Gnomes of Suburbia (10 page)

"Are they represented in the inhabitants of Oak Point Way?"

"Not directly, no. As a species, they decided that this was an event that did not benefit them in any direct manner."

"You said
not directly
. Does someone here have elven roots?"

"Yeah. I do. Three generations back."

"So you are a big fairy at heart?” It was too much. Giggles overwhelmed her and she slumped in the hallway on her way to the door. The giggles turned into whoops of laughter as Xander watched her get her amusement out with his arms crossed over his chest. “That explains the antiques."

"If you weren't covered with enough energy to blow this place sky high, I would turn you over my knee."

"As if I would let you."

"I outweigh you by about fifty pounds, Abby."

"I kick and I bite."

His grin broke through. “We will have to try that one day."

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Coffee with Seesee was a comforting ritual, it went so well with the exertions of the morning. Each day she debriefed Seesee as to her activities and the gorgon gave her cheesecake and coffee. It was a fair trade.

The third day of training involved a bit of cargo. Abby had found the dollar store in town and had picked up bags and bags of glass beads. The kind of beads that you could use to create a flower arrangement with the beads in the bottom of the vase.

Pretty and functional. It was a perfectly innocuous way to charge an item and then have it in a portable format.

Xander had looked surprised when she started dumping the bags of beads in front of her meditation station, but as she gained and drained power into them, he got the hang of it.

Today was a day for multi-tasking. Xander had assigned her to constantly drain her charge while keeping up a conversation. So she was choosing to ask him about magical races that she hadn't yet gotten to. “Okay. Dwarves. Are they really devoted miners, obsessed with gold, silver and other metals? Or are they a short group of humans who were trying to buy their way into the magical community?

"That is a good one. All the dwarves that I have met have been hundreds of years old so they must have been imbued with magic at some time in their history. They are genuinely obsessed with mining and a conversation with them is like a geological survey of any region that is the topic. They just seem to know."

"Are they grubby?"

"No, they dress in the finest of clothing for the events. Lots of jewels as well. They wanted to send a representative to the neighbourhood, but they don't do well in persistent sunlight."

"Gotcha. Although it is probably the open spaces more than anything else that freaks them out.” She was picking up the glass beads and charging them, then flicking them into the charged pile. She had even started locking them against accidental activation. A trick she figured out on her own.

"Probably."

"Next question. The bogeyman. Is he real or just a way to keep people in bed?"

"Real. He is a phantasm. He floats around and feeds on fear. He wouldn't do any physical harm, but he likes to hang around scared kids."

"So pervy, but real. Creepy.” She was through over one hundred beads. Going strong. “Now. About gnomes. How many have been mobile in recent times?"

"None. Yours are the first. According to legend, they are fiercely loyal and dedicated to their work. You are going to have the best looking yard in town if they have their way."

"Great. So I put a target on myself with that one."

"You did indeed. They are the only gnomes that have actually come to life in recorded history. Well, them and the rogue ones that are coming alive around town."

"Fantastic. Okay, onto another race.” She thought for a moment, her hands working on autopilot. “Goblins."

"What about them? Are they real?"

"Yeah, that is what I am asking."

"Hell, yes they are real. Their wisdom comes with age and they rarely achieve it. A more unpleasant race you could not find.” He shuddered, but kept a close eye on her processing of the beads. “They tend to pick mates based on maximum deformity and on violence of temper. It makes for charming children with very sharp teeth."

"Eww. Creepy."

"Indeed. A creepy species that is best left alone."

"Will do. Now what about fairies?” This had to be less creepy.

"Fairies are an interesting thing. They appeared once, near Cottington England and then only sporadically. We think that the designer of the creatures was one of the short lived Nexus’ that we mentioned."

"So the idea is to get me trained and out in the public so that no one will try and put dibs on me."

"You have hit the nail on the head, Abby. The easiest way to protect you is to put you in plain sight. There will still be attacks, but that is why we are here. All the members of the neighbourhood have been sworn to protect you. When you travel, we go with you. It's part of our vow when we were selected to take this assignment."

"Nice. I hope that you never have to use that vow."

"As do I. An attack on you would be a sad day for the magical community."

"I like to think so, too.” She gave him a bright smile. “I'm sure that everything will be fine. I am not exactly a threat to anyone."

"Let's hope you are right. All done?"

"Yup. Four hundred blobs of glass. All charged. Did I just do your Christmas shopping for you?” She watched him look over her pile.

"Abby, the charge doesn't seem to be coming out of these."

"Hold it in your hand and rub it gently. I set these ones not to go off in your hands. Like M&M's.” She smiled brightly and watched as he successfully opened the charge on one of the beads.

The little jump that he gave made her twitch in return, but he smiled as he threw the spent bead aside. “That is a fantastic idea."

"What are you going to do with them?"

He looked stern. “I am giving a box to all representatives on the council. Then they can't complain about you."

"Who is complaining?"

"A few council members are worried about this whole episode being run by the seers."

"Why?"

"They were the ones who announced your activation and they chose all the people in the neighbourhood. My grandmother is one of the seers and several of the council members are accusing her of sending me for matchmaking purposes."

"Matchmaking with whom?” Seesee? Laura? Miranda?"

"You, you dolt. She told me when I was little that my match was a Nexus, and the moment I saw you, I knew it was true. We just have to get your powers under control before we can do anything about it."

Her heart was practically melting in her chest. He felt the same attraction that she felt and was just as eager to take it for a test drive. “Wow. So how am I doing, coach?"

"Only a few more days and we can start dating.” He pulled her in close and, after he had settled her against him from hip to thigh, lowered his head for a leisurely kiss.

