Gnomes of Suburbia (16 page)

Only two people were absent and those absences said enough.

She faced the inhabitants of Oak Point Way and spoke her peace. “Ladies and gentleman. I have called you here to announce that the stalker has taken a hostage."

An excited murmur broke through their shock.

"One of my gnomes was taken and drained of magic and a note was pinned to his vest. He was left to die and would have if we hadn't realized that he was missing."

A concerned note ran through the group. “What was on the note?"

"It's a message. For me.” She nodded at her audience. “There is something that I have to do and if I don't return in two hours, leave Oak Point Way. You will have no reason to be here any longer."

"Are you going to kill yourself?” Verne was shocked. That would be the only reason that they would leave. If she was dead. It was chilling to have it out that clearly.

"Oh god, no! But I may get my ass kicked, be burned out, or whathaveyou. If I do, this someone may die, and if I don't do this, people are guaranteed to die."

Laura frowned. “This is a little cryptic, Abby."

"I know, but I have to say goodnight to the gnomes and then be on my way."

"You do realize that we have to stop you.” That one was Verne.

"And I do realize that you all have had some of the iced tea that the gnomes brought you when you arrived. You should be limp for about an hour.” She stood and made her way to the front door. “I am sorry and I hope to see you all soon.” They were indeed all slumping over. She didn't know if the sedative would last for an hour, but she was glad that they would not be endangered.

And she was scared shitless of what was about to go down.

Extensive research on the internet proved what Harby had suspected, the mistress was in control of wild magic. That was why someone was trying to kill her.

It was considered the most dangerous and unstable type of magic because it could adhere to anything. It could stick to a tree, branch, lampost or car, even a house. Nothing could stop it. It would do what it willed with no rules or regulations, and that is what it was doing now.

Fortunately for the gnomes, one of the inhabitants of Oak Point Way had an open internet network, with no passwords, which allowed them to jump the signal with no one the wiser. If they had been human, they may have had a twinge of guilt, but as it was, Harby spent long hours online researching BDSM. Wondering to himself why the mistress had crafted him in such a way. And then he remembered, she thought it was funny.

He had already enacted some of the urges that dwelled within him with Mitsy and Ruffles but when he tried it with Skint, he was out of luck. The naked gnome was far too slippery.

With the Nexus safely ensconced in the gorgon's home, they took up positions to guard their mistress. Bitsy was on point, outdoors, reconnoitring, which is why no one noticed that he had disappeared.

When the Nexus went out to retrieve him and brought him back to them, they felt his pain. The hole in his lifeforce that was draining him dry. It was a testament to the magic of the Nexus that without willing it, she had bound them together in body and soul.

Harby could feel Bitsy's betrayal and bitter disappointment in his own skills. His family could only let him work it out as the power drain continued.

For the first time since they had come alive, they followed the mistress's orders by not following her. She had commanded them to sedate the inhabitants of Oak Point Way, and they had. She demanded that they watch the slumbering neighbours, and they did.

They were only waiting for their chance to assist their mistress, but Bitsy's injury proved a point, they were no match for the evil that was stalking the mistress. Instead, they gave her the only weapon at their disposal.

With her hand trembling, she moved to open the front door and was once again hampered by a pyramid of gnomes. Bitsy was not part of the pyramid, but instead moved to her and handed her a tiny scrap of paper. She knelt down to examine it.

It was a map of her backyard, the detail was exquisite, right down to the stick figure tied to the tree and a large red X next to the oak in one of the flowerbeds. She pointed to it. “What is mark in the flowers?"

With a solemn look at her, Bitsy simply said, “Boom."

For the first time since she had seen him under the roses, Abby smiled. There just might be some hope out there after all. “Stay here and help the others when they come out of it, all right?” At the tiny ring of nods, she smiled and went out to be the Nexus.

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Abby fought the urge to whistle. It would have broken the tension that she was experiencing. Or it would have pissed off the squirrel in the tree above her, either one would have been good.

The street was silent. No one was out, they were all slumped over at Seesee's house. The frisson of guilt washed over her and she let it go. It wouldn't serve her in any way to beat her chest and it might get Xander killed.

Her house was dark, silent, creepy and she needed to mow the lawn. Perhaps if they survived this, she could convince Xander to do it for her, shirtless of course. That little lustful thought sent a curl of magic through her, but she needed more if Bitsy's injury was an example of the kind of damage that could be done. She stood for a moment as she moved into the once-familiar home that she loved. Something was different.

"Xander? Are you in here?” Abby crept into the dark stillness of her own home and waited. There was no reply, no sound at all. It was eerie. For the last few weeks, she had had the incessant noise of the gnomes running through her house. She missed their psychotic cheer.

The glow-in-the-dark figurines that she had unpacked upon moving in lit her way. She used the figures to orient herself in the complete darkness. Even her coffeemaker lights were out. Something had cut the power. It looked like her stalker was escalating.

The note that she had been given had been very specific.

I have your boyfriend, if you want him to live, you will come to the oak in your backyard and meet me without any of your creatures. After sundown. If I see one stubby hand, Alexander Desmith dies.

P.S. Make sure that none of your power leaks or you will find him missing one limb for each time you lose control. Come alone.

There was no signature, but the spidery script was crystal clear. Abby shivered to realize that Xander's kidnapper had dragged him through her hallways only hours before. She still didn't know how Xander had been taken, but his abductor obviously had overpowered him.

The energy in her home was gone. Completely drained. Could the abductor have done the same to Xander? Wait. The power wasn't drained, it was drain
ing
. She used her newly trained senses to follow the energy without expending any of her own. It was flowing in a column to the oak in her backyard. Well, hell. The gnomes had it right.

"So you drugged my coffee?” He struggled against the cuffs binding him to the tree. They were not moving.

