45.

91       CONTINUED:

Down on the beach some young villagers have built a bonfire. Two young couples -- it's not that different from a teenage beach party -- the girls dance while one of the boys plays balalaika, while the other claps time with his hands.

LESTAT
But why do we hide? We're so much
more than they are! We're living
gods...

Marius pulls Lestat down out of sight.

MARIUS
We must sleep during the day, when
we are vulnerable. Mortals must
never know about us. It is
forbidden, for the sake of all our
kind.

LESTAT
(incredulous)
You fear them?

MARIUS
No, Lestat, I love them. I love
their ideas, their stories, their
art...

92       THEIR POV - SENSUAL DANCE

as the girls gyrate their hips and sway sensuously. One of the young men joins them, flagon in hand, his bare torso shining in the firelight.

MARIUS
... I love their passions... I
love the way they move. As long
as I've lived, human destiny is
the greatest mystery. I have
never been able to see what was
coming around the corner. That is
what keeps me going -- I want to
see what happens next. If they
discovered the truth about us...
it would ruin everything.

Lestat watches, as the sad realization begins to sink in...

LESTAT (V.O.)
How I longed to join them -- not
to watch and admire from the
shadows, but to be an actor on the
stage of the great human drama.

 
A SOLO VIOLIN begins to play.

CUT TO:

93       INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - NIGHT

BOOM DOWN to reveal Lestat, standing before a full-length mirror, playing the violin with great skill and passion.

LESTAT (V.O.)
With my new powers, I was quickly
able to master any instrument I
chose. But who could I play for?
How could I share these wonders,
if I must hide in the darkness?

His playing picks up speed as he works himself into a Paganini furor -- bow bending across strings with a maestro's speed and precision. Finally, his anger takes over and he hacks at the poor instrument in a wild fury. A low RUMBLE and the SCRAPE of STONE causes him to stop.

He peers over into the corner behind him. Crosses, and listening, carefully, rolls back the great Persian carpet to reveal...

An Egyptian eye carved into the stone.

... slowly the stone block rises and falls aside to reveal a staircase that goes deep into the rock of the island.

LESTAT
Marius!

No answer. Lestat looks around wondering what to do. Taking a candelabra off the table, he ventures down the stairs, peering down into the darkness.

94 INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - SECRET STAIRCASE - NIGHT

Lestat negotiates a circling flight of stone steps, winding its way into the lowest bowels of the villa, still carrying his violin.

47.

95       INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - UNDERGROUND PASSAGEWAY

Lestat finds himself facing a steeply descending passageway that stretches into darkness. He tests the stones ahead of him with caution...

Suddenly, the sconces along the passageway come to life... in quick succession, they flare up and burn with an unnatural intensity.

Lestat, struck with curiosity and wonder, puts down his candelabra and ventures forth.

We FOLLOW Lestat as he rounds the corner and stops.

There is an open foyer area leading to two great wooden doors, held firm by a tree-sized carved wooden bolt that bars the doors shut from the outside. Suddenly, the BOLT flies up and SPLINTERS with a SHRIEKING CRACK. The doors fly open revealing a bright light from within...

Lestat looks a little more apprehensive than usual, but continues towards the open doorway.

96       INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - UNDERGROUND SANCTUARY - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Lestat enters, squinting through the bright light from scores of burning sconces.

At the far end of the sanctuary, Lestat makes out the shape of two statues, an Egyptian man and an Egyptian woman sitting stone still, seemingly staring straight at him. ENKIL and his queen, AKASHA...

Stepping closer, they appear not to be statues at all but rather alabaster humans with the palest skin imaginable.

He approaches the two beings...

His eyes widen at the sight of their clothes -- the most valuable Egyptian finery; bracelets of gold, headdresses of incredible gems, clothes of silk.

Staring up into their faces, Lestat is struck with the realization...

LESTAT
... this cannot be... they're...
alive...

Lestat is drawn to the woman -- her form and beauty is exquisite even in its absolute stillness. As if this strange statue had just asked him to play, Lestat holds out his violin.

