I pulled out my cell and set it to take pictures.
"Can you hold physical objects?" I asked.
"If I focus on them."
"Well, focus hard and take this cell phone. Point it at each person in the house or the warehouse or wherever it is that the carpet's being kept. Then push this green button. It'll automatically make a record of their faces."
"That should cost you a second wish," Lova replied.
I hardened my tone. "Don't think that because I just got beat up, you can take advantage of me. Push me and I push back. If you don't agree to get the carpet now and take the pictures, then you won't get a single wish out of me. Understand?"
"Yes." Lova paused. "What's your name?"
"You don't need my name."
"To get a wish from me, you must order it using your name."
Amesh had not told Darbar his first name before making his first wish. Nor had Lova's mate needed my first name to stop my bleeding. I pointed those facts out to her. She nodded as if she had expected the argument.
"Darbar and my mate have experience fulfilling human wishes. I do not. I require your name to sharpen my focus, so that your wish, and only your wish, enters my mind and is fulfilled."
"Are you saying that you might pick up a stray wish from someone in the area and accidentally fulfill it?"
"Yes. There are many humans in this city. Every few seconds they desire something. As a djinn, I feel their desires. I am constantly having to block them."
It was weird, but I heard the truth in her words.
"I'll tell you my first name, that's all."
"I need your complete name."
"Then I guess you're out of luck."
Lova considered. "Your first name will be sufficient."
"Sara," I said.
"And the meaning of the name?"
"I don't know the meaning."
"I must know the meaning."
"Most human names have no meaning. They're just names." I added, "Besides, I think you're trying to manipulate me. I suggest you stop."
Lova hesitated. "You are the master."
"I suspect the carpet is being held in a vault or some kind of box. If it's made of steel, do you have the power to break through it?"
"Yes."
"What if you accidentally damage the carpet?"
"The Carpet of Ka cannot be physically damaged."
It had been a trick question to see how much the djinn knew.
She knew a lot about my carpet.
"All right. Let's begin. Get as many pictures as you can of I 24 2 I the people in the immediate area—before you bust into where the carpet is being held."
"Understood." Lova tucked the cell phone in her silver belt.
"Trakur Analova La," I said in a firm voice. "It's my wish, the wish of your master, Sara, that you retrieve my magic carpet, which is known as the Carpet of Ka. Locate it, free it, and bring it back to me. This is my wish, Trakur Analova La." I paused. "Agreed?"
"Yes"
"Go. Do not return without it," I said.
Her fiery eyes flared with red light. Lova stood and walked north, down the alley. She had only gone a few steps when she vanished.
Naturally, I had forgotten to tell her something. I did not feel like hanging out in an alley. Sure, she might be back in a few minutes, but she might be gone for hours. I needed to find a more comfortable place to recover.
The men had not stolen my pack. As a result, I still had cash, credit cards, and my passport. I did not want to return to my father's hotel beat-up. The blood in my hair had to go. But I did not want to check into a new hotel using a credit card or my real name. My father would be able to track me in minutes. And in Istanbul, hotels wanted to see passports before accepting foreign guests. It was a dilemma, but I wondered if maybe a little smooth talking wouldn't save the day.
Walking proved difficult. My right side was on fire. It was interesting how the jerk had kicked me in exactly the same spot where Lova's mate had stabbed me.
I was dizzy. Sitting in the alley, I had not noticed how bad my head was. But now that I was standing, I feared that final kick had given me a concussion. The lump was massive. The tear in my scalp, below the bump, wouldn't stop bleeding. What if I needed stitches?
A visit to a hospital would definitely cause my dad to be notified. I planned to call him at some point, but I wanted him to think I was staying with Rini again. I had warned her that she might hear from him and have to cover for me for two nights. Man, I was going to owe her when this was all over.
At the first ATM I came to, I managed to withdraw five hundred lira, about three hundred bucks. I flagged down a taxi and told the driver to take me to a nearby hotel. I let the guy choose. He had good taste—he chose a four-star Embassy Suites.
My dried blood and bruises helped me register at the hotel. I started to explain how I had been mugged and didn't have my passport or credit cards.
But I just happened to have cash. I smiled.
The clerk quickly raised his hand. Say no more. Except he wanted me to go to a hospital. I assured him that I had already spoken to a paramedic and I was fine.
Up in my suite, I quickly undressed and headed for the bathroom. I couldn't wait to take another warm shower! Unfortunately, the running water opened my scalp wound wider, and I started bleeding more heavily. I had to struggle to get it to stop. In the end I used scissors and cut a towel into thin strips and tied them around my skull. That worked.
The Embassy Suites had room service, but less selection than the Hilton. I ordered a hamburger and fries. It was hard to go wrong with the basics. The waiter had just wheeled in the food when Lova materialized in front of him. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he fainted on my bed.
"I thought no one could see you but me," I said.
"He didn't see me, but he sensed me, and it frightened him."
The excuse sounded pretty thin.
"Give me the carpet and my cell," I ordered.
