Reluctant Partnerships

by Ariel Tachna

  “You know what Jude was like,” Adèle reminded her.

  “Yes, I do. I also know what Luc and Jean and Orlando and a whole lot of others are like,” Magali replied. “Most of them aren’t like Jude.”

  “I know that, but it’s more than that. It’s the way the partnerships seem to take over everyone’s lives,” Adèle explained. “You uprooted your life and moved to Amiens. Thierry went from being married, even if they were separated, to having a male lover. That makes me incredibly uncomfortable.”

  “I didn’t peg you as being homophobic.”

  “I’m not uncomfortable that he has a male lover,” Adèle retorted. “I’m uncomfortable that the partnership changed him that fundamentally. I don’t want some external force driving me. It’s like there’s nothing left now but the partnership.”

  “That may be true for some partnerships,” Magali allowed. “Alain and Orlando, for example, but you’re judging all partnerships by a few. Yes, I moved to Amiens, but I’m a wizard. It doesn’t matter where I live. I can be anywhere I want in a matter of a few waves of my wand. Luc feeds from me when he’s hungry and fucks me when one of us is horny, but I’m not in love with him nor he with me. We have a partnership, not a love match.”

  “Does he feed elsewhere?” Adèle asked.

  “I haven’t asked him and he hasn’t said,” Magali replied. “Furthermore, I’m not going to ask him. And he doesn’t ask what I do on the nights he doesn’t come to my room.”

  “What about on the nights he comes and you aren’t there?” Adèle asked.

  “I try to tell him ahead of time when I’ll be out, like tonight,” Magali explained, “and he tries to tell me ahead of time when to expect him, like last night. Occasionally that doesn’t work, but it hasn’t been a problem for the most part. We’re both adults and we act like it.”

  “So you think I should give it another try?” Adèle asked.

  “I think that’s entirely between you and your new partner,” Magali replied, “but whatever you decide, don’t go into it expecting it to be a repeat of what happened with Jude. Go into it with an idea of what you’re willing to have it be—both of you, not just you—and make that plan work. There’s no wild magic from a Rite d’équilibrage gone wrong to force your hand this time. It’s possible for a vampire to feed without having sex. It’s possible to have sex with a vampire without feeding. It’s possible to do both without it taking over your life. You simply have to decide what you want.”

  Chapter 13

  “What’s this about a vampire attacking Adèle?” Martin asked, coming into Raymond and Jean’s office.

  “A rabid vampire,” Jean said with a sigh, “or the equivalent thereof, since vampires don’t get rabies. From what Adèle told us about the man, I’m sure the same vampire who turned Pascale also turned Pierre, the one who attacked Adèle, because any responsible vampire wouldn’t have offered the choice to be turned to someone as delusional as Pierre appears to be, and yet Pierre was turned. My guess would be the extorris gave Pierre no more choice than he gave Pascale.”

  “Delusional?”

  “He’s a vagrant on pretty serious anti-psychotic drugs,” Raymond explained. “Without those, he’s completely out of his mind.”

  “And the drugs won’t work on a vampire,” Martin postulated.

  “Not directly,” Raymond agreed. “We’re working on getting some donor blood and some of the drugs so we can try mixing the drugs in the blood to see if that works.”

  “Has anyone contacted Denis Langlois?” Martin asked, his pulse picking up at the thought of his potential partner. “He should probably be involved in this too, shouldn’t he?”

  “Thierry has gone to get him,” Raymond replied. “He should be here any moment.”

  “Another one?” Denis demanded, striding into the room with far more authority than a man of his apparent youth could ever have managed. Martin could not squelch the instinctive appreciation of the fine figure Denis cut in his slim suit, his hair slicked back from his forehead as always.

  “Another one,” Jean confirmed, “except that we have even less to go on with this one than we did with the first. The man was mostly mad before he was turned, and his turning has apparently unhinged what little of his mind remained.”

  “Putain,” Denis cursed under his breath. “Just what we need. Another vampire incapable of controlling himself.”

  “There might be hope for this one if we can figure out how to get his meds into him,” Martin offered. The idea was not his, but he could not resist the need to have those laser-sharp eyes focused on him, if only for a moment.

  “And you have an idea how this might work?”

  “Raymond had the idea, actually,” honesty compelled Martin to reply, “but I’m a researcher. I could conduct the trials to get the balance right. It would be one less thing for Raymond to have to worry about.”

  “You can’t do it alone,” Jean insisted. “He’s too dangerous for you to be alone with him. You need another vampire, preferably two, with you any time you’re with him. If he breaks free, he could kill you before you knew even what happened.”

  “Can you do wandless magic?” Raymond interjected.

  Martin shook his head. “That isn’t a skill I’ve mastered.”

  “Then you need two vampires or a vampire and a wizard at all times,” Raymond insisted. “He fought my magic so hard earlier I had to reinforce the spell. If he were to break free and knock your wand away, you would be completely at his mercy.”

