Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE BARTIMAEUS TRILOGY, NOR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. THEY BELONG TO JOHNATHAN SHOURD
A/N: I finish reading the trilogy only a few hours ago, and I got kinda annoyed on the ending, so this is a one-shot on what might've happened at Bartimaeus' next summoning. Thank you.
The Cycle Continues
Humans never changed. That was a fact known to every level of spirit.¹ Now, don't get me wrong, there were a few different humans such as Ptolemy, and even the strange girl Kitty Jones, that changed the context of how humans stereotypically acted.
Yet, either way, magicians summoning djinn² seems to be something they are all hell-bent on.
It has been a long time since I have last been summoned, and even if my essence has been completely healed, this did not stop me from waiting for the chance to devour the one who has called me. ³ And boy was he/she going to get it the first chance I had.
Deciding that a hideous man-rat was a good guise⁴, I prepared a dark and scratchy speech as a charming and warm welcome for my new master⁵. Almost hissing, I said, "He who hath summoned me will pay the ancient penalty of death."
Looking around for the person I had just threatened, I was almost shocked to see a young blonde man, who was equally as shocked. Blinking, the man coughed, looking at the floor.
"You are Bartimaeus?" he asked, finally looking up at me. ⁶
The man-rat examined the edge of the scimitar, "Yes. Now release me or I'll destroy everything here." I finished with an impressive swipe of the weapon pointing the end at the blonde. To be reasonable, he only seemed to look sceptical. Which was not the reaction I was looking for.
"You wouldn't, and can't." Pausing for a moment, the blonde gave a disgusted look. "Could you please change into something more... civil."
Scowling, I changed into a young, dark haired boy. "There. Satisfied?" And it seems he was. His eyes lit up, and he nodded enthusiastically. I knew that the man-rat wasn't the whole reason, but kept the appearance for any future references, stored away. "What are you so happy about?"
"That's him! It has to be!" The blonde asked. He looked like a child on Christmas day who was just receiving his wanted present.
"Excuse me?"
"Him! John Mandrake!"
It was true. Out of the slightest respect for the fool, I was in Nathanial's guise, but like the last time I had seen him healthy. This brought on a strange wave of sadness, I had always enjoyed out banters which had become our rituals really.
"He sacrificed himself – and supposedly you – to save the world from the demons. I saw a picture up in parliament once, of him. He looked just like that. Wow! What was he like?" The mans eyes shone with a strange admiration, which sold the word 'Fanboy'.
"Oi! Look here you! Tell me what you want, and then dismiss me. I don't want to be here at all, and I certainly don't want to talk about that prat⁷."
"Sorry! Actually, I only summoned you to see if you had survived. There are rumours recently on whether or not you still existed. I just wanted to see for myself. You know he did 127 years ago, don't you?"
"Look buddy. I'm not gonna- What? 127 years? Are you joking?!" I was astonished to say the least. The room seemed to look that those back when I played slave for those two years⁸ for Mandrake.
"No, I'm serious. He's a legend and one of Britain's Hero's. He's written in books and everything! Texts also say that you were his first and favourite demon. Is that true?" The blonde asked.
"Yeah, sure. If you call wanting to kill each other 'favourite', that is." I was slightly put off. Nathanial had indivertibly become a hero, right when he had finished being selfish, and wanting to help people. There's a lesson to be learnt, I'm sure. Can't quite see what through the shock of it all though.
"Was he really friends with Kitty Jones, as well? Some texts say that they had something going on between them? Is that true as well?"
Okay, these questions were starting to really annoy me, and Nathanial's face reflected this. The boy crossed his arms, and glared at the blonde. "Look here, you. I want some questions answered first. What happened to Kitty Jones for instance, after the whole death incident?"
"Oh. Well, from what I know, she travelled around the world for three years, and started writing a book called 'Duco'⁹. I have a copy of it too!" He got excited here, again. And it was really annoying. "It tells about her life in the resistance, and when she met up with Mandrake. It was also the first official book on how Mandrake – and you of course¹⁰ – saved the world. Erm... Then after the book, she helped the building relationship between non-magicians – sorry, they were called commoners then, right? – and magicians. She also wrote a book a couple of years later, before she died, called 'Ptolemy's Gate: The bridge between human and djinn'."
Well, it seems that Kitty at least led a good life afterwards. That was good news. And she had earned my trust more because she had put Ptolemy's work into the world, in his name. A small smile flittered across Nathanial's face.
"Alright. Second question: Why are you a Fanboy? Not that I particularly want to know, I just want to go home, is all." And it may also be the quickest way.
The blonde looked flabbergasted. "Fanboy?! Of who? Kitty Jones?"
"No, no, no. Of Mandrake," I said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which of course, it was.
"Oh. Well, I guess... if you put it that way." He was blushing like a tomato now, his eyes flickering from the floor to Nathanial's dark eyes. "I admire him, certainly. Everyone does to some extent, I guess... And a lot of people admire you too!" Obviously he was just trying to get onto my good side. That wasn't about to happen.
"Alright! Calm down. Now, what the hell do you want?"
"...Sorry?"
"Well, what did you summon me for. Surely not to ask questions¹¹? So, state what you want."
"Well, honestly... there's this party I'm to attend this Friday-"
"No."
"But-"
"No. Now dismiss me. Or else." Leaving that hanging in the air had its effect. And a few moments later, I was dismissed. I decided in the few moments before I left into the Other World, that I never wanted to speak about Ptolemy, Nathanial or Kitty again.
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¹ And quite an obvious one at that, really.
² Particularly me.
³ And why was I being summoned anyway? Aren't I supposed to be dead or something in this world? Did my honourable and noble sacrifice to save the human world mean nothing? Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea.
⁴ It had beady green eyes, with a long, dirty and slimy tail, and dirty black spiked fur that looked mottled and flea ridden. Slimy and sharp clawed feet and hands along with a sewer-green upper roman armour and a scimitar completed my small masterpiece, and was an almost guarantee for scaring the living day-lights out of my new master, and hopefully securing a quick way home.
⁵ Yep. That was me, ever the courteous and polite djinn.
⁶ Okay, so my masterpiece hadn't scared him, and as the pentacle had no mistakes, he wasn't exactly terrified of me killing him, either.
⁷ Like with Ptolemy, Nathanial had become a touchy subject. Kitty was also on that list.
⁸ Not literally, of course. I would never actually play slave.
⁹ Meaning influence of course.
¹⁰ I had given him a glare at this point. No way was Nathanial going to steal my glory.
¹¹ That was Ptolemy's thing. And kinda Nathanial's.. in a way. I mean he was always demanding answers and asking questions regarding the situation.
A/N: Thank you for reading!