Amesh did not finish. The hidden blade had sprung out like before. Amesh had been wary, at first, to keep the hilt pointed away from his body. But with my interruption he had forgotten about it and the blade sliced his right side. The wound did not look deep but it was long and he started to bleed heavily. Of course, the blood was going nowhere but into the hungry sword, which was still stuck in his side.
Trakur Analova Ta smiled. "Are you sure there's not another wish I can perform for you first?" the djinn asked.
Amesh, God bless him, even with his side gushing blood, smiled again. "Oh great Trakur Analova Ta. I wouldn't waste your healing art on a scratch like this. I've made my wish clear." He repeated it once more, adding, "It is I, Amesh, who commands you."
Amesh had recovered nicely. Trakur Analova Ta drew back and frowned. It was obvious the djinn had no other choice but to grant his wish. The more time that went by, the more blood Amesh would lose.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw bandages. Tape and gauze.
Amesh stared up at the djinn. "Heal her now," he said firmly.
Trakur Analova Ta set about healing Tracy in a curious way. First he allowed his shape to dissolve, until he was a large glowing red oval. Then that oval shrank until it was less than three feet from top to bottom. Only then did he approach Tracy.
But he did not simply touch her.
He sank down into her.
Tracy's body began to jerk and her vital signs became erratic. The bedside computer monitoring her began to beep and I knew there must be a similar computer at the nurses' station going crazy. Grabbing the chair the first guard had been sleeping on, I wedged it against the door—even though it was locked—so no one could enter.
It was a good thing. A few minutes after the beeping started, a nurse began to pound on the door. "Hello? Is there someone in there? Please open the door."
I deepened my voice. "Nurse Palmer here. We have our hands full at the moment. Please come back later."
"I don't know who you are, Ms. Palmer. Is Dr. Landen in there?"
"He's working on the patient. Please, we're very busy. Leave us alone and come back later."
The nurse strode away but I heard her muttering under her breath. She was going for help. Probably for security, who would break down the door.
I turned back to Tracy. Her whole body was flopping on the bed. She was shaking so violently, it was scary. Amesh stepped to my side.
"What should we do?" he asked.
"I'm afraid to interfere. He's the king djinn. He should be able to heal her." I paused to examine his side. The djinn blade was no longer stuck in his side, nor were the fangs still attached to his fingers. He had set down the hilt. But blood seeped through his clothes. I reached for the gauze and tape. "You're bleeding pretty badly. Let me bandage you up."
He stopped me. "Don't worry about me. Your mother's trying to breathe. But that tube they have stuck down her throat is choking her. We've got to get it out."
"But what if she's not ready to breathe?"
"Listen to her lungs," Amesh said, and he had a point. It was as if she was trying to squeeze air past the tube. He set down the artifact and added, "We have to take it out."
Thankfully, Amesh took charge. He told me to hold her steady while he tilted her head back and grabbed the tube and yanked on it. I had no idea how he knew how to do this. From watching ER reruns?
There followed a horrible minute where Tracy turned blue and we worried we had made a terrible mistake. She was struggling to breathe on her own, but her diaphragm and chest muscles must have shrunk to nothing during her long sleep.
But hadn't we ordered the djinn to restore her to the health she had enjoyed on her thirty-fifth birthday? It appeared Trakur Analova Ta was working on refinements but they were taking time. Just as Tracy's color began to improve, we heard a loud pounding on the door.
"This is Dr. Landen! Open this door immediately!"
Amesh coughed and lowered his voice. "Dr. Landen, Dr. Spear here. We almost have the patient stabilized. Please give us two more minutes."
Dr. Landen did not buy it for a moment. I heard him order whoever he was with to break down the door. A cracking noise followed and it sounded like Dr. Landen had brought two NFL linemen with him. They smashed the door a second time.
The Carpet of Ka flew back in the window.
Tracy stopped shaking and relaxed on the bed. She was breathing peacefully, but her eyes were still closed. Trakur Analova Ta reformed into his usual shape and hovered above her.
"She has been healed," he pronounced. "What do you want for your second wish?"
Amesh picked up the artifact, without gripping the hilt. The blade had already vanished. Amesh went to speak. We had agreed on what he would say. He was going to tell Trakur we wanted nothing else.
Then I felt a strong pressure at the back of my skull.
Lova suddenly appeared beside her mate!
She stared at me!
"Sara," she said in a soft velvety voice. "Is there anything you'd like to wish for right now? Anything I or my mate can do for you?"
Her eyes were such a beautiful red, I could not help but stare back.
"Yes," I whispered. I loved the way she said my name, and it was odd because I had never found her voice enchanting before. The pressure on the back of my head increased. It seemed to move deeper inside.
"Sara," I heard Amesh say from far away.
Lova drew closer. "What wish would you like granted?"
"I want nothing from you," I mumbled.
"Not true. You know what you want. We spoke about it during your first wish. You asked for the carpet when you really wanted ... someone else."
"Amesh," I said, remembering. What she said was true. I had asked for the carpet when I had been longing for Amesh to stop hating me. When I had wanted him to love me the way I imagined he had loved me before the craziness had come between us.
