Another Point of View
Bartimaeus
Rome was having odd weather. In the summer, it first began with a chill and lasted for almost the whole month. Then for two days, the days were suddenly extremely hot that an egg could have had a good change of being cooked, though to Romans that would be a waste of a barter item. Now clouds decided to drop into the once greatest city in the world.
The past four days were spent, doing our punishment for the random vanish of the Brothers, followed by continuous patrol in the rain around the markets. Yes, maybe this did match up with all the failures Nero and I did: one, the break in and escape of a middle class adolescent boy. Then he appeared again with two of his friends at my master's house, and blew the mansion up, in the process killing all the lesser servants (a messenger imp and a bunch of foliots) and severally wounding a low level djinni in the process. 1
Two: the barbarian matter. The countless mobs of them of were still ravaging the countryside, even after four afrits and forty djinn attempted to stop them.
The only good thing we did was rescue the cube and most of that went to Nero. That was a disgrace to me; Bartimaeus of Uruk does not bow down to lesser djinni!
I mean, I did follow the brothers and have them put in jail. Not that bars could hold such dominant spirits.
Anyway, after the disappearance of the Brothers, Nero and I with foliots started to rebuild our master's house, exactly the way it was before 2. Meh, that's not hard when you've built the Parthenon, one of the greatest things humans could solely design. 3
Now that construction was over, the rain started to pour. And so, our patrol started.
A flash of lightning ran across the sky; followed a second later by thunder. It shook the shack I was standing in, with Nero and four other djinn. Massive puddles that looked like miniature lakes formed quickly. Merchants soon packed up to protect their precious goods. Commoners rushed back into their homes, soaked to the bone with rain. Humid air caused quite a few of the women's hair to go frizzy. The last of the messenger imps flew pitifully back into their master's homes. Not even djinni eyes could see the cloud's outline, as they were so tightly packed together.
"Raining again," announced one of the djinni.
"Joy," I said sarcastically. Well at least the fish were happy.
We continued to stare at the storm meaningfully, and then took off. Two clever djinn took the guise of frogs and hopped along, looking for any commoners looking very suspicious. Two idiots of djinn turned into birds and flew off to observe the grounds from above. They were going to be very wet. Nero and I just stayed in our usual forms (Roman soldier and Ptolemy respectively) and we all went in a random direction.
Commoners desperate to finish a few things ran off when Nero and I walked into sight. Now the streets were completely deserted. Not even Roman guards walked about. This area just had us six djinn.
Or so we thought.
One of the bird djinni flew above us, and then drove upward until it was a mere speck in the gray sky. With the rain and the clouds, the view was a rather serene one.
Except that lightning and thunder had to shatter it.
After twelve minutes of walking about the Forum, one of the frogs hopped toward us.
"You seen Bobit?" The frog was talking about the other frog djinni.
Neither Nero nor I gave any signs of seeing him.
The frog some how narrowed its eyes in suspicion. While Nero was occupied with this feat, I saw an afrit walk toward us.
The frog croaked in fear and Nero outstretched his hands. I rolled my eyes. It was a male afrit, by the name of Constaine. He liked to take the form of angel or canonized statues. Odd how his true form and his favourite form looked completely different. Completely. And on a side note, he participated in the force to stop the barbarians.
I eased the frog and Nero, and then turned to face the male angel 4.
"I've been sent by the emperor to bring you and your master to the palace."
I glanced at the frog and Roman djinni. They were a bit confused but knew he meant all six of us; we all had the same master.
"Erm…why?"
"I don't know, I do not have such knowledge,"
"So…do we go to our master?"
"Yes, we all go,"
"Yes, you said that already,"
Constaine didn't really have much patience, as most afrits don't. Steam flared from his nose and he tapped his foot on the wet stone road.
"Lets go get the others."
The bird djinn were not that hard to find. But Bobit was nowhere in sight. So we started calling for him. And of course, that didn't work, as it was Constaine's harebrained plan, so we had to search every nook and cranny.
"He could be dead…" one of the birds put in while hovering.
We didn't get that to stop us. Well it didn't make the afrit pause.
After almost an hour of keeping eyes sharp for Bobit, there was only one place left where the djinni could be.
In the ghetto.
Most of the rebels were located here, lurking and planning ways to take down the magician government. Their activities mainly were attacks on important places and peoples. But they mostly plan, not implement those plans. One thing that baffled the magician officials is how they managed to get so many weapons. They barley stole anything, but every attack had many weapons involved. It was suspected that someone was supplying them, but they never found out whom.
"Why don't we just ditch him and go to the emperor now? This meeting couldn't be this important."
Constaine looked at me blandly, which is hard to tell, as most angel faces are solemn. "I have charges—"
"Don't we all?" I said bluntly. Afrits are way too full of themselves.
The alley was at least dry from all the rain, as some wood planks were laid over top, probably for quick travel over the roofs. It seemed Constaine was keeping mental notes of this, as he was observing very carefully. I knew that he wasn't trying to be a goody two shoe; he just wanted a bunch of info slammed into his master so he could go home. Besides, if he was being one of those types, I wouldn't have mentioned it; he's one: an afrit, two: a pretty darn potent one too.
After rounding a corner, the roof vanished into a wreaked rubble square. Well it was a small one, only ten by ten. Rain poured down more heaver then it was when it was ten minutes before. For some abnormal reason, this was a dead end.
"Don't even think about blasting your way out," said the frog to the afrit.
"Wasn't going to."
"Oh, just thought that afrits just love to do that,"
"How come you're so rude suddenly?"
"I'm kinda in a bad mood,"
"That's no news from a frog…"
I didn't like this. We were too exposed, too weak to be here, even with the afrit.
"Guys, get back into the alley, we're vulnerable,"
"Hey! I don't take orders from a djinni!"
I ignored this and was about to address the bird djinn when I was bemused; they were nowhere in sight.
"You guys seen the birds?"
Nero, the frog and Constaine also just realized they were gone.
"What the…" Nero was about to say something else when a Detonation hit him. A marid stood on the rooftop, the same one who disappeared two days ago!
Nero flew into a brick wall. He easily got up, despite being hit by a marid, but the whole wall fell, and when the dust cleared, dozens of djinn were battle ready, weapons engaged and with magical shields up.
Then the marid dived straight at us, arms out stretched, Inferno flames dancing along its black fingers…
Only to fall to the ground in pain after a rather powerful Detonation hit him was sent by Constaine. That was the signal for the rest of us djinn to run.
With the leaping frog croaking behind Nero and I, we stopped a short time into the alley, not for a breather, but for Constaine to catch up. An afrit in battle was a handy thing.
