Queen of the Fae: Book Two in the Fae Unbound Series (Fae Unbound Teen Young Adult Fantasy Series) (7 page)

Ron parked the truck across two spaces. "Ron Ross’s Humane Gnome Removal (and Magical Creature Control)" was emblazoned in bright red letters across the side of the truck just above a cartoon of a smiling gnome entering a cozy-looking cabin among a bed of well-tended flowers.

From the second floor balcony, Steve Moore called down to him, "Ron, good to see you again. How's business?"

Ron looked up. "Good, Steve, good. It's been a while. Lizbet hasn't been around to the house much, either. Tanji says she's still not feeling well?"

"Lizbet is a whole other topic. Right now, I've got a gnome problem to take care of."

Ron could see the gnomes had made themselves at home on the balcony as soon as he topped the stairs. They'd filled the side of the walkway below the apartment's picture window with bundles of cardboard and built a makeshift burrow. "Odd for them to be so far away from a garden or a garden center."

"You take these gnomes out of here, and then stop by my wife's house and round up the rest of the huddle there. That's the job, okay? I don't want to have to deal with them anymore."

Ron was surprised by the man's brusqueness, but he knew that a lot of people were having a problem getting comfortable with the strange new world of creatures. "Got it. Just thinking out loud. Need to develop a game plan. I'll have to bring some of the lures up here."

"Whatever you need to do. Just get 'em out of here. I don't want Bobby having anything to do with them anymore."

"They're not dangerous, Steve, just annoying. Basically, I relocate them to someplace where they can be themselves without wrecking anyone's yard. They seem to like it in their new home. I'm even getting kind of fond of the little guys. Pixies...now, that's another story…vicious little things—fae equivalent of the mosquito but super-sized. We could do without. Tanji's working on designing some pixie wards to keep them away once we’ve cleared up an infestation."

"Just handle the gnomes, Ron." Steve went back into the apartment and closed the door.

Ron waved to Bobby, who was watching from the window, but then Bobby's father pulled the curtains shut quickly as the boy started to wave back.

 "Huh, wonder what put a bee in his bonnet..." Ron squatted down to get a look at the lean-to burrow and smiled at one of the gnomes who peeked out at him from beneath it, "So...what are we gonna do with you?"

The gnome bared his teeth, and then pulled his head back into the mass of cardboard. Ron could hear all of the gnomes speaking at once, but he didn't understand much gnomish yet despite Tanji’s efforts to teach him. No matter what they were talking about, the gnomes were nowhere near a garden, so it should be easy to lure them into the truck and transport them to their new home.

He backed the truck up into the loading zone at the bottom of the stairway and lifted the back sliding door. Securely fastened at the front of the truck box interior was a five-foot-tall ceramic gnome with a full huddle of live gnomes he'd collected earlier in the day gathered at its base. A few of the eight gnomes turned to look at him when the door opened, but they quickly turned back to their newfound god once they’d identified him. Ron knew he didn't have to worry about any of them taking off if he left the door open. His experience with gnomes to this point showed them to be extremely predictable when in the presence of their new deity.

He grabbed a box full of smaller ceramic gnomes from the back of the truck and started up the stairs. As he went, he set them down in a path that led up to the back of the truck. He set the final one right in front of the cardboard burrow and gave a whistle to get the gnomes' attention.

The same gnome who'd popped his head out of the makeshift burrow before poked his head out again. He blew a raspberry at the ceramic gnome and disappeared. Ron raised an eyebrow.
Well, there's something new.

Suddenly, all four gnomes came barreling out of the burrow toward the gnome. Ron was cheered by this—back to predictable gnome behavior, except...
gloriosky! That's not supposed to happen
.

The gnomes joined together to lift the ceramic gnome and loft it up and over the side of the railing. Ron heard it shatter as it hit the hard sidewalk below. The gnomes ran to the next one and repeated their actions. Ron started running then, hoping to outpace them and grab up the rest of the lures before the vandals got to them.

He was not going to enjoy explaining to Steve Moore that the gnomes appeared to be set on staying.

Thomas set a tray of brownies on the coffee table and slid them across to where James sat reading. "Try these. A bit of a different recipe than the last batch. Baking is nearly as demanding as magic."

