I listened to his voice on the radio, I delighted in knowing I had just seen him, and I would see him again soon.

"You are so much like him," Louis said, unprompted, as though picking up on my sentiments. He was looking over at me from the passenger's seat. I couldn't help but smile, even if it wasn't out of flattery. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at the poor boy. Louis was charming, and sweet. Maybe too sweet, for a vampire. I might not have liked him if it were not for how Lestat liked him. For all that Louis gave my son, I had a certain amount of appreciation reserved for him.

"Or should I say, he is so much like you," he continued. "I know you don't think so, but I see it."

I felt my initial amusement fade, and my need for laughter calmed. I disliked the way he said it. I looked over at him, raising an eyebrow, and after a dismissive, insincere smile, I looked back at the road without reply. If I did not like him, I probably would have rebuked him for the comment. My Lestat and I have very little in common. Louis looked out the window.

Although, after living immortally for so long, I knew that Lestat and I would get along better now, rather than when we were both lost and looking, together, for different answers.

As I pulled up to Louis' building, the strange feeling returned. Only, it was different this time.

During the riot, I had seen fire, without actually seeing it. I felt the angry flames, and the wrath of someone who wanted to destroy. How could Lestat not have felt it? It was so powerful it made my head hurt. If it were not for Louis having felt it, too, I would have believed myself mad.

Now, it felt like it must be the same person, the same vampire that I had sensed at the riot, for none other had felt so experienced. But the emotion was more complex. It was without the spontaneous recklessness as before. Somehow, it was without the spite even though it still measured up in malice. In a way, it almost felt…happy.

Louis began to open the door, but I suddenly knew that there was someone here, waiting for him, or me, or us! He seemed to be the one unaware of it this time, for he did not appear frightened, as he should have.

"Louis, wait!" I demanded, grabbing him by the wrist with a firm hand and halting him from getting out of the car. He looked back at me with slightly wide eyes. "Don't you feel it?" I snapped.

We were both silent, and I waited for the realization to register in his eyes. The unseen vampire was watching us, I felt the added emotion of anticipation and excitement. Louis looked hesitantly back at his building, but wasn't saying anything or acting fast enough.

And then I heard a voice from inside my ear, and it said, "come inside." I looked at Louis in alarm, and judging by the expression on his face when he looked back at me, I knew he'd heard it, too.

"Or should I say, you have to come in," the voice said again. "Surely I'm not as tantalizing as that sunrise."

This was true. There was not time for us to return to Lestat's for safety, or for us to go anywhere else. The sun was coming. I had planned on dropping Louis off, and then finding a place to sleep in the earth. But even if we both went to sleep in the earth now, there was still this vampire that we would have to face when we awoke.

Louis looked at me tentatively. It reminded me of a confused and helpless child. From being around me and Lestat at the same time, he must have come to see me as a mother in some way. Normally, I would've hated this, but right now, I felt responsible for him, and I wanted to protect him, for Lestat. But could I protect him?

I nodded, knowing that we could only surrender, and go in. But to what? I got out of the car and walked around.

"Come," I said, taking Louis by the arm, for he was not moving. "He is right, we have to go in."

"Good," the voice said as Louis and I approached the building. We did not take our time, the sky was getting lighter by the minute.

"I am not here to kill you. Once you are with me, I promise your safety."

Louis and I exchanged a look of mutual confusion. If this was so, why was his air so sinister?

Once we got to Louis' room, he fumbled in his pockets for his key, but I merely placed my hand on the face of the door and pushed. It was already unlatched.

"Gabrielle," I heard as I stepped in. Louis was directly behind me, and before I could even see a vampire or a person or anything, I felt my body jerked forward. I heard a gut-wrenching "crack" as Louis was thrust to the side, where he hit the wall and fell to the ground.

I was then forced by a rapid and incredible strength into Louis' coffin, which was across the room, and the door of it was closed directly behind me. I quickly turned and pushed back against it, but it would not give. I realized moments after my hysteria that it may not have mattered. My skin was blistering with the slightest feeling of sunburn. If I got back out now, I may have been dust.

