Read Online Perilous Partnership by Ariel Tachna - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ariel Tachna
Tags: Romance
Ads: Link
founded Institut Marcel Chavinier,” Raymond said proudly, his hand sweeping wide to encompass the monastery and the surrounding grounds. “Inside these walls we will study magic, especially the magic that binds our races together, and we will use what we learn to help prepare vampires and wizards for the creation of a partnership bond instead of having people stumbling into them with no idea of the repercussions of such a relationship.” He laughed ruefully, his voice taking on a less bombastic tone as he continued. “Obviously it needs some work first, but our biggest concern, both now and in the future, will be the security of the complex. We haven‟t received any threats yet, but you know how the right wing loves to complain about everything we do.”
Adèle nodded, hiding her flinch at Raymond‟s choice of words. She knew all about the repercussions of the partnership bonds. She barely managed to keep from rubbing the scar on her left breast, the two puncture wounds from her partner‟s fangs a reminder of all the reasons to resist the pull of their bond.
“Unless you were planning on turning it into something like a hotel, you‟d want security of some sort. Take me around. Let me see what you have in mind so I can figure out the best options.”
“Inside or outside first?” Raymond asked. He knew where he would start if he were doing the wards, but Adèle knew more about the kinds of wards they would need than any other wizard in France. He would trust her judgment.
“Outside,” Adèle replied. “I‟ll start here at the door and work my way around the perimeter, but I want to walk it first and see where my grounding points will be. I imagine you‟ll want the wards to include at least some of the grounds.”
“Yes, especially down to the lake,” Raymond said. “Thierry and Alain checked their elements and fire sprang right to my fingertips when I called it, but I could only draw on the water when I went down to the shore.”
“Do you want the barriers to go out into the lake at all?”
Raymond frowned. “We don‟t own the lake, just the lakeside property. If people want to swim later, they‟ll do so at their own risk. I don‟t want people wandering in out of curiosity that way, that‟s all.”
“Which answers my next question,” Adèle said with a smile. “You want barriers to keep people from getting in without permission rather than wards to hold off spells.”
“Do you really think we need that kind of ward?” Jean asked. “We aren‟t anticipating any resistance within l‟ANS or from non-affiliated wizards, unless you know something we don‟t.”
Perilous Partnership
37
Adèle shook her head. “No. I just wanted to make sure you didn‟t know something I don‟t. I‟m not exactly high on the list of people with access to classified information these days.”
“You could probably name the job you wanted and get it,” Raymond reminded her. “Sarraute was impressed with the job you did helping his officers round up the remaining dissidents after the war.”
“But that would mean moving to Paris, and my home is here,” Adèle said.
“I lived there during the war, but this is where I belong. There‟s just something about the freshness of the air. Can‟t you smell the difference? And even in the summer, when it‟s miserably hot in the capital, there‟s a cool breeze here.”
Jean could not help but wonder how much of Adèle‟s insistence on staying in le Morvan came from Leighton‟s presence in Paris, but he did not bring it up.
She was entitled to her privacy, and he had no idea what he would gain by forcing her to admit it anyway.
“So obviously this is the entrance,” Raymond said, letting the conversation slide away from Adèle‟s personal life and back to business. She had always been a private one, and he had no desire to make her uncomfortable. “This is the one place where people need to be able to approach the building directly because
Adèle nodded, hiding her flinch at Raymond‟s choice of words. She knew all about the repercussions of the partnership bonds. She barely managed to keep from rubbing the scar on her left breast, the two puncture wounds from her partner‟s fangs a reminder of all the reasons to resist the pull of their bond.
“Unless you were planning on turning it into something like a hotel, you‟d want security of some sort. Take me around. Let me see what you have in mind so I can figure out the best options.”
“Inside or outside first?” Raymond asked. He knew where he would start if he were doing the wards, but Adèle knew more about the kinds of wards they would need than any other wizard in France. He would trust her judgment.
“Outside,” Adèle replied. “I‟ll start here at the door and work my way around the perimeter, but I want to walk it first and see where my grounding points will be. I imagine you‟ll want the wards to include at least some of the grounds.”
“Yes, especially down to the lake,” Raymond said. “Thierry and Alain checked their elements and fire sprang right to my fingertips when I called it, but I could only draw on the water when I went down to the shore.”
“Do you want the barriers to go out into the lake at all?”
Raymond frowned. “We don‟t own the lake, just the lakeside property. If people want to swim later, they‟ll do so at their own risk. I don‟t want people wandering in out of curiosity that way, that‟s all.”
“Which answers my next question,” Adèle said with a smile. “You want barriers to keep people from getting in without permission rather than wards to hold off spells.”
“Do you really think we need that kind of ward?” Jean asked. “We aren‟t anticipating any resistance within l‟ANS or from non-affiliated wizards, unless you know something we don‟t.”
Perilous Partnership
37
Adèle shook her head. “No. I just wanted to make sure you didn‟t know something I don‟t. I‟m not exactly high on the list of people with access to classified information these days.”
“You could probably name the job you wanted and get it,” Raymond reminded her. “Sarraute was impressed with the job you did helping his officers round up the remaining dissidents after the war.”
“But that would mean moving to Paris, and my home is here,” Adèle said.
“I lived there during the war, but this is where I belong. There‟s just something about the freshness of the air. Can‟t you smell the difference? And even in the summer, when it‟s miserably hot in the capital, there‟s a cool breeze here.”
Jean could not help but wonder how much of Adèle‟s insistence on staying in le Morvan came from Leighton‟s presence in Paris, but he did not bring it up.
She was entitled to her privacy, and he had no idea what he would gain by forcing her to admit it anyway.
“So obviously this is the entrance,” Raymond said, letting the conversation slide away from Adèle‟s personal life and back to business. She had always been a private one, and he had no desire to make her uncomfortable. “This is the one place where people need to be able to approach the building directly because
Similar Books
