Kitty

Half-heartedly, Kitty looked out the window and stared at the sky, Hybrid huh, that was the only reason he'd been avoiding her. She felt like punching something, what if she hadn't gone to Prague? Would she then have had to think he was dead forever? That slimy magician, how inconsiderate, she had been nearly torn apart by grief and guilt! Still, it must be hard, the reasonable side of her mind chided, to wake up only to find you are a hybrid, one of those that slaughtered hundreds of people. Kitty groaned, this was giving her a migraine, she wished all the problems could go away and find someone else to bother. Why couldn't anything be perfect?

Ring…ring!

She was jerked out of her sour mood by her vibrating phone. Grimacing, she answered.

Immediately, she was bombarded with noise. "KITTY!" The phone wailed, "COME TO THE SUBWAY STATION PLEASE! IT'S JACOB! PLEASE! I NEED YOUR HELP!" then the line went dead.

"Jacob? Hello?" Kitty shouted, immediately jumping to the worst possible conclusion.

No answer.

With a sick feeling settling at in the pit of her stomach, Kitty lurched out of the guest room and sprinted down the stairs. Please no! Please not Jacob, don't let him be hurt…

She blew by Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, quickly shouted, "Be right back!" And dashed out onto the street. Panting, she rounded a corner and dashed out of the magician's sector. Barely stopping to ask directions from a stranger, she eventually stumbled to the station.

"Jacob?" She yelled, not caring if others heard, "Jacob!"

While scanning the area, Kitty saw him pacing to her left , she almost tripped over herself in her effort to get there.

"Are you alright? What happened? Why are you in London?" Kitty panted

Jacob looked at her with a panicked expression, his hair was disheveled and his eyes tired, he stopped pacing. "Kitty, I am so glad you are here, I was worried you had disappeared too! You see, a couple days ago, my friend told me how she wanted to protect her mother and stuff, however she didn't seem to be in the right mind. I was worried that something bad had befallen her mother so I followed her last night when she said she was going back to London for her mother and then… and then…" He broke off with a haunted look in his eyes.

"What?" Kitty asked.

"She saw me right after she got to London, I was hiding in the shadows, didn't make a noise, and yet it somehow sensed me! This enormous black werewolf detached itself from the wall and came straight at me and…Melanie, that's my friend, shouted something. Then I turned and ran, I felt like it was right behind me for blocks, it got me on the arm and almost had my head too when Melanie stopped it. I don't remember much after that, but I know there was more than one werewolf, and I heard this sinister voice talking to her about a new London and a deal. Somehow, I managed to run away and then I called you." He glanced at her desperately, "You'll help me right? I've gotten myself into something I shouldn't have but I wanted to help her, she is usually very cheerful but she seemed so miserable the past week and now she has disappeared!" He gabbled out.

Half listening, Kitty had been looking at his arm in worry; it had a nasty long gash on it. "Of course I'll help, but first, we need to get that arm looked at, I wonder if the hospital…"

"No!" Jacob shouted, "Absolutely not a hospital! Or any other public place, that person could have spies anywhere!"

Briefly, Kitty wondered if his paranoia was reoccurring again, surely a hospital… Wait! She could see if there were any bandages in Nathaniel's house!

"Come with me, I know a safe house!" Kitty whispered, hoping he'd calm down enough to listen to her.

Jacob sighed and followed her as they wound their way through the streets.

However, when they reached to abandoned magician sector he paused uncertainly. "Kitty, um why are we here?"

Fiddling with his hands, he looked around nervously, to him the buildings loomed like giant forbidding towers, he took a step back. Growling impatiently, Kitty dragged him onward, it felt like pulling a mule, a stubborn stupid mule. Swearing profusely, she stomped up the steps and fumbled with the handle. With a click, the door opened revealing…nothing. Her eyebrows rose.

"Huh?" Kitty muttered.

Voices drifted from the other room, occasionally turning high pitched.

"Um Kitty, I really don't think this is safe, if there is people in there…hey wait!"

Without turning around she had already walked into the house. Kitty heard Jacob's irregular shifty footsteps behind her so she continued into the guest reception room. In one corner was a black piece of charcoal in a glass case on a stand. In another corner…

"What are you guys going on about?!" Kitty demanded angrily, "Don't you know we have to keep quiet in here to avoid detection?!"

Nathaniel and Bartimaeus didn't hear her; they were too busy arguing with each other.

"It's all your fault, why didn't you do anything? It's dangerous out there with Lovelace and whatnot."

"Why is it my fault? You were the one who stood there looking dumb and stupid after she left."

"You did too!"

"Did not!"

"Guys!"

"Did too!"

"GUYS, WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP ACTING LIKE BABIES AND START LISTENING TO ME!" Kitty shouted exasperatedly.

She obtained the desired results right away.

"We are not…" Bartimaeus began.

"Ok, so here's the deal, remember Jacob, you know, the one you people KIDNAPPED and held as a hostage, that one? Well he is going to be staying with us until his arm heals and we find his girlfriend."

"What girlfriend?" Asked Jacob, who had just walked in, then suddenly he noticed the magician and the demon. "What! Kitty! This is a trap, we must run, come on!" Terrified, he grabbed her arm and started dragging her towards the door.

Kitty dug her toes into the floor and resisted. "They are friends, don't bother!"

"What friends, they are not my friends!" He insisted.

"Shut up and listen to me! Will you please?" Kitty snarled. "Why are all my friends a pain in the neck I'd never know."

She had been having a bad day already and had been told her good friend just almost got eaten by a werewolf. Now when she felt that it had already reached the lowest point possible it comes to her attention that the idiots she was currently in company with might not cooperate with one another, just the thought sent her blood boiling.

"Alright!" She hissed and pointed at Bartimaeus, "You sir, are going to zip your lips for the rest of the day." She then gestured at Jacob, "And you, sit down so I can have a look at that arm. And you Mandrake don't get me started on you. Keep out of my hair for a couple minutes please."

Against Jacob's protests, she pushed him down into a plumb chair. The other two grumbled and gave him hostile stares, until Nathaniel left the room for something.

Having a little experience from dressing wounds in the resistance, she had skimmed the books on healing. Kitty scanned the room for anything that might prove useful but came up short. Jacob's arm had started bleeding again and was staining his jacket. Kitty pushed her hair out of her face and pushed up her sleeves in determination, if there wasn't anything she could do, she doubted the doctors could do better.

Nathanial shuffled over, "ahem" he coughed.

"I might..err…have stored a first aid kit in my home and so here."

He shoved a metal box into her hands and exited.

"Thanks!" Kitty called after his retreating shadow.