Part 2

Louis opened his eyes and found them wet. I've been crying all night, he thought. His body felt sore from the continuous exertion, along with the bruises on his face and back where he had hit the tub. He just wanted to go back to sleep where he couldn't feel the pain, but the exhaustion had left him, and now the frightened malaise was creeping back into his mind, keeping him awake.

"Damn," he said, sitting up. He felt the cold metal around his ankle at the same time he saw the key on the nightstand. Once he had unlocked himself, he went to the dresser and opened it up. This time he was offered a loose black shirt and somewhat baggy pants that wouldn't press hard against his bruises. Instead of boots he was given soft slippers, the same color as the shirt and pants. Louis felt a little better now, and left the room.

Strange, he thought, looking around. It looked different yesterday. Did the walls move...? He felt dizzy all of a sudden and his knees started to buckle. His head started to pound...where Lestat had hit him...he felt breathless and reached out to find something to grab onto, to keep himself from falling. There was nothing. He stumbled backwards.

A loud tapping sound rushed towards him from behind, and he was able to glance over his shoulder. His sight was blurry, and all he saw was an amorphous shape on four legs charging at him. Louis gave a yell of fear, but he couldn't run. He fell farther...

...right into a soft sofa. Louis looked down. The amorphous shape had been a sofa. Moving on its own. Too strange, too strange...

Before he could collect his thoughts, the sofa rose up a little and made him slip farther into the seat, to make sure there was no way he could slide off. Bunching its arms closer to hold him tight, it started running again down the halls and around corners. Louis closed his eyes, afraid to look.

A door opened up by itself, allowing them inside, and Louis found himself inside the room he'd been in before. The fire sprang to life, and the table crept closer, offering its book up. Once his trembling wore down, Louis smiled and took the book.

"You would not happen to have any water, would you?" he asked with a tiny smile, not really expecting anything.

The table abruptly jumped up and down a few inches from the ground, and on the third jump a large glass of water appeared with a "poof!" on its top, along with complimentary toast and jam, with a small knife.

Louis' smile broadened. "Th-thank you ," he whispered.

A little later he had finished his breakfast and had finished his book. Staring at the fire, he began to drowse. This room seemed safe and calm. There were no boxes of eyes here. No master forcing himself on his body. No chains.

"I...I would like...to go to the library," he said, afraid he might offend the furniture somehow. Instead of being insulted, the fire died down to a glow, the table returned to its corner, and his sofa turned around to face the door. Louis leaned closer, allowing it to enclose him in its upholstered arms, and then it was taking him back down the hallway, through honeycomb halls to the library. It released him there, and once he was on his own feet again, it backed up against the wall to wait for him to need it again.

Louis looked outside one of the few windows inside the library. The sunlight was strange here, gray and dim, and he couldn't tell what time of the day it was. He sighed and climbed up to the second level of shelves, where some of the fiction was contained. Once he had chosen a book, he sat down where he was and began to read. Only a few paragraphs into the story, however, his eyes grew so heavy he couldn't keep them open. He lay the book down beside him and stretched out, falling asleep.

"Louis..."

"Louis, wake up."

Louis opened his eyes reluctantly and groaned. A gloved hand had been extended to him, presumably to help him up, but he mumbled a curse and sat up on his own. "I do not need your help," he said.

Still covered head to toe in his cloak, Lestat knelt down opposite to him. "Why did you fall asleep? Didn't you get enough rest this morning?"

Louis glowered at him. "I am not used to your brand of abuse. Would you like to slap me once more? Or perhaps you would like to have me in bed against my will again?"

"You must not make me angry," Lestat said. "I cannot control my temper at times."

"Temper?" Louis gave a bitter laugh. "You threw a child's tantrum. And why on earth do you keep that robe? Why do you keep your face hidden?"

"You must not have seen my face clearly," Lestat said.

Louis did not answer.

"Are you hungry?" Lestat asked.

Louis shook his head. "I already ate."

"But not recently."

"I have no appetite."

Silence.

"So...you're only going to read?"

Louis nodded, picking up his book and opening it up. He started scanning the text, then decided he did not want to read this. He returned it to its proper place and looked over nearby books. A soft rustle caught his attention, and he glanced down. Lestat, who was still sitting down, looked up, giving a strong impression of eagerness despite the dark robe. Louis picked out another book, and Lestat's shoulders dropped.

Louis ignored him and sat down, reading the first page. Lestat sighed and stood before stepping off of their small platform, landing on the ground. Louis did his best to pretend Lestat wasn't there, but he could hear him pacing back and forth on the floor. Nervousness kept him from reading, and he put the book back. He crept close to the edge of the platform and looked down to find Lestat staring up at him.

