The rebel sprinted through the woods; she heard the panting of the wolves hot on her heels. It was important to not glance back; one glance and her resolve would crumple. Earlier this evening, a friend had informed her that the nightpoilce had found her hiding place; they were going to take her to the tower. She had barely escaped in time. It had been a while since she experienced the Adrianne pumping through her veins. It was a particular feeling; the causal observer would have taken it for fear. But Kitty Jones knew better, fear was a completely different feeling, difficult to overcome, difficult but…not impossible. And what she was feeling now was fear, the fear of the tower of London, fear of decades wasting away in the prison, the fear of doing nothing.
She desperately wished the resistance was still active but Makepeace had led them to their doom. Kitty knew better now, Makepeace's plot had been exposed and he killed in an attempt to escape. She smirked despite the situation; he had gotten what he deserved. A branch whipped past her face, leaving a thin trail of blood. She stumbled on a tree branch, almost fell. Gritting her teeth, she forced her aching muscles to keep sprinting. With the resistance, gone, her life after had just been dull, numb, she had acted as though nothing happened, assuming a dozen different names, taking up a dozen different jobs, no one came after her, until the day she decided it would be a good idea to summon Bartimaeus, it had gone terribly wrong, Mr. Button had found her before she could complete the pentacle and the neighborhood imp had sounded the alarm. Nothing good had happened after that, she had been forced to hide away and Mr. Button was taken away for questioning, she felt slightly guilty because he had known nothing about her plans.
Kitty violently pushed aside some overhanging branches.
No matter, first she would get out of London, then she would…she would…Kitty stopped in a moment of confusion, what had she wanted to do?
Why was she running?
Who or what was she escaping from?
The girl blinked, shook her head disoriently, and in that lapse of judgment, a werewolf tackled her to the ground.
Blinding white pain.
Kitty struggled and pulled out a silver knife, stabbed it upwards. Felt warm blood on her hand.
She heard the wolf wail and leap back. Scrambling to her feet, she found her self surrounded by a wall of fur. The head wolf had a nasty jagged cut, blood trickled down his jaw, he stared at Kitty with deadly eyes. Kitty looked around for a way to escape, she found none. The werewolves edged ever closer, coming in for the kill. Kitty squared her shoulders, preparing to fight her way out. She had spotted a patch of open field earlier, maybe she could shake them off if she hid in the grass? Doubtful, first she would have to survive this.
What?
…Wolves? Why were wolves surrounding her? What had happened?
…Why couldn't she remember?
No! She suddenly recalled what had lead her to this. Who was messing with her?
A commanding shout.
Someone had cast a spell! Those blasted magicians, She wiped the blood off her face, if she got out of this, that person was going to pay big time.
She staggered suddenly, her vision failed her.
…
…
"What are we going to do with her?"
… "I have an idea…we…"
What were they saying? Why could she not move her limbs?
Slowly, bit by bit, the girl came to her senses. They must be magicians, Kitty thought angrily. Werewolves wouldn't have left me in one piece.
Feeling slowly returned to her fingers, the rebel carefully and deliberately grasped her knife and raised it, preparing to spring.
Her head throbbed painfully, she ignored it and sprang up in a whirlwind of flashing knifes and kicks. She contacted nothing but air and a werewolf restrained her.
"Whoa, she is certainly a handful, eh?" said a woman with too much makeup and a skirt painfully inappropriate in this weather.
The other magician snorted, he wore a coat that covered most of his face, his breath fogged the air, and it was obvious he was trying not to show how cold he was.
For a few minutes, they just regarded her silently and coldly.
"Are you going to take me to the tower?" Kitty barked, "Well get on with it before I kick both your butts."
The woman wrinkled her nose, Kitty finally recognized her as Jane Farrar. "What a distasteful specimen, get it out of my sight, I think I might puke from its sheer ugliness."
Kitty gave a little snarl, "That coming from you!"
Farrar twitched then strolled away casually, stopping a while off, as if remembering something, "Oh my dear, you are not going to the tower." She sounded very disappointed. "You will have a much better fate, lucky you. On house arrest."
Kitty breathed a sigh of relief, anything was better that the tower.
"That's right." agreed the other magician, who Kitty had completely forgotten about till now.
That voice…It could not be!
He grinned at her in a way she did not like at all.
"My house, as my servant."
Said Mandrake.
Oh hell.