~

 

“It’s not a bad plan, but it’s one more link in the chain – why bother when he’s ready to help?” Morgana offered back.

Daniella shot a quick look back over her shoulder at the professor.

“Like I said – we could use their help,” Henry offered the witch.

A heartbeat later and Nathaniel was released from the magic that held him in place. He practically took a header towards the floor before he saved himself and shook it off…

“I feel lighter…” he announced and Daniella snorted her contempt for him.

“Remember, I can do that to you at any time of my choosing,” she warned, and Morgana spat out a laugh, because she knew the young witch meant it.

“Oh, I’ll remember,” Nathaniel offered back as if he was talking to a petulant child.

“Play nice…” Morgana bit out to the vampire. The way that she looked at it was simple; they needed Daniella as much as she needed him.

“Don’t want too,” Nathaniel sneered back.

“And where do you come into all of this?” Nathaniel asked, turning his attention towards the professor.

“I’m …” The man considered his answer for a long while. “Sort of a mentor.”

“Without magic?” Nathaniel enquired.

“Yes,” Henry said simply, but he didn’t bother to explain what they already knew about him.

“That’s mine now,” Daniella motioned towards the velvet bag still clutched in Morgana’s hand.

“So it is,” she offered it, and the witch held her hand out towards her and used her magic to snatch it right out of her hand.

Morgana said nothing. The young witch needed a few lessons in humility and manners, but she wouldn’t be delivering those just yet.

Daniella opened the top of the bag and stared inside. She lifted her hand and ran her fingertips over the amulet, nodding with satisfaction, before she closed the bag once more.

Then her gleeful eyes flicked towards Nathaniel and Morgana wondered if the witch was going to test the artefact’s power there and then, but she held back.

“Hmm, and there I was thinking that you were joking,” Nathaniel turned his gaze on Morgana.

He’d read the young witch’s mind and he wasn’t too keen on what he saw, or too impressed with Morgana offering that amulet up to the teenager.

“Sorry,” Morgana shrugged back at him, and then she turned her attention towards the witch. “I can show you a spell that will keep the likes of him out of your head.”

Daniella looked more than interested at the prospect of that, and she flicked a gaze back over her shoulder at the professor.

“It exists?” Harold asked, somewhat surprised.

“Oh yeah!” Nathaniel grumbled. “I can attest to that.”

Morgana grinned, and for the first time it looked as if Daniella and the professor were more than interested in working with them.

“I’d be interested in that,” Daniella admitted.

“He’s got big ears,” Morgana nodded towards the vampire. “I’ll write the spell down and you can do it at your earliest convenience.”

Daniella cracked a small smile. She was pleased to have gotten the amulet, but she seemed more pleased with Morgana’s surprising offer of help to defend herself against the prying mind of a vampire.

“Could you give her that after we’ve worked together?” Nathaniel asked, inclining his head towards Morgana and glaring at her.

“That would be … no!” Morgana offered him a smug smile and he rolled his eyes once more.

“It’s called keeping her honest,” Nathaniel offered.

“Relax,” Daniella said. “If you really are on the same side as us then you have nothing to worry about from me.”

“And yet I still feel a tension…” Nathaniel grumbled.

“Perhaps more bran in your diet,” Morgana offered back sweetly. “You aren’t as young as you used to be.”

“Oh, I’m laughing on the inside,” Nathaniel offered back.

“Stop pouting, it’s not pretty.” Morgana said and watched Daniella snort a chuckle at the vampire’s expense.

“I could say the same about gloating,” Nathaniel tossed back.

“Right,” Harold announced. “So where do we start?”

“Your witch and mine need to work together to try to break through those wards guarding the alpha wolf doing the biting, and then I need to hunt him and kill him.” Nathaniel announced.

“That simple?” Harold asked.

“If it was that simple you could do it,” Nathaniel offered with a small glare of annoyance. “Why do we need professor coattails and top hat again?” He asked Morgana and she shook her head in disbelief.

“What part of play nice don’t you understand?”

“All of it.” Nathaniel offered back with a shrug.

“Just stand there and look pretty while the grownups work out a way to penetrate the wards.” Morgana offered back. “Professor…?”

“Yes, yes, more than happy to help.”

 

~

~

~

 

Morgana opened the door to her shop and walked out into the bright light of the early morning – she practically ran head first into Joseph; who had been coming from the opposite direction – the man only just managed to sidestep her rather than mow her down.

“Geez, Morgana – give a guy some warning!” He blurted out, almost falling over his own feet in the attempt to get around her.

With a coffee cup in one hand and carrying a stack of CD’s balancing on top of a larger stack of Vinyl records in the other – he was lucky that his backside and everything else hadn’t landed in the gutter. Although, Morgana had acted quickly to make sure that the CD’s stayed put with just a little of her magic…

“Sorry!” Morgana offered back quickly, as he straightened up and checked to make sure everything was where it needed to be…

“I accept hugs – but if you could wait until I put everything down…” he said as he raised his eyes to hers and she could see that teasing smile and the sparkle of laughter in his eyes…

“New stock?” She deflected his comment.

“Old new stock, or new old stock…” he narrowed his eyes and considered it. “Old stuff I just took home and checked for scratches and stuff. Why are you here so early?”

“Early morning Tarot reading…” Morgana offered from the top of her head. “My client wanted to get it over with before work.”

“Little weird, right?” Joseph offered back and Morgana gave a little shrug…

“Paying customers … not gonna say no, right?” she offered back and he snorted a chuckle and nodded in agreement.

“I hear that,” Joseph leaned in and whispered.

She found it odd that she never managed to get a scent of anything much from the man. No soap, no shampoo, no aftershave … the man was practically a ghost…

“And I’ll probably hear those in about five minutes…” she pointed to the stack.

“There are a couple of personal favourites of mine in here. You might well hear them…” he grinned. It was one of those grins that she was sure would have made panties drop, given the right circumstances, although, not hers.

Nathaniel yanked open the door behind her and she jumped a little in place. She didn’t turn to look at the vampire, instead she kept her eyes on Joseph and hoped that the vampire would either go away, or at the very least – not manage to put his foot in it with her human neighbour…

Joseph’s eyes narrowed just a little at the sight of Nathaniel – just enough for Morgana to notice…

“I need you…” Nathaniel said in a tone that meant he was both annoyed and more than ready to have a little meltdown.

“Paying customer…” Morgana mouthed the word to Joseph as she shrugged her shoulders. “On my way.” She offered to Nathaniel in the hopes that both men would get the message and leave her alone…

After all, she’d gone outside to get a moment’s peace from the petulant Daniella and equally annoying professor.

“I won’t hold you up,” Joseph said, turning on his heels and starting down the road without looking back over his shoulder once. Which was strange, because Morgana knew that the man usually did it as often as possible at other times.

“See you later,” Morgana offered back and got a backwards wave from Joseph for her troubles.

“I get the feeling he doesn’t like me,” Nathaniel said sounding somewhat smug, before he turned and disappeared back into the shop again.

“I get the feeling he knows what you are,” Morgana muttered to herself as she watched Joseph open the door to his shop and disappear inside.