"No, you're wrong," Shaylie said. She stood up and paced the floor in front of the bed. "You must have misunderstood the vision. Tell me exactly what you saw."

"Jake was lying in a pool of blood. He was bleeding from so many wounds. I heard a mournful bird song and..." she said, but she trailed off.

"And what?" Shaylie asked impatiently.

"I saw you kneeling over him, but you..." Maya struggled to finish again, making Shaylie angry.

"Please just tell me what you saw! How does he die!?" Shaylie yelled. She didn't realize how loud she was until Jake burst into the room.

"Is everything okay? Who died? What's going on?" Jake asked.

"Jake! Not now!" Shaylie said. "Maya said she wanted to speak to me alone."

"But you yelled about someone dying."

"Give us a few..." Shaylie said, but Maya's voice entered her mind. Maya forged a mental link to send Shaylie a message.

"We will have to tell him," Maya said.

"You said you were still trying to figure out what you saw. Wait until we discuss it more. I don't want to worry him. Besides, you still haven't finished telling me everything."

"Shaylie, I don't know how to say this, but I think you..."

"Are you two having some sort of weird mental conversation or something? You keep making faces at each other," Jake butted in, not realizing he was interrupting.

"Shut up, Jake!" Shaylie grumbled.

"Quiet," Jake replied.

"Hey! Don't tell me to be quiet. I said it first."

"No, I'm serious. Be quiet," Jake whispered, holding up his hand. He appeared to be listening to something. Shaylie noticed his eyes glowed red and realized he meant it. She watched his face and felt uneasy because something disturbed him. "We have company," he muttered and entered the hallway. Jake opened the door to the other room and said, "Marcus, we have a problem."

"I know," Marcus said. He was already preparing. His eyes glowed as brightly as Jake's. "Someone is trying to sneak up the stairs, but they're not very good at it."

"This is a shady place. It might not have anything to do with us," Jake said in a hushed conversation with Marcus.

"We're the only people on this floor, and he stopped at our landing," Marcus said, peeking around the edge of the door toward the far end of the hallway. Marcus made a curious noise when he saw a man peek around the corner. He caught a glimpse of a face only a mother could love. Even then, Marcus doubted she would like it either. "Dammit," Marcus whispered. "It's one of O'Connor's men."

"Aren't they supposed to be good at their jobs?" Jake asked.

"You're right. This is a distraction," Marcus said, turning in the other direction in time to dodge a blast that hit the wall. He backed into the room and readied for a fight. "Everyone stay in here. Jake, Bret, and Van, you're with me," Marcus said.

"Hey, I can help," Shaylie said.

"No, you are their target. Stay in here," Jake said.

Shaylie opened her mouth to protest, but a voice at the end of the hallway cut her off.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," said a raspy voice. It was O'Connor. "I know you're there, little birdie."

"I'll teleport to the stairwell and distract him while you guys take care of the one on the other end," Bret said.

"Isn't there a third man?" Jake asked.

"He's right, Bret. O'Connor probably isn't alone," Marcus said. "They're waiting for us to emerge from the room."

"We can't stay in here. I can draw them away," Bret said.

"I'll go with Bret. We'll lure O'Connor and the other guy away while you two deal with the third one."

"I hear four heartbeats," Isaac said from the corner.

"Four? Who's with them?" Jake asked, ignoring the fact Isaac could hear their heartbeats. Jake wasn't able to do that.

"Where's the fourth?" Marcus asked Isaac.

"Waiting downstairs."

"Then they aren't an immediate threat."

"Let me distract the guy at the other end of the hallway," Isaac said.

"No, stay out of the way," Jeremiah told his son.

"Dad, I can fight."

"He might be useful," Marcus replied. "Fear will go a long way."

"If he gets hurt..." Jeremiah said, trailing off before he made a threat.

Isaac didn't wait. He teleported out of the room. A moment later, they heard the man at the end of the hallway yell, "What the hell!?" A loud yelp of pain followed his exclamation.

