A/N: Hey everyone! Well, I 've been wanting to do this for a long time, and I finally got it all written down! This is a Cirque du Freak/Bartimaeus Trilogy crossover, because after I read these series over again I thought it would be cool to combine them, and this is the result! It is a oneshot, but I wrote it from both Darren and Bartimaeus' POVs, so that's why it will have two chapters. This chapter is in Darren's POV. Oh, and this takes place in the beginning of Ptolemy's Gate and between The Vampire's Assistant and Tunnels of Blood. Enjoy!
The Djinni and the Vampire- Darren's POV
Geez, I was hungry.
I hadn't had any human blood in a while, and I was once again starting to feel the effects of not drinking blood. Mr. Crepsley had warned me the other day that this was going to happen soon, but, of course, I didn't listen to him.
Okay, okay, I know I should've listened to him, but I'd been really busy lately with the Cirque du Freak! Plus, the vampire had been getting on my nerves, and I really didn't feel like doing what he said, even if it was for my benefit. Defiance? More like stupidity . . .
So there I was, prowling along the side of the road in the shadows, looking for a human I could take some blood from. Mr. Crepsley wasn't with me; I'd snuck out about an hour before he usually woke up, and it was still twilight outside. I was getting pretty annoyed; I'll admit I hadn't picked the busiest road to walk along, but there should've been at least one person out!
Just as I was starting to feel kind of desperate, I spotted someone walking up the road towards me. He looked about my age, maybe a few years older, and he was wearing blue jeans and a gray sweatshirt. As he came closer, I noticed he looked sort of Egyptian- a little out of place where I was staying, but whatever. He was looking at the ground and he had his hands in his sweatshirt pocket. He'd be perfect.
I ducked behind a tree and watched him come closer. I know I didn't have that special knockout gas breath that full vampires had, but I could just hit the kid in the back of the head or something. One little tap wouldn't hurt him, right? I tensed and got ready to spring.
As the boy came closer, I heard him muttering to himself. He was saying something about a, "stupid master," and, "always having to do the stupid work." I had no clue what that was about. When he came right next to where I was standing, I made my move.
The boy whipped around as I jumped out from behind the tree and ran at him, faster than any human could have. I quickly karate-chopped the back of his head, hitting the nerve that's supposed to make you pass out instantly. Before the kid had a chance to react, I grabbed his foot and pulled it up, making the boy fall unceremoniously onto his butt.
I knelt down, thinking the boy had passed out, and started to roll up the cuff of his jeans, exposing the part of his leg just below the knee. Just as I was about to make a small cut with my nail, the boy kicked me in the chest with such force that I yelped and fell back onto the pavement.
"What the heck do you think you're doing?!" the boy yelled.
I groaned and sat up, massaging my shoulder where I'd landed on it. I saw the boy sitting with his legs scrunched up to his chest, glaring at me. I shook my head to clear it, thinking I was still dazed when I saw his eyes. They were a bright, glowing yellow color- not a very common thing to see.
"Well?" the boy said. I just blinked stupidly and he rolled his creepy eyes. "Are you going to tell me why you just tried to knock me out with a karate-chop? You hit the wrong place, by the way. Not that it would've mattered . . ."
"Oh, well, I, uh . . ." I was at a loss of what to say. How do you explain to someone that you just tried to knock them out so you could drink their blood?! Suddenly, the boy cocked his head to one side and looked at me curiously.
"You're not human." He said it as a fact, not a question.
"Wha- no, of course I'm a human! I mean, I, uh-" I blubbered, before he cut me off.
"Don't lie to me. I can see your essence. It may look normal on the first plane, but on the second and third, something's up."
"My . . . my what is what?" This kid was speaking nonsense. He sighed and looked at me like I was an idiot.
"Oh, come on. You know, your essence? The stuff you're made of? You have to be able to sense something about me."
"Something like what?" I still had no clue what this guy was talking about. The boy crossed his legs and sighed again.
"Like something . . . off, something not quite right."
"Well . . . I guess . . .," I said. Now that he mentioned it, there was something else weird about him, besides his freaky eyes. He also didn't quite smell like a human, which I would've noticed before if my senses hadn't been fogged by hunger.
"So, what level djinni are you? That is, unless you're a foilot or something. You're not a foilot, are you?" The boy looked at me questioningly.
"Excuse me?" I stared at him like he was crazy. "Did you just insult me?!" I'd never heard of a foilot before, but by the way he said it, it didn't sound good.
"Depends. Are you someone who's worth insulting?" He flashed a grin. "You know, you never did tell me why you tried to attack me a little while ago."
"Um . . . well, you see, uh . . ." I started playing with my hands nervously, trying to think of something to tell him. He stared at my hands for a moment, and then he suddenly snapped his fingers.
"Aha! I got it!" He pointed at me. "You're a vampire!"
"Wha-"
"I knew I recognized that fluctuation in your essence! And there's no mistaking those scars on your fingertips!"
I stared at him, shocked.
"How did you . . . wait- you're not a vampire too, are you?!"
