Dead Ice (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) - Laurell K. Hamilton Page 0,225

that is the only choice.”

“Narcissus didn’t want to fight your control of him before, Asher, so you thought you were more powerful with your animal to call than Jean-Claude, because I was able to fight his control, but Narcissus couldn’t. He’ll want to fight now.”

“He can try to fight me, but I am still his master.”

“No,” Jean-Claude said, “no, you are not. Do you not understand yet that if Narcissus fights you he can keep most of his people free of your call? He is more powerful than he has let you see; like a woman who hides how strong she is so as to stroke her man’s ego, so Narcissus has been with you.”

Asher shook his head.

“Did you, do you still think that you can have control of Narcissus against his full will?” Micah asked.

“He will fight you, mon ami, and he is more powerful than Richard, because he is not conflicted about his ties to his group, or his own leadership; he revels in it. He will keep you out of himself and thus out of everyone else. One on one, you may be able to force your will on them, but as a group you must go through the head to gain the body, and you have insulted and discarded the head. You have forced me to lock him up. Do you think he will forget, or forgive that?”

“I am sorry, Jean-Claude, truly sorry if my decision made things difficult.”

“Difficult?” I said. “He bargained my body and my hyena to call to Narcissus, so he wouldn’t kill Kane, at least Kane. He wanted to kill both of you.”

Jean-Claude hugged me tighter, either willing me to be nicer or for comfort. I could have opened my shields and known what he was feeling, but not if he wanted to keep me out, and I was betting that he didn’t want me in his head that far right now. Some things need to be private, and how he actually felt about Asher was probably one of them. Richard was stroking a hand over each of our arms, soothing us both, I think.

“If you had made him your beast, he wouldn’t be imprisoned,” Asher said.

“The werehyenas are almost not the largest group in St. Louis anymore,” Micah said, “but combine the rats, wolves, leopards, and lions, and they aren’t even close to having the most soldiers.”

“It is unnatural for different kinds of wereanimal to work together like this,” Kane said.

“You say that as if there’s anything natural about us in the first place,” Micah said.

“One last time, why the fuck are you here for this talk, cat?” Asher said, and almost snarled it at him, flashing fangs, which he almost never did.

“He’s my other fiancé, and one of the two men who may be joining me in a commitment ceremony with Jean-Claude.”

“You’re marrying Jean-Claude.”

“Yes, but hadn’t you heard that we were doing a group commitment ceremony, too?”

“I heard rumors of it, but I did not credit it.” He looked at us sitting all cozy on our end of the couch. “Now it would seem you would need to add the Ulfric, if you are truly doing a second ceremony.”

“Why don’t you believe that we are going to do a group commitment ceremony?” Micah asked.

“I would have believed it of the three here on the couch with me, once. I would believe it of you, Nathaniel, and Anita. But I do not believe that you and Jean-Claude would tie yourselves together, and I know you and Richard loathe each other.”

“You know that old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?” Richard asked.

“Fighting beside someone you hate is one thing, my top. Sharing a bed with them is very different. You loathe Micah, and Nathaniel, so I do not fear you joining them.”

“You are quite right, mon ami,” Jean-Claude said, and even using the ‘my friend’ as opposed to his usual nicknames was calculated to make Asher insecure. “We cannot include Richard in the ceremony, because he does not get along with enough of us, that is true. But Micah, Nathaniel, Anita, and I are going to join with others in a commitment ceremony. I had advocated for you to be included in it, but you just couldn’t leave well enough alone. You had to alienate, or anger, too many of them.”

“You are not allowed to touch Micah; how can you commit to something so empty? Even Nathaniel is only food for you. Nathaniel is my lover, my submissive, but