  Martin had observed Raymond over the week he had been at l’Institut. He had seen the way the other wizard used magic, seen the casual acceptance among the other faculty wizards of the magnitude of Raymond’s strength, but he had also seen the surprise on the faces of some of the wizards there for the seminar. If the vampire had tested the limits of Raymond’s magic, Martin had no illusions how his own spells would fare. “I will take your advice. Do you have any suggestions for who I should ask?”

  “I should be there,” Denis broke in. “If he’s from this area, that would make him part of my Cour if he can be helped. If nothing else, I should know what to do for him so I can help him again if it becomes necessary.”

  “According to Adèle’s account of his ability to monitor his own condition before he was turned, I’d say that will very likely become necessary,” Jean said, “so it makes sense for you to know how to help him. I’m sure we can find someone else, vampire or wizard, to complete the team.”

  “It wouldn’t even need to be the same person every time,” Martin said. “If Denis and I are doing the experiments, the third person is just a safety net. Not that I don’t think it’s a good precaution, but that person wouldn’t have to follow the logic of the changes we make in how we try to get the drugs into the vampire’s system.”

  “I take it you’ve found your research question,” Raymond said with a chuckle. “You sound like me when I get excited about something. Fortunately I have an understanding partner. I think that was the hardest thing for Jean to get used to: the way I get lost in my research and forget everything else.”

  “No, the hardest part was the way you refuse to take care of yourself,” Jean retorted, but his smile was teasing. “Remember that if you end up partnered with Martin,” he added, turning to Denis. “They get so caught up in what they’re doing they forget to eat, and then you go to feed from them and make them sick because of it.”

  “That hasn’t happened in months,” Raymond protested.

  Jean arched an eyebrow at him. “There’s a reason for that.”

  There was, of course, even if it was not the reason everyone else in the room would guess. Raymond swore he could feel the mark on his back tingle as a wave of love surged through the link between them. Bound as they were, Jean could feed as much as he wanted without hurting Raymond in any way.

  “I drag him out of his office for three meals a day,” Jean added for Martin’s and Denis’s benefit.

  “To answer you
r question, Raymond,” Martin said, laughing at the interplay between the two men, “I think it would be both interesting and useful to work on this as my project, at least in the short term. I don’t know that it would fill an entire year, but it obviously needs to be done, and I’m in a position to do it.”

  “Your help will be greatly appreciated,” Raymond said. “We can take you both upstairs to where we left Pierre after we tried letting him feed to see if that would help. He did calm down a little, but certainly not enough for us to consider him rational or in control. I’ll stay with you tonight. We’ll find someone else starting tomorrow.”

  Raymond led them upstairs to a room very similar to the one Adèle occupied, two former monks’ cells that had been opened up to form temporary lodging for seminar participants. The room was not fancy, but the bed and armoire were nicely refinished antiques, and the mattress was new and comfortable. Not that the current occupant of the room had tested it from what Raymond could tell. The covers were still smooth on the bed from where madame Naizot and her daughters had prepared it for guests. Pierre huddled in the corner farthest from the windows, as if the glass itself were a threat to him.

  It took a moment after they all entered the room for Pierre to react, his head lifting slowly as he sniffed the air like an animal scenting blood. He turned to look at them, his eyes coming into slow focus on the pulse on Raymond’s neck. Faster than the eye could track, he lunged, only to be met halfway by a force even his addled brain realized he could not overcome. He slumped back to the floor, his head bowed in complete submission.

  “Do not ever touch him,” Jean hissed in his ear. “He is mine and I will suffer none to harm him.”

  Pierre whimpered in fear and agreement. Jean straightened and nodded to Martin. “You see what I mean about him being dangerous.”

  “I couldn’t have cast a spell fast enough to stop him,” Martin agreed. “Even if I’d had my wand ready and was expecting the attack, I don’t think I could have gotten the words out.”

  “He won’t get past me,” Denis assured Martin. “I may not have Jean’s longevity, but I’m faster and more cunning than any newly turned vampire, even one completely ruled by his instincts.”

  He crossed the room and knelt down next to Pierre, his fingers forcing the other vampire to look up at him. “Don’t think that because I look young, I’m any less of a danger to you. You will not touch Martin either.”

  “He is yours?” The words were so rough Denis could barely understand them.

  “He is.”

  Martin might have taken umbrage with the claim, since they had made no pact between them, but seeing how quickly the vampire could move had shaken him. If perpetuating the fiction of Denis’s claim protected him from attack, Martin would say or do whatever it took.

  “That’s the first time he’s said anything coherent,” Raymond murmured at Martin’s shoulder. “It would seem that even his beast responds to vampire authority.”

  “I’m not above using that if it lets us help him and keeps me safe in the process,” Martin agreed. “The question is whether it will be enough to keep him stable over longer periods of time.”

  “Or when Jean and Denis aren’t around to enforce their authority.”

