Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 14. Danse Macabre(126)
«I know that,» I said, and sounded angry, because I didn't want to sound scared.
«You say you know, but you know here» — and he touched his forehead — "not here» — and touched his heart. «You do not truly believe you are vampire.»
«I'm not a vampire.»
«Not in the traditional sense, non, but only because you have Damian and Nathaniel to draw upon. Without them to draw energy from, when you did not feed the ardeur in a timely fashion, your own body would feel the weakness.»
«You went for years without feeding the ardeur for real. The old Master of St. Louis wouldn't let you feed the ardeur, not completely.»
«Oui, Nikolaos feared what I would become if she allowed my powers full rein. The Master of the City that traded me to her feared me, as well. He sent me to Nikolaos because he knew that her child's body would not be something I would willingly seduce.»
«She looked about twelve or thirteen; that's legal in some places.»
He shook his head. «Not for me,» he said, then he shivered. «You met her, ma petite; could you ever see me purposefully doing anything to draw her attention to me in that way?»
I shook my head. «No, she was creepy as hell, and not in a fun way.»
He nodded. «Oui, creepy will do as an appellation, though there are other words.» He shook his head, as if to clear his mind from such thoughts. «If you were a different woman, one of more casual lusts, then your being succubus to my incubus would not be a hardship. You would simply feed from whomever you wished. You are human, so your use of vampire trickery is not illegal.»
«Not true,» I said, «it is illegal to use magic or psychic ability to induce, or bespell, into sexual acts. It's looked on like a date-rape drug.»
He nodded. «I had not realized the law had been broadened to include that.»
I shrugged. «I keep track of the new laws, part of my job.»
He nodded again. «But still, ma petite, there are many who would come eagerly to your body. You would not lack for food, if you were willing to feed on strangers.»
I frowned at him.
He gave a small smile. «Do not frown so, ma petite, I know you do not do casual. In fact, you are the least casual person that I have ever met. So serious, you are, so deadly serious about everything.»
«Is that a complaint?» I asked.
«No, but it is the truth.»
I nodded, and put a hand to my throat to try to stop the blood from getting onto the silk robe. I looked for Remus. «Gauze, please, or this will have to be dry-cleaned.»
Remus handed the gauze over without a word. I tried to stop the blood, but my pulse was pushing it out. I couldn't seem to calm myself enough to slow my pulse. So much for the meditation practice I'd been working on.
«What's your point?» I asked.
«That you need food that you know, and are comfortable with. A pomme de sang is never meant to be the only food for a vampire. It is more like food you always know is on hand. But it is assumed that the vampire will feed off many humans.»
«Casually feed, you mean?»
«Oui.»
«I don't do casual, sorry.»
«True, and that is why the pomme de sang candidates are even more important for you than for a normal vampire.»
«I'm not following you,» I said.
«You must pick pommes de sang, and other food. You must choose enough food that you are not a danger to others.»
«You're babbling.»
He came around the bed so he could touch me, but I moved out of reach. «If you bespell Requiem again, then you cannot seek a pomme de sang among our visitors. Your food will have to be chosen even more carefully, and quietly, behind the scenes, from the very few masters I trust. But it would be better to do it now, while we have so many willing princesses for our Prince Charming. Because choose you must, ma petite, choose you must.»
«I thought the whole pomme de sang choosing was a trick to make every-one behave. Nobody wants to piss off their prospective in-laws, that sort of thing.»
«Anita» — my name, not good — «we must know how dangerous you are, before Augustine wakes for the day. If you can feed from Requiem and not bespell him, then you can free Augustine. But if Requiem is not free, then he, and Augustine, will be like humans that we have let go, but we know that we can call them to us at any time. We take away our mind spell to please the human police, but we know which ones are so deeply ours that we can still whisper through their dreams. We can still call them.» He stood at the foot of the bed, letting me see how scared he was, but under that fear was eagerness. «If we can control this, then we are powerful beyond my wildest dreams. If we cannot control this, then we are dangerous beyond my deepest fears. If Requiem falls to the ardeur again, then we must cancel everything. I dare not even take you to the ballet among so many vampires.»