"You okay, Bart?" O'Connor called out. When Bart didn't answer, O'Connor yelled, "You've got thirty seconds to give us Shaylie, or we'll come in after her." A second after the sentence ended, O'Connor exclaimed, "Who the hell?" Two loud bangs and the sound of breaking wood came next. They heard O'Connor and the third man scurry down the stairwell after somebody.

"Isaac has them on the run. Come on!" Marcus said, beckoning Bret, Jake, and Van to follow him. "Stay with Shaylie and barricade the door," he told the others before they left. Thankfully, Maya had joined them in the room.

As Jake entered the hallway, he pushed his senses as far as possible. Isaac was right. Now that he focused, he could hear heartbeats, but how did Isaac pick one from the others? He heard a cacophony that made his head almost hurt. Jake didn't try it again. He made a mental note to ask Isaac how he did it later. The one thing he knew was that O'Connor and his partner were down the next floor. He heard that much from the ruckus. It sounded like Isaac was teleporting around randomly to throw them off. Jake wanted to join the fight, but an idea occurred to him. He opened the door to their room just in time because they were moving a dresser toward it.

"Maya, I need your help," Jake said.

"What's up?" Maya asked.

"Create a mental link with me. That way, we can communicate."

She didn't answer out loud. Jake felt a tickling sensation in his brain, and he heard her voice in his mind. "Can you hear me?" she asked.

"Loud and clear. Is it possible to connect multiple people?"

"No, it has to be one-to-one."

"Fine, I was going to have you get Bret, too, but this will do," Jake said and hurried to catch up to the others. Jake tapped Bret on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear. "Fulton," he said. Bret nodded. "Oh, and Maya's in my head."

"What?" Bret asked.

"She's communicating with me."

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"Oh, got ya."

"Maya, let's pull the Fulton trick to distract them. I'll tell you when. You can create the illusion from there, right?" Jake said.

"Yes, I can."

"Good," Jake said and turned to Bret. "Teleport us one floor down and..." Jake said but stopped to listen. "Put us in the room in that corner," he added, pointing toward the west end. Marcus heard them and frowned. "Trust me, Marcus," Jake said. Marcus nodded. "Move toward the next floor down, but wait to attack until we pull our maneuver. You'll know when it happens," Jake explained to him.

Bret brought them to the corner room Jake picked. Jake opened the door slowly and peered into the carnage. Multiple holes dotted the walls from fired spells and missed punches, and Jake saw a few scorch marks. While he scouted the hall, Isaac appeared behind him and whispered, "You're making too much noise."

"Your hearing is better than mine and probably better than O'Connor's," Jake whispered in return.

"Yeah, he hasn't been able to catch me yet. You're probably right," Isaac said and disappeared again.

"Where did he go?" Bret asked.

"I don't know, but O'Connor is heading this..." Jake started to say, but O'Connor whipped around in the other direction so quickly that he stumbled.

"He's back there," O'Connor said, running toward the other end.

"It's just one guy, Boss," a voice said.

"He's a skinless freak. Didn't you see his face? He's the main threat," O'Connor replied.

"Okay, now's the time. Teleport to the other end when I say so," Jake told Bret. "Maya, create the illusion at the east end of the hallway."

O'Connor hesitantly approached the room where he heard Isaac but recoiled when Jake appeared before him. "Who are you?" O'Connor asked.

"Me? I'm your worst nightmare," the image of Jake said.

"I would never say that," the real Jake told Maya in his mind.

"Shut up, Jake," Maya replied.

"Is that so?" O'Connor laughed, but the laughter stopped when the image grew in size. This time, he grew more muscular and tall enough to brush the ceiling. "Cute trick," O'Connor said. "But I'm not falling for..." O'Connor began, but the words died in his mouth as the real Jake broke a board across the back of O'Connor's head, knocking him out.

Reid turned in shock, but Bret threw a fireball from behind the illusion. I ignited Reid's sleeve, and he ran away screaming. Reid located a bathroom and was about to enter, but Jake nailed him with a chi blast that sent him careening into the far wall. He left a dent and fell unconscious to the floor. Bret extinguished the flame with a water spell, and Jake looked at him questioningly.

"What? I'm not a monster," Bret said.

Marcus and Van turned the corner but stopped when they saw O'Connor and Reid out cold. "And you said it wouldn't work in combat," Jake told Marcus.

