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He sighed. "All right, I've waited for your like for centuries. Whatis another two nights, such as the case may be. We are speaking ofonly tomorrow night, really, aren't we? At the sunset of the followingevening, after that I shall come for you.""Right.""I'll give you a little gift that will help you believe in me. It's notso simple to me to fix your level of understanding. You're full ofparadox and conflict. Let me give you something unusual.""Agreed.""So this is the gift. Call it a sign. Ask Dora about Uncle Mickey'seye. Ask her to tell you the truth that Roger never knew.""This sounds like a Spiritualist parlour game.""Think so? Ask her.""All right. The truth about Uncle Mickey's eye. Now let me askyou one last question. You are the Devil. Yes. But you're not evil?
Why?""Absolutely irrelevant question. Or let me put it a little moremysteriously. It's completely unnecessary for me to be evil. You'llsee. Oh, this is so frustrating for me because you have so much tosee.""But you're opposed to God!""Oh, absolutely, a total adversary! Lestat, when you seeeverything that I have to show you, and hear all that I have to say, whenyou've spoken with God and better see it from His perspective, andfrom my point of view, you will join me as His adversary. I'm sureyou will."He stood up from the chair. "I'm going now. Should I help you upoff the floor?""Irrelevant and unnecessary," I said crossly. "I'm going to missyou." The words surprised me as they came out.
"I know," he answered.
"I have all of tomorrow night," I said. "Remember.""Don't you realize," he answered, "that if you come with me nowthere is no night and day?""Oh, that's very tempting," I said. "But that's what Devils do sowell. Tempt. I need to think about this, and consult others foradvice.""Consult others?" He seemed genuinely surprised.
"I'm not going off with the Devil without telling anyone," I said.
"You're the Devil! Goddamn it, why should I trust the Devil? That'sabsurd! You're playing by rules, somebody's rules. Everybody alwaysis. And I don't know the rules. Well. You gave me the choice, and thisis my choice. Two full nights, and not before then. Leave me aloneall that time! Give me your oath.""Why?" he asked politely, as if dealing with an ornery child. "Soyou won't have to fear the sound of my footsteps?""Possibly.""What good is an oath on this if you don't accept the truth of allthe rest that I've said?" He shook his head as if I were being foolishlyhuman.
"Can you swear an oath or not?""You have my oath," he said, laying his hand on his heart, orwhere his heart should have been. "With complete sincerity, ofcourse.""Thank you, I feel much better," I said.
"David won't believe you," he said gently.
"I know," I said.
"On the third night," he said with an emphatic nod, "I shall comeback for you here. Or wherever you happen to be at the time."And with a final smile, as bright as the earlier one, he disappeared.
It was not the way I tended to do it, by making off with suchswiftness no human could track it.
He actually vanished on the spot.
8I STOOD up shakily, brushed off my clothes, and noted withoutsurprise that the room was as perfect as it had been when weentered it. The battle obviously had been fought in some otherrealm. But what was that realm?
Oh, if only I could find David. I had less than three hours beforethe winter dawn and set off at once to search.
Now, being unable to read David's mind, or to call to him, I hadbut one telepathic tool at my command, and that was to scan theminds of mortals at random for some image of David as he passed insome recognizable place.
I hadn't walked three blocks when I realized that not only was Ipicking up a strong image of David, but that it was coming to mefrom the mind of another vampire.
I closed my eyes, and tried with my entire soul to make someeloquent contact. Within seconds, the pair acknowledged me, Davidthrough the one who stood beside him, and I saw and recognized thewooded place where they were.
In my days, the Bayou Road had led through this area intocountry, and it had been very near here once that Claudia and Louis,having attempted my murder, had left my remains in the waters of theswamp.
Now the area was a great combed park, filled by day, I supposed,with mothers and children, containing a museum of occasionally veryinteresting paintings, and providing in the dark of night a densewood.
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