“Stand back!” I shouted as my whole body erupted in flames.
Through the orange and yellow flames, I saw the look of shock on my father’s face as he fell backward on the sand. I should have warned him. He began to stand, readying the carpet to throw at me to douse the flames, but Jamal jumped down from his camel and sprinted over to stop him. Presumably, he told him that me erupting in flames was normal and I was fine, but I couldn’t hear a word because of the roaring in my ears.
The roaring abated as the wind whipped around my ears, pulling the flames from my body and diverting them to the sand. Just as before, an opening appeared in the desert floor. When it was fully open, everything became silent. I looked at my father. He cocked an eyebrow.
“Ready?”
I nodded
“The Vizier hasn’t made an appearance. I think we are pretty safe,” Jamal commented.
“He wouldn’t make an appearance yet. I think the most dangerous time for all of us is when Aladdin and I go down there. That’s when he’ll strike. You’ll need to keep the guards alert. Don’t come down into the cave. I mean it. It’s not safe.”
Jamal nodded. As My father and I began the descent below the desert, I heard Jamal issuing orders to the guards.
His voice got quieter the further we went down.
“Does any of this look familiar to you?” I whispered, afraid that if I spoke up, the ceiling would cave in.
“Only from the other day. I don’t know where the lamp is.”
“I know, but I’m hoping that you will remember when we are down there.”
At the bottom, things were exactly as they were before I’d knocked over the piles of gold when I was there before. They’d magically gone back into position as if this whole cave was some kind of magical booby trap. It probably was. Instead of stepping out onto the narrow pathway, we stepped onto the magic carpet and flew slowly over the gold and jewels.
“This is so much easier than the way I was doing it,” I commented as we glided over towers of precarious piles of coins.
“Probably helps that we don’t have a psychopath hot on our heels too.”
“True, but I don’t expect that to last. The quicker we find that lamp, the faster we can be out of here and heading home. Does any of this look familiar yet?”
Behind me, Aladdin sucked in a breath. “It’s been eighteen years, Gaia. I’m not sure I’d remember even if I could...you know...remember.”
“What does your intuition say?”
He looked around slowly, taking in the whole cave below us. “Try that way,” he said, pointing at a dark corner of the cave.
I steered the carpet in the direction he’d pointed.
“Slow down!” he cried as we began hurtling toward the wall of the cave.
“I can’t!” I cried, tugging on the front of the carpet. I closed my eyes and braced myself for impact, but we kept going. When I opened my eyes, I found we were shooting through a dark tunnel.
Ahead, a glimmer of light pierced the darkness. We shot over the lamp at high speed. I leaned so far over the edge of the carpet that my father had to hold onto my legs to stop me from falling off. I hooked the handle round my finger, scooping it up. The second the lamp was taken from the pedestal, the ceiling began to cave in like last time. I tried steering the carpet around, but it had taken on a mind of its own and was continuing its trajectory down the tunnel. We hurtled through the tunnel as sand poured in around us. Ahead, a hole opened up, and we shot upwards out into the open air about three hundred meters from the original entrance.
I shook the sand out of my hair and fell back on the carpet, laughing. We had the lamp, we’d escaped the cave, and The Vizier hadn’t caught us.
My father patted my shoulder roughly. I looked his way, and he pointed to a point somewhere behind us.
I turned to follow his gaze. My stomach clenched, and bile rose to my throat as I took in the scene. The color red stained the desert floor. The guards that were still alive were frantically fighting The Vizier, but even at this distance, I could see it was a losing battle. He floated above them, shooting magic down, killing each one he hit instantly. In the middle, Jamal valiantly sent arrows up at The Vizier, but each one bounced off him as though he had some kind of invisible shield. I pulled my magic into myself and readied myself to shoot a ball of fire at him, but my father grabbed my arm.
“He doesn’t know we are here, and he doesn’t know we have the lamp,” he said. “We can’t save them all. We have three choices: Either leave before he sees us, grab Jamal and get out of here, or use the lamp.”
“I can’t use the lamp. It would bring Genie here.”
“So? You wish for Genie to take us all home, and then I’ll rub the lamp and wish for him to be free.”
“You already used your three wishes! I’m not bringing Genie here. That’s what The Vizier wants. I’m not leaving either!”
My father gritted his teeth. “Then we go in and get Jamal and hotfoot it out of here.”
He made a motion to pass me on the carpet, but I stopped him. I couldn’t leave the others to die.
“Oy!” I screamed out toward The Vizier.
“What are you doing?” my father screamed as I turned the carpet toward The Vizier.
“I’m saving everyone!” I screamed as The Vizier’s attention turned my way.
He shot a bolt of magic toward us, which I blocked with fire. I was a much more evenly matched opponent. I had something the guards didn’t. I had magic.
I swooped down as another bolt of magic headed our way. When the carpet skimmed the ground, I pushed my father. He fell, rolling in the sand as I shot back up into the air.
“Sorry!” I yelled down to him. “Get Jamal and the guards and get them all back to the palace! Don’t take no for an answer. I’ll meet you back there later. Make barricades. I’ll fly in through the tower window.”
