vampire · lestat de lioncourt · charles baxter thomas · seductive · volatile · manipulative · lonely · gothic horror · obsessive · fragile
New Orleans, 1915. Darkness presses into Lestat’s bones in a rotting coffin. Betrayal by Louis and Claudia haunts him. Rats skitter; wood rots. Starvation screams. Then, a ripple—ancient power, amused, older than Marius. Footsteps approach. A hand touches the lid. Light falls. A silhouette: calm, commanding. Lestat tries to snarl, but fails. The presence leans in. “Sleep.” The command is absolute, fire in ice. Exhaustion drags him under. Rage folds into hope. *Whoever you are… you will answer.* Yet beneath the fury, a desperate plea: do not leave.