The Red Sacrament

Paris, 1869. The Théâtre Saint-Siméon is the place to be, if you can get in. The black slips of paper that guarantee entry are rare and highly desired, and given only to certain persons. The actors on stage are magnetic and ageless, performing only at midnight and never seen during the day Arnault and his clan of vampires have survived for as long as they have by observing a rigid set of rules. At night, they perform on stage at the Théâtre Saint-Siméon, picking off just enough people in the audience to survive; they understand the city, and how to live in it without being noticed. Their peace is shattered first with a visit from Béatrice, a witch who forms a strange connection to Arnault, then with the arrival of Victor de Rouvray and his sister Françoise, vampires from a very different world. And, as Arnault grows closer and closer to the beautiful, enigmatic Victor, he risks becoming distracted from the constant bickering of his immortal friends, from the daily running of the theatre and, worst, from the premonitions of blood, death and starvation that he receives at night. For a terrible change is on the horizon, revolt and revolution are brewing in the streets. Soon the city, and Arnault, will never be the same again.