Bartimaeus

Men wearing the familiar navy-blue Night Police uniform rushed into the scene. Each and every one of them looked hungry for a chase. Jane, brown leather coat billowing about her, was in the center of the rush barking out orders. Behind her, trying her best to not be swept up with the crowd, stood the old crone Ms. Whitwell. She looked just as pale and pointy as the day I met her.

As the Night Police swarmed into the small room, the red skinned djinn lost her composure. Abraham took a swipe. A flash of silver slashed at her side. I heard a shout; an Illumination was casted, flooding the room with a bright flash. As expected, everyone in the room was temporarily blinded. I cursed, blinking. Squinting, I saw Newton's Law come into play; an object in movement remains in movement unless acted upon by a force. The Night Police didn't stop.

Several things happened at once.

Running full force, eyes screwed shut, the first Night Police tripped over some debris. Then the man behind him, eyes also screwed shut, tripped over his comrade's body. Like a sack of potatoes, he crumbled onto the floor next to his friend. Then the next guy tripped over him. And the next… And the next. Before I knew it, like a stack of unstable dominoes, the entire Night Police force have all stumbled and tripped over each other's bodies, elbows and knees prodding into each other.

I would have promptly face palmed out of secondhand embarrassment, but Abraham caught my attention. Wild eyes wide open, he raised his hand; the Elemental Sphere caught the light. I bolted upright and braced myself.

"Son of a bi—"

There was the sound of glass breaking, followed by a deafening crashing sound. I didn't have time to move. I blinked once; an invisible force shoved me back. My back collided with the wall. There was another quick bright flash; another roaring sound that drowned out the shouts and shrieks. I reeled, blinking and guarding my eyes. Debris and bodies were lifted into the air and flung in different directions. I barely spotted a chunk of heavy stone flying towards me; I ducked in time. Dust rained just above my head. I screwed my eyes shut, expecting for more.

Another wave of force, stronger than the first. It rippled through the room, knocking anything and anyone in its path down. I felt a great invisible weight pin me against the wall. There was a loud rushing sound in my ears. I struggled to even think about my next moves. It didn't let up. I felt myself being released; another wave took its place. It beat against my weakened essence, threatening to pull me apart. My formless hand became nothing. The outlines of my forearm were almost non-existent. My throat was raw now; I coughed and gasped as I choked on dust. It took me a moment to realize that I was screaming.

A weaker wave rippled through the room. It lapped up on me, gently nudging me back. The Elemental Sphere was finally dying out. I peered into the dusty room. The room didn't even look recognizable anymore. Walls were blown out and the ground was covered in soot and dust. Nothing remained of all the furniture. Bodies were strewn across the floor, some moving and some not.

Where Abraham once stood, there was a scorched mark and a trail of smoke coiling up to the ceiling. Just like the attack at the Prime Minister's place. His body was nowhere to be found. I spotted a disheveled Jane and Whitwell hunkering down behind the red skinned djinn on the other end of the room. The djinn held her side, her face twisted in pain. The lion and the minotaur were nowhere to be seen.

With exhausted muscles, I staggered to my feet.

"Bartimaeus!" Jane called out after me.

I waved dismissive hand. "Not now. Na- Mandrake needs me."

She huffed. "I know. I saw two people taking him. Through that door."

I stood there, staring at her like an idiot. In that moment, my head was just completely empty. Her words took awhile for it to sink in. I swore it must have been the long summoning taking its toll on me. Otherwise I wouldn't have looked stupid in front of her, Whitwell and her cronies. I blinked at her and she stared back, impatience creeping up on her. A lightbulb went off in my head.

"Oh."

She made a face at me. "Oh? Find him, dammit."

I turned and faced the door I had busted through not too long ago. I knew exactly where he was at now. So much time was wasted. I couldn't afford to loiter around anymore.

I raked my brain trying to remember the many different right and left turns the minotaur took back when I followed him. It was difficult to say the least. It was like looking through a fogged-up lens. My mind was slow and every thought I had was just a flicker of a memory.

