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"Malcolm presence filled the small room like invisible water, chilling and pricking along my skin, knee deep and rising."
Anita Blake[src]

Malcolm is a powerful master vampire, and the head of the St. Louis branch of the Church of Eternal Life, where being a permanent member means you will live forever (stakes, fire, and crosses aside). Anita is not altogether happy with this organization, since it tends to create plenty of emotionally messed-up vampires (of which she doesn't really need more). He is described by Anita to be an "undead Billy Graham."

Appearance[]

Malcolm is a tall and very thin man with blue eyes and short, curly hair the color of goldfinch feathers -- blond hair after centuries without sunlight. His hands are large and bony and would fit better on someone more muscular. He allows his power to spill around him, and uses it to appear beautiful to the point of perfection, even if he makes a point of not using his powers in order to gain advantage in discussions. After Anita gains vampire marks she's surprised to find him almost ordinary looking.

In the first novel we see Malcolm dressed in dark blue suit, pale blue shirt, and blue silk tie. The outfit makes his eyes look the color of robin eggs.

Age[]

Mentions of Malcolm's age are inconsistent. In the first novel he's given as both almost three hundred years old and nine hundred years younger than Nikolaos, who is said to be over a thousand years old. Twelve hundred years is of course over a thousand years as well, but it would be weird for Anita to decide on that number without ever specifying it in regards to Nikolaos herself.

History[]

Guilty Pleasures[]

Malcolm's daytime resting place appears to be somewhere within the main building of the Church of Eternal Life. A secretary at the Church offices is in charge of Malcolm's appointment book, and does the scheduling during the daytime hours. When Anita first visits the offices this secretary is called Bruce and he appears to be almost only person to write in the book. The secretary has some authority over who to give access to Malcolm, but Anita's business is above the secretary's pay grade. Malcolm meets with Anita at 9 PM that evening, shortly after sunset, and before he arrives from the inner office she spies an entry in the appointment book that she takes to be about a meeting with Edward two days before the first vampire murders. Anita deems Malcolm the third-most powerful vampire in St. Louis after Nikolaos and Jean-Claude, and doesn't entirely trust Malcolm to keep his powers to himself even if he has a reputation of playing it straight that is important for him to maintain.

Malcolm denies the Church has any part in the murders, although he does admit that there's a section of his followers who try to solve problems like freak parties through violence despite his advice for legal solutions. Despite being their leader he doesn't see himself as their priest, police, or other such authority figure who could just outright tell them what to do or not to do. Anita accuses Malcolm of hiring a hit man to kill vampires, but Malcolm first redirects the discussion to Anita's new Vampire Marks, then outright denies having any part of the vampire murders, and finally tells her the meeting is over when she keeps pressing about the meeting. When Anita brings up the earlier attempt at her life, Malcolm claims no knowledge of the event but promises to look into it. When Anita brings up the hit man one more time, Malcolm asks her to leave, angry about the unwavering accusations, and tells her with a cold smile that the Church will help her if the whole deal with the Marks becomes too much for her to deal with. He closes the door behind her softly.

Circus of the Damned[]

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Incubus Dreams[]

Anita learns that Malcom has not been blood-oathing his vampire congregation, hence he has no control over them except their words of obedience, which provides no assurance the vampires will not become dangerous predators. This alarms Anita and infuriates Jean-Claude.

Anita also learns that the Church is holding back on teaching its vampires, in effect not showing the members how to be vampires to their full potential or explaining the effects of what they can now do. For example, the Church considers drinking from the inner thigh "too sexual" and does not explain how to do so without the donor bleeding to death.

When Anita arrives at the Church of Eternal Life to execute a warrant of execution, Malcom attempts to stop her and protect the vampires. He uses his power of tactile telepathy on Anita to learn about a murder, and she pushes back with her powers and ends up rolling the vampires that Malcom has personally created, which is most of the church. Malcom demands to see her warrant and calls it barbaric. Malcom's use of his powers on Anita gives Anita the same abilities temporarily, and she uses them to learn that Avery is innocent, and to interrogate Jonah. When Anita and the police pull Jonah outside to execute him, Malcom leads his people out to witness it.

The Harlequin[]

Malcom visits Anita at her work, asking her to give a cryptic message to Jean-Claude, and Anita learns that Malcom could be in danger from the council since he has not been blood-oathing his vampires. Jean-Claude has given Malcom a deadline for the blood-oaths, or Jean-Claude will do it himself.

The final showdown with the Harlequin take place at Malcom's church, and Malcom uses Avery to get a message to Anita. To protect his congregation, Malcom feeds on Damian's blood, binding himself and his vampires to Anita and Jean-Claude. Through this, Anita feels his love for his congregation, and she uses it to shape the ardeur into something more love than lust which she shares with his people to protect them. Together, this prevents Columbine from using Malcom's congregation as fuel for her power.

Personality & Traits[]

Unlike most vampires in the series, Malcolm is extremely religious; he says that being undead has not changed his beliefs. When threatened by the Harlequin, he asks Anita to find a priest to hear his confession, so he can die absolved.

Powers & Abilities[]

  • Immortality - Malcolm is over a hundred years old and possesses the appearance of a handsome young man.
  • Superhuman Strength - Malcolm's age and status suggest he is much stronger than the average vampire.
  • Superhuman Speed - Malcolm can move at teleportation-like speeds.
  • Heightened Senses - His senses are heightened to the point where he can hear whispers from some distance away, see in the dark, and tell a human's emotions from their scent.
  • Accelerated Healing - Wounds from most objects, even bullets, heal in seconds without causing him any seeming discomfort.
  • Psychic Abilities - Malcolm possesses a number of mental powers that he intentionally conceals from other. However, Anita knows of two:
    • Heightened Beauty - He can make himself appear to be more handsome and stronger than he is.
    • Tactile Telepathy - He is able to read the minds of anyone he shakes hands with.
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