The Secret of Ka (25 page)

Amesh kept rubbing at the hand hidden beneath his long-sleeve shirt.

"I showed you the jewels I found," Amesh was saying, and I could hear for myself the agitation in his voice. "I have hundreds of thousands of lira. I can get more if we need it. I've hired private investigators and mercenaries. They captured Bora Lomal and Hasad Sahim earlier today and took them to a secret place where they're being tortured. And now they have Jemal and Omer, too."

"Why torture them?" Spielo did not appear to like the idea any more than I did. The question angered Amesh.

"They deserve to suffer the way I've suffered! The way you're suffering!"

That was Amesh's theme. He kept repeating it like a broken record. But I knew it was really Darbar who kept repeating the line in his head, to keep Amesh focused on his need for revenge. Darbar was too close to closing the deal on this human. Whatever it took, the djinn was going to fulfill that third wish and make Amesh his thrall.

"But I'm not even sure those were the guys who pushed me into the cement," Spielo said.

"It doesn't matter. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I've discovered who's been behind this plot."

"What plot? You were attacked last year. I got hurt two days ago. Or was it yesterday? Anyway, you knew you were taking a risk when you kept sneaking into that cave. You were warned to stay away from it."

"So they warned me to stay away! So what! Did that give them the right to chop off my hand? You were there. You saw what they did to me. If you hadn't heard my screams and rescued me, they would have killed me."

Spielo shook his head. "I don't know."

"What don't you know? They tried to kill you two days ago. These people are evil. And there's evil inside the Shar Temple."

The Shar Temple,
I thought. There had to be a connection between that temple and the ones on the island.

"Amesh. You're talking like a crazy person," Spielo said.

Amesh stood and began to pace. "You don't know where I've been the last few days. I was taken to a secret island on that magic carpet I found, where there were many temples. The island was shown to me because I had the courage to challenge the evildoers who control the Shar Temple. That's where I mastered my djinn. That's where I got the jewels from!"

"Lower your voice. You're going to wake the other patients."

"You think I'm crazy, huh? Even after I showed you the jewels. Well, I have something even more crazy to show you."

I leaned closer to see what Amesh would do. He stepped back from the bed and tore off the knot that kept his transplanted hand hidden. With a wild look on his face, he held it up for Spielo to see.

"Look! This is the hand those animals took from me. But the djinn I command was able to retrieve it and put it back on my arm, when the best doctors in the world said it was impossible."

Spielo sat up, impressed. Until he touched Amesh's new hand. "Does it work like it used to? It looks ... funny."

Amesh withdrew the hand. "It works. Allah has blessed me. The djinn I control can work miracles for you, too. But you have to show him that you're strong. You know what it says in the Koran. It's our right and duty to strike back at those who have struck us. And this is not just about us. I keep telling you, the Shar Temple has power. It's like the place Allah took me to."

Spielo was confused, and I couldn't say I blamed him. I kind of liked the guy. He had a comical face, with big ears and a huge nose, but there was an innocence in his eyes. He was taller than Amesh, but skinnier.

"But you just said the Shar Temple is evil," Spielo said.

"No! It's controlled by evil people! It's a place of great power!"

"You flew to this island on a magic carpet?"

"Yes. I flew there, across the sea."

"But you told me that girl found the carpet and forced you to go to the island. You told me her name. What was it?"

"Forget her. You misunderstood. The carpet is mine. The djinn is mine. They're all under my control now."

"Show me the carpet. I need to see it with my own eyes."

Amesh shook his transplanted hand in front of Spielo's face. "I have shown you enough miracles! If you don't believe me, I'll get someone else to go with me and help me do Allah's work!"

I was disappointed to see Spielo respond to the childish threat. I got the impression he was used to following Amesh. I watched as he unhooked himself from the oxygen tank and got his clothes from the closet. Now that Spielo was joining him, Amesh's mood suddenly improved. He began to boast again.

"Do you remember the first night we snuck into the cave and saw the Shar Temple? There was a row of holes in the ground. We stopped to peer in them. They were ten feet deep, wide enough to put a person in." Amesh paused and grinned. "Guess what? My djinn put Bora and the others into their very own holes."

