Disclaimer: All recognizable settings and characters belong to Jonathan Stroud. Don't sue.

Anticlimax
Chapter 3: Down the Rabbit Hole

Penelope gasped and tried in vain to curl up more tightly. Never before had she wished so mightily that she could change shape. She felt a little stab of envy towards Cerebaton underneath her terror. Even though fear was clouding her brain and making it impossible for her to think clearly, it did have one benefit: it made it impossible for her to use her voice. Had she been able to do anything but stammer, she would have blurted out Kitty's name. As it was, she couldn't betray her leader. Better to die so that the Resistance had a chance of regrouping than to live without any hope of a future revolution.

She felt her skin begin to sting as if with sunburn as the humming white lines, which she could barely make out on the seventh plane. The wire rims on her glasses were getting uncomfortably warm where they touched her skin, but she couldn't shake them off without touching the edges of the Orb. There was another sizzling sound – loose strands of her hair were no doubt being burned away. Penelope closed her eyes – a few moments more, and she would be incinerated. A loud wailing filled her ears, and she wondered for a moment if it could be coming from her despite the fact that she was biting her lip so hard that it was bleeding.

Then, to her surprise and even frustration, the Orb expanded a foot or so. What – was this all part of the torture? Would she go through the same agonizing process again and again as Mandrake attempted to wear her down?

The wailing sound stopped abruptly, and through the white lines she could see a mud-colored blur join Mandrake on his platform. Penelope concentrated and switched her focus from the seventh plane to the fourth – although she had the gift to see on all the planes to some degree, she could only view one at a time – and the figure of a man in the standard uniform of a prison guard came into clear view.

"…The other prisoners," he was telling Mandrake. "And we got names from two."

"Names? I only wanted the name of their leader," Mandrake said with a slight frown. The man bobbed his head and responded, "Sir, both of them gave a different name when asked for their leader's identity."

"One or both of them could be an alias," Mandrake said dismissively, waving a hand.

The guard nodded again and looked at Penelope askance. "Only one of them, I think. The first prisoner – one Andrew Howard, fairly high-level in the Resistance – told us that their leader was Penelope Cross, here."

Penelope felt her insides turn to ice, and then water. So it seemed the order of succession Kitty had implemented was still in use. Mandrake spun on his platform to face her. He was no doubt carefully controlling his expression, but Penelope thought she saw a glint of skepticism in his eyes. She felt a ripple of indignation, but considered her position – curled up in a tight ball, hair singed, skin red from the energy radiating off of the Orb – she looked too pitiful to be the leader of a troop of girl scouts, much less an organization that threatened to topple the weakening government.

"Interesting," Mandrake said at length. "And what was the other name?"

"Obviously an alias, sir – it's the name of a girl who's been dead for a while now: Kitty Jones."

-

Cerebaton watched Mandrake's reaction to Kitty's name with interest. Although he kept his expression carefully controlled for the most part, shock had registered on his face for a fraction of a second, and it made his body tense up. His voice, however, was as irritatingly casual as ever when he said, "Impossible. Kitty Jones died three years ago – her file is permanently sealed."

"Yes, sir," the guard responded promptly. "No doubt Cross is using it as an alias."

"No doubt," Mandrake repeated slowly. Cerebaton didn't like the expression on his face when he glanced at Penelope again: it was curious and calculating. Cerebaton doubted that the magician really believed it.

Just how much will he be able to guess?

Cerebaton returned his attention to Penelope, whom he had been watching with mild concern throughout her interrogation. He was startled that she hadn't blurted out Kitty's name, but he decided it was probably due to fear. For all her renewed determination at his reappearance, Penelope didn't strike him as particularly courageous. The fact that she hadn't carried on the Resistance was proof enough of that.

Mandrake waved the guard away. The sirens blared again as a portal in the wall appeared, then abruptly died away once it closed behind the guard. Mandrake turned to Penelope, who risked a small movement in order to swipe away the trickle of blood that was running down her chin.

"Well," he said after an ugly silence. "It appears I've underestimated you. I'll admit the thought that you might be the ringleader of the Resistance never crossed my mind."

Penelope either couldn't or chose not to respond.

"Frankly," the magician continued, his voice cold. "I find it impossible to believe. For one thing, there has been no Resistance activity since the night of the explosion. For another, you were careless enough to allow yourself to get caught. Third, I heard enough of your conversation to gather that whoever you planned to seek out was significantly more important than you."

Mandrake snapped his fingers and his floating platform drew as close to the Orb as possible.

"Rest assured, Ms. Cross, that you won't even uncurl yourself on that platform until you tell me everything you know about Kitty Jones."

-

Nathaniel waited, his body tense. His mind was racing furiously.

