Writer's note: This is the second chapter after a really long time / A big thank you to my beta reader Sigil and to those that reviewed for the first chapter: soul and spirit, KyuuketsukiShounen, cherrybloo and inutaisho89 (: Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of The Bartimaeus Trilogy written by Jonathan Stroud. There are some quotes from his book and I mainly only own the plot.
Chapter 2: Life is for the living?
Kitty
Nathaniel died. The pain Kitty felt was unbearable, even worse than the night they stole Gladstone's Staff and she was pursued by Honorius the afrit. It was as though someone had stabbed her heart with a knife and broke it into a million pieces.
"Do I love Nathaniel?" she pondered.
"I don't know. But he loves me." she thought absently. "Loved." she corrected bitterly.
She tried to douse her grief by burying herself in books in the library. It didn't work, but she continued reading and reading; hoping maybe one day she would find a hint, any hint at all about where Nathaniel went and whether she could ever bring him back, although he was dead.
One day, she found a book titled "The Abyss of Life and Death" by Light in one secluded corner. It was a thick and dusty volume with many dog-eared pages. The cover was almost detached from the spine. Kitty opened it, with the dust making her eyes water.
The book told her of three worlds that coexisted on top of each other like a layer cake, namely Earth or the World of the Living, the Other Place where the spirits live and the last world Kitty had never heard of: The World of the Dead. The book gave a description of the three worlds but then she came to a chapter titled "The Passage That Was Never Taken – The Abyss of Life and Death". Kitty read on and realised that there was a way to save Nathaniel! It was simply through the Abyss of Life and Death.
The Abyss of Life and Death was an empty abyss at the end of the World of the Dead that only changed into a passage under certain conditions. This passage went through the Other Place (Since Earth was right on the top, the Other Place was in the middle and the World of the Dead was right at the bottom.) and ended at Earth. Kitty continued reading as the chapter described the various complicated conditions needed for the abyss to change, which included the summoning of a spirit into the World of the Dead etc. The chapter was long and it took Kitty all day to finish reading it. However, she closed the book with exhilaration, as she realised that she could "communicate" with Nathaniel while she figured out how exactly to resurrect him.
At home, she drew a simple, standard pentacle and placed a bowl of incense outside the pentacle. There was no need for a second. She sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes, saying the long and complicated incantation she had seen in the book, taking care not to miss a word and to say "Nathaniel" after the last syllable. It took 5 seconds (as the World of the Dead was further away) for her to feel a floating sensation and when she opened her eyes, she saw a grey and misty place. Nevertheless, her brain only registered the fact that Nathaniel was standing right in front of her. "It's Nathaniel! This book really works! Can I touch him?" she wondered. The thing she wanted to do most was to hug him, to ensure that he was simply there. She reached out a hand and tried to touch him, but her hand only went right through like he didn't exist. She was rather dismayed but was gratified to find out that she could hear Nathaniel's voice loud and clear. That was when she heard a familiar voice other than Nathaniel. It was Bartimaeus! Nathaniel seemed to be talking to him. "Is Bartimaeus dead too?" she wondered.
She continued listening to what they were saying, a silent observer by their side. When she heard Nathaniel saying, "If I knew, I would be out of here and back to life again." she could not help saying "There is...There is..." and strange as it might seem, Nathaniel could hear her, and even knew it was her! However, her own voice frightened her as it echoed through the dark, foreign place. It sounded so ghostly that she almost thought she was the one that was dead instead.
Suddenly, Bartimaeus accidentally summoned all the ministers. Kitty realised that the name, even the official name, had much power in the World of the Dead. She pondered this detail as the ministers, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus continued their conversation. Suddenly, the doorbell rang in Kitty's world and she had no choice but to leave a message for Nathaniel: "Nathaniel…I will resurrect you..."
She went downstairs and opened the door.
ETA: Enjoy and Review! (:
