“What are you, David Talbot—over seven decades old in mortal education, a scholar, a deep and loving soul? How can one tell? That which you were in life, wise in years, strengthened by routine calamity and deepened by the full four seasons of a man’s span upon the Earth, was transported with all memory and learning intact into the splendid body of a younger man. And then that body, a precious chalice for the Grail of your very self, who knew so well the value of both elements, was then assaulted by your closest of friends, the loving monster, the vampire who would have you as his fellow traveler in eternity whether or not you gave him leave, our beloved Lestat. I cannot imagine such a rape.”
“I have never made a vampire… The idea repulsed me—repulses me.”
— Interview with the Vampire s2e6
“‘Make you one of us?’ The accent thickened, giving a fine lilt to the words. ‘Why would I do that?’ Eyes narrowing. ‘I would not do that to those whom I find to be despicable, whom I would see burning in hell as a matter of course. So why should I do it to an innocent fool—like you?’
I want it. I want to live forever. Daniel had sat up, climbed to his feet slowly, struggling to see Armand more clearly. A dim bulb burned somewhere far down the hall. I want to be with Louis and with you.
Laughter, low, gentle. But contemptuous.”
— The Queen of the Damned
“Yet in the centuries of his long obedience, Armand kept two secrets to himself. These were his property, these secrets, more purely his than the coffin in which he locked himself by day, or the few amulets he wore.
The first was that no matter how great his loneliness, or how long the search for brothers and sisters in whom he might find some comfort, he never worked the Dark Trick himself. He wouldn’t give that to Satan, no Child of Darkness made by him.”
“Armand turned, reached back to take his arm. The smell of freshly turned earth rose from the flower beds. Ah, I could die here.
‘Yes,’ said Armand, ‘you could. And you will. And you know, I’ve never done it before. I told you but you never believed me. Now Lestat’s told you in his book. I’ve never done it. Do you believe him?’
‘Of course I believed you. The vow you made, you explained everything. But Armand, this is my question, to whom did you make this vow?’”
— The Queen of the Damned
“‘So you would have me break my vow. You would have what you think you want. But look well at this garden, because once I do it, you’ll never read my thoughts or see my visions again. A veil of silence will come down.’
‘But we’ll be brothers, don’t you see?’ Daniel asked.”
— The Queen of the Damned
“‘Years ago,’ Armand interrupted, ‘it wouldn’t have mattered to me, all this.’
‘But I don’t want it to end now. I don’t want to continue unless you…’ His face changed slightly. Faint look of surprise. ‘I don’t want you to die.’
Eerie the stillness of this moment. Even with the plane riding the air currents gently. Armand sitting there, so self-contained, so patient, with the words belying the smooth calm of the voice.
‘I’m not afraid, because you’re here,’ Daniel said suddenly.”
— The Queen of the Damned
“‘I promise you nothing. How can I? I’ve told you what lies ahead.’
‘I don’t care. I’ll go towards it with you.’
Armand’s eyes were reddened, weary, old. Such delicate clothes these were, hand sewn, dusty, like the clothes of a ghost. Were they what the mind conjured effortlessly when it wanted to be purely itself?
‘Don’t cry! It’s not fair,’ Daniel said. ‘This is my rebirth. How can you cry? Don’t you know what this means? Is it possible you never knew?’ He looked up suddenly, to catch the whole sweep of this enchanted landscape, the distant Villa, the rolling land above and below. And then he turned his face upwards, and the heavens astonished him. Never had he seen so many stars.
Why, it seemed as if the sky itself went up and up forever with stars so plentiful and bright that the constellations were utterly lost. No pattern. No meaning. Only the gorgeous victory of sheer energy and matter. But then he saw the Pleiades—the constellation beloved of the doomed red-haired twins in the dream—and he smiled. He saw the twins together on a mountaintop, and they were happy. It made him so glad.
‘Say the word, my love,’ Armand said. ‘I’ll do it. We’ll be in hell together after all.’
‘But don’t you see,’ Daniel said, ‘all human decisions are made like this. Do you think the mother knows what will happen to the child in her womb? Dear God, we are lost, I tell you. What does it matter if you give it to me and it’s wrong! There is no wrong! There is only desperation, and I would have it! I want to live forever with you.’”
— The Queen of the Damned
“In time I conceived another love naturally, a love for a mortal boy Daniel, to whom Louis had poured out his story, published under the absurd title Interview with the Vampire, whom I later made into a vampire for the same reasons that Marius had made me so long ago: the boy, who had been my faithful mortal companion, and only sometimes an intolerable nuisance, was about to die.
That is no mystery unto itself, the making of Daniel. Loneliness will always inevitably press us to such things. But I was a firm believer that those we make ourselves will always despise us for it. I cannot claim that I have never despised Marius, both for making me and never returning to me to assure me that he had survived the horrible fire created by the Roman Coven. I had sought Louis rather than create others. And having created Daniel I saw at last my fear realized within a short time.”
“The ten year relationship between Armand and Daniel is the epitome of the fluctuations of dominance and submission. Each struggles for both surrender and control. Armand likes to be dominated and wants a teacher, although he is in fact a powerful vampire who can torment and even kill Daniel at will. When Daniel feels strong, he walks away from the relationship, but inevitably he disintegrates and surrenders to Armand, who is always ready to come and get him. They play a game, for each has something the other wants. Daniel describes himself as a mortal slave, the “devil’s minion,” but Armand is as much a slave to him. When it becomes clear that Daniel is dying, Armand cannot face existence without him and, against his better judgment, gives in to Daniel’s demand and makes him a vampire.”
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