so here is second chapter... I wanted to post it tomorrow, but I'd feel a bit guilty- it's not special enough to deserve a delay :) I wanted to thank to my first reviewer, peckforever :) really put a smile on my face...

enjoy reading...

What once was precious

Chapter 2

Hangar was cold and old, everything in it was either dead grey or rusty, reminding me of a frige, where something crawled up and died. It smelled similarly too. Metal bars were sticking in air here and there, once maybe part of some construction, now just threatening to make head-skewers. That, along with whole frigde atmosphere, made you want to run away before the smell of dried blood, cat urin and rotten, chopped off fingers sunk too deep in your skin.

Oh, and by the way- it was a chicken slaughterhouse so it also had loads of feathers littering the floor and you shouldn't be too surprised if you found a bird-leg or an eye maybe. Fluffy feathers of young birds were ideally floating through the whole hall. They might've given you wrong impression of this place if it weren't for the birds screaming from their cages in the furthest corner. Along with them, workers were yelling things like: "move out of the way!", "bring new ones", "don't throw featers around!". I don't know which ones irritated me more. Birds, humans- what was the diference actually?

But I was here for Kitty so I guess some sacrifices had to be made.

Currently I was sitting on a long pult where women were working, from little girls to old hags who looked like they'll die and their hands will continue their long-years work, clutching and pulling out feathers. It was a rather poor sight, but that's all that London was reduced to in last months. War in America and demon rebellion left the country in disastrous economic state, so our dearest leaders made a plan- put everything that can obey their orders into industry. Citizens of London could do little against it- they needed jobs, money. And when hard work and food shortages united with bad living conditions they became sickness, brawls, pain which, in the of the day, mixed and deposited as one suffocating despair. As a result of the equation above, right in front of me, was a child, no more than five year old boy, sitting by his mother's legs, watching me with unblinking, starving eyes. It was disturbing in some way, making it hard to follow what Kitty was saying.

"...he is still asking, more like begging, me to move to Czech to his family! How is moving from here gonna help anything?!", Kitty was raging. Good thing she had a dead chicken to abuse in her hands, otherwise I might be concerned for my personal safety.

I decided to intervene before she became even more puffer-fish like.

"And why not? I think I heard Czech is lovely in this time of the year..", I moved my yellow, cat eyes from that creepy child to her, genuinely interested in her reasons.

In response I got something between an unbelieving look and pure, poisonous glare. Yes Kitty was lively these days, with most of her wrinkles and grey hair gone she yet again walked tall and proud. Well, as proud as you can be when treated like an animal by magicians.

"What?! Were you even listening to me for last... hour!?"

Her lungs were very healthy as well.

" No, but look-''

'' Don't you 'look' to me! I can't just leave like a coward!'', nonexistant word in Kitty's vocabulary, '' And what about all people here!?'', she hissed, pulling out handful of feathers.

'' Honestly- what do you plan to do here? Fight the enemy? How? Choke them with those feathers? Plant rotten chicken in their dinner?", this was one thing I never picked up from humans, no matter time I spent with them, their need to lie about cruelty of truth.

Kitty glared at me but put her anger in plucking out the feathers.

"Good to see you so optimistic."

" It's called realism.", I corrected her while licking one midnight black paw, wishing I had a finger to raise to emphasise my point. This wishful thinking was only clouding her mind and was she happy? Either way- no. Uhh, frailty thy name is human!

"We were having the exact same conversation before demon rebellion and we made it that time-"

"You call this...", cat looked around, over women bent over their work and that child creepily staring at me, "...successful?", cat arched an eyebrow, if that's even possible, "Interesting definition."

She glared and opened mouth to retort but it seemingly died, along with I-wish-you-burn stare, after one scanning around. Some of her co-workers returned their tired gazes to their work. Of course they were listening in on us. They always did that. That's one of the reasons why I wasn't thrown out (even if I should've been reported to the police by protocol)- I was their news from above. But also, now that commoners realised we are all under the same boot, they gave us, spirits, that kind of tolerance you have only for a man who knows, and feels, your pains. As a jinni, washed over and over by this world, I can say it was nice change.