On one hand, Kitty Jones had died a long time ago. Her file had been sealed, and no one had ever heard from her again. On the other hand, Penelope Cross was possibly one of the least likely people to lead a movement against the Empire…and he hadn't actually seen Kitty die. There was a chance – a infinitesimal chance – that she could be alive.

In the silence that stretched on and on he struggled with conflicting facts and possibilities, until he came to the conclusion that the only way he would know was if Penelope talked. Unfortunately, she was proving more stubborn than he thought she would. He regarded her for a moment, curled up in the middle of the crackling sphere of energy, and glanced at the djinni Cerebaton. He, too, was crouched low in his pentacle in the form of the brown cat, ears pulled flat either in aggression or in an attempt to evade his own Orb. His mind began to churn again.

Cerebaton wasn't a djinni of any respectable might, but he was probably the most powerful entity a bunch of untrained commoners could manage to summon. He, too, might have worked closely with the Resistance leader, whoever that was.

"One of you," he said aloud, looking back and forth between the two prisoners, "Will give me information. I am content to wait – I'm in a considerably more comfortable position than either of you."

The two prisoners shared a quick look. Nathaniel folded his arms, tapping a foot impatiently. It seemed he would have to start shrinking the Orbs again. He raised a hand to make the sign without hesitation, although he had always found this particular aspect of interrogation distasteful. Hopefully Penelope's better nature would overpower her desire to say nothing as she watched Cerebaton's Orb shrink.

A subtle glance in her direction as Cerebaton was forced to change form confirmed his guess: Penelope looked distinctly agitated as she watched the djinni twist in discomfort. Finally, when Cerebaton was pressed into taking on the undistinguished guise of a lizard in order to avoid his shrinking orb, she called out, "Stop!"

He casually halted the Orb's progress and looked in her direction.

"Yes?"

"Don't, Penelope," Cerebaton said warningly, though his tone was weak. He would rather escape the Orb than protect his true master's identity – this was clear. The girl shook her head apologetically at the djinni and looked appealingly at Nathaniel.

"I don't know what happened to Kitty," she said, "But I can tell you about how I came to meet her and…and what happened the night she disappeared."

"Excellent," he said in what he hoped was an agreeable tone, and signaled the Orb to expand enough so that Penelope could sit up straight. He wasn't ready to believe that she was wholly ignorant of Kitty's whereabouts…but then, considering her previous foolishness in allowing herself to be overheard and captured, it was admittedly possible. "Take your time."

To the side he heard Cerebaton snort, but he let it pass unacknowledged. Penelope drew herself up and smoothed her hair, the loose strands of which were standing out around her face, frizzing with the energy of the Orb. Her skin was still slightly red.

"I first met Kitty two years ago, in a back alley."

"Appropriate," Nathaniel muttered. Penelope frowned, but continued without comment.

"It was late, and I was out past curfew…which I think was midnight at the time. It wasn't strictly my fault," she added defensively, "I took on an extra shift at work. By the time I left to go home it was after three in the morning. I was accosted by a member of the Night Police and a foliot, both of whom were on patrol. Naturally I was scared, even more so because the foliot attacked me immediately. It happened quickly, but I had caught it around the neck as it grasped at me, and it seemed to do damage. The foliot screeched and let go, and the man pulled out a jolt stick and advanced on me.

"Before he could do anything, though, a sphere smashed on the ground between us and he was suddenly caught up in a whirlwind. Someone yanked me backwards, out of the way of the wind, which changed to water and then to fire."

"An Elemental Sphere," Nathaniel remarked thoughtfully. "I seem to recall a theft from a supply store around that time."

Penelope shrugged. "I don't know anything about that. At the time I didn't even know what the sphere was."

"Unsurprising. Continue, if you will."

Penelope shifted slightly and picked up the thread of her story.

"Right. Someone pulled me out of the way of the Sphere's energies, but in the confusion I didn't see who it was at first. The foliot, which had by then recovered slightly, leapt for the person who had thrown the Sphere, but she – because by then I saw it was a girl – simply caught it around the neck, squeezed, and it burst."

Nathaniel nodded. He had done some research and knew about the unusual abilities that many former Resistance members possessed. This had explained Kitty's easy victory over his mouler and imp.

"By then the man had changed into his wolf form, but fainted as soon as the Sphere's energies dissipated. The girl asked if I was all right, introduced herself as Kitty, and commented on my apparent resilience. She accompanied me back to my apartment, and told me about the Resistance there. Obviously I had no great affection for the government, given the attack I had narrowly escaped, and I agreed to join the group. I was the third to join – the two who became members before me died as a result of the debacle ten months ago."

"Were you aware that Kitty was supposed dead by the government?"

"Not until I had known her for a year."

"Penelope," Cerebaton called out, sounding deeply annoyed. "I think you've said more than enough. What are you playing at, anyway?"

"What was I supposed to do?" she snapped in return, turning away from Nathaniel to glare at the irate djinni. "Would you have preferred to die?"

