Perilous Partnership (33 page)

“Orlando and I chose to form an extra bond that lets him feed from me as much and as often as he wants without it having any effect on me. Raymond or one of the other wizards could probably tell you, though. As far as I‟m aware, Jean limits his feeding exclusively to Raymond with no apparent ill effects on either of them.”

“The other thing to consider is the amount of blood we‟re talking about,”

Orlando said. “When someone gives blood, they give a pint at a time. A

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vampire drinks maybe a third of that at the most, and that lasts for several days.”

“It is still probably more than a person would donate if they were going to a blood center,” Alain agreed, “but—and I know you‟re going to get tired of hearing us say this—there‟s magic involved, and that changes things in ways we can attest to without being able to explain.”

“As l‟Institut continues to grow, Raymond hopes to have more explanations,” Orlando added, “but like everything else, that kind of research takes time.”

“You said you found each other by chance, but surely there‟s a better way to go about it,” Laure said.

“One of the things we‟ve discovered since that first night is that a wizard‟s magic does not work on his partner,” Alain explained. “A simple spell will reveal your partner because it won‟t work. At the end of the week, those of you who decide you want a partner, both wizards and vampires, will gather together, and we‟ll test it. A simple cleaning spell on dirty hands is enough to reveal it. If you find a partner, great. If not, we‟ll invite you back for the day at the end of each seminar to see if you find a partner then.”

“And if we decide we don‟t want a partner?”

“Then you‟ll have made an educated decision.”

THE presentation that evening started the same way, giving the vampires the same overview that Alain and Orlando had given the wizards. Unlike the wizards, the vampires pounced immediately on the brand on Alain‟s neck.

“When did you make the Aveu de Sang?” Brigitte demanded.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Alain asked defensively. “It doesn‟t affect the origin of the alliance or the benefits we‟re discussing tonight.”

“It affects everything you do,” Philippe disagreed. “Everything you‟re telling us could be skewed by that bond.”

“The factual events leading up to the formation of the alliance and the spread of partnerships have nothing to do with our Aveu de Sang,” Orlando interrupted. “If you have questions about how it affects the benefits of the partnerships, we‟ll be glad to give you examples of other pairs who have had the same experiences we have. You will have other presenters over the course of the week who have not made an Aveu de Sang and so can address the question of degree with you from their own experience. Everything we‟re telling you now, however, is either fact or is universal.”

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It took a moment for the grumbling in the room to die down, but Alain was able to continue his account of the formation of the partnerships at the gare de Lyon. Anticipating the question about forming partnerships and feeding in public—for the vampires would surely realize how the first partnerships must have formed even if the wizards did not—Alain continued the story through Sebastien‟s arrival and the discovery that a wizard‟s magic did not work on his partner. He made a mental note to suggest that Thierry and Sebastien or even Raymond and Jean give the historical presentation next time, given the way the vampires had reacted to his mark. He should have grown used to it, but he never stopped expecting the next time to be different.

“Mireille said she chose to feed exclusively from her partner when she came to discuss the seminars in Paris,” Philippe said when Alain was done. “Is that typical?”

“I can‟t speak for every single partnership out there,” Alain began, “but all of those I work with closely enough to have some idea about have made that choice.” He did not mention Adèle and Jude. He did not consider them partners, despite the vampire‟s continued claims. “It‟s a choice each pairing will have to make for themselves. It does appear, though, that regular feedings over time increase the effectiveness of the protection against sunlight.”

“So it‟s to our advantage to feed from our partners regularly, not just each time we need to go outside, but as often as possible,” Louis, one of the vampires from Amiens, commented.

“Within reason,” Alain agreed. “We‟ve seen that a vampire can feed from his partner more often than he could feed from someone else, but there are limits to what the wizard‟s body can take. If you weaken your partner so much that they can‟t support you, that isn‟t going to help either of you.”

“And if the desire to feeds turns into the desire for sex?” Maurice, one of the vampires from Tours, asked.

“That will be up to each of the partnerships as well,” Orlando replied. “The matches seem to form with no regard to either party‟s established preferences.”

That sent a murmur through the room.

“If anything you hear this week is a deal breaker for you, if something a partnership could ask or offer is more than you‟re willing to accept, you can opt out of seeking a partner at the end of the week. No one is under any obligation here,” Alain reminded them. “It‟s all about helping people make informed choices.”

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THREE days later, heads spinning with information, the wizards lingered over their aperitifs as the vampires came in before their evening session. The first night, the two groups had stayed strictly separate by race, the wizards clumped together on one side and the vampires on the other, but that had eased somewhat since then, and so when Natalie came in alone, Constance did not think twice about waving the vampire over to join her.

Natalie seemed a little surprised, but she joined Constance anyway.

“You‟ve lost your shadow,” Constance commented after greeting Natalie.

“Where is Philippe tonight?”

“I haven‟t the slightest idea,” Natalie replied. “It‟s not my job to keep tabs on him.”

“Maybe it‟ll be my job after the week is over,” Constance mused aloud. “I could do worse than him.”

“You could do a whole lot better than him too,” Natalie warned. “He‟s nice to look at, but he‟s also cynical and occasionally condescending. It can be amusing when his wit is directed at random strangers or society as a whole, but he has a habit of cutting close to home that I wouldn‟t want to live with.”

“I didn‟t realize,” Constance said, revising her opinion downward. “How well do you know the others? Louis, Robert, and Maurice?”

“Not well at all,” Natalie replied. “They aren‟t from Paris, and so my only contact with them has been our two nights of discussions. They seem reasonable enough. You should ask Brigitte about Louis. They‟re both from the same Cour.”

“Do the members of a Cour really know each other that well?” Constance asked. “I mean, Amiens is not as big as Paris, but it‟s certainly not a small town.”

