Bartimaeus

We stared at each other for a few minutes. Me with my Minotaur hands on my hips, and him standing in the opposite pentacle both hands down at his side, gaze un-shifting. "Well get on with it!" I said, swinging a hand towards him in annoyance. The tip of my finger grazed the edge of the pentacle, I immediately withdrew my hand.

"Bartimaeus..."

"Bartimaeus what?" I interrupted, "Bartimaeus I am sorry I brought you into a war zone! Bartimaeus I am sorry I didn't keep my side of the deal, please keep yours? Bartimaeus..."

I drifted off here when I heard him starting to talk again.

"Bartimaeus, shut up! I am here in America and I need a good guard. I have chosen you, does that not flatter you?!"

"Does that flatter me?! (1) No, it doesn't! Nathaniel, you promised me that you would not ever make me come to this place. In return I have not told anyone your silly little birth name! Now you break the promise just like that?! Well let me tell you something you snobby little brat! I will make sure that every single spirit in the other place is singing your name with glee as they drift down through the skies of your world, I will make sure they are all begging to be in your service just so they can escape! I will make sure every single magician in the land shouts your names from the roofto-"

I stopped when I heard the first syllable of the shrivelling fire. I may have known his birth name, but if I was talking too much to have time to cast a counter spell; I would still end up barbecued. He stopped the spell when he realized I had stopped yelling and had braced myself.

"Nathaniel, send me back to the other place," I said more calmly. "We had a deal. You cannot possibly expect me to hold my side of the promise if you keep me in this god forsaken country."

He continued to just stare at me, well... not at me. Just in my direction, his gaze more distant as if he was staring in wonder at something behind me. Why was it always so difficult with him? Why was it that you always had to yell and scream to get his attention (2)?

"Bartimaeus, listen to me! I do not want to be here anymore than you do. But nevertheless I have to, what is more. Chances are I might die on this trip if I do not have a good demon at my side."

"Djinni," I corrected.

He scowled, than continued, "fine, 'Djinni' at my side. Either way, the point is I need a good guard if I am to survive my time here, and you are the best guard I know."

I could not believe he was expecting me to buy this crap! Yes, I would not mind working as a guard for him any more than I would another magician, but in America? Hell no I say! Hell no! The next second I found myself screaming "Hell no" over and over again at him.

"Ah, I thought you might say that" he said, a smile starting to form on his lips. "You do not have a choice in the matter."

"No choice?" I yelled, laughing so hard I nearly fell out of the pentacle. "Nathaniel! I know your birth name, how does that not get me any opinion on the matter?"

I threw my hands up for dramatic effect on the last word, my nails grazed the pentacle again. He really made this one small; I changed my form into Ptolemy.

"Bartimaeus, do you remember how I first dealt with you when you learned my birth name."

I thought about it for a second than said, "Nathaniel, I hate you. I really do."

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(1) Actually yes, it did kind of. But I was not about to let go of my freedom just to have the 'honour' of guarding a pretentious little brat. No, right now I wanted to be drifting in the other place.

(2) I repeat, HUMANS ARE THICK!

Well! I hoped you like this chapter guys! I thought I did a great job on it, please for the love of god leave reviews! I want to hear what everyone thinks! Roadrunnerkirby, thanks for the cookie! And that word which was repeated was supposed to be repeated. I assume your referring to when I said "had had." Cause read it again, it should be that way.