Perilous Partnership (31 page)

“Three women and four men,” Jean replied, “the opposite of the wizards, I believe, not that gender seemed to have any role in the partnerships when they formed a year ago. And no, I don‟t know anything about any of their preferences. We‟ve already established with Thierry and Sebastien that sexual preferences are irrelevant, so it doesn‟t actually matter. I did verify that they were all currently unattached.”

“I did the same for the wizards,” Raymond replied. “We don‟t know what would happen if one of the sides in a partnership was already married or involved with someone, but I‟d rather not find out during our first seminar.

There‟s too much at stake for that.”

“I suspect a bond simply wouldn‟t form,” Jean said, “especially if the relationship was in any way magical already, but I agree, there‟s no reason to run that risk at the moment. So tell me about the wizards. Are they all from Paris?”

“All but two,” Raymond replied. “Monsieur Sarraute of the Gendarmerie nationale recruited two wizards from Lyon to participate in addition to the two

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from Paris, who are part of his office. Then there are three doctors from l‟Hôtel Dieu in Paris, friends of a friend of Alain‟s, from what I understand. We‟ll find out more tonight when we have the cocktail party. I imagine it will be up to us to break the ice between the wizards and the vampires.”

Jean chuckled. “I remember that first meeting at the gare de Lyon. I wasn‟t sure we‟d ever get the two groups to mingle.”

“This won‟t be quite as awkward, I hope,” Raymond said, grimacing at the memory of that night, “because we won‟t be asking the vampires to feed or the wizards to allow it. They‟ll still be strangers, but the expectations will be different.”

“Sometimes I think it‟s a miracle anyone formed a partnership that night, as tense and awkward as the situation was. At least now, we can use magic to determine a pairing. It‟s still trial-and-error, but it‟s less intrusive.”

“I wish there were a way to have some of the seminars jointly,” Raymond said with a sigh, “but I don‟t feel like I can ask the wizards to completely upend their normal schedules so they can have discussions with the vampires who can‟t come out during the day.”

“I think the evening sessions will provide enough time for discussion,” Jean replied, “and having some sessions separately will let each group ask questions without worrying they‟ll offend the other either through their ignorance or through their reactions to whatever the presenter has said.”

Raymond saw the sense in that, but he could not help the feeling that seeing those very reactions would help both sides learn sensitivity, something he knew he had not had in Jean‟s regard when they first started as partners. He would just have to encourage frank discussion during the evening sessions when everyone was together and hope that gave everyone what they needed. If nothing else, it could help everyone get to know each other so they could avoid a mess like the one Adèle and Jude were in.

“As soon as we get this group through, we have to start looking at how the bond works and whether there‟s a way to break it,” he told Jean. “We can‟t leave Adèle open to Jude‟s attacks. She might not have complained to us, but Magali dropped enough hints for me to know it‟s a real problem.”

“I know,” Jean agreed. “Maybe if we get Paul and Guillemin to come down, we can use them as guinea pigs, since they also want their bond severed.

That way we don‟t have to put Adèle and Jude in the same room until it‟s time to actually do whatever needs to be done to end things between them.”

“That‟s a good idea,” Raymond said. “Let‟s get through this week and then we can contact them and see what their availability is.” He glanced down at his watch. “It won‟t be long before the vampires start arriving, and you should be

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there to meet them. They don‟t know me and have no reason to trust me. They may not all know you, but at least you‟re a vampire.”

“Which only means I understand their unease with being out before full dark,” Jean said. “It doesn‟t otherwise make me any more trustworthy than you.

If anything, le Jeu des Cours probably makes them warier of me than of you.”

“May I just say „stupid Jeu des Cours‟?” Raymond asked. “How a group of otherwise intelligent creatures can let their lives be run by a game with no logic is beyond me.”

“There is a logic to it,” Jean insisted. “Maybe not an obvious one, but it‟s there.”

Raymond rolled his eyes. “If there‟s any logic to it—or them—at all, they‟ll be glad to see another vampire in the midst of all the wizards who will have suddenly invaded their lives.”