(CONTINUED)

48.

96       CONTINUED:

LESTAT
Would you like me to play for you?

Her eyes still bore into him...

Lestat smiles.

LESTAT
At last a captive audience...

He raises his violin and begins to play.

The song of the VIOLIN ECHOES around the walls...

Lestat plays, with increasing abandon...

Akasha and Enkil sit frozen...

Lestat plays and plays, lost in the music. He throws a glance up at the throne and stops...

Akasha is moving...

Slowly, her eyelids pull back to reveal pale green eyes.

Lestat stares in amazement...

Her arm rises up, her wrist extended outward towards Lestat. The PULSE of a HEARTBEAT begins...

Lestat moves towards her as if beckoned.

A green vein appears beneath the marble surface of her skin. The vein pulses as the blood courses around. The HEARTBEAT POUNDS LOUDER, deeper.

The sound fills Lestat's head as he is drawn closer to Akasha's wrist. Lowering himself, as if genuflecting, Lestat bends closer to the vein which looks like the very font of life to him.

97       EXT. MARIUS'S VILLA - ROOF - NIGHT

Marius sits under the stars painting, when his hand begins to tremble...

Suddenly he drops his brush, startled by an unexpected feeling that passes through him.

He stands bolt upright as a frightening gust of wind sweeps across him.

49.

98       BACK TO SCENE

Lestat sinks his teeth into the vein, drawing in the unimaginable font.

A burst of image and color floods into him, as...

99       SERIES OF IMAGES

flows through his mind.

Lestat grabs the wrist and hungrily drinks...

The two statues now alive, as vampires in Ancient Egypt...

The passage of time and years flowing into years brings...

Two Ancient Egyptian vampires' eyes up from the orgy of flesh they feast on and stare at a...

Sphinx in the distance -- its pristine stone face weathers and decays before us...

The two rise and sit back on the thrones behind them...

Their eyes on the sky that moves over...

The Sphinx's face crumbling and cracking as...

The two Ancient's faces turn white as chalk and harden as...

100       BACK TO SCENE - MARIUS

approaches looking around the sanctuary with trepidation. Lestat lays on the stone floor, catatonic.

101       INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - NIGHT

Lestat lays in bed, feverish, his skin paler than ever. At the foot of the bed, stands Marius.

MARIUS
(quietly)
Lestat?

The young vampire's eyes bulge open. Marius is sitting beside him. Lestat realizes that he is shackled to the bed with manacles and chains.

(CONTINUED)

50.

101       CONTINUED:

LESTAT
What are you doing...?

MARIUS
Be still. These are for your
protection.

Lestat squirms as he feels his own body.

LESTAT
...I can feel her inside me...

Lestat is in a swoon, and not one that is entirely unpleasant. Marius watches, distressed.

MARIUS
How did this happen?

LESTAT
She wanted me, she called me to
her. Oh God, her blood is like
liquid fire.
(squirms)
Who are they?

MARIUS
They are the reason you are what
you are. The original reason. He
is Enkil. And she... she is your
mother, my mother... Akasha, the
queen of all who are damned.

LESTAT
But how?

MARIUS
They ruled over Egypt before the
Sphinx, before the great Pyramids.
No one knows how they were
created.

LESTAT
(horrified)
How long have they been sitting
there like that? Is that what
will happen to us?

MARIUS
Their previous keeper went mad
with such questions, dragged them
out into the open sky. When the
sun rose, immortals across Europe
were destroyed in flames.
(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

51.

101       CONTINUED: (2)

Only the oldest ones were left alive.
Even then, Akasha and Enkil did not
move to save themselves. Who knows?
Perhaps they cannot die.

Lestat is fascinated enough to control the impulse within him.

MARIUS
In all the years I've cared for
them, talked to them, prayed...
not once have they moved...

LESTAT
Until tonight.

Suddenly Lestat roars and the manacles explode off his ankles and wrists. The cast iron scatters across the marble floor. Marius is surprised and cautious at Lestat's strength.

