Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Man, I am soo bad at updating this. This is , better late then never, I guess. Don't kill me for saying that xD

Well, I guess you should know. I 'm working on another fanfiction. Well, the first chapter of it. It's for Star Wars, and most of the characters are ones I've created myself. Personally, I think the story is interesting, but I've gotten a little stuck on it, so I won't be releasing it over my break like I said I would. I typed up the first chapter, but frankly, it was trash, so I'm re-doing it.

If you want to know more about it check my profile page :)

And also on my profile page there is a new playlist from youtube that I made, with really good music. This time its not mostly dubstep. Its really good background music. Listen to it while reading :D Not sure it fits the mood though

I'm done talking. You can go ahead and read now. But I advise reading the last chapter to remember what the hell is going on, because that was a while back...

Enjoy, mates xD

Chapter 6

Kitty

Kitty couldn't believe they had been so naive. Nathaniel's previous driver had looked nothing like Mark, but neither of them ever gave any thought to the reason Nathaniel's driver had changed. They had been played for fools.

"Maybe we'll find something in his room," She said hopefully. Nathaniel nodded and they walked back up the stairs to Mark's room.

For twenty minutes they searched to room, looking thoroughly in every drawer and closet. Mark had no clothes, no belongings. It was very obvious he wasn't what he seemed to be. He was probably a spy, but Kitty couldn't tell for certain who it was that was spying on Nathaniel. Farrar was defiantly probable, but other magicians may have done it, hoping to get rid of some competition. Or simply out of pure jealousy.

After some inspection, it was also obvious that Mark definitely had not even sat down on his bed.

"Well, maybe he had to leave early this morning," Nathaniel said, uncertainly. "I'll go ask people downstairs if anyone has seen him." Nathaniel got up and left. Kitty looked at him as he walked through the door. She somehow doubted that anyone downstairs would have seen Mark.

Kitty continued searching the room. The day was a disaster, she thought. She hadn't been able to visit her parents, and probably wouldn't be able to do so anytime soon. But that was the least of her worries. Someone had sent Mark to spy on them, and they had no idea who it could have been. She wanted to punch someone. Hard.

Kitty stared out the window, fuming, as she vowed revenge on whoever sent Mark. Then she realized the window was open, despite the cold air. Strange… She walked up to it quickly, taking in all the details like she remembered detectives did in novels. Maybe this was the way mark had gone out? She looked out the window at the ground. It was three stories below her. No… if Mark had jumped out, he would have broken bones for sure. Unless…. But surely that was…

Kitty sprinted out the door and stumbled down the stairs, crashing into someone walking up. Nathaniel… again. They both hit the ground, Kitty on top again. Nathaniel was the first to recover and stand up. "I'm feeling déjà vu-" He began, only to be interrupted by a delirious Kitty.

"I know what Mark is!" She said, "And how he escaped! He went out the window!"

"Nathaniel raised his eyebrows. "Um, Kitty, I don't think so; he would have broken his bones."

"Shut up!" Kitty said. Nathaniel blinked. "He would've broken his legs if he was human, but-"

"Oh." Nathaniel said stupidly. Kitty ignored him and continued.

"- he's a demon-, er… I mean spirit. "She said. " And if someone sent a spirit after us it was probably a stinking magician pig."

"Hey!" Nathaniel said. Kitty sighed.

"Well, you aren't a typical magician. Or a typical pig." She said.

"Thanks."

"Anyway, they're probably jealous because you're a likely candidate for Prime Minister." Kitty said.

By now Nathaniel had recovered from his initial astonishment. "Well, there aren't too many magicians left, and most of them can barely summon a foliot." He mused. "So that narrows down the list considerably. "

"We have to begin our search somewhere," Nathaniel said. "Maybe we should look in the Houses of Parliament. Since there are only two days left before the election, the place is bound to be filled to the brim with magicians. From there we can make our next move."

"Good thinking." Kitty said. She cracked her knuckles. "I can't wait to meet the person who did this. I bet it's you girlfriend Farrar."

Nathaniel gasped in exasperation. "She's not my- never mind."

Bartimaeus

I sat on a fancy bench on a large mansion. There was a cat next to me; rather plump, and bright orange. I myself was a glamorous Persian cat, with rich, glossy fur and-, well, you've heard this before. We looked out at the sun rising on London-, or what was left of it anyway. I chuckled, sort of. The plump cat turned to look at me.

