"I don't care for impotency," Lestat says, avoiding any particular stress on the terminal word that might incite a lightheartedness at odds with the tone of the night. He means it strictly in the present sense of their helplessness here - their helplessness, not his own.

'Grim', Ruby says, with the weight of a name. These monsters certainly have been that.

"And I agree that this is more complicated than I'd prefer." He sighs lightly, aiming to make it sound troubled instead of exasperated. "I'm used to the sort of predator that can be hunted down and dispatched. I suspect that this beast may be trickier than most."

He cants his head and looks at her, mild curiosity alighting in his vivid blue eyes: "It sounds as if you might know a thing or two about that."