Chapter 10: The Explanation
By Conception.Creation
Disclaimer: The Bartimaeus Trilogy is the property of Jonathan Stroud
A/N: Thank you for your wonderful reviews! We'll be approaching the climax of this story in a few more chapters. Nari, I hope you feel better soon!
"I'm really not supposed to do this, but it'll help with the pain."
Kitty winced as Rebecca wound a strand of adhesive tape tightly around her ribs. After their dramatic escape, Rebecca had insisted on taping Kitty's ribs, seeing as it didn't look like Kitty would be getting any medical attention soon. At least this way she would be mobile.
The lonely call of a jackal pierced the cool night air. Rebecca fumbled nervously with the roll of tape, her eyes darting around at their surroundings.
"This place is creepy," She complained, pulling off another piece of tape.
Kitty agreed. Bartimaeus had deposited them deep in the ruins of Shali, an abandoned honeycomb of crumbling mud-brick buildings that towered above the town of Siwa. Everything was indistinct in the pale moonlight, which cast its eerie silver glow on the posts of empty black doorways. Kitty would much rather have been at home, but of course that was the first place Werfel was bound to look for her. Even Bartimaeus was no comfort. He was perched on the edge of a crumbing wall in the form of an eagle owl. His yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness, like a ghost in the shadows.
Rebecca let out a long sigh.
"Kitty, Bartimaeus, I just want to say, I'm really sorry about what happened. I gave you up, like a sniveling coward. Thank you for rescuing me anyways… I wasn't expecting that. It won't happen again, I promise you."
Kitty smiled and patted her arm.
"Hey, I wasn't going to leave you there," Bartimaeus said.
"What happened," Kitty asked, "How did they find you?"
Rebecca folded her arms around her.
"Dumb luck," She said, "I had just made it back to Siwa, when I ran into those men. They knew I was a magician the moment they laid eyes on me. They kicked me around, thought I was the one they were looking for."
"They're quite liberal with that accusation," Bartimaeus inserted.
Rebecca continued.
"They threatened to kill me. I was scared, so I said that it wasn't me they wanted. Then I told them what that djinni said," Rebecca hung her head, "They forced me to lead them to you."
"What exactly did you tell them?" Kitty asked.
"I told them the spirits had claimed that you were their master. I didn't know they were bursting out of you like fireworks… we got a live demonstration of that."
"Too bad you were asleep for it," Bartimaeus added, ruffling his feathers, "Pretty spectacular stuff, it was."
Kitty grimaced.
"How long has this been happening?" Rebecca asked, cocking her head to the side.
"I don't know," Kitty replied, "Bartimaeus, didn't you say you figure it's been happening ever since I visited the Other Place?"
The owl hooted its affirmation.
Rebecca stiffened. The roll of tape dropped from her numb fingers.
"You visited the Other Place?" She asked incredulously. Her eyes were wide with disbelief.
"You didn't know?" Kitty replied, "It's not a secret. It happened during the demon rebellion."
Rebecca shook her head, her brown hair fluttering wildly around her face.
"You never told me about that! I thought Ptolemy's Gate was purely theoretical."
"Bartimaeus and I managed it," Kitty said, her voice tinged with pride, "My aura's supposedly been unusual ever since."
Rebecca rocked back on her heels, eyeing Kitty speculatively.
"Kitty, how closely did you read the Apocrypha before making the trip?" She asked.
"Um, I had a magician summarize it for me after he skimmed the pages." Probably not the wisest choice, but they had been strapped for time. Her impulsiveness had resulted in a few unexpected side-effects, her premature aging, for example. It had been a small price to pay. She knew she would make the same decision one thousand times over if ever she was given the chance to do it over.
Rebecca smacked her forehead with a groan.
"You can't fool around with that kind of magic!" She cried, "Bartimaeus, you should know better then that!" Rebecca turned to glare at the djinni.
"Hey, don't look at me; I wasn't there!" Bartimaeus protested.
Rebecca sighed. Her expression became solemn as she leaned in towards Kitty.
"If you'd actually done some proper research, you wouldn't be in this situation," She said, "Many magicians have tried to invoke the Gate. All died. Any passageway through the elemental barriers of the Universe is inherently unstable. Theoretically, the only way a passage to the Other Place could be safely formed would be to shelter the gate within the magician's own body." Rebecca's eyes narrowed, "Of course, no magician would be foolish enough to turn themselves into a gateway to another dimension."
"What are you saying Rebecca?" Kitty's voice wavered. Did she mean…
Rebecca crossed her arms.
"What I'm saying is, for all intents and purposes, you are Ptolemy's Gate."
"Are you serious?" Kitty exclaimed.
"You've unwittingly created a portal within yourself. I suppose when you sleep you loose conscious control of the Gate and demons pop out of you left, right, and centre. Think about how many loose spirits we've seen!"
"It certainly explains why the Other Place has been so deserted lately," Bartimaeus said. He didn't seem terribly disconcerted by this new information.
"How do I get rid of this?" Kitty asked Rebecca. If this was true, she was nothing more than a walking disaster! She trembled, remembering the horrible destruction of the demon rebellion last year. The free spirits had ransacked the entire city of London in the space of a few hours. They had only been foiled by the brave magician who had sacrificed his life for commoner and magician alike.
Rebecca shrugged.
"How should I know? This has never happened before! Maybe we could find something in the Apocrypha…"
Bartimaeus cleared his throat.
"You can worry about all that later," He said fluttering down from his perch and landing in front of Kitty, "There's a much more pressing issue at hand. The two of you have to get out of this city right away. Werfel's not going to be happy when he finds out what happened. We can probably stay here till dawn, but then you need to get on the bus to Alexandria. Kitty needs medical attention, and then you can fly back to Britain from there."
Kitty frowned.
"You want me to leave Egypt?"
"You haven't got a choice," Bartimaeus replied, "Maybe you can come back when all this blows over, but for now–"
"But what about Mr. Button? If any of Samir's men make it back to Werfel, his life will be in danger. We have to help him."
"Live to fight another day, Kitty," Bartimaeus advised, "You're hurt, and tired, and a portal to the spirit realm. You can come back and help him when you're ready. There's nothing you can do right now."
"But–"
"I mean it Kitty. If you go back there, you'll die. I don't want anything to happen to you. Promise me you'll stay here."
"But–"
"Please Kitty." His eyes bore into hers.
Kitty looked away.
"I promise," She said.
It was several hours to dawn. Kitty quietly stepped over Rebecca's sleeping form and eased her way down the narrow corridor leading to the main part of the city. She glanced overhead at the form of the owl circling high above, silhouetted against the stars. He was watching for approaching danger, but hopefully Kitty could slip past unseen. She only wished she could say good bye, for she knew in her heart she'd never see him again.
"I'm sorry Bartimaeus," She whispered softly, "But I have to do this."