:So, thought I'd tell you guys. I started this chapter up immediately after finishing chapter 9, I just couldn't wait to write it, not while it was fresh on my mind. Also, I feel a little sick, my throat hurts and all. But I hope you enjoy this!:

Kitty stared at the exit sadly, the door swinging open a little due to the force behind the slam. She could understand why he had been upset, but he shouldn't have left so abruptly.

She looked to Bartimaeus, he was looking at the door as well with a narrowed eye and annoyed expression. He took the book off his lap, jumping off the table, dusting off his loincloth and grumbling under his breath.

She wanted to blame the Djinni for this, because it was the reason as to why he had left, but she knew that it was just worried about it's old master. Bartimaeus cared for Nathaniel, no matter how much he tried to deny it. Also, with how much the Djinni had been talking about the Princess, it was no wonder that it had suspected her.

When she placed what it had told her, she could also see a line of suspicion connecting to her. She had looked at them quite rudely when they arrived, however she had only looked at Bartimaeus like that. It could have been due to the fact that the Djinni always made his human guises attractive, but she had been looking at him in disgust, not jealousy, as if she knew something that her father didn't. There was also the instance that regarded her time staying here. It didn't make sense to her of why a princess was only discovered for three years. After all in royalty, the birth of a new member would be a wondrous and well known occasion, wouldn't it?

Kitty wanted to tell Bartimaeus that she believed him, but she had a sense that he might already know, since they often thought alike. She watched it sigh and stare at the door, no doubt thinking of what it wanted to do and how she would react to his actions.

She smiled knowingly. "You're going to watch over him, aren't you?"

It turned its face toward her, eyes wide and cheeks a little darker than usual. It moved its eyes to the side. "Says who?"

"You've been staring at the door, wanting to chase after him." She was tempted to let out a laugh at the Djinni. It was funny to watch it conflicted.

"Don't be absurd." Bartimaeus turned around fully. "Who would want to chase after that fool? If he wants to go run to the potential kidnapper, let him. It wouldn't be the first time he threw himself into certain death."

Those words are empty Kitty thought. Bartimaeus wanted to go watch Nathaniel and make sure nothing happened. It didn't want to lose its old master again.

"Since you're pull of pride, you'll wait until I sleep to go." Kitty said. The Djinni didn't reply. "You don't want to admit that you're worried about him. Now that he's alive, you want to protect him." Again, the Djinni said nothing. "Even if I told you not to go to him, you'd twist my words and find a way to do it anyway."

Finally Bartimaeus let out a yell of frustration. "Oh, will you be quiet?! I would never want to protect him, and even less would I ever worry about him!" It stormed to the door, reaching for the handle and swinging it open.

"Where you going then?" She called after it.

"To try to get more information about the Princess!" It shouted back, closing the door behind itself.

You mean you're going to go watch over Nathaniel, who is near the princess and has a chance to give you information on her. You're creating a loophole in your own charge. Kitty sighed, staring down at the books resting on the table. She grabbed at a book to the far right, a brown color, and thumbed through it.

If she could find something about potential reasons a being would kidnap, that'd be great. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it? She would have to possibly go through the history of previous kidnappings by other beings and through spells that have to do with a human, although she doubted that the spell part would help her. The entity they were looking for always killed the human, so what spell would it be?
She closed the book, seeing as it being about just the names of some creatures that it would give her no leads. She looked through the other books some more, trying to think of which ones would help her. She had obtained these books through requesting them from a messenger imp, who had disappeared to give them to her quickly, but-

She heard the sounds of a birds call gently in the room, the air turned into a soothing warmth, the voice of water was flowing everywhere and nowhere. Speak of the devil..

Kitty rose from her place, moving to the center of the room and watching as a gentle green fog moved about in front of her. In a quick moment, a small green lion cub with a pouch attached to its side appeared in the air, dropping on all fours onto the floor. It looked up at her and nodded in polite regard.

"Good evening, Xaphan." She greeted politely, even adding a slight bow.

Xaphan let out a loud purr. "Good evening, Ma'am." Its voice sounding like a small child, not too high pitched, nor too low.

"Do you have what I requested?"

"I do, indeed." It spoke cheerfully, it moved slowly to her, presenting its pouch by turning to the side. Kitty knelt down, taking hold of the pouch and removing the contents.