She tried to raise her arms to wrap around his head, but he held her arms to her sides and made sure that she knew he was in control. Well, up until she nipped his lip and moved her tongue into his mouth, then he groaned and shook while making the satisfied noises of a large jungle cat.

Abby moved her head away from a kiss that made her want to be locked in it for eternity. Her power level was rising far too quickly for her peace of mind. If she was dangerous to Xander, she was hitting the stop button now.

He didn't want to stop.

His lips chased hers for a moment until she surrendered again. With no other alternative, she brought her knee up fast and hard. “I told you, I kick and I bite.” She watched his pain-filled features with a small amount of sympathy. “My charge was climbing to a dangerous level. I didn't want to blow any part of you to bits. I like your bits."

"No, you would rather smash them personally."

"If you want to be a big baby about it, sure. The personal touch is always better, don't you think?” She stomped out of his house, blasting the deadbolt apart like it wasn't even there.

Her gnomes were gathered on the lawn, to greet or console her, she wasn't certain. Either way, her little honour guard fell into step around her as she moved into her home, her haven. Abby immediately went to the hearth and poured her pent-up magic into her home.

Stupid men. He was the one who was refusing to do anything with her until she was under control and then he pushes her past that control and is upset when she enforces the stop button.

"You are right, I am an ass.” Xander was leaning in the open door. He still wasn't quite able to stand upright. “You blew out my lock, you know."

"I know. Sorry. The power has to go somewhere.” She shrugged.

"I noticed that. My door now talks to me. It thinks I was a jerk. Can you recall that magic?"

So she had animated his door by accident. Too bad. Nah. She couldn't leave him with a talking door. The one time her toilet had pinched her ass had been enough for her to pull the power in seconds.

"Fine. Give me a moment.” With her new skills, she had the energy sitting in a ball in her hand in a matter of seconds. She tossed it in the air. “Want it?"

"I think you had better not. Put it somewhere safe."

With a casual gesture, she launched it onto the hearthstone.

"You are putting your energy into your home?"

"Yes. I intend to live and die here. The more energy I give it, the more it will be mine.” She shrugged. It was her logic and she was sticking to it.

"But where are you getting the spark of life that you are giving to it?"

"You can feel that, can you?” She patted the couch next to her and he sat. “In case you hadn't guessed, the energy flows into me during a few things, anger, fear, amusement and arousal. It was the last one that caused the big surge. The arousal energy is also the one that brings things to life."

If his jaw could have dropped to the floor, it would have. “How long have you known?"

"Since Harbinger got up to play hide and seek. And the others getting moving shortly after. Your presence was the only connecting factor and I drew the obvious conclusion.” The creatures in question were offering them some iced lemonade in festive glasses. Abby thanked them and Xander took the offered beverage, but didn't say a thing. “After all, I had met the others and nothing had happened. It was meeting you that revved my engine."

She was trying to keep it analytical, but knowing that the man who wouldn't meet her eyes was just as attracted to her as she was to him was enough to make her want to leap on him to ravish him. Just to see if the end of the world would happen. Or if he would pop with the extra energy.

Why did that thought fill her with so much satisfaction?

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With the triumph and disaster of the day before ringing in her mind, Abby tried to find a happy medium. A steady schedule that would keep her focus.

It was harder to establish a routine than she imagined and the workout Xander gave her self-control, taxed her on both a magical and sensual level. It took all the energy she had to not tackle him to the floor and have her way with him as he demonstrated meditation techniques and breathing exercises. They had given up on slap and tickle after she dropped her power-generating arousal bombshell.

Her afternoons were spent eating sweets and gabbing with Seesee who was teaching her to pipe cream into éclairs. More got on her than in the éclairs, but it was all in good fun and no one would be eating anything that Abby touched anyway. More for her.

Abby's gnomes did all of her cooking and housework and were digging postholes for a deck expansion. It was like they had read her mind.

It was a comfortable routine until one day...

"Listen, you little rodents! I am getting out of here whether you like it or not. Now move!” The barricade of tiny bodies blocked the door. As one, they stubbornly refused to move. They were stacked in a pyramid and were looking at her with a sense of urgency. She contemplated leeching some of her power from them, but they were her babies and she didn't want to hurt them. Aside from their odd behaviour, the only thing wrong was that they weren't all there. One of them was not in the throng.

The only gnome missing was Bitsy. His conspicuous absence was answered by a knock on the door behind her wall of gnomes.

There was only one person it could be. “Come on in, Xander. If you can.” With the grace of tumbling leaves, the pyramid of gnomes dissolved to allow him in. They formed a column of honour and watched the magus enter with hope and relief in their tiny eyes.

"What's wrong, Abby? Bitsy grabbed me out of the shower.” Xander was only wearing a set of jeans, and by the way they clung to him, he hadn't had a chance to dry off. Bitsy must have seen him naked. Lucky little bugger.

The surge of power that rippled through her house made her aware of the effect his half-naked presence was having on her. With reluctance, she fought the arousal away, feeling the power subside with it. So it only took one half-naked man to make her lose her control. How embarrassing.

"I have no idea what got into them. Their vocabulary isn't developed enough for what they want to tell me. I think Harby just ate my car keys so it must have something to do with my car.” She turned from introspective to hopeful. “Maybe my battery is dead?” The only other possibility was that her creatures were holding her prisoner and were keeping her under house arrest. Nah, that was too ridiculous. A tug on the leg of her jeans made her look down.

Bitsy spread his arms wide. “Boom."

She blinked in surprise and then looked up as Xander started to move to the door.

"Let me check out your car, all right?"

As soon as she nodded, he was out the door and she felt
something
around her vehicle. Sheer nausea followed at his announcement.

"It's a bomb. Under the driver's seat."

The floor rushed up to meet her ass as her knees gave way again. “Are you sure?” Of course he was sure. He was a whiz of a wizard.