Perilous Partnership (14 page)

He got varying reactions, from downright scornful to guardedly interested, not what he had hoped for as he arrived at the hospital that morning but better than he had feared after Maurice‟s dismissive reaction. Glancing at his watch, he turned in his visitor‟s badge at the hospital and went on to his next stop: the directeur-général of the Gendarmerie Nationale, Guy Sarraute.

An aide ushered Alain into a Spartan office, far plainer than the wizard would have expected for such a highly placed figure. He offered his hand to the older man sitting behind the desk, still obviously fit despite his thinning hair and lightly lined face. “Monsieur le directeur-général, thank you for agreeing to see me.”

“Monsieur Magnier,” the officer replied, shaking Alain‟s hand. “Please, have a seat and tell me what brings one of the heroes of l‟émeutte des Sorciers to see me.”

Alain took a seat across the desk from the other man and tried to decide how to begin. “We learned a lot of things during the war,” Alain began, “as you well know. One of those things we learned, or at least began to learn, is the incredible symbiosis that can exist between a vampire and wizard. We think that symbiosis could be of use to people who use magic as part of their professional lives, especially in situations where that use could tax their abilities at times.”

“That‟s a very pretty speech,” Sarraute said with a cocked eyebrow. “Now cut the bullshit and say it in French, not jargon.”

Alain laughed in surprise and settled in to bargain.

72

Ariel Tachna

“STOP pacing,” Jean ordered Raymond as Raymond did his best to wear a hole in the rug of his office.

“I think better when I pace,” Raymond muttered.

“Yes, but you‟re driving me crazy. Think out loud so I can help you figure things out,” Jean insisted.

“I don‟t even know where to begin. Thierry‟s results on the dépistage-pouvoir scan are far higher than any model we have predicts that they should be, even with the amount of magic he did during the war,” Raymond began, “so that‟s a definite positive. The effects of the partnerships clearly are cumulative, which is another benefit we can point out as we‟re discussing it with interested wizards. I‟m a little surprised at how great the increase was, but there could be a variety of other factors contributing to that: use, him growing finally into his natural abilities that weren‟t tapped before the war began, physical and emotional maturity since his last scan.”

“So why do you seem concerned about it?”

“Because I can‟t explain it,” Raymond admitted. “You know how I am. I need to understand the how and why of things. I‟m far more perplexed by our conversation with Marcel and monsieur Lombard. Watching them together, listening to Mireille talk about the time they spend together—they act like any set of committed partners, but unless they‟re lying to us, monsieur Lombard hasn‟t tasted Marcel‟s blood since the final battle against Serrier. Either they‟re partners or they aren‟t. This doesn‟t make sense!”

“Every time we‟ve had a discussion about anything related to magic, you have said Marcel is an exceptional wizard and that the regular rules seem not to apply to him,” Jean reminded his partner. “Monsieur Lombard is nearly twice my age, the oldest vampire in Paris, probably in France, maybe in an even wider sphere. Judging anything about vampires by his example is the height of folly. So could it be possible that they simply make their own rules?”

Raymond snorted inelegantly. “You said it yourself. The regular rules don‟t apply where Marcel is concerned, but if he—if they—can resist the partnership bond, then others can too.”

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“So besides their age and power, what makes them unique?” Jean said.

“I don‟t know where to start,” Raymond said. “Monsieur Lombard recognized Marcel as his partner instantly, but he only asked to feed enough to protect himself from the rising sun as we went inside after Serrier. He fed again, we were told, to help Marcel when he was hit with a spell and then to help him break through Serrier‟s wards around his hiding spot. So that‟s a total of three bites.”

“All functional ones as well,” Jean added. “He wasn‟t feeding because he was hungry or because there was something irresistible about Marcel‟s blood.

He bit Marcel to protect himself and then to protect and empower Marcel.

Could that have an impact?”

“Merde, Jean, anything could have an impact at this point,” Raymond said with a deep sigh. “It‟s worth noting, I suppose. Is it a distinction you would make?”

