Hi! Here's parte siete…keep the reviews coming, you guys all rock! It's very heartening for my first fanfic (LOL).
In this chapter, the trio have to escape Jabor (obviously) but are soon attacked by something else…and it seems to be alive. Who's behind it all? Nathaniel gets knocked out again and a scene is partially stolen from 10 Things I Hate About You.
Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this again? I do not own the Bartimaeus trilogy, or the movie mentioned above (although it is AWESOME). I am a small and insignificant fanfic writer. Please don't hurt me, just review!
No, Really, I Do Hate You
"I hate the way you talk to me. And the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots. And the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick - it even makes me rhyme. I hate the way you're always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh - even worse when you make me cry. I hate it that you're not around. And the fact that you didn't call. But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you - not even close, not even a little bit, not any at all." – Julia Stiles, 10 Things I Hate About You
Now, when you've recently destroyed an enemy and thought them long gone, you can often be just a little disappointed when they show up again, you know, IN YOUR FACE! It's even worse when that enemy had the potential and opportunity to destroy you many, many times, and you managed to escape them; sort of gets them riled up, in a way.
So you can just imagine how I felt to be caught at a disadvantage with Jabor in my path. Not to mention the fact that he turned my master into a quivering mass of jelly, and the fact that Kitty Jones had no idea what was going on.
"So..." I said, trying to buy time to plot an evasion of Jabor's wrath, "Having a nice holiday?"
"BARTIMAEUS!" he roared, his voice echoing (probably because he was so...um...transparent). "I HAVE WAITED LONG YEARS FOR THE CHANCE TO DESTROY YOU!"
"Now, look here," I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kitty tugging on Mandrake's sleeve, trying to get him to run away, but he was definitely frozen in place; no dice there.
"LOOK WHERE?" said Jabor. Well, it seemed he was still dimwitted, if anything.
"Ha-ha!" I cried. "You cannot destroy me! I have become invincible! I have destroyed Ramuthra, Honorius...um...and the great entities Tchue and Nouda! Faquarl and Patterknife have knelt before me, for I am N'gorso the Mighty! I defy you, puny...er..."
Jabor didn't look very fazed. Unfortunate, that.
Just then, Kitty tapped my shoulder. Time to run.
With a sudden inspiration, I sent a powerful Detonation at Jabor's feet, raising the sand in an immense, swirling cloud that obscured his vision.
"Sorry," I said as he blundered about, "we'll have to continue this later. Nice seeing you and all that, but I have to...RUN!"
And so we ran. Well, I did...and Kitty did, too, in a human-ish way. But we had barely gone ten metres before I looked over my shoulder and saw Nathaniel lagging behind. Too late I remembered how out of shape he was; I would have to double back and protect him. Curse all magicians!
In gargoyle shape, I flapped back to grab him, but Kitty got there before me. She grabbed his hand and spurred him on to greater speeds.
I could hear Jabor behind us, however; we would have no chance but to stand and fight. I stopped, and Kitty did, too; Nathaniel fell onto all fours, breathing hard. Kitty knelt beside him.
"You did say they were still weakened by silver, didn't you?" she said desperately.
"Yes," the boy said faintly, wheezing gently.
Kitty grappled with her pack, and pulled out (to my obvious discomfort) a long silver sceptre.
"Jackals are sort of like dogs, aren't they?" she asked me.
"Well...I suppose as it's Jabor..."
"Good." She twirled the stick once, facing Jabor. "Hey, you...catch!"
"Oh, come on," I said, "no djinni's going to fall for that..."
But he did. Badly. I almost felt sorry for him, in a way...at Kitty's words, Jabor leapt into the air to catch the sceptre (it wasn't even a stick, and it was made of silver – how thick can you get?) in his teeth. Unfortunately, however, Jabor's jaws were just a bit too large for that, so he swallowed it whole. Ouch.
The jackal-headed ghost bellowed in pain, then dematerialized. Kitty blinked.
"Where's he gone?"
"He has been utterly destroyed," said a quiet voice behind her. "To die on Phasma Mortuus means to eliminate your soul – assuming demons have them – from all places."
She turned to look at Nathaniel, who had got up off the sand.
"Hey – look!" I exclaimed. "The sceptre is still there!"
Kitty ran over to pick it up. Then she stowed it in her backpack.
"Come on," she said, "let's get out of here."
The attack of a vengeful spirit so soon was causing Kitty immense disquiet. What horrors could possibly lie in store for them, just to find an amulet no one would probably ever use anyway? The tension of the day made her irritable.
"Bartimaeus," Mandrake was asking, "if we're on an island…is that the sea?"
"You're thinking of Hawaii, kid. There isn't any ocean where we are."
"It certainly looks like water. Is it like a holograph? Look at it moving…"
"Holo-what?"
"Well, Mr. Mandrake," said Kitty, her temper getting the better of her, "I think there are a lot of things that aren't as they seem. You, for instance: on the outside, one can see you're a petty magician who's a traitorous git, but once someone really meets you, they can see you're a pathetic wimp as well."
"Ooo! Ouch!" Bartimaeus was clearly enjoying himself. Good for him.
"Hey!" said Nathaniel. "I am a prominent member of the government and I would thank you not to address me in such terms!"
"Oh, come on," said Kitty, "you're not honestly saying anyone likes you, are you? Didn't your girlfriend break up with you?"
The boy went pale with fury, and Kitty smirked triumphantly.
"You know nothing – nothing – about me," Mandrake said dangerously, his voice shaking.