"Louis!" I yelled frantically, pounding on the inside of his coffin. If this is where the stranger put me, where would Louis go? "You promised our safety! Louis! Louis!"

I continued to yell for Louis, and to yell at Enkil, but no reply was made whatsoever. The last I knew, Louis was on the floor, injured and immobile, and the sun was rising.

I wouldn't accept it, but in my heart I knew that he would be dead. And I would have to wait out the rest of the day, in a most torturous sleep, until I could face his killer.

Chapter Text

Enkil released me the following eve, and sent me as his own personal dove to deliver his message to my son, Lestat. How he had stood there, watching me as I bound out of Louis's coffin the very moment that I could. He had smiled tranquilly as I looked frantically around for the dust that would be Louis. I did not see any, but I saw no Louis, either.

When I got to Lestat's home, he was awaiting my arrival. He shut off the security, and in my desperation I nearly drove completely through the gates to his driveway, they opened so slowly. He was opening his front door as I opened my car door. He stood on the porch, arms crossed, a look of concern as I slammed the car door shut. He was always the sight of magnificence, my son. Such little self worth that he made up for in a sort of abstract form of prose. Dressing like he was important. Acting like he was not. It created for him a very powerful presence.

"He has Louis," I announced, making my way around the front of the car, towards Lestat. My feet felt very heavy, and in my haste my entire body felt off-kilter and clumsy. "I mean…I think he is still alive. Enkil, his name is Enkil. Do you know him? I…didn't see him. Louis, I mean. This morning, before dawn, when I…" I was stuttering, and as I took the last step up to Lestat, he was shaking his head at me in confusion. I was being of no help at all.

"Inside," he said, putting his gentlemanly hands on my shoulders and herding me through the front door. I didn't want to break his heart. He is the one that is resemblant of a dove, not I. Pure, pretty, and fragile. After inventing some kind of happiness through his reunion with Louis, I knew that his entire purpose in existence would be put into question with what I had to tell him.

Once he turned the security back on and managed to push me into a chair, he took a seat in the chair beside me, and I told him about what happened. I had to watch him watch me, and then watch him look away from me. See his eyes go from anxiousness into a complete stasis. He eventually stood and began pacing, and by the time I finished, he was standing at the large, windowed wall, looking out, his back to me.

"But Louis is okay? For now?" Lestat asked, turning to look at me. Rarely had I ever seen his eyebrows so full of this kind of emotion. His hand was under his chin. I felt treacherous, even though I was just the messenger. As though, perhaps I could keep my son's innocence by withholding this information from him.

I shook my head, flabbergasted, as I thought back on what Enkil had said to me before I came to see Lestat.

I told you, I assure your safety. I did not lie. Yes…he has suffered two broken ribs, but he is alive, and that is the point.

"I think so. I believe Louis is okay, for now." I said each word carefully, begging Lestat not to put any kind of false hope into the things I might say. He came back and took a seat in the chair beside me again.

"Did he say…what he wanted of me?"

I admired Lestat's ability to stay within reason. He did not seem to be losing a hold of himself. He seemed fairly calm, though troubled. He did not seem under the impression that anything was yet completely out of his control. He had not met Enkil yet. I returned Lestat's inquiry with a look of hopelessness. I placed a hand on his knee.

"Oh, Lestat, I hoped that you would know. I demanded he explain himself, but he would not tell me much. He told me he would not kill you, but…when I asked him why he wanted you, what you had to do with anything, he said, 'he has more to do with me than you know.'" I looked at Lestat curiously as I recalled this. "That is what he said."

Lestat seemed thoughtful at this. Not confused. I knew then that Enkil was telling the truth. How involved was my Lestat with this Enkil? I felt so frantic, and a sneer was pulling at my nose as I recalled how arrogantly calm Enkil had been when he told me this. If only I were so set apart that I could be calm!

