The Secret of Ka (11 page)

"What are you doing behind my back?" he shouted.

H
E STARTLED ME
, and his tone made me feel guilty, although I had done nothing wrong. So I instinctively lied, saying, "Nothing."

He crouched beside me, his head an outline in the dark. I did not need to see his expression to know his mood.

"I heard you talking to it," he said.

"Talking to what?"

"Don't play dumb. The carpet. It was talking to you."

I did try to play dumb. "You heard it talking to me?"

He pointed at the central star field, which no longer displayed any words. "You were bent over it, staring at that spot," he said.

"I was trying to study how—"

"You were talking to it!" he interrupted.

"I don't know what you mean."

"What you mean is you don't know how long I've been standing in the dark listening to you."

I tried acting hurt, anything to deflect his anger. Why was he so mad? He was scaring me.

"You were spying on me," I said.

"Spying? I wake up and suddenly you're gone. I got up because I was worried about you. Then I find you off with the carpet trying to learn stuff behind my back."

"I didn't find out anything."

"Really? The Carpet of Ka didn't tell you any secrets?"

Damn,
I thought. He had been listening for a while. I had not only asked the questions; I remembered repeating many of the carpet's answers aloud. But I couldn't remember exactly which ones. He brought his head closer in the dark. I could feel the heat of his breath.

"What did you learn about the djinn?" he asked.

I sighed. "I thought it was spelling out words, using the stars. But it might have just been my imagination."

"You were having a conversation with it. You knew exactly what it was saying." He paused. "Is this the first time you've spoken to it?"

"What kind of question is that? You've been with me since I found it."

"I wasn't with you all the time in the hotel room. And you said I fell asleep last night before you did. For all I know you talked to it all night."

Sarcasm was an old ally of mine, particularly when I felt cornered. "You're right. We plotted against you. It told me the best way to murder you in your sleep."

He stood and stared off into the distance. "In a way I'm glad you're sticking with your lies. From the moment we found the carpet I've had a bad feeling in my gut. I thought I was being paranoid. But now I know you're not who you pretend to be."

That hurt.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He turned back to me. "What are you sorry about?"

"I'm sorry I lied to you," I said.

"You're just sorry you got caught."

"I only took it away from where you were sleeping so I wouldn't wake you. I had no idea it would start talking."

He pointed at the carpet. "How does it work?"

"I ask a question and certain stars brighten while others dim. They spell out words."

"Show me."

"Okay, I'll try talking to it," I said hastily, turning toward the carpet. "Can you tell us more about who made you?"

The star field did not change.

Amesh crouched beside me again. "Ask it more about the djinn."

"It said the djinn are dangerous."

"Ask!"

"Can you tell us more about the djinn?"

Again, the stars did not change, and I knew why. There was too much tension in the air. Besides, I sensed it didn't want to speak to him because it knew he was not of the same lineage as me.

"It's not working," I said.

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"Is it because I'm not royalty? Like you?"

Oh God, I thought, he had heard so much!

"Amesh, please, I apologized. I was wrong not to tell you at the start that I spoke to it. But you startled me and..."

"You automatically lied to me," he said.

I leaned over to gather up the carpet. "Fine. Be angry, I don't care. I'm going to sleep."

He grabbed my arm. "We're not sleeping tonight!"

I shook free and shoved him in the chest. Hard. "Don't touch me!"

I could not believe the trust we shared had collapsed so quickly. Yet I felt in no mood to repair it, not now. He was behaving like a madman.

He seemed to realize that. He bowed his head, softened his voice.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

"Unlike you, I accept your apology."

He nodded. "I accept yours, too."

"Well, I'm no longer offering it. I had a right to talk to the carpet if I wanted to. I'm glad I was successful. And it's not my fault if it doesn't want to talk to you." I turned away. "Now I'm going to rest."

