Chapter 1

Aaron Lightner

• Talamasca -

aron Lightner is a psychic detective for the Talamasca Order. He marries into the Mayfair family of witches and plays a major role in bridging the Lives of the Mayfair Witches with the Vampire Chronicles. He appears in Merrick (2000) and Blackwood Farm (2002).

Born in 1921 in England, Aaron Lightner begins demonstrating remarkable psychic abilities at an early age with both telekinesis and telepathy. His English father and American mother grow so concerned that they introduce him to the Talamasca house. When he is between the ages of seven and twenty-two, the Talamasca teaches Aaron how to control his psychic powers for the purpose of good. At twenty-two, after graduating from Oxford University, Aaron is invited by the Talamasca to become a member of the Order. After a decade of service, Aaron finally becomes the department head of witch families. He reorganizes their files, supervises the chronicling of families of witches throughout history, and takes particular interest in the Mayfair family.

Aaron meets Beatrice Mayfair in New Orleans and Deirdre Mayfair in Texas, where he also sees Lasher, the evil spirit who has developed a plan to become incarnate as a Taltos through an incestuous breeding program of thirteen generations of Mayfair witches. Aaron discusses Lasher's danger with Deirdre, but she desires to live a normal life, so she asks Aaron to keep the Mayfair emerald-the talisman that represents a covenant between Lasher and the witches in his plan for incarnation-but Aaron decides against it, fearing Lasher's retribution. Aaron then travels back to New Orleans, where he meets with Carlotta and Cortland Mayfair to explain the Mayfair family's history. Abhorring his interference, Carlotta issues a restraining order against him, and Cortland attempts to poison him. Surviving this attempt on his life, Aaron continues watching the Mayfair family from afar.

Aaron discovers Merrick Mayfair, a member of the Creole branch of the Mayfair family, who has been recently orphaned at a young age after her mother and sister are murdered. Because she is tremendously gifted with psychic abilities, Aaron introduces Merrick to David Talbot, Superior General of the Talamasca and Lestat's eventual fledgling. David takes Merrick as his apprentice, while Aaron resumes his investigation into the Mayfair family.

Many years later, Aaron discovers that Deirdre gave birth to Rowan Mayfair, but Carlotta drugged Deirdre into a comatose state, kidnapped Rowan, and convinced Ellie Mayfair to adopt Rowan. Living in San Francisco, Ellie keeps Rowan ignorant of her family of witches, and Aaron keeps his distance from Rowan, believing that it would be best if she not be informed of the Mayfair family of witches. He becomes keenly fascinated by her love interest, Michael Curry, who also demonstrates remarkable psychic abilities. But upon an accidental encounter with Rowan, Aaron reconsiders his decision and offers her a chance to know her family's history. When she refuses, he goes to Michael's house to inquire about his interest in joining the Talamasca.

Meeting with Michael in New Orleans, Aaron informs him of Rowan's history. When Aaron is almost killed in a car accident, he learns that Lasher's plan to incarnate as a Taltos will culminate in Michael and Rowan's imminent child. After discussing the dangerous nature of Lasher with Rowan, who is a highly gifted medical doctor and researcher, he learns that she is interested in studying Lasher and Taltos scientifically. He tries to warn her against this, but she ignores him. After Rowan and Michael marry, she becomes pregnant with a Taltos child. Lasher later fuses with her child and, because of the Taltos' inhumanly rapid birth cycle, he is born and fully grown into a man in a very short period of time. Aaron gives Michael a medal of Saint Michael the Archangel to protect him against evil, and then he sends