"Uhhh..."

Morgana stammered, unable to keep up with the rapid changes in conversation. Thankfully her training kicked in and a lesson her father had beat into her head stopped her from doing something foolish. As he repeated countless times, NEVER agree to anything without first hearing the details and understanding the consequences, especially with unknown powers. Misinterpreting her hesitation, Babel hastily continued to speak.

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of asking you for something without compensating you." Then over his shoulder to the floating light while keeping his eyes on Morgana, "Nia, what is the probability that Miss Bartimaeus will ask for something above danger level 2?"

[0.004%, master. It is unlikely that Miss Bartimaeus even knows about anything that registers on the scale.]

If Morgana had not been so lost she would have been offended by the emotionless floating light.

"What about outside my power to grant?"

[0% master. Master, you do realize that the subject in question can hear you?]

"Ah...right...Nia, probability that her having heard this conversation will affect your previous calculations?"

[Deviation of 0.0001% for the first query and 0% for the second, master.]

"Whew. Dodged a bullet there." Turning his full attention back to Morgana he bowed low. "Miss Bartimaeus, should you grant my request I, in return, will grant you knowledge, answering a single question regarding any matter in the world. A simple exchange, well within our capabilities. A favor for truth."

Despite doing her very best to remind herself that the young man in front of her was a complete unknown, a question that had been burning in Morgana's soul nearly burst from her lips. With supreme effort, she stopped herself and bit her lip. A glance at the Duke showed that he was not going to be any help. Currently he was making himself as small as possible in his chair. Finally, unable to suppress her curiosity any longer, Morgana took a deep breath and made the plunge.

"What do you want?"

"Quite simply, I would like company. As you can imagine, I have been alone here for a long time without any company. Oh, I have Nia, but she is practically part of me, so she doesn't count."

"Y...you want me to stay here?"

"It doesn't have to be for long. I've just been dreadfully lonely you see."

Somehow, Bel managed to look both gleeful and pitiful at the same time, causing Morgana to blink. As her vision cleared, a strong desire to agree rose in her chest but just before she nodded the loud clatter of a fork falling to the stone floor startled her. Duke Berith, his face covered in large beads of sweat mumbled an apology and picked up the utensil that he dropped.

"Miss, you should speak to your father before agreeing to stay here."

Speaking through clenched teeth, it was obvious that Morgana's guardian was under incredible strain. Still, his words worked as intended and Morgana swallowed her words. The Duke was right, her father would be quite unhappy if she were to simply agree to stay. Closing her eyes, Morgana concentrated on thinking through the situation, completely missing the amused look that Bel gave Duke Berith.

"How do I know that your knowledge is worth a favor?" Morgana asked after thinking for a moment.

"That is an excellent question, and one that suits a magician perfectly." Far from being upset that Morgana was doubting him, Bel clapped his hands together enthusiastically. "At the end of the day, you cannot know. This is what is called a gamble. You ask a question, I speak the answer, you stay with me for a while. The value of the answer will depend on many factors, but you don't need to worry about whether I am able to answer. Power is built on truth, and given the amount of power you have seen today, you should be able to estimate how much truth I know."

As Bel's words settled in her heart, Morgana nodded. Her family's entire magical legacy was built on that very idea. Only by knowing the truth could one be truly powerful. Doing her best to settle her mind, Morgana had to admit that she was very attached to the idea of asking Bel a question. Given the effortless power that she had witnessed, to say nothing of the size of the library that she had walked through earlier, the possibility that she could have her question answered was high.

Especially if the strange young man was telling the truth about being over four thousand years old. It was not Morgana's first time hearing about someone who was thousands of years old so the idea that this young man was actually an ancient magician was not outside the realm of possibility. If he was thousands of years old, then the value of his knowledge was likely priceless.

Morgana pondered for a moment, trying to think through all of the various possible ways Babel could take advantage of her. Unable to think of any she asked cautiously, "And you will answer any question I have?"

"Correct." Cupping his chin in his palm, Bel watched Morgana curiously. "I'll even let you ask your question first. If you don't think the answer is worth it, we can call the whole thing off.

Morgana's mind spun as she thought about possible ways to make the offer work. Staying in the tower was impossible, but she was determined to get an answer to her question. Hitting on a solution, Morgana looked at Bel, examining him closely. If Bel was ancient, powerful, knowledgeable, and most importantly, lonely, then why not invite him out to be a guest at her house? So far he had shown impeccable manners and, apart from scaring the Duke, had not been threatening in the least.

Plus, Babel was the epitome of handsome and she could use him as an excuse to do more traveling. After all, the idea of traveling around the world with a devilishly handsome young man was every teenage girl's dream. Plus, if he did become a problem she could always pawn him off on someone else. Pausing, she tried to identify the small voice in the back of her mind that seemed to be shouting that something was wrong about this situation, but it was soon drowned out by visions of introducing a handsome and powerful magician to her friends.

"I am sorry, but I cannot stay with you here." From the corner of her vision, Morgana could see the palpable relief on Duke Berith's face. Unfortunately for her guardian, it was short lived. "Instead, why don't you come and stay with me?"

"Oh? You mean it?"

About to stand up and drag Morgana away, by force if necessary, Duke Berith suddenly found himself completely unable to move. Every fiber in his tall body screamed death if he shifted even a hair, forcing him to remain seated with his hands on the table as if he was about to rise.

"Yes, it would be my pleasure to show you around. You can stay at my house." Unable to feel the oppressive aura that had trapped the Duke, Morgana smiled widely at Bel. "I'm sure my father would love to meet you. I'd be happy to show you around until you have to leave."

