Perilous Partnership (36 page)

“We didn‟t invite them to the Congrès des chefs,” Jean scoffed. “We invited them to a discussion about l‟Institut.”

“Still. So you, in some definition of that word, established this institute close enough to Renaud‟s Cour that he feels threatened,” Roland summarized.

“Yes, except there isn‟t any threat,” Jean said. “L‟Institut is a research and educational facility designed to help wizards and vampires interested in forming partnerships and to study the inner workings of existing partnerships so we can better understand the personal and magical implications.”

“That‟s quite a line,” Roland said. “What does that really mean?”

Luc glanced at Jean. “It means that when we formed partnerships during the war, we opened a can of worms much bigger than we expected. Most of us who made that decision then don‟t regret it, but we‟re regularly surprised by it.

The research aspect of l‟Institut should help answer some of those questions.

The education side aims to make sure people who might be interested in a partnership are aware of the potential ramifications before they do something that can only be undone with difficulty.”

Jean‟s lips pursed at the disingenuous comment. He hoped they would be able to undo the partnership bond for the two pairs who could not function together, but they were certainly not at that point yet. “If at all,” he added.

“That‟s one of the research goals of l‟Institut, to be able to help those who formed partnerships hastily and now regret their decisions.”

“And what will the media say that I shouldn‟t believe?” Roland asked.

“There are a group of protestors claiming that l‟Institut is a glorified brothel and that we‟re taking people‟s money in exchange for arranging sexual liaisons,” Jean said bluntly.

Roland laughed in astonishment. “And they think vampires would go along with this?”

“As if the wizards would either,” Jean said. “I didn‟t say it was logical. I said that‟s the line they‟re trying to sell. You know as well as I do that feeding always has a sexual thrill for vampires and feeding from the same person over time adds to that, but we aren‟t forcing anyone into anything. We‟re actually telling people to make sure they‟re compatible with a potential partner before beginning to feed because the exchange of blood creates a magical bond that grows over time and makes it less and less interesting to the vampire to feed elsewhere.”

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“And the repeated feedings lead to a desire for greater intimacy,” Roland extrapolated.

“On both sides, apparently,” Jean said, thinking of Thierry and Sebastien.

“Now that‟s surprising,” Roland commented.

“It‟s the exchange of magic, we think,” Jean explained. “Wizards are as sensitive to that side of it as vampires are to the intimacy of feeding. It‟s one of the things we‟re researching, though.”

“Okay, so assuming everything you‟ve told me is true, what do you want from me?” Roland asked.

“Ideally, your support should it come to a fight in the Congrès des chefs, but at the very least, your agreement not to interfere with any of your vampires should they decide to participate in one of our seminars,” Jean replied. “And to accept those vampires‟ partners if they find any and choose to return to Toulouse.”

“I don‟t see any reason to keep members of my Cour from being involved,”

Roland said slowly, “but I don‟t accept just anyone into my Cour. Any wizard who wants to join as a vampire‟s partner will have to apply like anyone else.”

“That‟s fair,” Luc said before Jean could protest. Jean frowned, but Luc sent him a quelling look. “As long as you‟re open to the request. Would you be willing to talk to the other chefs de la Cour in your region? It will save us quite a bit of time if we only have to visit the chef de la Cour in the capital of each region.”

“You don‟t have to try to answer all their questions,” Jean added. “If they have questions, they‟re welcome to contact me, and I‟ll answer them. Just tell them you‟ve talked to other chefs de la Cour and that l‟Institut isn‟t a threat.

The rest is up to each individual vampire.”

“And if someone wants to participate in one of your seminars?” Roland asked.

“The February one is already full,” Jean replied, “but we have places still for March. They can contact l‟ANS in Paris to enroll.”

“JEAN?”

Jean looked up, surprised to see Orlando darkening his doorway. He rose, shaking Orlando‟s hand as his friend walked in. “How are you?”

“I‟m well. I was more concerned about how you are,” Orlando said.