Surprised by the intent scrutiny, Louis lost his balance and started to topple forward into empty space. He cried out in fear and shut his eyes. He'd hit the floor any moment, he knew it.

Two strong arms wrapped around his waist and legs, cradling him against what felt like a stone body. Louis felt the impact on the ground, but it was slowed and softened so that the worst he suffered was a chill down his spine. When he felt the air stop swirling around him and felt his rescuer stand straight, Louis allowed himself to open his eyes.
"How...how did you...?" he asked.

"I'd better put you to bed," Lestat said. Instead of putting Louis down, Lestat carried him out of the library and through the maze of hallways. "You may fall again."

"You're going to hurt me again," Louis said. It was not a question.

"I just saved your life," Lestat said.

"I wish you'd let me die."

"You wouldn't have died, the fall was too short." They turned a corner. "You would have broken an arm or a leg, but you would still be alive."

"I want to know why you're doing this."

Lestat shook his head. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

No answer.

"Why not?"

"I just can't." Another corner.

"So for your amusement, you keep me prisoner, put me in chains and rape me?"

"I haven't raped you."

"Yet. Why are you making me suffer?"

"You don't need to be miserable," Lestat said. "If you would just accept it, this would be easier, even pleasurable."

"Pleasurable? How did you come up with that idea?"

"You have plenty of food, books, shelter and things to wait on you hand and foot. Why can't you just enjoy this?"

"I wish the bed would burst into flames and take you with it."

Again, Lestat did not answer. He carried Louis into the bedroom and lay him down on the bed. "If you want, I can only tie one of your legs down. I can leave your hands free."

"Can't you leave off with those damn chains?" Louis said. "Just hurry up and get it over with?"

"It's not allowed--" Lestat said, pressing his knuckles to his mouth as he realized his slip.

"Not allowed?" Louis said, opening his eyes. It was too dark to see. The candle had not been lit. "By who?"

No noise, except for a metallic clang at the end of the bed. Cold steel touched one of his ankles, and one of Lestat's hands fell possessively on his leg.

Desperation flared up in Louis. Without any plan, he jumped out of bed and raced from the room, running through the manor. Behind him, he heard Lestat's shout of surprise, and then heavy footfalls as he gave chase. Louis ran down the stairs and ducked into the nearest room, closing the door behind him. There was no light to see by. Even if he'd had a candle, he wouldn't have lit it for fear that Lestat might see. He felt his way around the room, edging past a bookshelf and a table and locating a closet. Praying that there was nothing dangerous inside, he slipped into the closet and sat down in the corner, behind the row of clothing dangling above him. He could hear rain falling outside, likely then he was in one of the outer rooms.

The door opened, but he had to strain to hear it over the rain. Louis held his breath, listening as Lestat quietly stepped through the room, opening a trunk, searching under what must have been a bed. Curtains audibly drew back, and Louis' eyes opened wide. There was a window here. Maybe he could get out that way. There was a flash of lightning outside that sounded close.

A match struck, and after a moment, a dim light poured under the closet door. Lestat must have found a lantern. Darkness crept back soon, though, and Louis was certain Lestat was gone. He started to breathe again.

The closet door flew open and Lestat's hand grabbed his arm, dragging him out and grasping him close.

"Let me go!" Louis screamed, using all of his strength to push away. "I won't be used again, I won't!"

"Stop arguing, you little fool," Lestat hissed. "You shouldn't be here. Now come quietly and don't look around."

Lestat seized Louis' wrist, trying to hold him still as he struggled, and while he thrashed, Louis' hand accidentally struck the lantern in Lestat's hand. The shutter sprang back, and the entire room was bathed in the magnified light. Lestat did his best to block Louis' sight, but his captive twisted around enough to get a good look.

The entire room was soaked in blood. It stained the white sheets on the bed, lay in puddles on the floor, dripped from the walls. A cabinet opposite them seemed to bleed as it trickled out from inside. The table he'd touched had a vase full of gore. He looked into the closet. All the clothes were drenched, and the shelves, instead of holding curios and books, held arms, legs and human bones. More bones lay scattered around the room, and another arm lay outstretched from under the bed, suggesting that it was still connected to a body.

Louis gasped and backed up against Lestat, as if he was his protection. He started to tremble, and Lestat put his hands on Louis' shoulders, trying to comfort him and guide him out. Instead, Louis jumped at his touch and stumbled against the wall, right next to the window. "What the hell are you?"

