SCENE TWELVE: THE THEATRE OF THE VAMPIRES — SIX MONTHS LATER
Establishing Photograph: The Marquee of the freshly painted theatre reads: Theatre of the Vampires. A large crowd packs the entrance.
(The vampires masquerading as actors perform an operetta entitled «The Origin of the Species». LAURENT performs the role of the legendary vampire, MARIUS. LESTAT watches from offstage with GABRIELLE.)
Song: Origin of The Species
[Laurent as Marius:]
Indulge me if you will my friends
For I've a tale to spin
Of all the vampires on this earth
Of my unholy kin
I am the oldest one by far
Marius is my name
When Ii was born it was the time
The Roman Empire reigned
[Chorus/Vampires:]
When he was born it was the time
The Roman Empire reigned
[Laurent as Marius:]
Unlike you mortals as you age
The weaker you become
For us it's quite the opposite
The years just make us strong
But like you we feel pain and loss
And suffer heartbreak too
We ponder our existence
In the same way as you do
[Chorus/Vampires:]
We ponder our existence
In the same way as you do
[Laurent as Marius:]
In the myth of your creation
There's bold Adam and sweet Eve
Temptation and a serpent
And the devil's apple tree
We have Enkil and Akasha
An Egyptian king and queen
The mother and the father
Of we pale and bloody fiends
[Chorus/Vampires:]
The mother and the father
Of we pale and bloody fiends
Marius tell us more
Marius tell us more
Tell us more, tell us more,
Marius tell us more
[Lestat:]
[to Gabrielle] Who is this Marius? Have you heard of him?
[Gabrielle:]
No one has ever mentioned him to me. He could be fictional.
[Lestat:]
Oh, I hope not.
(The stage scenery depicts a village in ancient Egypt.)
[Laurent as Marius:]
Four thousand years ago before the pyramids were built
Enkil and Akasha ruled with wise benevolence
[All:]
The splendor of Egyptian life was prosperous and good
[Enemies:]
But in their kingdom enemies were present
[Laurent as Marius:]
And so it happened that a demon came into the town
And took a liking to the home of some unfortunate
[Unfortunate:]
I'm pleading to wise Enkil for your council and advice
Before my home this demon desecrates
[Enkil:]
As king in all good faith I shall engage this ghoul
In hopes his evil ways by chance I might dissuade
[Akasha:]
As queen I'll not allow my king to face this deed alone
[Laurent as Marius:]
And in her choice the hand of fate was played
The demon tossed the furniture
His malevolence abounded
[Enkil and Akasha:]
And while we pleaded to be heard
We found ourselves surrounded
[Enemies:]
Assassins of the enemy
Our collective knives a gleaming
Hacked and stabbed the royal pair
And left their bodies bleeding
[Laurent as Marius:]
As they lay dying on the ground the poltergeist did swoop
And entered in the wounds of their illustrious monarchy
Their reanimated bodies bore a terrifying glow
Alive to them but dead to you and me
[Enkil and Akasha:]
The demon in our veins we gained a supernatural power
But one that left us sorely lacking human traits
[Enkil:]
No longer to partake of food and drink
[Akasha:]
Or bear a child
[Enkil and Akasha:]
Our hunger only blood could satiate
[Laurent as Marius:]
They could not face the blazing sun
Its magnificence was deadly
[Enkil and Akasha:]
But the power of gods and eternal life
Is a simply wonderful medley
[All:]
In the sands of Egypt to this day
Dwell Enkil and Akasha
The rulers of the vampire race
Our beloved mother and father
[Laurent as Marius:]
Now you know our secret. You can accept our story as truth or you can try to convince yourselves that we made it all up merely for an evening's entertainment. Believe whatever gives you comfort as you lie in your beds in the darkness.
[Unfortunate:]
And try to forget that no lock can keep us out.
[Enemies:]
Try to forget there is no bedchamber we cannot enter.
[Enkil and Akasha:]
Forget that Death is just outside… on tiptoe in the corridor.
[All:]
Try to forget.
(The lights go out and come up again. THE VAMPIRES take their bows. NICOLAS returns to his mute, expressionless form. GABRIELLE helps him to a chair offstage, LESTAT watches in pained silence as the actors move past him. ARMAND enters and approaches LESTAT.)
[Armand:]
You cannot tolerate the sight of him now, can you? You cannot bear to look at what you have done.
[Lestat:]
What is wrong with him?
[Armand:]
He is lost, somewhere between life and death.
[Lestat:]
But why did this happen to him and not to me?
[Armand:]
The Dark Trick is unpredictable. And it never brings the love you seek. The ones you make will grow to hate you… or blame you… or go mad like this one. In your impulsive arrogance, you have doomed him and the rest of my followers as well.
[Lestat:]
Not so. I've feed them.