"I thought you commanded the djinn. Was it your idea or his?"

"The djinn does what I say. You'll see when you meet it."

Spielo did not look anxious to meet it. "You said the djinn was torturing them. How?"

Amesh giggled. "Each hole is deep but narrow. All they can do is stand. They can't sit down and rest. They've been in the holes since nightfall and already they've given up their bosses' names."

"Why would they crack from just standing a long time?"

"It's an American invention. It's called passive torture. It works better than pulling out a person's nails or even burning them with fire. Stand long enough in one place and your whole body cramps!"

I had never heard of passive torture before, but it sounded awful. It was no wonder Bora and his partners had talked. But now Darbar would be able to gather all those who had hurt Amesh.

Amesh's third wish would be fulfilled!

He would become Darbar's thrall!

But wait ... not so fast.

Amesh was no fool, and he knew the rules of the djinn. And he was desperate.

Was Amesh going to try to have Spielo take his place?

The idea was not as far-fetched as it sounded. It would be easy to get Spielo, who knew nothing about the Laws of the Djinn, to make wishes, maybe even three. If so, Darbar would still end up with a thrall, and he might let Amesh off the hook.

But I did not believe Amesh could escape so easily. Already, he was almost Darbar's thrall. He
had
made three wishes. According to the rules, as soon as Darbar fulfilled the last wish, it would be all over for Amesh. The carpet had never said another person could become a thrall in your place. Still, I feared Spielo might end up a thrall as well, that Darbar would harvest two tonight.

I felt sick to my stomach thinking about it.

Amesh patted Spielo on the back. "Don't worry, my friend. When we reach the Shar Temple, you'll be happy. All those who hurt us will be there. And my djinn will be waiting to punish them."

"How are we going to get through the gate?" Spielo asked.

Amesh brought out a wad of lira. "The men who work security are as poor as the rest of us. They'll be happy to take our money and let us through. Just as long as we're not carrying a bomb. I have a limousine outside. It's beautiful! It has food and drink in it. We'll travel in style!"

"Why not fly there on the magic carpet?" Spielo asked.

Amesh got angry. "Why do you keep bringing up the carpet?"

"You're the one who told me about it. Why won't you show it to me?"

Amesh went to snap at him again but paused. A weird look came over him, a look I had seen before on the island when Darbar had spoken in his head. He closed his eyes; he could have been falling into a trance. Spielo reached out and shook him.

"Amesh?" he said.

Amesh opened his eyes. "You'll see the carpet tonight."

Spielo was excited. "Can you take me for a ride?" he asked.

Amesh glanced in our direction. He could not see me, I knew, but maybe he sensed me.

"Is Darbar looking through Amesh's eyes right now?" I hissed at Lova.

"Yes," she said.

"Does Darbar sense you here?" I asked.

"Yes," Lova said.

When Amesh spoke next, even though Darbar was talking to Spielo, I felt as if what he said was for my benefit.

"I'll take you places you never dreamed of," he said.

They left the room. Lova and I hopped back on the carpet and flew above the parking lot. I had to stay low to hear them. But I felt safe in the black sky, with black clothes and the black bottom on the carpet. I was also pretty sure I was below any citywide radar.

A long white limousine waited for the boys. Amesh had not been exaggerating when he said he had hired guards. Two armed men jumped out to welcome them.

Then Amesh bent over in pain and started yelling at the men. Lova translated. She said that Amesh wanted them to break into the hospital pharmacy. But they shook their heads and said that would alert the police. Amesh pulled a wad of lira out of his pocket. He gave it to the bigger guard.

"Bribe whoever you have to. But get me medicine that stops pain."

Spielo was no dummy. "Your hand's hurting you. There's something wrong with it."

"My hand's fine! I just need the medicine!" Amesh yelled.

Spielo spoke to the guards in whispers we could not hear. One of them went inside. The spasm in Amesh's hand kept up. He
was
in terrible pain. But oddly enough he kept looking up at the sky. I knew Darbar was telling him I was near.