Lova handed over both. She continued to eye the unconscious guy. It struck me then that she was looking at him the same way I was looking at my hamburger.
"You startled him, hoping he would faint," I said. "You want to drink his blood."
Lova took a step toward the man. "I don't need a lot. Two pints will suffice. It won't harm him. He won't even remember I was here."
"Are your kind responsible for our vampire legends?"
"We are responsible for virtually all your legends."
That I could well believe. "What do you do, bite him on the neck?"
"Nothing so crude. Here, let me show you."
"No! Take him in the bathroom and shut the door. Do what you have to do. But he'd better be up and out of here in ten minutes."
"I need longer than that," Lova said, grabbing him by the shoulders.
"No. And you're only taking a pint. That's all that's safe. Plus we have to talk."
Lova left with the man and turned on the water in the bathroom. I didn't know why. My hamburger and fries were delicious. I wanted to order another round, but was afraid they would ask me where their server was.
Well, you see, he didn't just deliver dinner. He is dinner.
Lova reappeared in ten minutes and escorted the dazed room-service guy out the door. Then she came and sat on my bed. She seemed in a better mood. We talked as I finished my fries.
"Tell me what happened," I ordered.
She explained that the Carpet of Ka emitted a powerful beacon of light and that it had not been difficult to locate. But the thugs had known exactly how to protect it. They had it locked in a bank vault.
"Are you sure it was at a bank?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Do you even know what a bank is?"
"I know your language, for the most part. The building had the word bank on the side. But it was a deserted bank."
"What did you do when you first arrived?" I asked.
"As you instructed, I took pictures of everyone present. There were
six young men."
"Did you happen to hear what they were talking about?"
"Money. They were excited at the reward they would receive for the carpet."
"Did they say who was going to pay this reward?"
"No. But I had the impression they were waiting for the person to appear." Lova paused. "But someone else came first and I had to hide."
"Who was this someone else?"
A note of fear entered her voice. "Someone who could see me."
"How do you know he could see you?"
"It was a woman. She stared right at me, and she immediately pressed her palms together and started to invoke a spell."
"A djinn spell?" I asked.
Lova hesitated. "Perhaps."
"But she was human. She wasn't a djinn."
Lova was doubtful. "She might have been a djinn in a human body. She built up a ball of light between her hands—what we call a pashupa. It's a subtle weapon. It can destroy a djinn."
"What if it were to hit a human?"
"It would kill them instantly."
"Tell me, is a pashupa usually bright green?"
"How did you know that?"
"I was hit by one today."
Lova's mouth dropped open. She was stunned. "No human being could survive being struck by a pashupa."
I acted casual. "I'm tougher than I look. What happened next?"
"I hid inside the vault. The woman knew where I was. She ordered the others to unlock it. But the moment the door swung open, I was prepared. The woman tried to hit me with the pashupa as I ran out of the vault but I was able to use the carpet as a shield. Then I flew out the window."
"Did anyone try to follow you?"
"No human could follow me. But that woman is skilled in the magical arts. She tried to attach an eye to my field."
"An eye to your field?"
"She wanted to track me. But I knew what she was up to. I was able to expel the eye."
Eye and field. Two new words I had to add to my djinn dictionary. Never mind pashupa. No wonder I had felt so weak when that light had struck me.
"You did well." I studied the snapshots she had taken. The men were strangers to me, but I suspected Amesh would be able to identify a few. They had asked about him enough. I continued, "Before the woman arrived, did you hear the guys talk about ... Amesh?" I hated to give out his name.
"No. Who is Amesh?"
"Never mind."
Mr. Demir and Mira might know some of the guys. I owed them a call anyway. I wanted to see Mr. Demir before I slept, if I was going to sleep. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
Because Lova seemed in a talkative mood, I teased her again about scaring the room-service guy into fainting. But she returned my remark with a cold stare. She spoke as if I were the child and she were the parent.
"Do not presume to know the mind of a djinn. We walked this world before you. We were the masters of this realm."
"What happened?" I asked.
"You command the Carpet of Ka and you don't know?"
"Just answer the question."
"There was a war."
"Between humans and djinn?"
"Humans cannot harm djinn. Not then and not now."
"So you warred with another race? Who were they?"
"You mean, who are they. They were not destroyed."
"Did they win the war?"
Lova hesitated. "Yes."
I tried to get her to speak more about this third race but she clammed up. She pleaded exhaustion. Escaping the woman with the pashupa had drained her, she said. She asked if she could rest. I said fine, but that she should be prepared to respond in case I called.
"I might need you to destroy Darbar," I said carefully.
Lova lay on the floor beside the bed. "That is one wish you should avoid," she said.
"I might have no choice."
"I've warned you of the consequences, Sara."
"Why did you warn me, Lova?"
She shut her eyes. "The Carpet of Ka would not serve a fool. You must be worthy of respect."
"Why, thank you," I replied.
Her compliment was the last thing I had expected.