[Armand:]
Is that what you think? You've made them believe they can live among men. But study the fate of your maker. Why did Magnus go into the flames? It is an age-old truth among us, live among mortals and the passing years will drive you to madness… to see others grow old and die…to see kingdoms rise and fall… to lose all you understand and cherish …who can endure it? It will drive you to despair.
[Lestat:]
That will not happen to me.
[Armand:]
Are you that strong? Perhaps you are. But you will ultimately seek the comfort of your own land. Who else can understand your suffering? It is only among our own kind that a citadel against time can be built. We had that here. Then you came crashing through and brought it all down.
[Lestat:]
[he laughs] Oh yes… a glorious shining citadel… built within the stinking catacombs among the rotting corpses. That is exactly where I want to spend eternity.
[Armand:]
The vampire who dwells among mortals faces a dreadful hell long before madness comes. He grows to love them.
[Lestat:]
I already love them! From the First night, I loved them… drinking up their life… their death. I love their skin, their limbs, their hearts. With nothing between us in those last moments, I know them… better than their mothers or their lovers.
[Armand:]
Then there will come a moment when you can no longer bear to take life… or bear to make suffering—and then only madness or your own death will ease the pain.
(LESTAT looks frightened, but only briefly.)
[Lestat:]
These are the alternatives? This is all immortality promises? Madness or the flames? To hell with that! I refuse to be doomed to someone else's fate! In the thousands of years since Akasha and Enkil… there must be some who have found a way to survive eternity. What about this Marius? The legend says he was born in Roman times. Do you know of him?
[Armand:]
[mocking] Do I know of him? He was my maker.
[Lestat:]
Where was he living then?
[Armand:]
In Venice. He was a renowned artist whose talent rivaled that of Uccello and Bellini. His paintings were commissioned by the Doge himself. When I was orphaned he took me in.
[Lestat:]
If he was known to mortals… then he must have lived as a mortal.
(ARMAND realizes his misstep.)
[Armand:]
A fatal error. He was driven out by the coven who brought me into the service of Satan.
[Lestat:]
Where is he now? Tell me where I can find him.
[Armand:]
You cannot find him. No one has seen or heard from him in centuries. There are rumors that he was sighted in Egypt or Greece. But that was over a hundred years ago. Some say the world swallowed him up. Some say he went mad.
[Lestat:]
What do you say?
[Armand:]
[flat] Marius has gone into the fire.
(LESTAT studies ARMAND'S face. He sees the lie. LESTAT calls to GABRIELLE who comes to join him.)
[Lestat:]
Gabrielle, you've said you want to leave the city. I am ready. We'll take the Devil's road.
[Gabrielle:]
Yes. Think of it. There is nowhere we cannot go. No snow-covered mountain, no desert waste, no impenetrable jungle.
[Lestat:]
We'll travel to all the great cities of Europe… then on to Egypt… and Greece.
[Armand:]
You cannot find Marius! Even if you stood on the highest mountain in the world and shouted his name… he would not answer.
[Lestat:]
I will find him. I will not stop until I do. Madness or the flames will not be my end.
(ARMAND becomes more conciliatory.)
[Armand:]
Let me come with you.
[Gabrielle:]
If it is a fool's errand, why do you wish to join us?
[Armand:]
I have nothing here. You've made me an orphan again.
[Gabrielle:]
You have a place here if you become a part of this age. There is so much to learn from this city. Make art here in the Theatre of the Vampires.
[Lestat:]
Take Magnus' tower. Use it as long as you wish.
[Armand:]
You must take me with you. Only I have the strength to take you through the ordeals that lie ahead. Do you not see? We alone in all of this are worthy of each other.
[Lestat:]
You cannot come with us, Armand.
[Armand:]
Have I no value to you? I have all the knowledge that you seek! Tell me you do not need what you see in me! I will do anything you ask.
[Gabrielle:]
[cold] Armand. What you fail to understand is… you are not worthy of us.
(ARMAND reacts as if he's been slapped across the face.)
[Lestat:]
You'll remain here and look after the coven.
[Armand:]
What about the violinist? Will you walk away and leave him with no one to protect him?
[Lestat:]
You will protect him.
[Armand:]
What makes you think I would do that?
[Lestat:]
If you harm Nicolas or allow harm to come to him, I will return and hunt you down.
(LESTAT goes to NICOLAS. He strokes his hair, his cheek.)
[Lestat:]
I'll come back… in time.
[Gabrielle:]
[to Armand] Years and years into the future when we've been a thousand places and seen a thousand things… we to return to Paris. We'll spend time together then.
[Lestat:]
Farewell, Nicolas.
(LESTAT kisses NICOLAS on the forehead. GABRIELLE leads him gently away.)
[Armand:]
Lestat.
(LESTAT turns and looks back at him.)
Remember my words. Those you make will leave you. Even that one. You will be, always and forever, alone.
[Lestat:]
Remember my words, Armand. Take care of Nicolas.