"I s the Carpet of Ka older than mankind"s recorde d history? "
" Yes. "
" Can it be damaged? "
"N o . I t protects. "
"I t helps protect me? "
" Yes. "
" From what? "
" evil." I stopped to take several deep breaths. We were gettin g heavy here, especially since I was sitting alone in the dark .
"You said this island is magical . I s there evil here?" I asked .
"Good and evil. "
" What makes this island magical? "
" Djinn. "
" Djinn." my heart shook with excitement. "Are you sayin g there are genies here? "
" Djinn. "
" G.o.d," I whispered. "Where are they? "
" Here. "
"A re you saying they"re all around but I can"t see them? "
" Yes. "
" Can they see me? "
"S ome . T hey see you when you enter their temples. "
"I s that what these temples are? Djinn temples? "
" Yes. "
"A re the djinn evil? "
"M ost are ambivalent when it comes to humans. "
"A re you related to the djinn? "
"N o. "
" Was I brought here to contact the djinn? "
" Perhaps. "
" Would it be dangerous to contact them? "
"A lways dangerous. But . . ." i t did not finish. "But what?" I asked .
"Perhaps necessary. "
" How can I protect myself if I try to contact them? "
" Don"t tell them your full name."
"Why not? "
"N ames have power. "
"M y name has power? "
"T o you it does . T hat power can be used against you. "
"I s it important that I learn the name of any djinn I meet? "
" Your intuition serves you well . T he name of a djinn is key. "
" How else can I protect myself from them? "
" Learn the three Laws of the Djinn. "
" What are the three Laws of the Djinn? "
" First wish, the djinn must grant for free . S econd wish, on e owes the djinn . T hird wish-" I did not get to hear what happened with the thir d wish. Amesh was suddenly nearby, looming over me like an angry lion .
"What are you doing behind my back?" he boomed .
Chapter eight.
He st s rt l e d me, and his tone made me fee l guilty, although I had done nothing wrong . S o I instinctivel y 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 .
"T alking to what? "
" Don"t play dumb . T he carpet . I t 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 displaye d 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 bee n standing in the dark listening to you." I tried acting hurt, anything to deflect his anger. Why wa s he so mad? He was scaring me .
"You were spying on me," I said .
"S pying? I wake up and suddenly you"re gone . I got u p because I was worried about you . T hen I find you off with th e 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?"
d.a.m.n, I I thought. He had been listening for a while . I ha d not only asked the questions; I remembered repeating many o f the carpet"s answers aloud. But I couldn"t remember exactl y which ones. He brought his head closer in the dark . I could fee l the heat of his breath . thought. He had been listening for a while . I ha d not only asked the questions; I remembered repeating many o f the carpet"s answers aloud. But I couldn"t remember exactl y which ones. He brought his head closer in the dark . I could fee l the heat of his breath .
"What did you learn about the djinn?" he asked . I sighed. " I thought it was spelling out words, using th e stars. But it might have just been my imagination. "
" You were having a conversation with it. You knew exactl y what it was saying." He paused . "I s this the first time you"v e spoken to it? "
" What kind of question is that? You"ve been with me sinc e I found it."
" I wasn"t with you all the time in the hotel room. And yo u said I fell asleep last night before you did. For all I know yo u talked to it all night." s arcasm was an old ally of mine, particularly when I fel t cornered. "You"re right. We plotted against you . I t told me th e best way to murder you in your sleep."
He stood and stared off into the distance . "I n a wa y I"m glad you"re sticking with your lies. From the moment w e 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." t hat hurt, G.o.d .
"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 other s dim . T hey spell out words. "
"S how me. "
" Okay, I"ll try talking to it," I said hastily, turning towar d the carpet. "Can you tell us more about who made you?" t he star field did not change .
Amesh crouched beside me again. "Ask it more abou t the djinn. "
"I t said the djinn are dangerous. "
"A sk! "
" Can you tell us more about the djinn?"
Again, the stars did not change, and I knew why . T here wa s too much tension in the air. Besides, I sensed it didn"t want t o speak to him because it knew he was not of the same lineage a s myself .
"I t"s not working," I said .
"Why not? "
"I don"t know. "
"I s it because I"m not royalty? Like you?"
Oh G.o.d, I thought, he had heard so much!
"Amesh, please, I apologized . I was wrong not to tell yo u 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 s o 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, softene d his voice .
"I "m sorry, I shouldn"t have snapped at you like that," h e said .
"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 th e carpet if I wanted to. I"m glad I was successful. And it"s not m y fault if it doesn"t want to talk to you." I turned away . "N ow 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"r e on a strange island . I thought maybe someone had taken yo u away . I called out your name and you didn"t answer. And then, w hen I saw you laughing with the carpet, talking to it, all m y fear just turned to . . ." He didn"t finish .
"rage," I said .
"I got angry; I admit that. I"m sorry. "
" You"re only sorry because you want to fly into one o f these temples and summon a djinn."