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"Yes "

"I close my ears to Marius I told you Stealer of the Mother and the Father, let him cry for help until the end of time But you, Pandora, for you I feel love as always, and so I will soil myself with these affairs Cross the sea to the New World Look in the frozen north beyond the last of the woodlands near the western sea And there you may find Marius, trapped in a citadel of ice He cries that he is unable to ue as it is persistent We are in danger We o to the Vampire Lestat "

"Ah So it is the young one who has done this!"

The shiver passed through her, violent, painful She saw in her mind's eye the blank, senseless faces of the Mother and the Father, indestructible monsters in human form She looked at Azim in confusion He had paused, but he wasn't finished And she waited for hio on

"No," he said, his voice dropping, having lost its sharp edge of anger "There is a danger, Pandora, yes Great danger, and it does not require Marius to announce it It has to do with the red-haired twins " How uncouarded "This I know," he said, "because I was old before Marius was et Marius And

hearken to your dreams "

She was speechless, watching hi row s back, away fros of which they'd spoken Finally, he no longer saw her

He heard the insistent wails of his worshipers; he felt thirst again; he wanted hymns and blood He turned and started out of the chalanced back

"Come with me, Pandora! Join me but for an hour!" His voice was drunken, unclear

The invitation caught her off guard She considered It had been years since she had sought the exquisite pleasure She thought not merely of the blood itself, but of the momentary union with another soul And there it was, suddenly, waiting for her, ae on earth to seek this death She thought also of the quest that lay before her-to find Marius-and of the sacrifices it would entail

"Come, dearest "

She took his hand She let herself be led out of the roohtness of the light startled her; yes, the blood again The s her

The cry of the faithful was deafening The stali The incense burned her eyes Fainther Azi her face, her naked ar brown hair She saw herself reflected in a thousand pairs of mortal eyes

"The goddess Pandora!" he cried out, throwing back his head

Screa of drums Countless human hands stroked her "Pandora, Pandora, Pandora!" The chant led with the cries of "Azim!"