Lestat leaps to his feet and heads towards the trap door.

MARIUS
Lestat, no!

LESTAT
Oh, Marius, just one more time.

MARIUS
Something's happening to you...

Marius blocks his way.

LESTAT
(snarls)
You'll not stop me...

Marius shocked.

MARIUS
(hushed)
Lestat... I hear her blood in your
voice.

LESTAT
Get out of my way!

MARIUS
Akasha is the harbringer of death.
A force malignant beyond your
comprehension. If she were ever
to truly rise, she would drink the
earth dry.

(CONTINUED)

52.

101       CONTINUED (3)

LESTAT
She chose me, not you!

Flash.

Marius moves at super-speed, grabs Lestat by the neck, and pins him against a pillar. He does this with such force that the pillar almost collapses.

Lestat looks at Marius, newly aware of his true powers.

Marius horrified that he should lose control, moves away.

MARIUS
You are young and cruel, my son...

He looks at his fledgling with great sadness.

MARIUS
It was a mistake to bring you
here.

Lestat is thrown out onto the balcony by a great force.

102       INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - NEXT DAY

THROUGH the balcony we see the last warm colors of the sunset vanish into the blue of night. Lestat emerges, having just just risen. He stretches and scratches himself as any mortal would, but something causes him to stop...

... something has changed. Marius's paints have gone. Some of his paintings remain, but his easel and paint boxes are removed, leaving splattered outlines on the faded marble floor.

LESTAT
Marius!

No response.

103       INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - SECRET STAIRCASE

Lestat runs down the staircase, which is dark except for the candelabra in his hand.

104       INT. MARIUS'S VILLA - UNDERGROUND SANCTUARY

Lestat throws open the doors and enters to find...

(CONTINUED)

53.

104       CONTINUED:

Akasha and Enkil have gone, as have the thrones and most of the royal paraphernalia. Only the shell of open stone faces and columns remains...

LESTAT
Marius!

105       EXT. MARIUS'S VILLA - BEACH - NIGHT

... the sand below. Lestat runs down the beach... the sand showing no footprints.

LESTAT (V.O.)
Many times since, I have called to
Marius. I howled into the night
in loneliness and pain.

Lestat disappears off into the night.

LESTAT
But there was no answer -- just
the endless procession of days,
months, years...

106       INT. NEW ORLEANS HOUSE - NIGHT (PRESENT)

Under candlelight, Jesse sits cross-legged on the parlor floor.

JESSE
... my teacher left me to my
darkest lesson -- that in the end,
we are alone.

Reverently she closes the diary.

107       INT. TALBOT'S STUDY - LATER

Talbot sips his tea and studies an old manuscript. His PHONE line BUZZES. He picks up the line.

TALBOT
Talbot speaking...
(listens)
Jesse, slow down.

INTERCUT WITH:

54.

108       INT. NEW ORLEANS AIRPORT

Jesse on a pay phone.

JESSE
... it has everything in it!
Marius, the villa, everything!

TALBOT
Excellent work. I can't wait to
see it. What time do you arrive?

JESSE
David... I'm going to Los Angeles.

Talbot is horrified.

TALBOT
Jesse, you can't... You must not!
You'll return to London
immediately...

JESSE
Don't worry about me. I know what
I'm doing...

TALBOT
You know nothing. The Talamasca
observes, we do not intervene.
Lestat is a killer. You must not
go near him, do you understand me!

JESSE
I have to find him. I have to...
see him.

TALBOT
Jesse, please...

JESSE
I don't have a choice. Good-bye,
David. I'm sorry...

Jesse hangs up the phone.

TALBOT
(dazed)
Jesse...

55.

109       EXT. DOWNTOWN SKYLINE (LOS ANGELES) - NIGHT

Lestat sits high above the sparkling lights of downtown L.A...

PULL OUT to see - Lestat sits on the edge of a large, metal satellite dish on top of a building.

Lestat closes his eyes as if to listen closely to the communications being beamed out by the dish.

