Auguste protested.
“We have,” Denis agreed, fully aware of his youth in comparison to the others in the room, not merely because he had been turned at nineteen, but because his turning outside Amiens at the height of World War I made him by far the youngest vampire in the room. “That mentality protected us for years. I don’t have the experience that some of you do, but I wasn’t turned yesterday either. I’m fully aware of our history. I’m also aware of what has changed in the past two years and why. We have rights we could never have imagined possessing because a few vampires dared to break our kind’s tradition of isolation and self-interest only, but if we handle this situation poorly, we could lose those rights as quickly as we gained them. Six months ago, you trusted me to challenge Renaud because you believed my leadership would better serve the Cour in these changing times. These events prove once again how important it is to be proactive in dealing with our new situation. If we wait for them to come to us, if we wait to defend ourselves after public opinion has turned against us, we will lose ground. Every one of you is thinking about le Jeu des Cours, but this isn’t about status within the Cour any longer. This is about our status in society as a whole. We are masters at turning things to our advantage. We have played this game among ourselves for centuries. The time has come to turn those skills outward to our advantage rather than fighting among ourselves.”
The room erupted in a rumble of mutters. Denis let them talk among themselves. Their lives were so steeped in le Jeu des Cours that the idea of setting it aside, even in the face of a common danger, would take some adjustment for many of the vampires.
“So what exactly do you propose?” Camille Faurie asked when the whispers died out.
“The man who did this, whether he is in this room or out doing who knows what, has forfeited the right to our protection,” Denis said. “Turning a human into a vampire is no crime, but Pascale Auboussu had no desire to be turned and no help once she was turned. When the detective found her, she was about to throw herself off a bridge. If the fall had not destroyed her, daylight undoubtedly would have. The vampire who created her and left her violated our most basic tenet of not harming another vampire. Do we at least agree on that matter?”
The others nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm, but no one dissented.
“Then all I propose is separating ourselves from him,” Denis said, “not only privately in our internal declaration of him as extorris but publicly. We need to denounce what he did every time we hear it mentioned. In my role as chef de la Cour, I will handle a public statement, but it isn’t what I say on the news or in print that will sway people. It’s hearing that average vampires are as horrified at what happened as they are.”
“We’ve never talked about Cour business with mortals,” Auguste reminded Denis.
“I’m not suggesting you bring it up,” Denis said. “I’d be perfectly happy if no one not directly involved ever heard about what happened, but I don’t expect that to be the case. I expect word to get out, and when it does, people will talk about how horrible it is. If you hear someone say something like that, agree with them. Make it clear you’re a vampire and that you’re as unhappy about it as they are. If you get the chance to mention that most vampires aren’t like that one or that we’re doing all we can to find him and bring him to justice, that’s even better, but that isn’t necessary. That’s my job, and I’ll do it. Are we in agreement?”
Denis let the silence stretch after his final question, standing with loose-limbed grace as he waited for the assent of his Cour or the next challenge. He had made his position clear. A challenge, if it came now, would be a physical one.
“Your plan could backfire on us,” Camille said finally. “If
“We have,” Denis agreed, fully aware of his youth in comparison to the others in the room, not merely because he had been turned at nineteen, but because his turning outside Amiens at the height of World War I made him by far the youngest vampire in the room. “That mentality protected us for years. I don’t have the experience that some of you do, but I wasn’t turned yesterday either. I’m fully aware of our history. I’m also aware of what has changed in the past two years and why. We have rights we could never have imagined possessing because a few vampires dared to break our kind’s tradition of isolation and self-interest only, but if we handle this situation poorly, we could lose those rights as quickly as we gained them. Six months ago, you trusted me to challenge Renaud because you believed my leadership would better serve the Cour in these changing times. These events prove once again how important it is to be proactive in dealing with our new situation. If we wait for them to come to us, if we wait to defend ourselves after public opinion has turned against us, we will lose ground. Every one of you is thinking about le Jeu des Cours, but this isn’t about status within the Cour any longer. This is about our status in society as a whole. We are masters at turning things to our advantage. We have played this game among ourselves for centuries. The time has come to turn those skills outward to our advantage rather than fighting among ourselves.”
The room erupted in a rumble of mutters. Denis let them talk among themselves. Their lives were so steeped in le Jeu des Cours that the idea of setting it aside, even in the face of a common danger, would take some adjustment for many of the vampires.
“So what exactly do you propose?” Camille Faurie asked when the whispers died out.
“The man who did this, whether he is in this room or out doing who knows what, has forfeited the right to our protection,” Denis said. “Turning a human into a vampire is no crime, but Pascale Auboussu had no desire to be turned and no help once she was turned. When the detective found her, she was about to throw herself off a bridge. If the fall had not destroyed her, daylight undoubtedly would have. The vampire who created her and left her violated our most basic tenet of not harming another vampire. Do we at least agree on that matter?”
The others nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm, but no one dissented.
“Then all I propose is separating ourselves from him,” Denis said, “not only privately in our internal declaration of him as extorris but publicly. We need to denounce what he did every time we hear it mentioned. In my role as chef de la Cour, I will handle a public statement, but it isn’t what I say on the news or in print that will sway people. It’s hearing that average vampires are as horrified at what happened as they are.”
“We’ve never talked about Cour business with mortals,” Auguste reminded Denis.
“I’m not suggesting you bring it up,” Denis said. “I’d be perfectly happy if no one not directly involved ever heard about what happened, but I don’t expect that to be the case. I expect word to get out, and when it does, people will talk about how horrible it is. If you hear someone say something like that, agree with them. Make it clear you’re a vampire and that you’re as unhappy about it as they are. If you get the chance to mention that most vampires aren’t like that one or that we’re doing all we can to find him and bring him to justice, that’s even better, but that isn’t necessary. That’s my job, and I’ll do it. Are we in agreement?”
Denis let the silence stretch after his final question, standing with loose-limbed grace as he waited for the assent of his Cour or the next challenge. He had made his position clear. A challenge, if it came now, would be a physical one.
“Your plan could backfire on us,” Camille said finally. “If
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