But Constaine didn't fly into view in his odd angel form. Only the pacing rain sounded at the roofs above.
But where were the other djinn enemy?
"Is Constaine dead?" inquired the frog.
"Don't know," Nero replied rather shortly.
They continued their conversation, but I paid no heed. At first I was more interested in being alert, then (as usual) I noticed something different: the frog's voice. I know that a spirit doesn't change his voice without casting a spell. It's very hard to intimidate another's voice, particularly when in frog form.
On the planes, the seven showed much difference to the frog before. It was a different frog!
So I did what I needed to and walked behind Nero and the new enemy. I waited until the frog stopped talking. Then I pounced.
It had been expecting the attack and so had evaded my attack. I then hit the brick wall. Because of my full power in that attack, I was dazed.
The frog sent Nero back flipping past a corner of the alley. After a crash and groans and moans, it appeared Nero hit Constaine, who had finally decided to come.
The frog transformed into a bulky wolf on two legs. It flashed its yellow, grimy but sharp gnashes.
"You're that djinni…the brothers…" I mumbled with a hint of possible unconsciousness.
"Yes. That other frog was rather worried about his friend to see me swallow him."
"How…how did you disappear like that the other day,"
Once again, the werewolf grinned, which was disgusting, considering that it had stepped closer, probably to eat me like he did with the frog. Ug, frogs taste disgusting. But the essence really makes most of the flavor 5.
"Naturally, I wouldn't tell you."
I was almost blanking out now, nearly about to fall victim to a djinni that eats like Jabor. Definitely not a good way out.
So, I had some tricks up my metaphorical sleeve.
A Detonation burst out of my bare foot, which did look weird, but it worked. The werewolf didn't go too far, as its Shield held quite sturdily. But that gave me a chance to rapidly transform into a bird, and flap my way back to where Nero and Constaine lay.
As I saw them, I turned my back on them, and turned back into Ptolemy. Nero seemed to explain everything to the afrit. Now Constaine was saying something.
"You see, the djinn were an illusion, so we—"
"We still needed to run. That was a marid," I uttered.
"Where is he anyway?"
Leave it to Nero to bring up such gloomy news.
The werewolf stepped forward from the shadows, in a battle stance; legs akimbo and hands stretched and flexed. Then the marid landed in front of the mystical beast and was a huge giant human with furs tied around its waist with leather straps. If that fell from the heavy rain still falling, I would not be looking with any attention. Though that's what might kill me.
"Lets just ditch this. Don, lets go. Let Raphael and Michelangelo deal this."
The said afrits appeared from the shadows, again like their disappearance days ago. That was still heavy on my mind.
Speaking of which, Don and the marid disappeared using the same technique as days ago.
Testing this, I threw a Detonation at where Don disappeared. Nothing happened. Tsk. Except that the entire wall fell over, distracting the afrits.
Nero and Constaine were prepared for the upcoming battle. I was too. It would be a long and fierce one.
Then a dozen djinn flew into the alley with a certain flying djinni in the lead. It was the same frog we had searched for all along. This frustrated me; we had come here, almost got killed, only to have the lost find the finders.
They chased the afrits away, and then turned around a corner, then went out of noticeable sight.
Nero, Constaine, the frog and I stood in the pouring precipitation.
I stared at the afrit in expectation. He seemed confused.
"Well! Lets go! We didn't come here for a nice walk. Led us to the emperor!"
Mind, I didn't mention the boy earlier because this such of thing wasn't new with Rome as their golden time had passed and second, the barbarian thing kind of pushed everything off several of my conscious mind; it's not that easy when you mindless humans are stabbing at anything with weird armor
I've done harder things, like the Great Wonders of the World. A magician mansion wasn't that hard if you had a good memory and knew the style.
We djinn thought up most of the great wonders. Our lazy masters just sent us to do all the hardships. But even with the design fault by the marid Atlas, it wasn't too bad.
What Constaine thought what a male angel looked like was very…creative?
Yeah, essence is what makes us take almost all things. So the form you're in only barley makes a flavor, salty, sour, or both…sorry if I'm making you puke all over your coffee table.
Alex Two days before the Jail IncidentAlex fell upon his bed smiling. The festival was tomorrow. His parents had let him go with Crispian and Lore. The shows and sights would be a time to never forget, provided that neither of his friends quarrels during the festival.
But there were some serious points. One thing Jorge told Alex and his classmates was to look for any suspicious things. Because of the barbarians expected visit to Rome was approaching, even demons and magicians were expected to gatecrash the festival.
And his old friends. Alex had high and middle-class friends, but the high ones weren't allowed to come to the fun event, mostly to keep the commoners happy. Still, his middle society friends would be there, though the most they do is simply ignore him with rudeness at some degree.
But that turncoat-magician-boy that messed with Lore would be there. He was to make a speech and the beginning and closing of the gathering. Hopefully, he could avoid the boy altogether, not be sighted, and leave before the ending speech. Or he could be late for the opening talk.
Meanwhile, in Alex's studies, Jorge had told him that they would soon be summoning minor demons. Alex was completely ready, and perhaps Lore too. But Crispain, despite his brains, he was in no shape (i.e. shape of mind) to even summon the tiniest mite. His mistakes were most entertaining, such as tripping and pouring all the incense in a large pot onto Lore. Well Lore smelt of it for a couple of days quite prominently, and Crispain did get pushed around, but Nick would comment of this forever. Sorty just shook his head in disappointment of his pupil, Crispain, and Celia was proud of her pupil of roughing her rival's (Sorty) pupil. So truly, no harm done. But that would change once Crispain summoned something with that horrible coordination.
After the raid on the magician's house, it was learned that it had been rebuilt and that the victim magician, was on the mass lookout for the three children. But the veneficus immortalizes weren't too worried about this. The destruction of the nearest outpost was of most frightening; the barbarian invasion was nearing. And the rebellion wasn't ready yet. The only way the rebels could overthrow the corrupt government was to coincide it with the mass attack. Despite their weakness, the government could easily deal with one big threat. But with two mass attacks, their time would be over.
So Ali, the twins and Nick started riling the commoners even more. The shipments to the ghetto were more frequent. The veneficuses were still in the rundown hideout past midnight, planning. It was predicted that the barbarians would come knocking at about fall time, September, October, something like that. But that was soon.
As a result, Alex's lessons were halted slightly.
So, his skills were still rather limited. And thus, he couldn't "graduate" yet. Once he did, he had to wait until he grew up, and then go to veneficus main post, and do some tests, and then find a duty. Each person has a special thing to do in the cycle.
