Chapter 30
Ptolemy
Ptolemy was now sure of what was causing the disturbance. It was a djinni of some power; One that would be able to match Bartimaeus. Two or three more made themselves known. Bad. Really, really bad.
Ptolemy glanced over to Iris. She was ignorant to everything he sensed. She knew nothing whatsoever. "Is something wrong Ptolemy?" She asked him.
At first, he didn't respond. What could he say? Anything on the matter would make him seem like a total lunatic. He decided to try the indirect approach. "Mrs. Jones, I think we should go."
"Why? I'm quite content with where I am." She studied him for a moment. "Is something wrong?"
Ptolemy bit his lower lip in frantic concentration. His eyes darted back and fourth as he tried to think of something to say. He needed to coax Iris and Alfred out of the house before it was too late. What could he say to do that? Kathleen's voice rang in the back of his mind. You can stay here with Mum and Dad. They won't mind, especially if you tell them you're a magician. What had she meant by that? Were Iris and Alfred afraid of magicians? Ptolemy decided to take a stab at it. "I'm a magician." He tried to sound as casual as possible.
Iris gasped. "You, Ptolemy? You're a magician?"
Ptolemy nodded hurriedly. "Yes. And I can sense something is here with us that shouldn't be here. We have to—" A loud thump from upstairs cut him off. Iris screamed. Ptolemy had spooked her.
Before either could react, a djinni came from behind. Neither saw it coming. But at that same moment, Kathleen returned. "Mum, Ptolemy, watch out!" Both turned to face her, but instead found the djinni hitting her with a Compression. It was tight enough—yet controlled enough—to restrain her from moving without hurting her. It was strong enough not to be effected by her resilience. Wait, how had he known she was resilient to magic? Had she told him? He couldn't recall.
But that didn't matter now. All that mattered was saving Kathleen—that was his first priority—and defeating the enemy djinn. But how? Bartimaeus was no where to be found.
Before Ptolemy or Iris could react, they were tied together by another Compression from the djinni. Ptolemy blacked out before he could see or hear anything else.
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A/n
Short chapter, I know. But whatever. Yeah…nothing to say…odd for me…