He blocked my way. "Sara, please, you have to see my side. When I woke up and you were gone, I got really scared. We're on a strange island. I thought maybe someone had taken you away. I called out your name and you didn't answer. And then, when I saw you laughing with the carpet, talking to it, all my fear just turned to..." He didn't finish.

"Rage," I said.

"I got angry. I said I'm sorry."

"You're only sorry because you want to fly into one of these temples and summon a djinn."

What I said was true, but it was also odd. His whole attitude had changed since he had heard about the djinn. He was supposed to be the cautious one. He had not wanted to take the carpet across the sea. He had even been reluctant to enter the temples.

This was an Amesh I didn't know.

Even in the dark, I could sense his pride returning.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked.

"Amesh. The carpet said the djinn are dangerous."

"You spoke to the carpet for a minute about them. And you're from America. How many Americans even know what a djinn is? But they're a part of my culture. And the one thing I know for certain is a djinn has to grant the wish of the person who frees it."

"Earlier, you said your Papi said there were no flying carpets."

"I never said that."

"Yes, you did. You said—"

"Who cares!" he interrupted, excited. "The djinn are something else! We have to try to summon one. Just one. So we can make one wish. There can't be any danger in that."

He was being very persuasive, and I feared it was because I continued to feel guilty about having lied to him, never mind having shoved him. I had never struck a guy before.

His outburst had not erased my feelings for him. I wanted to please him. And the carpet had said I had been brought to the island to contact the djinn. If we were very careful...

I pointed to the temples. "We tried the doors. They're all locked."

He pointed to the stiff tassels. "We didn't try going through the roof because we couldn't find a ley line. But you've found one."

"It might not be safe, taking the carpet up as high as these roofs."

"Less safe than flying across an ocean? I don't think so." He knelt beside the carpet. "Please, Sara?"

I gave in. I could list all the reasons why, but one stood out in my mind. I realized how jealous I would be if the roles were reversed. If the carpet obeyed him and ignored me. I would have been crushed. To not do him a favor now—when he was begging for one—just seemed cruel.

We decided to head for the triangular-shaped temple. It was nearest. The ley line felt powerful. We had barely sat on the carpet, and I had only touched the tassels, when we lifted off the ground. We rose faster than we had on the beach, and I discovered I
could
steer the carpet by using the side tassels. In seconds we were floating above the temple.

The height made me dizzy, but at Amesh's prodding, I steered toward the three-sided chimney. I intended to land beside it, check it out from above first, but he saw no reason why we should stop on the roof. He wanted to fly directly into the temple.

I could hear frustration in his voice as he told me where to go. He tried to hide it but failed. Again, he had tried the tassels but they hadn't responded to his touch. There was no hiding the truth—the carpet was in my control. He was just along for the ride.

As we descended through the opening in the temple ceiling, an orange glow sprang to life beneath us and scared me half to death. Had we tripped a sensor by entering through the roof? As if by magic three tall white candles—located at the three corners of the temple—suddenly lit. It might have been the extreme darkness inside the temple but they appeared to shine with exceptional force.

Beside the candles there was an altar in the center. It was also shaped like a triangle. We landed near it and quickly stood. It was made of gold and silver, although across its top was spread a red cloth that seemed to be made of silk. In a way it reminded me of the material of the carpet. It did not look old or dusty.

Indeed, there was a feeling of timelessness inside the temple that was difficult to describe. The place was ancient; I had no doubt. And it was a place that was probably best left undisturbed.

What looked like the handle of a sword rested in the center of the altar. Around its top curled a long green emerald fashioned in the shape of a serpent. Its mouth hung open at one side, its sharp teeth waiting for God only knew what.

I wanted nothing to do with it.

Amesh studied it without touching it. He asked an odd question.

"Do you have your BlackBerry with you?"

"I have it in my day pack," I said.

"Open it, turn it on. Search for
djinn artifacts.
"

"It's not working."

"Why not?"

"Beats me." I pointed at the serpent. "This isn't a lamp—that's plain enough."

