Bartimaeus

Imagine me - moi – out in vacation. I'm lounging around in a hammock underneath a palm tree. Soft, cool breeze rustling through my hair as I sip my margarita through a colorful straw. The scenery is beautiful – serene waves lapping at the soft, white sands, clear blue skies with the scorching sun high up, and a hint of smell of fresh ocean life. Sounds pretty rad, eh? Now imagine that same image with a few adjustments.

The gentle breeze is heavy and stale. The soft sounds of waves hitting the beach is replaced with the sounds of moist labored breathing from an angry minotaur – who which sadly replaced my palm tree. The sand is also replaced with cold and clammy cobblestone. My margarita? Gone. My hammock? Also gone. I'm no longer in vacation. Instead, I'm stuck inside a glowing Sphere of Confinement next to my angry captor in what seems to be an ill-maintained cellar filled with large crates oozing out grey juice. Noticed how there was one thing that didn't change in that scenario? The smell. Only the smell was… stronger. Fishier. More pungent. I suppressed a gag.

"Keep making that face and I'll deck you into that wall," the minotaur grumbled.

I made a face. "Is that smell coming from you? You need a dip in the pool or something."

The minotaur pressed his face against the Sphere, hot breath slightly fogging its view. The small Egyptian boy flashed a toothy grin and sat back with his legs crossed underneath him.

"If you don't shut it, I'll plunge you into those crates."

I eyed the crates. No doubt the smell was coming from there. I wonder if this is where Abraham kept his seafood. Not very sanitary if I may point out. If it were up to me, the Health Inspection would be giving out one star review for Abraham's seafood dump.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I think I've had enough of fish for at least a century. What about you? Do you mind Abraham?"

The minotaur turned from me, giving me his back. I suppose he was given strict orders to not communicate with the prisoner. I decided to challenge that.

"Must really suck to work in Prague with all this fish stench, ya' know? How do you do it? I didn't really mind Prague until I visited a few years back. I got framed over something my master and I didn't really even do. I mean, can you believe that? We were just there doing our official government work and some jerk – the mercenary, big bearded dude with annoying seven-league boots – do you know him by the way? I feel like he's somehow involved in this. Hopkins too. Is Abraham –"

"STOP TALKING!"

A great fist made physical contact with the Sphere. The Sphere rang loudly like a bell upon impact but did not budge. I grimaced and placed my hands over my ears to muffle the high-pitched ringing. I could feel the wavelengths of the ringing within the Sphere pressuring down on my essence. With a punch like that, the ringing could continue on for another half hour.

"Hey, cool it man! I'm just vibing here."

"I'm going to be vibing your skull if you don't shut up." He raised his fist again, threatening to punch the Sphere again.

"That doesn't make sense but I somehow understand what you meant."

The ringing continued, filling the cellar room with its awful sound. The minotaur snorted. Bits of spittle and snot landed on the Sphere. I looked about me.

There wasn't much. The cellar seemed cramped. Large stacks of crates were stacked haphazardly throughout the room meaning they were tripping hazards. They could also be used as weapons, I suppose. The contents inside could surely wipe out an entire village. I figured we were deep underground due to the lack of windows which made escaping extremely difficult since it narrowed down my options. The only way out is through the heavy wooden door that looked like it may take time to open. A quick explosion to the door could fix that problem though. But that information is useless if I can't get out of this Sphere.

The minotaur towered over me, keeping a keen eye. No doubt he's making sure I don't somehow spring out of the Sphere. Escaping the Sphere is no problem. I've had way too many experiences being in one and I've learned a couple of tricks. It's just a little difficult when you're being watched by someone that can crush you with a toe. My essence is barely hanging on. I'm too weak and the little fiasco from before drained a chunk of my energy. I can't really afford to spend any more of my remaining energy. And I need to find Nat. I need time and a distraction. Thankfully, I have no problem with getting either of them.

I cleared my throat. "Care to tell me what Abraham plans to do with me?"

The minotaur shifted, eyeing me suspiciously. "To destroy you."

"Hm."

That was obvious enough. His rousing speech at the dinner table didn't really sound empathetic towards Nat and I.

"Any gory details?" I implored.

He sniffed and bent down by the waist to my eye level. He gave a toothy grin.

"Would you like to remain ignorant over your fate or are you really interested in knowing of his plans?"

I chewed the inside of my cheek, weighing my options.

"Tell me."

Dark, heavy eyebrows scrunched together as the minotaur narrowed its eyes.

"This is a ruse, isn't it Bartimaeus? You cannot fool me. I know of your tricks."

I raised an eyebrow, resting my face against the palm of hand.

"Nah, I just don't like being left in the dark. And have you really? Am I famous or something? Do they have billboards with my face plastered in the Other Place?"

"You're an idiot."

"I've been told."

The minotaur snorted but said nothing. After a moment of a silent stare down, he finally straightened his back and looked back at the cellar door.

"In a few short hours, just before your master meets his end, Abraham will come down to the cellar and step through that door. You will gaze upon him and learn to fear him. That is the last thing you will see before you meet your end."

