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Marcus ept up into Ransoamblers and whores, surrounded byto craft a new life for the the whole world Ships put in at the inable, soo
Inch by inch, Marcus began to shed the layers of himself that had been bruised by childhood and revolution, and toughened by war and adversity Surrounded by Ranso the Brethren—odd though it was to think of Johannes Ettwein and Sister Magdalene in a seedy bar or a whorehouse—and the way that these unlikely allies lived side by side Marcus began to laugh at Ransoossip as well as political nehen he sat doith his cup of coffee at Lafitte’s tavern
It was in one of these easy moments that Ransome finally extracted Marcus’s secret from him
They were s parlor on St Charles Avenue The thick red velvet drapes gave everything a lurid air, and the haze of anxiety rising from the players and the fumes from the tobacco were so thick they practically choked you
“I’ your bluff, Doc” Ransome threw a handful of tokens into the center of the table
“You’ve caught me a bit short” Marcus was out of cash, out of tokens, and out of luck
“Of course, you could tell me your secret and I’d call us even,” Fayreweather said It was his standing offer whenever Marcus lost a game of chance
Marcus laughed “You never give up, do you, Ransome?”
“Not if death hi me in the face,” Fayreweather said cheerfully “I’d siame of monte and sucker him like I do all the others”
Fayreweather had been teaching Marcus some of the tricks he used on the deep-pocketed visitors to New Orleans Fanny would adore Ranso household and exuberant spirit Marcus got lonelier andyear
“That’s a strange look for a successful man such as yourself,” Fayreweather said Like all cardsharps, Ransome was a keen observer “You look positively blue, Doc Isn’t there so you can prescribe that will cure your doldrums?”
“Just thinking of the folks I left behind”
“I hear you” Ranso on our travels here”
“I lostinto the depths of his wine “I left ain I sailed the seas, and met Ben Franklin, and buried Thomas Paine I studied at university, and learned ht than I did in a year in Edinburgh I loved tomen, and had a child, and here I a money hand over hand”
“Ben Franklin, you say?” Ransoar
“Yep,” Marcus replied, taking another slug of wine
“Son, I think he died before you were born” Fayreweather put his cards on the table A straight “If you want to pass as soot to be more careful with your fabrications For a moment, I almost believed you But your mention of Franklin—”
“I was born o,” Marcus said “I’m a vampire”
“One of those bloodsuckers Mada on about?” Ransome asked
“They’re witches,” Marcus said “You can’t believe a word they say”
“No,” Ranso “So why is it that I believe you?”
Marcus shrugged “Because I’ you the truth?”
“Yes, I believe you are—and for the first time, too”
After that night, Marcus told Ransome more about what it was to be a va in the bayou and demonstrated how he sometimes applied a bit of vah he wasn’t really supposed to Once again, Marcus had found an unlikely brother, someone like Vanderslice who accepted him for who and what he was
“Why don’t you just make us all vampires, like you?” Ransome had wondered
“It’s not as easy as it sounds,” Marcus explained “Icrowd, and ended up dead”
“You need to pick s Marcus with open speculation
“I see And you think you have what it takes to be a vahed
“I know I do” Ransome’s eyes flashed with sudden desire, then returned to norether, we could make a family that would rule this city for centuries”
“Not if randfather catches wind of it,” Marcus said
But that didn’t deter Ransome He offered to pay Marcus to transform him into a vampire He threatened to expose Marcus to the authorities unless he was e of the city’s watery location, he offered Marcus his ga den, substantial fortune, and a private house Marcus didn’t know he owned in exchange for his blood Ransoh money to open his own establisha, and other pleasures of the flesh On a bad day, Ransoood day, he pocketed er outlining his various properties and invest
Against his better judgment, Marcus decided to try fatherhood for a second time Marcus had no desire to return to life as it had been before Ransohter andof Common Sense Instead, Marcus wanted to take part in Ransome’s plans to further develop the bar that was known as the Doather with New Orleans’s spirited citizens at dinner tables and in music halls to celebrate the pleasures of youth
Marcus ad friend in the opulent upstairs bedroorand new house on Coliseum Street
Unlike Vanderslice, Ranso the blood from humans was second nature Marcus discovered in Ranso people since he was a boy of eight, takingthree walnut shells and a kernel of corn atop a cellar door
Marcus’s row after Ransome’s transformation The city had swollen considerably in size thanks to the continued influx of refugees from the Caribbean, the slave traders who unloaded their captives on the wharves, and the speculators and land developers who arrived in pursuit of their fortune Such a plan had certainly worked for Ransome, as now one of the richestin that enviable position for the rest of his days
Ranso his own children He started with a ile felloho clambered up the sides of houses and broke into bedroorandfather, and with that title ca notoriety
Then Ranso British felloly arrived in New Orleans with a head for business and a taste for young men
“You can’t keep ht,” Marcus warned hi in the swa to feed to Ransome’s latest project, a Creole prostitute naon near the cathedral
“So what,” Ranso to do if they find out we’re vampires—shoot us?”
“A piece of gunshot between the eyes will kill you, va”
“They only hang runaway slaves and felons in the Place d’Aret is a day in the pillory with a placard around my neck,” Ransome retorted “Besides, ouldn’t have any trouble with the law at all if you would just let me make a few of the police into vaamblers and whores, surrounded byto craft a new life for the the whole world Ships put in at the inable, soo