Ptolemy's Gate Read Online Free PDF Page A

the files, get the exact number. I must summon the demons back from Kent.”
    He sat forward, his elbows on the desk, and made the incantation in an undertone. Ms. Piper got up and crossed to the filing cabinet on the edge of the circle. She opened the topmost drawer and drew out a bulging manila file. Returning to her seat, she removed the elastic around the file and began sifting rapidly through the documents within. The incantation ended amid a suffusion of jasmine and sweetbriar. In the right-hand pentacle a hulking form appeared—a giant with blond, braided hair and a single glaring eye. Ms. Piper went on reading.
    The giant performed a low and complex bow. “Master, I greet you with the blood of your enemies, with their cries and lamentations! Victory is ours!”
    Mandrake raised an eyebrow. “So you chased them away, then.”
    The cyclops nodded. “They fled like mice before lions. Literally, in some cases.”
    â€œIndeed. That was to be expected. But did you capture any?”
    â€œWe killed a good many. You should have heard them squeak! And their fleeing hooves fairly shook the earth.”
    â€œRight. So you didn’t capture a single one. Which was expressly what I ordered you and the others to do.” Mandrake rapped his fingers on the table. “In a matter of days they will attack again. Who sent them? Prague? Paris? America? Without captives it is impossible to say. We are no further forward.”
    The cyclops gave a crisp salute. “Well, my work is done. I am pleased to have given satisfaction.” It paused. “You seem lost in thought, O master.”
    The magician nodded. “I am debating, Ascobol, whether to subject you to the Stipples or the Unfortunate Hug. Do you have a preference?”
    â€œYou could not be so cruel!” The cyclops wiggled agonizedly back and forth, toying with a braid of hair. “Blame Bartimaeus, not me! Once again, he took no useful part in the action, but was waylaid by a single blow. I was delayed from the chase by his loud requests to help him up from beneath a pebble. He is as weak as a tadpole and vicious with it: you should subject him to the Stipples forthwith.”
    â€œAnd where is Bartimaeus now?”
    The cyclops gave a pout. “I know not. Possibly he has expired from exhaustion in the interim. He took no part in the chase.”
    The magician sighed deeply. “Ascobol—be gone from here.” He made a dismissive sign. The giant’s fluting cries of thanks were abruptly cut off; it vanished in a gout of flame. Mandrake turned to his assistant. “Any joy, Piper?”
    She nodded. “These are the unauthorized demon sightings of the last six months. Forty-two—no, forty -three now in total. As far as the demons go, there’s no pattern: we’ve had afrits, djinn, imps, and mites all spotted. But when you look at the commoners …” She glanced down at the open file. “Most are children, and most of those children are young. In thirty cases the witnesses were under eighteen. What’s that? Seventy percent or so. And in over half of those the witnesses were under twelve.” She looked up. “They’re being born with it. With the power to see.”
    â€œAnd who knows what else.” Mandrake swiveled his chair and stared out over the bare gray branches of the trees in the square. Mists still meandered around them, cloaking the ground from view. “All right,” he said, “that’s enough for now. It’s nearly nine, and I’ve private work to do. Thanks for your help, Piper. I’ll see you at the ministry later this morning. Don’t let that door guard give you any cheek as you go out.”
    For some moments after his assistant’s departure the magician remained motionless, tapping his fingers together aimlessly. Finally he leaned over and opened a side drawer in his desk. He pulled out a small cloth bundle and set it