"He has Louis, is what he wanted me to tell you," I said, recapitulating. "And that he demands to see you." It was true, I had ordered Enkil to tell me what he would do with Lestat. He merely replied, 'that is not important to you.'

"And that…if I did not follow his orders, then Louis would die."

'That is important to you.'

"He is a very powerful vampire, Lestat," I warned. "He made me feel…crippled. He is very old, I have never met a vampire that seemed so ancient and with such…such a sense of being-before. I have never felt so powerless!" There was silence then, as I watched Lestat, who was sitting upright in his seat, a hand on the armrest, his face turned towards the window again.

"Lestat?" I looked at Lestat, feeling annoyed and suspicious, now. Did he have nothing to say in reply? Shouldn't he be a bit more distraught?

"Gabrielle," he said finally, quietly, still looking out the window. "This…is an incredible shock to me. However, I can't say that it is…unforeseen." He looked back at me, now, and the fact that he was not panicking helped me to feel more calm. If he could offer me answers, I would love to hear them. "Enkil is very powerful, you are correct. He isvery old. In fact, he is the oldest vampire you will ever meet."

I was stunned by this. The oldest vampire? Here, and after Lestat? What did any of this mean? How did any of this come to be!?

"You felt powerless, because you were powerless," he finished, and I looked at him, unsatisfied with his explanation. There passed another quiet moment where the only sound was of him shifting in his seat as he crossed his legs. I didn't move at all, but tried to process this very bizarre situation.

"I'm going to see him," Lestat said, as though confessing. "But I will not have to do it alone. You see, Enkil…his, well, partner, Akasha and he. They are 'Those Who Must Be Kept.' I have some notion about what this is about. Akasha left him, and she came for me. Here, at my house. I cannot explain everything, not right now. There is not time for it. But I know he is here because of her. I am sure that he is going to try to use me to get her back. She is powerful, too, though. She will know what to do. She is out hunting, but will be returning to my property before long."

He took my hand then, and looked at me intently.

"Thank you, mother. You have done all that you can do. I admit, it is rather hostile of him to take Louis as a captive. But this shouldn't have to become any more of a mess than it is. I will talk to Akasha the very moment she gets back…and then I will go and retrieve Louis."

Chapter Text

My home was barely my home. It didn't feel like mine. With Akasha here now, I somehow felt like it would be disrespectful to deny her access to whatever she wanted. She is powerful, and is the oldest vampire, after all. Doesn't that put all other vampires at her mercy? I felt like she deserved whatever she wanted, even if it was a right over me. Which is why I could not ask her to leave when I found that I no longer wanted her there.

When she came back to the house and I told her about Louis, she was not helpful to me at all. On the contrary.

I stared Akasha in the face, and she looked back at me flippantly. "I need your help," I had said to her, a request not requested lightly. I thought that she cared for me enough to sympathize with me. To care about my happiness. This, Louis is clearly the most important thing to me, how could she not help me? I was certain that my mother would have helped me had I asked for her help, even though it is so clear that she is powerless against Enkil, like myself. And here, Akasha, just as powerful as Enkil, possibly even more, and she refused. When I explained Louis' dire situation to her,

"Lestat," she said. "I don't want Louis."

I frowned, feeling for the first time honest dislike for her. Was this just because she did not want to see Enkil again? She couldn't be afraid of him, could she? Was it all she wanted, me? For me to just be there, even if I was miserable?

"Akasha," I said, and she looked at me sharply. My tone of voice as I used her name was hardly respectable. "What do you think Enkil will do? He is angry with me, because of you! You owe me this. I cannot lose Louis again! You don't understand what I've been through." At this, I think I might have seen a smile on her face, but she turned away before I could be sure. I felt rage. I wanted to approach her, but I knew that nothing I could do would really threaten her.