Jean decided it was easier to let it go than try to explain to Raymond the complicated balance that made any unknown vampire, sometimes even any vampire at all, foe as much as friend. If he were another unpaired vampire, he would be closer to their equal, but the marks on Raymond‟s neck and the hidden one on his chest set Jean apart from the majority of vampires now, even the ones in Paris, because he had a wizard in his life, with all the incumbent advantages of that relationship. If their guests found partners of their own, that would level the playing field again, perhaps even allying them more closely than anything other than a blood tie could do, but until that happened, Jean would be regarded cautiously. “Wizards aren‟t anywhere near as much of a threat as an unknown vampire.”

Raymond shook his head again. “If you say so. I don‟t see how that makes sense when I know what wizards are capable of, but whatever. We should probably head that way. The wizards will be going to pick up the vampires soon, and we want to be present when they arrive.”

They wended their way through the corridors, past the wing that still gave Jean cold chills every time they passed. Thierry had blocked it off with both magical and physical barriers, but it did not change Jean‟s reaction. He only hoped completing the repairs would ease his sense of dread.

The tables and chairs in the scriptorium had all been pushed to one side, leaving the main room open for the arrival of the vampires. Almost immediately after they entered the room, Alain arrived with a vampire in tow.

Raymond stepped forward to greet the woman—Natalie, she said her name was—nodding his thanks to Alain, who disappeared after promising to be back with Orlando for the cocktail reception.

The introductions complete, Raymond looked around, finding Chantal Naizot waiting to escort the vampire to her room. The process repeated six

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more times, partnered wizards from l‟ANS or the alliance acting as escorts to the other vampires. Despite the illogic of it, Raymond could see the truth in Jean‟s words as the vampires reacted when he introduced himself and Jean.

Every one of them seemed more comfortable with Raymond than with Jean.

“Okay, they‟re settled,” Raymond said after the last vampire had arrived and been escorted to his room. “Shall we go be good hosts and greet everyone at the réfectoire for cocktails?”

“We could be bad hosts and show up fashionably late,” Jean said.

“And what would we do in the meantime?” Raymond asked, a teasing light in his eyes. “You‟ve already fed and made love to me today. What else do you want?”

Jean grinned. “You haven‟t made love to me. We could go back to the office and you could give me something to tide me over until tonight.”

Raymond snickered. “You are insatiable.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Jean replied. “I thought you liked that about me.”

“Oh, I do,” Raymond said, “just not when you‟re trying to distract me from my duties. Come on. I‟ll make it up to you after dinner.”

Jean laughed. “You better believe you will.”

Raymond grinned, amusement getting the better of him. “Be a good host during the party and dinner, and I‟ll do whatever you want tonight.”

“
Whatever
I want?” Jean repeated.

“Whatever you want,” Raymond repeated. “You can spend the next few hours imagining what you‟re going to ask for.”

That was an offer guaranteed to put Jean off his game for the rest of the evening, but it also silenced his protests. He followed Raymond out of the scriptorium and into the réfectoire, where the kitchen staff had a selection of bite-sized dishes already laid out. “The champagne is chilling, ready to open as soon as the guests arrive, and dinner is well under way and will be ready to serve at eight as planned.”

“Merci,” Raymond said to Julien Moracchini, the man who had assured them he would manage the kitchen. It had only been a few days, but so far, the man was an absolute gem. Everyone but the town council had been since they arrived in Dommartin. “Everything looks delicious.”

“Take a taste. There is plenty. Even if all the vampires decide to eat, I made enough. Anything that is left, I can take home to my family or save for later.

Someone may come in wanting a snack, and I will have something.”

Raymond picked up a mini-quiche, popping it in his mouth. It was perfect, hot and fresh, the egg cooked to just the right firmness. Suddenly realizing he had skipped lunch, he tried a stuffed mushroom cap and then a bruschetta with

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artichokes and goat cheese. “What are you doing here in the country? Why aren‟t you in a restaurant in Paris somewhere?”

