Her eyes grew progressively wider, her breath progressively shallower, and her heartbeat progressively more rapid as he explained in very clear and precise terms the nature of both himself and the man who had sniffed her hair in her bookshop. "And you have... You can do things with the minds of others," she stammered. "You can make them tell you things. You can... Can..."
It was unbelievable. She was sitting here across from him like they were two normal people -- and he was a monster. And she'd let another monster into her bookstore. She could have been his dinner! What had stopped him? And why did he say he'd never hurt her?
Why was she still alive?
She hadn't realized she'd asked that question, aloud, to Lestat, until his expression across the table changed. Her muscles were tensing, ready for flight. She wanted to run, but something in her throat was choking her. She could hardly get a breath.