As we DESCEND INTO the center of the satellite dish, a LESTAT SONG BEGINS to play and magically we are in the music and with a visual splash we are...

MOVING SWIFTLY ACROSS the globe with the MUSIC -- there's a subliminal CHORUS BARELY DISCERNIBLE through the guitars, Lestat's lyric repeating over and over, "AKASHA, AKASHA, AKASHA," as we CUT ACROSS the world into the west and into...

The night fallen over Asia where we soon find ourselves in...

110       ASIAN FACTORY

where LESTAT'S MUSIC PLAYS for the evening shift over a sweatshop BOOM BOX.

111       INDIAN MARKETPLACE

where LESTAT'S MUSIC plays from SPEAKERS in a shop window.

We TRAVEL WESTWARD TO...

An ancient graveyard, where the...

Ground splits open before our very eyes.

From out of the dirt, a beautiful teenage boy stands naked...

112       VAMPIRE ARMAND

He pulls the pieces of a worm-eaten coffin from his person as we...

CUT TO:

113       TIBETAN TEMPLE

where another resurrected figure rises from beneath the structure's stone steps and reveals itself to be...

56.

114       VAMPIRE PANDORA

With one self-assured twist of her head, she shakes the red dust from her hair to reveal long curling black tresses falling down over her dark-skinned shoulders.

The MUSIC travels further to...

A PORTABLE RADIO held by a camel driver camping out in the Sahara Desert.

He cooks his dinner over a late-night fire, and taps his utensil to the MUSIC, when...

His CAMEL BRAYS fearfully...

The camel driver stops and looks before him, drop-jawed and terrified, as we now see what he sees...

115       CAMEL DRIVER'S POV

A corner stone of a desert sarcophagus begins to shift and move as...

The driver drops the...

RADIO in the sand, which keeps playing LESTAT'S MUSIC as...

A figure in tattered rags emerges from the sarcophagus and unbandages his face and neck, shakes the sand from his hair and eyes to reveal a skeletal form with white leathery skin bulging with strange blue veins...

The VAMPIRE KHAYMAN offers the driver a polite smile.

The driver faints back into the sand as the camels bolt off.

And still LESTAT'S MUSIC plays as we finally END UP...

116       INT. LESTAT'S MANSION - STRANGE POV - EVENING

We find ourselves in the strange blue-grey world of a vampire's POV walking THROUGH Lestat's mansion.

PAST his band, James, Louisa, Alex and Maudy, laying in the studio in a hazy sleep from yet another night of debauchery.

We MOVE menacingly INTO...

(CONTINUED)

57.

116       CONTINUED:

Lestat's living quarters, PAST the huge glassed-in space and into Lestat's private hall, leading to his bedroom door.

We ENTER easily, PASSING the familiar room with the enormous bed, and CONTINUE THROUGH INTO a smaller, darker chamber.

OVER TO Lestat's coffin, stealthily APPROACHING his "sleeping" figure laying closed-eyed and almost peaceful-looking, when...

Lestat bolts up and looks around the room to see... nobody.

Lestat's instincts are as alive as they could ever be as he scans the room with all his powers, and to his utter surprise finally sees...

A painting sitting by the wall, turned front-side-over.

Lestat gets out of his coffin and goes over to the painting with trepidation. He turns it over and then smiles to himself.

It is a portrait of Lestat as a rocker. The hand and style are unmistakable.

LESTAT
(whisper)
Marius...!

117       INT. LESTAT'S MANSION - LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Lestat bursts out the doors of his bedroom and looks down into the living room. Marius reclines on a couch, still dressed in red velvet, his legs crossed in the most human fashion, flicking through a magazine.

Marius puts down the magazine.

MARIUS
Lestat.

Lestat is overcome with conflicting emotions. The two vampires regard each other... then, slowly, smiles rise to their faces.

LESTAT
How did you manage to discreetly
get through the 1950's in red
velvet?

(CONTINUED)

58.

117       CONTINUED:

MARIUS
I slept.

LESTAT
Don't think you missed much.

