Chapter 4

Bartimaeus

Oh, this was interesting. The painful, prickling feeling in my bowls started up. Someone was summoning me. But who? It was presumed dead after Nathaniel's fall(1.) My name had been erased from all demonology(2) books. No one knew I still existed.

No one but Kitty.

But it couldn't be Kitty calling to me, could it? But she's not a magician…(3)

Anyway, I allowed the summons to take me. Perhaps I'd get someone interesting. It had been five years since I'd last been summoned, and honestly, I didn't mind all that much. Hmm, so many guises I could take. So many choices. I decided to take the form of Ptolemy.(4)

When the binds of the summoning brought me to Earth, the first thing I did was look around. I was in a one roomed apartment. The bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, and living room were all in one.(5) It was a dreary place really. One window and one door. No carpet, so it was really drafty. The entire place was lit by a single candle.(6) My pentacle was drawn well enough, so there'd be no way for possible escape. Oh well. Karma always comes back to hit you. Look what happened to Nathaniel.

I looked into the face of my master and smiled.(7) "Kitty."

"Bartimaeus." Kitty replied. She was extremely tired from the looks of it. She had the baggy eyes and everything.(8)

"What's up?"

I could tell Kitty had been holding back a yawn. She caved in and did so. She stretched as well. I looked over to the clock. One o'clock in the morning. Odd. Especially with someone like her. You'd expect them to summon a being such as myself after they've rested. But Kitty looked as though she hadn't gotten sleep in days. Kitty broke my thoughts.

"I need your help."

Ptolemy shifted an eyebrow. "For what?"

"My master—Mr. Button—has been murdered. Just yesterday in fact."

"And…?"

"And—I know I don't usually do this—but I was wondering if you could try to figure out what happened."

Ptolemy raised his eyebrow again. "You mean like a charge?"

"No. I'm not a magician."

"Sorry(9), but using magic and being successful in it is being a magician. Besides, you've summoned me and you're asking me to do something. That's a charge."

Kitty stopped for a moment to think this over. "That may be so, but you have a choice. You can either help me or not. You decision. You don't have to if you don't want to."

"So, you're giving me a choice?"

"Yes."

Ptolemy considered this for a moment. He was good at doing stuff like this in a detective-like manner. "Well, it is a murder case…And I do like murder cases…Um…"(10) Kitty was silent. I finished. "Okay, why not? I mean, it is a murder case."

"Yes, and we all know how much you love murder cases."(11) She stopped for a moment. I knew not to give her any lip. I could tell she was way too worn to deal with it. She continued. "Thank you, Bartimaeus."

That's where I grew a blank look. "Wait, what?"

"I said 'thank you' ever heard of it?"

"No."(12)

"Well, anyway," Kitty glanced over to a large pile of books on a 'table' if you could call it that. She breathed the rest. "I've got a lot of work to do."

Ptolemy looked over to the table and raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Why, what are you doing?"

"Don't worry about that yet. I'll tell you later."

Ptolemy shrugged. "Okay then," I turned my back on her, expecting her to tell me to stop. "I guess I'll be going then." A thought occurred to me. I turned back around. "What do I get out of this? I mean, I am willingly tying myself to Earth. What do I get?"

Kitty looked at me and smiled.(13) "If I can figure everything out, you'll see. And if memory serves, you'll like it too."

"Okay then," I said as I turned my back to her. "I guess I'll be going then." I was half hoping Kitty would stop me for a moment. She remained silent, deep in thought, I suppose. Ptolemy disappeared and was replaced by a pigeon. The pigeon took to the sky and flew out the window.

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(1) Or, I think he died. He dismissed me before I could find out. He must have though. He'd summon me if he lived. That and I was the only thing keeping Gladstone's staff from using full force in the first place. Yup, no doubt about it. Nathaniel was dead and gone. Oh well. Doesn't bother me none.

(2) Djinnology, as I prefer to call it.

(3) But then again, she went to the Other Place with me. The only other person to do that was Ptolemy, but he was a magician. Kitty surely defies all laws. She's not a magician, but she can cast a 'spell' strong enough for me to hear it in the Other Place. Only Ptolemy had been able to do that. But then again, he was the only one who tried. Damn. I'm confusing myself, but mostly you. I'm sure you're all lost by now.

(4) If I took the form of Kitty and she was the one who was summoning me, I'd feel a little embarrassed. Shut up. Don't even think about asking. Anyway, it was her, Nathaniel, or Ptolemy. No matter what Nathaniel did, he could never win me over. He kept me enslaved for two years straight. The bastard. So as you can see, he doesn't deserve to be remembered.

(5) Hence one room apartment. That means all the rooms are in one, if you didn't catch that. You didn't? Didn't expect you to. Humans are so dense.

(6) And the candles required for my summons. Forgot did you? Figures.

(7) No, it wasn't a happy smile. It was more sly, cunning, you know? Oh that's right, you people are humans. There's no way you'd understand. Okay, I'll try. Think of someone evil smiling when they re-meet someone they once knew. That was me. And no I'm not evil. God damn humans.

(8) Not good enough? Well let me try again: Her eyes were baggy and dark around the edges. Presumably from lack of sleep. Her posture was nothing of what I remembered. It used to be ready and willing for a fight. Now it looked tired and overused. She obviously had worn herself down to the point where the summons had drained her of all the energy she had. It was a surprise she was upright and talking. Her aura was surprisingly dull. Her usual aura lit the room. Now it was lucky to have lit the space around her. Kitty was wearing herself to the ground.

(9) Not really. Even to Kitty, I don't apologize. Never have. Not even to Ptolemy himself. Never once apologized, never will.

(10) All of this was a distraction to see if Kitty would loose her patience with me. Most magicians do when they summon me. But Kitty stayed silent and patient. She reminded me vaguely of Ptolemy.

(11) I could sense both the sarcasm and the weariness in her voice. Like I said before, she was wearing herself down to the ground. The summons had totally drained her.

(12) In all my life, I almost never heard anyone say thank you. Ptolemy had been the last before Kitty. You could see why it was a little shocking. Her attitude proved she was overworking herself. I was sure of it. Now to figure out why…

(13) It was a worn-out, warm smile. Not the kind people usually use. It was more like the kind you use when you tired, and you're being sarcastic at the same time. The expression on her face was totally alien to me. Defiantly didn't like it.

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A/n

Well, that's the chapter. Hope you liked it. Hope I got Bartimaeus down somewhat. Well anyway, next chapter coming soon.