"Look out!" Marcus yelled, firing a chi blast behind Jake.

O'Connor dodged it, but he retaliated with the same spell. Jake cursed to himself for not realizing O'Connor was playing possum. The shot clipped Marcus' sleeve, but Jake swung at O'Connor and made him move before he could use a second attack. It missed, but so did Darren's counterattack. Bret tried to watch the exchange, but they moved too fast. He couldn't focus. They were giving him a headache.

A flurry of swings and misses ended with Jake charging at O'Connor. He attempted to tackle him, but Darren used Jake's momentum to hurl him into a wall. Jake hardened his skin and absorbed the impact. He somehow landed on his feet on the rebound, but O'Connor pulled the same stunt as him. He tackled Jake, and they broke through the east wall. Jake braced for impact as they fell to the ground. Even magic didn't stop him from losing a little wind when they landed. He rolled away to put distance between himself and O'Connor.

O'Connor didn't fare much better. He groaned as he stood, but his eyes still glowed red. Jake took a fighting stance but felt relieved when Marcus landed beside him, and Van teleported to the other side. "You're outnumbered, O'Connor. Stand down," Jake said.

"Yeah, you're probably right," O'Connor replied, and the glow in his eyes ceased, surprising Jake. "I give up," O'Connor said, offering his hands to them as if waiting for shackles.

Jake didn't like the smug grin on his face. Something didn't feel right, and he wasn't alone in his assessment. Marcus stood ready for an attack while Van scanned the area. O'Connor frowned when Jake continued channeling magic. "You wouldn't attack a man after he has surrendered, would you?" O'Connor asked. "Or, maybe you'll sic your skinless dog on me again."

"Who, me?" Isaac said from behind O'Connor, making him jump. O'Connor appeared legitimately shaken by this. Whatever his game plan was, O'Connor gave it up. He raised his hands in defeat. Isaac moved toward him, but something stopped Isaac in his tracks. He glanced toward the building and teleported away.

"I wish he would stop doing that without explaining," Bret said.

Before Jake could answer, he heard a scream through the hole in the inn's wall. "Bret, get us up there!" Jake said.

Bret grabbed Jake and Marcus and brought them back to the third floor. As they arrived, the door to their room banged open, and Jeremiah stumbled out with a shard of ice embedded in his chest. He slumped against the wall.

"Father!" Isaac yelled. Isaac turned toward the room, but he hesitated. Jake didn't understand why someone as powerful as him didn't fight, but then he saw why Isaac stopped.

Horror filled Jake's thoughts, making him aware that he had lost his link with Maya at some point. He saw two people emerge from the room. One held the other in a choke hold while placing a shard of ice against her throat.

"Lana!" Jake yelled.

"Back off, or she gets it!" Lana said, pressing a shard of ice to Shaylie's throat. Lana's eyes glowed blue. Multiple shards hung behind her, poised to hurtle toward anyone who tried to come near her. "The king doesn't want her alive. He just needs her out of the picture. All I need is her body to collect that reward." Jake's hand merely twitched, but it made Lana tense up. "Stop channeling magic. All of you! If I see one glowing eye, she's dead."

Jake released the flow of magic and remained still. He could see a small indention where the point of Lana's ice dagger pressed against Shaylie's skin.

"Oh, Lana. Took you long enough to act," O'Connor said as he rounded the corner.

"I needed enough people out of the way first," Lana explained. "Shield the skinless man, O'Connor. Do it now before he pulls something stupid," she added.

O'Connor obeyed, but Isaac wasn't about to do anything. He was checking on Jeremiah. Once O'Connor realized Isaac posed no threat, he turned to look into the room and made a face. "Ooh, sorry about your loss," O'Connor said, shaking his head. Jake felt a pit in his stomach when he heard this. Who was it?

"Who?" Jake asked.

"Maya's mom," Shaylie answered as tears streamed down her face. "Everyone else is okay, but they surrendered when Lana grabbed me. Mrs. Abbot tried to save me."

"Quiet!" Lana yelled.

"You said there weren't any snitches in Ash," Jake told Lana.

