Jake looked down at the Shark's torn shirt and saw a red shark tattoo on his arm. He realized it was the tattoo he saw in Shaylie's hologram of her brother. Shane had dyed his hair and was older, but Jake recognized him from the image.

"Why didn't you tell Shaylie who you were? She hasn't seen you in years," Jake said.

"She's better off without me in her life. That's more evident than ever now," Shane replied.

Jake didn't know what he meant, but he had other pressing questions he wanted answered.

"How did Lana find out about her? Jake asked.

"Through the mental link. I must have let something slip."

"Okay, but how did you know about her? What made you want to read her mind?"

"I heard enough through my mental link with Lana to suspect it might be her. I had to know. This is partially my fault, and I'm sorry. I thought I could trust Lana," Shane said, straightening up and moving away from the wall. He healed fully, but he was still weak from the blood loss. Shane sat down in a chair and let out a long breath. "I'm going with you, but she can never see me or know I was there."

"Why?" Jake asked.

"If I come back into her life, I'm putting her in danger. I saw it in a vision. Once we finish, I'll leave again," Shane replied. He could see the hesitation in Jake's face. "I know I can't force you to remain quiet, and I'm not going to give you an ultimatum or anything. Please just respect my wishes for Shaylie's sake. Trust me. She's safer without me."

"Fine," Jake said, raising his hands. "Someone said you knew a way into the tower."

"Yes," Shane said, grunting as he rose from his chair. He led Jake to his office on the first floor. Shane rummaged through an old filing cabinet and produced a hand-drawn tower map. "I drew this from my memories of Dad's tower description. It's not exact, but it gives us the basic layout. Dad always said the king had a secret escape tunnel connected to one of the basements. You can access it through the sewer," Shane said, pointing at the bottom of the map.

Jake glanced at the paper and noticed notes about each section of the tower. He got the feeling it was an attack plan. "Why did you make this?" Jake asked.

"At one point in my life, I considered myself a revolutionary. I fell in with a group that opposed the crown, but I'm not part of them anymore," Shane replied as he rubbed his upper arm.

"Were you all planning on infiltrating the tower?"

"The thought had crossed my mind."

"Well, we'll need to get in and find where they're keeping Shaylie and Isaac. Where would they do that?"

"They took Isaac too?" Shane asked, looking paler than he was before. "That's not good. If Darian is experimenting on the infected, Isaac might provide him with what he wants."

"Which is exactly why we need to get in there as quickly as possible."

"They'll probably keep Isaac in one of the basements," Shane said, pointing at the map. "But they most likely took Shaylie up to see the king. Let's hope we're not too late," Shane added, looking like he might throw up.

"Maya thinks she is alright. She had a vision that told her I would see Shaylie alive again. Maya is a true oracle. I believe her," Jake said, but he left out the part about his death. Jake's words made Shane stand a bit straighter and appear calmer.

"How many people are going to the tower?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can get some of these townspeople we helped train."

"We will need to split our teams. One will go after Shaylie while the other finds Isaac."

"Gather up everything you need and meet me at the Main Street Inn as soon as possible," Jake replied, leaving to speak with the others. He found them still gathered in the street, but the crowd had grown. Marcus was discussing things with people who seemed interested. "We have our way in, but we need two groups," Jake said when he arrived.

"I can lead the group to go after Shaylie. Let me handle Darian," Marcus said.

"No, it has to be me," Jake said. When he saw Marcus' reaction, Jake said, "Remember Maya's vision."

"I am!" Marcus replied. "She told me everything, and I can't let you do this."

"I'm not trying to be arrogant or stupid. Something tells me whether we design it that way or not it will be me. So, we might as well plan around that."

Marcus studied Jake for a moment silently, but he nodded. The look in Marcus' eyes told Jake he still wasn't comfortable with the idea, but he didn't protest any further. Then, Jake turned and saw Van Larson comforting Mr. Abbott. The anguish on Kiran's face tore at Jake's heartstrings. Jake felt a twisting in his gut when he thought about Mrs. Abbott and Jeremiah. He wished he could have done something to prevent their deaths. Tears trickled down Jake's cheeks. "I'm so sorry," Jake said to them.

"It wasn't your fault, son," Van said, gently squeezing Jake's arm.

"I could have done more to stop them."

"You did all you could. Now, dry your tears. You have work to do."