Yeesh. A bit dramatic for my taste but I got some information. I decided to pry a little bit more.

"How will I die?"

"The Sphere that you are currently inhabiting will be descended slowly into a vat of boiling silver."

At this, the minotaur chuckled and sighed in a satisfactory manner. He nodded to himself with a smile on his beasty face. Clearly, he was imagining the scenario unfold.

"Hmm… Won't that be the last thing I see then?"

"What?"

"The boiling vat of silver."

"What of it?"

"Well, earlier you said that the last thing I'll see is Abraham walking into the room. But I'm going to see the silver. So… how will that work out?"

The minotaur paused. You could practically hear the gears in his brain working overdrive. He sputtered for a minute as I subtly inspected the walls of Sphere. Archaic magic confinement like the Sphere of Confinement usually have some kind of flaw that can be easily exploited. Which says a lot about Abraham. I took a mental note of it.

"No!" The minotaur spat out. A bit of drool dribbled over his chapped lips. "Abraham will be the last thing you'll see because you'll be afraid."

"Huh?"

"You'll keep your eyes closed."

"Oh. But what if I don't?"

Growling, he kicked the bottom of my Sphere. Instantly, the already tapering ringing was replaced by the renewed sharp high-pitched sound . I resisted the urge to cover my ears and listened. The pressure of the sound weighed me down. I could feel it vibrating within stirring my essence from the inside out. My Ptolemy guise slipped a bit; my outline blurred for several seconds before finding its shape back. To my left, just above my head, I felt and heard a minute-sized gap. Bingo.

"Okay, I'm sorry, bro. I'll close my eyes before he gets here. You got a mirror? I think I'd prefer that the last thing I see is myself."

"I am not your brother."

"So no mirror, amigo?"

"I am not your friend."

"Not even a pocket mirror, partner?"

While this tantalizing conversation was going, I carefully inspected the side of the Sphere with the gap. Upon closer inspection, I could see the lattice work of thousands of thin, powerful strands that was carefully placed together to form the Sphere of Confinement. To the naked eye of many mediocre magicians, this lattice work would look perfect. Each of the strands went over and under each other forming a tight nonpermeable wall. But I spotted a mistake. A single strand was left unchecked.

"STOP with the words of endearment," the minotaur shouted over the ringing. "I have no time or space for the endearing titles. Endearment makes one weak. You are weak. Your sacrifice for the magician did not go unnoticed. Your endearment towards the magician has made you frail and lowly. I am strong. I am cold and calculating. I have no time and space for the endearment."

The minotaur huffed and faced the door. He tapped his hooves against the floor impatiently.

"Soon, master will come to end you. But I will live on for I am strong."

I hesitated. "Ye-e-eah… Okaaay…"

Something about this screamed 'hitting a sensitive and sore nerve'. I stealthily shifted and leaned closer towards the gap. I blew out a subdued breath towards the gap. Silently, the strands surrounding the gap began to undo. In just a few short minutes, the lattice work of the Sphere would slacken, and I can bust through. But what the hell do I do with this lickspittle?

"I guess there's no mirror –"

"I have loved once."

"Eh?"

"Pudding… That's what she called me. It has been years since I've last seen her elegant tentacles. Her beauty… It was something no one else could behold for if they glance at her way, death came their way. She was graceful – no – she was grace itself."

I stole a glance at the gap. It was still slowly unraveling. I slowly prayed it would quicken. The minotaur suddenly turned to face me, eyes brimming with tears. A spark of hate could be seen seething within.

"A magician tore her away from me," he continued, shouting against the Sphere's walls. "He ripped her away from me. And now she is gone. No more words of endearment. No… no more Pudding."

I licked my lips. "If it is any consolation, I understand your feeling. It took me a long while to accept –"

"I WILL NOT ACCEPT." His roaring words echoed throughout the room.

I shrunk back away. The last thing I need is for the minotaur to slam his fist against the Sphere. With the lattice work already weakening by the second, the sound of the feeble ringing would give the gap away. I just need a few more seconds. But then what?

The minotaur turned his back towards me. His back muscles were tense and I could see them twitch. No doubt he was fighting the urge to do something to me. I kept quiet to prevent any kind of provoking. Taking a quick glance at the gap, I could see that the walls were weakening. I shifted and prepared myself. In a few seconds, the walls will be weak enough for me to tear through. I'll just have to somehow dodge my captor, bust a hole through the door, and find my Nathaniel. Just a few more seconds…

"Who did you love, Bartimaeus?"

His voice was somber. He barely spoke above a whisper.

"That guise you wear. Is he the one? Is that why you ask for the mirror? Is he the last face you would want to see, Bartimaeus?"

Note from the Author:

I apologize for the late update. Work has been hectic and hasn't really given me a break to just sit down and write. I'm going to be traveling again for work for the next three weeks. I'm going to try to have some down time to update again but we'll see how it'll go.

This is my first time writing anything like this and I'm enjoying the process.

Thanks for your patience!