"Louis, calm down--" Lestat ordered, holding his hands out. Louis just shied back again.

"Is this what will happen to me?" Louis screamed. "Monster! Demon!"

"Stop screaming."

"Don't come near me!" Louis turned, grabbed a box dripping with blood, and smashed it against the window.

"No!" Lestat yelled, darting forward.

Louis pushed the remaining glass out and jumped through the hole, slashing his arm deep as he went. Lestat just barely missed snatching Louis' shirt and watched him run along the side of the house. Without hesitating, he followed Louis and ran after him.

Louis ran towards the front of the house and then farther down the dirt trail. Behind him, he could hear Lestat's frenzied shouts, ordering him to turn back, but Louis only quickened his pace. He held his hand over his face, trying to shield himself from the hard rain drops that obscured his vision. It was impossible to see farther than a few feet. Every few seconds lightning would crash overhead, and he would see the outline of the path before him, framed by the dense forest.

Something crashed nearby, and at first he thought it was just another peal of thunder until he realized there hadn't been any lightning before. There was another loud sound, and when he looked to the right, he found himself staring into a row of extremely sharp teeth in a mouth that could swallow him in one bite.

Louis screamed and turned, running as fast as he could. Heavy footfalls fell behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw that those teeth were set in a humanoid face on a lion's body. Its tail reached high over its head like a scorpion and flicked dozens of metal spikes down at him. He dodged to the left, only just avoiding the sharp missiles. He heard them splash into deep puddles nearby.

A dead tree had fallen in his path, but he was too slow slogging through the mud and his loose clothing caught in the hooked branches. He tumbled to the ground, becoming even further tangled up. A monstrous paw stepped directly on the thick tree trunk, shattering it with one blow, and the human face leered at him, displaying its teeth as it prepared to bite. Another burst of lightning lit its jaws up more than he wanted to see.

Just as it lunged, another creature jumped out and slammed the first one away. This one was a gigantic cat creature, also with rows of teeth. Only its glowing green eyes were clearly visible in the sheets of rain.

They're fighting over who gets to eat me, Louis thought. He started to snap each twig holding him, but the sounds alerted other creatures to his presence.

The bushes to his left rustled, and an odd creature with the head of a lion and the body of an ant crept up to him. Louis had nowhere to run, and he could only press against the tree holding him prisoner and hope the end would be quick.

As the lion-ant bent to take its first bite, a human figure lunged between it and Louis, slashing across its eyes. Deciding its prey was too small to warrant a fight, it roared in displeasure and ran off. The dark figure bent and started to help Louis out of the branches, but a thick paw slammed down on his back. When the paw slid out of sight, it dragged the robe off of Lestat, exposing his face. He snarled like a wild animal and leaped, claws out, at the offending creature. Louis could not see the fight, but he could hear the two of them squaring off like demons. Already deep in panic, he wrenched himself free and backed away, not knowing what to do. His muscles tightened up in the cruel chill.

"Get back inside," Lestat yelled at him. "The front doors will open for you, run."

Louis whirled, but instead found his way blocked by the same monster he'd met first. It could smell the blood still dripping from the wound on his hand from the broken window glass. Without giving him any time to run, it thrust its head forward and bit down into Louis' arm. Razors sliced deep into his skin and flesh, sending blood gushing out of the gaping slash.

In far too much pain to scream, Louis' entire body ran cold and he slumped, held upright only by the animal's jaws. Somewhere in the distance, he heard Lestat scream. A moment later, the creature released him for some reason. He collapsed into the mud, his right arm useless, but his eyes were wide open. He could see Lestat fighting with a feral anger, literally ripping the thing into pieces. Its spiked tail whipped around again, but out of some miracle they missed Louis, and Lestat was able to jump over the barrage to land on its back. His hands flailed back and forth, and then his enemy's head fell to the ground and rolled into the darkness.

Once it was dead, Lestat ran straight towards Louis and scooped him up into his arms, running with him back into the house. The gigantic doors opened for them, then shut fast again. Louis watched the hallways fly by in a blur until he was settled back in the bathtub, hot water pouring onto him. His mutilated arm was raised and the clothing stripped from it. He watched as Lestat washed the filth, mud and saliva from the gashes. Louis was certain the wound would kill him.

Lestat put his hand to his mouth and bit into it until blood ran freely from it. He held it over Louis' arm and allowed his blood to drip onto the mangled tears. Louis did not understand at all until he watched the gashes mend before his eyes. The skin sealed up as if nothing had happened, and after a few seconds, there weren't even any scars.

