He shook his head. " I told you, that"s blasphemy. "
"I t"s blasphemy when you use Allah"s name for somethin g trivial . T his may be the single most important discovery in th e history of the human race . S wear to Allah that you"ll keep th e c arpet secret. At least until we both agree it can"t be kept a secre t any longer."
He paused. "All right. But you have to do the same. "
" Fine . I swear on the holy name of Allah that I"ll never . . . "
"S top! "
" What"s wrong? "
" You"re not a muslim. You can"t swear to Allah. "
" Why not? "
" He"s not your G.o.d. You have to swear to Jesus. "
"B ut I don"t go to church regularly. "
" You don"t? Why not? "
"I don"t know. Why don"t you pray to Allah fiv e times a day? "
"I do. "
" Gimme a break . I haven"t seen you pray once. "
"I do it when you"re not looking. "
" You mean, you were praying in the bathtub? "
" Yes. "
" Didn"t you get water up your nose when you bowed down? "
" Don"t make fun of our prayers. "
"I "m sorry. Let me start over . I swear to the Father; and t o the son, Jesus; and to the Holy spirit, that I"ll keep secret th e unique and mysterious qualities of this carpet. "
" Why don"t you just say you"ll keep the carpet carpet secret? " secret? "
"I would but there"s a good chance my father will see it. I"m going to tell him it"s just something I bought."
Amesh shook his head. "You"re not keeping it here. "
" What are you talking about? Of course I"m keepin g it here. "
"I t would be safer at my house. "
" Your house? I don"t want to hurt your feelings, but fro m what you"ve told me, your neighborhood"s not that safe. Besides, y ou"re gone all day at work. "
"T hat"s why mira . . . "
"M ira"s ten! she can"t be trusted with a secret this big! Plu s you promised not to tell her! "
"A ll right, you can keep it here." Amesh lowered his head .
"I swear on Allah"s holy name to keep the carpet secret. "
"T hank you." I gave him a hug . I had not known him lon g but somehow trusted that his word was good .
His body was pretty good, too . I let the hug linger; he di d not push me away . I rested my head near his collar, on the lef t side, where I could hear his heart beating .
Like mine, it was pounding .
But it was no time to fool around. He would have been to o shy, anyway . N ot that I wasn"t feeling shy, too . S ad to say but I was fifteen and had never been kissed .
We turned back to the carpet . I t was still acting like a mirror of the heavens . T he darker the sky got, the brighter th e carpet"s stars became .
"While you were in the bathtub, I read up on magic carpets," I said. "they"re historically connected to genies, or wha t y ou guys call djinn . . Do you know how many times the djinn ar e mentioned in the Koran? it speaks of them like they"re real. " Do you know how many times the djinn ar e mentioned in the Koran? it speaks of them like they"re real. "
"M y Papi said something about that. Did you find ou t anything about how to operate the carpet? "
"M any magic carpets are controlled by spells or incantations . I f you know the secret words, and repeat them three times, t hen the carpet lifts into the air. "
"A lot of good that does us," he grumbled .
"I felt the same way until I discovered another techniqu e listed on two sites . T hey said magic carpets don"t fly just anywhere, b ut follow what are called ley lines. Have you heard of them? "
"N o. "
"I hadn"t either . T he British are the experts on them. Le y lines deal with lines of magnetic energy that cover the earth . T here are legitimate scientists who have mapped them throughout en gland . S tonehenge, for example, is supposed to be a foca l point of dozens of ley lines . T hat"s why it"s considered a plac e of mystical power. "
" We"re not taking the carpet to en gland. "
" We don"t have to! I"m just saying the British studied them . T here are probably as many here as there are there. We just hav e to find them. "
" You think the carpet will fly on such lines? "
"I t"s possible. We know the carpet has twice tried to fly i n this room. But it"s never really taken off . M aybe it can"t withou t a ley line to float on."
"Did these sites tell you how to find one? "
" Just hold a compa.s.s in your hand, and when you cross a ley line, the needle will dance. "
" Dance? "
"I t will start spinning like crazy. "
" Why? "
"A compa.s.s is sensitive to magnetic fields, and ley lines giv e off strong fields. From what I"ve read, the lines are all over th e place. We shouldn"t have to go far to find one."