"What, did you forget the chocolate?"

"Oh no, you'll find plenty of chocolate...I merely added a few things that increase the health factor."

"If you added sprouts, just tell me now, so I can prepare myself for the shock."

Thomas answered in his normal, measured tone, "No sprouts, mate."

James took a big bite of his brownie and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Can't quite place that little extra taste. I'll have to have some more," he said as he took another bite. "Yeah, I may just have to eat all of it."

James finished the brownie quickly and grabbed another. 

"Not going to be whinging on about them not being up to snuff, then?" asked Thomas.

James shook his head, his mouth too full of brownie to answer, and returned to his book.

"Brilliant," said Thomas, as he stood up and walked nonchalantly behind James and calmly leaned down to whisper in his ear. 

Thomas caught James as he slid into unconsciousness and slumped forward, his head sinking toward the hard, wood coffee table. He pulled James's body back to lay limply against the chair with his head lolling off to the side. Thomas carefully dragged the chair over to the window and turned it so that James was facing outward to the street.

He opened the window and took a spray bottle from his pocket, soaking the front of James's shirt with its contents before he spritzed some of it onto the window sill. The odorant fulfilled its purpose. Although it was nearing midnight, Thomas could see the wisps that clustered near the building begin to gather just beyond the sill in the light from the open window. 

Thomas walked behind James, placed his hands on the sides of his unconscious mentor's head, and began to chant.

Lizbet's mom called out from the kitchen as Lizbet came through the door, "How was Bobby? Is he behaving for his father?"

"I don't know, Mom. I didn't really get to see him," Lizbet replied, walking into the kitchen and setting her backpack on the kitchen table.

"No? I thought you were riding over to your dad's after school."

"I did..." Lizbet was quiet for a moment, then she said, "...but dad said I'm not allowed around Bobby anymore."

Her mother spun around quickly and looked at her daughter questioningly, "What? What do you mean he said you can't be around him?"

"Just like I said. I kind of learned how to use my wings today...and Dad says I can't be around Bobby until I stop using magic. And I don't know how to do that, because I'd lose these wings in a heartbeat if I could."

Lizbet yielded to her mother's hug, "I know you would, sweetheart. I know how much you wish things could go back to normal for you. And I'm so sorry that your father said that. He and I have always disagreed on a lot of things, but we've seldom disagreed about what's best for you kids. So there's a first time for everything. He's not going to keep you from seeing Bobby. He can't. Bobby lives with us, not with him."

"I don't want you guys to get in a fight about this. I mean, you've been getting along so well lately, and you already have enough stress..."

"Honey, I don't care if you have wings or horns or two heads. Your father isn't going to keep you from seeing your brother. The world has changed, and he's going to have to adapt to that, at least where his children are concerned. I also am not going to let him fill Bobby's head with any anti-fae nonsense. He and I are going to need to have a conversation about all of this when I pick Bobby up tomorrow evening. Until then...just remember that your father has been known to say some stupid things, but he loves you. That I know for sure. He'll come around."

Lizbet walked to the kitchen and rummaged for something to eat, deciding on an apple and hot chocolate. After she pulled the steaming hot water out of the microwave and dumped the packet of chocolate and one extra teaspoon of sugar into it, she sat down at the kitchen table. 

"The thing is, I was feeling really rested today, and I didn't have a headache at all. I was feeling good for the first time in a long time and then, wham! Dad makes me feel like I've done something terrible.” Lizbet stirred her cup of chocolate vigorously. “I mean, I know it was maybe dumb to offer to take Bobby flying, but you said you thought he was feeling left out, and I just wanted him to know that I hadn't forgotten about him."

"I think that's sweet, Lizzie. Although offering to take him flying may have been a little over the top. We'd have to discuss that. And it would have to be not too far off of the ground...what am I saying? It's so difficult to believe that you can fly!"

"Yeah, it was pretty amazing."

"I can imagine. I wish I could! It would save me a lot of complaining about the traffic."

Lizbet laughed. "Yeah, well, I'm not great at it. It kinda took me by surprise."