Jean thought back over the earliest days of his relationship with Raymond.

“At first, it was very much about the protection from the sunlight,” he said after a moment. “But by the time we went to La Réunion to help after the typhoon, it had become more than that. Soon after the alliance began, I went to visit Karine.” He still flinched at the thought of his sometimes lover who had fallen into Serrier‟s hands and been brutally tortured before she was killed. “I fed from her then, but not after. I went to see her once after that, but she wasn‟t home, so I ended up feeding from you for nourishment as well as protection.

And then the night of the Piège-Pouvoir, I saw the flowers I‟d left outside her door and came to you.”

Raymond smiled even though he knew Jean still felt guilty that he had not searched for Karine that night. The dangerous and powerful ritual to trap the wild magic that had escaped when Thierry lost control of the balancing ritual the day before left them glutted with power, shattering the self-imposed control both he and Jean had maintained on the boundaries of their partnership until that night. “The first night we made love.”

The night I fell in love.
“The night I asked you to give me a chance as a lover, not just as a partner,” Jean agreed. “Up until that night, for all the reasons we‟ve already talked about, we were benefiting from the partnership without letting the bond become personal. So we managed to do what Marcel and monsieur Lombard have done.”

Raymond stopped his pacing and turned to face Jean. “Did we really? Or did we simply fight it as long as we could?”

“Did you want more than a utilitarian partnership before that night?” Jean asked, surprised. “I thought….”

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Raymond shrugged. “I don‟t know if I
wanted
it, but I knew I could have more if I just gave in. I had always been alone, but especially in the two years prior to that. The lure of having someone of my own was powerful indeed.

Marcel and monsieur Lombard seem to have given each other that aspect of the partnerships without giving into the magical side. We tried to do the opposite.

Unsuccessfully.”

“Were we unsuccessful, though, or did we choose to change our minds?”

Jean pressed. “Yes, I came to you for release that night, but if you had turned me away, I would have gone.” He was not sure he could walk away anymore, but that night, he still could have if Raymond had resisted his pleas.

“I don‟t know,” Raymond admitted. “If you had not come to my apartment, I would have hunkered down and found a way to deal with the influx of power and the need for release and the fear of being alone, because that‟s what I do— what I did. I doubt I would ever have come to you because I wouldn‟t have let myself, but I couldn‟t say no that night. I needed you too much.”

“So what does that tell us?” Jean asked, trying to pick apart his memories and separate his desires from his choices.

“It tells us we‟re no closer to having an answer than we were yesterday,”

Raymond said with a sigh. “Nothing makes sense.”

“Does it have to?” Jean asked seriously. “I know you want to understand— I‟m the same way—but personal desire aside, does the magic that governs our lives have to make sense? Does it have to be predictable?”

“I‟ve never known it not to be,” Raymond said. “I suppose that isn‟t a guarantee, but I‟ve always been able to find a pattern even when I can‟t find an explanation. I may not know why things work, but I can generally predict how they will work. With the partnerships, I have yet to find that balance.”

“Then we‟ll keep looking. What time is Marcel coming to see l‟Institut?”

Raymond smiled inwardly at the decisive change of subject. Jean would discuss options and theories with him as long as it was productive to do so, but he would never let Raymond wallow in self-pity. Yet another reason their partnership was the bedrock of his new life.

“He said he‟d be here around two and we could go from there. Thierry and Sebastien and Vincent and Eric will be there as well,” Raymond replied. “I wasn‟t able to reach Hugues Fouquet, so it may just be the three wizards and Sebastien plus us.”

“We‟ll use the time and energy we have and go from there,” Jean replied philosophically. “We don‟t have to finish all the repairs in one day.”