  “I think I’ll make sure one of them is always around,” Martin replied with a shudder. “I have no desire to be attacked.”

  “How do you feel about being claimed?” Raymond asked, his voice low enough not to carry to the vampires across the room.

  “He said it to warn Pierre off,” Martin said, dismissing Raymond’s concern. “He doesn’t really mean it.”

  “Don’t be too sure,” Raymond warned. “Vampires may say things in the heat of the moment, but some words are never used lightly. ‘Mine’ is one of them.”

  “Surely I get a say in this too,” Martin protested.

  “Of course you do,” Raymond replied. “I didn’t mean you had to form a partnership. I only meant that if he said it, even to protect you, a part of him already believes it. How you go forward with that information is entirely up to the two of you.”

  Martin frowned, but he pushed the concerns aside for now. He could discuss it with Denis later, when they were alone and Martin had had time to think. For the moment, he needed to focus on helping the vampire currently cowering on the floor. “I hate the thought of this, but how long can he be locked in here?”

  “In terms of how long l’Institut is willing to house him or in terms of his sanity?”

  “Both,” Martin replied.

  “L’Institut is a non-profit organization. We can keep him here as long as he needs to be here. As far as how long he can be confined before it starts making his condition worse, I haven’t the slightest idea,” Raymond said. “Jean? Did you hear Martin’s question?”

  “For a normal vampire, I would say a few days, a week at the most,” Jean replied. “Not that vampires haven’t gone longer than that, cooped up in a room, but usually the need to feed drives us outside sooner than that. If Pierre can feed, that time could probably be extended somewhat, but the walls will start to close in around him. If we can get him stable enough, though, a walk around the courtyard at night could be enough to steady him. It’s the confinement that’s the problem. I still don’t know how Orlando stayed sane.”

  “Has he fed tonight?” Martin asked.

  “Yes, Adèle volunteered, hoping feeding would stabilize him somewhat,” Raymond replied. “It didn’t work as well as we’d hoped. He didn’t regain control of himself even after taking almost too much, but at least it obviates his need for blood tonight.”

  “When will he need to feed again?”

  “Newly turned as he is, tomorrow night would be ideal,” Denis said. “The night after at the latest.”

  Martin nodded, calculating time and what would need to be done to get the medicines they would need. “If we miscalculate the dose and he gets too much, could it kill him?”

  “I don’t think so,” Jean said after a moment. “We can ingest anything we want, but only blood nourishes us. I drink a brandy with Raymond in the evenings without feeling any effect from the alcohol. Sometimes I will eat dinner to keep others from being uncomfortable in my presence. Again, no effect. As Orlando mentioned, if Raymond has had a lot to drink, I can feel the afterimage of the alcohol, but not enough to impair me. I don’t think you need to worry about damaging him with medications. Not being able to get enough into him to make a difference is far more likely to be your problem.”

  “Let’s go back downstairs,” Denis suggested. “He already fed tonight, so we can’t do anything now anyway. This door does lock so he can’t get out, right?”

  “Not usually,” Raymond said, “but magic is an amazing thing. I’ve put a spell on the door so it can only be opened from the outside, or from the inside by a wizard.”

  He led them back outside. “Martin, unless you need us, Jean and I have a few more things to take care of before we call it a night.”

  “No, it’s fine,” Martin said, his mind already racing with possibilities. “The only thing would be to find a source of donor blood. If I have other questions only you can answer, I’ll make a note of them and we can discuss it tomorrow.”

  “I’ve already contacted the blood bank about that,” Raymond replied. “Fortunately blood type doesn’t matter, so they’ve agreed to supply a liter of blood every three days, which is what Jean said Pierre would need to be in reasonably good shape as far as his hunger is concerned. Bonne soirée.”

  Martin nodded absently as Jean and Raymond took their leave, his mind racing as he played with scenarios. He was so lost in his thoughts that he ran right into Denis. “I’m sorry. When I get involved in a research question, I can lose track of everything else around me.”

  “Is there any reason for me to stay, then?” Denis asked. “If all you’re doing is planning out medicine regimes, I won’t be much help.”

  “It can wait,” Martin said, shaking himself out of his thoughts.
“I actually wanted to talk to you for a moment.”

  “As long as I can get home before dawn, I have time,” Denis replied.

  “Raymond was kind enough to provide a suite of rooms in the Hostellerie for me since I’ll be here for a year,” Martin explained. “We wouldn’t be disturbed there.”

  “Are we worried about being disturbed?” Denis asked, a smile teasing around his lips.

  Martin shrugged. “Maybe not, but it will be more comfortable than the réfectoire or one of the labs.”

  “Lead the way.”

  They crossed the courtyard to the Hostellerie, the building the monks would have used for visiting guests of note. L’Institut had converted it into quarters for the staff, each suite consisting of a bedroom, bathroom, study, and sitting room. Martin’s was decorated in soft beiges and warm reds, giving it a welcoming masculine feel that had appealed to him from the start.