"A vampire?! Me?! Please!" The boy lifted his head regally and put a hand to his chest. "I am Bartimaeus of Uruk, fourth-level djinni. Also known as Rekhyt, Sakhr al-Jinni, and Wakonda of the Algonquin, among many other names. I have spoken with many great magicians, such as Solomon and Ptolemy of Alexandria. I am not, as you suggested, a vampire. But enough about me . . ." He put his hand down and gazed at me. "What do they call you?"
"I'm, uh, Darren . . . Darren Shan," I replied. Man, this guy sure talked a lot . . .
"Well, 'uh, Darren Shan,' I'm glad I got to talk to you." He smiled. "I haven't met a vampire in over two hundred years!"
"Oh, I'm not a full vampire . . . I'm only a half-vampire."
"Not even a full-vampire?! Well, then you must feel especially honored to have met me! Most full-vampires don't even know that we djinn exist! Why,-"
"Excuse me," I cut in. "But what exactly is a djinn? Is it like that guy who's stuck in a lamp, and every time someone rubs it, they get three wishes?" That was the only mention of a djinni I'd ever heard of. Apparently, it wasn't the right one, since Bartimaeus' smile turned to a frown and he glared at me.
"No, that is not the correct definition of a djinni. I don't know why all you humans think of that! I mean, just because one guy got himself stuck in a lamp for all of eternity doesn't mean that the rest of us djinn are stupid enough to do the same!"
"Hey, calm down! You don't have to yell at me!" I said, trying to make him stop ranting. I was almost sorry I'd asked him a question. "I didn't mean to insult you!"
He continued to glare at me for a moment, and then he shook his head and stood up.
"Well, I'd better be going," Bartimaeus said as I stood up as well. "Things to do, people to please. See you around, Darren Shan." He turned away from me and started walking down the road.
"What, you're just going to get up and walk away?!" I asked him. He stopped and turned back to me.
"Yes, that does seem like what I'm doing, doesn't it?" He looked at me like I was an idiot. "Now, if you'll excuse me-"
"But we hardly got to talk!" Even though he was slightly creepy, Bartimaeus seemed interesting. Besides, I hadn't met a kid around my age in ages, not including Evra, of course. "Don't you want to know why I attacked you?"
"I think I can take a guess, mister hungry-looking half-vampire."
"Doesn't that freak you out at all?!" I looked at him like he was crazy. Most people I know would be more than a little freaked out if they learned that a vampire attacked them and tried to drink their blood. Well, half-vampire, technically . . . but that's beside the point.
"Truthfully? No, it really doesn't 'freak me out-'" He made air quotes with his fingers. "-at all. Now, can I please-"
"But-"
"For the love of Ptolemy, do you ever stop talking?!" Bartimaeus shouted. I closed my mouth, sorry that I'd made him mad again. "Look, I really have to go!"
"Will I ever get to see you again?!" It was nice to talk to someone who wasn't' part of the Cirque du Freak, and this kid was just going to walk away! Plus, I realized with a sudden jolt, he knew I was a half-vampire! What if he told?! I really didn't believe the whole, "I've been alive for over two hundred years," thing. Maybe that was just a ploy to get information! What if-
"If you're worried I'm going to tell the whole world your secret, it's okay. I have no reason to, so I won't," Bartimaeus said, shrugging and snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Will I ever see you again?" I repeated. I was debating telling him about the Cirque du Freak, but I still wasn't sure if I could trust him or not. Bartimaeus' frown turned into a smile.
"Hmm . . . you'll probably see me, but you won't recognize me," he said cryptically.
"What does that mean?!" I asked. Bartimaeus just grinned wider. He winked, and when I blinked, he was gone. The only thing left was a thin trail of mist that quickly dispersed into the distance.
"What the-" I looked around, but the boy was nowhere in sight. "Bartimaeus?" No response.
"What in the world . . .?" I muttered to myself. I started walking in the direction of the Cirque, wanting to tell Mr. Crepsley what had happened. Maybe he could tell me what a djinni was, if there even was such a thing . . .
I stopped walking when I heard my stomach growl.
Oh, right, I thought. I never did get any blood . . . I changed course, heading in the direction of town, thinking of Bartimaeus and hoping the next person I met didn't have questionable sanity.
All of a sudden, I heard a screeching noise and I ducked as a bat flew over my head. I glanced up and saw it hovering a few feet in front of me.
"Uh . . . hello?" I said, raising one eyebrow. I jumped as the bat screeched again and darted off.
"Hey, wait!" I called, running after it. I don't know why, but I had this instinctual desire to follow it. I ran for a few minutes until I saw it hanging from a tree branch.
"What . . . was that . . . about?!" I panted, trying to get my breath back. I looked in front of me and quickly jumped back further into the shadows when I saw a fairly plump man walking along the road. He was completely alone- a perfect person to take blood from.
"Hey . . . uh, thanks," I said to the bat. It stared at me with its golden eyes, and then it winked and flew off into the darkness,
"Whoa . . . what?!" I said quietly to myself. Golden eyes? Could that have been . . . no. I shook my head. I probably just imagined it. As far as I knew, bats didn't wink at you.
I focused my attention on the man walking in the road. I got ready to pounce, finally about to get some long-awaited blood, Bartimaeus' golden eyes still gleaming in the back of my mind . . .
A/N: So, what did you guys think? I'll upload Bartimaeus' POV a little later on. Please review!