"Yeah, well, O'Connor made an offer I couldn't refuse. She's my ticket out of here," Lana said, shaking Shaylie.

"And the Shark?" Jake asked.

"He has nothing to do with this. In fact, I think he might be dead. We messed him up pretty badly when he returned to the mansion."

"Lana, we're leaving. We have the Sparrow and a skinless man," O'Connor said, grabbing Isaac by the arm. Isaac couldn't do anything while shielded. He didn't resist. "And just in case you're thinking of playing heroes," O'Connor said before placing shields on everybody else.

He had just finished this task when someone barreled out of the room and grabbed Lana's hand. It was Kiran Abbott. He allowed Shaylie to elbow Lana in the gut and pull free. Unfortunately, O'Connor kicked him in the head. Lana freed herself from his grasp, but she had dropped the ice shard.

Shaylie made it two steps before O'Connor grabbed her by the hair. "Where do you think you're flying to, little birdie?" he hissed in her ear. Lana opened a portal back to the capital, and O'Connor waved for his men to follow while dragging Shaylie toward it. Jake saw an opening and rose, but O'Connor's eyes glowed red, and he grabbed Shaylie by the throat. "The same threat still stands," O'Connor said. "Don't make a move. You'll let us go peacefully. No more funny business."

Jake knew he had no choice. O'Connor's grip on Shaylie's throat tightened. Jake could hear her choking. When O'Connor saw his reaction, he pulled Shaylie through the portal. Reid and Bart grabbed Isaac and followed him. Lana was the last one to leave, and she closed the gate behind her. Jake let out a roar of frustration as he watched the portal wink out of existence. Their shields lifted because O'Connor was out of range, but it was too late. Jake backed against the wall and slid down to a seated position. He held his head in his hands and wept.

"Jake," Maya said from the doorway. "We still have hope. I know you will see her again because I saw it in my vision."

Jake looked up at Maya hopefully, but something in her expression didn't exactly assure him. "What was the rest of the vision? You never finished telling Shaylie," Jake asked.

"I know Shaylie will be alive, but I think the king is going to use her against you," Maya said.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw her burn you with fire, but why would Shaylie do that?"

"King Darian is a red mage, but he might have someone else mind control her," Jake said.

"We have to be careful then," Maya said.

"Wait, what is the plan?" Marcus asked. "You're all talking like we have a plan."

"We storm the tower," Jake said.

"That's not a plan," Marcus replied.

"Then suggest something!" Jake yelled, making Maya jump.

"Calm down," Marcus said, raising his hands. "I'm with you. We have to go after her, but we need help."

Upon hearing this, Jake glanced out a window and spotted a few people peering out of their windows. He got an idea. Jake ran downstairs and exited the building. He amplified his voice with magic and yelled, "We spent all that time training, and you just let them march in there and take her! You cowards! If you want to make it up to us, help us! We're storming the tower to get our friend back!"

A few people who trained with them seemed intrigued by the idea. Jake saw people file into the streets and approach him. They looked nervous, but some looked eager. Jake braced himself for many questions and realized he still had no plan to share. Marcus was right. They needed one. The realization that he had no answers hit him. He looked toward Marcus for guidance.

"You ran off before explaining what you were doing," Marcus said. "What do you plan to tell them?"

"Well, we need a way into the tower," Jake said.

"The Shark might know," a man nearby said. "He once told me he knew a passage."

"The Shark!" Jake yelled and looked toward the mansion in horror. "Lana said he was hurt badly. Bret! Get me over there quickly!" Jake said. He felt Bret grab his arm and teleport them in front of the mansion. Jake ran to the front door and found it ajar. He moved inside and saw a trail of blood leading into the den. "Shark!" Jake yelled.

"In here," a weak voice said.

Jake entered the room and found the Shark upright and leaning against a wall. "Are you okay?" Jake asked.

"I healed myself, but I'm still pretty weak," the Shark said, gesturing at his bloody shirt.

"I need to know a way into the tower. They have Shaylie."

"Okay, but I'm coming with you. If you're going to save my sister, I want to be there."

"Your—sister?" Jake asked in utter shock. "Shane?"