Other then pretty much that info, Alex didn't know a lot about the veneficus. His skills were up to date, but yet he didn't even know about what he was involuntarily signing up for.
This frightened Alex a bit…
A quiet knock on the door interrupted Alex's thoughts. Alex got up from his cot, and opened the door. It was his mother, a bit flushed, but with good nature.
"Your friend is here to see you." Then Vibia walked down the steps of the stairs.
Alex raced after her, wondering if it was Crispian or Lore, or both. He rushed into the front shop, which was empty of customers (the day was finished, the sun set) and there was Angelina, the girl at the market who was the only one to talk to him without insults and empty threats.
"Oh…hi,"
"Hello Alex."
"What are you doing here?" Alex sounded a bit rushed, as he had just sprinted down his stairs.
"Just came to drop by,"
All was quiet now. The harsh winds pounded the villa. The twins started to laugh in union, quite manically, somewhere in the dining room. Alex's shadow from the moonlight had become quite big, and covered Angelina's face.
"And I wanted, to see how you were." She was very hesitant.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, yes, everything…"
"Well I'm all right."
Again, an uncomfortable silence settled in. Great talk was heard behind in the dining room. It unnerved Alex, how much of a difference there was here and over there.
"So you'll be at the festival?"
"Definitely."
"Okay. Bye."
Alex waved as she exited the door. He was still there as he pondered her visit. Something wasn't right. It was too random.
Carefully making sure that he was silent to his family, Alex left his home, and trailed Angelina.
She was at the crossroads by the time Alex swiftly caught up to her. She went down the path to the magician neighborhood.
It seemed she too was dabbing in magic business. And so, as Alex predicted, she went into the boy's home.
Grinding his teeth, he too slipped in.
The house was brightly lit, and was laden heavy with decorations. Exotic glass vases lined about the tables and near window stills. The kitchen (which Alex was in) was dark and very large, inferring that this high-class family had more then the usual number of kids from lower classes (probably…three). Out into the next room, the dining hall, the smoothly carved chairs and table reflected the moonlight, casting a gray shadow all around the hall, even into the next room, presumably the study.
But after the incident at the other magician's house, Alex knew not to go into the study, as most magical things would be there. And Angelina seemed to have veered to the left and out of sight.
Alex, with the desired silence, made it to the dining hall and peeked into the study. Nobody there. Then the left hall it was…
Also rather empty. But Alex still blindly walked to the end of the hall, where he heard an argument going on. Not that it was the nicest thing to hear, as Crispain's and Lore's quarrels saw to that.
"…I told you what happened. Leave him alone,"
That was Angelina's voice. It was very defensive, and "him" seemed to be Alex. This said person smiled at this thought.
"But it wasn't satisfying, your information. So, one, you cannot go home yet, two, you still have to spy on him. I'll inform your parents you and I am doing business and have nothing to worry about. And they don't."
There was a rude sound and a gasp. "As if,"
"It's not like I'm going to hurt you…"
Alex was suddenly conscious of his vulnerable position. A demon could be around any corner…
Alex burst out the front door and didn't stop running until he reached his house, where he somewhat managed to get in without anyone noticing. He had enough of what he had heard.
Alex pieced what he could together. His parents had indeed got someone to tail Alex and see where he went. Well someone was going to. Already Angelina had checked up on him. Who else would come? And the someone was the boy magician.
Stupid idiot kept messing in my business. He'd be the death of me, thought Alex.
Alex finally decided to retire for the night.
Dawn came in due time, and Alex prepared himself for the day. He washed up with what scarce water, and waited for the onslaught of customers, trying to get their bread before the festival.
Alex sighed, walked up to the door, unlocked it, walked back to the counter, and flexed his fingers. The day would be like when he, Lore and Crispain sold their bread.
And with that, slaves of all nations representing their masters came rushing, coins and goods jingling and bouncing at their sides. Alex smiled. He liked doing business.
The demon was unnoticed when first arrived, looking like a regular Egypt captive war slave. How convincing the demon was.
Alex had not looked onto the planes for over a day. So he could not know that a djinni was here. Nor did he think would there be danger. And he did not pay to much attention other then to his business; he did not sense a suddenly larger aura compared to the other customers.
The djinni patiently waited in line for his turn, preparing his speech over and over again. It would have loved to just blow the kid up with a simple Detonation, but of course, charges were charges. And so, the djinni had to somehow lure then boy out of view, and then do that simple Detonation.
Finally, after five gut-wrenching minutes of waiting, the djinni came to Alex.
Alex did not care to look through the planes. The threat of some one wanting to kill him was lost from his mind, for the moment.
The demon fumbled with his coins, and they spilled out of its hand. The other customers, scrambled for the flipping loose bronze coins. The demon was furious at this wild behavior, and then calmed himself. The boy was all that mattered.
This boy in question was trying to put off the others, but the djinni held out a hand, stopping Alex.
"Come with me boy. I'll pay you while these animals fight over mere coins like dogs over meat rinds."
Alex was a bit surprised especially at an educated slave, but he complied. The slave man hopped over the counter with startling speed and agility. Alex dismissed this, as the slave was in fit shape.
Which really, should have put him off; no slave to a high-class family would be in such good shape. In fact, most were either in a malnutrition state, or completely overweight. Only the army men were in good shape. They had the right amount of food in their diet, and were constantly marching.
The two walked into the presently vacant kitchen, and the unknown demon closed the door. By now, Alex's suspicion had kicked in and at last had checked the planes. It was like the government responding to a complaint: slow, cautious and very neglecting.
With that, Alex listened to the newly discovered demon. After it gave its money, Alex nodded, and walked off.
The demon frowned. It could not kill Alex now with magic; it would blow the house down, something its master did not want. Furious, it walked out the shop exit.
Now that Alex was certain the boy wanted, or bribed, to kill him, he kept a cautious eye for any unusual activity and other abnormities. But no imps, djinni or shady people could possibly be assassins. So Alex was relieved for a bit of time.
Now that his counter job was over, as the shop was being locked down and closed for the festival by his father, Alex would then help the rest of his family get their bread stall ready. (The same one that Alex, Crispain and Lore had used) They would travel via the family cart to the grounds outside the heart of Rome and in a park outside the walls. Then Alex would stay with Crispain and Lore after the stall was up, and hopefully miss the entrance speech by the boy. They would then of course be having fun, eating as much as provided, then going to the entertainment "sources" with Alex stopping by his family portable stall to occasionally help out with the selling.
It was surprising that Crispain could come, for his family was high class and should have not been allowed in. However, his proud father helped with the festival, and so his family could easily come without being stopped by the guards. And the Roman aristocrats could do anything, especially with a large sack of fat gold coins; there were really no stopping high-class people from coming; they basically organized the event.