"If I can't have Louis, I don't want you. I am going, with or without your help." I didn't think these words through. What furious person can really think about the words they speak, but hold their tongue in hopes of saying only good words? I was not concerned about what was good.

She turned back at me, looking tired and almost bored.

"You go, and you may never see Louis again, anyway! Maybe you should think about this a little more. Louis could be dead already. Stay here with me, and I will protect you if he comes after you. I promise."

I stood, shaking my head, trying to think about the things my mother said to me. No, Akasha was wrong. Louis was still alive, he had to be. At this point, if Akasha were anyone else, I would have chased them from my property, but I could not force anything of Akasha. I didn't even feel she would leave the room if I demanded her to. I could feel my body tremor with the overspilling anger and helplessness, and I backed away from Akasha, turned, and exit the room, closing the door behind me.

There was no question about what I would do next, I already decided I would go to Enkil. But without Akasha, I really did not know what to expect. Would he kill me? Wouldn't it be so simple for Akasha to just come along and make sure that did not happen? I glanced back at the door, and moved on, walking across the room so I could make my way to the east most exit of my home. I could feel Akasha listening to my thoughts, and it only angered me further that she was so unperturbed by all of this.

Perhaps if my life was truly in danger, she would have stopped me. Could she have known that Enkil did not want to kill me? Nevertheless, I did not doubt that I was saving Louis' life by responding to his call.

Chapter Text

Enkil knew that Lestat would be quick to come. It was an easy thing to get to where he was now, and all he needed to do was apply a little pressure on Lestat to get him in his company, promptly. He wasn't exactly in a hurry, but he really didn't feel like waiting. He'd spent the day in Louis' apartment, concealed away from the light, with Gabrielle trapped in the casket. He'd waited long enough. He had his mind determinedly set on meeting Lestat.

Heavy drapes hung over the windows. They looked as though they had once been a bold green, but their faded, dusty quality made the entire room seem as though slightly drained of color. Once the sun fell, Enkil pulled the drapes open. After he had sent Gabrielle away, he stood at the windows, and as his mind wandered he found himself zoned in on the moon. There was ever so little to observe of the human's earth outside, and so he'd looked beyond it. It was the same moon as ever before, and as he looked at it now, he realized there was nothing especially astounding or beautiful about the moon. People could appreciate the moon, celebrate their fascination of all its phases; they could find beauty in moonlight, but Enkil hadn't seen that kind of moonlight in a long time.

He'd kept Louis away in one of the closets. He didn't feel he had any reason (or want) to talk to Louis, but as he waited for Lestat, he could feel a predatory compulsion building in the pit of his mind, for the first time in so long. He wasn't sure he ever felt it so strongly, and right now it was an impulse that didn't seem to weaken once he recognized it. Does the body stop craving blood when it goes unfed? At this time, Enkil saw Louis as being a dimension of Lestat, and by interacting with Louis he was still getting some fragment of Lestat.

He turned from the window and looked contemplatively at the closet door that Louis was on the other side of. Then, he strode over to it. He picked up the key from the side table that was beside the door, unlocked it, and opened it in movements that were impassive. The closet was not that spacious, even though it was mostly empty. Louis looked especially pathetic, slumped in the corner on the ground, still asleep for all Enkil could tell. Enkil's eyes darkened, as though he were offended by just how forlorn Louis appeared.

After initially knocking Louis down, he'd decided it would be best to discourage Louis. Enkil knew he'd have no problem restraining any vampire if it came to it, but he really did not want the hassle of having to reason with Louis. Taking authority over the ordeal was much easier, and that authority came in the form of a binding. Steel links. Hands stuck together before him.

Enkil observed Louis a moment more, and when he didn't move, he nudged one of Louis' feet with the toe of his shoe. Louis stirred, turning his head and looking up at Enkil with the impression of something like passionless hate in his eyes.

"Well," Enkil said, stepping back to prompt Louis out. "Get up."

