Nate thrust an Ironhide into his mouth as the grass writhed higher, twisting and constricting. Saggy skin swaying, the tall man shuffled down the porch steps, crouched, and parted his thick lips. The orange gel abandoned John, leaving him wheezing in the winding grasp of the vines, and flowed toward the tall man.

The Fuse quit chanting and his birthmark stopped glowing, having spread to vividly tattoo more of his face. Grassy vines wound tightly around Nate, Summer, and John from shoulders to ankles. With the Ironhide in his mouth, Nate felt no pain from the squeeze, but he was immobilized. He couldn’t even wiggle his fingers.

The tall man swelled as his gaping mouth vacuumed up the orange gel, limp flaps of skin inflating until he was once again big and round. Behind him, Denny and Eric emerged from the house. “That was just sad,” Denny laughed.

“Denny, don’t do this, help us!” Summer cried.

Denny smirked. “Not my fault I’m playing for the winning team.”

“Where’s Gary?” John growled.

“Not here,” Eric said. “But we know where he’s going.”

“He has family on the edge of town,” Denny said. “Burt and Starla Haag—we’ll have him soon.”

“Can it,” the Fuse spat. “Go fetch the straitjackets.”

Denny and Eric ran off obediently, heading down the street.

“Well done, Mauricio,” the Fuse said.

The big round man nodded, lips glossy with jelly residue.

“How’d you get out?” John asked.

The Fuse arched an eyebrow. “None of your business.”

“I don’t get it,” John complained. “Your powers are null without your voice.”

“Shut up,” the Fuse said. “Maybe I pulled a Houdini, what do you care? You should have stuck to the shadows, John. Limping around in broad daylight doesn’t suit you. Although, to your credit, you caught up to us much quicker than we expected.”

Denny and Eric came running back up the street, each holding a stack of folded straitjackets. The Fuse investigated the jackets, selecting a large one and unfolding it. “John, I expect you’ll make this easy. I can crush your little sidekicks with a word.”

The Fuse mumbled, birthmark shimmering faintly, and the vines around John’s upper body slackened and fell away. The Fuse patted John and discovered a tranquilizer gun tucked away inside of his overcoat, along with a few throwing stars. He passed the weapons to Mauricio. John submissively slipped his arms into the straitjacket, which the Fuse tightened.

“How does your own medicine taste?” Eric taunted.

“No gloating,” the Fuse snapped. He mumbled again and the monstrous grass around John’s legs came free from the ground. “Mauricio, bring the car.”

The big round man strode away. The Fuse walked over to the Buick, opened the door, ducked inside, and came out holding the keys and the crossbow that hurled pellets. “Summer, you put on the next jacket,” the Fuse said. “Again, be nice, or your friends will pay.”

The Fuse chose a jacket, released the grass around Summer’s upper body, and secured her in the white coat. As he had done with John, the Fuse uprooted the grass around her legs, leaving them snugly bound.

Mauricio pulled a black Hummer into the driveway. He got out and lumbered over to the Fuse. “Load John and the girl into the Buick,” the Fuse said. “Then take Eric and Denny back to the shop.”

“What about the boy?” Mauricio asked, jerking a thumb at Nate.

“John Dart has considerable value as a hostage,” the Fuse said. “And keeping one of the brats could prove useful. We don’t need two.”

Mauricio heaved John Dart over one shoulder, dumped him into the Buick, fastened his seatbelt, and then lugged Summer over to the vehicle. Afterwards, the big man plodded over to the Hummer and drove away with Denny and Eric.

The Fuse waved a hand, and the vines binding Nate squeezed tighter and pulled him to the ground. He realized that the Fuse was trying to squeeze the breath out of him, so he pretended to go unconscious. Once he did so, the vines relaxed their grip. The Fuse entered the Buick and started the engine. When the car was out of earshot, Nate started squirming, and the grass binding him began to loosen. Grimly, Nate realized that he represented their last chance. The thought was overwhelming. Part of him wanted to just stay tied up there in the grass. How could he possibly succeed where people as experienced as John Dart had failed?

One hand came free and Nate started tearing at his grass bindings. The odds were against him, but at least he might have the element of surprise on his side.

*****

Sniffling in the backseat of the Buick, Summer squirmed inside of her confining coat. Her nose was running but she could not wipe it. She tried her best to rub her nostrils against her shoulder. John sat stoically beside her, eyes straight ahead, a red stain slowly spreading on the shoulder of his straitjacket.

“Your shoulder,” Summer said.

“Not much of a wound,” John said. “I only grazed him. It was a tough shot.”

Feeling frustrated, Summer twisted and wriggled.

“I’d hold still, Summer,” the Fuse said. “I can still use your bindings to crush either of you at will. Behave, and you might get out of this alive.”

“Every time you use your magic you get closer to dying,” Summer said.

“Making the grass grow big and tie you up took some real power,” the Fuse admitted. “Couldn’t be helped. But manipulating the grass requires almost none.”

“Why’d you have to leave Nate?” Summer said softly.

“Ahhh, missing your boyfriend already?” the Fuse snickered. “Want to know a secret? We already grabbed Gary Haag and his precious key! He was packing up when we arrived. He’s in the Hummer. We told Nate what we needed him to hear. He thinks I tried to crush him, but it was obvious that his body was magically reinforced. I loosened his bindings as we were leaving. Setting him free with that misinformation will get Sebastian Stott out of the way. We can’t have the old man meddling, not today. So sit back, relax. This will all be over soon.”

Chapter Eighteen

Blue

Jogging along Winding Way, Nate went over his plan in his mind. It had not taken him long to determine that soliciting help from Mr. Stott was his best option. Nate had betrayed the old magician by turning to John Dart, but Mr. Stott still didn’t want Mrs. White to get the treasure, and he had a vehicle. So, hopefully, after Nate brought him up to speed, all would be forgiven and they could chase down Gary Haag together. Even if it meant Mr. Stott ended up drinking water from the Fountain of Youth, that would be preferable to empowering Mrs. White. Unfortunately, Nate had left the cell phone in the Buick, or he could simply have telephoned.