"What are you?" Louis asked, more in amazement and wonder than in fear. "How did you...? It was fatal..."

"Yes, it was," Lestat said. "Remember that when you want to go for another run. Fighting those monsters was not as easy as it looked."

Looking over the multiple scratches and abrasions Lestat had suffered, Louis was forced to agree. There was even a cut on his...cheek?

Louis looked intently into Lestat's face, his first decent look at his captor. His second impression only reinforced his first. Lestat was an animalistic beauty. His body, now that it was out of that shapeless robe, was the perfect specimen of a young man in impeccable shape. Louis looked back into Lestat's face, then shook his head.

"I don't understand..." he whispered. "Why were you so afraid to let me see you?"

Lestat gave him a confused look, then suddenly realized that his robe had been torn off. He put his hand in front of his face and searched for something to cover himself with.

Louis put his good hand out on Lestat's, forcing him to lower it. Lestat started to sob, and Louis was stunned to see that Lestat's tears were made of blood.

"Why are you so sad?" he asked.

"Don't look at me," Lestat said, shying away.

"But why not?"

"I'm so ugly."

"No," Louis shook his head. "You are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. The only ugliness you may have is in what you've done to me. Why...?" Louis could no longer continue to speak. The forced healing began to take its toll, knocking him out.

Lestat eventually stopped crying and dried his tears. He pulled Louis' clothing away and rinsed the mud from him. Then, realizing this was the best time, now that Louis would not notice, he tied one end of a string around Louis' uninjured wrist and put the other around a flimsy fixture on the wall. Bound only symbolically, Louis was just entering his dreams when Lestat began to touch him. Louis moaned, feeling the feathery strokes on his chest and sides, enjoying the squeezes along his thighs. Someone softly kissed his lips, and he dreamed that he responded, startling Lestat when his body also reacted favorably. Lestat then reached down and fondled Louis, trailing the tips of his fingers between his legs until he felt it was enough.

"No more for tonight," he whispered in Louis' ear. He broke off the little piece of string and heaved Louis into his arms again, taking him back to the bedroom. He eased Louis between the blankets and bed sheets, tucking him in, then went to the doorway and snapped his fingers. The little table came bounding up the hallway and stood still in the corner near Louis' bed. Giving his prisoner one last kiss, Lestat slipped out of the room.

Shadows were already creeping into the room when Louis opened his eyes. At first, he didn't want to move. The pillow was soft and still cool against his cheek, and the blankets wrapped around him were comfortably warm. He closed his eyes and tried to drowse a bit longer, but he gave up after a few minutes. Time to get up.

Or maybe not, he told himself when he stretched out. Bruises flared up along his muscles, and his right arm burned. I suppose Lestat's healing abilities have a limit.

He settled for sitting up in bed, propping the pillow behind him. The table hopped up and down beside him, clamoring for attention. Louis smiled at it.

"Hello, there," he whispered, and as soon as he spoke, his throat throbbed. He put his hand around it, feeling for sore spots, and winced when every spot he touched was sore. He glanced down at the table. "You wouldn't happen to have anything that would dull the pain, would you?"

Hop, hop, hop, and there appeared a little bottle on the table top. Fearing another trick, Louis took it and held it up to his face, examining it. Reddish in color, it looked like liquid held in a glass shell. In fact, it looked like--

"Blood," he gasped, dropping it on the bed sheets as if it had burned him. A moment later, he decided it was probably all right. After all, Lestat's blood healed him. Maybe this would make the pain go away. He unstopped it, put it to his lips and tipped it, and the blood dripped down his throat. The pain vanished.

"This place is so strange," he told the table. "One day I am certain I am fated to die here, and that I mean nothing more to Lestat than a sensual plaything. And then...I wonder which of us is the prisoner."

There was a light tap at the door, and Louis looked up to see Lestat, without his robe, standing in the doorway. He had a covered tray in his hands. Despite himself, Louis favored Lestat with a small smile.

"I thought you might like something to eat," Lestat whispered.

Louis nodded, and gestured at the chair nearby. Lestat pulled it close and set the tray on the table. With a tiny flourish, he removed the cover to reveal a bowl of steaming hot soup, with hot tea beside. The table leaned within easy reach, extending like elastic over Louis' lap so he would have an easy time eating.

"Go ahead, before it gets cold," Lestat said.

"Why do you want to watch me eat?" Louis asked, picking up the spoon.

"I like to."

Louis accepted the answer and started to eat. As usual, the fare was delicious, and he had finished it all before he knew it. Once he was done, the table pulled away and the empty tray disappeared. He relaxed against the pillow, and Lestat pulled the blankets up to his waist.

