Blood and gold : or, the story of Marius : the vampire chronicles

SUMMARY: Marius is one of the oldest vampires of them all. He is a northern vampire in search of Maharet, his maker, the ancient Egyptian vampire queen who holds him and others in thrall with chains made of her red hair. Once a proud senator in Imperial Rome, Marius is kidnapped and forced into the dark realm of blood, where he is made a protector of the Queen and King of the vampires. Through his eyes, we see the fall of pagan Rome to the Emperor Constantine, the sack of the city by the Visigoths, and the aftermath of the Black Death. Restored by the beauty of the Renaissance, Marius becomes a painter, giving his heart in turn to the master Botticelli, the courtesan Bianca, and the young apprentice Armand. But it is in the present day, deep in the jungle, when Marius will meet his fate seeking justice from the oldest vampires in the world Marius, the former mentor to the vampire Lestat, tells his story, which begins in the ancient Roman Empire when he is made a "blood god" by the Druids and follows him through the darkest, bloodiest centuries of European history