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down.
    Al was at her side and looking at her with concern. “Is there anything I can do?”
    She shook her head.
    Liahan extended a goblet of cold sparkling water. “Here, cub. Drink this. I suspect I know what they used on you, and the effects can vary.”
    Ty guzzled the goblet and sighed, leaning back. “Thanks, Aunty.”
    Liahan smiled and took the empty cup back, sending it into the vapours from which it sprang. Solid light was her skill, and she was very good at it.
    Liahan patted her shoulder. “Pixie dust can mess with shifters. It can send you into unexpected shifts or block you from shifting at all. How did you chase them off?”
    Al snorted. “They put her in the crush box, and she used the power of her beast to break it to pieces before they could start. That spooked them into running and disappearing, respectively.”
    Liahan tsked and stroked her hair. “Tyanna never did like the crush box. That wasn’t the first one she destroyed. It was how we met, actually. A mage with issues about her being raised by a master mage decided to have some fun at her expense.”
    Ty sat up. “I don’t think that anyone needs the lecture about my destructive habits, Aunty.”
    Her aunty sighed. “Right. Anyway. You were most likely dosed with pixie dust. It is a concoction of herbs, sugar and magic. The effects wear off in a few hours, but you will feel rough until they do.”
    “Oh, goody.”
    Tobias and the Shifter Councilmember were in conference.
    Ty looked at Liahan. “I will be fine, Aunty. Go and join the conversation. Someone has to pin that weasel down.”
    Tamora came over. “That reminds me. We had a tracking flicker on Jeremy Wax. He has just been transported to the Crossroads. If you two can sleep off the pixie dust, you can go after him.”
    Ty looked at Al, and he looked back with wry amusement.
    She asked Tamora, “We don’t have to adhere to the rules of the Crossroads, do we?”
    Her dispatcher chuckled. “No. I am sure that an exception can be made. We need you to find Wax before he hooks another shifter into this mess.”
    Ty nodded. “Right. Let’s go. I can rest there as easily as I can here.”
    Alatas helped her to her feet. “You are not going there alone, so I agree. We can sleep there.”
    Tobias stood up. “I can send you now. It will not be as smooth as a transporter’s work, but I can get you there.”
    It was funny to be in a room where no conversation was private, but it did make things easier for all concerned.
    Ty stood with Al’s arm around her. “I will have to buy what I need when I get there.”
    Tobias smiled. “Teal and Tony will sort you out. Hold on.”
    A flare of darkness and a twist of the ground under them and they were in the middle of a peacefully landscaped garden.
    A woman with white hair appeared with a smile. “Hunters, welcome to the Crossroads.”
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    The Open Heart Bed and Breakfast was delightful and the beds were soft and thick.
    Teebie had delivered a simple day dress and clean underwear while she slept. She had even added a set of low-heeled shoes to the pile. After a long and exceptionally hot shower, Tyanna almost felt normal again. She got dressed and headed downstairs with her hair in its normal black braid.
    The small bracelet on her wrist felt odd, but Teal assured her that it would be unusual for her to not be wearing one. Alatas had been tagged as well and he had been just as impressed. They had parted ways in the bed and breakfast and now daylight was about to reunite them.
    From the dining room, Al’s voice called out, “About time, sleeping beauty.”
    She came around the corner and he amended his statement. “All right. That was well worth the wait.”
    She gave him a smile and a flirty curtsy. “Morning.”
    He had been cleaned up as well. He no longer looked like a Maori biker. He was wearing a deep blue shirt, and Ty assumed he was wearing trousers or jeans. She wasn’t going to bend to check.
    Teebie came