Amesh was surprised. "You want to look for one now? "
" Why not? "
"I t"s getting late. Your father will be home soon . M y Pap i will be waiting for me. Let"s look for one tomorrow, during the day. "
" You"re working all day tomorrow . E ven if you call in sick, i t"s too hot to go hiking when the sun"s up. You might be use d to this climate, but I"m not. "
"I can look for one while you wait here. "
" Listen . T here are other reasons I want to do it tonight . T he carpet came alive as soon as it got dark . T he stars at th e center might have been glowing before, and we just didn"t notice, b ut I don"t think so . I t"s possible the carpet only flies at night. "
" What"s your other reason? "
" Common sense . I f we do find a ley line, and we"re able t o use it to ride the carpet, then no one can see us . S ince I got here, I"ve been hiking in the evening by the water." I pointed. " The b each is usually deserted, and I have the place to myself . T here" s lots of room . I wouldn"t be surprised if that"s where we find a ley line. "
" Does your dad know you hike there? "
" Of course not. "
" You shouldn"t go out after dark. "
"I know; it"s an Arab country and I might be killed .
What is it with you males? I feel as safe here as I do in an y American city."
Amesh hesitated. "Do you plan to ride the carpet ove r the water? "
"I f that"s the direction the ley line goes. "
" Do you have a compa.s.s? "
" One. But maybe we can buy another in the hotel shop . T hat way we can search together."
Amesh glanced at the carpet and smiled. "What are w e waiting for?"
Chapter Five.
Before We Left the room , I change d into jeans and a shirt . T hen I packed a bag of supplies: bottle s of water, binoculars, protein bars, candy bars, a flashlight, a ma p of turkey and the surrounding area, a jacket . I also left my father a note explaining that I had been invited to a slumber part y by a girl named rini . R ini was a real girl . I had mentioned her to my father before . I n fact, he had met her; she worked at the hotel as a maid .
He wouldn"t worry if I was hanging out with her, even durin g the night. But he would still be annoyed I hadn"t called an d asked his permission .
"You think we"ll be gone that long?" Amesh asked as h e watched me prop up my note .
"B est to be prepared. You should call your Papi and tel l him you might be staying overnight with a friend."
He looked uncomfortable. "He wouldn"t believe that. "
" Why not? "
"I don"t have many friends. "
"A ll you need is one. What about spielo? Wouldn"t h e back you up? "
"S pielo"s still in the hospital," he said .
"I s he okay? "
"T hey say he"s going to be fine. "
"T hen use another friend."
Amesh fidgeted. "Let"s not worry about it. "
"A ll right," I agreed, going against my gut feeling . T he sun had completely set by the time we reached the beach . T he night was as black as the bottom of the carpet. Ames h carried our supplies while I held our prize. Once again, I wa s amazed by its weightlessness . I t was as if holding it to my ches t made me feel lighter . T he night was warm and dry, but a faint breeze stirred ove r the water, adding a salty flavor to the air . I felt its coolness o n my neck as we took out our compa.s.ses and figured out whic h way was north . I double-checked the accuracy of our tools b y following the cup of the Big Dipper to the north star-a tric k I had learned from my dad. Both compa.s.ses were working . N ow all we had to do was find a spot-no, a line-where the y didn"t work .
We walked near the water . I took off my shoes and let th e foam wash over my bare feet. Amesh preferred to stay on the dr y sand . T he beach was deserted . T he glow of the stars embedde d in the carpet did not waver . T here was no denying it-the carpet was reacting to the nighttime sky .
"I wonder why," I muttered .
" Sara ?" he asked .
"Why the carpet likes the stars. "
" You would have to ask the man who made it. "
" How do you know it was a man? maybe it was a woman. "
"M aybe it was a team of men and women. "
" Ha! the boy is finally learning to be diplomatic. "
" Don"t call me a boy. "
" How old are you really?" I asked .
He did not answer and I thought he was embarra.s.sed t o admit that he had lied earlier . I couldn"t see him very well in th e dark . I certainly couldn"t read his expression. But I saw his han d shaking .
" Sara !" he cried . "I t"s spinning! "