Lizbet's mother sat down next to her and patted her hand. "I'll talk to your father about this. And I'll win. Until then, just stay out of his way. You'll see Bobby tomorrow night, and maybe by then you can show us both how well you fly."

Tanji smacked her father's hand as he tried to sneak a spoonful of the stew she was stirring on the stove. "You can wait until Mom gets home! She's only home from New York a couple days per week and you can't wait for her?"

"You're more like her every day. You certainly are quick on the draw...let me run something by you about gnomes."

"Sure, go for it..."

"Today, I tried to remove a huddle of gnomes and they didn't respond to the ceramic lures. In fact, the gnomes destroyed as many of them as they could. What do you think of that?"

"That's plenty weird. As far as I know, fae gnomes have worshipped garden gnomes since people first started making them. Before that, their gods were pieces of driftwood or stones that had a gnomish form. They have a
big
worship thing—they always build their burrows around objects that represent gods to them. Was there already anything there that they could be worshipping instead?"

"Not that I know of. They're also not dug in for this burrow. They've built one out of cardboard on the second floor of Steve Moore's apartment complex."

"Lizbet's dad?"

"The same. He has Bobby staying over there, and the gnomes are camped out on his doorstep."

"You know, Lizbet told me that the gnomes put the statues at her mom's house in the trash. I guess I didn't think about how weird that is given what I know about gnomes. I'm going to have to find out more. I was just getting ready to do that blog for you about gnomes and their beliefs, and now maybe I don't know as much about it as I thought."

"Yeah, well...Steve wasn't real pleased when I told him that his gnomes weren't responding to the usual lures and that I'd have to come up with something else. So, if you find anything out that I can use, let me know right away. The last thing I need is for this new business to fail because I can't manage what I've said I'm going to do...but the good news is, the Johnson's huddle went right for their new god and are merrily burping away out by the cabin."

"It's a good thing Gramps doesn't use that broken down cabin anymore and turned the land over to you."

"I'll say. I'm thinking about turning the cabin into a pixie house. What do you think?"

"I think you better make sure my pixie wards work first. No way are you going to want your work following you home when you're dealing with pixies. I also think you’re going to need something more than wards. Fortunately, I found an entire chapter in Langoureth’s book about how to keep them from breeding."

Thomas continued chanting, and as he did, a faint blue light extended from his hands and surrounded James's body. At the window, one of the wisps slowly drew closer and closer to James's still form. Then, responding to what was now an irresistible attraction, the wisp rushed toward and into James's chest, disappearing. The faint blue light brightened and the aura around James's body hummed for just a moment, then quieted. 

Another wisp followed. Then another, and another, and another.

Thomas opened his eyes as the light surrounding James become piercingly bright. He smiled and removed his hands from their places at James's temples, watching as the aura slowly faded and then disappeared.

He could hardly wait until James woke up and felt the magic flowing within him again. They would truly be mentor and student then, with James in possession of not only Myrrdin's knowledge but also the bright pulse of magic.

It took a moment for James to orient himself when he woke up. He was sleeping on the flat's one living room chair in front of the open window. He didn't remember having turned the chair away from the coffee table. He felt woozy for a moment and...
wow, I feel fantastic, strong
.

And then, Myrddin's memories kicked in, and he understood why. He was feeling the tingle of magic. Where had it come from?

He stood up, turned around, and saw Thomas was sitting on the couch, observing him with an intense expression. 

"What just happened?"

"You feel it, don't you?"

"And again...what just happened?"

"The wisps. You've soaked up some of the wisps."

"Tom, how did I soak up the wisps? Did you do something?"

"I was sure you wouldn't mind when you felt again how brilliant it is...isn't it fantastic, having the magic there?"

"Tom, I said no when you asked me if I wanted magic. You
know
I don't want this. I don't know how you managed it—you've obviously learned lessons I didn't teach you, but you need to undo it."

Thomas looked at James for a long moment before he said, "I can't. The wisps are bonded. They're part of you now, as much as Myrddin is."

James's mouth clenched up small in suppressed anger, and he could feel the back of his neck beginning to burn with the heat of it. Without speaking, he walked past Thomas, out of the door, and into the night.