Chapter 33

Kitty

"Then what do we do now?" Ptolemy asked her.

"I say we pay a little visit to Miss. Jane Farrar."

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Kitty and Ptolemy had stealthily sneaked into Farrar's study. They had pretended to be new servants that had been hired by Farrar. None of the servants objected or wanted to see papers. Kitty vaguely wondered why. Kitty and Ptolemy made their way to her study unharmed.

Along the way, Ptolemy had stopped several times to look at one of Farrar's glass pieces or Persian rugs. Eyes wide with wonder and awe, he subconsciously reached out to a glass vase. Beautiful flowers were inscribed on it, crawling around and up the body of the vase. The vase sparkled in the light.

Kitty looked over her shoulder when she noticed Ptolemy was no longer following her. She walked back to retrieve him and set her hand on his outstretched arm. They exchanged glances.

Ptolemy's looked made her excited. Being able to touch him set shivers down her spine. She could feel herself blush. "Don't touch that," she ordered, breaking the trance. Before Ptolemy could reel her back in, she looked away and set off again for Farrar's study. She knew she could get lost in those sea-green eyes in the blink of an eye. She could stare into them for hours…

Kitty broke through her thoughts when she reached the door of Farrar's study—she and Ptolemy had asked where to go when they first came in. Without knocking, Kitty entered Farrar's study.

Inside, everything was a mass. All of the pentacles were somehow destroyed and papers were everywhere. Farrar sure had changed.

But she wasn't here. The room was vacant. It was evident that she had at one point been in the room, but she wasn't now.

"She's not here," Kitty stated the obvious. "Let's go." She started to walk out of the room. Ptolemy followed after her without question.

Kitty walked across the hall to another door. This one had scratch marks near the knob. Kitty thought about it for a moment, decided to take a chance of going in. "Get behind me," she commanded Ptolemy. He did as he was told. Kitty grabbed the doorknob, turned it fast, and pushed the door opened as fast as she could. She supposed fear was starting to grab at her.

Inside was the same as the other room. But there were a few differences. There was a bed in this room, for one. Everything was broken in some way. Even the chandelier on the ceiling was smashed. Farrar was at the top corner of her bed—the only thing that wasn't broken in some way—whimpering and sobbing. She was a sight for sore eyes. Kitty instinctively grabbed Ptolemy's arm, kept him behind her, walked over to Farrar. "What's wrong?" she asked her.

Farrar whined at first, then answered, "Kitty, I'm so, so sorry."

"What?"

Farrar began to tear slightly. "It was me. I did it."

Kitty's brow furrowed. "Did what?"

Farrar gulped, wiped away tears. "I…I did it. I killed Mr. Button. It's my fault he's dead." Farrar shook her head. "I'm so sorry."

Kitty was—for a moment—stunned. But soon she regained her vigor. "You what?" She shouted as she lunged for Farrar. But before she could hit her mark, Ptolemy stopped her.

"Don't," he warned. "She didn't mean to and you know it. Besides, she's our only ally. We need her."

Slowly, reluctantly, Kitty backed off. She hated to back down from a fight or challenge. But oh well. Soon she'd get Farrar back, anyway.

"You have to help me," Farrar croaked. "Before I hurt anyone else. Please!"

Kitty looked over to Ptolemy. He was looking down on Farrar with genuine pity. He looked up to Kitty, sealing her in another stare.

The stare was beautiful, and sweet. It transfixed her, giving her the feeling that she was being hypnotized. But she enjoyed it nonetheless. She welcomed it. She could feel herself blush, but she wasn't embarrassed. Instead, she smiled and looked at him, studying him. He had a good build…

"We have to help her," Ptolemy broke through the trance. It was funny, really. He didn't know how affective his stares were. "She needs us." God, he had such a beautiful voice… "Kitty?"

Kitty jumped ever-so-slightly and blinked. "Yes, alright. We'll help her." Ptolemy nodded. Both looked down on the pitiful sight that was Jane Farrar. She had fallen asleep. She looked as though she was trapped in a nightmare. No doubt she was.

Ptolemy's gaze met hers again. Again, Kitty got the sensation. She felt as though she was quickly sinking in quicksand. But she enjoyed the sensation, welcomed it. It was a feeling of floating and sinking at the same time. And she loved it.

Kitty began to daydream.

She imagined herself sitting by the Nile's coast with Ptolemy sitting next to her. The sun was rising this time. It gave the water a purple-pink color. The sun was half over the horizon. Waves sparkled in its light. Everything was silent; beautiful.

The sun's first rays bounced off Ptolemy's gleaming eyes. They were lit with excitement His hair glistened beautifully. He gave a charming smile and brushed back his bangs.

They began to lean in closer when—

"Kitty," Ptolemy broke through the silence and brought Kitty back to reality. "You've fallen silent again."

"I…I have? Oh, I hadn't noticed. I do that a lot, you'll find." She stopped for a moment, allowing everything to come back to her. "What do we do now?"

Ptolemy shrugged. "This is your time. I'm a…foreigner here."

Kitty thought for a moment, and in the process, trying to bring back that daydream and the sensations Ptolemy gave her. But all she managed was a heart flutter. "I…think the best thing to do would to get more books on summoning human spirits."

Ptolemy simply nodded. That's not like him. Kitty thought. Bartimaeus always said he always asked questions. His mind is on something else…Kitty blushed when she thought of what Ptolemy could be thinking about.

"C'mon," Kitty began. "we need to go to Mr. Button's."

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A/n

I do hope someone gets the little messages in these chapters. They're really important to understanding the story. Say what you think.