Ptolemy's Gate

what?"
    "Ah. Now, you're not going to like this part."

32

    The sulphur cloud contracted into an ailing column of smoke that slouched in the middle of the pentacle. It dribbled up toward the ceiling with the awesome force of water spurting from a drinking fountain. Two timorous yellow eyes materialized in the heart of the smoke. They blinked anxiously.
    I was having second thoughts.
    The dark-haired youth stood in the pentacle opposite, leaning heavily on the Staff. I recognized it straightaway. Difficult not to: the aura of the talisman beat upon my circle with the intensity of a solar flare. My essence quailed at the proximity.
    Bad. I was too weak. I should not have agreed to this.
    Mind you, it looked to me as if the magician was of similar mind. His face was the delightful color of off milk.
    He drew himself up as best he could and tried to look imposing. "Bartimaeus."
    "Nathaniel."[1]

[1] We each strove to make the sounds curt, assertive, growling. Neither of us quite succeeded. His voice had the kind of pitch usually reserved for bats and dog whistles, while mine warbled like that of an elderly spinster requesting a cucumber sandwich with her cup of tea.

He cleared his throat, gazed at the floor, scratched his head, hummed a few odd notes. . . did everything in fact but look me straight in the eye like a man should. Not that I was much better. Instead of billowing ominously, the column of smoke seemed intent on winding its rising threads into pretty braidy patterns. If we'd been left to ourselves, I'd probably have ended up knitting a virtual cardigan or something, but after a few seconds of high-quality dithering, a rude interruption came.
    "Get on with it!"
    No prizes for guessing who that was. Magician and smoke swiveled in their circles, coughing and muttering. Both wore expressions of wounded aggravation.
    "I know, I know," Kitty said. "I don't envy either of you. Just do it. We haven't time to waste."
    I must say she was looking rather more spry than I expected. Okay, she was a bit frail looking, and she had gray hair and her skin was lined and aged, but she was nothing like Ptolemy had been. And her eyes were as bright as a bird's; they shone with the light of what they'd seen. I regarded her with mingled reverence and compassion.
    "Keep your knickers on," I said. "We're getting to it."
    "That's right," Nathaniel agreed. "Can't rush these things."
    "Like you'd know," she snorted. "What's the holdup?"
    "Well," he began. "It's just—"
    "For my part," I said, in tones of quiet dignity, "I agreed to this proposal on the assumption that my host would be of moderate physical quality. Now, having viewed him, I'm having doubts."
    The magician glared at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"
    "Well, you wouldn't buy a horse without seeing it, would you? I'm allowed an inspection. Let's see your teeth."
    "Get lost!"
    "I'm sorry," I said. "He's rubbish. Can barely stand. Skin's been burned by a Pestilence. And his shoulder's bleeding. I bet he's got worms and all."
    The girl frowned. "What's that about his shoulder? Where?"
    Nathaniel made a dismissive gesture, and winced. "It's nothing. Not a problem."
    "Why didn't you tell me?"
    "Because" he snarled, "as you keep saying, we haven't got time."
    "Fair point," I said.
    "In fact, I'm not sure I want to go ahead with it either," the magician continued, rewarding me with an unpleasant look. "I don't see how it could possibly work. He's far too weak to help with the Staff, as well as being utterly vile in a thousand ways. Heaven knows what damage he'd do to me! It's like inviting a herd of hogs to come and live in your bedroom."
    "Is that so? Well, I'm not too enamored of being encased inside your earthly gunge," I cried. "There's a darn sight too much drippy stuff going on in there. All that phlegm and congealing wax and—"
    "Shut up!" Kitty shouted. It has to be said, her journey hadn't affected her lungs. "Both of you— shut up My city is being destroyed out there, and we need that Staff to work. The only way we can think of to do that is by combining your knowledge, Nathaniel, with your energies, Bartimaeus. All right, both of you might be a little inconvenienced, but—"
    I looked at Nathaniel. "Hear that? A little, she says."
    He shook his head in deep disgust. "Tell me about it."
    "—but it won't last long. Hours at the most. Then, Nathaniel, you can dismiss Bartimaeus for good."
    "Wait," he said, "I want a guarantee that this creature won't try to destroy