A/N: I really don't remember much from the books, so the legend and prophecy mentioned are entirely a product of my imagination. I hope I don't mess up too much! Btw, I'm starting university on Monday and I'm so excited! Enjoy.

Answers

"I want some answers." Philippa had gone back to the dining room where the three adults were seated and was now standing across from them.

"I was expecting as much." Nimrod calmly replied. He had used the few minutes his niece had been gone in to clear his mind and relax. He was ready to answer her questions, "I haven't exactly been honest about what I knew."

"Damn right you haven't." If Nimrod was affected by Philippa's choice of words, he didn't let it show. He had dealt with angry females before, though none of them were as scary as his niece with a new and untamed flame.

"What do you want to know?" The older djinn decided that it would be easier to tell her what she didn't know, rather than repeating everything over again. Philippa thought for a second. What did she want to know?

"Tell me more about the prophecy." That was as good as any place to start. She took a seat and waited for one of them to start talking. She could still feel anger bubbling underneath the surface, but if there was one thing Philippa excelled at, it was keeping her cool. Putting her anger aside, she patiently waited for an explanation.

"Legend says that the world used to be in a constant state of chaos until djinn, angels and humans were created." Rahul started off, "Before djinn were divided into tribes, everything was peaceful. Once djinn started turning on each other, a child was born from a 'good and a bad' djinn, who wished for nothing but to exist together in harmony. The child grew up watching horrors inflicted on his fellow djinn and when he was old enough, he put a stop to the pointless fighting.

"He was known for having unusually strong powers at a very young age. Maybe it was a burning wish for peace, or simply good genes, but he was quickly titled as the most powerful among all creatures. Even the angels bowed their heads in respect for him. He restored balance and functioned as a king, though he distanced himself from such a position. When he died, his spirit passed on to the next Heir." Philippa quickly sorted through the information.

"How was the next heir chosen?" Maybe she could find a clue as to how she and John were connected to this Heir.

"No one knows. Some say the heirs possess a great amount of potential that make the outstanding, but the most common conception is that the first heir's spirit lives on and chooses its next host. The prophecy only mentions that the Heir will be born of ashes." Rahul was staring intently at Philippa, like he expected a spirit to show up and declare her to be the next heir.

"What makes you think that John and I might be the next heir?" That was probably what she wanted to know the most.

"It's your flames. They give off this strange… vibe. They are unusual. You saw how easily John's flames spewed out on the island, and how they strongly they reacted to what he was feeling. Most djinn go about their lives without really having their flames respond other than when they make wishes. Yours don't." Nimrod had a point, though Philippa was a little skeptical. That was most likely because they had stronger flames than the average djinn.

"What about Dybbuk? He cancelled mine out." Philippa felt bitterness rush through her at the memory. She still couldn't believe he had been able to do that.

"The only explanation is that he dove too and has the same flame as you." Nimrod looked slightly worried. Who wouldn't be? Dybbuk broke his father and brother free of the jade sarcophagus on his own. For him to acquire new powers was a disaster.

"All right, but why are you and Groanin leaving us behind?" The accusation in Philippa's voice was hard to miss. She even made Rahul squirm, which was quite impressive considering he lacked sense of occasion.

"That is a bit harder to explain. Rahul?" Nimrod looked to his Indian friend, who was fiddling with his cloth for cleaning glasses.

"Oh, yes of course." He straightened up and put on a serious expression. "Remember the painting hanging in my office?" Philippa nodded, and Rahul continued.

"That is a painting of the gateway to the Heir's palace. As I mentioned before, the first Heir distanced himself from those calling him 'King'. He was truly humble and thought of himself as a common man - by man I mean djinn - but everyone else acclaimed him as royalty. It is said that his successor had a palace built to honor the First, but no one except the Heirs know of its destination. The gateway is simply a means of transportation for the Heir to get to the palace." It was quite a lot to take in, but Philippa was with them so far. She hoped, she could relay everything to John without messing it up later.

"The reason we are leaving, is because we think Iblis might have figured out how to open the gateway." Nimrod added and went silent again. His eyes were out of focus and he was frowning.

"And how would one hypothetically open the gateway?" Philippa asked sarcastically.

"By finding its key."

"…What key?" Philippa sighed impatiently. Nimrod was drumming his fingers against the table, while Groanin served them tea. Philippa had momentarily forgotten about the butler's presence, since she was busy keeping up with all the information she gathered.

"The key has been passed down since the palace was built, and was last documented to be here in Italy. Do you know the story of Saint Catherine?" Rahul asked her in a pedagogical manner.

"Saint Catherine of Siena was a tertiary of the Dominican Order, a philosopher and a theologian. She is one of the six patron saints of Europe." Philippa had read a lot about her and remembered a lot more details.

"Then you know how her hometown wanted to have her body when she died, but were only able to smuggle out her head?" The Indian man received another nod from his redheaded guest.

"It turns out she was carrying a necklace around the stump of her neck. It was kept in the same reliquary as her head." He watched as the young girl in front of him chewed on her bottom lip. They could almost hear the gears in her head turn.

"The necklace is the key." Philippa concluded. Rahul and Nimrod both nodded.

"But not many know of it. Several copies of it were made and kept at museums all over Italy. We suspect that Iblis has found out and is now searching for the real key. Rudyard mentioned that they had already been to Sienna, which is why Groanin and I are leaving. We have to find the real one before they do." Nimrod explained to his niece. She was the logical thinker of the twins. Surely she would see his point and agree with him.

