The Jabberwocky slumbers beneath the silver oak, no longer in raven form. I am as quiet as the leaves, as silent as the night.

I plunge my knives into its throat.

I rip free of the vision, nearly tumbling off the couch. Nora catches me, her hands cold against my hot skin. For a moment I think the sky is thundering outside, but then I realize the sound is my heart pounding. My vision clears, revealing Colin crouching in front of me, his gray eyes wide.

“Colin,” I whisper, and he must understand from my voice, because he looks ill.

He shakes his head. “But I don’t remember. I…I couldn’t have.”

“You wouldn’t remember anything you did under his command,” Gran says grimly. From the look on everyone’s faces, they must realize what I saw too.

Gran sighs heavily. “I’m sorry, Mr. Pierce. But I think until we sort this out, it’s best if you leave Ravenfall.”

“Ma,” Aunt Elaine says in shock.

“We need Colin, though,” Uncle Roy appeals. “He’s a good kid, a good fighter, and our only link to Fin. Samhain is the most likely time for Fin to make his move, and if he shows up at the masquerade when everyone’s wearing a mask, how will we find him?”

“Plus his glamour!” I add. “It was so strong in the vision, so we have no idea what he looks like.”

“We’ll have you to find him, Anna,” Gran says, and for half a second something about the way she says it feels strange.

“What? Me?” I ask. “What can I do? My powers are useless.”

“Psychometry is one of the rarest and most powerful abilities known to psychics,” Gran says. “Mr. Varra’s glamour may work against Rose’s empathy and Kara’s telepathy, but not you. To find him, all you have to do is touch him, and you’ll get a vision of Mr. Pierce’s parents’ deaths. Then we’ll know who Mr. Varra is, and the rest of us can subdue him and force him to cross back to the Otherworld. Keeping Mr. Pierce here is too big of a risk.”

Something about what she’s saying pulls at me. I don’t want to believe Colin is a danger to us, but I can’t ignore the evidence. Maybe we don’t need him. I should be protecting the inn anyway. It’s my home, my responsibility.

Maybe, for once, we just need me.

Guilt creeps through me at the thoughts, but I can’t shut them out. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to prove that my powers are useful for so long. Colin staying here might ruin all of that, and yet telling him to leave feels wrong.