The Vampire Armand - Anne Rice [0]
—Kirkus Reviews
In the latest installment of The Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice brings us the mesmerizing story of the eternally young Armand—who first appeared in all his dark glory in the now-classic Interview with the Vampire.…
“Rice’s imagery is vivid, and her language poetic.… Her unique dexterity with sensual detail is again in evidence.… This is the book that many avid fans have been waiting for and they are unlikely to be disappointed.”
—Trenton Times
“In The Vampire Armand, Anne Rice returns to her indomitable Vampire Chronicles and recaptures the gothic horror and delight she first explored in her classic tale Interview with the Vampire.… Richly intertextual; readers will relish the retelling of critical events from Lestat and Louis’s narratives. Nevertheless, the novel is very much Armand’s own tragic tale. Rice deftly integrates the necessary backstory for new readers to enter her epic series, and the introduction of a few new voices adds a fresh perspective—and the promise of provocative future installments.”
—www.amazon.com
BY ANNE RICE
CHRIST THE LORD
Out of Egypt
The Road to Cana
THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES
Interview with the Vampire
The Vampire Lestat
The Queen of the Damned
The Tale of the Body Thief
Memnoch the Devil
The Vampire Armand
Blood and Gold
Blackwood Farm
Blood Canticle
LIVES OF THE MAYFAIR WITCHES
The Witching Hour
Lasher
Taltos
A VAMPIRE/WITCHES CHRONICLE
Merrick
NEW TALES OF THE VAMPIRES
Pandora
Vittorio, The Vampire
The Feast of All Saints
Cry to Heaven
The Mummy: Or Ramses the Damned
Servant of the Bones
Violin
Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession
UNDER THE NAME ANNE RAMPLING
Exit to Eden
Belinda
EROTICA UNDER THE NAME A. N. ROQUELAURE
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
Beauty’s Punishment
Beauty’s Release
A Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Edition Published by The Random House Publishing Group
Copyright © 1983 by Anne O’Brien Rice A Conversation with Anne Rice copyright © 1999 by Anne O’Brien Rice and The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
www.ballantinebooks.com
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-90163
eISBN: 978-0-345-46453-8
This edition published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
v3.1
For
Brandy Edwards,
Brian Robertson
and
Christopher and Michele Rice
Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Part I: Body and Blood
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Part II: The Bridge of Sighs
Chapter 16
Part III: Appassionata
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Conversation with Anne Rice author of THE VAMPIRE ARMAND
About the Author
Jesus, speaking to Mary Magdalene:
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not;
for I am not yet ascended to my Father:
but go to my brethren, and say unto them,
I ascend unto my Father, and your Father;
and to my God, and your God.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN 20:17
PART I
BODY and BLOOD
1
THEY SAID a child had died in the attic. Her clothes had been discovered in the wall.
I wanted to go up there, and to lie down near the wall, and be alone.
They’d seen her ghost now and then, the child. But none of these vampires could see spirits, really, at least not the way that I could see them. No matter. It wasn’t the company of the child I wanted. It was to be in that place.
Nothing more could be gained from lingering near Lestat. I’d come. I’d fulfilled my purpose. I couldn’t help him.
The sight of his