Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 11-15 - Laurell K. Hamilton [1084]
“You wouldn’t,” Richard said.
“You can’t have it both ways, Richard. You’re right, the ardeur will have to rise. You don’t want to be touching any of us when that happens, do you?”
He just looked at me.
“If you mean what you say, if you truly believe it’s wrong, evil, then let go of Damian’s arm. Let go, and stand on your moral high ground. If Jean-Claude and I mean nothing to you, then stand by yourself, Richard, stand on your own two feet.”
He stared at me as if I’d said something terrible. He stood there clinging to Damian’s arm. “Don’t do this, not now.”
“I think now is perfect, Richard. I think now is great. We need to raise the ardeur, so let go.”
“Jean-Claude,” he said, and looked at the vampire.
“It is a strange night, my Ulfric. I should be arguing your case. I should fight to keep you with us, but I don’t seem to want to. I, like ma petite, grow tired of being judged by someone I care for. It cuts deeper tonight, and I know that is Columbine. She is laughing at us, even now. She has stopped attacking the congregation. She has put all her power upon us, because she found our weakness. The weakness that has always been there, from the first.”
“You mean me,” Richard said.
“I mean our triumvirate. It is flawed, and I do not know how to fix it. I feel what Anita has forged with her servants. The two of you are more powerful; my triumvirate should be the stronger of the two, but it is not.”
“Because of me,” Richard said.
“No, because of who we all are, mon ami. But whatever the cause, I grow tired of this fight.” He leaned back against Asher, rested his head against the other man’s face. “I have rejected those I do love to save your sensibilities, and Anita’s.”
“You’re all lovers,” Richard said. “Don’t tell me otherwise.”
“We will have to raise the ardeur, Richard,” Jean-Claude said. “Let go of Damian’s hand or you will be dragged into what is about to happen. If it is evil, and you would escape it, let go. Let go of us, Richard, let go of us all.”
“This is vampire trickery,” Malcolm said. “Do not let her force you into something you will regret later.”
“It is vampire trickery, but as Richard said things he truly believed, so I think Anita and I have come to an understanding. We are tired of this, Ulfric. We are tired of you making us the villains. If we are the villains, then let go. If we are not the villains, then hold on, but either way, you know what I must do now. If you do not wish to be part of it, then you must separate from us.”
“Let go, Richard,” I said.
He looked at Jean-Claude, then turned to me. “Is this what you want?”
“Is it what you want?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Then let me go, Richard, let me go.”
He let go.
45
RICHARD FELL TO his knees. His head bowed toward the floor, his hands rising to his head, as if he could shut out the doubt in his own mind. Alone, he could not fight Columbine’s power. He was alone, but we weren’t.
Damian’s hand in mine drew him into the circle of our power. He had some of the same issues with the other men that Richard had, but Damian was a more practical creature. With him pressed against me, so that Jean-Claude had to move his arm to let the other vampire in closer, I heard, or felt, Damian’s thoughts. It wasn’t a fate worse than death, no matter what happened with Jean-Claude and the rest of the men; nothing that we would do with him would be half so awful as what he’d endured at her hands. The other thought, before Jean-Claude grabbed the reins of all our minds, was that Jean-Claude and I were good masters, kinder than any he’d known; we were worth fighting