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"They do not want it, ma petite It is merely a side effect of their proximity"
"Explain," I said
"Their very presence will give unprotected vaifts The er ones could mean that the council has decided not to feed while in h lesser va them"
"So he takes part of the blood they drink?"
"Oui, ?" I asked
"If all of the Church&039;sthis difficulty, I would think not I think the Traveler has found a way to drain energy for all of theht without causing pain to someone"
"She has Warrick to pick on" The moment I said it, I realized I hadn&039;t had a chance to tell Jean-Claude about Warrick&039;s little dayti Jean-Claude had woken from his sleep while I was at the hospital surrounded by wereaniency to another
"Warrick came to visit me while you were out for the day," I said
"What do you mean, ma petite?"
I told him All of it
He was silent Only his soft breathing let me knoas still there Finally, he spoke "I knew that Yvette gained power through herWarrick&039;s abilities" He laughed suddenly "Perhaps that is why I did not realize I was a master vampire while I ith the council that first ti "
"Does Warrick&039;s warning change our plans?" I asked
"We are committed to a formal entertainment, ma petite If we refuse to pay the price for your wereleopards, then ill give Pade us Breaking faith once your word is given is an al us"
"I&039;ve endangered us," I said
"Oui, but being who you are, you could not do less Warrick a ht it? He has been Yvette&039;s plaything for so very long"
"How long?" I asked
Jean-Claude was quiet for a heartbeat or two, then, "He was a knight of the Crusades, ma petite"
"Which crusade? There were several," I said
"So nice to talk to someone who knows their history, e is he?"
I thought about it "Nine hundred, give or take"
"Which wouldquizzed, Jean-Claude The First Crusade in the late 1000s"
"Exactement"
"So Yvette was old even then," I said
"Do you not know her age?"
"She&039;s a thousand years old But it&039;s a soft one thousand I&039;ve e that scared the hell out ofbut not because of her age, or her power She can live until the end of the world and she will never be a ripes her ass," I said
"Crudely but accurately put,to ask the Traveler for help"
"We have bargained for all the aid ill ever get from the this of you"
"You&039;ve never begged anything of me," I said
"Then heed me now,to bargain," I said
He let out a breath as if he&039;d been holding it "Good,to ask"
"Ma petite, ma petite, what have I just told you?"
"Look, we&039;re trying to save vaal in this country It doesn&039;t just es It co to appeal to the council&039;s sense of justice?" He didn&039;t bother to keep the incredulity out of his voice In fact, he played on it
Put that way it sounded silly, but "The council is partially to blaered their own people Good leaders don&039;t do that"
"No one has ever accused theood leaders, ood or bad We fear theh"
"Bullshit That isn&039;t enough It isn&039;t even close to enough"
He sighed "Proain with the for their aid You must swear this to me, ma petite Please"
It was the "please" that did it, and the fear in his voice "I proain to get someone to do what they&039;re supposed to do in the first place"
"You are a wondrous combination of cynicism and naivete, ma petite"
"You think it&039;s naive to expect the council to help the vampires of this city?"
"They will ask what is in it for them, ma petite What will you say?"
"I&039;ll tell them it&039;s their duty, and call them honorless bastards if they don&039;t do it"
He did laugh then "I would pay to hear this conversation"
"Would it help for you to listen in?"
"No If they suspect it is my idea, they will demand a price Only you, ma petite, could be this naive before them and hope to be believed"
I didn&039;t think of ed me that he did Of course, he was nearly three centuries older than I was Madonna probably seeoes"
"Oh, the Traveler will make very certain that I know the outcoet you in trouble?"
"We are already in trouble, et ?" I asked
"Un peu," he said
"That ht?"
"Oui, ma petite Vous dispose a apprendre"
"Stop it," I said
"As you like" He lowered his voice to a seductive whisper, as if it wasn&039;t already the voice of wet drea when I awoke today?"
I&039;d alotten aboutback hard enough to bring heat to "
"No, no,so"
"Did Stephen and Nathaniel arrive at the house?"
"They did"
"Great I&039;ll talk to you later"
"You refuse to answer my question?"
"No, I just don&039;t know a short version that doesn&039;t er version right now So, can you wait?"
"I ait for all eternity, if my lady asks it"
"Can the crap, Jean-Claude"
"If I wish you luck with the council, would that please you ht to be a lady, Anita It is not a bad thing being a wo one, then talk toOwnership I was his hue that But I didn&039;t belong to hied toto approach the council, as me: Anita Blake, vampire executioner, police liaison for the monsters They wouldn&039;t listen to Jean-Claude&039;s huht listen to me