"Louis..." he started.

Louis glanced over at him. "Yes?"

"Do...you really think...I'm beautiful?"

Louis hesitated. He didn't want to answer at first, but Lestat's eyes looked so sad, Louis didn't have the heart to refuse a reply.

"Yes, you are beautiful," he said. "Oddly so..."

"Oddly?" Lestat repeated, leaning a little closer.

Louis sighed again. Better to tell him now and get it over with... "I have never been physically attracted to any man before," he said. "But you...you seem to make my heart react in ways that it never has before."

"You mean you...like...me?" Lestat asked.

"If you had not kidnapped me, kept me prisoner, bound me up in chains and forced yourself upon me, and hit me, I think I would like you," Louis said.

Lestat slumped down in his chair. Both of them were silent. Deciding that it wasn't needed right then, the table walked to the far corner and sat still.

"I...I'm sorry," he whispered. "But I had to...I couldn't do it any other way."

"Why not?"

"Crying and drinking blood never endeared me to anyone I've ever met before."

"That is not the only reason," Louis murmured.

Lestat didn't look up. "What do you mean?"

"You said leaving me untied 'was not allowed'," Louis answered. "Not allowed by who?"

"I can't tell you."

"Then there is someone."

Lestat winced, and another thought popped into Louis' mind.

"Are you held here against your will, as well?"

"In a way."

Louis sighed. "You're not going to tell me."

"Am I that predictable?" Lestat gave him another smile.

"You are the picture of unpredictability."

The vampire chuckled and looked out the window. "I must admit, I never expected you to run outside. But, I suppose you had a good reason for it."

Louis stared down at the blankets. "Why is that room filled with blood?"

"I won't kill you, I promise," Lestat said.

"You did that?" Louis asked, turning pale. "You killed those people?"

"They tried to kill me. They followed me into my sanctuary and tried to destroy me."

"Were they your prisoners?"

Lestat shook his head. "No...vampire hunters...the ones who could get around the monsters outside, anyway. I couldn't toss them to the manticores, they'd just be able to have more manticore cubs. So, I hid them away in that room. I didn't think I'd ever go into it again."

"Vampire hunters?" Louis whispered. "Then you are..." He stared first at Lestat's hands and fingers. They looked normal, but he'd seen him slash with those nails as if they were claws. When he stared into Lestat's eyes, he noticed they were a beautiful blue-gray that glistened like smoky sapphires. He couldn't see the fangs hidden behind the ruby lips.

Lestat noticed his scrutiny and turned away.

"What were those things in the forest?" Louis asked, changing the subject. "I've never seen anything so evil in my life."

Lestat smirked, forgetting the past topic. "Obviously, or else you'd never have run. Well...the first one you saw, the one that bit you, that was a manticore. Part lion with a human face and spiked tail. The large cat was a gulon."

"What about the lion with an ant's body?"

"That's a mermecolion. They don't last very long. Its body can't digest the meat its head wants." Lestat leaned back in his seat. "You're lucky you didn't see a basilisk or a peryton. Those things are even worse than a manticore."

"What is a peryton?"

"A deer with wings and a damned mortal soul. It likes to eat men, specifically."

"Such a wonderful forest you live in," Louis whispered. "Can they get in?"

"They never have," Lestat shook his head. "You're safe here. I promise." He reached out, about to brush Louis' face, but the mortal shied from his touch.

To Louis' surprise, Lestat pouted and looked away. "I thought you said you were attracted to me."

"You still kidnapped me," Louis said.

Lestat sighed in exasperation. "Louis, your town's crops were failing, the livestock were dying and the plague was coming up. The stupid farmers were going to make a sacrifice to the gods any day now."

"So?" Louis said. "Why would that bother me?"

"You naive little fool, who do you think they were going to sacrifice? Not someone they know, certainly. But maybe the reclusive outcast in his tiny house on the edge of town..."

Louis glanced back at the rose blanket.

"If they hadn't sacrificed you to me, they would have slaughtered you like one of their prized bulls," Lestat insisted. "Why were you living out there, anyway?"

"You're the all-knowing spirit, you tell me," Louis snapped.

"I'm not a spirit and I'm not all knowing," Lestat said. "You know that. Why were you living there? You're obviously educated, you must have been wealthy once."

"They didn't want me in the town," Louis said. "I...did something evil..."

"The quiet bookworm? It couldn't have been that bad."

"I killed my brother."

Part 3 *not up yet*