MARIUS
Elvis.

LESTAT
Elvis, yes.

MARIUS
You're bigger than he is now.

LESTAT
I'd say a few pounds lighter.
Though, if you ever catch me
wearing a white jumpsuit, you
my permission to slice off my
head.

MARIUS
This is what you've always wanted.

LESTAT
Fame? Yes, although I can't go
out in public anymore. It's
become impossible for me to hide.

MARIUS
It's good to see you, Lestat.

LESTAT
Is it?

MARIUS
Don't look so sullen. I know that
you've called to me many times.
But the world's changed so quickly.

LESTAT
You just lost track of time.

MARIUS
Please, come down, I want to look
at you.

Lestat jumps down and lands gently beside Marius. Marius holds out his arms. Lestat moves closer but doesn't give Marius the satisfaction he wants. Marius lowers his arms.

(CONTINUED)

59.

117       CONTINUED:    (2)

MARIUS
You know, you still manage to
amaze me. You're not at all
frightened that you might be
killed for what you've done.

LESTAT
Is that what you've come to do?

MARIUS
Kill my own child? I'd miss you
too much. No, it's not me you
should fear.

LESTAT
Those fledgling idiots on
motorcycles? I can handle them.

MARIUS
I don't mean the young ones.
There are stirrings... I've sensed
them...

LESTAT
(rolls his eyes)
Them...? Who are 'them'?

MARIUS
The Ancient Ones, much older than
even me.

Lestat is surprised, but doesn't want Marius to see it. He covers with bluster.

LESTAT
So, let them come. Let them all
come.

Marius looks amused.

MARIUS
Your wish may come true my brat
prince. Your music has woken your
most dangerous admirer.

Lestat looks confused until it dawns on him.

MARIUS
Yes... And she hasn't just lifted
her arm this time.

LESTAT
Akasha...

(CONTINUED)

60.

117       CONTINUED:    (3)

MARIUS
Akasha has risen.

SMASH CUT TO:

118       FLASHBACK - INT. SANCTUARY OF AKASHA AND ENKIL

The same throne, but this time we seem to be in some sort of ice cave.

Enkil's throat gapes, torn open. He is a hollow, transparent shell, like the abandoned skeleton of an insect.

And next to him...

Akasha's throne sits empty. A god again walks the earth.

119       MARIUS

dressed in heavy furs encrusted with ice enters.

ENKIL CRACKS, SPLINTERS and falls into the dust.

120       INT. LESTAT MANSION - LIVING ROOM (BACK TO PRESENT)

Lestat's eyes are wide with excitement.

LESTAT
Akasha...

MARIUS
She has taken her King's blood. I
think she has absorbed his power.

LESTAT
She's left you. All those years
you've sacrificed and bound
yourself to their service. And
she kept her mysteries to herself,
and she never gave you anything.

Marius becomes eerily still. A deep somber TONE starts to VIBRATE. The GROUND RUMBLES with a sigh. Lestat looks around, a little taken aback, sensing the scope of Marius's power.

120      CONTINUED:

MARIUS
Lestat, if you cannot forgive me,
so be it. But I beg you, don't
provoke her. If you perform at
this concert, you will be
vulnerable. I cannot protect you.

LESTAT
Did I ask for your protection?

Lestat goes to the window, trying to contain his excitement.

LESTAT
I waited for you two hundred
years, and all you have to say is
'don't' and 'can't'.
(shakes his head)
You can kill me right now if you
choose, but I will make my debut
at that concert. And it will be a
sensation.

MARIUS
Hmmm... that I don't doubt.

121      INT. VAMPIRE'S NIGHTCLUB - NIGHT

Same as when Jesse was here, except there are no mortals in sight. The Vampire Lover we remember feeding on the girl in the corner is there at the bar... The BARMAN polishes glasses, talking to one of the Punk Vampires who tried to attack Jesse.

VAMPIRE LOVER
Slow tonight...

BARMAN
Should be some mortals here soon.
I gave out a heap of cards.

