Another Branch of the Mayfair Witches
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Merrick (originally spelled 'Merrique') is the daughter of Cold Sandra, who in turn is the granddaughter of Great Nananne. Her older sister was Honey in the Sunshine, who died along with their mother in a murder/drowning. Found with Cold Sandra and Honey in the Sunshine was a watch given to Cold Sandra from their Oncle Vervain, who told Merrick that it did not tick for her; therefore, there was no need for her to have it.
It is revealed later in the book that Oncle Vervain knew time would stop for Merrick because she would become a vampire.
This branch of the Mayfairs, descended from Julien (of course), are witches who practice Vodou alongside Catholicism. They have little or nothing to do with the First Street Mayfairs, and when Merrick took a tour of the First Street house, she did so discreetly, during a holiday tour.
When Great Nananne dies, Aaron Lightner has to hide during the funeral, explaining to David Talbot that his work on the Mayfair Witches has made him known to the two Mayfair attorneys who arrive with the interests of the family at large in mind - Ryan and Lauren Mayfair. It is Lauren Mayfair whom Rowan is with when she meets Merrick Mayfair, noting that Merrick does not carry herself with her hips as the center of gravity like most women do.
Merrick is one of the three members of the Talamasca whom Sterling Oliver referred to in Blackwood Farm who were lost to vampirism.
Many of the Vodou Iwa that corresponded best with Catholic saints took on aspects of those saints as Catholicism was enforced among the African slaves. Vodou basically went underground at this time but was never abandoned as the slaves who had brought Vodou over to the U.S. and Haiti from Africa kept it alive.
Here is what Wikipedia has to say on the subject of Vodou and Catholicism in Louisiana:
Catholicism on Wikipedia Here is a page on Wikipedia that gives an overview of the Olmec, whose jade mask Merrick recovers from the cave in Central America:
Merrick is contacted by David Talbot in his vampiric form on behalf of Louis, who wants to make contact with the child vampire, Claudia, who died in Interview With the Vampire.
Louis's guilt over Claudia has not waned over time, and Merrick has recovered Claudia's diary found by Jesse in the wall of the New Orleans townhouse. Upon reading it, she wants reassurance from Louis that contacting Claudia is what he really wants. He says he does.
Claudia's words only confirm the words in the diary. Her words are so harsh that Louis attempts to incinerate himself by laying in the sun. His attempt fails as he does not completely burn. It takes the healing blood of Merrick, David, and finally Lestat, who has roused from his self-imposed sleep, to save Louis.
David Talbot, the narrator of Merrick, spends a great deal of time telling of Merrick's early life; specifically, his role in it. He recounts in particular a trip to Central America, where Merrick recovers an ancient mask from the same cave where her stepfather, Matthew, contracted a fatal illness. David, too, nearly dies, but Merrick is untouched. The mask makes spirits appear as living people. Merrick wants to use this to contact her dead sister, Honey in the Sunshine. Merrick feels as guilty about her sister's death as Louis feels about the loss of Claudia.
Merrick
Vampire Chronicles Book 7 (2000)
From the First Edition Dust Jacket:
In her mesmerizing new novel, the author of The Vampire Chronicles and the saga of the Mayfair Witches demonstrates once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling and the creation of myth and magic. Here, in a magnificent tale of sorcery and the occult, she makes real for us a hitherto unexplored world of witchcraft.
At the center is the beautiful, unconquerable witch Merrick. She is a descendant of the gens de couleur libres, a society of New Orleans octoroons and quadroons steeped in the lore and ceremony of voodoo, who reign in the shadowy world where African and French--the dark and the white--intermingle. Her ancestors are the great Mayfair witches, of whom she knows nothing--and from whom she inherits the power and the magical knowledge of a Circe.
Into this exotic realm comes David Talbot--hero, storyteller, adventurer, almost-mortal vampire, visitor from another dark realm. It is he who recounts Merrick's haunting tale--a tale that takes us from the New Orleans of past and present to the jungles of Guatemala, from the Maya ruins of a century ago to ancient civilizations not yet explored.
Anne Rice's richly told novel weaves an irresistible story of two worlds: the witches' world and the vampires' world, where magical powers and otherworldly fascinations are locked together in a dance of seduction, death, and rebirth.
From Books-a-Million:
At the center of Anne Rice's new novel is the beautiful, unconquerable Merrick, a child--a witch with the power and magical knowledge of a Medea and a Circe. She is a Mayfair of New Orleans, descendent of a family rich in its French and Spanish past, steeped in the age-old tradition of voodoo. Into this strange and exotic world comes David Talbot, hero, storyteller, adventurer, almost-mortal vampire, a visitor from another realm of the dark world.
From the Parlor's Copies:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: 99-088556
ISBN: 0-679-45448-9
eISBN: 978-0-375-41270-7
Within a few years of publishing Interview With the Vampire, Anne Rice published a novel called The Feast of All Saints. The novel was about the Free People of Color and made into a TV movie in 2001.
Please see Lost Souls for more discussion on the religious and spiritual practices of the Mayfair Witches.
Testing new image effects. This one is a different version of the one on Come Together: The Mayfair Witches: