Renault did his best to keep up with King Darian, but Darian was moving too quickly through the hallways. When they reached the Science & Research Department, Darian pushed the double doors open, almost hitting a lab tech. Darian ignored him and approached Victor Snyder.

"Your Highness, it's good to..." Victor began, but Darian cut him off.

"Save it! How is the human testing going?" Darian asked, holding up a hand.

"Not well, and I'm running out of test subjects," Victor said, eyeing a room where his men were scrubbing away the remains of the previous failure. "Perhaps if we could spare some soldiers."

"We can't afford to sacrifice them right now. Use one of those men," Darian said, nodding toward the cleaning crew.

"Your Highness," Victor said, but he stopped and closed his mouth.

Darian leaned in dangerously close to Victor's face. Victor didn't flinch, but he did look uncomfortable. "Consider yourself lucky to be alive. I only kept you because of the testing. Do as I tell you!"

"Yes, sir," Victor said and turned to fetch one of the men in the room behind them. He returned with a young blonde man.

"Son, how would you like to be a part of something great?" Darian asked the man with a smile.

"I—would love it," he lied. His eyes darted back toward the room he was cleaning for a brief second. He knew what happened to the test subjects, but Darian scared him.

"Relax. I am about to give you the gift of magic."

"W-wonderful," the man's voice cracked. "I've always wanted to be a mage," he added. He glanced at Victor with pleading eyes, but Victor shook his head.

"Come with me," Darian said, leading him into a lab.

They sat the man in a chair and strapped his arms down. Victor hated the look in his eyes. He couldn't maintain eye contact. The man didn't struggle, but his muscles clenched and tensed. The veins in his arms stood out firmly. Unfortunately, this only made it easier to inject him. Once they secured him, Darian returned to the hallway and observed through a window. A tech swabbed the man's arm and placed the syringe against his skin. The tech looked at the man with an apologetic glance before injecting him. He knew he was doomed as he watched the tech hurry out the door.

"How do you feel?" Darian asked.

"I—I feel—NO!" he screamed. His body became rigid, and every muscle clenched. They watched his eyes glow red, blue, and yellow before darkening again. His teeth clenched hard enough that they could almost hear them cracking. The man frantically tried to move his arms, which pulled at the restraints. A burning sensation coursed through his skin, and electricity ran through his blood. Energy poured out of him like heat waves coming off asphalt on a hot summer day.

"Shield him!" Darian yelled.

Victor raised his hand and placed a magical shield over the man, but the energy didn't stop flowing.

"He will explode. Knock him out!" Renault said.

"If we go in there, we'll die, and if we knock him out with magic, it will make him explode immediately. Either way will doom him," Victor replied, placing his head in his hands.

A tech pressed a button on the wall. Shutters lowered over the window, but they didn't close in time to prevent them from seeing his grisly demise. A loud pop sounded as the man blew up. Thankfully, Victor knew to put up plastic wrap in the lab after the first few disasters. It didn't make the clean-up any less disgusting.

Everyone stood in silence until Darian stormed down the hallway. He entered a lab where they kept a skinless man. A tech was drawing blood from him. Darian pushed him aside and stood with his face inches away from the specimen.

"Tell me your secrets," Darian hissed.

"Darian, they can't speak," Renault said.

"Tell me your secrets!" Darian yelled. "Get one of the remaining yellow mages in here and probe his mind."

"We already did that. They don't understand their powers any more than we do," Victor replied.

This only angered Darian more. He snapped the skinless man's neck in a rage.

"And what did that accomplish, Darian?" Renault asked. "Now we will need more specimens."

"This has to work," Darian said, ignoring Renault's comments.

"I understand that," Renault replied.

"You understand nothing! It isn't your life on the line!"

"I beg to differ. We are all in danger if you are in danger."

"How is this Red Sparrow always ahead of us? Does she have an oracle?"

"She might."

"Then..." Darian began, but something interrupted him. He turned to see an unbelievable sight. The skinless man stirred. A sound echoed throughout the room. They heard cartilage and bone twisting and resetting. The noise set Darian's teeth on edge. It lasted a few seconds before the skinless man drew a deep breath and opened his eyes. "They can't die," Darian whispered, drawing close and examining him.

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"That's impossible," Renault said.

"You witnessed this with your own eyes!"

"Perhaps if you removed the head completely..."

"It doesn't matter. They are virtually indestructible! I must have this power!"

"Your Highness..." Renault started, but the look on Darian's face scared him too much to continue.

***

Later that night, Jake, Shaylie, and Marcus headed to Smokey's Bar. They opened the door to find the place packed. Jake didn't realize that many people even lived in Ash. He wondered if every adult who lived there frequented the place. It wouldn't have surprised him. He would drink every day if he lived there, too. Most of the patrons looked tired and worn. Many had pale skin because they didn't get out much during the day. A few in the corner even wore cloaks to hide their faces. Jake took Shaylie's hand as they walked. She squeezed it gently, and he returned the gesture.

"I don't know if I'd enjoy playing poker against these guys," Jake said.

They waded through the sea of humanity and moved toward a group of people huddled around a young woman. She had raven hair and piercing blue eyes. An air of authority surrounded her, and she commanded the attention of the men talking to her.

"That must be Lana," Jake said to Marcus, who nodded.

Lana spotted them and beckoned them over. "You must be the visitors I heard about," she said. "I'm Lana Myers."

"I'm George. It's good to meet you," Marcus replied, shaking her hand. "We would like to speak with the Shark. I heard you were the person to see about that."

"The Shark isn't taking visitors right now."

"Please. We need to talk to him," Shaylie said.

"Lots of people want to see him. Why should I let a group of strangers in?"

"Because we have information he might want to hear," Marcus replied.

"If it's important, tell me, and I'll pass on the message."

"Not here. We need more privacy," Marcus said.

"Fine. Follow me," she said and led them to a back room. They walked down a narrow hallway that made Jake claustrophobic. He felt glad when they entered a private meeting room with a long table. Lana pointed at it, and they sat down. "Okay. What's so important?" she asked.

"The crown is after one of our friends. We would like protection."

"Well, you're in the right place. They tend to leave us be."

"This is different' They won't let our friend go."

"What did they do?"

"I'd rather not get into that. They will probably send someone if they find out we're here."

"We can handle ourselves, and there are no snitches in Ash. We don't rat each other out. You don't need to see the Shark for this. Just lay low, and you'll be fine," Lana said, starting to rise, but Marcus reached out with a hand to stop her. She looked at him questioningly.

"If there is trouble, who are the best fighters in town? We're looking for protection," Marcus said.

"People come here to hide in peace. No one likes to get their hands dirty. We're trying to avoid conflict."

"Conflict might come no matter what. Look at all these attacks."

"They haven't attacked us because they're afraid we'd unleash what's on the other side of that wall on them if they did," Lana said, nodding toward the quarantine zone.

"Would you?"

"If push came to shove, we might. We man the gate."

"That would endanger your people as well. They're out of control."

"Then we better hope it never comes to that. You're not about to bring drama down on us, right?"

"Hopefully not. Like I said, we only have to worry if they discover we're here. How about this? Let us train a few people to fight. That way, you don't have to use the skinless if drama comes knocking."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I will be training some friends here in the fields outside of town tomorrow. Tell anyone who wants to join us to meet there at eight o'clock."

"Fine. I'll spread the word," Lana replied and stood to leave, but Marcus stopped her again. She looked annoyed.

"About that meeting with the Shark," Marcus said.

"You don't give up easily," she sighed. "I'll consider letting one of you in. How about—you," she said, pointing at Jake. "Come. Let's talk in private."

Jake stood, but Shaylie made a sudden movement. Jake and Marcus glanced at her. She looked uneasy. Her eyes darted between Jake and Lana, and Lana raised her eyebrows.

"If your girlfriend doesn't want you to come..." Lana chuckled.

"She isn't his girlfriend," Marcus said, earning odd looks from Jake and Shaylie. "Go ahead," Marcus nodded at Jake. Jake followed Lana, and Shaylie glared at Marcus once they left. "What? I wasn't aware you two were dating."

"We aren't, but can we trust her?" Shaylie asked.

"We need her on our side. Plus, Jake has a way with people."

"You mean he has a way with women."

"Do you trust Jake?"

"Yes!"

"Then don't worry," Marcus said. "Come on. Let's head back to the inn."

Shaylie rose to leave, but a bad feeling stopped her. She felt a tingling sensation in her mind. Shaylie knew what it was. She closed her mind with magic because someone was reading her thoughts. "Who's there?" she asked. No one answered. She looked toward the east. Shaylie didn't know how, but she felt the intrusion came from that direction. The strangest part was something seemed familiar about what she sensed. She didn't understand.

Meanwhile, Lana and Jake moved to the barkeeper's office. He wasn't there. They were alone. The office didn't offer much room. Jake found himself uncomfortably close to Lana.

"How long have you lived here?" Jake asked.

"Five years."

"Are you wanted by the crown?"

"Wow, you cut right to the chase. No, I'm not. I just didn't like the big city and wanted somewhere darker and more mysterious. This place sounded cooler in the stories, but I liked it here. Someday, I hope to save enough money to go somewhere warmer."

"How did you end up working for the Shark?"

"He liked how I could keep some of the men around here in line and offered me a job."

"Are you and him dating?"

Lana stared at him for a second before answering. "You're blunt. I like that. No, I'm not dating him, but we occasionally keep each other company, if you get my drift. The Shark likes his privacy. I handle most communication, and he pays well," Lana smiled. Then the smile turned dangerous, which made Jake back up a step. "Now I get to ask a similar question. Are you dating the blonde girl?" Lana asked, referring to Shaylie in disguise.

"No—I don't think. I'm not sure."

"But you want to," Lana said. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah, I do," Jake laughed. "But I also want to meet with your boss. Can you arrange that?"

"Look, he likes you. That's why I pulled you aside."

"How could you know that?"

Lana pointed at the side of her head and said, "Mental link. He's a yellow mage."

"Wait, you've been communicating with him this whole time?"

"I always do when I'm out and about. It makes the job easier."

"So, what about the meeting?"

"He's still deciding. Give him until tomorrow. Oh, and he says to ask that blonde girl out. She'll say yes," Lana said, leaving Jake with his jaw on the floor.

Jake felt elated for a moment, but then dread hit him. He rushed out the door and returned to the inn. Jake found Marcus sitting out front smoking a cigar and almost tripped on the steps while trying to reach him.

"What's wrong with you?" Marcus asked.

"The Shark is a yellow mage. He was reading our minds."

Marcus choked on his cigar smoke for a second but regained his composure. "If you know what to look for, you can tell when someone's reading your mind. There's a faint tickle. I didn't feel it."

"No, but I did," Shaylie said from the doorway.

"That's not good," Marcus said.

"Relax. I only felt it for a second. He didn't get very far," Shaylie said.

"He might have gotten far enough, though."

"I don't think so. Besides, I don't think he means any harm. I can't explain it, but what I felt wasn't malicious. It was..." Shaylie said, but she trailed off.

"Was what?"

"I don't know," Shaylie said, glancing in the direction of the mansion in deep thought.