Louis shifted, severely out of it. He didn't want to move, but he seemed to realize that staying where he was would be a bit futile, and he made to get up. Watching Louis raise himself with two bound hands and two broken ribs was something Enkil found he could be patient with. Broken bones heal fairly quickly in vampires, but this injury was of a more critical sort.

"Allow me to introduce myself," Enkil went on, once Louis had gotten to a standing position with the generous help of the wall.

"I know who you are. Enkil," Louis said dryly.

For the briefest moment, Enkil was taken off-guard by this. He didn't know if he was surprised, or if he was flattered, or perhaps something else. He might have faked a smile, exhibiting smugness, if the smile hadn't come on its own. He was quick to alter his expression back into seriousness, not wanting Louis to pick up on too much of his enjoyment of the situation.

Enkil lifted a hand, beckoning Louis out of the darkened closet. Louis ignored him. He wished to have nothing to do with Enkil, so much so that his awareness of Enkil's strength didn't even give him the inclination to follow through with any progression of interaction. When Louis ignored him, Enkil rolled his eyes, stepped forward and gruffly took the collar of Louis' shirt. With a fist of bundled fabric, he forcibly tugged Louis toward him, and Louis stumbled with the pull. He positioned Louis a couple of feet before the closet, and let go of the cloth as he might withdraw his hand from a handshake.

"It would seem that my partner Akasha, who I'm sure you've read about, has sought out Lestat. As of yesterday, he let her into his home. So, Louis." He enunciated Louis' name in an idle way, thinking things through as he took a step back. Louis was standing like a prisoner, the way someone truly helpless stands, Enkil thought. "You know my name. Do you know anything about me?"

"Only what Lestat wrote about you," Louis said, sparing a moment to glance at Enkil before looking away again. Enkil was taking note of Louis' body language.

What is it that Lestat likes about this vampire? He's pathetic. Weak and wavering. 'Lame' could be a better word. But then, why am I so bothered by it all?

The thought crossed his mind, then, that he maybe didn't want Lestat to hate him. That had been the original goal. Revenge. Hate. Misery. But, could he possibly want Lestat to like him? Could he possibly be experiencing...jealousy over the feelings these two vampire shared?

Enkil straightened his posture a little, thinking that Gabrielle must be nearing Lestat by now.

"Do you know what else they call me?" Enkil asked Louis, but Louis was irresponsive. Refusing to play into Enkil's game. "They call me the King of Hell, among other things. Do you know what?" He lowered his voice, stepping forward into Louis' space again. He took Louis' chin with a hand that was neither gentle nor particularly firm, and he moved Louis' face toward him, trying to get Louis to look at him. "I could take you to hell right now," he whispered with a voice that lacked any sensuality. A token of conversation, something special for Louis.

Louis looked at him, feeling resentment and hate and nervousness. How much was Enkil playing, and how much of a threat would he really be? It could be dangerous not to take him seriously enough.

"We're already in hell," he answered spitefully. He believed it, too. Enkil glared at him. The pressure of his fingers on Louis tightened and he curtly shoved Louis' chin away and to the side. Louis stumbled slightly as a result, moving to keep his balance, but not retorting, not even matching Enkil's glare.

It's a shame, Enkil thought, unmoving. He admits defeat. Maybe he's smart enough to realize my strength, but I would much rather see some fight in him. Is this Lestat's perfect little Louis? A vampire that cannot even stand for himself?

"Don't be so smug. Lestat is coming here, you know. To save your 'life'. Let's make sure there's a life for him to save," Enkil hissed. Finally, Louis looked at Enkil defensively. It was a small amount of heat, spurred by actual fear. Enkil was slightly irritated that it took this long, but as it sunk in, he felt pleased with the way Louis was looking at him now. Now that he had Louis' more acute attention, he felt a certain inspiration to take comfort in it. The more that he could affect Louis, the more he would be able to relax. It was his goal to manipulate Louis into fear, but if it was a real fear, was it really manipulating? Enkil was only showing Louis that he should be afraid.

