What I said was true . I t was also very strange. But hi s whole att.i.tude had changed drastically since he had heard abou t the djinn. He was the cautious one. He had not wanted to tak e the carpet across the sea. He had been reluctant to enter th e temples .
t his was an Amesh I didn"t know . E ven in the dark, I could see him stiffen, his prid e returning .
"What"s wrong with that?" he asked .
"A mesh . T he carpet said the djinn are dangerous. "
" You spoke to the carpet for a minute about them. An d you"re from America . N o offense, but how many American s even know what one is? But they"re a part of my culture . I know m ore about them than you. 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 flyin g 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 . S o we ca n make one wish . T here 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 min d having shoved him . I had never struck a guy before .
His outburst had not erased my feelings for him . I wante d to please him. And the carpet had said I had been brought t o the island to contact the djinn . I f we were very careful . . . I pointed to the temples. "We tried the doors . T hey"re al l locked."
He pointed to the stiff ta.s.sels. "We didn"t try goin g through the roof because we couldn"t find a ley line. But you"v e found one. "
"I t might be dangerous, taking the carpet up as high a s these roofs. "
"M ore dangerous than flying across an ocean? I don"t thin k so." He knelt beside the carpet. "Please, Sara ?" I gave in . I could list all the reasons why, but one stood ou t in my mind . I realized how jealous I would be if the roles wer e reversed . I f the carpet obeyed him and ignored me . I would hav e been crushed . T o not do him a favor now-when he was begging for one-just seemed cruel .
We decided to head for the triangular-shaped temple . I t was nearest . T he ley line felt powerful. We had barely sat on th e carpet, and I had only touched the ta.s.sels, when we lifted of f the ground. We rose faster than we had on the beach and I discovered I could could steer the carpet by using the side ta.s.sels . I n seconds we were floatin g above the temple . T he 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 wh y we should stop on the roof. He wanted to fly directly into th e temple . I could hear frustration in his voice as he told me where t o go. He tried to hide it but failed. Again, he had tried the ta.s.sel s but they hadn"t responded to his touch . T here was no hiding th e t ruth now-the carpet was in my control. He was just along fo r the ride . steer the carpet by using the side ta.s.sels . I n seconds we were floatin g above the temple . T he 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 wh y we should stop on the roof. He wanted to fly directly into th e temple . I could hear frustration in his voice as he told me where t o go. He tried to hide it but failed. Again, he had tried the ta.s.sel s but they hadn"t responded to his touch . T here was no hiding th e t ruth now-the carpet was in my control. He was just along fo r the ride .
As we descended through the opening in the temple ceiling, an orange glow sprang to life beneath us and scared me hal f to death. Had we tripped a sensor by entering through the roof ?
As if by magic three tall white candles-located at the thre e corners of the temple-suddenly lit . I t might have been th e extreme darkness inside the temple but they appeared to shin e with exceptional force .
Beside the candles there was a central altar . I t was als o shaped like a triangle. We landed near it and quickly stood . I t was made of gold and silver, although across its top was sprea d a red cloth that seemed to be made of silk . I n a way it reminde d me of the material of the carpet . I t did not look old or dusty . I ndeed, there was a feeling of timelessness inside the temple that was difficult to describe . T he place was ancient; I ha d no doubt. And it was a place that was probably best lef t undisturbed .
What looked like the handle of a sword rested in the center of the altar. Around its top curled a long green emeral d fashioned in the shape of a serpent . I ts mouth hung open at on e side, its sharp teeth waiting for G.o.d only knew what . I wanted nothing to do with it .
Amesh studied it without touching it. He asked an od d question .
"Do you have your PDA with you?"
"i have it in my day pack," I said .
"Open it, turn it on . S earch for djinn artifacts. djinn artifacts. " "
"I t"s not working. "
" Why not? "
"B eats me." I pointed at the serpent. "this isn"t a lamp- t hat"s plain enough. "
" You don"t know every thing about our culture. Djinn don" t have to be imprisoned inside lamps . T hey can be bound to al l 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 . T he last thing we needed was to unleash a djinn into our dimension. Let them remain invisible and hidden-in a realm wher e they could do us no harm .
