"You're just as vulnerable as I am."

"No, I'm not. I have friends in high places." And just like that he admitted to having demons as bedfellows.

He disgusted me. I tried to keep my lip from curling in disdain, but it was hard.

"Your mouth is twitching," said Ben, smiling. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"More like a demon," I said, challenging him with a look.

He dropped his smile. "When I get back, we'll talk."

"I'm looking forward to it," I said, totally not meaning it except maybe I was looking forward to beating him about the head and shoulders. I was ninety-five percent sure he was working behind everyone's back on his own agenda, even while on this trip, and so I was going to do whatever I could to make sure that whatever he accomplished was what the council wanted him to. I didn't necessarily like all those crusty fae, but I trusted that they were doing what was best for all of us, even if they were being stupid about that list. I had to go and do this. The council was going to set a traitor loose in the Otherworlds.

"I have to go on my hike, Ben, so you need to leave."

He smiled. "Gladly. I'll see you here when I get back."

"Maybe, maybe not."

I followed him out into my sitting room, shocked out of my drawers to find Samantha standing there like she had every right to. She was just tucking a thin stick into her belt when we emerged.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked accusingly. She couldn't possibly be up to any good.

"Just taking care of some loose ends," she said smugly. "Ready to go, Ben?"

"Yep." He walked over and took her by the arm. "See you later, Jayne."

They both left the room, saying nothing more. I was temporarily rooted to the spot, angry as h.e.l.l that she'd just come in here without an invitation and acted so smug. Her cryptic answer had done nothing to make me feel better about the invasion of my privacy.

I walked over and smacked Aidan on the foot to wake him up. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty, we have a.s.ses to go kick."

He didn't respond.

I frowned at him, moving closer and knocking his leg a little harder with my knee. "Come on, Aidan, we have to go. We'll find Tim out in the hallways somewhere."

His eyes remained shut, and he didn't flinch, even when I bent over and shook his shoulders.

I stood up. "What the frig?" I said out into the room, looking around, wondering what the h.e.l.l was going on. And then I had a flashback to Samantha tucking that d.a.m.n wand back into her pants. "Oh h.e.l.l no!" I yelled, dropping down on my knees beside Aidan and shaking him hard by the shoulders, enough to get his head lolling all over the place. "Aidan! Wake the h.e.l.l up, you idiot!"

He was dead asleep - still breathing but not getting up for anything. That stupid wench had thrown some sort of spell on him while Ben kept me busy in the other room.

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h!" I screamed. I stood and strode over to the table in the garden area, looking for Abby. She wasn't there, but I did find her about five steps farther out in the garden, lying right in the middle of the path, sound asleep just like Aidan. She was lucky I hadn't stepped on her and squished her like a d.a.m.n bug.

"Are you friggin kidding me?! Abby, get up!"

A couple seconds later I heard a voice behind me and it made me jump.

"Geez, lighten up on the caffeine, roomie. I have the intel you needed." Tim was back and happily oblivious to the disaster that was our situation now. "They're going to the Overworld first. They're hoping they can get some angels to help when they go to the Underworld after. They've got Shayla going and Garrett waiting to join them in the Underworld."

"Tim, I have some really, really bad news," I said.

"What?"

"Samantha spelled Aidan and Abby."

"Spelled them? How?" He turned to look over at Aidan. "He's just taking a nap. Werewolves are big nappers."

I moved to the side so he could see his wife lying dead-like out on the path. "Is Abby just sleeping too, then? Is she a big napper?" I asked sarcastically.

"Gah!" Tim shrieked, flying so fast over to his wife he was a blur, landing on the ground next to her and picking up her torso, hugging her close to him. "Oh, Abby, what has that awful witch done to you?!"

"She's still breathing, Tim. I seriously think they're just sleeping." Aidan's snore from across the room confirmed my diagnosis.

Tim kissed Abby all over her face and then looked for a reaction. "It's not a spell broken by a handsome prince, I can tell you that."

"I'm sure the witch healers will be able to fix them both up, but I'm not going to be able to hang around and help out. I'll get Becky over here to do it. I have to go track down Samantha's sorry a.s.s and give her a taste of her own medicine."

"How are you going to do that? You can't cast spells."

"Yeah, but I can punch her in the face. I figure that qualifies as an eye for an eye."

Tim twisted around, his angry face nearly glowing with rage. "I agree. Punch her twice, once for you and once for my darling Abby." He gently laid his wife back down on the ground. "Jayne, will you please put her in our bed? I'd do it, but I need to save my strength."

I didn't question him, I just did as he asked. She was so light when I picked her up, I felt like I was carrying the empty husk of a long-dead gra.s.shopper in my hand. It was sad, and I had to fight back the tears that threatened. She looked seriously dead.

I looked over at Aidan sleeping away on the coach and was at a loss. "What the h.e.l.l am I supposed to do, Tim? Aidan was going to be my wingman."

"You can't go alone," he said.

My door opened and Spike stepped through. "I'm all packed. Are we ready to go?"

I smiled humorlessly. "I'm not going to have to go alone." I looked over at Tim. "You got this, roomie?"

"Yeah, I got this. Go kick some serious a.s.s, J.B."

"You got it."

I walked out, pulling my backpack out from under the couch and taking Spike by the hand. "Come on, loverboy. Let's go hunting."

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT.

WE WALKED DOWN THE HALLWAY, doing our best to keep it quiet, speaking in hushed tones. Our whispers bounced off the rock walls making up the pa.s.sageway.

"So where exactly are we going?" Spike asked.

"First to the meadow where I met Garrett and Shayla, then to the Overworld."