I say cat, but it was actually a djinni by the name of Castor in a guise. I was to work with him in kidnapping or killing(1) Kitty. Castor was quite the opposite of me; quiet and somewhat obedient. Apparently he had served Natty once before, and he was dismissed for stabbing an imp with a shish kebab-skewer. Amusing. I wish I was there to see Nathaniel's face.

(1) Lets hope it didn't come to that. She looks too bony to digest properly, among other reasons. Like her being loyal enough to follow me to the Other Place.

"So… Castings, where we begin our search for the terrible Mandrake and the oh so very elusive Kitty Jones?" I asked him, with my usual charm.

He glared at me. "My name is Castor, not Castings." He changed his guise into one of a crow and flew away. Rude.

Well, I'd show him. I became a raven. Ravens are much more sophisticated than crows.(2)

(2) In fact, there was once a man that was inspired by me (in a raven guise) to write a horror novel. I believe the man's name was Doyle, or something. No, his first name was Arthur. The story was called "The raven. Wherever the raven flew, misfortune was bound to follow. Quite accurate for a work of fiction.

With some effort, I caught up with him. "Well, Castor, where do we start?" I asked him.

"Kitty and Mandrake are at a mansion at the edge of London." Castor said, without turning to look at me. I figured I'd have to collect as much information as possible.

"How do you know?"

"I spied on him as his driver."

Clever. I had to give him some credit for that. "Nice." I said aloud. He awknowlegded this with a nod. We flew in silence over a destroyed London, which commoners and magicians were trying to rebuild together.(3)

(3) Surprising, I know. However, it must be awknowleged that the commoners were using their bare hands while magicians used foliots and djinni. And believe me, the piece won't last long.

Presently, Castor and I swooped down to sit upon a hunk of rubble the size of a golem's fist. (4) I stared at the large building in front of us. It was an old Victorian and had five stories, and old, eroded walls covered in moss and vines. Although I suppose the size would have been awe-inspiring to most humans, maybe even magicians, that was not why my mouth (5) was hanging open enough for a curious fly to enter. This was caused by the commoners I could see inside through the windows. Did Nathaniel bump his head?

(4) I, personally, know exactly how big a Golem's fist is, unfortunately. One of the few djinni I would consider a friend was killed by one. Strangely, I still miss her sometimes, although once I would have belived that spirits such as me do not feel loss. This, obviously was before I met Kitty, Ptolemy, and maybe even Nathaniel. After that, I knew I could feel loss. (5) Or beak, I should say. Sometimes I lose track.

"Don't tell me that Mandrake was the one to allow all of those commoners to stay." I said to Cartor. Castor pecked at his wing.

"I couldn't believe it at first either." He said, then flew twords the left side of the building. I followed, readying myself to stop Castor if he tried to kill Kitty. I sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that. I could tell that Castor was a strong djinni, and I would be injured, or worse, if I had to fight him head on. She trusted me enough to follow me to the Other Place, so I couldn't let him hurt her. This, unfortunately, complicates things.

Well, at least my charge said nothing about decapitating Castor, so I would do it. If I hit first, I could probably take him out. I would have done by now, but I need him to help me find Kitty. Then, as I was pondering this, I got an idea.

"So, Casper, I was thinking…" I began, putting some extra charm into my voice. I had him where I wanted him.

"Castor! It's Castor!" The crow yelled, puffing up in anger. I was afraid it would explode, so I nodded and apologized vigorously.

"Right," I said. "So I was thinking, maybe we should capture Kitty instead of killing her. That way-"

"Why should we do that?" Castor interrupted.

"I was about to explain but then you..." I sighed in exasperation. Castor wasn't very bright at times. "Never mind. We should capture her so we can take her back to Farrar for questioning. Maybe Farrar could use her as a way to control Mandrake or something. Maybe she would release us early for our resourcefulness." I could see that this caught Castor's attention.

"Fine. But if things do not go according to plan, do not hesitate to kill her. I'm in no mood to feel the Inverted skin." He said. I nodded.

We flew through the window in unision, changing our appearence to a human's in mid-flight. I chose the guise of a red-headed youth. Castor decided to go with a rather plump middle-aged man with too much hair on his chest. We were off.

Castor and I searched the rooms together, trying to look casual while doing it. Some people gave us strange looks, but most didn't awknowlege started with Nathaniel's room, but he obviously wasn't there. It was never that easy, was it?

We left(6) and then began searching the living room, where it seemed every commoner in London decided to stay. Along with their entire extended family. I mean, I applaud Nathaniel's decision to let them stay(7), but there were so many commoners it was absurd. I could barely get around as a scrawny adolescent.

(6) Castor managed to squeeze through the doorway with some difficulty. (7) I suppose it makes him seem less like a corrupt government official. He may have everyone else fooled, maybe including himself, but not me. There's still a piece of that corruption and arrogence still in him. I sincerely hope that Farrar doesn't dig it up.

Castor, on the other hand, was having much more trouble. He hobbled around, pushing around people, coffee tables, vases, lamps, and even entire sofas. With the people still on them. I ignored him, which was not easy, and tried to keep my eyes open for Nathaniel or Kitty. I scanned the room.

No luck. maybe they had exited the building while we were searching inside?

I was about to suggest to Castor that we search the entrance once more, when he made the terrible mistake of bumping into a little girl, who wasn't more than twelve years of age. The girl toppled over, spilling her mild all over herself and the people standing next to her. The entire room fell silent.

The girl stood up slowly and turned. She glared at him furiously, and for a second he looked legitimatly intimidated. I almost laughed.

"Hey, buster, what in the bloody world do you think you're doing, eh?" She spat at him angrily. "This is the last dress I have left, and do you know ho much my father paid for that milk?"

I, uh..." Castor obviously could not belive that this little girl that was almost two heads shorter than him was standing up to him. I applaud her courage.

"Lay off the pizza, fatso!" She roared. Castor gasped comically. Someone in the crowd burst out laughing. (8) Castor's shock and confusion turned to rage. She had hurt his piride, and would pay for doing so. It was fairly obvious now that he had no tolorence for those who hurt his pride. I sincerely hoped that he wouldn't stab the girl with a shish-kebab skewer like he did to that poor imp.

(8) It might have been me... okay, guilty as charged! However, it was pretty funny.

"Do you know who you are dealing with?!" Castor roared.

"Yeah," the girl said, standing on her toes. "Some fat punk with an inflated ego! Guess what; you aren't the only one in the bloody room! Look where your going! But I guess I can't blame you... you probably couldn't even see your toes!"

"Oooh! That one's gotta hurt!" The person who had laughed earlier(9) said, roaring with laughter. Castor looked around, trying to identify the culprit.

(9) I'm too polite to mention any names or point any fingers.

"Arggg!" Carstor growled, and swung a massive palm. The palm had a powerful detonation in it, ready for use. The girl and most of the other people on this side of the mansion would have been pulverized if I hadn't made my move. I launched a rather powerful flux at him, and it absorbed the detonation immediately(10). Then I launched a weak but tightly focused hurricane from my fingertips. It caught him right in the head, sending him and a few commoners flying through the window and a portion of the wall and landing in the front yard. The commoners would be fine. It was only three stories after all. No more than a few cuts and broken bones. I'm sure Natty boy wold take care of them soon enough.

Everyone in the room turned from the missing piece of the wall that used to contain the window to my outstretched hand. I gave them a grin.

"Sorry, my, er... uncle is very sensitive about his weight." I said, then jumped out the hole in the window as casually as I could and joined Castor in the front yard. As I suspected, the commoners were rolling around and moaning in agony; they were alive. Castor, on the other hand, was not moaning. He was up on his feet and readying another detonation. He was ready to obliterate me with no concern for the consequences, which undoubtedly involved some sort of punishment from Farrar. Any somewhat intelligent being would have been ready to make evasive maneuvers, all the while fire back all the could. Silver bullets, iron pans, boots; it didn't matter. Something.

"You're welcome," I said, smiling.

"You'd better be- wait, what?"

"If Farrar had heard about how a djinni had destroyed half of Mandrake's home, you would have felt the inverted skin for sure." I said.

"Oh... ah, yes, I believe so. Thank you, Castor said uncomfortably.

"My pleasure."

