"Just wait until you have to go to the bathroom."

"I was an idiot to make such a big deal about that."

"You were just being shy is all," I said.

"I've been such a jerk. If I had listened to you when you told me how dangerous the djinn were, none of this would have happened."

"I don't know. You heard the Anulakai gang talking. They've been plotting this for a long time. I think we were screwed before we even found the carpet."

"It's hard to believe that man's not your father." I felt terrible sorrow but tried to keep my voice even. "tell me about it. And my mother's not my mother. It probably explains why I grew up with an att.i.tude."

"You don't have an att.i.tude. You're smart and you know what you want. That's what makes you strong." I shivered; I could not stop shivering. "I wish I could come up with a clever idea to get out of here."

Amesh was silent for a moment. But when he spoke next, there was pain in his voice. "I know the djinn is waiting for you to pa.s.s out so it can make you its thrall. It's not right. I was the one who made all the selfish wishes and you're the one who has to pay."

"Well, being tortured to death is nothing to look forward to."

"I know, but you don't deserve this. Everything you've done with your djinn has been to help others. I can't believe your compa.s.sion and kindness will lead to an eternity of suffering."

"I can't believe it either," I muttered, in no mood to debate the issue.

His voice cracked. "Sara, I swear to you, if I'm allowed into Paradise after I die, and I get to speak with Allah, I'll plead for your release. I'll offer my own soul in place of yours."

Knowing Amesh and how frightened he was of a literal h.e.l.l, I knew it took a lot of guts for him to make such a promise. "I have faith we're both going to be okay," I said.

"It's strange-up until I met you, I thought all non-muslims were infidels. I didn't dislike Americans or europeans, but I didn't think they could get into Paradise. But you've made me see that it's not the name of the G.o.d you worship that matters; it's who you are." I smiled, although my jaw was freezing up. "Amesh, the only reason I've been helping you is because you're so darn cute."

" I'm serious, Sara. You're the best person I know. You're so good."

"Good?" I muttered. "I'd rather be hot."

"Sara. You're real . . ."

"real?"

He stammered. "Really hot."

"Thanks. So are you." it was scary how rapidly the heat was leaving my body. The cold had become the center of my universe. My feet were numb, which made it hard to stand. When I lost the feeling in my legs, I knew I would fall over. After that I would be unconscious in minutes and Lova would try to break into my brain. I decided to taunt her. I had nothing better to do.

"Hey, Lova," I said. "It's pretty weird of you to accept help from the Anulakai, don't you think?" she opened her eyes. "Did you say something, thrall?"

"I'm not your thrall yet. You couldn't get your claws around me, could you?"

"I have time. And you have very little."

"Well, you might want to listen up before you return to djinnville. Think about this. You're accepting help from your sworn enemies. How do you think the other djinn are going to feel about that?"

"They won't care if I return with you."

"What's so special about me?"

"You were born to be a Kala. Now you will be my thrall."

"All right. But they'll know you had the Carpet of Ka and gave it up without a fight. Mrs. Steward just had to wave a crystal in front of you and say the word pashupa pashupa and you couldn't hand it over fast enough. At least they had to beat me to a pulp before I gave it up." and you couldn't hand it over fast enough. At least they had to beat me to a pulp before I gave it up."

"I am not a coward!"

"You sure acted like one. But hey, I think I know how to fix your rep."

"rep?"

"The way other djinn see you. Listen, you have to fight to get the carpet back. It's worth a hundred of me. In fact, if you can get me out of here, I can help you get it back."

"Why should I trust you?"

"I handed it over after my second wish. I'll do the same again."

Lova glanced toward the vault where the Anulakai were probably examining the carpet. "they have a pashupa," she said.

"I know it scares you. But think how they'll be able to use the carpet against your people if there's another war. Who knows what kind of power it'll give them? I'm telling you, you've got to get it back."

Lova considered. "What's your plan?"

"Get me out of this place, back to the surface, where I can warm up, and I'll call for the carpet. It'll come to me. From there, we can fly to the island and I'll hand it over there. You'll return home a hero."

"You needed me to get the carpet back this afternoon."

"I didn't know then what I know now. Later, at night, the carpet taught me a secret technique where I can get it to break down any cage."

Lova was interested, but like always, she wanted more.

"You'd still have to be my thrall," she said.

"No way. You can have the carpet or me, but you can't have both. And you'd be a fool not to take the carpet."

"Teach me this secret and I'll help you escape."

"Do I look like I was born yesterday?"

Lova stood. "I was born thousands of years ago. You're just fifteen years old. To me, yes, you look like you were born yesterday." I shrugged. "Fine. I'm glad I'm going to be there-even as a thrall-to watch you explain to your friends how you lost the Carpet of Ka without even putting up a fight."

Lova glanced at the others; they looked preoccupied.

"If I help you, you'll have to free the carpet immediately."

"Fine."

"How come you can't do it right now?"

"Because, my dear, I'm freezing to death. I can't concentrate in here. Now you make up your mind. Help me or not. But if you're going to help, then it's got be now."

Lova considered a moment longer. Then she moved, fast. She strode to my side of the pool and stuck out her djinn arm. I tried to grab it with my right hand but my fingers were numb.

I had to rely on her to pull me from the water. Then I discovered my feet were numb. I couldn't stand, never mind run out of the cavern.

"Go now or they'll see you!" Lova hissed. I leaned on a pillar for support. "Help me to the cave entrance. The feeling's beginning to come back in my feet."