I watched for a second as my father saluted me and began to run toward the mess of bodies. There weren’t many guards standing, but if I could save some of them, this would all be worth it.
The Vizier flew toward me. Unlike me, he didn’t have a carpet. He was defying gravity, and he was fast. Much faster than I anticipated.
“Come on!” I yelled, patting the carpet as though he was some kind of obedient pet. I steered it toward the mountains and away from the city. The Vizier followed. The only way to outpace him was to lie flat on the carpet while gripping the front. It made steering harder, but if it meant staying alive, I’d take it. The peaks of the mountains drew closer. This range bordered Draconis. No dragons lived in these mountains as far as I was aware, but it was a possibility. I darted around the mountains, weaving this way and that to avoid the magic being thrown my way. Every so often, I threw a bolt of fire behind me. My intention wasn’t particularly to kill him. I knew I wasn’t strong enough. My aim was to keep him from catching up and killing me. If I could keep him following my lead, I might be able to lose him in the mountains.
That was my theory, but in reality, he was too fast. Every time I dodged or swerved, he’d dodge and swerve behind me. Even at my fastest speed, he was still catching up.
“Come on,” I murmured to myself, as I steered the carpet abruptly to the right.
In the distance, I saw a copse of trees. I flattened myself as low to the carpet as possible and willed it to go faster toward them.
A bolt of magic almost hit me, making my body sizzle uncomfortably. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to go up in flames which wouldn’t be good for the carpet. I flung a bolt of fire out behind me without looking, which eased the tension a little.
I could hear him behind me now. Even above the roar of the wind in my ears, the crackle of his magic was unmistakable. I could feel it more strongly than I’d felt it when I’d met him in Urbis. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind and pushed the carpet down into a forward motion toward the trees. As I passed under the canopy of the first tree, The Vizier hit it, making it creak, but by the time it
fell, I was already halfway through the woods.
It wasn’t thick enough for me to hide, but the evergreens afforded enough protection that he wouldn’t be able to see me from above. He’d either have to wait it out on the outside or come in after me. I slowed the carpet to a hover and waited to see which option he would take.
Seconds later, I had my answer. The sound of magic filled the air, followed by the boom of falling trees.
“Come on, Carpet!”
I flew through the trees, confident that The Vizier was behind me. When I was in the thickest part of the woods, I pushed down, gently easing the carpet into a descent. As I came close to the ground, I rolled off the carpet, still clutching it, and pulled the both of us under a bush with the carpet lying on top of me.
I had to rely on the thickness of the canopy overhead to provide enough darkness. I held my breath as the crackling of magic became stronger, and the sound of magic hitting trees intensified.
The urge to set myself alight took hold as the vibrations of magic surged through my body. I’d still not mastered how to keep the magical energy at bay, but to set myself on fire would be like a beacon to The Vizier.
The pain became indescribable as The Vizier passed overhead, but I held the fire inside, not moving.
When I was sure he had passed, I rolled back onto the carpet, and with flames flying out behind me, I took to the air and flew as fast as I could back to Kisbu and back to the palace.
Of course, It didn’t take too long for The Vizier to figure out what had happened, but by the time he was on my tail again, I was already halfway across the desert.
His rage echoed through the air, caught up in his magic. Each vibration left me feeling sick to my stomach, but the magic he was firing at me was too far away to reach. With each minute that passed, he caught up a little ground, and each time I glanced over my shoulder, he was a little closer.
I hated that I was bringing him back to Kisbu, but the people of Kisbu weren’t his main target. I was. I hoped that he would follow me to the palace and that the others would have had enough time to barricade the whole place up.
Instead of flying through the streets, I followed the outer wall for about half a mile before flying over it and heading right for the domes of the palace. Under the highest dome was a window just big enough for me to fly through. As I flew closer, I saw a face waiting for me. My father. The second I shot past him, he slammed the window shut. I crashed into the wall opposite the window, which sent me bouncing backward off the carpet. I fell to the floor, but before I hit it, I fell into a pair of strong arms.
“Gaia! Are you ok?”
The image swam around in front of my eyes, but I knew his voice, the feel of his arms, and his smell intimately.
“I think so,” I replied, rubbing my eyes.
Genie lowered me to the floor but held me steady as my vision cleared.
Jamal, my father, and Freya pushed old furniture in front of the window.
Genie took my hand and led me down the winding staircase to the lowest level in the whole palace. The basement. I was surprised to find it full of furniture and a great number of guards.
“Gaia!” My mother ran toward me and pulled me into a hug. Her whole body shook with sobs as my father, Freya, and Jamal joined us.
“You’ve cut your head!” my mother remarked as she pulled back. “Someone pass me a first aid kit!”
Within a second, someone handed her a box. She opened it and pulled out some ointment and cotton wool and began to dab my head.
“It must be where I hit the wall when I flew through the window,” I explained as she tried to wind a bandage around my whole head. I waved her off.
“It’s fine,” I assured her. “What now?”
“Now, we wait to see what he does,” Jamal said. “The whole palace is empty of people except for us down here. We’ve set the bells ringing in Kisbu, sounding the alarm so people will go inside.”
