JК
Burnt Offerings :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 228 из 286If we refuse to pay theprice for your wereleopards, then we will give Padma and Yvette the very excuse they need to challenge us. Breaking faith once your word is given is an almost unforgivable sin among us."
"I've endangered us," I said.
" Oui , but being who you are, you could not do less. Warrick a master vampire, who would have thought it? He has been Yvette'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, ma petite . But you have been near him. What age is he?"
I thought about it. "Nine hundred, give or take."
"Which would mean?"
"I don't like being quizzed, 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's a thousand years old. But it's a soft one thousand. I've met vamps her age that scared the hell out of me. She doesn't."
"Yes, Yvette is terrifying but not because of her age, or her power. She can live until the end of the world and she will never be a master among us."
"And that gripes her ass," I said.
"Crudely but accurately put, ma petite ."
"I'm going to ask the Traveler for help."
"We have bargained for all the aid we will ever get from them, ma petite . Do not put yourself further in their debt. I beg this of you."
"You've never begged anything of me," I said.
"Then heed me now, ma petite . Do not do this."
"I'm not going to bargain," I said.
He let out a breath as if he'd been holding it. "Good, ma petite , very good."
"I'm just going to ask."
" Ma petite, ma petite , what have I just told you?"
"Look, we're trying to save vampire lives here, not just human. Vampires are legal in this country. It doesn't just mean you get privileges. It comes with a price. Or it should."
"You are going to appeal to the council's sense of justice?" He didn'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 blame for what's happening. They've endangered their own people. Good leaders don't do that."
"No one has ever accused them of being good leaders, ma petite . They just are. It is not a question of good or bad. We fear them, and that is enough."
"Bullshit. That isn't enough.
"I've endangered us," I said.
" Oui , but being who you are, you could not do less. Warrick a master vampire, who would have thought it? He has been Yvette'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, ma petite . But you have been near him. What age is he?"
I thought about it. "Nine hundred, give or take."
"Which would mean?"
"I don't like being quizzed, 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's a thousand years old. But it's a soft one thousand. I've met vamps her age that scared the hell out of me. She doesn't."
"Yes, Yvette is terrifying but not because of her age, or her power. She can live until the end of the world and she will never be a master among us."
"And that gripes her ass," I said.
"Crudely but accurately put, ma petite ."
"I'm going to ask the Traveler for help."
"We have bargained for all the aid we will ever get from them, ma petite . Do not put yourself further in their debt. I beg this of you."
"You've never begged anything of me," I said.
"Then heed me now, ma petite . Do not do this."
"I'm not going to bargain," I said.
He let out a breath as if he'd been holding it. "Good, ma petite , very good."
"I'm just going to ask."
" Ma petite, ma petite , what have I just told you?"
"Look, we're trying to save vampire lives here, not just human. Vampires are legal in this country. It doesn't just mean you get privileges. It comes with a price. Or it should."
"You are going to appeal to the council's sense of justice?" He didn'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 blame for what's happening. They've endangered their own people. Good leaders don't do that."
"No one has ever accused them of being good leaders, ma petite . They just are. It is not a question of good or bad. We fear them, and that is enough."
"Bullshit. That isn't enough.