Perilous Partnership (13 page)

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vampire now does without needing a wizard for it to work. Have you not noticed some increase in your power too?”

Raymond shrugged. “Wizards naturally grow in power, especially after times of great use. It‟s like developing any other muscle in your body. If you work it hard enough, it will get stronger.”

“But you can lose that too, right?” Thierry asked. “I mean, I can see us all gaining in power during the war because we used magic constantly, even for things we might not have otherwise because time was so critical that any shortcut was welcome. I don‟t use my abilities nearly as often now as I did then, yet I don‟t feel any weakening, and I‟m fairly sure I‟m even stronger now than at the end of the war.”

Raymond tipped his head to one side, clearly considering the hypothesis.

“Did you ever do a dépistage-pouvoir scan before the war started to see how strong you were?”

“Soon after I first arrived at l‟ANS,” Thierry replied. “Would the change from then give us valid results? That was probably fifteen years ago.”

“It won‟t be an iron-clad result,” Raymond agreed, “but we have enough models predicting growth under various circumstances for us to see if you exceed that. And it gives us a baseline now to see if the effect continues later.

We may not be able to accurately compare your strength now to what it was three years ago at the beginning of the war, but if we do one now, we can definitely see if you‟ve had significant growth this time next year. A lot of the studies we‟ll end up doing at l‟Institut will be longitudinal. There won‟t be a single, magically straightforward answer to most of our questions. If there were, people would have discovered it years ago.”

“Is this an easy scan to administer?” Jean asked.

“Reasonably so,” Raymond replied. “It takes a couple of hours and requires a wizard to do increasingly more challenging magical tasks, not because of the task itself but because of the magical output required to complete the task.

Where a wizard breaks down, for lack of a better expression, determines the rating from the scan. Why?”

“Because it seems to me like a good baseline to have for all the wizards who have partners for our research and for all the wizards coming into the program so we can track their improvements over time,” Jean said. “Thierry just said he didn‟t know how useful his old scan would be. That‟s fine because we certainly didn‟t know what we were doing when we started the alliance, but we do know now, somewhat anyway, and it would be ludicrous to start this kind of program without all the initial information we need to determine the eventual success of the applicants.”

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“The results don‟t generally change over a year or two either,” Thierry said, “so if they have a recent scan, we could probably use that.”

Raymond shook his head. “No, if we‟re going to conduct reliable research, we need truly accurate starting data. A year ago we had just finished a war, and two years ago we were in the middle of one. People‟s ratings could potentially have changed significantly in that time. We can afford to do this correctly.”

“So when would you want to do the scan?” Thierry asked.

“Not today,” Raymond said. “You‟ve already expended a considerable amount of magic today, and that could skew your results. The other thing is that since we don‟t know how long the effect of feeding on a wizard‟s ability lasts, we should probably not do the scan within at least twelve hours of Sebastien feeding from you. Think of it as the magical equivalent of fasting before getting blood work done at the doctor‟s office.”

“We could schedule it for tomorrow,” Thierry said. “Sebastien fed while I was working today, so he won‟t be at risk.”

“You know something we didn‟t mention last night at dinner but that could be relevant as well,” Jean said suddenly. “Orlando mentioned, the first night he met Alain, that he‟d only taken a few mouthfuls but he felt as energized as if he‟d drained a man dry. The effect didn‟t last as long as a full feeding, but it could still be something to look into. Is a vampire strengthened by feeding from a wizard, and specifically from his partner, the same way a wizard is strengthened by that feeding?”

“That‟s research you‟ll have to do on the new partners,” Sebastien said flatly. “Orlando may be the only vampire with an Aveu de Sang, but I don‟t see you finding many partnered vampires volunteering to drink someone else‟s blood.”

“No, probably not,” Jean agreed. “Angelique said she‟d had a few customers convinced they were imagining how much better their partners‟

blood tasted until they actually tasted one of her employees‟ blood. We could test the vampires as they enter the program and again after they find a partner.”

“And again somewhat later to see if the effect is cumulative or if it‟s a one-time boost,” Raymond added. “Thierry, I imagine you‟re tired from your exertions today, so we‟ll let you get some rest. I‟ll get the scan arranged for tomorrow morning at nine. Twelve hours with no feeding.”

“I‟m not twelve,” Thierry reminded Raymond. “I can constrain myself.”

“We‟ll see you in the morning then. I‟ll come in to oversee it myself so there aren‟t any surprises or glitches. With all the time spent on l‟Institut recently, I‟m not keeping normal office hours anyway,” Raymond said.

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“And the world hasn‟t come to an end yet?” Thierry teased, laughing when he saw the shocked look on Raymond‟s face. “Sorry. I didn‟t mean to overstep my bounds.”

“No, you didn‟t,” Raymond hastened to say. “I was just surprised. You say things like that to Alain all the time, but this may be the first time you‟ve ever joked around like that with me.”

Thierry flushed. “I guess I‟m getting used to you being around all the time.”

He left the office before Raymond could reply to that, Sebastien trailing behind him. Jean turned to Raymond and grinned. “I told you they were becoming your friends.”

Raymond shrugged. “Let‟s go visit Marcel. I haven‟t seen him in awhile, and I‟d like to let him know what‟s going on with l‟Institut and see if maybe he‟d like to come help with the repairs.”

Jean glanced at the clock. “He won‟t be awake yet. The last time I talked to Mireille, she said he‟s become almost as nocturnal as a vampire, spending the evenings with monsieur Lombard at Le Saulnier café and the early morning hours playing chess with him in front of the fireplace in the library. She still hunts for monsieur Lombard, so whatever is going on, it isn‟t a feeding partnership, but they‟ve apparently become great friends.”