Spielo watched him. "What are you looking at?" he asked.

"She's up there," Amesh said.

"Who?"

"Sara. She's spying on us."

Spielo looked around. "I don't see her. Where is she?"

Amesh pointed to the sky, but in the wrong direction. "Up there!"

Spielo sucked in a breath. "Does she have the carpet?"

Amesh got annoyed. "She stole it from me. I'm going to get it back."

The big guard returned in a few minutes with a bag full of medicines. Amesh studied them while Spielo tried to talk him into letting a doctor look at his hand. Amesh refused.

"Doctors can't help me," he said.

"Can your djinn?" Spielo asked quietly, so the guards could not hear.

Amesh paused before answering. "Sara promised me she would. But she lied. American girls are like that—you can't trust them."

"Yesterday you told me that she was the greatest girl in the world."

I had no idea when he had told Spielo this, but it warmed my heart to hear it. Maybe I was grasping at straws, but I knew deep inside this was not the real Amesh I was seeing. The pain in his body and the agony of the djinn in his mind had turned him into someone he would ordinarily have hated.

His last words, before they left, confirmed my belief.

"Yesterday was a long time ago," Amesh said.

T
HEIR LONG WHITE LIMOUSINE
rode through the dark streets of Istanbul—and out into the desert, where it was even darker—toward the hydroelectric plant. I commanded the carpet to follow the limo no matter where it went. It occasionally skipped its position above the road, probably to stay on a ley line, but it remained near the vehicle. Still, I kept my altitude low, barely above the building tops. There was no way I wanted to face another jet.

To make myself more comfortable, I told Lova to shrink in size so I had room to stretch out on the carpet and stare up at the stars. A half moon rose in the east, but its soft white light worried me. I was pretty hard to see, up here in the night sky, but I was not invisible.

With the moon up, I instructed the carpet to let the limo have a half-mile lead. I was no longer eager to hear what Amesh had to say, and I had another reason for backing off.

Spielo was obviously fascinated with all the limo's gadgets, including the skylight. He had opened the roof, and I worried that he might spot us. It was cute, his fascination with magic carpets, but his curiosity could cause problems.

After listening to Amesh and Spielo talk in the hospital room, I realized that Amesh had lied to his grandfather when it came to the Shar Temple. Amesh had told his Papi he had seen it once, when it was clear he was obsessed with the place. But why obsess over it unless it had something he wanted?

Then it struck me.

Was the Shar Temple a djinn temple?

Boy, it was obvious! I should have realized it earlier! It explained so much. For one thing, it explained the mystery of why Amesh had changed into a wild man on the island when he heard we were surrounded by djinn temples. He already had an obsession with them long before we met.

He was not alone. Whatever Amesh knew about the Shar Temple—Mr. Toval, Mrs. Steward, and my father knew ten times more. They were the bosses in charge of the job site. They could go into the temple whenever they wanted. I was confident that I had not been allowed in to see it because they didn't want it seen. The whole idea of asking the archaeologist's permission had been a charade.

Had they found the cave by chance? Or had they chosen this location for the hydroelectric plant because it gave them an excuse to dig up the area with modern equipment?

It was doubtful Mr. Toval and Mrs. Steward had ordered the four boys to attack Amesh. The act was brutal. By its very nature it would call attention to the temple. But the two bosses had probably arranged for the four young men to guard the cave. And the security measure had gotten out of hand.

Way out of hand. No pun intended.

Mr. Demir had talked about how the four guys had shown up in court with lawyers they should not have been able to afford. That meant there was money behind them, which was another way of saying that Mr. Toval and Mrs. Steward were protecting the guys—and the temple. It was a fact that the bosses had lied.

It was also a fact that my father knew they were lying.

It made my heart ache to admit my father was involved, but it was the only explanation that made sense. My father was honorable. Yet when push came to shove, he'd kept his mouth shut to protect his superiors. The guilt ... it must have torn him apart.

Mr. Demir had praised my father for his selfless acts. How he had visited Amesh every day at the hospital. How he had arranged for the best doctors for Amesh. But all the while my father had been acting out of guilt.