The next chapter is finally up, and the next one is right behind it!
:) ;) (.)
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As I carried the girl across the rooftops, I tried to ignore Amadahy's cold stare. The first time Vivian had summoned me, she hadn't seemed very powerful. The second time had been the same until the marid had started to crush the djinni. Then her commands had become almost impossible to refuse. Especially the second one which had come close to tearing my essence apart. Now she was just a pathetic brat again. The girl's djinni seemed to be similar. Her strength had barely been above that of a foliot until I started pointing out how weak she was. For just a moment she had been stronger somehow. I had actually thought she was an afrit. Even though the change was so brief that I might have imagined it, I had suddenly felt the need to stop talking.
I looked down at the rat sitting on its master's shoulder and thought of Nafre's Amulet (1). But that was impossible. I had chucked that thing into a lake in South America centuries ago. I pushed the Amulet to the back of my mind and realized something. "Where does Kitty live?"
Vivian stared up at me blankly. Apparently she didn't know either.
"It said in Nick's letter," the rat squeaked.
"Where is it?" the girl and Ptolemy asked at the same time.
"On the kitchen table."
''''''''
''''''''
"Remind me again why we're back here?" I hissed, now in the form of a panther.
"Because we have to find that letter," Vivian whispered back.
"And what do you plan to do if Necalli is still here?"
"Just a minute ago you assured us he was gone," Amadahy said. She had forced herself into her giant wolf shape, losing some more essence in the process.
"What if he comes back?"
The wolf bared its fangs. "Then we fight."
"And I'll be stuck doing all the fighting," I growled.
"Just be quiet and go look for the letter."
"Why?"
"Because Ms. Gray ordered you to."
"Perhaps earwax has caused me to have poor hearing, because I'm sure it was you who gave the order."
"Let's all go," Vivian suggested, looking somewhat uncomfortable between a panther and a giant wolf.
"But Ms. Gray—"
"It wouldn't be fair to send Bartimaeus in by himself." Then the girl crept towards her house (2). She raced into the house with Amadahy close behind. I followed more slowly. If the ceiling suddenly caved in, I didn't want to be in the way.
The panther had just taken its first reluctant paw step inside when the girl rushed back out, slamming into it. Girl and djinni fell to the ground, the latter providing a soft landing for the former. They were soon joined by a wolf who was frantically trying to keep up with its mistress. Apparently I was right to worry about the ceiling, because a few moments later what was left of the house collapsed. "I really hope you got the letter, because I don't look forward to digging through that pile of rubble . . ."
Vivian held the crumpled paper up triumphantly. "Good. Now, do me a favor."
"What?" the girl asked.
"GET OFF OF ME!!"
''''''''
''''''''
Sometime later we were traveling across the rooftops again. Kitty's house was on the other side of London, so it was taking a while to get there. The girl had fallen asleep sometime ago, and the wolf had quickly, and with some relief, traveled down the food chain. It was now a runty mouse. And it was getting weaker. It could no longer be considered a djinni. By morning it might be mistaken for an imp. I found myself thinking about Nafre's Amulet again.
"Who was your first master?" I asked the mouse.
"The last of the Aztec emperors," it mumbled, barely conscious.
"That would be Cuauhtémoc."
The mouse smiled slightly at some memory. "Cua. I miss him."
"Do you know anything about Nafre's Amulet?"
The mouse's smile disappeared. "The shiny rock at the bottom of the lake . . ."
"Yes, go on," I said, but the mouse had already fallen asleep. I watched it twitch as it dreamed until a chimney loomed in front of me, persuading me to focus on the path in front of me. I could ask the mouse about the Amulet later.
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1. Nafre's Amulet isn't really an amulet. It hurts its bearer more than it helps her. Also, the effects it has on humans are different from those it has on spirits. Human bearers are shielded from the effects of time and become immortal. Unless they lose the Amulet, in which case time finally catches up with them. Bearers from the Other Place, however, are shielded from most of the essence-healing effects of their home. Putting the Amulet on is suicidal for a djinni.
2. What use to be her house. What hadn't already been reduced to splinters was barely standing.
