Taming the Muse Prompt 33, BoaS Part 18, A leaf in the wind, BtVS, PG

[thismaz]

I haven't read any of last week's stories yet, so again, I won't be voting. But I will read and I will comment.


Title: A leaf in the wind
Part 18 of the Blood on a Sundial series. Previous parts, in reverse order, are here or in my memories.
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: #33 - Hopi
At: tamingthemuse
Disclaimer: here.
Rating: Pg
Word Count: 1,158



18. A leaf in the wind

When the phone rang, Giles was in the middle of his habitual, slow Saturday morning wake-up routine - tea, shower, shave, tea, breakfast, more tea. More accurately, he was only half way through the shave portion of his morning routine. For a single moment he considered letting it ring, but too many years of suffering from, and preparing for, emergencies, won over that base instinct. Throwing his razor into the hand basin, he ran down the hall to the living room, trying to stamp down the spark of hope that rose in his heart.

The desk was a mess, necessitating a rapid search under copies of Occultus Quaero and Argentum Veneficus, and a Hopi Koshare mask (acquired in the mistaken belief that it was a relic of the local Chumash tribe, an error he could kick himself for, now that he knew more about the subject) to find the source of the insistent summons.

He was surprised that whoever it was hadn't rung off, the time it took for him to find the damn thing. As a result he was a little abrupt in answering. "Yes?" he snapped.

There was a pause, then an uncertain voice asked, "Giles?"

Giles sat down in shock, only a moment later registering with gratitude that there had indeed been a chair behind him, as the spark took flame. "X-Xander? Is that you? Oh thank God! Xander, are you alright? Where are you?"

"I'm okay, Giles. I'm not dead. I promise." He sounded so close. "But Spike's got me."

Without conscious thought, Giles' hand lifted to cover his eyes and he wiped it down his face as he took in the news. Not quite the worst he had feared, but still bad. His hand was covered in soap and he wiped it clean on the leg of his trousers. "Xander," he said, urgently, "tell me where you are. I'll come and get you."

Xander sounded almost calm, it was worrying. "I'm somewhere in Nebraska, or possibly Iowa. And you can't come and get me. There's this whole thing with a spell. I can't leave. I tried a couple of days ago. It wasn't nice. You have to trust me on this one." He paused. "Oh, and I can't kill him, either."

Giles propped the phone under his chin and groped through the rubbish for a pad of paper and a pen. "Where's Spike, now?"

"He's asleep. I'm in the lobby of the motel."

"He's not there with you?" Giles sat up in his chair, hope blossoming. He took a breath, to calm himself. "Get out of there, Xander," he instructed. "Get into the daylight and keep going. Get to a bank. Any bank. Find out where you are and call me in half an hour. I'll arrange some money for a flight, or a bus, or something."

Xander's reply was impatient. "Giles. You're not listening to me. I. Can't. Leave. It's a spell." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Listen. I'm playing nice. I figure if I do that, he won't kill me. We're going to New York. I don't know why." Another pause, longer this time, but Giles somehow sensed that he shouldn't interrupt. "Can you...? My parents..."

Giles reached up and pulled off his glasses. "They've already filed a missing persons on you."

"They did? That's nice. I mean... Okay." It was indicative of something, that Xander sounded surprised. "Hang on." He asked, suspiciously. "Was that because you did it already?"

Giles would have laughed, if it hadn't been so bloody tragic. What did you say in such a situation? "I'm sure they're worried sick about you."

For a moment Xander's voice held a hint of humour. "Yeah, I'm sure they are." He took another deep breath and seemed to dismiss further thoughts of his parents from his mind. When he spoke again, he sounded lost, forlorn. "I don't know what to do, except what I'm doing."

Giles refocused on the immediate crisis "Has he hurt you?"

The hint of a laugh was back in Xander's voice, but it sounded strained. "No. He bought me clothes. And he got a room close to the lobby, because I asked. That's how I could make this call. I can't go further than a hundred yards from him, Giles. He can leave me, but I can't leave him. Thing is, I don't want him to leave me dead, hence the playing nice."

Giles mentally reviewed Xander's previous statements. "Okay, tell me about this spell. Everything you know." Maybe he could find an counter spell, if he knew what he was looking for.

"It's a bracelet. Green stone, smooth, no markings. He got it from a guy in Reno. I don't remember much. I think my memory is a bit cloudy on that." Xander paused, as if trying to pull the memories in. "I think I remember walking down an alley... then I was in this really weird shop... and this guy had these huge eyes." There was silence at the end of the line, then a 'huff' of frustration. "And that's it. I can't remember exactly how he did it, but I got a nifty magic bracelet that acts like a handcuff, so I can't leave and I can't kill him - not that I've tried that, because really, the trying to leave was bad enough. And I can't get it off."

Giles could feel Xander's frustration. "Be strong," he admonished. "We will sort this out. You may not be able to kill him, but I can. We will get you back and we will find a way to get you away from him, even if we have to kidnap him, so he comes back with you. You hear me, Xander?" He put every ounce of conviction he could manage into his words - determination and hope were powerful weapons, in their own right. "We will get you back. And we will break the spell."

There was a sound of choking, over the phone. "Ugh, Giles, sorry, even listening to that plan is making the spell kick in. I'm sorry. I've gotta go. Give the girls my love, yeah?"