She pulled out an envelope, the color a pale white with a blue seal. She opened it gently and peered inside it. With a smile, she nodded to the spirit. "Thank you, send my regards to Ms. Piper."

"It would be my pleasure to, Ma'am." It sat down, licking at a paw before addressing her once more. "My master would like to ask if you are in need of any more reading material."

"Yes, I am actually." Kitty spoke, relief filling her voice. "Please ask her to provide me of anything that relates to spells in need of a human being, and any previous kidnappings in the past relating to any sort of Spirit."

Xaphan nodded, committing the words to memory. "Of course. I shall return soon with what you desire. For now, I wish you a good night, may you sleep peacefully."

"Good night, Xaphan." She gave it a small pat on the head, to this it responded with a soft purr and disappeared.

The sounds around her and the temperature returned to normal, much to Kitty's disappointment. She always enjoyed seeing Xaphan, it would always put on something calming to indicate it was coming, it was nice.

Kitty moved herself to the table, placing the letter on top of it and falling into the chair. She sighed deeply, thinking to herself. She needed to relax, all she's been doing is thinking of work and this case the entire time she's been here. She could sleep, but she was wide awake due to the sudden shock of seeing Nathaniel.

She moved her eyes to the letter, trying to decide on what to do. She could look at the contents of the envelope, because she had asked for them for a good reason, or she could try to relax and deal with it in the morning. She groaned, rubbing at her eyes.

It would do me some good to rest She told herself, but no she knew she wouldn't be able to, also forcing herself to sleep wouldn't be good for her. She looked to the door, perhaps it would be a good idea to go out for a bit of a walk. No one was likely to be out, so the option was there.

Finally, she rose from the chair and walked to the door, grabbing a nearby jacket to place on before she left. Egyptian nights were rumored to be chilly, so it would be good not to go out in a simple shirt.

Kitty looked to the streets, feeling relaxed immediately by the cool breeze and the emptiness that was held within the night. The area was very pretty, she would hate for the place to erupt in chaos just because of a rogue spirit.

She walked on, taking note of how serene the place was. No one was out, no light was on in the houses, how late was it? She wondered if there were any other potential suspects for the case, for now there wasn't. She had only met a few people, and all of them did not strike her as threatening, then again the princess hadn't either. Other than the fact she had glared at her when mentioning Drake.

She looked down at the dark sands, feeling her heart swell at the thought of Nathaniel. He's alive...She smiled, feeling happy at this. She shouldn't have been too happy though, due to how much she had hated him. But he had began to change and she favored that side of him very much. John Mandrake was who she hated, Nathaniel she hadn't met until they were both captured by Makepiece.

Other than the fact he was a decent friend to her, she was glad he was alive because that means she hadn't gotten him killed. Everyone she seemed to associate herself with seemed to either die or get hurt in some fashion. Perhaps that wasn't completely true, but still, it seemed to be the case.

When Nathaniel had not been found, as well as Bartimaeus, she had known what they had done. She had panicked at first, wanting to search the rubble herself to find his body, but even after the entire year it took to clear it, they had found nothing. Soon, even before the year was over, she had summoned Bartimaeus, feeling overjoyed that he had survived and requested to hear every word.

The Djinni had been reluctant, but spoke to her about what Nathaniel had done. As soon as she heard this, she had dismissed it on the spot and began to weep. She had lost another friend, not that he was an overly good one.

After the year, she decided that she would not travel like she wanted to do at first. She stayed, taking the offer at becoming apart of the ministry, and replacing Nathaniel. She still planned to travel, but she decided to make a difference now. She wasn't exactly a magician, but she could summon well enough, and she didn't even have to hide her true name. It was already hidden somewhat, Kitty was a nickname. Her name was Kathleen Jones, not Kitty Jones. It still wasn't full protection, but it wasn't her being out in the open.

The spirits she summoned never seemed to bother her really, they at first would regard her the same way as they did other magicians but after saying Thank You to almost all of them and dismissing them with a grateful smile, they grew to enjoy her company. Sometimes when she needed help with something, she had only need speak of how she wished for help and a spirit would come to her.

Her main helper was Bartimaeus, her and him got along the best so she summoned him for only when she needed him. She made sure to dismiss him regularly though, she did not want to make him wary.