While Amesh studied the green serpent from every angle, I took the opportunity to check out the stained gla.s.s windows . T here seemed to be numerous battle scenes . T hey reminded m e of the story that was laid out on the carpet, except these wer e much more detailed and far more b.l.o.o.d.y. But I still couldn"t se e 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 th e door open from the inside . I propped it slightly open with som e nearby rocks .
I wondered if Amesh had heard the first two laws of th e djinn. Had I really repeated every thing 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 touc h it-and told me to take him to another temple . S ince we wer e still in our first "make-up phase"-after our first fight-i di d as he asked . T he carpet lifted off effortlessly and floated out the opening in the ceiling. We flew over the length of the pond in th e direction of the square temple . I suspected if we stayed abov e the icy water and headed toward a specific temple, the carpe t would stay afloat . I t did .
We entered the square-shaped temple through the roof .
Once more, a candle in each corner sprang to life and we ha d enough light to park beside an altar that bore an uncanny resemblance to the first . E xcept this one was square, and a black bo x rested on top .
"Don"t open that!" I blurted out even before we had stoo d from the carpet. Amesh jumped up and laughed at me .
"Why not?" he asked . I stood . "I t looks like Pandora"s Box."
As if daring me to stop him, he reached over an d poked it .
"I t"s not very heavy," he said as it slid a few inches over th e altar . T he box was a foot on all sides, and yet it had a distinc t i mpression in one side-an inch shy of the top . I t looke d like a lid .
"A mesh," I said. " I"m not sure what you heard the carpe t tell me. But one thing it made clear-after you make two wishe s you owe the djinn. We shouldn"t mess with their . . . S tuff. "
"T hat"s dumb . I t goes against all my people"s stories abou t the djinn. Our tales are clear-the person who frees a djinn ha s total control over it. "
" Has it occurred to you that your stories might have gotte n distorted over time?"
He stopped and stared at me . "I t bothers you, doesn"t it? "
" What? "
"T hat I have the courage to free one. "
"I t doesn"t bother me; it scares me."
Amesh made a dismissive gesture, and as he"d done in th e other temple, he began to study the box from every angle . T hi s 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 finall y picked up the black box .
"A mesh!" I cried .
"Don"t be such a coward." He slipped his nails in the indentation. He was about to pull off the lid .
"S top!" I cried .
"Would you please shut up for a minute!" he said . T he li d was frozen in place. He could not get it off, not with one hand .
r elief washed through me . T here would be no djinn knockin g on our door tonight. But he didn"t give up. He tugged at it unti l he was blue in the face . T he poor guy tried gripping it with hi s 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." i t was just a joke . I was teasing him, trying to lighten th e mood . I t did not work. His jealousy remained. Just his luck, h e had to find a magic carpet that liked girls instead of boys. Plu s he was stranded on an island swarming with invisible djinn, an d he couldn"t find one to grant him a single wish . T oo late, I realized that he might have misunderstood m y last remark and felt I was making fun of his handicap. He threw t he black box down on the altar .
"T ake me to another temple!" he growled .
"A mesh," I said gently, putting a hand on his good arm .
"Let"s call it a night. We hiked, like, twenty miles today. We jus t had our first fight, and it was stupid, like all fights, but it happened because we"re both exhausted. We need to sleep . R eally, I don"t know if I can fly the carpet any farther."
He stepped away and sat on the carpet . "I just need t o make one wish," he said sadly . I sat beside him .
"I s that true? Do you promise only to ask for one wish?"
He gave me a puzzled look. "What does it matter to you?"
"i tried to tell you . I t"s because of the Laws of the Djin n the carpet told me about. One wish isn"t dangerous. But afte r that you owe them something."
For the first time since he had caught me talking to th e carpet, he appeared to listen. His dark face looked beautiful i n the candlelight. Had I been more experienced, I believe I woul d have leaned over and kissed him . I felt a wave of love for hi m wash over me. Who cared if he wasn"t royalty? He was special to me .
"I "ll just make one," he promised . I did not ask him what his wish would be . I knew he wa s desperate to get his hand back. How could I deny him that?
After all he had suffered? I smiled wearily. "Let"s try one more temple."
