Anita Blake 22 - Affliction Read Online Free PDF

better because they’re more afraid of us.’
    ‘Exactement,’
he said.
    ‘Wait, we had to offer food to visiting council people. Are they going to offer us food for the
ardeur
?’
    ‘I have not arranged it, but if they do not then it is a sign that they are not giving us the same respect that they gave the old council.’
    ‘You’re using this as a test to see how Fredrico behaves toward us, toward you.’ I fought not to sound accusatory.
    ‘I did not engineer this visit,
ma petite
, but now that we have it, yes, it is a test for the local master. We must discover how well we rule, or how weak our rule is, so that we can decide how tightly we wish to hold the reins of power.’
    ‘I’d rather not use visiting Micah’s dying father as a test of loyalty for the local vampires.’
    ‘Not just vampires,
ma petite
, but local wereanimals. Our Micah travels the country talking to various animal groups, helping them deal with their problems. He promotes better relations between normal humans and the lycanthrope community. He has become the public face of the movement and is often called to handle disputes hundreds of miles from our lands.’
    ‘What are you saying, Jean-Claude?’
    ‘We learned that the reason you have no other king of any other animal group as attached to you as Micah is that metaphysically you have your furred king. Through you, he has ties to many more animals besides the leopards.’
    ‘I know, I know, we have ties to all sorts of wereanimals, and Micah is a real leopard king in the metaphysical sense, able to rule by supernatural power and not just force of will and actions. If I hadn’t had a wereanimal in my bed that was a true king, then it wouldn’t have worked that way, but I thought that was just here in St Louis. You’re saying that the other wereanimals across the country are being attracted to Micah’s power and don’t even realize it?’
    ‘No, I am stating that when he travels and meets them, the power of a true king follows him. People want to be protected,
ma petite
. In America they teach that everyone should be the hero of their own story, but most people are not suited for it. They want, and need, someone to follow. If they are lucky they find someone good to lead them; if they are not so lucky …’ He let the thought trail off.
    ‘Micah’s good,’ I said.
    ‘Yes, he is good and strong and thinks of the larger group, the bigger issues.’
    ‘I don’t think Micah has called and talked to the animal groups in his hometown.’
    ‘That is why I did it for him.’
    ‘You should probably tell him you did that.’
    ‘I have,’ Jean-Claude said.
    ‘What did he say?’
    ‘He was grateful for the help, and he told me that politics was the furthest thing from his mind.’
    ‘Of course it is,’ I said.
    ‘But that does not change the fact that this visit is political,
ma petite
.’
    ‘Oh, shit, you’re going to say that since Micah can’t, I have to oversee more politics.’
    He gave a small chuckle. ‘Not precisely, but I have spoken with Fredo not about your choice of guards, but about the possible political pitfalls. He said he would inform whatever guards you chose to take with you, though he did say that if it was a political visit he’d have chosen different guards. I told him that your safety is more important than the politics, so go with the original guards, whoever they might be.’
    ‘You know, I totally trust that you didn’t ask who we’d picked.’
    ‘In choosing soldiers,
ma petite
, I would trust you implicitly.’
    ‘Thank you. I trust you and Micah politically. Bad timing that it’s me with the clearer head on this trip.’
    ‘It is unfortunate,’ he said.
    I had a thought that I hadn’t before, and felt slow. ‘I’m feeding off Rafael the Rat King and Reece the Swan King. If either of them had been my lover before I found Micah, would they have been my “king” in the same sense that Micah is?’
    ‘I do not believe so, but I do