"You don't know everything about our culture. Djinn don't have to be imprisoned inside lamps. They can be bound to all kinds of objects."

"Really? Then why did you want me to look it up?" I asked.

"I was curious if there might be a reference to this object."

He was still wary of it. Good; I wanted him to be afraid. The last thing we needed was to unleash a djinn into our dimension. Let them remain invisible and hidden—in a realm where they could do us no harm.

While Amesh studied the green serpent from every angle, I took the opportunity to check out the stained glass windows. There seemed to be numerous battle scenes. They reminded me of the story that was laid out on the carpet, except these were much more detailed and far more bloody. But I still couldn't see much of them in the dim light. I would have to look again during the daytime.

While prowling the temple, I discovered I could push the door open from the inside. I propped it slightly open with some nearby rocks.

I wondered if Amesh had heard the first two laws of the djinn. Had I really repeated everything aloud? What if he didn't know the exact danger?

I might have told him about them right then but he appeared to tire of the sword hilt—although he had yet to touch it—and told me to take him to another temple. I wanted to argue, but we were still in our first "make-up phase." I did as he asked.

The carpet lifted off effortlessly and floated out the opening in the ceiling. We flew over the length of the pond in the direction of the square temple. I suspected if we stayed above the icy water and headed toward a specific temple, the carpet would stay afloat. It did.

We entered the square-shaped temple through the roof. Once more, a candle in each corner sprang to life and we had enough light to park beside an altar that bore an uncanny resemblance to the first. Except this one was square, and a black box rested on top.

"Don't open that!" I blurted out even before we had stood from the carpet. Amesh jumped up and laughed at me.

"Why not?" he asked.

I stood. "It looks like Pandora's Box."

As if daring me to stop him, he reached over and poked it.

"It's not very heavy," he said as it slid a few inches over the altar. The box was a foot on all sides, and yet it had a distinct impression in one side—an inch shy of the top. It looked like a lid.

"Amesh," I said. "I'm not sure what you heard the carpet tell me. But there's one thing it made clear—after you make two wishes you owe the djinn. We shouldn't mess with their ... stuff."

"That's dumb. It goes against all my people's stories about the djinn. Our tales are clear—the person who frees a djinn has total control over it."

"Has it occurred to you that your stories might have gotten distorted over time?"

He stopped and stared at me. "It bothers you, doesn't it?"

"What?"

"That I have the courage to free one."

"It doesn't bother me; it scares me."

Amesh made a dismissive gesture, and as he'd done in the other temple, he began to study the box from every angle. This time I kept my eyes on him, which might have been a mistake. He clearly wanted to show me that he wasn't afraid. He finally picked up the black box.

"Amesh!" I cried.

"Don't be such a coward." He slipped his nails in the indentation. He was about to pull off the lid.

"Stop!" I cried.

"Would you please shut up for a minute!" he said. The lid was frozen in place. He could not get it off, not with one hand. Relief washed through me. There would be no djinn knocking on our door tonight. But he didn't give up. He tugged at it until he was blue in the face. The poor guy tried gripping it with his thighs, with miserable results.

Yet he did not ask for my help. He was too proud.

"I can help you," I said. He didn't respond, so I added, "But if I do, then the djinn will probably end up obeying me."

It was just a joke. I was teasing him, trying to lighten the mood. It did not work. His jealousy remained. Just his luck, he had to find a magic carpet that liked girls instead of boys. Plus he was stranded on an island swarming with invisible djinn, and he couldn't find one to grant him a single wish.

Too late I realized that he might have misunderstood my last remark and felt I was making fun of his handicap. He threw the black box down on the altar.

"Take me to another temple!" he growled.

"Amesh," I said gently, putting a hand on his good arm. "Let's call it a night. We hiked, like, twenty miles today. We just had our first fight, and it was stupid, like all fights, but it happened because we're both exhausted. We need to sleep. Really, I don't know if I can fly the carpet any farther."