"Humans," Cerebaton said scornfully. "You're all far too soft-hearted. Those who have hearts, anyway," he added with a pointed look at Nathaniel, who quirked an eyebrow.

"You speak of saying too much, when you've been steadily pressing your luck by goading a heartless magician. One who, I might add, controls the size of your prison," Nathaniel remarked acidly. Cerebaton, apparently unable to come up with a suitable response, glowered at him from his Orb. Nathaniel turned back to Penelope.

"Did anything else happen that night?"

"Nothing of any significance – Kitty left and I went to bed soon after, after we had arranged to meet at the flat of one of the other members the next day."

"And the night Kitty disappeared?" Nathaniel asked. Penelope was silent for a moment, apparently reluctant to discuss the incident. She twisted her hands in her lap and said, "It wasn't supposed to go as badly as it did."

"Actions that end in disaster rarely do," Nathaniel couldn't help but comment.

"The initial plan was to raid one of the warehouses for magical weapons. Six of us agreed to go along with Kitty. Well, five agreed, one was pressured into going."

"What do you mean?"

"One of the girls – Sera – was younger than the rest of us. Joey – he was sort of the second-in-command – thought that making her come along would be a sort of initiation, since Sera had only joined the week before. He managed to goad her into coming along even though Kitty was doubtful. Once we reached the warehouse, Lucas incapacitated one of the security guards and stole his key. We let ourselves in through the back entrance and split up. Each of us grabbed something different – not much, since we didn't want to stay too long. Joey took Inferno sticks."

Here she paused, collecting herself.

"I was headed back towards the door when it burst open and four men came charging in. Apparently another patrolman we didn't know about saw us go in and had alerted the Night Police. Two of the men transformed and one attacked Sera. All of us were panicking, but Kitty shouted for us to head for the door. She threw one of her spheres at the wolves, and Joey lit one of his Inferno sticks and threw that…but without looking. I didn't see what it hit, but there was an explosion just as I ran out the door. Soon half the building was in flames."

She drew in an unsteady breath and continued, "I thought for sure that all of them had died, but then Kitty came bursting out of the door just before a section of the warehouse collapsed, calling Cerebaton. By then more wolves had arrived. I ran for the side of the fence that faced the river, but before I got there one of the wolves jumped on me. It tore open my back but somehow I managed to shake it off, and I scaled the fence and jumped into the river. By the time they changed into their human forms, climbed the fence, and chased after me, the water had washed away my scent and they lost my trail. I don't know what happened to Kitty after that."

Penelope hugged her knees and watched Nathaniel's face, but he didn't betray his thoughts with an unconscious expression. Her story hadn't been very informative – he had been able to piece together what had happened in the warehouse without much trouble. It was what happened after Kitty was cornered on the rooftop that he wanted to know. By the time he had arrived on the scene there was only one dead man on the roof, a huge crater in the street and traces of powerful, unknown magic.

He had recovered from his initial surprise that Kitty had survived. He actually should have expected it – it had been Bartimaeus who had told him she died, after all. Who in their right mind would take everything a djinni said as truth? Especially a djinni with a chip on his shoulder. No doubt Bartimaeus had protected Kitty in this manner just to spite him.

"Interesting," he offered at length. "However, it doesn't shed light on Kitty's disappearance at all."

"Look," Penelope said, sounding annoyed, "I told you that I don't know how she disappeared. And from what I've heard, no one around here has the first clue, either. The only way you're going to get the full story is if you find Kitty and get her to tell you herself. And do you even know where you would start looking?"

Nathaniel couldn't suppress a smug smile. "As a matter of fact, I have a general idea. Don't be so quick to underestimate me. It's already landed you in a Mournful Orb," he pointed out. Penelope scowled.

"And you'll hunt her down just so you can tie up a few loose ends?"

"You seem to be forgetting that, now that I know she's alive, Kitty Jones is a wanted criminal," he remarked lightly.

"Say you find her – what then?" Penelope asked.

"That's not your concern," he told her firmly.

A discreet cough from the other Orb had both of them looking around. Cerebaton, in the form of a moth, flapped his wings meaningfully in Nathaniel's direction.

"You seem to be forgetting something," he said in the loudest voice his insect form would allow. "As Kitty's servant I got to know her a bit better than Penelope here, and she told me about an intriguing incident that happened almost three years ago."

He paused significantly, and Nathaniel felt his spine stiffen.

"Unless you really are heartless, would you really imprison someone who saved your life twice over?"

"What?" Penelope exclaimed. "She never told me–"

"There was a lot she didn't tell any of you," Cerebaton said flatly. Penelope closed her mouth, looking bewildered. Nathaniel leveled a glare in the djinni's direction, although he couldn't be certain if it was on the mark or not, given the entity's size.

