Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 14. Danse Macabre(112)
«Ma petite, you must meet this obligation.»
I stared at him. «Obligation?»
«You have addicted him to you. Would you be as cruel as Belle Morte herself and cast him away, with this desire riding him?» He shuddered. «I have been as one addicted, and cast out for some minor infraction. I have felt my body ache for want of her, and no amount of sex with anyone else satisfied that need.» He moved so he could lay his hand over mine where I stroked Requiem's hair. «He is my third-in-command. He is a good and honorable man. You need more and more powerful food, ma petite. I think if you feed the ardeur well enough, it will quiet. But until you find food to its liking, it will seek its own.»
«You want me to sleep with Requiem?»
«I want you to feed the ardeur from him, oui.»
«I thought you weren't happy sharing me with so many men. I mean, you once threatened to kill Richard.»
«I did not understand the nature of our power together then. Perhaps there is more than one reason that Belle collected lovers. Perhaps it was not merely her appetite, but more practical.»
I stared at him, feeling the weight of his hand over mine, and Requiem gone very still under our hands. «I can't meet all his needs, Jean-Claude. I can't add another date to my card.»
«It is not a date he needs, ma petite. He needs to be your food. Food is for eating, not for dating.»
«Yeah, that's what I said about Nathaniel for months. It doesn't work like that, not for me.»
«What do you propose, ma petite? Until we know the extent of your power over other vampires, we must be very careful of our visitors. We must surround you with powerful enough food that the ardeur will not keep drawing more.»
«Why isn't your ardeur drawing in people?»
«You are his human servant,» Elinore said, «you're taking some of the edge off his power.»
«What does that mean?» I asked.
«If Jean-Claude didn't have you, then his ardeur would be doing this, and it would make it hard to run his territory. Your attracting people is less distracting to him.»
I looked at him. «Are you doing this on purpose?»
«I swear that I am not.»
«It's the nature of the power, Anita,» Elinore said. «Human servants, animals to call, pommes de sang, they are all instruments to help their masters grow in power and control. The power will find a place to go and feed that allows the Master of the City to rule better.»
«You make the power sound alive, like it can think for itself,» I said.
She shrugged. «Perhaps it can. I know that I have seen the power work like this with other masters. Not the ardeur, but other powers.»
I sighed. «Great, so I'm the ardeur's pinup girl because Jean-Claude would get too distracted if it were him.»
«Yes,» she said.
«Wait, Belle had the full ardeur, more full than we have now.»
«But she had no human servant, and no animal to call,» Elinore said.
I looked at Jean-Claude. «I thought every master called in help.»
«Belle does not share power,» Jean-Claude said, «not with anyone.»
«But you guys gain a lot of power from human servants and animals to call.»
«She has intimates of her animals to call, but she has not chosen among them. She makes no one special to her,» he said.
«I don't seem to be able to choose who I get as animal to call. I know you chose Richard, but I didn't exactly choose Nathaniel.»
«Nor Haven,» Jean-Claude said.
«Haven is not my animal to call,» I said.
«But some lion will be, and soon, I fear,» Jean-Claude said. «Joseph is bringing some of his lionmen around today so you will have more than our guests to choose from.»
«Choose for what?» and I sounded as suspicious as I felt.
«So you may bring their beasts, and hold off the change.»
That made sense. So many metaphysical problems that it was hard to keep track sometimes. But one problem at a time. I looked at the man in my lap.
«Fine, whatever. What am I going to do with you, Requiem?»
Jean-Claude and I moved our hands, and he raised his face, so he could look at me. «Make me your pomme de sang.»
«I think the pomme de sang needs to be someone who can feed me night or day,» I said.
His face filled with panic. «Please, Anita, do not cast me aside.»
I looked at Jean-Claude. «A little help here.»
«If you will not feed the ardeur from him then we must send him to another territory. He is powerful enough that many will want him as third, or even second.»
«Which will weaken your power base, because Elinore is only staying until we find her her own territory,» I said.