"But why do we have to stay here? And why does Iblis want the key?" Philippa ran a hand through her hair and started braiding it out of frustration. She was contemplating all of Nimrod's arguments, and she had to admit he was right.

"I want you to train under Rahul and master controlling your flames. I don't think we can find a more suited teacher." Philippa mulled this over. Truth be told, she understood Nimrod's reasoning for wanting them to stay here very well, but on the other hand she wanted to come along to Sienna. She had a feeling something terrible would happen in her absence. With a sigh of defeat, she nodded.

"As far as Iblis is concerned, we still don't know what his goal is, but if he gets access to that palace one way or the other, he might learn secrets that have been forgotten by djinn, and if he does, we are doomed." It was getting on Nimrod's nerves that they couldn't figure out what Iblis wanted, but preventing him from finding the key to the gateway was definitely a step in the right direction. Philippa saw the stress in her uncle's expression and let out a small sigh.

"I'll tell John." She got out of her seat and headed for the door.

"Thank you for understanding." Nimrod smiled after her. He didn't, however, expect her to roll her eyes at him.

"Don't mention it." The iciness of her tone urged Nimrod not to.

"Wait, St. Catherine was the one with the head on a spear, right?" Of course that was the first question that came from John. Philippa had been filling him in on her interrogation of their uncle and had been amazed that he hadn't interrupted her before now.

"Yes, John, pay attention." Shesighed irritably.

"Sorry."

"Anyways, we are supposed to stay here and I don't know for how long." The redhead was stroking Squishy's head as she spoke. He was awake for once and was gently nipping her fingers. His black eyes were peering up at him, and despite her frustration, Philippa found herself smiling at him.

"Do we have a choice?" John sounded exhausted.

"What?"

"Do we even have a choice in the matter? It's either accepting their plan without fussing or having them leave us here indefinitely anyway. I don't think we have any other option." John spoke with such conviction, Philippa almost dropped her jaw. It was scary how wise her brother had become.

"I guess not… I'd still like to know what kind of training we'll be doing." Philippa mused out loud.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow." Her twin laughed. It was hard to believe he was the same John, who was nearly breathing fire from anger just an hour ago. When Philippa asked him about it, he looked a little embarrassed and reached for his pet dragon. He liked referring to Squishy as a tiny dragon.

"I um, meditated." John was avoiding eye contact by looking out the window.

"… You willingly meditated? I thought you hated it!" She really shouldn't have been surprised. She had noticed John becoming increasingly mature over the past few weeks. Meditating to calm his anger was a smart choice. They were both starting to grow up, she realized.

"It worked." He pointed out.

"Maybe I should try it, too." It actually sounded tempting to get her mind off things and just relax for a while. She made a mental note to get it done before she went to bed. Returning her attention to her brother, who was petting Squishy, she noticed the little amphibian sporting scales on his back.

"Are those scales on Squishy's back?" John looked confused for a moment, before he glanced down at the creature in his hands.

"That's new." The dark-haired boy muttered and ran a finger along them.

"I think I'll call it a night." Philippa yawned, overcome with sudden exhaustion.

"'Night." The redhead left her brother and headed to her own room. Once ready for bed, she took a seat on the floor. She was sitting in a patch of moonlight, facing the window. She had no idea when it had gotten dark, she was just thankful for the tranquility of the night. It calmed her already.

Crossing her legs, Philippa started emptying her mind. It took her a few minutes to get her breathing right, before she started focusing on her usual inner image of a field, but found that she saw her Neshamah. It was a soft, green color and the flame flickered slightly. Inside her mind she reached out and touched it. Instead of burning her fingers, she was filled with peace.

Once she felt content, she opened her eyes and got off the floor. She walked over to the window and let some fresh air in. It had been getting chilly as of late, but Philippa loved late-summer nights. It still wasn't cold enough for her to stop wearing her night gown and slippers only. The young djinn watched the Italian landscape. It was beautiful.

She remembered doing something similar back in Germany. It was funny how the memory felt so old, when it had barely been two weeks ago. At the time she had been filled to the brim with questions, some of them had been answered now, but even more had taken their place. Smiling a little to herself, she felt how different her mentality was this time around. It was hard to put a finger on, but one thing was for sure, getting a new flame had changed her. In what way, she didn't know, but she was definitely not the same whiny girl as before.

Sighing she wondered what her parents were doing at that exact moment. She caught herself doing that often as of late. Maybe they had known about the prophecy since they let her and John leave with Nimrod. A part of her still felt angry at Nimrod for keeping it all secret. She was old enough to be entrusted with prophecies, and quite frankly, she was tired of adults leaving her and John out of the loop all the time.

Shaking her head free of the negative thoughts, she started thinking about how Faustina was coping. They had contacted her after leaving Mesci Island, and she had been very taciturn in response. Philippa guessed she still felt wary of their plan. Being the Blue Djinn and all, she had been informed of what they were intending to do, which at the time only had been visiting Nimrod's mentor.

Now that she knew of the prophecy, she didn't know how to feel about their situation. If they found the key to the gateway before Iblis, they might be able to stop him from whatever he was planning, granted he was after the key. She still hadn't figured out why Dybbuk and Rudyard had been at Mesci, or what Dybbuk's role in all of this was. What had he meant by wanting a second chance? A chance to return to Iblis' good, err… bad graces? All of the possibilities made her head hurt. Philippa decided to get some sleep. Overthinking wasn't going to help her train the following day.

Philippa was referring to chapter 6, where her brain had been on fire. What do you think of the prophecy? We are getting to core idea of this story soon and I hope you'll stick around until then. We are about halfway folks! Thanks for all your support, I love you! (=w=)/