Kitty was silent for a moment so people around would lose interest. I hoped she won't return to the previous topic. We discussed it over and over... it brought no good. But maybe I wished too soon, because when her eyes fixated on me they had some 'I can see through your pretences' quality. Why is she always doing that? I can look however I want, so there is no use in doing that scanning thing. I changed my color few times to prove it (humans around gave me some looks but otherwise they were pretty accustomed to it). Kitty acted as if I did nothing, eyes still piercing, studying me- maybe she was colorblind.

Before I could propose my theory-

"Mandrake... used... you again... didn't he?", she said quietly, probably to protect my privacy. Funny, these humans- prying yet taking such care that no one finds out...

My eyes maybe twiched a bit after hearing this but exept that there was no fucking way she gathered it from looking at me. Nope, there were no leftovers of those greedy wizard paws.

"And just why would you think that?", I asked cautiosly. If it were my choice, she would've never found out but since few low-life foliots decided it for me, when they cracked few juicy jokes infront of Kitty (I took good care that they can never speak again...), she acted as if she had a say in this shit. She even went as far to call him a rapist. Which would be very correct word if I weren't his slave- he could kill me and not be called a murderer.

" Because you are behaving like a bitchy teenager with pms?"

Now, that surprised me. Where were those times when girls at least pretended to be fine ladies? Gone, obviously. And I wasn't behaving like pmsing teen girl. Really.

"I'm not.", and I also didn't pout.

She coughed and fell silent, wanting to provoke me to speak. Well, I didn't fall for those stupid tricks anymore, too old for that. So instead of giving in and talking my essence out I opted for fairly unused tactic and walked away. At least I wanted to.

Cold, dead chicken was slammed on the pult infront of me. Kitty was soon on her feet, leaning into my cat-face with a therapist expression. Oh, how I hated those.

"What?", I asked knowing that therapy-face will never speak first.

"You should talk about it!", was that hysteria? I soooo had to get out of here.

"To whom? You?", I wanted to chuckle like expert but it came out like sound of ice cubes falling against the cold floor. Trying to fix the impression I said: "Nah, that's not for virgin ears of yours."

Insert a toothy grin. She only arched an eyebrow.

"You think that I got through all this and kept my ears intact? Sheesh... You don't know a thing.", her hands lifted from pult to rest on her hips instead, though her face stayed on same inch-from-my-face distance.

I blinked, still having no wish to confide in her. It was no biggy and that's exactly why it shouldn't be talked about. Would you talk about killing a fly? Call it conservative and ignorant but my mouth was, for once, shut tight.

" Then who will you talk to? Bartimaeus, I'm your friend... last time I checked- your only friend."

Arrogant bitch. I deemed that question unworthy of answering.

" God damn it! That piece of shit is a rapist! Don't you want him to be charged?", she held herself back, I could practically hear the- Imprisoned? Killed and castrared?- part, and kinda guessed she'd take care of castration. Uhh- ot even 'the evil me' wanted to see that. I sighed, tiredly did a paw-face.

" Seriously, Kitty, you're... beating a dead fish. Like rotten, already greenish, long gone, goo of a fish. Just be and let it be and all that wise stuff. And, as always, I'll be just fine.", I ended it in a no-compromise tone with an ominous look which stopped even greater men, and women, than her- pharaohs and such. Just what was it that made her keep going? Courage? Stubborness? Caring? Curiosity? Or pure and utter stupidity?

" When was it that you were 'oh so fine' on your own? All times I recall you were getting yourself in trouble-"

That was the end of my tolerance. I could handle quite a number of insults but I already had too much on my plate, didn't need her adding to it.

" Oh, gotta go- world needs me.", I chirped out and jumped swiftly on the floor so she couldn't catch me. Switching topic and excusing yourself? Most genious strategy ever. Smooth and all.

" See you later.", I waved as I puffed out of sight, leaving a cyclamen-pink cloud which matched Kitty's face nicely.

if you read this far you can as well review... thank you :)