Alex looked out the window; people were already beginning to leave their homes and to the fair. Carts bumped along with goods by the ton, bound to be sold; animals whined and shouted as they were whipped along. Scents of spices and fresh foods were very noticeable to Alex and seemed a lot more attractive then his family's special honey bread and other treats.
Alex was drawn from this view to his own little pile. He threw the last of the baskets into the cart and hopped on, waiting for his family. The day was still bright, and was one of those rare days where it wasn't too cold. Yes, quite hot, but it would cool down as the sun went down.
Alex had his pouch full of useful items. One of which was a special knife given by Jorge.
It had a three and a half inch bronze hilt that fitted Alex ominously well; comfortable, but itchy at times. The blade was 5 inches, strangely with silver doctored in. And there was Latin etched on both sides of the blade, "peace" (pacis) the other saying "beware" (caveo). Jorge had said with the proper training, with a flick to the earth, or anything flat and hard, the knife would face you with either pacis or caveo, and refer to the danger level, the hostility of someone unknown, or a decision. Or a greeting: a flash of the pacis side could mean "hello" or the opposite could mean, "stay away" or a challenge.
Another confusing thing about the knife is that it could take on two sheaths; one at the hip seemed to be the main place to put the blade, and yet it could be drawn from the other sheath at the ankle, to help one out of a sticky situation. And if the blade was to be taken from the owner, he/she could retrieve it from one of the sheaths. It was confusing, and seemed like a trick, but still nonetheless useful.
In the pouch was another magical object. A vial of some liquid could make you see a desired person or place. All it needed was a place for it to stand still and stay attracted. Then a simple, polite command in Latin was needed to use the imp inside to go find the certain thing. It was like a scrying glass, only more convenient and disguised.
And then there was your glass of Greek fire, the book of spells, and a lot of coins. Mostly silver currency, thin, but large.
Alex knew that he and Crispain had to share money with Lore. She was very poor, as their family had been disgraced a long time ago. And plus, she would have to sneak out of her abode. Not that it would be hard though. Just she couldn't stay out for long.
Then every member of the family came out. They were a happy bunch, as if completely oblivious to the world to come; the Dark Ages, Jorge had predicted. His family looked radiant in the sun, all smiles and laughs. Alex could be there, in the full show of the sun's rays, looking like the most perfect thing. If only there was such a thing.
With the stall set up, Alex went hunting for his friends. A couple of familiar families were in the market area, but he cared not to greet them. In all sense, he should have, as he wanted to wait out the speech, but something in his instinct told him to rush.
As he entered the center of the huge mess of stalls and entertainment outside of Rome, he stopped in his tracks. The boy was still giving his speech. And Lore appeared to be with him, on stage.
This was a surprise.
Lore was sitting on an elegant stool, looking a bit embarrassed. In her eyes, she was very desperate, but didn't seem to look for an escape. Either she didn't want to slip away with all eyes on her, or she just seemed a bit soiled by the massive attention.
With that, Crispain came flying into him, knocking them both beyond the mini walls of stalls, and separating the main speech from the rest of the festival. The boy's voice echoed across the grounds.
"Where the hell were you? Lore and I were waiting for you at the speech ceremony, when that magician came, and basically abducted her."
Indeed, both Lore and Crispain were in what appeared their best tunics. Nicely washed and of the nicest material, Crispain's was. It had to be extremely expensive and rare; only the best agents could possibly get it. His hair was washed carefully and deliberately, and his sandals were of the best leather. Lore's wasn't quite as valuable, but it was obviously the best in her wardrobe.
"What?"
"Yes. He pushed me aside as if I was air, and dragged her to the center."
"And you didn't stop him?"
"How could I?"
By now, the speech was wrapping up, and Lore was beginning to be extremely grateful that she hadn't fully been shown to the crowd. The crowd had started to part, and as the boy finished his speech with a dramatic touch, the crowd loudly clapped for him, for they didn't seem too disgusted with him, nor did they feel any gratefulness for him, unless it was to finally get on with the feast.
Both Alex and Crispain emerged from the wall of stalls and waited impatiently with an air of fear for Lore to stagger down. The boy said some words to her, and then she was "dismissed". But she seemed honored by the few words, as she was flushed once she arrived to them.
"What the heck were you doing, cooperating with the enemy?"
She glanced at Alex, and then walked off to where the place of introductions would be.
Her two friends scurried off to catch up with her, Crispain the most annoyed.
"Well?" demanded Crispain.
"What is there to say?" replied Lore.
"You can start by saying why you were up there so patiently."
"What's there to explain? I had to stay with good will otherwise who knows what would have happened to us. To the commoners."
Crispain seemed a bit taken in by this, but was otherwise, very unconvinced. "I believe that you seemed proud of your chosen position. Even when this guy could have a demon kill any of these merchants with a clap of his hands."
"Now, he doesn't seem like the person to do that."
Now Alex and Crispain stopped following her and halted in their tracks. It was a huge shock, a corrupt magician, to be nice and all that other attributes that Lore hinted he had.
Five minutes later, Lore, Alex, and Crispain were in a large crowd of greeting men and women, wearing the best they could have, and flaunting it evidently. Men were making bets on the races later that evening, women were gossiping about rumors and whispers, as if they had nothing to do but talk rumors. Children ran around, ramming into people without pity. Crispain nearly tripped on a running child, shouting in despair once another two stumbled into him.
Alex left the greeting part so to avoid his old friends and especially the boy, but Crispain and Lore stayed to talk to people they knew. Alex would have loved to indulge in talking with all the people he knew. However, they all thought he was insane.
On his way to the family stall, Alex saw how terrible Rome's situation was; djinn were walking everywhere. And because of the lack of great magicians, several of the djinn looked rather pitiful and weak, something Alex could take down. By the time Alex reached his stall, he had seen over 2-dozen djinn, more than half as strong as a foliot.
Eloy saw Alex, asked no questions, and left for the greeting ceremony. Alex took his seat, and waited for the feast.
Usually, there were no visitors during this interval, everyone too busy with setting up their stall, or meeting old friends. But this time, several demons came up and ordered a piece of bread, or visited his stall and then went onto other stalls. Either demons needed to eat (Alex had not studied about djinn fully) or was fetching for their master. After the earlier event with the demon at his home, Alex got a huge fright. But he managed to give the change back without signs of fear.
Following several djinn customers came Angelina. Unlike her other appearance, Alex was not surprised. The boy would try to get Alex's position well known.