“But the population of vampires even in Paris is fairly limited,” Natalie explained. “There might be two hundred vampires in all of Paris, and that‟s a city of two million people in the city proper and more than eleven million in the greater metropolitan area, so for a city like Amiens, that‟s a hundred and fifty thousand people tops, you‟re talking fifty to a hundred vampires. That‟s not

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such a large number to get to know, given how long we live and how badly we were persecuted until a year ago.”

“For what it‟s worth,” Constance said softly, “I rejoiced when the equal rights legislation passed last year. I didn‟t know any vampires at the time, but I hate the thought of anyone facing discrimination.”

Natalie smiled. “It‟s worth quite a bit, actually. So tell me about Olivier and Patrice. I think someone said you all work together?”

Constance nodded. “Yes, we‟re all doctors at l‟Hôtel-Dieu. Patrice reminds me a little of your description of Philippe, honestly. Olivier is a quiet, gentle man who keeps very much to himself.”

Natalie laughed. “I like that in a man. Far too many of them think they should be allowed to run a woman‟s life simply because they‟re men.”

Constance chuckled. “In a male-dominated profession, that‟s even worse. I get it all the time, as if I hadn‟t sat through the same classes they did, passed the same exams, and spent the same number of hours in clinics along the way.”

“Sometimes I think life would be easier if we simply locked the men in a room and visited them when we had needs another woman couldn‟t fulfill,”

Natalie mused aloud. “They could kill each other, sympathize with each other, or fuck each other silly if they wanted to, and all I‟d have to worry about was which one of them I wanted to pick on the nights I wanted a man to play with.”

“Let‟s see,” Constance said, playing along, “tonight I want someone with red hair and green eyes and—”

“And you‟d better not let Angelique hear you describing her partner,”

Natalie warned. “She looks harmless as a fly, but I‟ve watched her throw grown men—big men—out of her business when they made comments she didn‟t like.”

“Then I‟d better look at the vampires,” Constance said. “I have no desire to be thrown anywhere. Maybe tall, dark, and handsome.”

“As long as you‟re talking about Maurice and not Orlando, he‟s all yours,”

Natalie said. “Orlando is wrapped up in his Avoué body and soul.”

“They‟ve been pretty close-mouthed about that,” Constance observed. “I don‟t even really know what that means, except that, from the way you say it, it must be something pretty special.”

“I think they aren‟t talking about it because they don‟t want to scare anyone on either side,” Natalie said. “The bond they made is unbreakable, ancient magic that binds a vampire to one person for the rest of that person‟s life. Some even say beyond. I‟ve known only two vampires over the course of my existence who have made that bond because it‟s a double-edged sword. It‟s a promise of fidelity on every level for the life of the mortal, but the magic that

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allows that special relationship keeps the vampire from being able to turn the mortal, so it‟s also a guarantee of separation. A vampire who chooses to make an Aveu de Sang is elevated outside the normal fluctuations of rank within the vampire community for the life of his or her Avoué because of the rarity and the sacredness of the bond. One of the most heinous crimes a vampire can commit is to drink the blood of another vampire‟s Avoué.”

“That‟s pretty intense,” Constance agreed. “I guess they‟re afraid talking about it might make us feel like we‟re obligated to that kind of all or nothing commitment, which is silly since there are so many other partnerships around that haven‟t done it.”

“Orlando was never one to seek the spotlight either,” Natalie explained, “so having that much attention on his private life is probably uncomfortable for him.”

“Why make the bond then? He had to have known it would draw attention to him,” Constance asked.

“Now that‟s a question for which I have no answer,” Natalie replied. “Not even a guess. It isn‟t something I‟ve ever been tempted to do, so it‟s not something I can claim to understand except in theory, and even then, only in terms of its mechanics.”

“I‟ve fancied myself in love before,” Constance admitted, “but what you‟re describing, it‟s a marriage with no way out, a contract that can‟t be undone.

That‟s a little intimidating.”

“On both sides,” Natalie agreed. “If Alain were to decide to deny Orlando, Orlando would have no recourse but to starve. He‟d eventually go into a sort of hibernation, but even that could be permanent if one of the vampires of his line isn‟t around to reanimate him.”

Constance shuddered. “Talk about a lover‟s spat.”

“I think that‟s one of the things that holds vampires back,” Natalie admitted. “It‟s one thing to say you trust someone with your life. It‟s another thing entirely to actually do it. I‟ve seen enough to realize that Jean and Raymond are very much together, whatever name they put on it publicly, but you don‟t see a brand on Raymond‟s neck. Jean has too much to risk, and I imagine Raymond does too.”

“I can‟t even imagine what the reactions would be if he showed up marked like that,” Constance agreed. “Let‟s just say I wouldn‟t want to be in his shoes if it happened. It would be political suicide.”

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THE first seminar finished, Raymond gathered everyone together. “We‟ve shared with you at this point everything we know about the partnerships, how they form, and what they entail once they‟ve formed. We‟ve been very upfront about what we don‟t know as well, sharing our personal experiences to try to make you as informed as we can prior to this moment. What you have to decide now is whether you‟re willing to take the next step. If you choose to leave right now, no one will think any less of you for it. You‟ll have made an informed decision not to be involved in a partnership, and that‟s a perfectly valid choice.

If you choose to stay, we‟ll have the wizards take turns casting a spell to see if any of the vampires present is their partner. If a potential partnership exists, it‟s still up to the two people involved as to whether they want to take the next step.

As long as no blood has passed between you, no bond will form. You can take your time and get to know one another before you go any farther. In fact, I encourage you to take the time to get to know one another and to make sure you‟re compatible, because once the bond forms, we don‟t know how to break it.”