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Louis and Claudia boarded a ship called the Mariana, and Louis waited on deck all night, wondering if Lestat would appear.. As the ship moved down the river past Pointe du Lac, Louis realized he may never see his home again.

As they crossed the Atlantic, a mysterious fever broke out within the ship. Some passengers died in their sleep, but their bodies were dry and weightless, as if their blood had been drained. Louis and Claudia avoided the sickness by staying in their stateroom; during that time, Louis pondered the existence of peace, and Claudia distracted herself by playing cards. They both started to question the possibility of Lestat surviving the fire, and they concluded that he was in a gravely weakened condition but probably alive. 

Eventually, Louis admitted to himself that Lestat was the only vampire he truly knew other than Claudia. Meanwhile, Claudia focused on searching old texts for more information about vampires in Eastern Europe. She found references to the burning and decapitation of the undead, and she began to plan her and Louis’s next steps: they would travel to Varna, then inland toward the Carpathians in search of vampires like them. 
As they sailed through the Mediterranean, Louis reflected bitterly on vampire legends and how myths had failed to explain his own existence. He recalled a night long ago when he met his sister in the cemetery, a memory that brought feelings of grief, longing, and despair. Nonetheless, he hoped that somewhere in Eastern Europe had answers to his moral and philosophical questions.

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