"Although…" Enkil took a step back from Louis again, turned, and strolled back towards the window. "I promised him I wouldn't kill you..." He paused momentarily as though thinking, even though he had already thought it through. "I cannot promise you that I won't hurt him, or worse." He turned back to look at Louis, an arrogantly dramatic look of wonder on his own face as he pretended to realize the situation. "If you think a little more smartly, I can at least promise you not to make things worse for Lestat."

Louis was watching him, processing. Enkil was inwardly transfixed as he watched Louis' expression become that of anticipation and more trepidation, and then he realized that he had just convinced Louis, as well, of his authority, and he smiled. Enkil was then thoughtful, and the smile faded as he momentarily left Louis' reality and thought about his own. In an unexpected way he found himself relating to the boy.

Strange, how Louis got wrapped up in this. What is the difference between he and I? Has his partner not become enraptured with mine? And mine, his? Should Louis not be concerned? Somehow, I believe, he feels completely comfortable with Lestat. In complete trust. Like I had with Akasha. Does Lestat have any concern for Louis' place in this?

"It's hard, isn't it? Being bestowed to someone who does not return your devotion." Enkil had made a seemingly natural transition into sincerity. Louis looked perplexed. "My partner and I persevered. We whittled our passion down over centuries. It was a true test of devotion, and I suppose it had to end sometime." Enkil felt an increased energy as he went on, beginning to speak without thinking his words through with thecalculating carefulness that he usually did. "I suppose every phase of life and love and goodness in our vampiric world has to end sometime. But you. And your Lestat. You were together less than a day before Lestat seemingly devoted himself to Akasha."

Enkil was so caught up in the thought process, he forgot to focus on Louis. When he looked back at the young vampire, he was glowering. Enkil was getting warmer. He crossed his arms nonchalantly and began stepping in Louis' direction once more.

"It must make you feel positively boring to have Lestat do that to you," he said as an afterthought, a new realization. "And here you are, with me, because I want some time with Lestat, as well. It would seem that you are-" he paused again for emphasis, wanting to draw Louis in. "Unwanted. Unnecessary and undesired."

Enkil was trying not to smile as he did this, as he tried to break Louis down. He spoke less like he was trying to hurt Louis, and more like he was just trying to find where he was. Louis was shivering, and Enkil wondered if he might act out. But after several long moments, Louis did nothing, and Enkil ran his tongue along his teeth behind pursed lips, trying to hide his frown, and wondering what he should say next. Then Louis spoke.

"You forgot something. Lestat is coming here, you said so yourself. To save me! Of course he loves me, of course he is devoted to me. He is risking his life for me. It looks to me like you're the unwanted. You're the one that's having to chase, you're the one that's having to force Lestat into your company because the person you thought loved you decided to leave you!"

Louis' voice was raised by the end of his retort and Enkil felt a sudden but strong mixture of astonishment, and hurt. Not only did this convince him of his own feeling of being unwanted, it made him feel all the worse to have someone throw it at him. Humiliation, for someone to think these things, to know these things, to have it against him. And then the anger spilled within him.

In a sharp and sudden gesture, Enkil smacked Louis across his cheek, and Louis exclaimed as his head was thrust to the side. He was nearly thrown from the force of Enkil's strength, and he stumbled several steps before he collided with the wall, arms bound and unable to help break the collision. Enkil looked on, feeling a heady spite at Louis' helplessness that he found gratifying and annoying at the same time.

"Do you really want to anger me!?" Enkil yelled. He stepped swiftly after Louis, who was in a minimal amount of shock and in no position to quickly defend himself. The moment Louis saw Enkil coming after him, he rose his bound hands before him in an attempt to shield himself from whatever Enkil might do.

Enkil saw this gesture of self-defense as a raised flag that needed burning down. He grabbed hold of the chain around Louis wrists with his right and pushed forcefully back on them until Louis' hands were pinned against his chest. The movement pushed Louis' back to the wall, where Enkil held him firmly. Louis wanted to fight back, but he knew it would be useless to. When Enkil saw those feelings in his captive's eyes, his anger diminished, and he found now that he was quite content. He thought to himself, that Louis had it wrong.

