"But the fragments are things like two people talking, and one says-the one, that 
is-says, 'Oh, no, he's perfect, it has nothing to do with vengeance, how could you think 
I wanted mere vengeance?' " I broke off, shrugged. "It's, you know, the middle of a 
conversation."
  
  "Yes," he said, "and you feel this Thing is letting you hear a little of it... just the 
way I thought the vision in the cafe was meant for me."
  
  "You've got it exactly right. It's tormenting me. Another time, this was only two days 
ago, I was in New Orleans; I was sort of spying on the Victim's daughter, Dora. She lives 
there in the convent build - I mentioned. It's an old 1880s convent, unoccupied for 
years, and gutted, so that it's like a brick castle, and this little sparrow of a girl, 
lovely little woman, lives there fearlessly, completely alone. She walks about the house 
as if she were invincible. Well, anyway, I was down there, and I had come into the 
courtyard of this building-it's, you know, a shape as old as architecture, main building, 
two long wings, inner courtyard."
  
  The rather typical late-nineteenth-century brick institution." Exactly, and I was 
watching through the windows, the progress of that little girl walking by herself through 
the pitch-black corridor.  She was carrying a flashlight. And she was singing to herself, 
one of her hymns. They're all sort of medieval and modern at the same time."
  
  "I believe the phrase is 'New Age,' " David suggested.
  
  "Yes, it's somewhat like that, but this girl is on an ecumenical religious network. I 
told you. Her program is very conventional. Believe in Jesus, be saved. She's going to 
sing and dance people into Heaven, especially the women, apparently, or at least they'll 
lead the way."
  
  "Go on with the story, you were watching her...."
  
  "Yes, and thinking how brave she was. She finally reached her own quarters; she lives 
in one of the four towers of the building; and I listened as she threw all the locks. And 
I thought, not many mortals would like to go prowling about this dark building, and the 
place wasn't entirely spiritually clean."
  
  "What do you mean?"
  
  "Little spirits, elementals, whatever, what did you call them in the Talamasca?"
  
  "Elementals," he said.
  
  "Well, there are some gathered about this building, but they're no threat to this girl. 
She's simply too brave and strong.
  
  "But not the Vampire Lestat, who was spying her. He was out in the courtyard, and he 
heard the voice right next to his ear, as if Two Men were talking at his right shoulder 
and the other one, the one who is not following me, says quite plainly, 'No, I don't see 
him in the same light.' I turned round and round trying to find this Thing, close in on 
it mentally and spiritually, confront it, bait it, and then I realized I was shaking all 
over, and you know, the elementals, David, the little pesky spirits ...the ones I could 
feel hanging about the convent... I don't think they even realized this person, or 
whoever he was, had been talking in my ear."
  
  "Lestat, you do sound as if you've lost your immortal mind," he said. "No, no, don't 
get angry. I believe you. But let's backtrack.  Why were you following the girl?"
  
  "I just wanted to see her. My Victim, he's worried-about who he is, what's he done, 
what the officials know about him. He's afraid he'll blemish her when the final 
indictment comes and all the newspaper stories. But the point is, he'll never be 
indicted. I'm going to kill him first."
  
  "You are. And then it actually might save her church, is that not right? Your killing 
him speedily, so to speak. Or am I mistaken?"
  
  "I wouldn't hurt her for anything on this earth. Nothing could persuade me to do that." 
I sat silent for a moment.
  
  "Are you sure you are not in love? You seem spellbound by her."
  
  I was remembering. I had fallen in love only a short time ago with a mortal woman, a 
nun. Gretchen had been her name. And I had driven her mad. David knew the whole story. 
I'd written it; written all about David, too, and he and Gretchen had passed into the 
world in fictional form. He knew that.
  
  "I would never reveal myself to Dora as I did with Gretchen," I said. "No. I won't hurt 
Dora. I learnt my lesson. My only concern is to kill her father in such a way that she 
experiences the least suffering and the maximum benefit. She knows what her father is, 
but I'm not sure she's prepared for all the bad things that could happen on account of 
him."
  
  "My, but you are playing games."
  
  "Well, I have to do something to keep my mind off this Thing that's following me or 
I'll go mad!"
  
  "Shhhh ...what's the matter with you? My God, but you're rattled."
  
  "Of course I am," I whispered.
  
  "Explain more about the Thing. Give me more fragments."
  
  "They're not worth repeating. It's an argument. It's about me, I tell you. David, it's 
like God and the Devil are arguing about me."
  
  I caught my breath. My heart was hurting me, it was beating so fast, no mean feat for a 
vampiric heart. I rested back against the wall, let my eyes range over the 
bar-middle-aged mortals mostly, ladies in old-style fur coats, balding men just drunk 
enough to be loud and careless and almost young.