|
Gargoyles in the Round |
||
| Main Page |
Available at Devine Destinies Now! Guest hosting a Magical Summit is
tricky enough, but when someone is out to kill the participants, it
turns into deadly fun.
Excerpt: “Pleased
to meet you, Mrs. Hanover.” He shook the hand that her stunned mother
extended to him. She couldn’t blame her, the first day she had
met Xander, she backed straight through her house while carrying on a
conversation. “Oh,
Elizabeth, please.” Her mother was blushing. Dear god, she was
blushing. It was a sight that Abby had never thought to see, and was
honestly creeped out by witnessing. “Elizabeth
then. I do believe that Abby is settling in well here on Oak Point Way,
what do you think?” It
was a breathy gush that pronounced, “It’s lovely.” Abby
bit her tongue to keep from asking if she was referring to the house or
to Xander’s chest, his t-shirt was exceptionally well fitting today.
“My mother was just leaving. She has to attend an important Bingo
strategy session.” Her
mother snapped to attention at that. “You are absolutely right,
Annabeth. I am sorry, Alexander, but I do have to be going. I look
forward to meeting you the next time I come to visit, which will be
soon, won’t it, dear?” Her glare was unmistakable. She wanted a
chance to flirt and she was depending on Abby to supply it. “Yes,
Mother.” She gave her mother a half-hug and steered her out the door. Xander’s
voice was rife with amusement, “It was nice meeting you, Elizabeth.”
It
was no small feat to get her mother into the sedan and on her way, but
with many promises of future invitations, the queen of neat and tidy
made her way off Abby’s territory. Exhausted by the exposure to her
parent, Abby took up a seat on her front porch and sent the signal to
the gnomes and gargoyles that they could come out of hiding. It took
them less than three minutes to get back to her and start tidying up her
kitchen. Xander
joined her with a plate of spaghetti. “This is good, I didn’t think
you could cook.” “I
got by before I started enchanting garden gnomes. There were a few
things that I counted as my specialities. Homemade ravioli was one of
them. You can make it, freeze it and take it out serving by serving
after work. It’s great.” She was still calming down after her
enchanting visit. Nothing could stress her out like a visit from her
mother, no matter how much she loved her. “That
sounds really good. Do you think the gnomes will let you back in the
kitchen?” “Possibly,
if I distract them with another kegger. That seemed to do pretty
well.” Buffy swooped down on her and dropped a rose in her lap.
“Thanks, Buff. Where are the boys?” Two baseball hats landed next to
her. The male gargoyles hovered just out of reach, but had a palpable
smugness. “Now Angel, Firefly, I have told you not to steal these hats
from the park. People are capturing you on film and that has to be doing
something odd to the local newscasts. Not to mention YouTube.” “Perhaps
you should scrap them and start over.” Xander slurped at the pasta and
almost missed her horrified look. He quickly back tracked, “Or maybe
you could make the gnomes responsible for them?” “That
won’t work. The gnomes can’t fly and I am not giving them that
particular skill. As for draining the energy from the gargoyles, I am
going to pretend that you didn’t mention that one.” She loved her
beasties. Every one of them. So what if they were a little disobedient,
they weren’t human, and weren’t children. They were independent
thinkers and that was the way she liked them. Her creatures. “Not that
I don’t love having you over, Xander, but you knew my mom was coming
over today. Why are you here?” Harby
came over and took the plate from Xander while Bitsy took the hats and
rose. “I am here because you have to travel on your first formal
excursion as the Nexus. One week from now there is a meeting of the
Magical Council and all of its members.” “So,
I have to go to a magical trade show? How do we get there? We can’t
fly. I can’t put the gnomes in my luggage.”
Her mind spun as she tried to work out the logistics. “The
gnomes can’t come. They would be too disruptive to the proceedings.” “What
proceedings?” “Miranda’s
trial. It is being held at the council meeting. It was easier to
schedule it this way as all those who are going to serve on the jury
will be there anyway.” “The
gnomes are coming or I don’t go.” She knew that she was being pouty,
but she didn’t care. Those little critters had saved her life on a few
occasions and they had provided the means by which Miranda was foiled.
She thought of them as her insurance policy as well as faithful
companions. Xander
thought about it for a moment. “Will you leave the gargoyles here?” “Nope.
They are still feeding off me. I can’t leave them yet.” She relented
a little, “But I can ground them until we leave.” “And
how are you going to do that?” He was sceptical. She could see it in
the tilt of his head. “Simple.
Angel, Buffy, Firefly?” She called them to her and within a minute,
they had ceased their flitting to come to a halt in front of her. “You
are grounded until further notice.
No flying, no strafing, no harassing, and play nice with the
gnomes. If you don’t misbehave in the next few days, you can come with
us to the magic event. If not, I leave you here with a magic drip and
you guys have to stay in Sargent. Are we clear?” Three little faces
didn’t look happy, but they nodded. “Alright,
Xander, when do we leave?” She was braced for anything. “If
you insist on not flying, we have to leave tomorrow.” The instant that
he said it, the gargoyles perked up. They only had to behave for one day
and then, road trip. Available Now at Devine Destinies
And if you missed it...Book One of the Nexus Chronicles - Gnomes of Suburbia
Viola Grace Copyright © 2009 All rights reserved |