"I am not chasing after Akasha," he said with such calmness that it sounded a little unusual. Like truth for the sake of truth, coming from Enkil. His expression was of the same calmness, and he looked as though he was searching for an honest way of continuing on.

"Let's get right down to the facts, shall we." In a steady movement, he lifted Louis' hands upwards, over the vampire's head. Watching Louis' reaction (which was resigned), and taking in just how Louis' posture was affected as his hands were pushed lightly to the wall. Enkil tried to remain composed, but following through with this unnecessary and imposing gesture brought an enlivened glow to his eyes.

"I am the oldest vampire on this earth," he said as he openly took in Louis' stance; analyzing as though Louis' reactions were only animal. Perhaps Louis was helpless, but his body language was defensive. His arms were close to his face, elbows forward, as though to keep Enkil from getting any closer.

"I don't have a lot of forgiveness or sympathy left in me," he went on with a calm, low voice. With his free hand Enkil then touched Louis at his abdomen, firmly, so that his entire palm, and fingers, could feel, feel that this was real. "I am a very unhappy vampire," he explained. And with the goal of being intrusive (though enjoying it all the same) he slowly slid his hand up and over Louis' torso, and rested his palm on Louis' side so that his thumb was in line with the middle of Louis' breastbone. As a vampire, one could only reminisce upon the days of making love, but Enkil wondered what it would have been like to touch Louis' skin as he did this. "And I won't feel guilty if I have to endanger Lestat just to make you squirm."

At that, Enkil tightened his hand almost delicately on Louis' torso, finding pressure on those broken ribs, and he squeezed until Louis' body jerked in response. He held for just a moment as Louis groaned in pain, and started to move a little ('squirmed,' Enkil thought), and then lightened his grip just enough to make Louis stop moving. He watched Louis, and he moved in close, until there were but inches between his body and Louis'. He tilted his head, letting silence hang in the air for a few moments. Louis almost felt that Enkil might kiss him, but Enkil was merely taking in Louis' face. The expression on Enkil's face could have been that of love.

"Do you understand?" He asked, still holding Louis' hands above his head, but moving his other hand so he could touch Louis' chin with two gentle fingers. He glanced distractedly at Louis' lips, the skin that his fingers were touched to, then found his way back to Louis' eyes.

"Yes," Louis said, eyes cast away and downwards.

"Do I have your cooperation?"

"Yes."

"Good. Because Lestat is almost here, and my use for you has expired." He withdrew his fingers from Louis' chin, and he lowered Louis' hands downwards so his arms were straight. Taking a step back, Louis was forced to follow, stepping away from the wall. If it weren't for the chains, it might have looked as though they were simply holding hands.

"I'm going to want to talk to him, alone. Obviously, we won't be able to have a very productive discussion if you're here to distract him. You'll leave through the window, and you'll go elsewhere. If for some ridiculous reason you chose to interrupt us, I will get rid of you in a different way. Whatever is necessary." He paused, searching for any dissent in Louis' face. "Understand?"

"I do," Louis replied defeatedly, looking thoroughly miserable.

Without another word, Enkil squeezed on the chains until one link broke, and the bindings fell away from Louis' wrists. Louis did nothing with this new freedom. Enkil stepped aside, pushing against Louis' back with one hand while gesturing towards the window with the other. Louis walked forward, and Enkil followed. As they reached the window, Louis pushed it open. He was about to exit when Enkil grabbed his jacket at the small of his back.

"Just wait."

Louis looked back questioningly, uncomfortably aware of the overbearing way that Enkil continued to hold onto his jacket. After about a minute, Enkil let go, and nodded almost politely, stepping back as he did so. Louis then made his way out of the window, scaled the wall to the ground, and then left, to go elsewhere.