122      EXT. VAMPIRE NIGHTCLUB (SOUTH LONDON) - NIGHT

We SWOOP DOWN ON a desolate urban spot TO a deserted old house surrounded by junkyards and car-parks.

CUT TO:

123      EXT. VAMPIRE NIGHTCLUB - FRONT DOOR

The vampire doorman opens the door and peers out... The same strange MUSIC emanates and we conclude that this is the same Vampire nightclub moved to a new location.

62.

124      VAMPIRE DOORMAN'S POV

The street is empty.

125      ANGLE ON VAMPIRE DOORMAN

as he peers into the night. A figure floats towards him...

126      AKASHA

moves towards him, still more statue than human.

The vampire doorman is frightened, but mesmerized as she moves in...

127      INT. VAMPIRE BAR

The Barman looks up at the sound of the DOOR SLAMMING. He does a double-take and watches in awe as...

Akasha floats in, wiping her mouth, looking more human as if the doorman's blood has helped bring her back to life. She is distracted by the TV -- another Vampire Lestat video PLAYS.

The Vampire Lover Jesse saw feeding on the mortal girl looks up from his position by the stage. Seeing Akasha, he slides up next to her.

VAMPIRE LOVER
You like Lestat, do you?

AKASHA
Yes.

VAMPIRE LOVER
Jeez, luv. You're lookin' a wee
stiff. Wait a bit -- there'll be
some choice pickin' comin' in here
soon. Nice suck of the ol' red
'n' bubbly to loosen you up.

But Akasha isn't listening. Absentmindedly she takes him in her arms and begins kissing him, just as he kissed the mortal girl. He swoons, knowing he's in trouble, but unable to stop himself.

AKASHA
Come here often?

(CONTINUED)

63.

127      CONTINUED:

The Barman looks up as the Vampire Lover collapses on the floor, withered to a brittle shell. Now Akasha is moving to the bar. He starts as...

The DOOR LOCKS itself loudly.

AKASHA
Where is Lestat?

BARMAN
I dunno... I guess he's in L.A.
for the concert...

Akasha reaches over, places her hand on his throat.

AKASHA
Don't worry, this won't hurt...
too much.

Akasha pulls the Barman lightly over the bar and attacks him as if she were just reaching out for a snack. He flails but is overwhelmed by her strength...

The Vampire Girl who Jesse saw vanish with the Yuppie, flies towards Akasha, knife raised, but Akasha just turns, smiling...

Suddenly there is an explosion of flames. The Vampire Girl screams as she is consumed.

The piano player and guitar player go up in flames...

All hell breaks loose as the other vampires run for the door. The lock won't budge and it's too late anyway as the flames overwhelm them...

And THROUGH the flames, we see Akasha, looking still more human, smiling...

LIGHTNING STRIKES.

128      INT. AIRPLANE - NIGHT

A tall, shapely female flight attendant sways down the first-class aisle of an airplane, her BACK TO us.

She stops by a seat where Jesse sleeps uncomfortably.

Pulling out a blanket, the attendant drapes it over Jesse, tucking it closely around her neck, then, curiously, the stewardess leans down.

64.

129      CLOSE ON LIPS

begin to sensually kiss Jesse's neck...

We begin to hear the BEATING of a HEART, getting LOUDER...

The lips part to expose fangs... slowly sinking themselves into Jesse's skin.

She murmurs in her sleep...

JESSE
Lestat.

She stirs awake to see...

The face of Akasha, her green eyes flashing bright.

CUT TO:

130      JESSE

wakes with a start.

JESSE
Akasha!

Jesse looks around to find herself in a plane. No vampires anywhere in sight. The real ATTENDANT is standing next to her, offering her a tissue.

ATTENDANT
Bless you.

Jesse takes the tissue, pretends to clear her voice.

ATTENDANT
We've started out approach into
L.A. You should fasten your seat
belt.

Jesse nods and fiddles with her belt obediently.

