| Lestat and Armand looked back at me in utter
shock. "You want us to do what?" Lestat asked me.
"I want you to at least try to block
the twins’ memories of the past few weeks. The trauma is getting
to be too much for them, especially Michael. His drinking is getting
way out of hand," I said.
Armand appeared troubled. I wondered
what he was thinking, but I didn’t say anything. After a few moments,
he finally asked me, "Tell me, cara, are you absolutely sure you want this?"
I nodded sadly. "The trauma of the kids
finding out their father didn’t die twenty years ago has been quite a shock
to them. But finding out what happened to Daniel has been too much
for them. Michelle has gotten more clingy and demanding. Michael,
as you know, is constantly drunk and belligerent."
I sighed before continuing, "Guys, I
want them to finish college. They have so much potential, and this
has almost destroyed them. You two have the capability to do this,
yes?"
They glanced at each other and then nodded
slightly. Lestat spoke to Armand, "Even though they are mentally
quite powerful, mon ami, I think, that if you and I work in unison, it
can be done."
Armand smiled slightly. "Work together.
Do you think the others would get over the shock?"
Lestat laughed out loud. "Marius would
stay awake days, wondering how far we would take this partnership.
He would sweat wondering what kind of trouble we could get into."
"The best reason to make sure that we
strive to work together as long as we can tolerate the sight of each other,"
Armand quipped.
I grinned watching them go back and forth.
I knew that they were showing off for me, because they could have done
this silently. "So this is a yes?" I asked.
"Yes," they answered simultaneously.
The procedure went quickly to everyone’s relief.
Michael’s memory was altered first, then Michelle’s. Everyone decided
that they should retain the memory of Daniel as their father, but everything
else was wiped out. Daniel wasn’t happy with this turn of events,
but eventually he agreed with the whole thing. He’d seen the twins’
recent behavior and how it had become more and more erratic. Even
though he hated that the twins’ memories had to be altered, he knew something
had to change! He had watched Michael’s drinking and recognized the
warning signs. Daniel himself had exhibited those destructive signs
during the long years prior to his change.
Daniel had discussed this very thing with Armand,
and Armand had agreed that Michael was definitely affected by all that
had happened. Daniel also saw that Michael was showing
the signs of being one of those people like Lestat had described in his
books, those unhappy people who had "seen spirits".
The twins now knew that Daniel was their father
but that was all they knew. They no longer remembered that he was
not human; now he was just Dad to them. Since his lack of aging would
eventually be noticed, the twins were told that Daniel was an avid traveler
and was frequently out of the country. Daniel and the twins would
stay in touch with each other via E-mail and telephone calls. They
were out of New Orleans the next night on a flight back to Massachusetts.
This morning I woke up and I felt strange.
My body was tingling for some reason. My skin felt itchy and my mind
was racing. All of a sudden I knew I had to leave…and leave soon!
Now that I had gotten the twins taken care of and gone, I knew I was free
to begin making plans. I had to find them…the others who were like
me. The problem was that I had to leave alone. I had to try
to figure out how to leave my new friends without leaving a trail.
As the day wore on, I was feeling more and
more sad. I had grown to love these guys. I did not want to
disappear on them, but if I was to find my family, I had to. It was
all I could do to keep from crying as I made the arrangements. I
would be leaving the next morning, making sure that when I left they would
be deep in their death sleep. I didn’t want any of them to get an
inkling that I was leaving.
So when they arose that evening, I had a bright
smile on my face. I joked with them like I would be there forever.
I had to concentrate to keep my thoughts guarded, but I was wailing on
the inside. I didn’t want to leave, but somehow, I knew that I would
see them again. They weren’t out of my lives forever.
That evening when Lestat woke up, he took his
shower and dressed as he usually did. He noticed that everyone else
was still resting so he went out to hunt. The hunt was quick and
painless for his victim—a poor old man who was so crazed with alcohol and
drugs that he didn’t know what was happening. Lestat gently put him
out of his misery and returned to the flat.
When he went into his office to check his E-mail,
he found a letter resting on his keyboard. He recognized the writing
as being Jamie’s and somehow he knew he wouldn’t like what this letter
had to say. He opened the envelope and read the letter. He
howled with rage and raced up the stairs.
Louis came racing out of his room at the first
sound of Lestat’s shout. Lestat shoved the letter into Louis’ hands
and ordered, "Read this!"
Louis looked down at the letter in his hands, saw that it was from
Jamie, and began reading.
Guys,
I hate to have to leave this way, but I have
gone to find
my family. Please don’t try to find
me just yet. I need to find
them and make contact. Now that I have
the twins safely back
into college, I am free to search.
I just want you to know how
much I love each of you. If I get a
chance to, I will contact
you somehow, so keep an eye on your E-mail.
Love as always,
Jamie
Louis looked up at Lestat in shock.
"She’s really gone?"
Lestat looked furious and sad at the
same time. "Yes, she is. I cannot sense her presence anywhere."
Louis wondered aloud, "So, what do we
do now?"
Lestat had a grim look on his face.
"We find her, that’s what."
|