She ordered a slice of bread with honey slathered over it. As Alex followed her order, she didn't seem at all nervous like at the shop. She was calm, and collected, and even seemed a bit impatient with Alex's slow process with the bread order.
As she ordinarily paid for her buy, she whispered to him fearfully, "His demons are coming."
Angelina walked off in her own direction, leisurely chewing on the white bread, and suddenly turned to the left, and went her way. Alex stared after her tracks for a while, and then swept his head around in search of said assailants. Seeing not a thing out of place, Alex carefully drew out his silver knife, and placed it inconspicuously on the counter, and waited for one of his family members to come.
Subsequent to almost an hour of unbearable stillness and tiring alert anxiety, Eloy came back, saying farewell to a couple of people before arriving at the ever so frightened Alex. He hadn't really met a demon without help.
"You okay Alex?"
Alex quickly glanced up as if he was shivering in dead winter with nothing on.
"Yes. Yes, I'm good. Thank you for coming. Thought you left me,"
Eloy smiled, and took over, and Alex swiftly covered his large knife in his sheath and under his tunic belt. Shaking his head at his fears in such a beautiful place, Alex walked into the sunset, and to the feast awaiting him.
Crispain and Lore had saved a spot for him at the massive table out in the forest clearing. The feasting was sited at a long chain of forest clearings; large enough to accompany two massive tables and have cooks bring over foods of delight, and drinks of pleasure. Laughter could be heard all over the eating grounds, and shouts were loud and hearty, and forest animals fled in fear of the loud noises.
Crispain and Lore were finally getting along, laughing and collapsing before Alex could reach to them. Both were quite red in the face, and were talking gibberish.
Alex had taken a few bites already at his seat beside Crispain and neither had even indicated that they had seen him. Not very polite this was. He was technically the leader; yet still choose to all ignore Alex and suddenly be very friendly and chummy to each other.
Alex had finished a pig's leg, and was starting the leafy salad. But Crispain was leaned toward Lore in a way to avoid Alex. Lore was also annoying her neighbor, a thin man who was clearly low class. He had to edge away every few minutes.
Finally, Alex had enough. He carefully examined his spoon, and then lightly tapped it on the table. No reply. Then Alex kicked Crispain carefully as so to create a chain reaction. It was a massive one; Lore had knocked people all the way from there to the end of the table, comically tripping one of the cooks, who gave a roar as he came down.
After everyone had recovered awkwardly from the sudden force, finally Crispain looked to his right, to obviously see Alex, eating a slice of pie as if that whole incident had never occurred.
Alex waited for both of their attention, and then looked up.
"Oh hello. Having a grand time?"
Lore looked strangely at him, and slowed sat back into her seat, with a face of burned shame. Crispain didn't seem to realize what had happened. Furious, Alex burned inside and wasn't in the mood as he was last night.
Oblivious to the rotten moods, Crispain ate into his cold meal. Lore pushed it away in disgust. Alex had finished already and was planning to eat the newly set final course food. But Alex didn't feel like eating it yet; not while his other two friends were still eating. Despite Crispain's ravenous hunger, and Lore's sour appetite, they had seen what many hadn't the opportunity to. So it was like a bond unmatched, by anything existing. Silly as it may be to hold back dessert, it was still quite something, like the many cultures of the world.
Alex and Crispain soon finished up, silently worked things out, and left for the festival. Lore quickly followed up, squeezed between them, and they all began at the fortune stall…
An imp signaled to three high level djinn to come. They did so without haste. The boy in mind was at the gypsy stall, having first his hand read, then using the crystal ball to see into his future. The boy didn't seem impressed, and neither did his friends.
The imp, done its job, went back to report to its master while the djinn took out the boy.
The djinni in the center slipped into the shadows, and quietly became a poor, stubby Roman man, while his companions became little insects.
Alex finally managed to leave the stall of which he thought would be of some interest, only to have an old lady with a screechy voice, and rough hands, tell him nonsense. He visited a few stalls, and finally haggled over a crude mirror for a reasonable price. They were rare, and those that did exist were only blown glass with molten lead. Lore easily cheated off another merchant by getting a beautiful bracelet for a low price. Crispain was not so good at trading and was in turn ripped off when he bought a lean archery bow for almost the entire amount Lore had. But Crispain shrugged off Alex's protests and walked off to the exotic drinks.
Another few hours passed. The djinn kept their patience and still with caution trailed Alex; though the man djinni had to change a few features to make sure that Alex had not noticed it.
Then, Alex and his companions were hit with a massive crowd of people, shouting, bargaining and laughing. He was separated by his friends and was alone as he pushed through the crowd. The djinn looked at each other, and then they decided to strike.
Alex busily was pushing people out of his way, as they were being rather blind and shoving him to one side like a beggar. Then he realized how vulnerable his position was. Alex stepped to one side, much further away from Crispain, who was trying to reach Lore. Alex reached into his bag, and slowly pulled out his silver weapon…
BOOM! Suddenly, Alex was blown to one side as something green landed near his feet and blasted him into a tent. Only his resilience saved him. Everyone stopped for a moment, wondering what had happened, and then they fell into chaos. Stalls became messes when people ran over them to get away from the danger. Human soldiers, who were trying to halt the commoners and put them at rest, were trampled as the frightened commoners fled like wolves upon sheep. Lore and Crispain were just about to be united, only to be roughened away to opposite sides of the pathway. Alex was just getting up with his knife at the ready. In just a matter of minutes, all the commoners were gone, as were the djinn guards, and Alex was alone.
Alex flexed his hand and held the dagger in front of him. He had never practiced using it, or sparring, so Alex knew that he needed something else. He was thinking of using a spell, but against a djinni, that would work too long. Would using one of the vials work?
Then the sound of large wings beating sounded through the air. A peculiar scent was suddenly noticeable. Screeches pained Alex's ears, and made him sweat uncontrollably. Smoke rose in the air, forcing Alex to cough it out. Then, the djinni came.
It did another Detonation, and hit Alex's knife. The Detonation reflected into a ruined tent. Alex stared at the dagger, amazed. Then, Alex smugly smiled.
A Spasm here, an Inferno there, two Convulsions turned aside. Finally, three rapid Detonation fired in succession were turned away by a simple twirl of the knife, and hit the djinni squarely on the chest. It fell out of the sky, chest on fire. It did not get up.
Alex backed away, so slowly he did not feel any progress. Then he ran away.
Alex stumbled out of the smoke to see utter panic. Commoners and merchants alike fled the scene and were uncontrolled. Soldiers attempted to stop them, only to fail miserably. The commoners ran toward the city gates, where they were finally halted and calmed. Djinn flew into the same abbess that Alex had tried to escape.