Julien shrugged. “Because Dommartin is home, and restaurant jobs are hard to find and even harder to keep.”

“You have a job here as long as you want it,” Raymond assured him, taking another bite of a prosciutto and cheese pinwheel.

“Raymond,” Jean said softly, “our guests are arriving.”

“I‟ll open the champagne,” Julien said, disappearing into the kitchen and returning a few moments later with a bubbling bottle that he began pouring into elegant flutes.

“Welcome, everyone,” Raymond said, the subtle reminder sending him into host mode. He shook hands with Olivier and Patrice, two of the wizards from Paris, and kissed Constance on both cheeks. “Come in and have something to eat. Our chef, Julien, has outdone himself tonight. I have a feeling we‟re going to eat very well this week.”

“Always a plus,” Patrice replied. “I‟ve been to too many conferences where the food was edible at best.”

“Take a taste and tell me what you think,” Raymond insisted. “I was impressed.”

The three wizards crossed to the table where the amuse-bouche were laid out and tasted the different dishes. “You‟re right,” Patrice agreed. “These are fantastic. Wherever you found your chef, keep him.”

“Right here in Dommartin, if you can believe it,” Raymond said.

“I keep telling him there are gems to be discovered in the country,”

Constance said with a tip of her head toward Patrice, “but he never listens to me.”

That implied a relationship Raymond had been unaware of. “You spend a lot of time together?”

“We work together,” Constance said. “He has the office next to mine at the hospital, and he‟s always making comments about the provinces and what a dearth of anything worthwhile there is outside the capital.”

Patrice shrugged. “So I like city life. That‟s not a crime, is it?”

“Of course not,” Raymond soothed, excusing himself and leaving them to their bickering when he saw another group come in. “Natalie and Philippe, if I remember correctly?” he verified, greeting the two vampires.

They nodded.

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“Welcome,” Raymond said. “If you would like, there is champagne. Jean has assured me it won‟t do you any harm if you‟d like a glass. I can introduce you around as well. You‟re both in Paris?”

“Yes, we both live in Montmartre,” Philippe replied. “I don‟t know about Natalie, but I‟ll take a glass of champagne. It gives me something to do with my hands if nothing else.”

Raymond ushered them over to the serving area and then introduced them to the wizards already present. “Your paths probably haven‟t crossed before, but you‟re all from Paris,” he said. As he helped them break the ice, he noticed Alain and Orlando enter. They nodded across the room but left Raymond to his duty. When the next group of arrivals came in, though, Orlando met them at the door, greeting them like old friends and ushering them inside and into conversations, relieving Raymond‟s worry over how he would manage to introduce everyone on his own. He had no idea how Orlando knew the wizards, but it did not seem to matter. The young vampire acted the consummate host.

“Alain is good for him,” Jean murmured, appearing at Raymond‟s elbow.

“A year ago, he never would have been so outgoing.”

“Orlando is good for Alain too,” Raymond agreed. “Not that I was privy to all his secrets, but even outsider that I was, I could tell he was unhappy. Not anymore.”

The arrival of the rest of the participants in the seminar forestalled their conversation as they separated to play host. There were a few awkward moments, but between them and the other paired vampires and wizards who made appearances over the course of the evening, they managed to keep everything running smoothly so that when dinner had ended and everyone went their separate ways for the night, Raymond could relax and proclaim it a successful first evening. “Now we just have to hope the rest of the week will go as well.”

“It will,” Alain said confidently. “They‟ve all chosen to be here, and I think they‟ve all started to see hints of things between the pairs that were here tonight to intrigue them. I heard a couple of the vampires asking what it felt like to go outside in the sun again, and a couple of the wizards wanted to know how much of a power boost I‟d experienced from Orlando. I didn‟t get into the Aveu de Sang, since we don‟t actually know if that affects the power boost anyway. I just gave them some examples of things I can do with Orlando‟s assistance that I can‟t do alone.”