Chapter 40

Ptolemy

More of those weird sensations. Ptolemy's stomach felt—there it is again—as though it was tied in a knot. It caused his mouth to water. What was it? He had felt it at Kathleen's home with her mother as well. His stomach made a gurgling noise. Was that…hunger? Again? It was just like when he was alive. He needed to eat to survive.

Ptolemy looked into Bartimaeus' eyes. They were practically dancing with joy. That was odd for him. But then, he had counted the time had has died down to the last second.

Djinn were so intelligent, so capable of doing such amazing things. And magicians still treat them as slaves.

And it was spreading to the commoners.

Commoners!

Ptolemy had nothing against them—he didn't think being a magician meant he was better then them—but it was so amazing that they could summon a djinni all on their own.

And Kathleen had been the inspiration. A sort of teacher that nudged the other commoners on; encouraged them to regain control in the government.

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Something pounded in Ptolemy's head. It focused at the top of his skull, and seemed to slam against his forehead. He started to hear that same force pounding in his ears.

The pain became too much to bear. Ptolemy sat upright. That was worse then before. Every ounce of that force was now leaving his head in rapid succession. It made his head spin. It took him a moment to ready himself.

"You okay?" A voice asked. Bartimaeus.

"Yeah," Ptolemy managed. "I'm fine. Just a little dizzy," Even to himself, something seemed wrong. He had started getting feelings a few hours after he had been summoned. Had something gone wrong? He wasn't sure; Kathleen had succeeded in an area that he had never attempted. But there was always a possibility.

"Dizzy?" Bartimaeus repeated.

Bartimaeus?

That was the djinni's real name, but didn't Ptolemy always call him Rekhyt? He knew he did when he spoke, but he wasn't so sure about when he thought. Everything was so confusing. Why, he wasn't sure. "Yes," Ptolemy managed to reply. "Sitting like that for so long made all the blood rush to my head."

Bartimaeus—no, Rekhyt, Ptolemy thought to himself—fell silent, grew a thinking look on his face. He was questioning himself why Ptolemy was having actual feelings again. Ptolemy was asking himself the same thing.

Kathleen—no, Kitty—returned with a bundle of clothes in her arms. "I'm back!" She announced, almost happily. "Here's your er…cloth Ptolemy." She tossed it to him. He caught it. "You can change now."

"Ladies first," Ptolemy answered, almost automatically. His manners hadn't changed.

Kitty smiled fondly. "Thank you," she said sweetly. She hurried past him and into the bathroom.

Rekhyt was still silent, deep in his thoughts. Ptolemy didn't blame him. Everything seemed to have a question left unanswered. So many things left undiscovered…

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Ptolemy let his mind slip to Kitty. She was the only person to go to the Other Place; the only person to follow in his footsteps. It was sad, really. No other magician was brave enough to followed after him. And Kitty was a commoner. She was something special.

Ptolemy's thoughts were broken when Kitty reentered the room with her normal clothes on. "I'm done," It was hard to tell who she was speaking to exactly. "You can go change now, Ptolemy."

Her voice was so smooth, soft, and caring. She was like the mother he never had. She was perfect. Even her flaws made her beautiful. Everything about her was…angelic. She fought for what she believed was right; even though she sometimes stood alone. It didn't matter to her, though. She was so different from most people. And for the better, too.

Rekhyt broke his thoughts. "Oh, Kitty, I got this for you." He pulled a book out of his guise and handed it to her. How it stayed when he went back to the Other Place, Ptolemy wasn't sure.

Kitty smiled fondly. "For me? Really?" She took it, opened it, scanned the pages. "Where'd you get it?"

"Mr. Button's place. He's got a lot of books."

"Yeah." Kitty nodded in agreement. She started to read it fully. All was silent for a moment.

Kitty gasped, looked up to Ptolemy, back to the book. Her eyes widened as she continued reading. She gave a final gasp and dropped the book. She stared into Ptolemy's eyes. "Ptolemy," she breathed. "I didn't summon you," she shook her head to emphasize what she meant. "I resurrected you."

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A/n

Oooh, problem. Next chapter Kitty.