131      EXT - HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD - LATER

A bleak, flat day. Jesse makes her way down the boulevard, which is crowded with the usual punked-out homeless kids gathered around McDonald's. But there's an unusual number of Goth kids hanging in bunches up and down the street. A Goth SCALPER passes.

SCALPER
... Tickets?

(CONTINUED)

65.

131      CONTINUED:

JESSE
How much.

SCALPER
One for two hundred, a pair for
three-fifty.

JESSE
Just one, thanks.

She takes out her money, he looks around casually, makes the exchange...

JESSE
You wouldn't know where Lestat
lives, would you?

The Scalper smiles -- another Lestat groupie -- slides closer, more familiar than she'd like.

SCALPER
C'mon.

132      EXT. DARK ALLEY - SOON AFTERWARDS

The Scalper and Jesse squat next to some wasted GOTH KIDS who are huddled on the ground, smoking and sipping from paper bags.

WASTED GOTH
... They got this stupid fake
castle set up on Franklin, but
Lestat doesn't live there. It's
like a decoy. He's living up
'round Lake Hollywood. Fuckin'
surveillance fortress.

JESSE
Thanks.

WASTED GOTH
I wouldn't be going up there if I
was you.

JESSE
Why's that?

WASTED GOTH
I know three girls been up
there... never seen 'em again.

66.

133      EXT. GETTY MUSEUM - NIGHT (LATER)

Marius looks out on the panorama of West Coast Los Angeles from a ledge above the museum.

Planes hover above LAX like fireflies.

He looks out across the city.

People bustle along the streets. Through the crowds, here and there, a few figures move with that strange staccato speed, moving in and out of the bounds of time and distance... Other vampires.

Marius observes all this with a deep concern, it seems, for the world and its fate.

He suddenly looks up to see...

A tall, hooded figure standing across the courtyard.

Before he has time to react, the figure streaks toward him with supernatural speed, knocking him clear off the ledge...

And onto the glass atrium roof below.

Looking up from his rough landing, Marius stares into the face of Mael, the Druid vampire who captured Marius 4000 years ago.

MARIUS
Mael...

DRUID
(in a strange tongue; subtitled)
Marius, you are a great
disappointment to me.

Rising to his feet, Marius dusts himself off. Looking around he sees the ancients have gathered, standing like awesome gargoyles. Pandora, the dark-haired beauty in her sari; Armand, the boy sage, in his medieval robes; Khayman, the desert vampire, his robes discolored with dust, his face obscured by rotting bandages and -- Mael. It's like a living gallery of the mythical drawings we saw hanging in Talbot's office.

MARIUS
Pandora, Armand, it's been a long
time. Khayman, to what do we owe
this honor?

(CONTINUED)

67.

133       CONTINUED:

They all keep their distance from each other. They speak softly, but their VOICES seem to carry a great distance, ECHOING around the Getty architecture.

KHAYMAN
Your child has woken us all.

PANDORA
He's quite the devil.

ARMAND
Keep your amorous thoughts to
yourself, Pandora. He is a brat
and must be dealt with.

PANDORA
He's just doing what all of us
have wanted to do.

They all look at her.

PANDORA
To live in the light.

MARIUS
Our problem is not Lestat.

ARMAND
Your child has violated our code.
He has put us all in danger. You
cannot protect him.

KHAYMAN
Marius is right. Our real problem
is Akasha.

MAEL
Yes, Akasha...

ARMAND
We've all felt her presence, even
as she hides from us.

The others nod, acknowledging the truth of this.

KHAYMAN
She is killing the young ones to
build her strength.

MAEL
You failed in your duty.

(CONTINUED)

68.

133       CONTINUED:    (2)

MARIUS
I kept them both safe for three
thousand years! As if I had the
power to control her!

ARMAND
What does she want?

MARIUS
I don't know. She's sucked the
life out of her King like a
preying mantis. I feel that there
is terrible danger.

PANDORA
How do you know, Marius? She
might not do anything. She might
go back to sleep...

There's a LOW RUMBLE. They turn to see a female figure float from the shadows. She is beautiful, slender with long, red hair, alabaster skin. She is so old and powerful that the others step back in awe. And yet there is a suppleness about her that is quite different from the others.