“I‟m fine. Why wouldn‟t I be?” Jean asked.

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Orlando sat in one of the overstuffed chairs that graced Jean‟s office and regarded his friend seriously. “Because you‟re gambling with everything you have and everything l‟Institut represents to try to get the chefs de la Cour on your side and to keep the media from giving too much coverage to the protestors and not enough time to the truth?”

“It‟s nothing to worry about,” Jean said dismissively.

“Stop giving me that line and talk to me,” Orlando snapped. “I can tell it‟s wearing on you, and I hardly see you these days, which is reason to worry in itself.”

Jean sighed, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. This was Orlando sitting next to him, the one vampire he trusted more than anyone else, if only because Orlando had always refused to even learn le Jeu des Cours. His young friend cared nothing for intrigue or power or any of the things that made up the fabric of Jean‟s life. All Orlando cared for was Alain and their friends.

That list was a little longer than it had been a year ago, when only Jean had a place on it, but Jean did not mind sharing. Orlando had needed someone to love and who would love him in return, not as a little brother, but as a partner in life.

Jean hoped Alain knew how grateful he was that Orlando had found his soul mate in the blond wizard. “Yes, I‟m burning the candle at both ends and in the middle,” Jean admitted, “but I don‟t know what else to do.”

“I do,” Orlando said. “Take Raymond and go somewhere hot and sunny and private for a few days. You would both benefit from the break.”

“He‟ll never agree to that,” Jean said immediately.

“He will if you tell him you need it,” Orlando disagreed. “He won‟t do it for himself, but he‟ll do anything for you.”

Jean shook his head. “I can‟t do that. That wouldn‟t be fair to him.”

“It‟s not about being fair,” Orlando insisted. “It‟s about taking care of the one you love. Or are you still trying to pretend you aren‟t as madly in love with him as I am with Alain?”

“I gave up that fight awhile ago,” Jean said with a chuckle. “Was I really that obvious?”

Orlando rolled his eyes. “You treat him like your Consort. Even I, as clueless as I am, could see that. You never did that with Karine or with anyone else as long as I‟ve known you. It‟s the only explanation that made sense.”

“Yes, I love him, and yes, he knows it,” Jean said, answering the next question as well. “But that doesn‟t give me the right to use his emotions to manipulate him.”

“Even when it‟s for his own good?” Orlando asked.

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“It won‟t help,” Jean insisted. “Even if I convince him to go, he‟ll spend the whole time worrying about l‟ANS or l‟Institut or both.”

“You mean to tell me you haven‟t figured out how to shut his brain off yet?” Orlando teased. “I know he‟s a thinker, but come on, Jean, no man is going to turn down sex, and if you give him enough of it, his brain will turn off for a few hours. And when it starts back up again, you start all over again too.”

“That‟s easy for you to say,” Jean grumped. “Your Aveu de Sang protects Alain from overdoing it. Raymond doesn‟t have that protection.”

“Why not?” Orlando asked.

“Because he‟s president of l‟ANS and—”

“Those are his reasons,” Orlando interrupted. “What‟s holding
you
back?”

“The fact that he isn‟t ready,” Jean said softly, “and may never be ready. It isn‟t something you force on someone. It can‟t be, or it will never work.”

Orlando looked at Jean seriously. “You‟re right that it isn‟t something you force on someone, but it is something you ask for. Have you told him you want it?”

“It doesn‟t matter what I want,” Jean repeated. “He doesn‟t even like going to a press conference with bite marks on his neck, no matter how happy he is for me to leave them anywhere and everywhere else. He isn‟t going to accept a brand on his neck that no spell will ever heal or hide.”

“So don‟t put it on his neck,” Orlando said. “Forget about le Jeu des Cours and all the status games you play. I regularly wish I‟d put my mark anywhere else but Alain‟s neck because I hate the way people treat me differently, as if my relationship with Alain were somehow their business. Choosing to love someone, choosing to commit to that person, is the most personal, private thing we can do.”

