Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 14. Danse Macabre(46)
«Okay, I'm confused now.»
«It is not like Augustine to lose control. He is over two thousand years old, ma petite; one of the first vampires Belle made. You do not thrive for so long if you make such mistakes as he did this night.»
«Belle messed with him, and with me.»
He shook his head. «He raised your ardeur first, before she appeared, did he not?»
«Yeah, he said now he could do what he'd wanted to do all along, and no one could be mad at him.»
Jean-Claude laughed, and it was just humor this time. He could control his laugh if he worked at it. «He doesn't know you very well yet. But when I said Augustine is my friend, I meant it. He would not have overstepped his bounds as my guest, not without something being wrong.»
«And what's wrong?»
«The ardeur needs more food, ma petite, and like any predator it is seeking prey.»
«It's just a metaphysical ability, Jean-Claude, not its own entity.»
He gave me a look, and it was eloquent. «You know exactly what the ardeur is, ma petite. You know that it has a mind of its own, similar to the beasts you carry. But I believe that the ardeur can do something your beasts cannot. It is, I believe, putting out the welcome mat.»
«Welcome mat?»
He sighed, and slid down in the water until his chin touched it. «You may not like Meng Die, but she is… proficient in bed. I find it inexplicable that Requiem would leave her body, on only the chance that he might be your lover. As I find it inexplicable that Augustine would purposefully insult me by raising the ardeur in you. He, in effect, attacked you, and through you, me.»
«He told me to feed from him, because then I'd win the fight, and once you got into the room he said you'd lose.»
Jean-Claude sat up so abruptly that he sloshed water in my face. I brushed my eyes clear, while he said, «He said that?»
I blinked at him, still trying to keep water out of my eyes. «Yes.»
«Then it is as I have feared. The ardeur is seeking what it needs.»
«Are you saying that the ardeur is putting out, what, pheromones?»
«I do not know this word.»
«Pheromones, it's a chemical or hormone that some animals give out. The scent attracts mates. I think it was first discovered in moths.»
«Yes, pheromones then, yes.»
«I'm not agreeing with you, but say it is true; why does it only seem to work on certain people? I mean, it doesn't work on Clay, and I think Graham just wants to fuck. Why Requiem and Auggie?»
«What do they have in common?» he asked.
«They're both vamps of Belle's bloodline, and they're both masters. But thanks to all our imports from London, there are a couple more vampires in town who qualify. They aren't buzzing around me.»
«But they do not approach the power level of Augustine and Requiem.»
«Are you saying the ardeur is shopping for powerful food?»
«I offer it as an idea.»
I thought about it, but finally looked at him. «If this is what's happening, and I'm not saying it is, then is it only vamps from Belle's line, or any master vampire of a certain power level?»
«I do not know.»
«Then we need to know before tomorrow's big party,» I said. «If there is even the faintest chance that the ardeur is going to do some funky shit with every master vampire above a certain power level, then no way can I go to the party tomorrow. We're going to be neck-deep in Masters of the City. It would be bad if they all decided they wanted to be my sweetie.»
He nodded. «There is one other thing they both have in common, ma petite.»
«And that would be?»
«They have both been with vampires who held the ardeur.»
«You said vampires, plural. You don't mean just Belle, do you?»
«Requiem had a lover who meant as much to him as Julianna did to Asher and me. Her name was Ligeia.»
«He told me that Belle killed her out of jealousy.»
«Oui. Ligeia was the only woman of her line to acquire the ardeur. It wasn't the full ardeur that Belle, you, and I carry, but there is more: Requiem refused Belle's bed for her.»
«And she killed her for that.»
«You have been inside Belle Morte's head, ma petite, how can you sound surprised?»
He had a point. «It still seems pretty petty for a vampire who's over two thousand years old,» I said.
He nodded. «Oui, but many of the old ones can be extremely petty.» He held his hand out to me.
I stared at that hand for a heartbeat, then I took it. I let him draw me through the water and in against his body. Let him press me to the front of his body, wrap his arms around me. «You're afraid,» I said, my cheek pressed to the firmness of his chest.