A Little Bite of Magic Goes a Long Way (BxB)

16 ~ Matt

"Leave it be for now, Matt. Come and eat."

Volkir pulled me to my feet. I'd been kneeling, bent forward with my head against the floor, trying to angle a flashlight into a dark corner in the space under the stairs, where I was pretty sure I'd found the djinn. A quarter-hour of coaxing and a bowl of cream had yet to draw it out, though, and in the meantime the polenta lasagna Volkir had made was getting cold.

"Alright," I agreed with a sigh. "I guess it'll come out when it gets hungry, right?"

"You do remember that it is not actually a cat, correct?"

"Of course, but—oh I see. So, what do djinn like to eat, then? You think it won't want the cream?"

He gave me a look I'd seen before, though usually it was on Ben. "Why don't we just leave it for now, and we can address the matter after you eat."

Volkir steered me to the table and served me a plate of food. I stared at it for a moment. It was three layers of thinly sliced polenta, between which were savory tomato sauce seasoned with basil and garlic, roasted vegetables, and cheese. A layer of melted mozzarella lay overtop, browned to crisply bubbled perfection, and garnished with a little sprig of fresh basil.

"Is something wrong?" Volkir asked, inspecting the food himself.

"No, it's...perfect," I said, clearing my throat. "I was just thinking about Ben."

To be honest, I'd forgotten all about him in the excitement with the djinn, and had only been reminded because it felt so strange to have someone serve me a meal that I had not cooked myself. Ben didn't like cooking, and I did, so it worked out fine, but it definitely felt nice to be on the receiving end for a change.

Volkir laid a hand on my shoulder. "Of course. If you will allow, I will remain with you until you have word from him, at the very least. I can hardly leave you alone with an unpredictable djinn on the loose."

I covered his hand with my own and looked up at him. "I'd like that. Thank you."

He smiled and then retreated to his own seat at the other end of the little table. He'd poured himself a glass of wine, but had not served himself any food, on account of being a vampire and therefore unable to digest it.

"So, what did you want to come over for?" I asked, taking my first bite of lasagna. It was heavenly, as was usual for Volkir's cooking. I made an unconscious sound of delight as the warm, summery flavors expanded on my tongue, and saw my enjoyment reflected in the vampire's silver eyes.

"To be quite honest with you, my friend, my primary desire was simply to see you. It has been too long."

I blinked at that and took a drink of water to hide my smile.

"However, I also wanted your opinion, as I said. Here."

He drew something from his pocket. It looked like a large jewelry box. When he opened it, I saw that this was exactly what it was. Inside were a selection of rings in various designs, though all were alike in theme, and featured a wolf's head.

"As Tlalli and I have been working more closely with one another, we thought it a good idea to have some way to identify those who we claim as our own. Her symbol is a serpent; mine is the wolf. You have an eye for such things—which of these do you like?"

He set the box on the table between us and I leaned forward to look at the designs.

All were interesting and tasteful, masterfully made; some bold and some refined, some simple and some complex.

"This one reminds me of you," I said, pointing to a bold, elegant ring with clear blue stones for the wolf's eyes.

"Which would you choose for yourself?" Volkir asked.