“It‟s about protecting the Avoué,” Jean replied automatically, “so no one else tries to approach him or her.”

Orlando snorted. “And who exactly is going to get close enough to Raymond to feed from him or do anything else to him he doesn‟t want without him tossing the vampire in question across the room, if he doesn‟t toss him all the way across France?”

Jean stared at Orlando, dumbfounded.

“We‟re not dealing with „helpless‟ mortals anymore, Jean. We‟re dealing with wizards,” Orlando reminded his friend, “and they are anything but helpless, as you well know because you fought beside them during l‟émeutte des Sorciers. You talk about moving into the future and all the possibilities it holds for us, and then you let yourself get trapped in a mindset that‟s even older than you are. Raymond is a wizard, yes, but he‟s also a mortal. He isn‟t going

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to live forever, and you‟re going to be so caught up in everything else that you let that time pass by instead of cherishing every minute of it.” Orlando rose and looked down at Jean seriously. “Don‟t make that mistake. Now, if you‟ll excuse me, I have a vacation to plan. I hear Martinique is beautiful this time of year.”

Orlando left before Jean could gather his thoughts enough to reply. “Beh, merde,” he muttered as the full import of Orlando‟s tirade sank in. He had fallen into exactly the trap Orlando accused him of not seeing. He had tried to move forward without ever seeing the centuries of blind tradition that held him back.

Raymond needed many things, to be loved not the least, but he did not need Jean‟s protection in any sense of the word. The man had defected from Serrier‟s ranks, knowing it would mean a price on his head and his death if he was captured by the dark wizards, without any promises from Marcel or the Milice or anyone else. Anyone who had enough courage to do that could handle anything the Cour of Paris or the assembled Cours of France could throw at him. He had watched his lover face down the media, the Parlement, and anyone else who stood in the way of his dreams, and yet he had still fallen into the trap of vampire society, thinking that anyone who was not a vampire would be lost and vulnerable there. Raymond might be vulnerable in private, but he had nothing to fear from the Cour, because they would never see his weak points.

Only Jean and a few trusted friends would ever be allowed to see those.

If Raymond did not need Jean‟s protection, then that changed the rest of Jean‟s thinking as well. He could not introduce Raymond as his Consort as long as the wizard was also the president of l‟ANS. However much Jean might resent that reality, he understood it. He also hoped it would not be their reality for much longer. Raymond spent more and more time at l‟Institut, giving Alain and Thierry greater responsibility with each passing day. Until that became official, Jean could be patient in that respect, but an Aveu de Sang, if he took the element of protection out of it, did not need to be official. They could take that final step, bind themselves together in that most primal of ways, and no one would be any the wiser. A small mark on Raymond‟s inner thigh or his lower back, somewhere that would rarely if ever be visible outside their bedroom, would be enough to seal their promises. And Raymond would be his for the rest of his life. He would lose Raymond at the end of it, but they had already learned that wizards could not be turned, so the bitter irony of the Aveu de Sang, that the very magic that bound a vampire and his Avoué kept the Avoué from being turned and ensured a separation at the end of the Avoué‟s life, would apply to them whether they made the bond or not.

He would belong to the wizard with equal depth, but he had no fear in that regard. He knew his lover to the depths of his soul. If Raymond made a promise of that magnitude, he would keep it, and the benefits would far outweigh any

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possible downsides. Jean would no longer have to worry about taking too much from Raymond when he fed. He would no longer have to second-guess his lover‟s moods when he was not feeding, because the bond would allow him to sense his lover‟s emotions. All he needed was for Raymond to agree.

Unfortunately, that was not a given, especially not right now, with all the stress of l‟Institut and trying to run both it and l‟ANS, not to mention the continuing protests. He thought Orlando might have the right idea, a more than amusing thought given how uncertain Orlando had been at the start of his relationship with Alain. And now, a year later, he was giving advice to Jean.