"The Innocent" is the third story in the Tales of the Slayers comic anthology. Written by Amber Benson and illustrated by Ted Naifeh, it was originally published on February 20, 2002, by Dark Horse Comics.
Summary[]
Set in 1789 Paris, Claudine, the Slayer, and her Watcher and lover, Jean, are radical sans-culottes. They are both hunting down a vampire over the walls of Notre Dame. The watcher and vampire fall, but Claudine saves Jean from death, only to fall herself. The vampire is nailed to a fence but manages to free himself, though Claudine slays him.
Afterward, Jean sends Claudine after another vampire, whom Jean describes as an "aristocratic tyrant who feeds from the poor" and who lives in an apartment in the Rue Saint-Denis. Claudine enters an alley, climbs a wall, and enters into the apartment's library, where she finds her target. The aristocrat runs but is staked by Claudine, who discovers he was actually human. Before dying the aristocrat begs her not to kill his children. In shock, Claudine comes face to face with the man's three daughters and a woman. Claudine tries to leave, only to trip over the body of the aristocrat and get covered in blood.
Claudine finds Jean in a tavern with two of his comrades and takes him out to confront him. He admits he knew the man was not a vampire but that he deserved to die for being an aristocrat, as well as his plans to send Claudine, his "Angel of Death," to hunt down the rest of the aristocracy that hides from "Madame Guillotine." Claudine spits on him and leaves.
Next to a bridge, on which a couple hugs and a caged carriage with three prisoners passes, Claudine, with her face still covered in blood, reflects on the nature of evil.
Continuity[]
- Set in 1789, this story takes place after the flashbacks from "Soulless" of the year 1789, when the Beast met with Angelus; and before the flashbacks from Lost and Found, Part One, when Angelus joins in the storming of the Tuileries palace during the French Revolution.
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Claudine
- Jean
- Unidentified aristocrat
- Unidentified vampire
- Unidentified aristocrat's wife
- Unidentified aristocrat's daughters
Organizations and titles[]
Species[]
Locations[]
- Paris, France
Objects[]
Death count[]
- Unidentified vampire, staked by Claudine.
- Unidentified aristocrat, staked by Claudine.
Behind the scenes[]
Production[]
- The Rue Saint-Denis is a real street in Paris and one of the city's oldest.