“Even with the entire strength of the Milice, wizards and vampires alike, I‟m not sure we could do everything in one day,” Raymond joked. “Too few

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adepts where earth is concerned, if nothing else. Thierry worked miracles at Notre-Dame with only Sebastien‟s aid, but that was more because Notre-Dame proved to be one of the four magical nexuses than because of Thierry and Sebastien. Even with the assistance Sebastien can provide and the assistance we can provide Marcel or Vincent, this will be slow going. I‟ll be happy if we completely stabilize the entryway today.”

“I obviously have no idea the kind of work this will entail,” Jean said with a grin. “Every time I‟ve seen you do magic, you cast a spell and it‟s done.”

“This isn‟t just a question of casting a spell,” Raymond replied. “Thierry could explain it better than I can because he actually makes it work. When we were at Notre-Dame that night, I could tell the cathedral was damaged by the spells Aguiraud and his wizards cast, but all I could do was cast spells to brace the walls. As you said, cast a spell and it‟s done. Thierry was actually able to repair the damage to the stones. To mend them on an elemental level. I think it‟s one of the reasons why the affinity with earth is so rare. My affinity with water lets me move water, but water is water. If it‟s displaced, by its very nature, it finds its own again, seeping down into the aquifer until it joins the water system again. When Alain stirs the air, he moves it around, but it remains whole. Adèle or Eric might create fire to devour something, but the fire is complete and integral in and of itself. Earth, though, can be formed, melded, and separated in ways the other elements can‟t. I can take a stone and shatter it into pieces that can be glued back together, but they‟ll still be separate pieces.

A wizard with a true affinity to earth can do more than glue them back together.

He or she can create them anew, but it‟s a slow, difficult, power-heavy task.

That‟s why I was so concerned about leaving Thierry to see to the cathedral alone, even though I knew I couldn‟t do more than I‟d done.”

Jean nodded slowly, his respect for Marcel and Thierry increasing. He did not know Vincent well, his late defection from Serrier‟s camp and his role in Orlando‟s capture keeping him from being comfortable with a greater degree of involvement in l‟ANS. He suspected Eric would have preferred more, but the former spy‟s loyalty to his lover kept him from pushing. Jean did not know the whole story behind Eric‟s placement as Marcel‟s spy, but he knew enough from Orlando to know that significant tension still existed between Eric and his former friends, Alain and Thierry. Hopefully that would not be a problem.

“Does Thierry know Eric and Vincent will be there?”

“He said he didn‟t have a problem with it,” Raymond replied. “I can‟t be perceived as playing favorites, so I didn‟t ask him until after Vincent had agreed to help, but Thierry didn‟t even blink, as if he‟d expected it.”

“He has to be aware how rare his affinity is and of other wizards who share it,” Jean mused. “He probably expected it even if he didn‟t suggest it.”

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“So we have an hour until everyone gets here. I should check with Fabienne about the outreach campaign in the provinces. We were supposed to have new materials to send out to the local chapters of l‟ANS for distribution to various youth organizations, hoping to find and mentor young wizards as soon as their magical abilities begin to emerge. I‟ve been so busy with l‟Institut that I‟m not sure I‟ve talked to her since we closed on the monastery. I can‟t keep neglecting the rest of our agenda.”

“Check in with her now,” Jean said, “but I‟d be willing to bet it‟s all taken care of and everything is ready to go or indeed has already been sent. You don‟t have to run everything yourself.”

Raymond stuck his head out of his office. “Fabienne, are the new outreach materials ready to send out?”

“They went out yesterday,” Fabienne said, her lacquered nails clicking over her keyboard. “There‟s a memo on your desk about it, along with some things that need your signature. The memos are just to keep you informed, but if you could find time to sign a few things, it would make it a lot easier to keep the organization running while you‟re getting l‟Institut set up.”

“I don‟t pay you enough,” Raymond said.

“No, you don‟t, but if you did, you wouldn‟t have money for anything else,” Fabienne joked back. “We will all benefit from what you‟re doing with l‟Institut, and once it‟s functioning, it won‟t need as much of your time. We all understand that.”

“I‟m pretty sure I don‟t deserve you,” Raymond told her.