her,” Jaycee said in amusement.
“Because I’m sane. She can kill all of us with her pinky.”
“Aw, I thought she liked you,” Jaycee said. “That’s what Zander told me.”
“She was interested in me,” Ben said. “I am not going to test that.”
“None of this is helping Stuart.” Peigi stepped forward, and everyone but Stuart blinked, as though they’d forgotten her presence. Jaycee and Dimitri were more dominant than she was, but when Peigi decided it was time to make a point, she let dominance go to hell. “If Stuart can’t go through to Faerie with this route, then where can he? Not the Austin ley line. I agree with him about that.”
Ben rubbed his chin. “Have to think about it. There’s a ley line in Las Vegas, you know. Runs right under your Shiftertown.”
“Which I got stuck in,” Reid said. “I don’t think it’s open all the way anymore.”
“Is there a map of ley lines?” Peigi asked. “With helpful pointers to where working gates exist?”
“Huh,” Ben said. “Would be handy. I know Andrea had one she mapped herself, but she turned all that research over to Sean for the Guardian database. Guardians, I hear, have a way to know, through the database, when a gate opens and closes. We could ask one of them.”
“One I can trust?” Reid sent Ben a quizzical look. “Most Shifter leaders like me where they can find me. Would they let a Guardian help me? Trust that I’d go back to Faerie and not cause a shitload of trouble? And come back out again?”
“Zander’s mate, Rae, is a Guardian,” Jaycee said. “And trustworthy.”
“She’s a relatively new Guardian,” Ben said. “She’s still learning about the Guardian secrets and their knowledge pool. I was thinking more of the Guardian of the North Carolina Shiftertown, a Feline called Pierce Daniels. He’s smart and sort of trusts me. We could talk to him.”
“Hell of a d-drive,” Dimitri said. “Why not your own Guardian? What’s his name—Neal?”
Peigi broke in. “Because Eric might stop him. Stuart is an asset.” She said the last word in disapprobation. She didn’t like that Eric used Reid anytime he needed him.
“That’s why I thought of Pierce,” Ben said. “His Shiftertown leader—Bowman—does his own thing. Bowman wouldn’t give a shit if Eric didn’t want Reid leaving. And Pierce might not bother telling Bowman he was helping us. The Shifters out there are seriously independent. I guess that comes from living in the middle of the woods.”
Reid considered the suggestion. “All right, contact him. Anything Pierce knows about finding gates would be helpful. Doesn’t mean I can get through, but it’s worth a shot.”
“Don’t you need a Fae artifact to help?” Jaycee asked. “Or a chant or something? Dimitri got pulled through by a spell and stinky incense.”
“Depends.” Ben tapped his fingertips together. “Humans and Shifters, yes, need some magic to help open a gate. For a Fae, I don’t know. They seem to be able to move back and forth at will.”
“I’ve gone through gates before,” Reid said impatiently. “But I won’t find out if I can until I get to a gate. If the house won’t open the door …” He glanced at the wall, which remained stubbornly solid. “Jaycee, Dimitri, Ben, Peigi—sorry I wasted your time.”
“Not a w-waste,” Dimitri said. “You needed me to tell you about Cian.”
“I still think I should talk to Lady Aisling,” Jaycee said. “Ask her opinion if not for her help.”
Ben stopped tapping and laced his fingers together. “The way you say that, like you’ll simply call her for a chat, is seriously terrifying. Be careful, Jaycee. Being casual with the Tuil Erdannan is like playing around with an antitank missile.”
“It sounds like everyone has a plan.” Peigi’s voice was calm, but her anger cut at Reid. “Why don’t you pursue it, and Stuart and I will go home and take care of our cubs.”
Again, the others broke off and turned to her in surprise. Peigi was good at staying quiet while everyone argued, but when she did speak, she made people listen. She didn’t just blather to fill space.
Dimitri sent her a big smile. “Yeah, we’re kinda useless. But you’re in this big house, and it’s a long journey home. Rest, chill out, and we’ll start back in the morning. Ben and I will make calls, Jaycee and I will argue about her contacting Lady Aisling, and you and Stuart can take a little vacation. There’s lots of food, beer, TV, online games, whatever you want. This place is