“I come barring food and news of the witch.” Julian announced.

“Which witch?” Nathaniel said and then gave a small shake of his head. It didn’t matter how many times he’d said that over the years it still never sounded right.

“Try saying that fast twenty times when you’re drunk…”

“I haven’t been drunk in over one hundred years…”

Julian grunted in acknowledgment of that fact. Vampires couldn’t get drunk – not unless they somehow managed to ingest a vat of Scotch in one gulp, and even then, their blood would have worked on sobering them up almost immediately.

“I asked a friend about Daniella…” Julian offered.

“You have a friend?” Nathaniel shot back and got a glare back from the man that warmed his heart.

“You asked me – I asked a friend – that’s the way it works, right?”

“And?” Nathaniel was fast losing his patience.

“That food smells … tasty,” Julian said leaning in and taking a big whiff.

“Fine…” Nathaniel sighed and took a step to the side to allow the man to enter.

“Sleeping beauty?” Julian teased as he eyed Morgana as he took a slow walk towards her.

“Let’s hope this one wakes up…” Nathaniel bit out as he placed the bags down on the coffee table and veered off to get the plates and cutlery.  

“Morgana…” Julian’s melodic tones teased the witch from her sleep.

Her eyelids slowly fluttered open – and a moment later they were wide in surprise and she was snapping upwards from the sofa…

Nathaniel had the plates down on the coffee table and his body as a wedge between Julian and Morgana a moment later. He watched her whole body start to climb back down…

“Let’s not make a bloody mess on my very expensive rug,” Nathaniel said as she scowled back at him.

“Thanks for the heads up,” Morgana bit out, miffed that he’d allowed her to sleep with Julian in the apartment.

It was a strange thought that she didn’t feel the same way about Nathaniel. If anything, she’d felt safe enough to fall asleep in the vampire’s company…

“Foods here – perhaps that will make you less bitchy,” Julian offered and Nathaniel groaned inwardly.

“It’ll be hard for you to chew without any teeth…” Morgana shot back, trying to sidestep Nathaniel, but the man only moved with her, blocking her path and any hope that she had of zapping the man head on.

“She is feisty – I’ll give her that,” Julian offered back.

“He is a butthead – I’ll give him that,” Morgana offered to Nathaniel and he rolled his eyes within his head.

“Can we just eat?” Nathaniel almost begged for it to stop.

“Offer up a vein then, witch,” Julian shot back and Morgana tried to practically climb up and over Nathaniel to get to the vampire … not that she got very far.

“Be the bigger … person,” Nathaniel whispered in her ear.

“I will once I’ve dropped the building on him and squished him like a bug,” Morgana shot back.

“Foods getting cold,” Julian announced. “Let’s call a truce.”

“Morgana?” Nathaniel’s voice held that sing-song quality to it that made her want to zap him just for the fun of it.

“Fine…” she ground out.

“For now…” Julian offered.

Nathaniel sat between the warring pair of flesh and blood bookends on the sofa and ignored the last comment – he was hopeful that Morgana would do the same.

“So what about the witch?” Nathaniel asked, not wanting world war three to start again before he had his answers.

“Well, she’s annoying, but as she’s a friend of yours…” Julian offered back.

“Morgana might have called a truce, but I can still toss you out of the window without a second thought – enjoy sleeping off that drop,” he warned the vampire.

“She’s not just working with the professor – she’s something of his pet project…”

“What does that mean?” Morgana asked, more interested in hearing about the witch than the food that Nathaniel was taking out of the bags and opening, filling the air around her with the most wonderful aromas that made her stomach growl in anticipation.

“It means – the professor doesn’t just study the voodoo that you do…”

“I do not do voodoo,” Morgana snapped back.

“Tell me the man isn’t a warlock…” Nathaniel begged.

“He isn’t a warlock – but he apparently has an archive of spells, amulets, and all things witchery, and he tinkers with spells…”

“Tinkers how?” Morgana accepted the plate that Nathaniel offered her.

“Splicing and dicing and creating new – hybrid ones…” Julian offered back.

“Who doesn’t?” Morgana said; tossing up a shoulder. “But if he has no magic himself…”

“He gets Daniella to do it for him.” Julian announced.

“A witchy show and tell. I wonder if he grades her on her success.” Nathaniel said.

“I wonder what else he’s getting her to do.” Julian tossed back.

“Meaning?” Morgana leant forward and glared at the man.

“Perhaps she is the witch that you’re looking for in more ways than one.”

“You think the Professor is Jack the Ripper – serial killer – dude?” Morgana snorted with amusement.

“Does someone have a crush on the old man?” Julian teased.

“Not so old…” Morgana informed him, and Nathaniel turned to eye her. “What?”

“Do you?” Nathaniel asked and Morgana scowled back at him.

“Do I what?”

“Have a crush on the Professor?” Nathaniel asked.

“Mr Stuffy? No.” She shook her head. “Why, do you?”

“I’ll forgo answering that stupid,” Nathaniel bit out.

“Please don’t – I do so enjoy a lovers tiff,” Julian delighted in announcing, even if Morgana almost choked on her tongue.

Nathaniel turned his attention towards her and shook his head – warning her not to take the bait.

“Do you think this witch will get in touch or will we need to go hunting her down?” Nathaniel asked.

“Oh, I think she’ll get in touch.” Morgana looked like the cat that got the cream.

“And how can you be so sure?” He asked.

“Because I didn’t just write our names and numbers down. I told her I had an amulet that I think she just might be interested in.”

“Do you?” Nathaniel asked.

“Loose lips sink ships,” Morgana answered.

For one moment there, Nathaniel forgot that trying to read her thoughts was akin to breaking into a high security vault – her magic zapped him – not his body – but right inside his brain, and it took him a moment or two to be able to shake it off.

“That was all you,” Morgana had no sympathy for the vampire when he tried to do stuff like that…

“Yes it was.” Nathaniel knew better, at least, he just remembered that he did with that electric shock therapy that she’d offered him.

“You know I can’t control it…” Morgana rolled her shoulders. In truth, she couldn’t. It was the amulet that she wore around her neck. “Not that I’d want to anyway. You shouldn’t have been prying.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Nathaniel bit out, annoyed with himself for even trying to see her thoughts.

“Julian has a secret crush on you,” she said, shrugging just the one shoulder.

“Excuse me?” Julian almost choked on a chicken ball…

“I knew that…” Nathaniel said, playing along and making it all about the other guy.

“He sits on the roof opposite and guards your house,” Julian bit back, and Nathaniel turned a glare towards the man.

He wasn’t sure how he wanted to kill him – he only knew that he wanted to make it as painful as possible.