Aidan was snickering next to me.

"What?!" I said, turning on him.

"Your description of Ben."

I frowned. "What? He's on an a-hole hair trigger?"

Everyone else in the room started giggling. Even Jared was smiling and looking up at the ceiling, as if trying to manage himself.

"Good one, Jayne. Such a way with words ... " said Tim, sighing.

After I thought about it for a second, I smiled too. "Ha, ha. Okay, I get it. That didn't come out exactly right. What I meant was, he can be nice one second and then without any warning, turn into an a-hole the next second."

"Yeah. A-hole hair trigger. We get it," said Aidan, covering his mouth with his hand now and fake-coughing.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. This is serious business and you guys are f.u.c.king around."

"You're the one talking about b.u.t.t hairs," said Becky, giggling like crazy when she was finished.

I refused to respond. I just pressed ahead, hoping my friends would get on board. "Jared, you said you have intel. What can you share with us?"

Jared looked at Scrum who nodded slightly.

"Well, we've been working with the angel warriors who came down to help out, led by the angel Beau. Shayla's also with them. Garrettt isn't an official part of their group, but he's helping out however he can."

"What are they doing?" I asked. "And how'd they get here?"

Jared looked at me with a confused expression on his face, his head tilting to the side for a second before he answered me. "Well, uhhhh, I guess I'll answer the first part of your question first, since the second part is a little confusing to me. They're helping us fight the demons off wherever we can find them."

"That's cool," I said. "But I'm not sure what's so confusing about telling us how they got here. Or don't you know?"

"Actually, I'm wondering how it is that you don't know," he said. He looked over at Scrum, but Scrum just shrugged his shoulders.

"What? You think I've been hanging out with those guys? Believe me, I wouldn't mind it at all. But I've been just a tad busy, what with being in the Underworld and all."

"Yeah, but ...," said Scrum.

Jared held up a hand to stop him. "Jayne, are you being obtuse or are you serious?"

Now he was really p.i.s.sing me off. "Jared, are you trying to get punched in the face? I mean, seriously. I haven't had a lot of sleep lately, and I can only be expected to take so much s.h.i.t from people in one day."

"Methinks there's a misunderstanding here," said Tim. "Just tell them you're as clueless as a babe in the woods."

I sighed. "Tim says I'm as clueless as a babe in the woods."

Jared nodded slowly. "It appears that way. Well, I guess I'll be breaking some news to you right now Jayne - information that I guess no one realized was news to you."

"What, already?!"

"The angels are here because you brought them here."

CHAPTER TWENTY.

I LOOKED AT JARED LIKE he'd lost a marble or two. "Say what?"

"I said, the angels are here because you brought them here. You compelled them in from the Gray."

I opened my mouth to respond, but the words wouldn't come. So I just sat there with my jaw hanging open.

"Fly catcher, twelve o'clock," said Tim, buzzing past my face and throwing something into my mouth. It hit the back of my throat, causing me to choke. I bent over, gagging and coughing, trying to dislodge it.

Scrum reached over and patted my back. "You okay, Jayne? Do you need a Heimlich or something?"

"Ew, did he just offer to lick your hiney?" asked Tim, back on Jared's dresser. "I'd say no to that if I were you, Jayne. But hey, if you go for that kind of thing ... "

I struggled to stand up. "You are ... cack! Ack! ... So totally dead, pixieman."

Tim flew up to the ceiling. "Hey, watch the death threats, there, lady. I'm a family man."

Aidan grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. "Sit, Jayne. He's just being a pixie."

I glowered at my tiny soon-to-be, bad-breath-gas-chambered-roommate who was now sticking his tongue out at me. "He's just being a dead pixie is what he's being." I sat down, still grouchy, but at least now I had the pixie spitball out of my throat.

"I don't even know what just happened," said Becky, mystified.

"Never mind. Just say your goodbyes to the pixie up on the ceiling, because when we leave here, I'm going to kill him."

"Oh, no!" yelled Tim in mock fear, his hand over his heart. "Not the gas chamber! Say it isn't so!"

I tried not to smile, but unfortunately, my efforts didn't work out so well for my expression.

"You okay, Jayne? You look like you have a stomach ache," said Finn.

"Could we just get off the subject of my gas problem and back to important things like compelling angels out of the Overworld?! Jesus!"

The room went dead silent ... for about two seconds, before Finn said, "Did anybody in here talk about Jayne's gas problems? I musta missed that."

I dropped my face into my hands, trying to block out the twittering of my friends. I'd just blown my own cover.

"Jayne, I guess you're compelling them through the Gray, and you're not aware of it," said Jared, making a valiant attempt at moving on.

I took a deep breath and lifted my head. "Apparently so." I refused to look at anyone, fearing I'd either start laughing too or yelling maybe; either reaction was equally probable. I stared at the closed door. "I did it in my dream that one time, so maybe I'm doing it while I sleep. But honestly, I really didn't do it on purpose."

"So you have no memory of compelling or summoning those angels?" asked Aidan.

I turned to look at him. "No. None, whatsoever."

