Read Online Reluctant Partnerships by Ariel Tachna - Free Book Online
Authors: Ariel Tachna
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haven’t turned many vampires because I never felt the need to feed from anyone other than Noël until he died, and by then I knew better than to turn people randomly, but it seems odd that he would turn her deliberately and then leave with a promise to return later. Not in a few minutes to help her, but ‘when he was ready’.”
“So what do you think it means?”
“I think it means our vampire, whoever he is, has an agenda,” Denis said. “He changed her for a reason. It may have nothing to do with her personally, or it may be very personal—I can’t judge that from one comment—but he has a goal in mind with what he’s doing.”
“Which is all the more reason to think he’ll act again,” Jean concurred. “And we’re still working under the assumption that this is the first person he’s turned.”
“You don’t think we would have heard if there were other cases?”
“You wouldn’t have heard about this one if I hadn’t been driving by,” Adèle reminded them. “She was trying to jump off a bridge. If the fall didn’t kill her, dawn would have in a matter of an hour or two. Enough of the leaves have fallen that the cover of the trees wouldn’t have protected her.”
“I didn’t see her last night,” Jean said, “but she seemed fairly in control tonight, like she’s beginning to adjust. It might not be a bad idea to have Orlando talk to her eventually. He was turned against his will as well. It could be some comfort to her to know she can recover from that.”
“We talked some last night,” Angelique said. “It will take time for her to adjust. I can still remember how hard it was for me to adjust, and I was changed voluntarily by a maker who stayed by my side for years.”
“Yes, turning is always difficult,” Jean agreed. The memory of the man he had killed by accident the night he was turned still haunted him. “We’ll have to help her make the best of her new existence.”
Chapter 4
A TENTATIVE knock interrupted their conversation. Angelique rose from her divan with the elegance of centuries of practice, opening the door to allow Pascale to enter. “You weren’t gone long,” Angelique observed, putting a protective arm around Pascale’s shoulders. “Did you take enough?”
“Enough for now,” Pascale replied, leaning into the embrace and the safety it represented. She wanted to believe the others were no threat, particularly since Angelique had welcomed them as friends, but she did not know them yet, and she had always been slow to trust. The experiences of the past two days had only added to that. “I didn’t want to keep everyone waiting on me.”
“Everyone here understands the needs of vampires,” Angelique assured her. “Raymond is Jean’s Consort as well as his partner. Adèle has no partner now, but she has been around vampires enough to know our needs. And Jean and Denis are vampires like us. No one was disturbed by your departure.”
“Join us again,” Jean invited, rising as well and offering his hand to Pascale. “I know this has been a terrible shock for you, but have you given any thought to what you will do now?”
“What can I do?” Pascale asked, hopelessness swamping her again. She fought the urge to cry only to discover that no matter how strong the urge, her eyes stayed dry. “I’m a prisoner of the sun, dependent on Angelique’s generosity for food. I don’t see a lot of options.”
Silently, Jean cursed the vampire who had created this situation. He should have been here to guide her, should have prepared her for the reality of her new existence and helped her find solutions. “There are always options. You must now decide which ones to take. Angelique introduced us all, but I imagine half of it went over your head with no one to explain all our titles to you.”
“It is all a little overwhelming,” Pascale admitted. She let Angelique lead her back to the divan where she had perched before. “I think I caught
“So what do you think it means?”
“I think it means our vampire, whoever he is, has an agenda,” Denis said. “He changed her for a reason. It may have nothing to do with her personally, or it may be very personal—I can’t judge that from one comment—but he has a goal in mind with what he’s doing.”
“Which is all the more reason to think he’ll act again,” Jean concurred. “And we’re still working under the assumption that this is the first person he’s turned.”
“You don’t think we would have heard if there were other cases?”
“You wouldn’t have heard about this one if I hadn’t been driving by,” Adèle reminded them. “She was trying to jump off a bridge. If the fall didn’t kill her, dawn would have in a matter of an hour or two. Enough of the leaves have fallen that the cover of the trees wouldn’t have protected her.”
“I didn’t see her last night,” Jean said, “but she seemed fairly in control tonight, like she’s beginning to adjust. It might not be a bad idea to have Orlando talk to her eventually. He was turned against his will as well. It could be some comfort to her to know she can recover from that.”
“We talked some last night,” Angelique said. “It will take time for her to adjust. I can still remember how hard it was for me to adjust, and I was changed voluntarily by a maker who stayed by my side for years.”
“Yes, turning is always difficult,” Jean agreed. The memory of the man he had killed by accident the night he was turned still haunted him. “We’ll have to help her make the best of her new existence.”
Chapter 4
A TENTATIVE knock interrupted their conversation. Angelique rose from her divan with the elegance of centuries of practice, opening the door to allow Pascale to enter. “You weren’t gone long,” Angelique observed, putting a protective arm around Pascale’s shoulders. “Did you take enough?”
“Enough for now,” Pascale replied, leaning into the embrace and the safety it represented. She wanted to believe the others were no threat, particularly since Angelique had welcomed them as friends, but she did not know them yet, and she had always been slow to trust. The experiences of the past two days had only added to that. “I didn’t want to keep everyone waiting on me.”
“Everyone here understands the needs of vampires,” Angelique assured her. “Raymond is Jean’s Consort as well as his partner. Adèle has no partner now, but she has been around vampires enough to know our needs. And Jean and Denis are vampires like us. No one was disturbed by your departure.”
“Join us again,” Jean invited, rising as well and offering his hand to Pascale. “I know this has been a terrible shock for you, but have you given any thought to what you will do now?”
“What can I do?” Pascale asked, hopelessness swamping her again. She fought the urge to cry only to discover that no matter how strong the urge, her eyes stayed dry. “I’m a prisoner of the sun, dependent on Angelique’s generosity for food. I don’t see a lot of options.”
Silently, Jean cursed the vampire who had created this situation. He should have been here to guide her, should have prepared her for the reality of her new existence and helped her find solutions. “There are always options. You must now decide which ones to take. Angelique introduced us all, but I imagine half of it went over your head with no one to explain all our titles to you.”
“It is all a little overwhelming,” Pascale admitted. She let Angelique lead her back to the divan where she had perched before. “I think I caught
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