Pogue stepped through the front door of the hospital, it slid open automatically and a fan blowing up from the floor helped to make the transition to a different air pressure a little more comfortable. His leather jacket was pulled high on his neck, a cold Massachusetts fall evening notwithstanding the suns rays beating on the hospital building. Reid sat in a car, parked in the pick-up circle. A fresh cold breeze blew against the tender bruise on his cheekbone, and he silently thanked Reid for bringing the car instead of his bike. The open wind against that bruise would feel like torture. He opened the car door slowly, and eased himself into the passenger seat. He couldn't believe his muscles were still this sore nearly a month after that power hungry bastard, Chase, had slammed him off of his motorcycle and thrown him – no dragged him—nearly 300 feet at almost 80 miles per hour.

"They were magically induced, you have to expect them to hang around for a little while longer than a simple black eye." Reid said as if reading his mind. That upturned lip and mischievous look permanently molded to his pasty white face. Reid pushed a lock of blond hair out of his eyes and shifted the car into drive and pulling out into traffic. Pogue rested his forehead against the cool glass and began to contemplate his eighteenth birthday, and his ascension, for about the millionth time since it had occurred a week ago. When he had ascended his power had tripled, but he felt like he had aged 15 years over night. It wasn't the incredible increase in power or his simultaneous instant aging; it was the raspy voice that had whispered. There must be five. The only conclusion that he could come to was the fifth son. Caleb had killed the fifth son, Chase, in self-defense just after Pogue's accident. Caleb had been the first to ascend, followed by Pogue, Reid wasn't far behind with his eighteenth birthday in just another week or so, and Tyler's birthday was in November.

They pulled up to an old farmhouse located at the outskirts of town. Tyler and Caleb were leaning on a fence, staring off into the distance, the last of the leaves from a giant oak tree settled on the ground next to them.

"Good to see you up and moving around again," Caleb said, extending his hand for Pogue and pulling him into a hug, patting him gently on the back. The four boys leaned against the fence staring at the colonial farmhouse beyond it. Reid had been right, Pogue determined. His accident had brought the four of them closer together, he could feel that, but there was a strange emptiness that he had never felt before and judging by the posture of the other three, they were feeling it too. This was the first time since the accident that all four of them had been together. A wind whispered through the branches of the tree next to them, and it whispered over and over again: There must be five. Pogue shook his head, trying to dismiss it and push it to the back of his mind but it just kept replaying itself over and over again.

"Pogue?" Tyler said, tossing his curls back behind his shoulders.

"What? Sorry, I spaced there for a minute." He replied taking just a few steps toward the oak tree. The branches reached down for him like bony fingers.

"I asked you how you were healing up? Tyler repeated

"Still sore, a few scratches that just won't seem to heal." He ran his fingers across the rough bark. He could feel the age of the tree

"Well, you took quite the beating, it surprised us all that you were still alive." Caleb said

"You fought Chase, and he had his Dad's power and he was ascended. I went after him on a motorcycle." For a moment, Pogue faltered when he thought about the reason he had been so stupidly reckless. His girl, Kate, had been under a spider creation spell, cast by that bastard Pope.

"It doesn't matter now, Chase is dead, and the fifth son of Ipswich is no more. I've done a lot of research since you were hospitalized and there isn't another Pope family that fits." Caleb said

"Something doesn't feel right." Tyler said, cutting off Pogue's response and looking into the sky. A storm was brewing and it looked to be a strong cup of tea.

"Well, you know what they say." Reid said that smirk once again crossing his face. He spread his hands, "There must be five."

Far outside a little town north of Salem, lightning streaked the sky over a small farm. Seventeen-year-old Jeremiah stood outside on a covered deck preceding a large farmhouse. Jeremiah's shoulder length black hair fluttered in the wind and a roll of thunder shook the house. Something had been pulling him outside all night so after noticing the thunderstorm, he had pushed aside the screen door, checked the mailbox with POPE scrawled across it, and taken post on the deck. An unseen force drew him out into the rain where he was immediately drenched. His brown eyes turned to the sky. Thunder rolled menacingly and the rain picked up slightly. A bolt of lightning slammed through his body and into the ground. Screams of pain filled his ears and by the time he had figured out that the screams were his own, darkness had already claimed him.

Jeremiah stood in the center of a swirl of mist.

There must be five

"Who's there?!" Jeremiah said.

There must be five!

"Who's there?" Jeremiah whimpered

In the blink of your eyes

there is only blackness

in blackness there is power

but in power there is blackness

it will draw you in and eat your soul

use the power wisely and you will find the covenant.

"What's the covenant?" Jeremiah said, the swirling mist began to dissipate and before long, he was standing in the darkness alone.

The four Sons of Ipswich watched a lightning bolt slam out of the clouds in the distance. The wind had started blowing violently almost as soon as Reid had finished the last word of his sentence. Droplets of rain splattered the windshields of the cars behind them. Caleb's mustang whined loudly as it raised the ragtop out from behind the back seat.

"What did you say?" Caleb said, taking a step toward Reid. Reid's permanent smirk became more pronounced.

"You can't tell me you haven't heard that every day since you killed Chase," Reid said "I know that I have."

"Me too," Tyler cut in "I was afraid I was going nuts!"

"Yeah, me too…" Pogue trailed off, taking comfort in the fact that he wasn't the only one hearing the voice but also unsettled in the fact that the feeling of emptiness, the nagging thought in the back of his mind that they had forgotten something or lost something, had just disappeared. The other three wore expressions that said that they had just remembered where they had stored the spare keys to their cars.

"We should go downstairs, get out of the rain and we can consult the book." Caleb said.

Downstairs was an empty cavern, looked as though it was completely naturally formed, but Pogue knew better. He could feel the magic coursing through the walls. Five stools made completely from rock perched around an altar and several bookcases lined the cave-like walls. A few lit torches illuminated the otherwise dark chamber. Pogue took his seat but squirmed uneasily. The last time he had been in this room was only moments before Chase had—

A large leather book streaked by his head, disrupting his thoughts as the other three took their seats. Caleb sighed as the book flipped open in front of his face. Down here was the only place that the sons could use without having to worry about it eating away their life force. Enough power had gone into forging this lair to allow them to use freely down here.

The book slammed down onto the altar, making Pogue jump and again, wrenching him away from his thoughts. He was going to have to stop thinking so much, being wrenched away every time he had a thought was getting annoying. Fire shot up around the book with a cloud of heat.

"The book says that there must be five. If any one of the direct descendants of the original Sons of Ipswitch passes on without willing away his power or producing an heir, the power is then transferred to the next best candidate." Caleb said "The next best candidate is the closest living relative under the age of eighteen, it could be a brother, cousin, anything. 'If he be under the age of ascension, he is bound by the Magick of Ipswitch when there is no other.'" Caleb recited.

"So we have to find out who the next closest relative to Chase is? That ought to be a chore." Tyler said

"Nope," Reid smiled. "We just have to find the person who is using. He just got the power, so he's going to be freaking out when he uses for the first couple of times."

Ominous thunder rumbled outside, and the flames around the book went out.