Rick had his hand extended out in the direction of the water. His huge sword was spinning through the air, throwing off droplets of water as it flew past Jason and into Rick’s hand. Jonah held his own hand out and an iron spear appeared in it.

Both men threw their weapons. They struck home with accuracy but kept going, Jason’s cloak suddenly empty. After being dragged through the air, the cloak disappeared and Jonah watched his spear splash uselessly into the water. Rick’s sword stopped in the air and flew back to his hand.

“What was that?” Jonah asked, looking around for Jason as he yanked off leeches. “I thought he could only teleport through shadows?”

“I don’t know,” Rick said, likewise yanking off leeches.

“My cloak is a shadow,” Jason said, walking out of the trees well out of melee range. His cloak was no longer around him and they could see his face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was twisted in a deranged smirk. He looked hungry for something that definitely shouldn’t be food. The cloak formed around him once more, hiding his face and its disturbing grin.

“Finally ready for a fair fight?” Jonah asked, another spear appearing in his hand.

“Two against one is hardly fair,” Jason said.

“You mean three,” Jonah said. Rick was quicker on the uptake, looking to the water behind them. Claire's body floated on the surface with the awkward stillness of death, leeches swarming over it.

“She focused her healing on us,” Rick said bitterly as they looked at her corpse, robbed of dignity in death. He turned to spit invective at Jason, but he had vanished again while they were transfixed by the fate of their healer.

“I’M GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!” Jonah screamed into the air.

“Are you sure?” Jason’s voice came from the trees, lilting and off-kilter.

“Your healer is gone,” his voice came from another direction.

“All I have to do now is wait,” he said, from a new direction again.

Rick grimaced, knowing Jason was right. They had managed to tear off most of the leeches, which couldn't move through the mud like they could in the water, but the damage was done. Standing around with no recourse, he could do nothing, even as he collapsed to the ground. That left only Jonah.

Jonah had the greatest fortitude of the team. His resilience and heightened resistances let him last well beyond his comrades, but he could do no more than Rick. He screamed rage into the shadowy woods, then spotted Jason emerge, once again at a distance. He threw his spear, expecting Jason to vanish into darkness again. Instead, Jason made no move to avoid it and the spear impaled him, low and to the side of his torso. He staggered back several steps before righting himself, not making a sound.