Hello readers! I'm back with the thirteenth post. It took a little longer this time, so I apologize for that, I've been quite busy recently. This chapter is told from Kitty's point of view, and really drives the story forward. I hope you all find it intriguing. Thanks goes to RenWrites (I liked Summer too, we'll just have to see how the story goes), Nari-nick (don't fear, Bartimaeus isn't too far away, and I hope to have him take a much larger role from now on), Cocoacharm (I totally get the French thing!), Conception (more will be revealed about the book in this chapter, so hopefully of your questions will be answered) and Thomas Moore (a new reviewer! I appreciate your comments, but I encourage you to read further, I really do think the chapters improve as they go along…) for reviewing. I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter, guys, so here's the next one!
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Although nothing was stopping her from scanning through the book, Kitty got the horrible feeling that she was doing something wrong. It was almost as if she knew something bad would happen. Maybe she should have trusted her instincts, and left the book aside.
But it was hardly five minutes before Kitty succumbed to temptation, and cautiously pulled the leather cover aside, the binding creaking precariously as she did so. The pages of the book were desiccated, and crackled as she bent them. An aroma of smoke wafted from the papers, although there were clearly no signs of a burn anywhere. Her eyes drifted, as if attracted by a magnetic force, to the delicately crafted, ink letters at the top of the page. It seemed that every symbol was constructed with care; every sentence a geometric art form. Kitty knew she was dealing with something dangerous, but nevertheless read through the introductory paragraph:
I am Veracova, Demi-Afrit born of fire, Architect of The Deathly Words.
In these pages I record, under the charge of my Authoritative Master, the evils, the monsters, the magic and the voyages I have experienced in my lifetime. With every page I illustrate, I pour more of my life force into the book. In your hands, you hold the Testimony of my life, and the Bringer of my death; with your eyes you uncover the truths about the world of Magicians; a world of power and corruption.
Beware naïve human: with superior knowledge comes an insurmountable liability.
These words of the departed demi-afrit sent chills down her spine, but Kitty was not a woman easily influenced, and so she shook the feeling of trepidation off, and continued reading. She turned the page once more, enjoying the smoky fragrance of the book. With every page she read, she felt a heavier feeling weigh down on her stomach. She was sailing into uncharted waters now: a place where no human alive has ever been. It was horrifying, saddening and exhilarating all at the same time.
She read about ultimate weapons of power, about expeditions to the unknown and about monsters too grotesque to explain. There were even a few incantations listed, which looked promising, but a voice in Kitty's head kept telling her to ignore them. She trusted her instincts, and refrained from repeating anything aloud. Then she stumbled across a text that caught her eye. Her pulse raced as she read the demon's descriptions, her mind buzzed with questions. She was certain she had found what her heart had been yearning for since Nathaniel's death. It read:
Among one of the most misunderstood articles of magic, created by the magicians themselves, is the NexPontus Ring, fashioned by the Arabian smiths of Maraveil. The ring wields great power, but does not posses even an imp inside the toxic metal. The NexPontus ring is potent because it is activated to act as a bridge, opening a portal connecting the realm of humans, to the one of souls; a bridge conventionally crossed only by death. The humans had no idea of what this meant; what life force can be obtained from the souls; what energy could later used to accomplish even the most arduous tasks. The naïve magicians only desired the NexPontus Ring to bring back their fellow deceased comrades and to create an army that would forever resurrect itself. This is just one of the magician's faults: never being able to see the bigger picture…
The rest of the page was missing: a small rectangular portion of the text had been ripped from the book. She sighed to herself, the tear had removed what she guessed was the location of the ring, for all that remained was the ring's activation incantation written in blood-red ink at the bottom of the parchment. But what use was it if she couldn't even get access to the actual ring? She sighed once more, not believing that she had reached yet another dead-end. She tossed the book aside, no longer interested in understanding more of the djinni's secrets. She vowed to never waste her time with such stuff in the future; they always led her to become hopeful, when in the end her faith would be crushed.
And then she fell to the floor.
Her left arm trembled, her legs felt like jelly, but all she could do was focus breathing. And then the world around her faded away, and she was looking up to the sky.
The turbulence of the heavens was beyond anything Kitty had seen before, she was convinced there had to be some higher power causing the commotion. Heavy clouds, threatening with a great lightning spectacle, blanketed the atmosphere. But she noticed a golden glint, clandestine in the overcast, but still conspicuous enough from below to be sure she hadn't imagined it: the NexPontus Ring. And then a tentacle of flame emerged from the ring's center. It lit up the sky, like golden lightning, and cleared the clouds in a whirlwind of air. Kitty even felt the earthquake as the NexPontus Ring released another wave of heat. And then a golden shimmer, wavy as water, materialized from the portal. It circled the ring, but then slowly descended towards Kitty. When it was close enough, she found the golden apparition had taken the form of a human, with long, greasy hair, and a warm face. It looked at her with sadness in its eyes and an encouraging smile. She opened her mouth to speak to him; tell it she missed him; explain how she loved him, but the scene slowly fell away, replaced by an impenetrable darkness…
Kitty had already experienced a premonition previously, but this one was much more vivid. It left her feeling light-headed, almost to the point where she couldn't lift up her arm; her whole body was numb. She took slow deep breaths of air, and surely, she regained control. She wondered why she had had another premonition, this time she had seen someone; seen Nathaniel return through the NexPontus Ring. This was it; this was the sign she had been looking for. Now she was certain she had to use the NexPontus Ring to bring Nathaniel back. The only question now was how was she supposed to retrieve it?
She opened The Deathly Words once more, to double check whether or not the djinni left any more hints on the object's whereabouts. She turned to the exact page, but it was no use.
Magicians, due to the overwhelming energy that seeps through their homes, usually acquire a strange type of foot wart, called the Agoo Wart, first discovered in…
She flipped the pages, but the desired information was nowhere to be found. She should have known that the djinni would have enchanted the book just to make things difficult for the magician using it. She cursed her bad luck. While gripping the book firmly with both hands (she was certain it had other tricks up its sleeve that would lead to its "misplacement") she moved towards the bedside, and stuffed it underneath the mattress. She barely had time to do anything else before she heard a sudden crashing sound back in the shop. Someone, or something, had burst through the windows. At first, she thought it would be Bartimaeus, but judging from the whispered voices that soon ensued, she guessed it was someone else; someone coming for the book.
Unfortunately for Kathleen Jones, she was right.
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Please don't forget to review this chapter (I live off reviews!) and remember that I've changed the settings, so now people can review anonymously!