Castor cleared his throat. His anger was gone and was now filled with relief that he been stopped from doing someting extremely stupid by this exalted being in front of him. "Well, I guess Mandrake isn't here then." He said.

"Yes, but his limo was still there when we went in. Now its gone. They must have taken it, so they can't have gone far. And all we have to do is fly around London and look for a limo. Not many people have a car, much less a limo, right now." I said, proud of my observations.

"Let us go find them, then," Castor said.

At once, a magnificent raven and a rather plump looking crow lifted off the ground. The search was on.

Nathaniel

Nathaniel and Kitty stepped out of his temporary mansion. They walked to his limousine and Nathaniel took out his spare keys, then gasped suddenly. Someone had painted graffiti and rude drawings and messages all over his limousine. There were gang symbols, skulls, and a lot of threats and evil looking smiles. Along with profanity. Lots of that too.

"Someone really doesn't like you," Kitty said.

"That is an understatement. Look, they smashed that window, too." Nathaniel said.

"And look at that thing. It almost looks like a-"

"I know. That's a tad bit unnecessary, is it not?"

"Well, look what you and your merry band of magicians did to London." Kitty said.

Nathaniel looked hurt. "That was not my doing." Kitty shrugged.

"Well, you did sign half of the young men in Britain up for suicide." She said.

Nathaniel flinched. That he was responsible for, and he regretted it. He had been a tool, interested in his own self-preservation. He vowed he would never go back to doing that for any reason. Mandrake was dead, and Nathaniel wanted to make sure he stayed buried six feet underground. Hypothetically, of course.

"Sorry," He said sheepishly.

"Apologize to them; not me," she said.

They stood awkwardly for a few seconds. Then Nathaniel remembered something.

"Wait...I'm afraid i do not know how to drive," He admitted. Kitty raised her eybrows.

"What?" He asked. "I never had to drive! My driver did that for me."

Kitty shook her head and muttered "Bloody majicians" under her breath. "Well, most commoners and I just walk or get a taxi everywhere, so I've never tried, either. But I guess I' can try... get in. No, don't sit in the back; you're riding shotgun."

Kitty got in the driver's seat and cracked her knuckles. Nathaniel made sure to put his seat belt on. "Okay," Kitty said, a bit shakily, readying her nerves. She took the key from Nathaniel and started the car. Then, as she pushed the gear to 'drive' Nathaniel noticed that her hand was shaking. Nathaniel gripped the seat tightly, wishing for a second that Bartemaeus was the one car began to roll down the road of its own accord. Kitty pushed on the brake hard and the car stopped suddenly, sending Nathaniel flying forward until his seatbelt stopped him. Nathaniel looked at Kitty, his eyes wide. She put on her brave face.

"I've got this; trust me," Kitty said. "Just give me the directions."

About an Hour Later...

Nathaniel jumped out of the car and knelled down, kissing the ground in front or him. Kitty exited the car as well, rolling her eyes at him.

"Please. My driving wasn't that bad."

Nathaniel simply pointed at the limousine. Kitty folowed his finger and grimaced. The car was a mess. Not only was it covered in graffiti; it also had absurdly long scratches on the sides (Kitty had scraped one side against a boulder, and the other against a fire hydrant). It was also the proud owner of a cracked winshield, broken bumper, and smashed headlights (all aquired by crashing into a lamppost.

"Its not that bad..." Kitty lied. Then, as if on cue, the bumper and one of the rear doors fell off. Kitty sighed. "Fine. Maybe I'm not the best driver in all of London."

"That's an understatement," Nathaniel muttered. He took one last look at the remains of his once mint condion limousine. It was a good thing no majicians were out here to witness this. He would have been a laughngstock.

Well, best not to dwell on what couldn't be changed. "Let us find the person responsible for sending Mark. And, Kitty? Do try to be civilized."

And together, they walked into the Houses of Parliment. The search was on.

What do you think? If you have any suggestions or any guesses on what may happen next, be sure to review.

Tell me how I did! Tell me about any OOC characters, Mary Sues, grammar mistakes, or any plotholes. If you are interested in my Star Wars story, then be sure to send me a PM. ;)

And I've decided to write more short chapters, or else I wont update this for wayyy too long, so expect the next chapters to be shorter. Until summer, when I will updat much more often :D

Sooo... have a nice day, ladies and gents. :)