Alex looked wildly for his family, instead, spotted Crispain and Lore huddled around a fire. Night had long fallen, and Alex had traveled for at least an hour, and so did the other djinn that were accompanying the djinni, which Alex had miraculously killed. They had spread to the other shows and other stalls and either destroyed them, damaged some part, or threw the stalls to some place a longs way from where they originally were, and also ate some of the animals, humans etc. With this attack and its effect, many families were packing up what they had left and were returning home with a furious look on their faces.
Crispain and Lore walked over to Alex, they eyes full of questions. Alex answered them all.
"So…" Crispain took out his own silver dagger, pulled it out of the sheath, and stared at it in wonder.
"Or does it have to do with silver?"
All three looked at each other.
"Alex!"
Alex turned to find the source of his searcher, and got his entire family. His twin brothers, his mother and his father, were looking ash fallen but safe. But…
"Alex!"
His twin brothers ran to his side and cried tears into his dusty robe.
"What…"
"Alex."
Alex turned to his third call and looked at his father. His usual jolly eyes were full of melancholy and asceticism. Then, the news came out.
"Eloy's dead."
This made the twin boys shout even louder. Alex looked at his brothers, and then back at his father, this time his eyes wide and full of rejection. Alex could not say anything, yet opened his mouth. Eloy, just a young man, with a future ahead of him, was dead, from the djinn that had ruined his day. Now Alex felt the night close in on him, choking and collapsing everywhere, the ghosts, the sins, the demons all came crashing down, faster, faster, faster—
"Alex."
This time, it was his mother. Alex turned with awkward grace.
"We lost everything. Our cart. The stall. Our bread. The horses. Everything."
Everything. Everything. Everything. Everything.
It echoed in Alex's mind as if nothing in the world existed, or more correctly, nothing in the world mattered. Everything precious, that mattered, that was—
Then Alex pushed his brothers off, and ran off into the forests. He did manage to get into the bushes, only to trip on a root. Alex would have laughed at himself for that, in better times. When Eloy was around.
Alex couldn't release those tears, and he for once, wanted them out. It was being contained too long, too much, too little time to break them out. Alex sat leaning on an oak tree, the world blackening.
Crispain and Lore were soon by his side, helping him sit up straighter. Alex felt bile rise in his throat, only to go back down with a disgusting fragrance.
"I told you Alex, I'm sorry, but I told you…"
And Alex stared at Lore despairingly.
Leo
Two Days Later
Meanwhile, far beyond Rome's steadily weakening iron fist, armies of battle hardened men and horrid djinn marched in the dark, without a single rest of sleep or a single meal. Neither men nor djinn felt the pain of hunger or the lull of sleep; their leader kept harassing them on. They knew that their pain would be rewarded with the burning and looting of Rome.
Leonard had his comrades wait ahead while he reported back to Odoacer, their master. Leo was just flying up above the columns of djinn when he heard the horse but load cry of his master. Odoacer couldn't possibly perform a summon during march, so he settled for screaming through an imp horn.
The sky was dark, cloudy, and it began to rain. The weather from Rome had come to here. It was the morning, a few hours after last night's occurrence with Nero and Bartimaeus.
Leo and his companions knew what was ahead: more punishments by Odoacer. Already they had failed to get the cube from Nero before, and now they couldn't get the cube again nor the chance to assassin the babe emperor. It was a huge surprise that Odoacer had not punished them to his full extent before. He was too busy with some other affairs.
All of a sudden, the large column had stopped, presumably to wait for the vanguard's report. People began to light fires, set up tents, and beginning to eat and relaxing for the next march. And it was their first stop in over a few days. Leo dropped to an area where a few djinn stayed motionless. Once Leo landed, they scattered, awed and fearful of his great power. Leonard walked to the biggest tent, in the center of the column. It wasn't lavished with great goods and rares, merely rather large and cozy. Leo entered the tent with a feeling of uncertainty. Perhaps Odoacer wanted him to continue looking for the cube.
Odoacer was instead, waiting for Leo.
"Sit Leonardo."
This was odd for Leo, but he complied.
"You have been wondering why I have not punished you to your deserved degrees. I can understand. But it is easy. I am too busy researching the complete fall of Rome; because I know it cannot be done by power. Hannibal demonstrates that, as he was much clever and more powerful then the Romans. But in the end, the latter prevailed. So not power, not strategy. We cannot win by playing our strengths. Yes, we will get far, but not finish the job. We can only exploit their weaknesses, and blow them through those cracks.
"It's the perfect time. But there's no chance. No one knows Rome's weak point. They can be weak, but still stable. So, I went in search for that break point. I sent djinn to find as much as I can. I was not disappointed, like I was with you Leonard,"
Leo winced.
"As a bit off topic, how did you not even kill the two djinn? Do tell, as you had the perfect chance."
Leo didn't like what was about to come.
"Well, erm, the first time, it was too public to actually kill them. You do understand that master? Good. As for the second time…"
By the time the story came out, it was clear what was to come.
"You slacked off! How could you? You and your afrit brothers could destroy them with a flick of your power! One was inexperienced, the other, much weaker! How?"
"Yes, well one was around for at least three thousand years, and the other had a lot of power, so they covered each other's weaknesses!"
Odoacer looked about to punish his slave, then he faltered. It was clear how underestimated Nero and Bartimaeus were. And there was just that lecture by Odoacer on how you must exploit the weaknesses, and not on your strengths.
"Hmm…more work to get rid of two simple djinn! Now, back to Rome's weaknesses. It seems there are none, correct? I thought so too! But now with the information I have received…
"You have heard of Troy, yes? Good! Then I can get to the real point. The Aeneads, the survivors of Troy, was said to have fled to Mount Ida. But no surviving scripts that have been found say where they settled. I thought they died out. But when I sent out my djinn, one of them brought back a hidden, lost artifact, a lost tale of Homer's."
Leo could not see where this was going.
"You know of how the war had gone on for ten years. Only in the last year did some signs of change show, only because Achilles intervened. The army of Troy was well trained and equipped to hold off the massive Greek army. And Rome's army, on a side note, is of the best in the known world."
Then Leonard saw the inference.
"You are saying that Rome descends from Troy?"
He wasn't able to accept that fact, but something about that piece seemed to complete the puzzle.
"Very hard to see, aye. But if you were to look closely through all the info my djinn found, it would seem to work out easily."
"Let's say Troy's son's are Rome's fathers. Why would that help?"
"How did Troy fall?"