At the end of the hallway, I saw movement.

I panicked; a shot of Detonation blasted from the palm of my hand. I heard a shriek and a girl dropped down to her knees. She held her hands up as she cowered away. I ignored my unraveling essence and took a long good look at her. There was a faint trickle of recognition. A few seconds passed.

Oh. Anne. Fuck, I really need to go back home.

I stalked towards her. Well, I tried to. Difficult when you're limping. I raised my hand at her, half forming the Detonation. She pressed herself against the wall, refusing to look up.

"Please, no!" Anne cried. "I was just doing what Alec was telling me to do. I – I don't' have a home. He took me in and – and I felt like I should repay him. I didn't –"

"He's in the room I was prisoned in, isn't he?"

She hiccupped through her tears and nodded, still refusing to meet my eyes. "Yes, he's there. Take the first stairs down this hallway. Go left, and you'll find another stair. Keep going down. Y-you'll find him. Stefan, he – um – has him there."

I made the Detonation glow a little brighter. It hummed just loud enough for her to hear. She whimpered. I bit my lip. If I let this Detonation go, I'm only weakening myself. My left arm was now nothing from the elbow down. I couldn't even think as quickly anymore. I let the Detonation die down.

Shaking, she slowly looked up at me. Her face was mottled with pink and red and her nose dribbled with snot.

"Run."

I didn't need to tell her twice. She scampered past me without looking back. As for me, I took her directions. Once I came across the caved in walls down the hall, I knew where I was at. I just simply followed the trail of destruction. What remained of the door hung by the hinges. I slammed it open, sending the rest of the door flying across the damp room.

I heard a shout. Peering into the room, I stepped in.

Stefan stood in the center of the room, dragging an unconscious Nathaniel across the floor.

"Get the fuck away from him!" I shouted.

Stefan shrieked, stumbling over his feet. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

He promptly dropped Nathaniel and raised his arms, shielding his face. From my good hand, I let a Detonation form. It was a small pulsing red light, but it was all it took.

"Get out or I will kill you," I warned.

He cowered, cursing profusely.

"Now!"

He was jittery but he wasn't stupid. Okay, maybe a little. As he ran, he stumbled over a crate. Just like with Anne, I let him run past me. I waited for his footsteps to fade as he went down the dark hallway. Even if I wanted to, I don't think I had enough energy in me to kill him. That wasn't important though. Nathaniel was important. I immediately rushed to his side.

Underneath all his black and blue bruises, his skin looked pale. I reached up to move the strands of his hair that framed his face. Despite the onset of his fever this morning, he felt cold. He wore no expression. He was just quiet.

"Nat?"

No response, just shallow breathing.

"I need you to wake up, Nat."

Again, no response. I lightly shook his shoulder.

I raised my voice slightly, panic setting in. "Nathaniel. Wake the fuck up."

A whimper. I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding in.

I scowled, thinking on my next steps. Between finding us, and having the situation settled down with the foreign police and government, it'll take hours before Nathaniel would receive any medical attention. I don't even know how long ago it was that Nathaniel took the poison. I screwed my eyes shut, trying to remember basic human anatomy. I only had one option. But it was difficult to say if it would make any difference. It was better than nothing. I looked down at my arm – or what was once my arm. I let out a curse. This will be difficult.

"I need to do something. It's going to be uncomfortable, okay? Nat…?"

It was subtle but he nodded.

With one arm, I awkwardly scooped up Nathaniel and held him against my chest. Even with my one bad leg, I managed to scoot ourselves and propped myself against the wall. With some difficulty, I placed Nathaniel to sit between my legs, his back pressing down against my chest. His head lolled back. For the first time, I noticed a thin gash across his throat. It was so faint that I could scarcely see it in the dim lighting. Even so, it was enough for me to realize how close his death was. How close I almost came to losing him. I resisted the urge to nuzzle against his bare throat. Now's not the time.