Kitty was surprised; she'd always thought he'd had all too much control over his emotions for his own good. Seething again, she fell silent.
They walked in silence for several minutes (A record, really, considering present company, Kitty thought) before she felt something odd. It was a sort of pressing in the air…she dismissed it as nothing. It was getting late, that was all, and she was tired.
"Oww," groaned Nathaniel, "my head really hurts. Can we – stop for a moment?"
She turned on him again in a flash.
"Listen, Mandrake," she said furiously, "I've had just about enough of you and your complaints! For your information, I'd rather be stuck with any other magician in the bloody government instead of you! We've barely walked two miles on this cursed beach looking for the cursed dark forest, and already you're -"
She stopped, suddenly distracted; without warning, Nathaniel's knees had buckled. He fainted, knocking his head quite hard on a rock.
"Well, now," said Bartimaeus bemusedly, "here's an unexpected twist. I wish my arguments did that to him."
"Shut up," Kitty said for what seemed like the millionth time that day, bending over the boy's prone form. "Nathaniel – hey, wake up! I'm not finished with you!" She slapped his cheeks frantically.
"Give it up," said the djinni, who was gazing upward apprehensively, "I think we're in trouble again."
"Not -"
"No, Jabor won't be back. But it's the air. Can't you feel anything? I think the spell is designed to affect humans…"
Now that Kitty thought about it, there was a slight pressing feeling in her temples, not just the air…
"It's your resilience, I'll bet," Bartimaeus continued, now scanning the air around them with narrowed eyes and changing to the Egyptian boy's form again. "This is a Compression we're dealing with here…Nat couldn't cope, obviously."
"But what's making it?"
"Ah, see, that's what frightens me. You know, a bit. I think this is live magic…potent, too. A third-level marid, unless I'm much mistaken."
"What's a marid?"
"Very high-level entity, can only be summoned by about five magicians at once…look, there's the forest!"
"Shouldn't we run?" asked Kitty nervously.
"Not necessarily…this magic's a couple hours old, maybe more. Can't you see the aura? I thought all you and your little friends could."
"Not all," said Kitty coldly. She did not want to discuss the Resistance now.
"Well, we should make for tree cover at least, might break the magic up a little. You could even wave your little silver stick around if you're worried about him."
"Bartimaeus," she said, "why are you only this helpful when Mandrake's out cold?"
The djinni chuckled, a chilling sound.
"I guess it's just nice to give my own orders, once in a while. Even nicer to have them followed…sorry about that."
Sighing resignedly, Kitty slung the limp form of John Mandrake over her shoulders. Expectant of a sudden weight, she was shocked to find that the sixteen-year-old boy wasn't heavy at all.
"Doesn't he eat anything?" she asked Bartimaeus, puzzled. "He's skin and bone!"
"You tell him to eat more, see how he takes it," said the djinni dully.
She carried as far as the trees, then slung him against the nearest trunk with a sigh. Bartimaeus plodded meticulously further into the forest, then returned to her.
"Nothing," he said. "Strange, though…why would there be a live marid here? Most magicians don't bother summoning them."
"Maybe," said Kitty, "it's for the same reason you're here."
"Why not summon a titchy little imp, then? Much easier to manage. No, we're dealing with a large group of magicians, and they probably want your precious little amulet, too."
"It's not my precious little amulet," said Kitty irritably. "It wasn't even my idea. But when Lei got hurt…well…"
"Lei…is she Hawaiian?"
"No. Chinese," she replied, then stopped. "Hey! Why am I telling you this?"
"Search me. Why did you talk to me two years ago?"
Kitty was silent for a while, as Bartimaeus went off to look around again. A groan next to her made her jump, but it was only Mandrake coming around.
"Where am I?" he said groggily.
"Forest," said Kitty monotonously.
"Oh." The boy put a hand to the back of his head, where he had struck it on a rock. "Ow. What happened?"
"You passed out, so we brought you here. There was a live marid spell, apparently."
"Good God. Someone's followed us!"
"Yeah, that's what I thought, too. Bartimaeus has just gone off to – Nathaniel!"
The young magician had fallen forwards this time, his eyes fluttering shut again. She grabbed him and slapped his cheeks again.
"Nat! Hey, wake up! Can you hear me? Nat!"
His eyes opened again and he looked up at her, his gaze unfocused. He grinned.
"Your eyes have a bit of green in them," he said.
Then his expression changed. He dived behind the bushes, where Kitty could hear him being sick for long minutes. She fished into her pack for yet another water bottle and rolled it over to him. A shaking white hand grasped it, and then disappeared again.
Kitty felt like yelling at him, what the hell was that? Instead, she said:
"I hate you, John Mandrake. No really, I do. Plus you're using up my water supply."
There was no reply.
When I got back, I could tell right away there was something up.
"Where's Mr Mandrake?" I asked the girl. She pointed to the bushes, where there were retching sounds. "What – oh."
I settled down against the stump of a tree. It was then that I saw the most peculiar expression on young Kitty's face…the oddest thing in a girl like her. She looked as if someone had told her she had eyes like the stars and the lips of a goddess (not that I would ever think something like that…she was human, for crying out loud, and I've seen real goddesses in my time)…but no, it couldn't be. What could possibly...
Oh. God.
Hey everyone! Finally, the NatKitty starts…there'll probably be a fluffy chapter coming up soon. I'll try to finish as many chapters as possible before Tuesday, which is when I go back to school…thanks for reading!