"They were too obsessed with their god concepts and were too blind to reject the Trojan horse. And then the Greeks came back while the Trojans celebrated, the Greeks hidden in the horse burst out and opened the gates and the Greeks flooded in. But the Romans aren't that blinded with the gods anymore."
"But the Trojans were tricked. We can do that with Rome."
"How? No way to trick them, yes?"
A man stepped into the large tent. He was armed to the teeth, and had many furs lavished over his armor.
"When do we start to leave sir?"
The man was very impatient and restless to get on moving. All the men were, despite their tired limbs tugging on their souls.
"Eager are we? Good. We depart in an hour,"
The man looked satisfied, and bowed, then left.
"Now, Leonard, as I was saying, there is a way to trick them. Troy was indeed too awed by the gods, but their got moral from their beliefs of Apollo being on their side. With that moral, they prospered. The Romans are advanced in terms of technology. One way they have done this is by creating a place to create a type of cleanness: a sewage system. It is connected from several homes which have that accessibility, which all drain out to one source way out from the pipelines. And from what I understand it seems that they are rather sizable. And my djinn also tell me that there are several points from the forums that are used for divesting waste. With this, we can penetrate any point in Rome."
Leonard froze with this information. At last! A way to end his charge! And it was a way to destroy those magicians.
"So, I need to you go the main palace via sewage. You can cause as much damage, only after you get the cube. With the cube, the Romans can still retort our attack with that great spirit."
Leo was about to stand up and leave, but as he turned to the exit, Odoacer said one more thing.
"A couple more things Leonard. One, leave the infant emperor alone, I want to deal with it. Two, kill those djinn for good."
Leo smiled at the prospect of destroying those pests. And one of his uttuku friends had mentioned how that Bartimaeus had almost single-handedly destroyed the uttuku force attacking Egypt. An enemy of a friend killed.
Just as Leo flew away from the large column, it started moving loudly again. Time was short. It had to be today.
Leo arrived at where his brothers sat patiently. They were well protected by the heavy rain. They heard Leonard's footfalls. The Brothers stood up, waiting for the order.
"We go today."
BartimaeusI highly doubted that we could have gone any slower to going to Rome's center. Constaine also couldn't have been more of a burden then an afrit can be. And Nero couldn't have been more awkward then he usually is. I would hate to see his writing; it would be rather bumpy and amateurish.
Trudging through the rain for hours, we reached the palace in a rather sorry condition. I would think not to explain how the great Bartimaeus was a wet dog. But I turned into the bright and merry Ptolemy and almost pushed past the guards with something that looked like eagerness, only to actually be impatience. Constaine scolded at this, but did a similar move when the guards did not have him go through. The frog, which was now a counselor, slipped in, while Nero knocked over the one on the right rudely, so it was a close affair.
But Constaine was somehow very well known, so we were admitted, even though Nero and I couldn't go to our master. But there were still skeptical eyes, very, now that the Brothers had managed to get so far into the city as pitiful Roman soldiers. We were in just as suspicious forms. But our master came down the hall with two other djinn by his side, and he called Nero and I over. We did so with a little bit of hesitance. The master did not seem to mind this, but instead walked fast to a large set of majestic doors 1.
They opened with a smooth swing and to a grand room. I can't even start to say how pitiful it was to when the pyramids were built 2, or the Parthenon 3, or even when this room was more professionally built decades ago. Now it had been sort of redesigned to something a lot cheaper and less first class. But that wasn't the point to me; they completely ruined the architect foundations. Just shows you how simple-minded humans are. Yes, arcs here, gold there, gems glued into just about everything, but the room clearly was unstable. Things looked tilted, random small bumps occurred in the floor, and the wall's paint had thickened in one unsystematic place, and thinned in another. Anyone blind to riches or never seen riches would be impervious to these small mistakes.
My master was seated at a table near the head quickly, and other high men. Afrits walked with an air of provocation, as the recent attacks on Rome were most disturbing, even for us spirits. After we entered, the door slammed shut ominously loud, preventing anyone from coming in, or going out. Soldiers of djinn and huge humans surrounded the door, from both sides. It was clear that paranoia had settled in Rome.
Now that everyone was here, it was no use standing around pointlessly; the acting emperor for the youth, Romulus Augustus, was here, and at the head of the massive fifteen-foot table. The real emperor, Romulus himself, sat looking small beside his advisors.
Actually, he wasn't truly emperor. His father, Orestes, used to be master of soldiers, or Magister militum, for the emperor, Julius Nepos, only to later cause a coup d'état and force him out of Rome. Then he did the odd and stupid motive of putting his son on the throne when he was only about ten. And ironically, Orestes used to be a secretary for Attila, Nero's old master.
Of course, the Western Empire had become a shadow of its once great self, due to heavy invaders and internal uprisings that imperial authority could only be centered by Ravenna and Rome. The hegemony that Rome once had over its Germanic States was long gone, the real power behind the throne lately was from foreign allies. And with a ten year old on the throne, it was only bound to get worse. The Eastern part of the split Roman Empire had now dismissed its counterpart as a client state, or, inferior. The two generals fighting for the Eastern throne, Zeno and Basiliscus, hadn't view Orestes as ruler.
And Orestes had more troubles. Heruli, Scirian and Turcilingi mercenaries had demanded for a third of Italy. Orestes, being predictably greedy, downright refused. So, they rebelled under Odoacer and created a massive force, as faced when I rumbled with the vanguard force attacking the outpost days ago. Now, recently, on August 28th 476, a day after the Jail Incident, it was received that Orestes was captured when he went on a fool-hearted journey to defeat the forces of Odoacer near Piacenza and executed. Hence the reason Constaine went through the pouring rain to see us, as our master was too lazy to bother to summon us by pentacle.
"You all know why we have come here on such short notice. Our leader," said the acting emperor with a taste of disgust. "Our leader had been taken out, as has most of Rome's forces. The situation is simple. We need more soldiers."
Though the men were very good at hiding the fear from their faces, the air tenser then stone. You could have almost sliced the air with a knife. Not that I would do such a fool-heated thing. It was simply a figure of speech.
"Because of our defeat, the majority of Rome's army is gone. The barracks are empty. Many books with djinn names will have to be reedited. So, two things: One: within an estimate of a week, we need to have magicians summon an average of a dozen djinn per man."
Usually, the lazy magicians would groan at this. But their existence was dependent on them staying up summoning and summoning. At least this got them alert.
"Two, we need the residents to be recruited and trained. This will be the job of who that remains from the army. Ravenna cannot support us, nor can the Eastern Roman Empire,"
We all knew why.