Like before, I propped open the temple door befor e we left . I hoped to study the interior of all of them before we lef t the island . I t was ironic that as we flew into the circular temple we saw a bottle that closely resembled a genie"s lamp-at least the wa y lamps were portrayed in cartoons. We landed and walked towar d it . T he lamp was polished ebony, smooth and shiny, a wide bul b on the bottom that tapered into a narrow stalk at the top. O f all the artifacts we had seen, it looked the most harmless. Yet a s Amesh tried to lift it, he staggered on his feet .
"I t weighs a hundred kilos!" he exclaimed .
"Put it down!" I said . M y order was unnecessary. He dropped it on the altar . T he round temple was better lit than the others. Perhap s because there were no corners, there were more candles agains t the walls . T hey were red candles. For some reason, these candle s did not burn with orange flames . T he wicks shone with red fire; t hey filled the temple with a deathly shimmer . T he color mad e me uneasy . T heir fire was powerful enough to give me a glimps e of the images in the stained gla.s.s windows .
What I saw did nothing to soothe my nerves . T he image s were even worse than in the first temple . T he scenes depicte d one battle after another . T here were soldiers in armor . S tee l swords held high and corpses lying low. Blood every where . I suddenly felt it was a mistake to be in the temple . E verything we were doing suddenly felt wrong . T he carpet ha d said the djinn were dangerous. Why wasn"t I listening? i t was because I had lied to Amesh, and now I was tryin g to make it up to him. A foolish reason, sure, but I couldn"t hel p but smile when I saw his smile as he stared at the black lamp . I t might have been difficult to lift, but all it had on top was a simple wooden cork . I t would be easy to open. Amesh said a s much . S till, he waited for me to give him my okay .
"What are you waiting for?" I asked .
"I keep expecting you to stop me. "
"I wish you would stop. Do you really want to confron t a djinn?"
"Do you really think one is going to pop out?" I shook my head . "I don"t know. "
"B ut if one does appear, you said it was safe t o make a wish. "
" One wish . I f you make a second wish, you owe it. "
"I know, I know. What if you make a third wish? "
"I think something bad happens. "
" What? "
"I "m not sure," I said miserably . M y uncertainty seemed to give him confidence. He circled the lamp . "I f a djinn does come, I"ll talk to it. You kee p quiet. Okay? "
" Okay. "
" You understand why? "
"B ecause I"m a girl and you"re a boy. "
"I don"t want there to be any confusion about who freed i t from its prison." in other words, he wanted it to obey only him .
"I "ll keep my mouth shut," I said .
"Good." He reached for the lamp then paused . "I migh t need help." t hat was the last thing I wanted to do . T he thought o f touching it made me feel ill. Yet that desperate note had returned to his voice. How could I say no? still, my legs felt heav y as I moved to the altar .
"You want me to hold it down?" I asked .
"Yeah."
"it"s so heavy, it shouldn"t move. "
"T he cork might be in tight. Can you just hold onto it? "
" Okay," I said . I clasped the neck of the lamp . T he black bottle wa s hot, while the room was cold . I t made no sense, unless ther e was something inside that burned to be set free . I tried t o stay calm .
"A mesh," I whispered. He was only four feet away, on th e other side of the altar, his left arm already outstretched .
"What?" he said .
"Let"s not do this . N ot now, not tonight. Please? "
" Why not? "
"B ecause I"m afraid."
He gave me a sympathetic look then, and I was sure he wa s going to listen and stop this madness . T hen his hand brushe d the cork and his face suddenly hardened. He sucked in a shar p breath and his fingers closed around the cork .
"I have no fear," he whispered as he yanked on the cork . I expected a popping sound, but instead I heard a scratchin g noise, like nails being raked across metal . T he noise grated m y nerves and I let go of the lamp without thinking . I t didn"t matter . I t was done . T he djinn did not appear to me; it was visible only t o Amesh . T hat was my first surprise. Yet I was instantly aware o f its presence. As Amesh turned to the left to stare at it, I sense d an invisible shape swelling before him . S omehow I was aware o f i ts weight . I t had the ma.s.s of a thousand kilos; it weighed a ton; a nd I suspected it could crush us if we lost control of it . N o, I corrected myself . I f Amesh lost control. He had set it free. H e was the only one who could master it now .
"I t"s magnificent," Amesh whispered .
He was talking to me; I a.s.sumed he wanted me to respond .
Yet I had promised to remain silent. Best to be safe, I thought .