“What can I say?” L’Hero laughed. “The people love me, ‘evil demon’ as I am. They know very well that I am a vampire.”

“I protect them and care for them. They know that I have certain . . . limitations, such as moving freely by daylight, and they help us. In return, I treat them well. I give them bread, and a place to sleep. And if they truly merit the honor, I promise them eternal life . . . once we have overthrown the monarchy.”

“Treason!” Edmund cried, as, without a moment’s hesitation, Marie-Christine withdrew a stake and prepared for attack.

L’Hero guffawed. “Slayer, in your journeys through the fair city of Paris, have you not come to realize that the King and Queen are worse vampires than I? That they have sucked the lifeblood of their people, until they are driven mad with hunger and pestilence? The Queen herself has said, ‘Let them eat cake.’

“I say, ‘Let them drink blood.’ ”