A Bridge Between Worlds Ch. 08

Staring at her captors momentarily, Persephone simply replied, "To fulfill his destiny."

"Becoming the Antichrist? Yes, yes, we are all aware of this. Melody told us. However, does Edward really believe that this will end well for him? Surely you both know that we will not rest until he is stopped, Antichrist or no."

Persephone again laughed to herself. They thought they knew so much that they were blinded to how ignorant they really were. "You cannot possibly understand us. You have taken my power from me, yet I still desire nothing but my master. He and I are kindred spirits. Even in this cold cell, I still know he will return for me, and on that great and glorious day, I will again be at my master's side, and I shall assist him in serving at his great master's side. His destiny will be fulfilled, and he shall rule over this world in the name of his lord. All shall bow to the almighty Lucifer, or else perish at his hand. Once the Great Cataclysm has been completed, nothing of this world will be able to stop my master."

"Great Cataclysm?" Salim inquired, his ears perking up.

Dammit! Persephone, you stupid idiot!

Persephone knew well she had said too much. Though no specifics had been divulged, she had in fact confirmed that Edward was in fact working on triggering a single, large-scale catastrophe as part of his rise to power. "As I told you, I have nothing to say," she steamed.

Smiling, Salim replied, "You have said plenty. My thanks to you."

As the Council turned to leave, Persephone remained defiant. Grabbing her cell bars and pressing her face between them, she threatened, "He is beyond you! All of you, fools and traitors you are! His power, his will, and his cunning are greater than anything mere Jinn can possibly muster. He will rule this world, and when he does, your punishment will come. He shall not merely kill you for your defiance; he shall punish all of your subjects before you. You shall see the pain and agony in their eyes as each and every last one of them are exterminated, one-by-one. Only then, when you have been made the last of your kind, will my master grant you the kindness of death."

Snorting at her melodramatic threat, Salim replied, "We shall take our chances." Slamming the tower door shut, Persephone was once again alone.

*****

"Well done, King Salim," Farzan said. "Now we know that he is in fact planning a large scale event of some sort."

Chuckling, Salim responded, "Well, I owe it all to Persephone. She seems to enjoy talking a great deal."

"King Nadir!" a guard shouted, running down the hall towards them.

"Yes? What is it?"

Panting as he arrived, the guard said, "Sir, we have just received a coded distress signal from one of your servant genies."

"Show me!"

The group immediately hurried to the central courtyard of the Water Palace. Once there, Farzan approached a small fountain behind the large tower in the middle, running his hand under the water. As he did so, a set of stairs appeared in the ground, leading underneath the tower. The group finally arrived in a large workroom containing several areas used to monitor servant genies and magical activity across the globe.

"Here is where we first got word," the guard said, leading the group to a workstation.

"Alright, let us see what we have here," Nadir mused. Pulling up an ethereal globe of Earth, he was able to pinpoint a spot of yellow light in Japan. Touching the point of light, an audible message began to play.

"If anyone can hear me, this is Kimiko of the Wind Jinn. I am being hunted, my every movement tracked. Whoever or whatever is doing this is far more powerful than even I; none of my magic has allowed me to escape this. I fear my master may be in danger... if anyone can hear this, please send help! Huh? Wait, who are you?! No! Stop!"

Silence. All who were present were immediately disturbed by the message.

"This is very bad," Nadir muttered. "King Ardashir, what do you make of this?"

Thinking momentarily, the elderly man finally said, "These events are no coincidence. We capture Persephone, only to have one of your servant genies under attack? Baldwin must be connected to all of this. It is the only logical explanation. King Nadir, can you pinpoint Kimiko's current location?"

He worked on the globe for a few minutes, but to no avail. "Nothing. It is as if she and Hiro have disappeared from the planet."

"I have seen this before," Farzan chimed in. "It can only mean one of two things. First, that Edward has somehow captured them and is shielding them in such a way that we cannot penetrate. Second... they could be dead."

"I highly doubt that," Nadir said defiantly. "If one of my servant genies had been killed, I surely would have felt it."

"I agree," Farzan said. "How long has it been since the distress was sent out?"

"About two hours," Nadir confirmed from the message. "Do you think this is a hostage situation? A means for Edward to get Persephone back?"

"Perhaps, but perhaps not. His motivations are unclear. After all, if he had wanted to prevent us from taking custody of Persephone, he was certainly capable of doing so," Salim said. "Why allow her to be captured, only to then take a hostage to trade? Something else is at play here. What, I cannot be sure."

"I believe we should ask Melody's opinion," Ardashir offered. "If anyone can guess as to Edward's motives, it would be her."

"Very good. Guards!" Farzan called. "Bring Selena and Melody here at once. We need their assistance."

Before it is too late, Farzan couldn't help but think to himself.