Again

The First Time

    He's working, patrolling for an American magician when blue eyes catch his golden gaze. 

    The Egyptian boy stops and stares, stares hard at black hair, a willow-stick thin body and cold, cold, cold blue eyes. Pedestrian steps fade away, the roar of cars die off. Now there is only the boy, who was taking a stroll, and the djinni, who'd been chasing off a foliot. 

    "What are you staring at?" the boy snaps, as a harsh wind whips between them. The djinni smells the musk of leather, enfolding Nathaniel's body, and the heavy mint-and-mango scent of his shampoo.

    It's been years, decades, since the Spirit Rebellion, since Kitty appeared in the Other Place, since Nathaniel died. 

    Then who is this, standing tall like the maple trees lining the sidewalks, with his pale skin and sallow cheeks and blue, blue, blue eyes? Who is this, a new Nathaniel glaring at him with clear blue eyes? Who is the owner of the ice blue eyes? 

    "Who are you?" asks the djinni.

    "None of your damn business," snarls the human. He shoves his hands deeper in his pockets and stalks off, the wind lifting his coat and swirling it about. 

    Bartimaeus can see who he is already. 

    Nathaniel.