I nodded my head, which made my brain feel like it was thunking on the inside of my skull.
“The lamp!” I cried out, turning to Jamal. “Where is it?”
He pulled his shirt up and unhooked the lamp from his belt.
“You have one wish left,” he said, passing it to me.
“True,” Aladdin said, “but now we have the lamp. If you use the wish to make The Vizier go away, there are so many of us here that could free Genie later.”
I looked around the sea of eager faces. Some of the guards were practically salivating at the prospect of getting their hands on the lamp.
There were only three people I trusted to use their wishes to free Genie, and my father had no more wishes left. That left my mother.
“Would you free Genie if I used my last wish to make The Vizier go away?”
She looked stunned that I would pick her out of all the people. She looked at Genie, confusion clouding her eyes. She wasn’t fit to promise anything. She didn’t even know who Genie was anymore. Even if she promised, there was no telling if she’d remember that promise.
I was still trying to find a workaround when the whole palace shook with an almighty boom.
The lamp fell to the floor with a clatter. I grabbed hold of Genie’s arm to steady myself, but instead of flesh and blood, my hand passed through as though he was made of only air. While everyone else was looking fearfully around them trying to find the source of the boom, I watched in horror as Genie turned into smoke and was sucked back into the lamp.
Another bang echoed out, this time much closer, sending some of the guards near the outer wall flying to the floor. My father grabbed my mother’s hand as Jamal took hold of Freya. As I was pushed toward the stairs leading up into the palace, I reached down, grabbing the lamp. The five of us dashed through the palace, with Jamal taking the lead. I followed blindly, not caring where he was taking us. Behind us, the sounds of screams pierced the silence.
It sounded as though The Vizier was managing to cut through the guards with little resistance.
We raced right to the center of the palace and into a corridor I’d never seen before.
Behind us, The Vizier had already caught up. I screamed as I sent a bolt of fire whizzing down the corridor behind me. He batted it away as though it was only a minor irritation and carried on toward us. I stopped running and turned to face him, throwing the lamp out behind me to my mother. There was no point running. He’d gotten through most of our guards with barely a pause. I pulled all my energy into myself and sent out a huge ball of flame, this one bigger than the last.
“Stay behind me!” I screamed to the others as I followed the fireball with more flames. The whole corridor was full of fire, obscuring my view of The Vizier, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop him. This was a temporary fix. When the flames died down, I saw that I’d knocked him to the floor, at least. He rose slowly as I stepped back toward the others, edging away from him. He sent a bolt of magic hurtling toward me, but I blocked it, sending it ricocheting off the walls before it ebbed away.
My magic was waning. With each fireball I sent his way, my magic lessened. He was so much more powerful than me, and it was all I could do to keep him at bay. I used the last of my energy to block one of his spells then fell to the floor. I had nothing left in me to fight.
He rose up, walking slowly closer, a gleam in his eye as he stared down at me.
I vaguely heard Jamal shouting my name behind me, but I was too exhausted to move. As if in slow motion, The Vizier raised his hand to deliver the final shot. A flash of purple light lit up the corridor. There was a bang, and something soft and heavy landed on my legs.
Asher lay lifeless, his wings charred by magic. He’d flown in front of The Vizier’s magic and saved my life.
“Come on!” Jamal shouted, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet. Asher’s body fell to the floor with a soft thump. I resisted. I couldn’t leave Asher, even though it was clear he was dead. My heart splintered into a thousand pieces as Jamal dragged me away from The Vizier and to
ward the others.
“This way!” Jamal ordered, opening a door. He held it open as we all dived through. Once I’d passed him, he pulled the door closed and jammed a piece of wood in the handle to stop it being opened from the other side.
“Where are we?” I asked. I thought I knew every nook and cranny of the palace, but I didn’t know this room at all. Looking around, there were no clues. It was a bare room of about ten feet by eight feet with empty shelves along each side.
“It’s the overflow pantry,” Jamal answered. When parties are planned, this is usually full, but since we’ve had all these problems, it’s barely been needed.
I wanted to ask him how he knew that, but now wasn’t the time. Instead, I rubbed the lamp, freeing Genie.
“What happened?” he asked once he’d solidified back into himself.
“The Vizier is in the palace. I think he’s killed most of the guards.”
Genie nodded and crossed his arms, standing resolute. “Use me. Use my magic!”
Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes. “You have magic without my wishes. Can’t you use that?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but before he said a word, everything went silent.
Jamal moved to open the door, but my father held out a hand to stop him.
“Wait. It might be a trap.”
So we waited. And waited. And at some point, night time came.
5
12th July
At first, we took it in turns to listen at the door, but none of us opened it. The thick door was the only thing between us and certain death.
“We need to go out!” I complained for the tenth time in an hour. Being cooped up was making me edgy. “Maybe he’s gone. He could be running a rampage through Kisbu, and we are all stuck in here, hiding.”
“I can hear something!” Freya said her ear to the door. “He’s definitely out there.”
Gaia: Daughter of Aladdin Page 30
