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Lynn was going to a teacher conference with her niece, Alicia. After school, she and the teacher discussed the possibility of Alicia being able to move up a grade level. Once that discussion was done then, it was already late and everyone had gone. They started walking away. Alicia ran ahead and looked back. She stopped though, giving her aunt a strange look. "What?" Lynn looked behind her and saw that a group of strangers had come forward. They now proceeded to bind her and Alicia hid, unnoticed by the crowd. When she was sure they were gone, taking her aunt with them, she went back to school to tell her teacher.
Meanwhile, the group had taken Lynn back from where they belonged. Someone forced her to kneel while they removed the hood they'd placed over her head. She was blinded by the bright lights and so, took awhile to get used to it. She felt someone lift her chin up as if to examine her. "I guess she'll do," a gruff voice said. They made her stand, and all of them left but two. The two looked at each other and nodded, turning to her and removing the masks that had hid their faces. At first, Lynn was confused. They seemed familiar but she couldn't place them.
All of a sudden, she remembered. "George? Jake? It couldn't possibly be!" She burst out into a smile and rushed over to hug them. "It's been a long time. I've missed you guys." Suddenly, she stopped and took a step back. Shock registered on her face as she realized that they had helped in her kidnapping. "This can't be. Not you guys. Why you?" They didn't answer. Instead, they led her up out of the room and left her in her own room to cry herself to sleep.
In the morning, she felt the sun streaming onto her face. She sat up, trying to figure out what to do next. She didn't have to wait long though, when Jake came in and brought her back downstairs to a room where she finally met the leader. She remembered him as well. It was Casey. He looked at her with a doubtful eye and looked away. She looked toward a band of people gathered to one side of her. They can't possibly be using me for entertainment! Lynn angrily thought, but they were. So Nica has come this low. If only I had recovered fully from the last battle. But Lynn knew she was still weak and so followed them, singing the songs they forced her to sing. This was her talent, to be able to sing with perfect pitch, without losing herself. The music flowed from her, was her, and this was why she had often been sought after. In the outside world, all they saw was an entertainer. For the Nica, she was the siren whose song could cast spells, making hearts soften so they understood the meaning of Lhaam, for she communicated with souls. She was dangerous to them and they sought to control her. They watched her carefully, trying to analyze her.
One day however, something caused her to hit a wrong note. Trying again, she couldn't get back. The band halted and Casey stood up. Lynn was still surprised at herself, clutching her throat in shock. Never had this happened before and she was wondering what it meant. Suddenly, Casey grabbed her wrist and pushed her back into the wall. Not having time to regain her balance, she found Casey punching and beating her away. She was on the ground in no time, with Casey kicking her stomach. Soon, he stopped, and that was when she lost consciousness. She vaguely remembered being carried back into her room and having the door close behind her.
The next morning, Jake came up to the room and brought her downstairs as if nothing had happened. There, Casey said to her, "If I hear any other wrong notes, you're out of here." And so, it went on. No more experimentation was done. They had tired of that, not knowing where to look or how. And so, she just entertained them. Once again, the music flowed, and she sang out until another wrong note disturbed her. The music continued to play but the atmosphere changed. The room transformed, and she found herself singing in a tigers' den. She screamed in terror when she found herself alone with the tigers but then rerouted her Energy. As the tigers began to circle around her, she knelt down, humming quietly to herself in a soothing tune. A curious, young tiger came over, intrigued by this strange object. It was soothed by the melody though, and soon curled itself up in her lap to sleep. For some reason, she was no longer afraid. Her spirit had communicated with those of the wild ones and they accepted her.
She could feel the wondering eyes of the Nica upon her as they watched this strange phenomenon. Not only did they accept her, but also they let her feed them. When mealtimes came, she ignored the meals they put aside for her and focused on feeding a sickly, white tiger in the corner. In this way, she slowly starved herself.
One night, Lynn woke to find the white tiger staring down at her. She was filled with words and knew that she was in the presence of Tanek. "Lynn, you have been good to the people here. You have tried to bring back the Balance. You looked after a sickly one when you could have been finding a way to free yourself. I thank you." The tiger gave a slight bow.
Humbly, she replied, "Oh, Great One, I cannot receive thanks from you. This is my chosen life path. It is my honor to do your will. I can only hope I do enough."
"You did what you could, little one. Now go to rest. Your work here is done."
The next morning, the other tigers kept vigil over Lynn's still body. The white tiger had disappeared. George and Jake went to tell their master the news. "What do you mean she's dead? She could have made us famous!" George and Jake then realized their master's intent and were disgusted. Without a word, the two took Lynn's body with them and left. They buried it and sent word to her family. In return, they each got a note from an anonymous person, thanking them for their change of heart.