To leave my suite, I had to remove my makeshift bandages. Unfortunately, there was still blood in my hair. But I could not risk reopening the wound by washing it out. I arranged it as best I could and hobbled downstairs to buy some fresh clothes in the hotel store: black pants and a black shirt—the ultimate stealth uniform. With the carpet in my pack, I headed out into the Turkish night and grabbed a taxi.
Going straight to Amesh's home was not an option. The same men who had tried to steal the carpet could have it staked out. Better that Mr. Demir and I meet in a public place, I thought, although I did not want our meeting observed.
Using my cell, I called Mr. Demir. Mira answered.
"Did you find Amesh?" she asked.
"I met him for lunch."
"Thanks be to Allah!" She sounded so relieved. "Is he all right?"
"He's okay but things are complicated. Is your grandfather there?"
"He's coming right now. Please tell Amesh to come home."
"I will, when it's safe," I promised.
Mr. Demir came on the line. "You saw Amesh?"
"Yes."
"I search everywhere, I could not find him. Where was he?"
"I'd rather talk in person, but I can't come to your house. Others know about the treasure. I was attacked this afternoon and badly beaten."
"Are you okay?"
"I'll live."
"We should go to police."
"The police can't help. This situation has gone way beyond them. Please, meet me in an hour in the lobby at the Sheraton by the airport. Make sure you're not followed. This is very important. I'll be waiting for you."
"I leave now," Mr. Demir said.
"Bring any paperwork you have on Amesh's trial. Any photographs of the defendants. If you have a transcript of the trial, bring that."
"Why?"
I hesitated. "The people who beat me up today asked if Amesh had kidnapped some of their friends."
"My grandson is cripple, one hand. He could not kidnap goat."
"Trust me, there's a connection between what's happening now and what happened last summer. Please, I need to know about the trial."
Mr. Demir was silent a long time. "I bring papers."
"Thank you."
We exchanged goodbyes. I had my taxi drop me at the beach, not far from the hotel, and told him not to wait for me. I wanted Mr. Demir to approach the Sheraton carefully, but I planned to arrive in a manner nobody had ever used before.
The beach was silent, the stars bright, which was what I was hoping for. I needed time to talk to the carpet and consider everything that had happened. It did not take me long to find a powerful ley line to rest the carpet on in case we had to leave in a hurry. It floated a few inches off the ground in front of me.
While the stars glowed in the center, I asked my first question.
"Did I waste a wish by having Lova rescue you from the men?"
"What do you think?"
"I feared that the carpet didn't have the strength to break out of the vault."
"It was never a question of the carpet's strength. It was a question of yours. Had you been able to focus your will on nothing else, you could have forced the carpet to break down any door. A Kala could accomplish such a task. But you are just a beginner."
"So this time I probably did need Lova's help."
"The greatest help comes from inside. The djinn offer the opposite with their wishes. That is the trap in using them too often. They offer quick solutions—when you need to learn how to create your own miracles."
"But there's only so much a person can do," I protested.
"A person is limited by his conception of himself, nothing more. If you really knew who you were, you could stop the sun from rising tomorrow."
"That's hard to believe."
"That's why the sun us
ually comes up each morning."
"Today, after I saw Amesh, I went through a period of doubt where I was scared to help him. I was ready to abandon him to his djinn."
"A person can only demonstrate their courage by overcoming their fears. Someone who is never afraid is either a Kala or a fool."
"These Kalas sound superhuman. Can I really become one?"
"It is the path you have chosen for yourself."
"When did I choose it?"
"Before you were born."
"Is there a connection between what happened to Amesh's hand last summer and my finding the carpet this summer?"
"Several players in this drama overlap. There must be a connection."
"Did Amesh almost stumble on the carpet before?"
"He stumbled onto something. But it was your destiny to find the carpet."
"What did he stumble onto?"
"Mr. Demir will know."
"I'm going to see him soon." I paused. "Amesh was in so much pain today. I worry I won't be able to save him. It was a struggle to get the truth out of him. Do you know if he has made three wishes or two?"
"A djinn cannot control a human unless he has delivered on the three wishes the human has made. So far, Darbar has been unable to deliver. Yet he keeps trying, and he is close to success."
"So Amesh still has free will?" I asked.
"He is driven by a desire for revenge. He is far from free."
"But Darbar tricked Amesh by giving him that useless hand."
"Amesh asked for his hand back. Darbar was required to give him that hand. Had the hand been destroyed, Darbar would have given him a new hand. But such was not the case."
"Sometimes I feel like you're on the side of the djinn."
"Not true. But I understand them."
"Is Lova an ordinary djinn?"
"She was born into a powerful lineage, but is inexperienced when it comes to humans."
"Somehow I can't see her making me into a thrall."
"That's a dangerous conceit. For all you know, she acts kind toward you so you will drop your guard."
The carpet's words chilled me—I had given myself the same warning earlier in the day. Yet it was important to hear it from another source. I had begun to act too carelessly around Lova. I should never have let her feed on the room-service guy.