"This needs to be completed efficiently with satisfying results. When they attack, the walls will be fully protected with djinn, spells, archers and other powerful weapons to hold off the invaders and force them into a siege, something we can afford. The Eastern Empire will not support us now, but will once they hear their great city is now under siege. All residents, once the city is attacked, are to take refuge in a safe place while their houses are unfortunately used for battle stations, and to make sure no women and children and the elderly are hurt by there barbarians,"
Actually, I doubted this acting emperor would truly care for his commoners, as all magicians are.
"If we force them into a siege, the estimated time that we can stand is about six months. We have huge cellars, and as long as our walls situate stably and our gates closed and rigid, we might even surpass that time if reinforcements come. Any questions?"
Why would there be? The magicians were too afraid to rack their brains for loose ends, and needed any comfort. And we spirits saw no way it could harm us that we could lose our lives them the possibilities are now.
"Good! Now lets move out! Start recruiting and summoning! Stock as much harvest into the cellars, and begin to evacuate the population tomorrow! Remember, we can only fight back if we are in a siege, not face to face!"
1. Majestic as in gold trims, a polished brass handle and made of the finest wood, with decorations of rare minerals and other precious metals. Didn't impress me, despite it being one of the most expensive sets of doors in the most powerful city in the world. LeoMeanwhile, down below the magician's feet, four dark figures hopped into a sizeable hole, which led into sewers of Rome, about a meter in diameter. The last one, clearly shadowed by his companions' higher power, looked over his shoulder with sharp eyes, then dived in after a couple minutes after his brothers.
They were in waist deep water, waist as in about half a meter, as they were of different shapes and sizes. But it sure was filthy. And the current was going against them, as the water was flowing out of the pipes, so that considerably slowed their mobility, and it was too low to fly. But them easily managed.
Odoacer had given them a rough set of directions that led to the palace. The four followed it and came indeed to a pipe overhead that led to bright lights and a majestic ceiling. Leo hopped up high, and grabbed a low bar and pulled himself up. Them a maid dumped a whole bucket of water down the pipe, to hit Leo square in the face. He didn't back down, though sputtering, jumped from that slim bar and into the room.
It was well decorated, with many luxuries that were displayed in the conference room. Bright colours and bright imp lights blinded Leo, as he had just come from the darkness of the sewer. But as a spirit, he easily adjusted and saw the better details of the room. One thing that was most interesting—
Then Michelangelo smashed into Leo, knocking him to the ground. Leo jumped back onto his feet, and snarled at his brother, and then got his other brothers hastily up from the sewers into the bathroom. They looked at each other, and then walked out in a single file.
No one was in the corridor, so they quickly ran out into another one. In that one, there was an afrit, but its back was turned, so the four slipped into another hall. But in all their haste to escape the afrit, they didn't see what they were going into: the main hall. Humans walked to and fro in haste to complete their duty. Djinn walked slowly with piercing eyes. A pair of these piercing eyes saw the four conspicuous spirits. It widened its eyes, and the whole hall seemed to pause.
Then Leo knew what he was stuck in. He lifted his hands, shifted into a fighting stance, and began.
BartimaeusPeople were getting up, their fingers fidgeting, their minds clearly befuddled. But they knew their goal. At least magicians could put their lazy behinds to achieve that.
Outside however, loud bangs, and crashes and shouts were heard, instantly freezing the magicians. The guards, both djinni and man, ran to the door. Nero and I had to follow suit. One curious guard peered outside, and gave a massive yelp. He whipped the door open. With so many crowded around the door to protect the magicians, some never saw the commotion. Good thing too.
Smoke flew everywhere, sparks flying, bright lights in the fray of the panic: the center of the hall. The hall was incredibly big, possibly half a kilometer long. Bodies were along the sides of the room, clearly hit with magic. In the center, a huge smoke column had formed; some floating over to us and making the humans cough hoarsely. But their instincts didn't faulted. They flooded what portion of the hall they could, meeting some of the guards that had now arrived from the other side of the hall. Djinni, afrits and humans surrounded the column of smoke, bright lights, and explosions. Within a couple of minutes, the noises and illuminations ceased, and soon the smoke flew away.
In the center, some spirits stood when I thought they had decided to pack up and leave: the Brothers. Around them, bodies of djinn and afrits lay dead, clearly taken out without much effort. The Brothers seemed very ready for a good fight.
The humans formed a phalanx of silver spears and heavy shields. It seemed formidable and impenetrable; that is, to a human. To a djinni, it was nothing, even with the silver spears. And so to demonstrate, All four shot Detonations at the men, throwing them in what space wasn't already filled with bodies, even stacking to make a few small piles. Many were dead, but some had mere bruises, others with massive wounds that revealed flesh. Those with less horrible injuries had their spears deflect one of the four Detonations.
Then afrits and djinn alike ran at them, in the air or by foot, they had the Brothers disappear entirely from my view, clearly the Brothers seemed deader than that pig I had to slaughter for my master.
Smoke and debris flew once again all over the hall, making the magicians curious at the doors retreat back in a fit of coughing. Screams soon emitted from the fray, hopefully of the Brothers'. Before long, the commotion ceased, and all spirits involved in the latest braw were either dead or knocked out. Only a few afrits and a dozen djinn were standing, a pitiful amount compared to what the total was minutes ago. But the Brothers once again had disappeared.
We ran out throughout the palace as a response to our masters' commands and shouts, barely leaving a space unobserved, and moving fast and with mobility, covering dozens of square meters in a few minutes and desperate to prevent the Brothers from killing or damaging anymore. Most of us just wanted to survive our charges.
Nero and I flew through rooms, leaving screaming servants and aristocrats in shock, our eyes peering at any possible hiding spots. We landed by a stair railing, turned our form to quick runners, and smashed into the nearest room on the third floor.
By chance, it was already unlocked and the room was the safe room, with Rome's most precious weapons and jewelry. The Brothers were looting of course. But when Nero and I observed the treasures, in fight stance, not many were disturbed; just a few gold coins were on the ground, as if someone had stumbled into a pile of carefully stacked coins. The marid, Leo's aura of his power, was very clear on the planes. We followed it past a many powerful weapons, many rares, and countless other objects that would have helped the barbarians. But no, none of that was touched. But at the far end of the room, there was a marble plinth, and it was empty. And Nero and I both knew what it was supposed hold: the black cube. But its mysterious storms behind the glass were nowhere to be seen. It was clear where it had gone; the secure window behind the plinth was open to the night sky, and four figures were flying off to the distance.
Apologies for the last part being delayed, but it was too long to put it all together, so the last part will be posted in about a couple of months. Sorry, but
One: yes I do have a life
Two: School is unfortunately part of my life.
I hope my Latin is correct…