"You couldn't stop thinking about him, Sara," Lova whispered as she brushed her hand across my cheek. It felt like a physical hand. "What do you desire from Amesh? His love? His kisses?"
"Sara! Don't listen to them!" Amesh yelled.
"Both," I admitted. "But he's not—"
"He is not what?" Lova interrupted.
The words came out painfully. "The same as me."
"Who told you these lies?" Lova demanded. "Who is trying to keep you apart from the one you love?"
"The carpet. No, the one behind the carpet. She..."
"She has lied to you. You know in your heart you belong with Amesh." Lova spoke sympathetically. "You want the feeling you and he shared to return. The kindness and innocence you felt at the start of your relationship."
There was such truth in her words! It was why I kept listening to her. I didn't want to be separated from Amesh, or told that he was not good enough for me. I wanted to forget all our sorrows and just lie in his arms.
I sighed. "That would be so nice."
"You want a future with him. You don't care that he's not a Kala."
"I never cared."
"Sara!" someone shouted.
"Just say it, then," Lova ordered. "Just say, 'I want him the way he used to be! I want him to be as perfect as me! That is my wish!'"
"I want him!" I cried.
"Formalize your wish. Say, 'Oh great Trakur Analova Ta, I, Sara, wish I could have Amesh for my own forever. To love and to cherish as my equal.' Say the words aloud."
"Oh great Trakur Analova Ta, I, Sara O'Ma—"
Sara, I heard a faint whisper interrupt. I did not recognize the sound, and yet I did. It belonged to my past. I shook my head. It was hard to think of the past with so much pressure in my head. Or a future without Amesh...
"What?" I stuttered.
Stay silent, the voice whispered.
Lova's smile widened and her eyes bore deep into me.
"You hear the lies in that voice?" Lova asked. "That's the voice that wants to take Amesh away from you!"
It's a trick, S
ara, the voice said. Remember how she entered your head.
I cried in pain. "But I want him!"
It's a trap, the voice persisted. Remember how the tendrils attached to the back of your head.
Suddenly the room was spinning and in the center of the storm I saw my mother's face. Mom! She smiled at me. She was the one who loved me! She was the voice to trust.
"Trakur Analova Ta," I mumbled. "I, Sara, say what my mom says..." I paused, confused. Was I still bound to Lova? "Mom?" I whispered.
I'm here, the voice spoke again. Let the light come. Push against the tendril. I will push with you.
I obeyed. The light came and I pushed. Again, I felt such love.
"Sara says Trakur Analova Ta is to leave!" Amesh said, taking charge again. "Her mother says it, too. You're no longer welcome here! Both of you, get out of here!"
I felt a hard snapping pain at the back of my head.
Yet the pressure inside vanished.
To my surprise, the djinn did not argue with Amesh. Both looked suddenly weary. With the pot destroyed, it must have taken all of Lova's power to appear to me and slip a tendril inside my head. Plus, Trakur had just used up a lot of energy healing my mother.
The djinn must have realized we were back in control.
They both began to slowly dissolve.
Yet I heard Lova say one last sentence inside.
One day, Sara. You will be mine.
Then they were gone, and Amesh was shaking me.
"Get on the carpet!" he said.
"My mother..." I stuttered.
There was more loud banging on the door. It splintered.
"She's already lying on the carpet! I've disconnected all the tubes and wires! We have to go! But I need you to fly the carpet!"
"You need bandages," I gasped, stuffing the gauze and tape I was still holding into my pockets. I grabbed some bottles of pills as well.
"Sara! Dammit! Fly the carpet!"
"I love when you curse," I said, and jumped on the front of the carpet. My mother lay behind me. Amesh climbed on the rear. "Where to?" I asked.
"Anywhere but here!" he yelled.
I smiled. "Carpet. Take us to where you think is best."
The door broke open at our back. But we were already floating above the bed and shooting out the open window. Fortunately the carpet understood me even when my mother was not speaking through it.
Just before we split, I caught a glimpse of the doctors, the nurses, and the guards. Their expressions were priceless.
* * *
EPILOGUE
THE CARPET TOOK US NORTHWEST, far out of the city, to an isolated home in the country, beside an unkempt farm. There were acres of grass and trees in every direction. The house itself was huge but old, made of red brick. It was four stories tall. A relic, probably, from the turn of the previous century.
Tracy told me where to find a key—under a pot on the wooden porch—and soon we were inside. Despite the home's neglect, the electricity still worked and we were able to turn on the lights. I still had tape and gauze in my pockets. I insisted that Amesh sit while I bandaged his side. He was a poor patient. He kept trying to push me away. But I was able to stop his bleeding.
Tracy rested on a nearby couch. She said she could move her limbs, but it was as if her brain was not sure how to use them. She could not walk without help. But she was so thirsty, she drank three glasses of water without pause.
"I think I've been dehydrated for the last five years," she said.
I should have been in shock, overwhelmed at least. I guess I was both of those things, and yet, as I sat near Tracy, my mother—it was going to take time to get used to calling her that—I felt at home. Indeed, I felt as if I finally knew what the word meant. Maybe it was because I was with the two people I loved more than anyone else in the world.