"That was her decision, and if she had more self-interest she wouldn't have done it. Instead she left the door open for me to pursue her."

"Knowing Kitty, she probably had a better opinion of you than that," the djinni returned. "Lord knows why," he added under his breath.

Nathaniel felt his temper rise, and fought the urge to shrink Cerebaton's Orb again. What was really frustrating was that a satisfying response wasn't coming to him. Penelope was looking at him, grey eyes flashing accusingly. It certainly didn't help.

"I'll find her," he said, staring at each of them in an attempt to make them drop their eyes. "We'll see what happens then. But don't forget: I have a duty to this country, one that I plan on fulfilling."

"Even if you did manage to find out where she was, you wouldn't be able to catch her," Cerebaton said confidently. "She successfully escaped your notice for almost three years – what makes you think she'd be any easier to find and capture now?"

"Not believing she's dead is a good start," Nathaniel said dryly.

"If you really want to find out how she disappeared," Penelope put in unexpectedly, "She would have to feel like she could trust you before telling you anything. If you caught her and interrogated her, I don't think she'd be willing to talk to you about that night. Most likely she'd refuse to say anything."

"And she'd do a better job of it than you," Cerebaton remarked.

"Shut up," Penelope muttered. Nathaniel smirked, an idea forming in the back of his mind.

"So she'd have to trust me before she'd tell me anything," he repeated, tilting his head and looking at Penelope. "I'd somehow have to convince her that I mean her no harm, that I'm only trying to get the rest of the story and put my mind at rest. How do you think I'd accomplish that?"

"If you hunted her down and caused her trouble after what she did for you, I don't think you could gain her trust," Penelope told him shortly.

"Let me tell you what I know," Nathaniel said. "Here, stand up."

He gestured and Penelope's Orb expanded quickly, giving her room to stand at last. He glanced at Cerebaton but left his Orb where it was – the djinni had gotten under his skin, after all.

"I said before that I had a general idea as to where Kitty is. That's because the same day she disappeared I had been warned about three suspicious men wandering around the area. They had American accents and didn't seem like ordinary tourists – someone smelled incense around them, and they appeared to be scoping out the area. We sent out government officials dressed as civilians to keep an eye on them. At about the time of the explosion one of the officials gave me a call. They were moving suddenly towards a run-down neighborhood. Unfortunately we lost track of them, but it's very possible that they had a hand in the incident at Kitty's flat. Since then we've heard nothing about them."

"You think American spies had a hand in Kitty's disappearance?" Penelope said incredulously. Nathaniel nodded.

"There has been a lull in activity in the colonies as well," he added. "A lull that's lasted almost eleven months. Coincidence?"

"Possibly," Penelope said, her tone uncertain.

"I have more than enough reason to believe that Kitty is in America, though how or why she came to be there is something I can only guess at."

"You want to go all the way to America in order to find her," Penelope stated flatly.

"It's enemy territory. She could be giving them information," Nathaniel pointed out. "That's reason enough to seek her out."

"It's insane. And that still doesn't tell me how you're going to gain her trust. If you even find her, that is."

"It's simple," he said calmly. "You'll convince her for me."

"W…What?"

"You'll accompany me to America," he said slowly. "And if the fact that you – a trusted friend of hers – traveled with me and arrived unharmed isn't enough to convince her that I'm trustworthy, then you'll prove it to her. You're her ally – she'll believe you."

"And what makes you think I'll do that when I know you just want to 'fulfill your duty to the country' and lock her up?"

"You were already planning to find her," Nathaniel observed, "And it's very possible that she isn't a willing informant, but a prisoner. If that's the case, as it well may be, would your conscience allow you to pass up this chance to save her? If you don't come with me, you'll remain here in this Orb."

Penelope was silent for a long while, considering. At length she looked up and said, "I'll go…but only if Cerebaton comes as well."

"Good!" the djinni piped up from his Orb. "Very good! I'm glad to see you've got some sort of brain rattling around in that skull."

"You're not helping yourself," Penelope snapped, and Cerebaton fell silent. Nathaniel frowned, glancing back and forth between them. If the djinni was coming, he would have to summon a servant of his own. Not Limrick – although suitably powerful, he could be outsmarted too easily. And all of his other servants either just matched or didn't measure up to Cerebaton's power as djinni, meager though it was. And his other option wasn't one he liked considering, especially after discovering he had been deceived, but…

"Very well," he conceded, albeit reluctantly. "I'll bring along a servant as well – Bartimaeus."

Author's Note: It took a while, but here it is, and I'm actually okay with how it turned out. Quite the dysfunctional group if you ask me, but there you go. I just love writing arguments between these characters, so it's going to be hard to restrain myself. If I get out of hand in the future and it starts slowing the story down, you might want to let me know.

Feedback is appreciated, if you want to give it. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far – I love you guys, and your comments have been very helpful!