"Mr. Larson, I probably won't be coming back, but I will do everything possible to save Shaylie. I promise."

"Stop that talk! Of course, you'll come back."

Jake didn't want to tell him about the vision because it would cause more worry. He realized he shouldn't have said as much as he did, but he nodded and pretended Van's words encouraged him. "You're right. I have to remain hopeful," Jake said.

Next, Jake turned his attention to Maya. She stood with her dad, looking as stricken as he was. Jake hated to bother her during her mourning, but he needed more information. "Maya, tell me everything you can about the vision."

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"All I know is you were badly injured. It looked like you had cuts all over your body," Maya replied. "There was so much blood. You have to be careful."

"I know. Darian will outmatch me in every way."

"You're going to fight him?" Maya asked.

"I'm going with the group to save Shaylie no matter what, which means King Darian will probably do the damage."

"You know you don't have to do this just because of my vision," Maya said. "Visions aren't set in stone."

"Yours seem to always be accurate. He would come to me even if I went with the other team. I can't avoid it. Fate has already decided."

"Fate plays chess with us all," Maya whispered with a far-off look in her eyes.

"What?"

"It's something one of my professors in Kotan used to say," Maya explained, but someone distracted her from continuing. She peered over Jake's shoulder, so Jake followed her gaze. He spotted Shane approaching. Shane wore a hooded jacket and carried a loaded backpack. "Who's that?" Maya asked.

"That's the Shark. He's coming with us," Jake said. Shane beckoned Jake, so Jake walked a few feet away to speak privately. "Are you ready?" Jake asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be. You?" Shane replied.

"I guess. We've all got to die sometime, right?"

***

Shaylie remained silent as they led her through the tower. She didn't look at any of the guards. At one point, she would have found the inside of the tower fascinating. Now, she didn't want to see one bit of it. Shaylie stared at the floor instead. The only other direction she glanced was to her side. Reading Isaac's expression was difficult because of his skin, but she could tell he was as nervous as her. Sadly, they separated after entering the tower. The guards led Isaac toward the basement, but they brought Shaylie to an elevator.

The elevator rose for what felt like an eternity. Shaylie had never been this high in a building before. She swore she could feel it rocking, but that might have been her stomach. When they stopped, the doors opened on a lavish hallway with a red carpet. Shaylie's downward gaze meant she noticed the carpet more than anything else. She could tell from her peripheral vision there were tapestries and vases, but she didn't care. Shaylie didn't look up until they entered a room with double doors. What she saw made her angry and scared. King Darian stood at a long room-length window while Lana, O'Connor, and a man with closely cropped gray hair flanked him.

"Put her in the chair," Darian said without breaking his stare out the window.

They placed Shaylie in a chair and shackled her arms to it. Shaylie locked her eyes on Darian, willing him to at least look at her. If he was going to kill her, she wanted to go down defiantly.

"So, we finally meet," Darian said. "Are you afraid?"

"No," Shaylie lied. This made Darian laugh. Darian turned and walked behind her. She stiffened as his hand touched her shoulder. Shaylie fought hard not to flinch, but an involuntary reaction betrayed her intentions.

"Do you realize I could snap your neck right now and finish it?" Darian asked, placing a hand on her head and the other under her chin.

"No offense, Your Highness, but shouldn't you give us the reward first?" O'Connor asked. Shaylie couldn't believe she felt gratitude toward O'Connor, but he seemed to have inadvertently stayed her execution. Darian removed his hands from her head and focused his attention on O'Connor.

"Patience, Darren. You'll get your million, as promised," Darian said.

"Million!?" Lana asked, glaring at O'Connor. "You said it was five hundred thousand!"

"Oh, he didn't tell you about the double reward I offered him?" Darian laughed. "And who are you, by the way? I still haven't learned your name."

"I'm Lana Myers, and I'm the reason you have her, not O'Connor! He and his men got their asses handed to them."

"You mean we did all the work while you swooped in at the last second!" O'Connor countered.

"I had to swoop in because Shaylie's friends were too much for you and your goons."

"Enough!" Darian said. "What friends? Who are these people?" Darian asked.

"She had backup. We fought them," O'Connor said, but something in Darian's response made him back up a step.

"Why didn't you kill them or bring them with you?"

