Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 14. Danse Macabre(177)
I managed to say, «I have a degree in biology, and I did research on the various animal forms once the coalition got going.»
Auggie gave an abrupt laugh. «I've been dealing with lions for thousands of years, and I've never picked up a book about them.»
I just stared at him. «How could you not want to learn as much about them as you could?»
«I live with lions, I don't need to read about them.»
«I live with vampires, and raise zombies damn near every night, but I still read my trade publication, and keep abreast of the articles on all the undead.» I shook my head at the level of arrogance he was admitting to. The really scary part was that he didn't see it as arrogance.
I couldn't deal with Auggie anymore. I still felt the pull of his power, but it was just love. I could fight against love. Richard and Jean-Claude had given me lots of practice doing that.
I patted Nathaniel's arm. He kissed me on the cheek and let me go. I went to where Noel was waiting on the floor. «Get up, Noel.»
He got up, eyes flicking behind me toward Auggie. It made me glance back, but the vampire actually wasn't doing anything but looking at him. I touched Noel's shoulder, turning him so he couldn't see Auggie. «What's up, Noel?»
«Travis and I need to talk to you.» He tried to glance back at Auggie. I touched his arm, kept him from doing it.
«Fine, we'll talk.» I started toward the couch. I herded Noel with me. Micah and Nathaniel came at our backs. I wasn't sure if they wanted to hear everything, or were covering my back in case Auggie decided to get all weird again.
Requiem was sitting beside Travis. He had a hand on the man's forehead. «He is going into shock.»
I knelt in front of Travis. His face was gray-tinged. «Jesus, Travis, shift and heal this.»
He gave a small, tight shake of his head. His voice was tight, but breathy. «Give me your beast, make me change.»
«My beast is fine where it is, Travis.»
«You need to feed the ardeur on one of us, or give us your beast, Anita, please.»
I looked into his pain-filled face. «Do you really want to have metaphysical sex while you have a broken arm?»
He shook his head, grimacing. His upper body folded over his injured arm. He spoke, still bent over. «No, not really, but I also don't want you making that blue-haired freak our Rex.»
«I won't…»
He stared at me from inches away. His face was beaded with sweat. He was shaky, and hurting, and should have seemed weak, but he didn't. There was a lot of force in that look. «Anita, if you make him your animal to call, or your Rex to your lioness, then he'll share in your power. No way would any dominant lion with that much power be able to leave the local pride alone. Lions aren't like the rest of the big cats. We aren't live and let live. We're very much about who's the biggest cat in the pool. Joseph chose his Regina for love, not power. She's nice, but she's his wife, not a power to be reckoned with. If you give that other guy your power, then he won't be able to leave us alone. The lion in him will be compelled to find us, and conquer us.»
I looked back across the room at Auggie. «You agree with his assessment of the situation, Auggie?»
Auggie nodded. «Yes, but I'm not sure that Haven being your Rex is as certain as you and the other cats think. I've bound you with my power, Anita; what if your reaction to my lions is so strong because of that? Not just your beast, but my power helping make my lions more appealing.» It was the smartest thing he'd said in a while. It left me wondering which was the real Auggie, thoughtful-guy or sexist-idiot-guy?
I nodded. «Okay, maybe, how do we test this little theory?»
«Anita reacted to your lions before you rolled her,» Micah said.
«Shit,» I said, «Micah's right. My initial reaction to Pierce and Haven was funky from the beginning, before we had our little power duel.»
Auggie nodded. «Then perhaps what your lioness is seeking is a dominant. Either way, the way you react to Pierce, as opposed to these two, will tell you something. Either my power has made it worse, or your power seeks stronger prey. Jean-Claude believes that your ardeur seeks stronger prey; why not your beast?»
I glanced at Jean-Claude. «Getting chatty, are we?»
«I am seeking answers, ma petite. Augustine may not be trustworthy in all things, but when he gives his word, he keeps it.»
«So you asked his opinion, after getting his word of honor he wouldn't tell our secrets anywhere.»
Jean-Claude nodded.
I didn't like it, but I had to trust that Jean-Claude knew what he was doing. Besides, we did need help figuring some of this out. The list of Masters of the City that he trusted at all was damn small. It might be smaller after this visit, if I could vote on the list.