"Do you know how to get us there? To the Overworld, I mean?"

"I think so. I know I can get us to the Underworld. It shouldn't be too different, right?"

Spike didn't answer right away, but eventually he said, "Let's hope not."

We reached the door leading to the meadow, and I pushed it open. No one was there to greet or surprise us, which made my heart beat just a tiny bit slower. My stress-level was at about seven out of ten, but it wasn't going to take much to push it to the edge.

At some point along the way, I'd dropped Spike's hand, but he took it up again. I loved the feel of his warm grip surrounding my cold, nervous fingers. It felt steady and sure, and brought with it a sense of loyalty that I know I'd be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. There was a lot to be said for undying affection. I didn't know what I'd done to deserve this from him, but I wasn't going to be throwing it back at him anymore. I wasn't certain exactly what that meant for us, but for sure I wanted to honor what he was doing for me right now. Ben was bound to me, but he'd done nothing but betray me and use me to get what he wanted. As far as I was concerned, I owed him nothing but honesty. And from now on, that's all he was ever going to get from me.

We reached the meadow where my mom's tree was growing strong. I took Spike over to the place where Shayla had appeared, stopping where I thought her form had first shown itself to me and Garrett.

"What are we doing here?" asked Spike.

"This is where Shayla first came into our realm. I was hoping it was some kind of direct route to the Overworld or something."

"But didn't she come in through the Gray?"

"Yes, but I don't know if she wandered around in there or just stepped through." I let go of Spike's hand and threw my arms up in frustration. "I don't know what I'm doing, Spike! I'm just trying to figure things out as I go along."

He leaned over and took my hand back, picking it up and stroking it with his other one. "Relax, Jayne. You're strung up tighter than a piano wire. We can figure this out together, just tell me what your plan is."

I sighed. "I seriously don't have one. I thought first I'd get us into the Overworld, then go find the dragon and talk to it."

"How big is the Overworld?"

"I have no idea. Probably huge."

"And where do the dragons live there?"

My stress-level rose with every question out of his mouth. "I don't know! How am I supposed to know that s.h.i.t?!"

He squeezed my hand. "I'm just asking. Don't get all riled up. Take a breath so we can work through this."

His voice was very soothing, and I decided I couldn't do any worse by following his advice. I breathed in deeply and then let the air out steadily and slowly. It calmed my heart rate just a little, allowing me to clear my mind a bit.

"Fine. I'm chill now."

"Okay, so who do we know who might be able to help us?"

I thought about it. Who's gone into the Overworld and is someone we can talk to? "Chase, Shayla, and Beau. All angels."

"Alright, see? Now we have some progress. What are the chances we can contact any of them right now or shortly after getting there?"

"I think I could contact Beau right now. Chase, I have no idea. I think Shayla is with the other posse, so maybe she's out of the picture for us."

"Okay, let's go with Beau then. Do you think we could call him now so we could ask him if he could help us go in?"

"I'm willing to try."

Spike squeezed my hand again and then let it go. "Do it. I'll be right here if you need me."

I smiled tremulously at not only his patience but also his total faith in me. I knew in the deepest part of soul that if I screwed this up, he was still going to love me. It warmed my heart to know that unconditional love was possible even in the Here and Now. I realized that if I didn't want to, I didn't have to wait for the end of my life to be with someone who could feel that way about me, and knowing this made me feel lighter and happier than I thought I dared be.

I cast my eyes to the ground, telling myself now was not the time to go all goo-goo over Spike or question my feelings over Chase, the angel who refused to have me in his life right now. I had to get this Beau guy on the line and see what he could do to help us out. My lids went down as I focused my energy out into the element sitting at my feet. I tapped into The Green with my mind, asking for it to reach out and find the angel with the great big white wings and the sword at his side.

Beau, I said in my mind. Come to me. I need your help. Please, this is urgent. I pictured the dark s.p.a.ce where I went when I slept, the place I pulled unwitting fae and angels into by some power I hadn't yet identified. Beau! I'm out in the meadow! Please come!

Spike's voice cut into my concentration. "Jayne, I think something's happening."

Before I could even open my eyes, I heard Beau's voice. "I'm here. I thought we were not supposed to communicate this way anymore."

As my eyes found their focus, they picked up the shimmering whiteness that was appearing in front of Spike and me.

Yeah, well, a girl's allowed to change her mind.

Once he was fully formed and standing in front of us with his heavy-looking wings folded, I spoke aloud. "Thanks for coming."

He nodded, looking briefly at Spike before turning back to me. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Remember how you said you'd make sure I was protected?"

"Yes."

"I need you to do that."

"And so I have."

I frowned. He had a funny way of protecting me when the fae around me were dropping like flies. But that was an argument for another day. "I need you to take me into the Overworld to see the dragons there."

"That would not be protecting you. That would be leading you to your death."

"Well, I'm going with or without you, so I figured you'd like to be around for the whole thing. This is the last time I'm going to ask."

He said nothing; he just stared at me.

I looked over at Spike. "Don't you just love the whole tall, dark, handsome and silent thing?"

He shook his head slowly, looking from Beau to me and back to Beau again.

"Yeah. Me neither." I looked at the angel. "Alright. You had your chance. You might want to fly away now so you don't get caught in my web."

His wings opened so quickly I almost had a heart attack. I fell back in fright, grabbing my chest involuntarily as I did. Spike crouched down, looking like he was ready to rip someone's neck out. His teeth were bared and glistening, making me take a step away from him too, worried for a moment about my own wellbeing.

Spike stood slowly, crafting his features back into their regular state, closing his mouth before he looked over at me. "Those are some big-a.s.s wings, aren't they?"