With my chest, I gently nudged him. Now leaning away from me, his head fell forward, his hair falling in place around his face like a black curtain. I reached my arm over his shoulder to his face.

"Open your mouth."

He complied quietly. Carefully and gently, my fingers slipped past his bruised lips and past his tongue. Pressing his tongue down, I pushed my fingers to the back of his throat. Almost immediately, his body reacted. He gagged and heaved, his shoulder shaking. Within seconds, just after retreating my arm back, his body jerked, and the contents of his stomach spewed out onto ourselves. I shifted our position slightly so he wouldn't continue vomiting over himself.

"Let it out," I whispered, brushing his hair back with a hand as he vomited.

He heaved and coughed as his body shook violently with each stomach contraction. It took several minutes for his body to subside. With each and every heave, the intensity lessened. Finally, after a long moment of stillness, he was able to rest. He sat there, leaning against my leg, breathing heavily. Drips of bile and saliva dribbled over his mouth but, for now, he was fine and that was all that mattered.

"How do you feel?"

He sniffed, sitting silently, as if preparing himself to form the words he needed to say

"I… like shit."

I paused. "Y-you like shit?"

"No. I feel like shit."

He raised a hand and lightly touched his face, flinching when his finger grazed his nose. Now that I was looking at it, it did looked crooked.

"Wh-what happened?"

I shifted and nudged him carefully towards me. Wincing, he leaned back against my chest. I pressed my arm around him, securing him close to me. I took this opportunity to nuzzle my face into his hair.

"Jane came."

"Jane..?"

"Yeah."

"Oh…"

We sat there for a minute. Uncertainty hung over us like a dark cloud. Our thoughts were far away but together. While playing undercover cops and spies, we were dancing around each other, never on beat. He'll step in and I'll step out. Only once did we finally managed to get our hearts in synch and dance together. But we didn't speak of it. It was like a giant elephant in the room. The giant elephant that we chose to ignore. And Jane's appearance was the giant sign with neon lights pointing at the elephant. Without meaning to, I've found myself interlacing my fingers between his. When the time comes, we will talk of… this. Or maybe not. I looked at his hands. They were frail and pale. I could trace out the blue veins that ran underneath his soft skin. I snorted.

"How could someone as frail as you always end up in these life-threatening situations? What is with vulnerable people and dangerous past times?"

His voice was quiet, but I could detect a smile. "Who said I was frail? I just took a beating of a lifetime and I'm still standing."

"Correction: you're on the ground leaning against me. I wouldn't be surprised if a gust of wind could knock you down."

"That wouldn't happen though. Not with you around."

I could practically hear the elephant trumpeting around, demanding to be addressed. I bit the inside of my cheek. I cleared my throat.

"Erm – Nat? I know now isn't the right time but… About –um – us. What are we doing? I mean, I know what we're doing. What I mean is –"

"I don't know."

"What?"

He took a moment to cough. "People… will talk. Fraternizing with the demon. I'll lose my position. I'll lose the trust. I'll lose… so much. I don't know what I was doing. Or expected."

I nodded but I didn't say anything. I expected this answer.

"For Jane," he continued, wincing as he lifted himself off me. "I'll just tell her that we aren't compatible."

Footsteps sounded, thundering down the hallway. That was our cue. Nathaniel and I disentangled ourselves from each other. Suddenly, I felt almost incomplete; a piece of me taken away. I lifted myself up, helping Nathaniel to his feet. He wobbled but kept stayed upright. I reached out a hand; he slapped it away.

"I'm fine Bartimaeus. I apologize about your state. I'll release you."

"Wait, what?"

I wanted to argue but Jane appeared at the door and stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide open. Trailing behind her were the only few Night Police members that somehow survived the attack. Perhaps out of shock with Nathaniel's condition, she didn't move. I could tell she was restraining herself though.

"John? Are you alright?"

Nathaniel nodded. Looking back at me, he snapped his fingers.

My essence responded, I went. For the second time in my life, I went with a sinking feeling in my chest.

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Author Notes:

I'm not ending it here! Don't worry 😊