"It was so easy. You never suspected a thing.” His abductor swung one foot idly in the air from her perch on the bench.

"How did you dampen my powers? I have never felt anything like that.” He was trying to distract her, Abby would come, he was sure and this predator was lying in wait. It was driving him nuts. The rough bark of the oak was rubbing his spine raw. He had spent the last few minutes surreptitiously trying to work one of his hands out of the handcuff. It was no use. They were on far too tightly to enable that manoeuvre.

"I was born to absorb the power that you arrogantly call magic. It runs into me like a river whenever I am around it and I will drain Abby dry. I have never been able to drain a Nexus before. I think I will enjoy this.” She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “But first, I am going to make sure that you don't distract me in my purpose.” A few sharp jerks and his mouth was duct taped.

Well, hell. She was nuts.

The slope leading down to the oak tree was lit by tiki torches, a nice touch. Miranda must have brought her own. Just to give it a spooky feel. Creepy. Creepy and tacky.

As the gnomes had indicated Xander was tied to the tree, but from this distance, she could only see that he was shirtless. Damn. How did that psycho get his shirt off?

Sliding open and deliberately closing the glass patio door bought her a little time to calm herself. This was going to be sink or swim. Laura would appreciate that one.

"Ah, the great and powerful Nexus! How kind of you to join us.” Miranda Simmons was cheerful. She had some weird dagger with her and was looking distinctly pleased with herself.

Abby kept walking toward the nut with her back to the river.

"Are you prepared to die?"

"That depends, are you prepared to let Xander go?"

A cackle cracked through the air. “No. He stays until your power is tapped out and your heart has stopped beating.” She waggled the dagger in the air.

"Uh, if you are going to kill me, why don't you get it over with and shoot me?"

Miranda looked a little impatient. “Based on my lack of success in hitting you with a car or blowing you up, I feel that the best way to kill you is up close and personal. Without any mechanical intervention."

"Okay, I have to admit that you have a valid point.” She crossed her arms, but still stayed about fifteen feet away from the knife wielding nut-o-naut. “Did you know that I could deflect that stuff? Because I surely didn't. A fucking
car
for god's sake."

"I tried to get to you before your powers fell under your control.” She paced restlessly.

Abby moved closer to Xander.

"How was I to know that Xander was going to tutor you so extensively?"

"He did show me several things that I hadn't seen before. Especially during the tutoring sessions at my home.” Xander's weary face lit with a smile behind the tape and he shook against his chains. The distraction was enough for Abby to have her toe connect with the oak root that was under her foot.

Miranda brandished her knife at Xander. “Keep quiet, Xander. You will have your turn."

Phase one was now complete. Phase two was a little more difficult. “Are you going to kill the other inhabitants of the neighbourhood as well? Including Xander?"

"No, of course not. I simply need to kill you so that the plague that you spread will be stopped. Xander needs to be punished a bit before I let him go though. If he hadn't been so obsessed with you, you would be dead already.” Her confidence that she would not be punished was proof of her madness. She honestly seemed to think that everything would go back the way it was.

Abby fixated on the one word that caught her attention. “Plague?"

"Magic. Or what passes for magic nowadays."

There was a lot of loathing in those words. “I thought you were from a magical family? Why do you hate it?"

"I have always been a second class citizen. My own family is embarrassed by my existence. I have never felt like I belonged.” The shudder that ran through her was more true emotion than she had ever shown before. And here it was all due to family feuding. What a surprise.

"I understand.” She really did. It echoed her own experience with her family.

"How could you? You have all the power in two worlds at your disposal!"

She did? Cool, she would have to put that on her business card. “I have been shunned by my mother's family. I was always too low class for them. Never the right job or the right address. Saved me a lot of money on Christmas presents, I can tell you."

"So that is why you are willing to walk into my knife?"

"No. That is why I don't want anyone else to be hurt. The people here are good, no matter their magical status. They have been friends and helped me when there was no reason to. That alone is my reason for being here.” The truth in her words surprised even herself. “That brings me to another point. Can you drain the Nexus energy without touching that of the others?"

"Of course I can."

A deep breath and a longing look at Xander, with as much warning as she could put into her eyes, and she nodded. “Then let's rock."

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The process was not painless. Not by a long shot. Bitsy must have been in agony.

It took all the energy that she had just to keep from shrieking in panic and running for the safety of her house. A deep breath and a mental recitation of her plan let her stay fixed to the ground.

As it was the first sharp tug on her magic actually made her stumble forward a few steps. She tried to retreat, but the energy that bound her to Miranda was stretchy, like taffy and kept snapping back.

"You have so much more power than I had imagined. No wonder I couldn't kill you by surprise.” She sounded like she had stumbled across a cheesecake buffet.

"Are you simply drawing my magic? The taste of the Nexus magic is what you are aiming for, right?"

Miranda was pacing again.

Abby tried to keep her from detecting the location of the power that she was drawing. Idle chitchat in the face of agony and torture should work.

"Of course, I am. I have control over my talent. Too bad you could not say the same.” And with that Miranda flung her arms wide and let the power of the Nexus flow into her.

With her inner eye, Abby could see her power moving toward the black hole that was Miranda. It disappeared into her, but she could still feel it, moving and fighting the darkness.

The flowerbed heaved. The thick bubble of magic was dissolving rapidly, and Miranda was standing right in front of it. This was going to be good.

It only took twenty-three seconds for her to
eat
the bubble. And only three seconds for the
boom
to flatten everything in sight.

The draining had already weakened her knees so Abby was able to drop to the ground and lie flat as the blast wave washed over her.

Miranda was not so fortunate. The rampaging psycho was flat on her face, evidence of the garden exploding, all over her back.