“We could go by Le Saulnier or by monsieur Lombard‟s house, I suppose,”

Raymond said. “Monsieur Lombard might have some insights as well, or at least a longer view of things. Not that yours isn‟t quite long as well, but another thousand years of experience is nothing to scoff at.”

Jean shrugged. “There comes a point where there is nothing new under the sun or moon, I‟m afraid, or at least I thought that way until I met you. I suppose that just goes to prove that there‟s always something new to learn or experience.”

“And that‟s all the more reason to talk to monsieur Lombard,” Raymond agreed. “He might see something that hasn‟t occurred to us because we‟re too close to it. It starts getting dark around five. If we go to Le Saulnier around six-thirty, they will have time to settle in for the evening and have a drink or two, not that it would affect monsieur Lombard.”

“If we‟re going to stay up talking with them half the night, you should rest while you can,” Jean said.

Raymond smiled at his lover, touched by the way Jean never let him overextend himself. Raymond supposed some people might find it overbearing, but having been on his own from an early age, he appreciated the tangible sign of Jean‟s affection for him. The vampire might never love him, but he did care about him, and that was enough for now.

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“I don‟t imagine you‟ll let me rest here.”

Jean‟s snort was all the answer Raymond needed. “If you „rest‟ here, you‟ll end up feeling obliged to answer the hundred emails Fabienne forwarded to you since yesterday or see any of the twenty people probably waiting for you outside your office. We‟ll go home and you‟ll sleep in our bed.”
Where you
belong.

THE austere nineteenth-century façade of l‟Hôtel-Dieu on l‟île de la Cité belied the miracles of modern technology and magical medicine that resided within.

Alain hoped the wizarding doctors at the center of the city‟s public hospital system would be interested in the benefits a partnership with a vampire could provide them. The director of the hospital, despite not being a wizard himself, was certainly interested when Alain had explained the increase in strength and ability he had experienced with Orlando at his side. The director had even agreed to allow a paid leave of absence to any doctors who decided to participate in the educational seminars once l‟Institut was ready. Now Alain just had to convince the wizards.

“Alain, what are you doing here?” Maurice Fortin, one of the doctors who had joined the Milice de Sorcellerie as part of its medical corps, asked as he walked into the break room.

Alain rose from his seat and shook the other man‟s hand warmly. “Doing a bit of work for l‟ANS today.”

“What new scheme has Raymond cooked up?” Maurice grinned as he gestured for Alain to sit again. “Do you want coffee? I need it to get through the day most days.”

“Yes, please,” Alain said, waiting while the doctor poured them both a cup of coffee and joined Alain at the small table. “I would think this would be easy after working with the Milice for two years.”

“The injuries and illnesses aren‟t as severe,” Maurice replied, “but they‟re a lot more constant. During the war, if a battle wasn‟t going on, I might not get a new patient for days. Here, I get new patients every few minutes, it feels like. It wouldn‟t be as bad if I didn‟t work in the ER, but that‟s where my skills can do the most good.”

“Magical or medical or both?” Alain asked.

“Both,” Maurice said. “I can stop an injury from bleeding out with magic even if I have to repair the damage with sutures or send the patient on to a specialist for whatever kind of treatment he needs.”

“Are you magically drained as well as physically tired?” Alain inquired.

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“Why are you asking?” Maurice said. “I mean, I don‟t mind answering your questions, but you didn‟t come here to check on my health.”

“No, I didn‟t,” Alain admitted. “L‟ANS is starting a new education and outreach program designed to help prepare wizards and vampires who might be interested in forming partnerships like we did during the alliance. The war is over, but the benefits have continued.”

“What kind of benefits? I mean, I remember the vampires feeding helped their partners heal more quickly, but that doesn‟t help me deal with my patients,” Maurice said.

“No, the healing aspect only works between partners, but having a partner could help you with some of the magical drain,” Alain said. “We know for a fact that having your partner feed as you‟re doing magic increases your power and decreases your fatigue afterward, and we suspect that the effects of long-term feeding are cumulative so that your abilities actually increase over time even when your partner isn‟t feeding.”

“And Raymond thinks people will go for this?” Maurice asked.

“Why wouldn‟t they?” Alain retorted. “The increase in power is exponential.”

“Because you have to let a vampire bite you,” Maurice replied.

“I hadn‟t pegged you as xenophobic.”

“I‟m not,” Maurice said immediately, “but that‟s a lot to ask.”

“It‟s very little to ask,” Alain disagreed. “Just think about it. L‟Institut Marcel Chavinier isn‟t open yet, but you‟d be a good candidate when it does.”

“How long are you talking about for this „program‟?” Maurice asked.

“I don‟t know yet,” Alain said, “but I‟ve already talked to the director of the hospital, and he‟s willing to give people the time off to participate. And there‟s no requirement—or guarantee for that matter—that you find a partner at the end of the program. It‟s all about educating people so they can decide if they want to have a partner.”

“I‟ll think about it,” Maurice said, his tone somewhat grudging.

“Will you at least tell anyone you know who might be interested about it?”

Alain requested. “Even if you decide not to go forward with it, someone else might.”

Maurice nodded and finished his coffee. “I can do that. My break‟s over.

I‟ve got to get back to work.”

Alain let him go, wishing he had received a more enthusiastic response, but while he believed to the depths of his being that no one who embraced a partnership fully would ever regret it, he also had the example of Adèle and Jude to remind him that some partnerships simply could not function. He must

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have been projecting his doubts or frustrations, because a sudden wave of reassurance and love came through his bond with Orlando, bringing a smile to his face.

Over the next three hours, Alain had similar conversations with the other wizarding doctors who came through the lounge, explaining the program Raymond was trying to create, justifying the need for the partnerships, and generally doing everything he could to convince people to give the program a chance.