"That's strange," said Jared.

"Add that to the list, then," said Finn. "Looks like we got a lotta stuff goin' on that don't make much sense."

"Maybe it's not Jayne doing it," said Becky.

"What do you mean?" asked Jared.

"Well, did the angels actually see her or hear her? How did they know she was the one bringing them in?"

"I'm not sure how it works," said Jared. "I suppose we could ask them."

"Where are they?" I asked, wondering if they were in the compound. I didn't know how chummy they'd gotten with the fae in my absence.

"They're out with the green elves in the forest," volunteered Finn. "Becky could go get one if you want, probably."

She smiled, nodding at her boyfriend, seeming pleased he'd volunteered her and her awesome teleporting skills.

"Could you do that, Beck?" I asked. "I'd really like to talk to one of them."

"Which one would you like?" Becky looked from me to Jared, waiting for an answer.

I shrugged, trying to act all casual. I wanted to say Beau, just so I could stare at his handsome face some more and maybe ask him about Chase. But I didn't want to seem obvious, so I said nothing.

"Bring their leader, if he can be spared," said Jared.

I had to battle the smile that wanted to spread itself across my face.

Aidan leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Simmer down there, pup."

I elbowed him hard in the side, making him grunt. "Mind your own s.h.i.t, wolfman," I whispered back. If he was going to be smelling my libido or whatever, he was going to have the shortest stint as a bodyguard ever in the history of faedom.

No one heard us because they were more focused on Becky standing up and preparing to disappear.

"Should I teleport with him? Is it urgent?"

"You'll have to ask him if he's okay with it."

"I'd vote no on that," said Finn. "Last thing we need is a p.i.s.sed-off angel warrior stuck in this little room here with us. I'm not sure I could put an arrow through one of 'em. Seems kinda wrong to make an angel kabob."

Becky nudged him with her foot. "Don't even joke about that. We don't put arrows in angels."

"We do if they're about to chop our heads off," mumbled Finn.

It made me wonder what I'd missed out on the battlefield. I guess the angels were a bit bloodthirstier than I'd imaged them to be.

"I'll be back with him as soon as he'll let me be back with him," said Becky, before disappearing into thin air.

"I ain't never gonna not be jealous-a-that," sighed Finn, staring at the s.p.a.ce where Becky used to be.

"Me neither," I said, thinking of all the c.r.a.p I could have avoided in the last few months by being able to just disappear when it was convenient.

"It's all a matter of sacrifices," said Aidan.

"What?" I frowned at him, not sure we were talking about the same thing.

"Sacrifices. Water sprites get that ability, but they sacrifice others. It's all even in the end. We're all equal."

"How so?" asked Finn.

"Water sprites are physically weak, for one."

"Total wienies, every last one of 'em," agreed Tim.

"They also lack courage; and there's a lot to be said for that particular strength." He looked at me knowingly.

I blushed, not feeling particularly deserving of that moniker since I nearly peed my pants every time I saw a bad guy.

"They are also too trusting and lack the ability to think critically about many things. All of these traits are weaknesses for them, making them very vulnerable. Their only defense is to retreat. But eventually, when all you do is retreat, you lose any place you can call home; no place is a safe place anymore. Their only hope is to attach themselves to those stronger than they are." Aidan looked pointedly at Finn.

"So what yer sayin' is, Becky needs me or she's gonna have to run for the rest of her life."

"Basically, yes."

Finn nodded. "I'm okay with that. I guess I don't mind not bein' able to disappear like that so much, now that I know I'd have to be a weaklin' for it."

I nodded. "Makes sense. I guess Nature likes balance."

"Yeah, just like with you, Jayne," said Tim, acting all innocent.

I looked up at him. I should have known better, but I asked anyway. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you have the most awesome powers a fae could have, but you have the personality of someone who will constantly screw things up and never quite get a handle on things. See? Nature's delicate balancing act." He did a barrel roll followed by an upside down head-dive twist before landing back on the dresser, so pleased with me falling into his trap that he had to let out the extra happy-energy, apparently.

I smiled evilly. "Oh, yeah, Tim. I see what you mean. Like how pixies are super duper tiny, and yet have the power to blow huge fae away with a simple fart of b.u.t.t-dust. Nature's balance. Makes perfect sense. I totally get it now."

Tim leaped off the dresser and flew into the center of the room, yelling his head off. "Jayne farted in the dragon's face! She's the farter, not me! She's the one!" He buzzed up to my nose. "And it's not b.u.t.t-dust! It's body-dust, you fae-tard. Get it right for once in your life!"

I swatted him away, and he ducked my efforts with slick aerodynamics that were seriously impressive, even to me - the person he was trying to out as a stealth ga.s.ser. He left my area of the room, flying backwards, blowing a raspberry and flipping me off the entire way.

"What's he sayin'?" asked Finn. "I can't hear him, but he seems pretty excited."

"He is. He likes it when I brag about his b.u.t.t-dust."

"Let me out of this room before I dust your fat b.u.t.t," demanded Tim.