The Hidden World

Part 7: The Beginning of the End

"I really just can't understand your obsession with that kid," Edmund said, fiddling with some wires. "You don't need to. Just do what you're told to do," Helena retorted, lounging in the room's only chair. It was early evening, and the sun was basking the room in its dull light. The room was silent, save for the occasional rustlings of the caged imp. "There we go," Edmund exclaimed, connecting the last wire. "Our diversion is finally done. Do you have the other item?" Helena responded by throwing a small gem on the table. "Obviously. I assume you are familiar with how things are going to play out?" Edmund measured Helena with his gaze. The woman was wearing a grand dress, as ever. Her face was completely expressionless, but this was hardly surprising. When it was just the two of them, she didn't bother with the whole "human act". Edmund sighed and picked up the gem. "I am. It just seems so... risky," he said, looking intently at his conversation partner. "A great many things can go wrong here. Are you really sure that this is the best course of action?" Helena threw her head back and laughed. Edmund grimaced slightly: laughing properly was one of the few things Helena had yet to figure out. "Believe me, it will work out. There are forces at play here that will make sure of that," she said, with a wry smile.

Sarah and Jasmine arrived at the abandoned warehouses just as the sun was starting to set. Sarah was visibly exited, while Jasmine was looking around and looked uncomfortable. As the pair reached the chain-link fence around the area, Jasmine turned to Sarah. "Look, this is about the stupidest thing you could possibly do at this point of your training. Or rather, this is something no sensible mage would ever do. Sarah crossed her arms. In truth, the same thought was swirling around in her mind. But she felt like something was drawing her in, as if some force was forcing her down this path. One thing was for sure: she had to see what was going on in this abandoned warehouse district. "I get what you mean, Blaze. But I just have to see this through. There's no way I could live with myself if I didn't answer all these questions in my head." Blaze sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Seriously, you're her because you overheard some guys talking in a retail store. In a public space. And you just happened to be there when they discussed it. Seriously, I thought I was way too impulsive." They crawled through a small hole in the fence, just like they had done a month ago. "Yeah, yeah. But I just have this feeling that this is something I need to do, you know? And, I mean, you're here with me, so deep down you must suspect something as well," Sarah whispered to her partner-in-crime, as they made their way toward the warehouse they had trained in. "Yeah, sure. I suspect that you will get yourself hurt if I'm not there to help you. And if there is even a remote chance that the Witch is really here, I need to drag you away. Seriously, she's not to be messed with."

The warehouse hadn't changed since they had visited it previously. Large wooden boxes were still strewn about, and the air was hard to breathe due to the excessive amount of dust present. "So, here we are. What do you plan on doing here? You can't exactly expect to go through the whole area...," Jasmine whispered, but was cut short when Sarah suddenly picked up a brick from the ground and hurled it at a window. The pane shattered loudly and broke into hundreds of tiny pieces. Jasmine looked at Sarah with shock, but before she could say anything, she was dragged behind a box. "Yo, what is your major malfunction!? How is getting the security called on you going to help anything?" she whispered angrily. Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "I figured this would be the most efficient way to tell if someone was here. This area is pretty much abandoned, so I don't think we really need to worry about outside interference." Before Jasmine could retort they started to hear footsteps. Soon a man in a suit barged into the room. Sarah gasped as she noticed that he was holding a pistol. Seeing something so dangerous briefly cleared Sarah's head. What on earth was she actually doing here? She had just barely grasped the fundamentals of her powers, and here she was, in mortal danger.

The man looked around and soon noticed the window. He scratched his head, looking around the room. Sarah let out a breath of relief as the man holstered his gun, probably dismissing the event as just some kids fooling around or something equally threatening. Her reprieve was only momentary, however, as two very familiar looking men entered the room. One of the men was a tall middle-aged man with glasses, the other one a younger looking, yet far larger mountain of a man. Sarah wasn't the only one unsettled, as the gun-toting man visibly tensed up. "What is going on in here, dude," the large man asked leaning toward the man in question. His voice quaked slightly as he replied. "Nothing is... Uh, nothing to report. This window was broken, but it was probably only a stray cat or something, nothing to worry about." The giant leaned ever closer. "Or something? I think you'll find that your job is to guard this area and make sure no one is here. I think you ought to know exactly what it was!" The atmosphere was tense, and for a moment Sarah thought that the cornered man might draw his gun. However, the bespectacled man intervened. "Leave the man alone. In all likelihood it was just 'something like a stray cat'. It is doubtful that anyone who could pose a threat to us would be breaking windows." The giant growled and pulled back, and the sense of relief on the gunman's face was palpable. Just as it seemed that things were going to calm down, a crashing sound echoed through the room. Panicked, Sarah turned around to see that a box had fallen to the ground – just behind her and Jasmine.