"We were outnumbered. We had to threaten that one to keep them at bay," O'Connor said, pointing at Shaylie. "But don't worry, I wasn't going to kill her. I know you wanted her alive. Lana was the one that wanted her dead."

"That's a lie. I was bluffing like you were!" Lana replied.

"I said enough of your bickering!" Darian yelled while rubbing his temples. "Her friends will come after her now. Do you realize that?"

"We didn't have enough men to bring them here," O'Connor explained. "Let them come. They aren't a threat to you, Your Highness. I can handle the boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Darian asked.

"Her boyfriend. The tall red mage I fought," O'Connor said, nodding toward Shaylie.

Darian looked at Shaylie and back at O'Connor. The king studied the bruises on O'Connor and his men, standing at the back of the room. Darian raised an eyebrow and said, "It appears Lana was right. You don't look like you could handle him."

"He can't. O'Connor almost blew the whole thing," Lana said.

"Listen here, you lying little..." O'Connor started, but Darian grabbed him by the arm. O'Connor didn't see who grabbed him. He instinctively swatted the arm away, knocking Darian off balance. As O'Connor shifted and saw who he hit, his eyes widened. "Your Highness, I'm sorry!"

"I've had enough of you," Darian said, straightening his coat. "You won't be handling anybody. Since you didn't kill her friends, I have more problems now!"

"Your Highness, O'Connor is incompetent. I killed two of their number, maybe three. He did nothing but get beaten," Lana said.

"I agree," Darian said, earning an incredulous look from O'Connor. This seemed to make his situation worse. "Gregor, would you kindly open a portal to Golhana?" Darian asked, and this caused panic in O'Connor.

"Your Highness, I beg your forgiveness," O'Connor yelled.

Darian ignored him and watched as the gray-haired man opened a portal. Shaylie looked inside and gasped. She saw an unfamiliar and frightening landscape on the other side. A red and stormy sky hung over what looked like a prison camp. She saw makeshift shacks and huts huddled around a lone tower in the middle. Shaylie could smell the air from her chair, which turned her stomach. She didn't like the look of the place, but O'Connor hated it far more. The sight made him fall to his knees.

"Please, just throw us in the cells in the basement. Anything but that place," O'Connor begged.

Darian ignored him and motioned for some guards to seize Bart and Reid. They looked as terrified as their leader. The guards threw O'Connor's goons into the portal first. When they came after O'Connor, he thought about running. Shaylie saw his feet shifting, but they were too quick. They dragged Darren toward the opening and tossed him inside. Renault raised his hand to close the gateway, but Darian stopped him and looked at Shaylie.

"Take a look," Darian said to Shaylie. "This is Golhana. The story of its discovery has become lost to time, but the longstanding rumor says a drunk blue mage found it by accident. We're not entirely sure where it is, but it makes for a great prison planet," Darian continued. Hearing the word planet shocked Shaylie. She knew it looked different, but the idea it was a completely separate world felt insane to her. "As you can see, there are no walls. We don't need any. Any fool trying to escape would find themselves lost in a hellish landscape."

"Are you going to send me there?" Shaylie asked.

"No, I have other plans for you. However, if you're nice and tell me all about your friends, I might banish them there instead of killing them."

Shaylie glanced between the portal and Darian's face before answering. "My friends—are going to come kick your ass," she grinned.

"Fine, then I will kill them when they do," Darian said, motioning for Renault to close the portal. "Perhaps Lana can tell me something about them instead," Darian continued, looking at Lana.

"Yes, Your Highness," she replied, beaming at him and gently touching his arm. "I can tell you everything I know."

Shaylie hoped he would reject her touch and send her to join O'Connor, but Darian seemed pleased by her reaction. Lana's behavior made Shaylie feel sick. She thought about channeling magic for a brief second. A nice fireball to Lana's face sounded great to Shaylie, but she still had a magical shield blocking her abilities. Darian must have sensed Shaylie's rage because he refocused on her.

"Sit still, little one. You're not going anywhere. I want you to witness my ascension."

"What?" Shaylie asked.

"Once my scientist draws your skinless friend's blood, I will become immortal. Your friends don't stand a chance."

"That's impossible."

"It's very possible. What do you think will happen when your saviors arrive only to discover they can't kill me?" Darian asked, laughing in a way that made Shaylie's skin crawl. An image of Jake lying in a pool of blood filled her thoughts.