"Your invitation alone is worth it. I won't be a burden to you. The only thing I require is that you give me a place to stay for a few days and help me get acquainted with the modern world."

"That sounds fine to me. I can help you get a cell phone, and introduce you to the Aether Ring. You can meet my friends too." The more that Morgana thought about this idea, the more she liked it.

"That is very kind of you, but I will not bind you to me. After all, I could be wandering for a long time. You are free to do whatever you would like after the bargain is complete. Please don't think of this as something that will bind your freedom. I simply seek to enjoy my time in your realm before I continue my journey and would like a guide for the beginning."

Unable to shake the feeling that she was making a deal with the devil Morgana slowly nodded her head. "I will agree to exchange this favor for your knowledge with you Mr. Bel."

"Wonderful Miss Bartimaeus, please call me Bel. All my friends do and we should be friends."

"Very well, Bel. And you can call me Morgana, or Morgan."

"What a beautiful name." Rising to his feet, Bel snapped his fingers and the tables full of food faded into thin air as the endless bookshelves that she had seen when she first entered appeared around them. "Tell me, Morgana, what is it that you wish to know?"

Swallowing, Morgana took a moment to think over her question. If she only got one, she wanted it to be the right one. Bel's words had been very specific that she could ask any question she wanted about something that happened in the past and so long as she was unsatisfied the deal would be off.

"Okay. Ten years ago a powerful magician brought her daughter to a park." Morgana paused and cleared her throat as if something was stuck in it. Taking a breath, she continued. "At the park, while her daughter was playing, she was attacked by a group of enemies. In order to protect her daughter, she was wounded by a magical needle. Since then, she has fallen into a coma and has not woken up no matter what. My question is, why will she not wake up?"

As Bel listened, his face softened, losing the warm smile that he had maintained since Morgana had first seen him. A sense of sorrow emanated from him and Morgana found herself having to look away from him to keep herself from bursting into tears. Blinking, Bel turned around and began to walk away.

The sight of his back caused Morgana's heart to plunge and the tears that she had stored up began to drip silently down her cheeks. She had asked the most important question, but there was no answer. She knew that she was being unfair to Bel. After all, he had been in this tower for who knows how long. It was entirely impossible for him to know such a small and recent detail.

Sniffing, she wiped her tears hurriedly, getting wet makeup all over her sleeve. For some reason the sight of her dirty sleeve infuriated her and she turned to the Duke who was standing as still as a pole behind her.

"Morgana." Bel's warm voice made her stop but she did not turn around. "This is for you. Take it as a meeting present."

"It's okay, Bel, you don't need to comfort me."

Though she was trying to reject the book that Bel held, he just patted her shoulder and stuff the book into her hands.

"Page 355."

Confused, Morgana looked down at the book in her hands. It was called '100 Weapons of Great Evil' and was covered in a scaly green skin. Her brow wrinkled as she opened up the cover and flipped to the 355th page.

"Soul Binding Needle?" Her breath caught in her throat as Morgana looked up at Bel, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"The Soul Binding Needle is an ancient weapon that seals the spirit of those that it wounds. It is almost a foot long, but quite thin. As you can see, it is a double sided needle made from bone and has a spiral pattern on half of it. The other half has the heraldry of Mo'gotheir, Lord of Souls. After being made, the first person who is pricked by the side with the spiral pattern will have their soul sealed, forcing them into a coma. The only reasonable solution is to prick them with the other side."

The shock raging through Morgana's mind rendered her completely speechless as she stared at Bel. The only thing she could think of was the sight from when she was six years old of the spiraled end of a bone needle stabbing her mother's back.

"W...wha...this..."

"Never fear, if the needle is destroyed, the backlash is not that strong, so if your mother was a powerful magician, I'm sure that she will be fine." Seeing that Morgana was still frozen, Bel snapped his fingers and the library they were standing in was replaced with a beautiful garden of exotic flowers and beautiful fruit trees. Leading Morgana to a small bench, Bel sat her down and lounged next to her as he waited for her emotions to settle.

"So, so, all I have to do is find the needle?"

"Mmhmm. Though you'll need to make sure it is the right one. Poking her with the wrong one will put the wrong spirit in her body."

Ecstatic, Morgana could hardly wait to rush back to her father, and a short time later a stunned group of mercenaries witnessed three people appear out of mid-air in front of the mysterious door that they found. Morgana they recognized easily as well as the tall, suit wearing demon, Duke Berith. It was the unfamiliar young man accompanying Morgana who was new to them. Brock sprang forward to make sure Morgana was alright, though given Duke Berith's presence he couldn't imagine anything having happened to her.

After making sure that nothing was odd he looked over the handsome young man. Broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist, shown off excellently by the blue tailored suit he wore and his tan skin contrasted sharply with perfect white teeth and his grey eyes. Just under six feet tall and almost too handsome for words with a single silver earring, the young man looked truly otherworldly.

As Brock stood looking at him the young man gave a toothy smile and moved forward, his hand out. Yet as soon as he took a step the ground gave a lurch and the temple began to shake violently.

Stone, earth and other debris began to fall around the group and the shaking sent them staggering. Bracing himself against the trembling wall Charlie dove through the air toward Morgana to try and protect her from falling debris. Outside the temple the shaking ripped through the jungle, trees crashing to the ground and animals fleeing for their lives. Almost instantly the shaking spread throughout the jungle at an ever increasing pace.

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**Author's Note**

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