It was painful working with Bartimaeus sometimes though, seeing as he reminded her of Nathaniel. He was his slave at some point, and it often gave her painful memories. But now...

Now she knew Nathaniel was alive, she felt sorrow no longer, but rather felt worried about him. She had just found her friend, there was no way she was going to let him die again.

A figure emerged out of the dark, running into Kitty and both letting out a soft yell as they both toppled onto the ground. She let out a groan, having landed on her behind and looked in the dark to the person across from her, a book sprawled open to their side.

She moved her eyes to the book, being able to read it somewhat from being in the dark for a decent while. The words on the page made her blink in surprise, there were words relating to a Mournful Orb and how to use it. She turned to the person in the dark, trying to make out who they were. The person gasped at who she was, and grabbed at the book.

Kitty was having none of this and tackled the person, effectively cutting off their route to escape. She reached into her back pocket, thanking herself for never leaving herself unarmed, and pulled out a pocket knife, forcing it against the person's neck.

"What have you need a book of spells for?" Kitty growled, getting straight to the point. The person below her gave a whimper. "I assure you that my knife is sharp and I know exactly where to slice to give an immediate death."

"Please, stop." The person whispered, causing her to back up in shock. She narrowed her eyes at the man below her, she took in his features, blinking at what she saw.

"Your highness?" She said.

"Ms. Jones, if you would please remove yourself from my person?" He asked politely, Kitty shifted slightly. "I promise you, I will not run."

Kitty removed herself quickly, placing her knife back into her pocket and helping the King to his feet. "I-I apologize, your highness. I had no idea-"

"It is fine." The King assured her. "You were suspicious due to the fact I carry a magical book, correct?" Kitty nodded mutely. "Then you were only doing what you are here to do."

She gulped, trying to think of how to arrange her words. "If I may ask, your highness, but why is it that you are carrying a book of magic spells?"

"You know of these incantations?"

"Yes, I work with them myself. The Mournful Orb, in particular, is one that is used as torture or a way to persuade a being to talk."

"I see..." The King seemed to think for a moment. "Well, I apologize for running into you but-" The man had began to move off, but Kitty grabbed his arm with a firm grip.

"You still have not answered me, your highness." She smiled in the dark. "But why do you have a book such as that?"

"My dear, it is a gift for young Drake." He spoke smoothly.

Kitty bit her lip at the response. "Is it?"

"Yes, it is." He said quickly. "I always receive books on magic for him, he seems to enjoy the thought of it."

"You do not use magic then?"

"Of course not!" The king looked genuinely frightened by the thought. "It is a terrifying thing, magic is. The tiniest little detail to go wrong and your life is lost! One would also have to deal with demons, who are terrifying creatures indeed and-"

"You have met a demon, your highness?" She narrowed her eyes, watching as a bead of sweat rolled down his face.

"W-Who hasn't?" He righted himself. "Being a King, I have had to deal with plenty of demons in my time. Surely, you must know this."

"Yes, indeed." She removed her hand from his arm. "I apologize for running into you and causing you slight harm, Your highness. I promise it shall not happen again." She bowed lowly, hoping she looked loyal enough to him. Thankfully, she did.

"Ah, it is alright!" He laughed. "A simple mistake and curiosity is never any harm, I wish you a good night Ms. Jones. Farewell!" He walked off, moving quickly as he disappeared from her sight.

Well, he wasn't suspicious at all. She remarked sarcastically in her mind. Why would he have a book on incantations that involved harm to a spirit? He had said it was for Nathaniel, but she would assume he would already have those kinds of spells memorized. Well, now she knew the king involved himself in magic...

That opens up new possibilities...She moved herself back to the place she stayed at, noting how Bartimaeus hadn't returned yet. He wouldn't come back until morning, she would guess. She moved back to the table where she had sat before, and placed herself down into it.

Her eyes moved to the letter near her and tried to tell herself that she had grown tired, but no. She couldn't rest, not now. She grabbed at the letter, flipping it back open and grabbing at the contents, inspecting them far into the night.

:So I wrote two chapters in one day, but nine being the first one and this being the second. But you'll get this one probably 3 days after the ninth chapter, but hey it was worth the wait right? Please review, it makes me smile to see them! See you next chapter!: