It's finally here! Sorry this took so long, but it is the most important chapter in the entire fic…it's called The Turning Point. Everything changes, mostly because I have to take us all back to the beginning of Ptolemy's Gate, or else it doesn't work. Only one more chapter and an epilogue after this! Sorry NatKitty lovers…it ends here. Oh…there's a bit of language in this chapter, but nothing really bad.
In this chapter…you know what, I'm not gonna put a summary this time. It would really ruin it. Let me put it this way…secrets are found out and destiny spins back to normal. Find out what happens yourself, it's a long one! If you haven't read the beginning chapters in a while, I recommend it…they become important here! (All right, I'll give you a clue…remember the source of Nathaniel's depression? And the whole thing about getting your heart's desire if you have the Amulet?) As for the title…all fans of Smallville will understand, because this is the climax of my story. Don't worry, though, no one dies!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Bartimaeus Trilogy. If I did, I wouldn't need to write fanfics…are you following me here?
Reckoning
"Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favour." – Robert Frost
When about a thousand pounds of spirit-made stone tower is about to crash down on you and your master, whom you have been sworn to protect or else suffer immediate incineration, you generally have to think fast. And, as you know from our other exploits together, I can think and act fast. So fast, in fact, that at the moment I'm explaining how very fast I can be, I have already done what I need to do.
Actually, about a nanosecond before the marid caused the explosion, I had already grabbed Nathaniel by the shoulders and changed into the form of the giant roc that had saved Kitty from the wolves. Queezle had grabbed the girl, to my surprise; then again, she's always had too many morals than is good for any djinni.
So while the humans yelped and cried (strangely enough, Nathaniel's voice sounded out half an octave above Kitty's), we swiftly transferred them to the nether regions of the air…in simpler terms, we flew away.
You'd think, for once, I'd get some thanks from my beloved master for saving his life (again – did I mention to you what happened with the Anarchist and the Oyster? Well, never mind, I'll tell you later, when he's not around). But nooo…he still refused to believe that flying was a good idea. By the time we touched down (several kilometres from the explosion), he was looking furious and nauseous. Believe me, it's not a good combination (I wish I could see his face every time he got on an aeroplane – not pretty). Queezle and Kitty (just a little ways behind) arrived soon afterward, Kitty dismounting smoothly from Queezle's form of a winged horse. Apparently her transparency didn't stop her from being solid…weird.
Predictably, the two humans ran toward each other with annoying cries of, "Are you OK? Are you hurt?" Their apparently serious affection for one another was really getting on my nerves.
And so, after that sadly necessary confrontation, the four of us sat down again in the field of flowers. How weird is that? It was almost as if nothing had happened, except for the fact that both humans were white, shaking, and covered in stone dust. Honestly, they couldn't be taking this seriously enough.
Kitty sighed, trying to calm her nerves and keep an eye on Nathaniel's. Her mental need to protect him seemed to have increased tenfold…or was it the fact that yet another near-death experience had reminded her of her promise to Rosanna Lutyens? He looked unwell again, in any case; his hands shook as badly as hers, she knew. She jumped when he spoke again.
"God, I hate flying," he said, clenching his hands to stop them from shaking. Kitty sat on her own hands so he wouldn't notice she was in the same predicament. Heights were one thing when you could really care less about dying…otherwise, they had always bothered her.
"Well?" she said.
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to ask me to see it?" Kitty asked him, tweaking his nose playfully. Bartimaeus sniggered above them, as if to say God, what's the world coming to if these two are together?
Nathaniel's eyes widened. Then he smiled.
"The very object of this thankless vacation, and I'd just about forgotten it. Are you going to show me, then?"
Muttering under her breath at the thoughtless use of the word "vacation" to describe what they'd gone through, Kitty carefully reached into her pocket and lifted the Amulet of Phasma Mortuus out by its chain. After her earlier experience, she was wary to actually touch the jewel itself.
"Don't worry, I won't steal it," he said. "We'll have to decide later what to do with -"
Her fingers slipped; Nathaniel held out his hand out of impulse and caught the Amulet. As his pale fingers closed on the purple jewel, there was a sudden fizzling noise and he cried out in pain. A wave of white light seemed to pass through his body…then it was over, and he slumped into the ground among the flowers.
Kitty's mouth fell open in horror. Why now, of all times? Trembling, she crawled over to his prone form and shook him gently. Bartimaeus and Queezle watched her, eyebrows raised. She sighed in relief as Nathaniel came to within seconds. He sat up with a start, gasping.
"What happened?" said Kitty, cursing her voice for sounding so shrill.
The pale boy gazed at the amulet still clutched in his clenched fist.
"I don't know," he said. "It was almost as if something went through me…through my mind…"
"Well, that's obvious, isn't it?" said Bartimaeus conversationally.
"What's obvious?" asked Kitty.
"Didn't any of your buddies tell you what happens when you actually touch the thing?"
She racked her brains. Jenson had said something…
"You don't mean," she said slowly, "that he's just got -"
But the djinni suddenly put a finger to his lips, gesturing at Nathaniel. He had stood up suddenly with widened eyes, gazing off at something behind her, and looking as if he'd seen a ghost.
"What is it?" she asked him urgently, looking where his eyes were going.
Two figures stood in the field, waving to the boy beside her.
Nathaniel's recent dreams came back to him in a flash. The two figures in a field of flowers…how had he not seen it before? Was this the reason he was here? He remembered dimly questioning Mr. Makepeace about the amulet, wondering what the fulfillment of one's heart's desire could really mean…well, it seemed he was about to find out.
Kitty said something beside him, but he heard nothing. Nathaniel was suddenly walking, his legs moving almost of their own accord, toward the two people about a hundred metres away. Who were they?
As he moved towards them, they began walking to him as well, and Nathaniel could see that they were a man and woman of about middle age. They were dressed in commoner's clothes and shoes, but they continued to smile at him as if this were a long-standing arrangement, as if he'd known them all his life.
They approached each other cautiously, and Nathaniel could now see the couple in detail. The man was tall and as thin as he was, with thinning brown hair, but it was the woman that caught his eye.
She was of middle height, with a very pale complexion and dark hair and eyes. Despite this, she held an aura of grace as well as sorrow, and seemed somewhat familiar to Nathaniel…who was she? The woman's hands were clasped nervously together, almost making him smile. It was a position he often adopted himself…
Nathaniel gulped, suddenly realizing exactly who they were.
"Mom?" he said haltingly. "Dad?"
"That little idiot," said Bartimaeus. "What's he doing, talking to strangers? Kids today!"
"He's not a child, Bartimaeus," said Kitty testily, struggling to keep the worry out of her voice. "And I don't think he's an idiot, either."
"What's your point?"
She turned to face the djinni.
"Can't you – lay off him once in a while? He'd be a lot better off if more people at least acted like they cared about him!"
"What is with this trip?" Bartimaeus said, annoyed. "He's a bloody magician, and you're sticking up for him, and now you expect me to be nice to him! Perhaps you aren't aware of some of the ridiculous things he has forced me to do over all these years?"
She turned away. "So you refuse to believe he could change?"
The djinni snorted.
"No magicians really change. Trust me, it's all downhill from here…what do you think will happen when we get back?"
Kitty said nothing; she turned back to watch the three figures in the distance apprehensively.
Nathaniel's parents smiled sadly at him, and he felt the pain well up inside him; pain he had hidden, or tried to hide, for ten years. He somehow found his voice again.
"Why did you leave me?" he said harshly, struggling to stay calm. If this was his heart's desire, why did it hurt so much? Did he want the truth, or did he want to make himself suffer?
His mother's lip quivered, and she extended a hand very like his own towards him, as if to caress his cheek. Nathaniel jerked back, his eyes blazing.
"Took your money and run, didn't you? They told me that's what they all do, isn't it? And now you think you can just – just march right back here and pretend you've cared for me all these years?" His voice sounded faint and high, and his eyes burned with tears held back for far too long.
His father's eyes remained cold and hard, and Nathaniel was reminded forcibly of himself once again. His mother spoke, quavering.
"You don't understand," she said. "You don't understand!"
"What don't I understand?" he cried, every feeling he had felt since the age of six taking over his mind. "You didn't want me, you didn't care; you just answered the damn advertisement!"
"It was supposed to be an honour." His father spoke for the first time in a light voice.
"You think magicians are honourable?" Nathaniel said, feeling as if something was shattered inside him. "Do you have any idea what I've been through? I was locked in a room full of demons when I was six years old. I was humiliated in public because I spoke against someone who wronged me. That same magician burned down my home, killing one of the few people who ever cared for me when I owned up to what I had done to get my revenge, simply to save her…any notion of honour I might have had was taken from me more than four years ago!"
He was breathing hard, only dimly aware of his mother's helpless tears. Why was he suddenly spouting off things Bartimaeus had aggravated him with so many times?
"I have met people in this world who aren't magicians, who are just commoners…do you think they have no honour? I may have liked learning magic for a while, and achieving every ambition I had ever dreamed of…but do you think I'm happy? Do you think I feel loved?"
"We needed the money." Apparently, he had inherited his father's emotional control…at times.
"You could have gotten money anywhere else," said Nathaniel venomously. "Instead you made me your puppet." Why couldn't this just be a dream?
He closed his eyes, wishing for once that he didn't care, that he was back in his office with nothing to worry about except paperwork and the American wars. When he opened them again, his parents were still standing there.
"I'm so sorry, Nathaniel," his mother whispered, sounding for once completely honest. He looked into her eyes, seeing himself reflected again in their depths, and his focus on his anger was lost. He was five again, and he had a mother who loved him and who had taught him to read, to walk and talk…
"I'm sorry, too," he said quietly. His head hurt, and he just wanted to be normal again…was that strange, empty space inside him filled again?
"They made us forget your name," said his mother, "but I couldn't. I never had another child, and everything I bought with the money seemed to be so…useless…"
"But you never tried to find me," Nathaniel said slowly, carefully, "you never tried to look me up when I was older? Do you even know my other name?"
"John Mandrake," said his father, "would you have even looked twice at us were we anywhere but here?"
He swallowed hard.
"Don't you dare lecture me for being the way I am," Nathaniel said quietly, "don't you dare…"
There was silence for a while. Then Nathaniel's mother walked over and pulled him into a tight, loving embrace. He closed his eyes, feeling the tears seeping out at last.
"Tell me where you live," he said. "I – I'll have to see you again when I get back…"
His mother stiffened and pulled away, staring at him.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"That's not possible," his father told him sadly.
"Why not?" he said incredulously. "If it's something to do with my birth name I could really care less…"
His parents looked at each other in horror. He felt as if something were closing in on him…
"Oh, Nathaniel," his mother cried, "didn't you know? We're dead."
Kitty watched, not sure what to feel, as the woman and Nathaniel hugged each other tightly.
"Jealous, are you?" said Bartimaeus slyly. "It's all over your face."
She glared at him.
"As if! Who is she, though?"
"If I knew, would I tell you?"
"No."
"Ouch."
Kitty stood up, and the two djinn looked at her, surprised.
"I'm going after him," she said, and set off.
"No," said Nathaniel disbelievingly, "no…"
He stepped away from his parents.
"Tell me who did this." His voice was harder than he had ever made it. His mother's eyes would not meet his own.
"It was an accident," she said. "A commoner's riot…" her voice broke.
"The house burned down before anyone could put a stop to it," Nathaniel's father said blandly. "We – slept through it, if it's any consolation…"
Nathaniel said nothing. The commoners…none of them could be trusted! Traitors, the lot of them, and murderers who would kill without a second thought to destroy the magicians who ruled them.
"Why are you here?" he asked calmly, matching his father's tone.
"Perhaps you should ask yourself that. Isn't it what you wanted? To know the truth?"
He blinked. Was it just him, or were they fading into the sunlight?
Then, quite suddenly, his parents were gone. He felt something cold weaving its way through his body; then he turned on his heel to return to the commoner girl and the djinn.
Kitty ran up to Nathaniel as she saw him turn away from…wait, where had the two figures gone? Were they ghosts? She shivered suddenly, although she was far from cold, thinking of the implications.
Nathaniel reached her first, walking so fast he almost seemed to run her over.
"Nathaniel, stop!" she said. There was something wrong…something in his eyes…
He turned on her furiously in a flash.
"Why should I?" he snapped, ignoring her startled look. "Kitty Jones, I would appreciate it if you would stop fawning over me all the time and let me take care of myself."
The words were spoken in such a cold, precise manner that she was almost transported back to that time in her parents' living room, barely two years ago.
"All right, all right!" she said jokingly, her hands up. "So who were those people, anyway?"
"That's hardly the business of one such as you."
Kitty almost stopped breathing. She couldn't believe she was hearing this again.
"Excuse me?"
"I hardly think I need to repeat myself."
She laid a gentle hand on his tense forearm.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
He pulled away from her, his eyes wild and guarded.
"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't manhandle me, Ms. Jones." He smiled thinly, that fake smile she had loathed. The use of her surname really rankled with her as well.
"What the hell have they done with you?" she whispered.
He pushed past her, heading for where the two djinn were sitting once again, but she was still faster and grabbed his arm before he had gone two feet.
"You tell me right now what they told you," she said harshly, glaring at him.
His eyes narrowed.
"Since when is it your business to know every detail of my life, Ms. Jones?" he asked her coldly. Something caught in her throat. "I could hardly trust you not to spout it off somewhere else. To your little Resistance friends, perhaps, or some other traitors?"
Kitty stepped back, her heart beating much faster than it was meant to. Something was wrong, and she needed to know why.
"Did they hurt you?" she said quietly. "Why – why are you being like this?"
"Always too nosy for your own good, aren't you?" Nathaniel snapped at her again. "Why should you care about anything that happens to me?"
"I answered that last night!" she cried. "And let me tell you something, Nathaniel…Rosanna Lutyens made me promise to protect you in exchange for your birth name!"
She stopped, letting him consider this. Was it right to tell him, after so long?
Kitty found she was wrong. For a moment, the boy's carefully controlled visage showed shock and confusion. Then it was replaced by cold fury once more.
"So after all this," he said levelly, "after all the times you helped me here, told me you cared about me…it was all just a clever ruse, wasn't it? You felt you had to keep your promise to my art teacher, but you could really care less about me! And what of all my secrets? I told them to you because I thought you deserved to know, but you only saved me to save your own conscience, didn't you?"
Kitty opened her mouth wordlessly.
"You jerk," she said at last. "I sure as hell thought I cared about you, but if you don't want any of that I won't help you any more!"
"Good!" the boy retorted angrily. "You commoners need to be taught to stop meddling! You don't care what the consequences are, do you, as long as it's at the cost of the magicians! I can't imagine what you thought you could do with that stupid amulet. What would your heart's desire be, the death of all magicians?"
For the first time in days, Kitty slapped him with all of her strength. The cracking sound made the djinn glance over, surprised. Was that something rustling in the trees to their right? She turned back to Nathaniel, her eyes burning with angry tears.
"We never killed anyone," she said. "It's you magicians who do the killing, and the hurting! What about those commoners who are dying every day in America, under your orders? I suppose you could care less if the Night Police found us all one night and ripped us to shreds? Ripped me to shreds?"
The magician said nothing, but that was enough for her. She shook her head in helpless rage and sad desperation.
"I was ready to stick up for you," she said, "against anyone. You can trust John Mandrake! He really isn't like the other magicians, there is some good left in him! But there isn't, really, is there? I suppose we've both been pretending there was something here, between us? Talk to me, damn you!"
She hit him again, but Nathaniel stood there like a block of stone, watching her. She gazed back at him, feeling betrayed as she hadn't since the golem incident.
I was really starting to wonder what was going on. For heaven's sake, Kitty had started slapping the boy again! However amusing this might be, it was also noisy, and I didn't want to attract too much attention…
Sure enough, I saw movement in the trees. Wait…there was more, over on the other side! Three places…well, somebody wanted to mess with us again, that was for sure. My excellent, if pessimistic, hypothesis was supported as the mercenary cleared the trees. His marid followed close beside him…that was no good. I thought they'd thought we were dead from the explosion; I guess they understood that they'd rushed the job.
Just when I thought the situation couldn't get any worse, I looked back to the other place and saw Jabor. Uh-oh…I'd forgotten about him. I should have known he would dematerialize the moment that silver got in his system! Damn those humans, for making me think he was destroyed!
I poked Queezle.
"Sorry, my good friend," I said eloquently, "but trouble is once again on my trail and I must depart. See you again soon?" I asked.
She smiled.
"As I can't really leave, you'll have to make a point of seeing me yourself, Bartimaeus."
I gave her an affectionate hug (the kind that doesn't give spectators too many ideas…hey, you! Keep quiet!), then trundled off to the bickering humans, who now appeared to be having an angry staring showdown. What drama!
"Hate to break this up," I said cheerfully, "but we are in danger of our lives. How about some orders, Nat?"
"Take us back," he said shortly, glancing around with eyes as wide as dinner plates. "Now."
I grasped their hands and tried to dematerialize, but then I noticed something was wrong. I swore in the eloquent language of the Lower Egyptians.
"We're in the wrong place!" I told them angrily. "We can only get out of here if we're back on the beach!"
My master made a strangled noise that none of us could interpret. But he needn't have worried; there was another way out.
"I'll have to make a portal," I said grimly. "It's more dangerous…could do something with our minds…"
Kitty swallowed.
"All right," she said. "I suppose we have no choice." Even as she spoke, one of Jabor's Detonations combined with a bolt of marid lightning sailed over our heads.
Carefully I made a great, shimmering black void in the air. Nathaniel did not look remotely convinced that this was safe.
"I'll go first," said Kitty, shooting him a venomous look. "You'd best be careful, Nathaniel."
What was with this? To my surprise, the boy responded, just as sharply.
"You would do best not to call me that, Ms. Jones."
"It's your name."
"My name is John Mandrake."
The three of us stepped through the portal, into what seemed like oblivion, swallowing us and taking us far from the Island of Phasma Mortuus.
Ta-da! Wasn't that long and supremely chaotic and…well, sad? Tell me if you have questions…if a lot of things weren't really clear, things will be explained later on. Please review, more coming ASAP! Sorry this took so long…love ya!