I finished with Amesh's side. "How does it feel?" I asked.
He grumbled. "Tight. You used too much tape."
"You need pressure on the gauze to keep the bleeding from restarting. Later, we can loosen it. For now, take a pain pill." One of the bottles I had grabbed back at the hospital was Vicodin.
"I don't need any pills," he said.
"That sword cut like a razor. It stings now but it's going to burn later. You'll end up taking plenty of pills."
"How do you know so much about wounds?" Tracy asked.
"You should know. You were there when Trakur Analova Ta impaled me."
"Ah. I saw that through the carpet, yes. It was like watching a drama on TV"
"It didn't feel like TV to me," I said, sitting next to her. "How are you feeling ... Mom?"
She brightened. "Is that hard for you to say? Would you prefer calling me Aunt Tracy?"
I shrugged. "It's up to you."
"No, the choice is yours." She turned serious. "I know you have a painful question to ask. And I know you're afraid to ask it. But there's no reason to worry. What I did, leaving you with my sister, I'd do it again."
"Why?" I asked. I felt a stab in my heart.
Tracy sighed. "You're beginning to see that the world we live in is much more complex than you imagined. There are many forces at work on this planet. Some are here to help mankind, others are here to destroy us. And others still ... they haven't made up their minds."
"You're talking about the djinn," I said.
"I'm talking about many things you have no names for yet. Suffice to say we have a significant role to play in the days to come. I turned you over to my sister because I had work to do. And you would have been targeted and killed because of my work."
I struggled with her answer. "I guess you had to prioritize."
Tracy stared at me. "You were always my number one priority, Sara. You cannot imagine how devastating it was to give you up. To pretend you didn't belong to me."
"You were trying to protect her from the bad guys," Amesh said.
"Yes, Amesh."
"You never explained how you landed in a coma," I said.
"That's a story for another day." She paused and pointed a finger at me. "But let me make one thing clear. As important as my work is, yours is more important. Many people—and many who are not even human—are hoping you can help us."
I shook my head. "I'm fifteen years old! I have to go back to high school. I have to graduate. When we woke you up, I was relieved. I assumed you would take over now."
"I cannot 'take over,' Sara. I was never in charge to begin with."
"But can't I return to a normal life?"
"Is that what you want?"
"Yes. I mean, the last few days have been exciting, but I don't think I can keep it up. I'll crack."
"No, that's one thing you'll never do. You can have a normal life, but it will mean turning away from your destiny."
"That's what the carpet said."
"That's what I said." She studied me. "This isn't a decision you have to make tonight. I merely bring it up because you need to start thinking about it. But understand one thing—you cannot go home to my sister. Your father will be waiting for you."
"What about me?" Amesh asked, worried. "Can I go home to Mira and my Papi?"
"If you do you'll put them in danger. They'll use your family to get to you, and the Anulakai will use you to get to Sara. Either way, there's no going back."
"But, Mom, you just said I can have a normal life if I choose."
"If you want it, you can choose it right now. You can decide once and for all never to find the carpet."
"I found the carpet by accident," I replied. "I was just sitting there, at the edge of the pit, and I saw it sticking out of the mud. It was not a decision on my part. I didn't even know what it was."
"No one finds the Carpet of Ka by chance. It only comes to those who are led to it. And the person who leads them to it is always the same."
"That woman at the pit?"
"Yes."
"She was strange. Who was she?" I asked.
"You."
I blinked. "I d
on't understand."
"Time is not a constant. It will take more time for you to fully understand the meaning of that phrase. And when you do you will take the carpet and travel back through time and give it to yourself." She paused. "You see, you can decide whatever you want. But destiny is more powerful than our personal desires. You were that woman who led you to the carpet. At some point in the future—I'm not saying when—you will lead Sara to it again."
This was so hard to understand, to accept. If I couldn't go home, I would never see my mother again. And even though she's not my real mother, she loves me. And I love her. To just disappear on her seemed so cruel. How could I do that?
Tracy sat silently, watching me. "I'm so sorry," she said.
I lowered my head. "So am I."
She moved closer to me. "Sara, look how much you've accomplished already. I, for one, am grateful. You rescued me from my endless sleep. You have given me back my life." She reached out and squeezed Amesh's hand. "You were very brave to face such a powerful djinn."
He blushed. "I'm just glad I was able to help."
"But will you stay with me?" I asked, suddenly panicked. I needed at least that to survive.
"I'll stay with both of you as long as I can," she said.
"What about Harry? Your boyfriend? Do you know where he is?"
"I know where Harry is. You do, too."
"I do? I don't think so. He's my father, isn't he?"
"Harry is your dad. But you might know him by the nickname I used to call him—Hara."
It was my turn to smile, and to cry.
"Who is Aleena?" I asked.
For some reason, my mother burst out laughing.
She hugged me and pulled Amesh closer.
"I'm afraid the answer to that question will have to wait," she said.
* * *
Christopher Pike is the bestselling and popular author of more than forty teen thrillers, such as the Remember Me and Chain Letter series. He also wrote Thirst No. 1 and Thirst No. 2, both New York Times bestsellers.
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