Free Reluctant Partnerships by Ariel Tachna

asked, looking at Jean in bemusement.
    “The only reason she isn’t chef de la Cour of Paris is because she doesn’t want to be,” Jean said with a shake of his head. “There is no standing against that woman when she makes up her mind about something. Adèle, I hope you got what you needed, because we won’t get any more tonight.”
    “I only stayed through the second part of the conversation because you wouldn’t have had a way back to l’Institut otherwise,” Adèle replied, her stomach churning with the lie. She pushed that thought aside for later, when she was alone and did not have to worry about giving away her inner turmoil. Raymond was far too perceptive, and Adèle had no desire to provoke questions she could not answer. “I didn’t get anything near what I need to catch this guy, but I don’t think she has anything else to tell me, so I’ll make do with what I have and keep an eye and an ear out for other victims. Any criminal activity in all of the Yonne that appears to have magical aspects already gets referred to me, so it won’t surprise anyone to have me ask them to refer turnings to me as well.”
    “Let’s go back to l’Institut,” Jean proposed. “Denis, do you have time to stay and chat for a bit, or do you need to go straight home?”
    “I have time,” Denis said. “We have quite a bit to talk about, because catching this vampire will not be enough, and we cannot simply dispense vampire justice and be done with it anymore.”
    “Certes,” Jean agreed. “Raymond, Adèle, if you will oblige?”
    “As soon as Raymond fixes my wand,” Adèle chuckled.
    Raymond shook his head and undid the spell Adèle had used to change her wand into a pen so she could take notes. That done, he turned his magic on Denis, taking them both back to l’Institut.
    Wand restored, Adèle followed suit, appearing in the courtyard of l’Institut seconds later, Jean at her side.
    “If you don’t need me for this conversation,” Adèle said, “I should get home. Tomorrow is a work day for me, and the fact that it’s after midnight now won’t matter in the morning.”
    “Go home,” Jean said. “If anything comes out of the conversation that you need to know, we’ll call during the day tomorrow, late enough that we’re sure you’ll be awake and at work.”
    “Thanks,” Adèle said. “Denis, Raymond.” She cast another displacement spell before they could answer her.
    “Was she even touchier than usual tonight?” Raymond asked.
    “Yes,” Jean replied, “but that’s a worry for another time. Denis, I usually have a glass of cognac with Raymond in the evening. Would you care to join us?”
    “I haven’t had cognac since I was turned,” Denis said with a laugh. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” The alcohol would have no effect on him, and while he would not taste it with any clarity, it would do him no harm.
    “It doesn’t hurt at all,” Jean agreed, “and it’s better than making Raymond drink alone.”
    Raymond led them inside and up to the suite of rooms he and Jean used when they were in residence. He left Jean to pour the cognac while he went into the bedroom to hang up his coat, closing the door behind him on his way back out into the sitting room. He and Jean often invited the other faculty of the l’Institut to join them for a drink, but their bedroom, both here and at their apartment in Paris, was private.
    Taking a seat, he sipped the cognac and waited for Jean to begin the discussion. He might have an idea of the implications of the last two nights’ events, but he preferred to let Jean take the lead. He was no longer president of l’ANS.
    Jean took a sip of his cognac as well. “This isn’t what you usually drink,” he said immediately, turning to Raymond. “When did you change brands?”
    “You can taste the cognac?” Denis asked in surprise. “How is that possible?”
    “Yes,” Raymond echoed, “how is that possible?”
    Jean looked down at the liquor in