HIBUBA

Prologue

“I’m s-s-so s-sorry Persephone!"  Adrian shouted in a shaky voice, even though he knew Pers could not hear him, she was too far gone and far too angry to care about his apology. Adrian shook with fear as pure energy radiated off of her in a manner that made his hair stand on end while his skin felt like a thousand bugs were crawling over it, her scream pure unadulterated evil.

Heck he could not even hear himself, but he could feel his heart pounding harshly against his ribcage, threatening to break his sternum into two, as if at the sign of any more turbulence it would bolt out of his chest and take cover, leaving his empty shell of a body behind. Hell he could not hear himself over the roar of thunder rumbling overhead and bright lightning flashing in a blinding manner.

He had never in all his entire years as a guardian and fighter seen this display of anger ever before. Neither had he ever been this scared.

But then even he would be angry if something like this was done to him. If the person he felt for the most in the entire world had been taken from him.  Snatched right under his nose and lost for all eternity.  He would turn over hell, he would rip through the evil queen’s realm and smack her so hard that her brain: if she had one would be reset to its factory settings.

And he knew he had ruined a good chance,  the only chance to get Trent back. Well, when he got out of this mess, that is if he ever made it out alive, he would do whatever he could in his power, move heaven and earth to bring him back.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Pers roared in a voice that didn't sound like hers, that did not sound in any way human.  Like a twisted empty, empty abyss of a soul.

He looked up at Pers, using his hand as a shield, her eyes were as white and as bright as the sun, almost as if she lacked pupils and they glowed with an internal light, her black gown was torn to shreds and it flapped crazily in the wind, standing starkly against her pale white skin. Her hair stood on end and was electrified. She looked scary as hell.

"I thought you knew! I thought you were told, the signals were mixed, I thought I clearly said the right words" he said covering his eyes with his hands as the dust that was blowing around was trying so desperately to get into his eyes, like being blinded was his ultimate punishment.

And he was also trying to dodge the lightning bolt getting perilously too close to him, threatening to strike him down and split him open like a banana tree.

"Pers Pers!" he called out frantically, "you need to calm down, and killing me will not make you feel better!" He shouted, daring to open his eyes fully to look up at her, "killing me will not solve a thing and it won't bring him back. I am so sorry!"

And with that the storm was calmed as Pers fell to the floor like a feather, her pupils dimming as her irises came back brown and clear and she began convulsing haphazardly.  A large wail was heard like that of a banshee when the thin and bony dead fingers of death were around and lurking over someone.

"Why?" She asked in a voice that was now human, filled with emotions that were not known to be felt at the same time, guilt, fear, anger, remorse, and sad deep pain.

"I do not know, the evil Queen must have jammed the signals and fed the wrong thing to me, I have never made such a mistake before!"

"Why did he have to go? Why? If he truly loved me he would have stayed, he would have fought her powers however evil they were, he promised me forever, he really did" she whispered, obviously not paying attention to Adrian, as the floodgates of her soul opened and tears poured down her face, large snot dripped from her nose in an unladylike manner as she cried unashamedly.

"I have no idea why Pers, but I'm sorry" Adrian replied, cautiously moving towards her. Her powers were not one to reckon with and he could bet that one wrong move could end him.

"I thought he loved me, I thought I lost him once and it wouldn't ever happen again, guess I was wrong" she whispered hoarsely, looking up at Adrian and reading the fear on his face.  With a start Pers realized she had did this, Adrian was scared of her and it was etched onto the lines of his dark face.

  And she suddenly screamed long and hard as she poured out all her pent up emotions in that one scream, laying it all out there for her love never to be seen again, never to be heard again. Trent was gone and nothing was bringing him back.

The evil Queen had won.

She had won over her heart and soul, what was left now was her body.

How could she face his grandmother now or his people? If she was the so called savior and the only untouchable yet she could not protect her love. How was she supposed to protect cities, a whole generation of civilizations?

She shook vigorously and not even the bear hug that Adrian encompassed her in could do anything to melt the coldness of her heart and alleviate the numbness of her body.

“Trent" she whispered his name like a sweet melody as she drifted off into a much needed dreamless sleep. Adrian shook his head in pity before carrying her bridal style back into the house.