The dial tone sounded loud in Giles' ear and he pulled the phone away and stared at it blankly. He would have to talk to Buffy and Willow. Tell them Xander was almost safe. Buffy had been tearing Sunnydale apart for five nights, searching for Spike. Her instinct would be to rush off immediately to the rescue, but Giles knew it was more complicated than that. As he carefully placed the handset back in its cradle, he wondered if there hadn't been some deliberation in Xander not disclosing his location. Xander knew Buffy very well. Meanwhile, Giles needed an alternative plan. He turned and began to scan the bookshelves when another thought struck him. Picking up the phone again, he dialled a number from memory. There was a pause, then, "Ms Calendar, Jenny. I need your help tracing magic workers in Nevada."

Next Part

Comments

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

Very clever Xander, testing the limitations of the spell. I bet telling Giles exactly where he was would have set it off as well.

Something tells me Spike knew exactly what he was doing getting a room close to the lobby. Giving his pet enough rope to let his friends know he's alive, ease his mind a bit. Loose hand on the reins and all that. :)

[lilithbint.livejournal.com]

Oooh...
lovely twist with Xander calling Giles.

[hawk-soaring.livejournal.com]

Lovely bit. So Xander called Giles but didn't tell him much... but maybe too much? What happens when they find the demon who put the bracelet on Xander?

[sparrow2000.livejournal.com]

For a moment I thought the phone ringing was the one Giles didn't answer when Xander tried to ring him from the C store.
Very nice working in of the prompt, btw.

I really like how you just allude to Xander's family background - last week with him only needing 18 inches of space in the back seat of the car for his stuff and this week with the thing about the missing person file - he's so used to coping with not a lot.

And he was so strong last week, but this week all that vulnerability is leaking through. He's scared shitless, but putting on a big front. That's our boy.

So Giles is going to contact Jenny to help. I wonder if she doesn't come up with the goods, if Giles will try Ethan.....

Another love chapter, love. (I'm reading this while I'm waiting for you to arrive, and then I can tell you how much I liked it, in person!)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_sharvie_/]

I am so loving this. Xander is really trying to cope with his new situation. Love that he's thinking things through, knowing he should play nice to live. I so love that Spike let him call though. He's just a big softie at heart. *bg* Oo, and that was a neat trick that Xander couldn't even talk about breaking the spell. That'll make things tough for him for sure.

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

God. I feel so bad for Giles. Now he knows that Xander is out there, scared, hurting, and there's just so damn little he can do about it. Ow! And Xander... it seems like by turning into the cheerful little hostage, he's getting his way a bit, making himself a little slack in his leash.

[smwright.livejournal.com]

Giles mentally reviewed Xander's previous statements.

Yes, Giles, big picture man, not large with the details. Took him long enough. *grins*

Great chapter following last week's great chapter following... I opened the page this morning asking myself how far did they get and what will Xander manage this time? It's lovely to see a week stand so well on its own without either Spike or Angel to anchor it.

Fantastic as always!

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*grin* I am not sure he meant to test the spell this time. But I think Giles was right about him being cautious about telling where he was.
As for Spike's motivations... he's not telling me, yet. *g*

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*grin* Thanks

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. What happens when? I really don't know. That's the fun of this story. I have a sort of big picture, but the details? Well, they have a way of going off in different directions, sometimes dragging the entire plot with them *g*

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thanks hon. And thanks again for a lovely day, yesterday.
No, even I have to move the story along, eventually, so for it to have been the same phone call...
Yes, our Xander is strong and used to coping, but he is young and alone as well.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you are still enjoying this. Poor Xander, he is being brave and doing his best to cope.
The bracelet is like The Initiative chip, it works on intention, so it is very controlling. *g* I think Xander will learn fast where it's limits are.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Yes, I suspect Giles will be full of self-blame and frustration at his own helplessness, for a while. And Xander is doing his best to survive. He still hasn't got a clue what it is all about.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Poor Giles, you have to feel for him, knowing that Xander got taken, because Spike couldn't get him. I imagine he has spent more time thinking about Xander in the last 5 days, than he ever has before.
I am glad you enjoyed it. I was curious myself, to see what was happening back in Sunnydale.
Thank you for your lovely comments.

[jans-intentions.livejournal.com]

Really excellent chapter. I'm so intrigued to see where this is going.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*Big smiles* I am so glad you think so. For once I have actually managed to write something mid-week, so I have a clue where they are going, but it'll still be Saturday before I manage to get it sorted into anything linear.

[jans-intentions.livejournal.com]

Hi, you've been nominated in round #6 of the forbiddenawards here: http://community.livejournal.com/forbiddenawards/34679.html

Please let me know if you accept.

Thank you and congratulations.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*waves madly* Hi, yes, of course I accept. Thank you. That was really nice of someone. I'm really surprised, because this story has hardly started yet.

[i-luv-trees.livejournal.com]

Looks like the spell does prevent him from listening to escape plans. At least he got to talk to Giles and let everyone know he's still alive. Wonder if Giles will be able to find out about the bracelet?

Thanks for the lovely words, C

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Yes, the spell is all about intention and when he was listening to Giles, he started thinking about what he would do, so the spell kicked in.
Thanks for reading and commenting.

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

Giles' shocked and relieved reaction to hearing Xander's voice was welcome. I was wondering how the gang had been doing in his absence. I like the plan of kidnapping Spike to work on the handcuff. Turning the tables on the kidnapper would be very satisfying.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Giles often found Xander annoying, but I do believe he did care about him. He didn't understand him, as he did Willow, nor did he have a duty towards him, as he did for Buffy, but he did care. And he's a clever bloke, in a totally different way from Xander. By now you will know how that plan worked out (or not *g*).
Thank you.