PANDORA
Who are you?

MAHARET
I am Akasha's enemy.

The others stare.

KHAYMAN
Maharet...

They all turn to Khayman, surprised by the depth of feeling that rises from this creature's chest.

MAHARET
Khayman...

KHAYMAN
I didn't know...

MAHARET
... that I survived? It's what I
wanted...

KHAYMAN
You look... beautiful.

(CONTINUED)

69.

133       CONTINUED:    (3)

MAHARET
It's good to see you.

Khayman looks away ashamed.

KHAYMAN
I would not have you look on me
as I am...

The others exchange looks, immediately understanding that there is history between these two.

MAHARET
Yes, we know Akasha.

MARIUS
Please, tell us...

Maharet and Khayman turn to the others.

KHAYMAN
I served at her court as the Royal
Steward, before she made me what I
am.

ARMAND
But how is this possible?

The other Ancients are fascinated as Khayman continues.

KHAYMAN (V.O.)
All traces of my world are gone...
because that's the way Akasha
wanted it. In the time I was
born, immortals did not hide and
feed in secret. They ruled the
world by night.

134       FLASHBACK - 2000 YEARS B.C.

Egypt before the Great Pyramids, before the giant Sphinx -- a more feudal-looking fortress city.

KHAYMAN
We prayed to these great creatures
for help and guidance, which they
sometimes gave. But mostly we
made sacrifices to appease their
hunger.

Rows of naked men and women hang upside down like sides of beef. They scream in terror as Akasha and Enkil stroll forward hand in hand, fangs smiling.

(CONTINUED)

70.

134      CONTINUED:

KHAYMAN (V.O.)
Our elders volunteered their
lives. Still Akasha came to our
houses by night and took our
children. So we became a people
of warriors. Our aim -- to
enslave others so we ourselves
might be spared.

A deep pit, covered by a grate, filled with living men and women, struggling to breathe.

Khayman slips morsels of bread and water to a young red-haired woman Maharet, who passes the food to her pregnant sister, Makare.

MAHARET (V.O.)
My sister Makare and I were two
such unfortunates, kept in the
palace crypts like animals until
it was our time to die.

Khayman, wearing fine robes and the Royal Seal on his chest, flinches as Akasha's and Enkil's shadows swoop down on the twitching victims.

MAHARET (V.O.)
... Perhaps Khayman felt sorry for
us. Perhaps had witnessed too
much horror... He resolved to save
us, or die trying.

The sun burns over the ancient city...

Khayman lifts the grate over the pit, and helps Maharet and Makare climb out.

MAHARET (V.O.)
... my sister was with child, so
we left her in the care of
Khayman's family, and we set out
alone...

Khayman and Maharet flee on camel across the desert.

The sun sets swiftly...

Khayman and Maharet huddle around a campfire, when it flares up unnaturally. They stand back to see Akasha, walking towards them smiling...

(CONTINUED)

71.

134       CONTINUED:    (2)

MAHARET (V.O.)
I did not think Akasha would
follow. I did not understand the
depth of her spite.

Akasha rises up looking for vengeance, and floats TOWARDS CAMERA. BLACKNESS.

135       BACK TO PRESENT

The other listen transfixed...

KHAYMAN
She forced the dark gift on us
both. Then sealed me beneath the
cliff where I remained for a
thousand years, until my body was
nothing but bone and dust, my mind
made mad by the pain of the
hunger.

PANDORA
Why have you hidden from us?

MAHARET
After a couple of millennia, I
found that I had very little left
to say. Besides, I've been
occupied...

ARMAND
Can Akasha be killed?

MAHARET
Perhaps.

PANDORA
Perhaps. What does that tell us?

MARIUS
If Akasha dies, then so do we all.

Maharet knows something she is not willing to share.

PANDORA
How do we even find her?

MAHARET
You would be wiser to hope she
does not find you. There is a
reason Akasha has awoken.

(CONTINUED)