"Where did the feeling go?"

"Nowhere. The cold just stopped it."

"You humans are so frail." Lova shook as she helped me up.

"They'll see me!"

"Stop whining and do what I said."

Lova supported me as far as the cave entrance. By then I could stand without help. We stumbled past the entrance and started to hike up the cave. I had feeling in my feet but was unable to run. One more minute, I swore, that's all I needed, and I would sprint to safety.

A green light suddenly crackled behind us and Lova pulled me in front of her, shielding herself. Such a brave djinn. I shoved her away just in time to dodge the oncoming pashupa.

As it was, I was the one who saved us. Like an angry ball of lightning, the pashupa flew past the gap between us and hit the wall farther up the cave. It exploded with the force of a cruise missile. The shock wave and shower of dirt and rock did not scare me; I still wanted to make a run for it. But Lova froze in place and I wasted valuable time trying to get her b.u.t.t in gear.

I should have left the stupid djinn behind. Mrs. Steward and my father appeared. Neither seemed angry at me. Of course I was the dead Kala, the sacrifice, the meat on the altar. No one could blame me for wanting to escape.

But Lova had broken their deal. They were not pleased, nor did they seem like the forgiving type. My father spoke to Lova. "We have gone out of our way to help you possess this human, and yet you try to help her escape. Explain yourself."

Lova was stunned. She looked to me to defend her. What a joke. I was going back in the freezing water. I wasn't going to waste my breath on her.

"This behavior cannot be tolerated," mrs. Steward said, her pashupa still sparkling with green light. "this djinn should be terminated." my father disagreed. "Destroy it and its hold on Sara is terminated."

"That doesn't sound so bad," I muttered.

"Then kill them both," mrs. Steward said. My father spoke mechanically. "We want the djinn to enslave her to take her out of our future equations. Kill her and there's a chance her kind will locate another body for her spirit and restart her work against us. You recall I have experience in these matters. Look at how long it took me to negate the one called tracy."

"You're all cowards," I said. "Put me back in your pool; I don't care. I'll never be anyone's thrall. You may kill my body but none of you will ever touch my soul." my father stared at me with blank eyes. "Return her to the pool."

An hour had pa.s.sed since my failed escape, and I was sitting in the shallow end of the pool with my head nodding. I was flat on my b.u.t.t and the warmth seemed to be flowing out of my body so fast they could have been pumping ice water into my veins. I had already pa.s.sed the point of shivering. My physical warmth was being washed away, but I felt a deeper warmth begin to glow inside. It was a psychological warmth, maybe even a spiritual one. It was surprisingly pleasant. It kept urging me to close my eyes and relax and let go.

Lova sat nearby. They had put some kind of weird eye above her head. The strange thing was, I could see it only when I closed my eyes. It looked like a snake's eye. It floated in the air, watching and waiting.

"Stay with me!" I heard Amesh yell. "Sara?"

"Tired," I mumbled.

"Fight it. Fight the djinn. You're strong. Remember what the carpet told you. You have powers they don't know about."

"I'll fight them after I die," I muttered.

"I'm not going to let you go!" I struggled to get out some nice last words.

"Amesh," I whispered.

"Talk louder; I can't hear you."

"Listen, I'm going to black out; I can't stop it. But I want you to know it's not so bad. What I mean is, I'm not scared."

"Stay awake. Keep talking to me."

"Can't. Amesh, I don't mind it ending this way. I feel like we got to be close, and that makes me happy. I'm going to die now, but I want to say I love you. Yeah, I love you. Is that okay?"

"It's better than okay. It's fantastic. I love you, too."

"really? You're not just saying that because I'm dying?"

"Sara. I loved you the moment I met you."

"Is that why you hit me?"

"I didn't hit you."

"Oh." it was hard to remember. "How did I end up on the floor?"

"We were fighting over a package."

"Oh, that's right. I'm sorry." there were tears in his voice. "It doesn't matter. You're great, you're amazing. You were a much better girlfriend than I was a boyfriend."

"It was easier for me. I wasn't possessed."

"I'm sorry I acted so crazy."

"No, Amesh, no. It's not like that. I don't care what you did. The love I feel for you just loves. So when I say I love you, every thing is sweet and wonderful like the day we met."

"We only met two days ago," he said. I smiled to myself. "that's what's so amazing about us. It feels like we spent a lifetime together."

"Thanks for taking away my pain."

"No problem. It's what good girlfriends do," I said. Those were the last intelligent words I said or heard. Amesh told me again that he loved me but his voice was far away. It came to me like an echo down a long cave. Love . . . Sara . . . T Love . . . Sara . . . They were the best last words to hear in my life. Even though I could no longer feel my body, I somehow knew I was sitting with my chin on my chest, my blond hair hanging in the water. Since I was about to die, it did not really matter if I slipped under. I was so far gone I doubted I would feel any choking sensation. But I felt there was something dignified about sitting up while I died. I tried to open my eyes one last time to make sure I was upright. Then I heard my name.

"Sara sashee Wilc.o.x, listen to me. Obey me." I knew immediately the voice did not belong to a friend, but it took me a moment to recognize its source. Then, for the second time that night, I felt weird tendrils trying to enter the back of my skull. It was fortunate that I had felt them before because they immediately put me on the defensive. It was Lova, reaching for my soul, trying to make me a thrall. I did three things in that instant to block her.

I remembered the white light and it was there. It filled my head as if by magic. I remembered my father was no longer my father. That meant Lova did not know my real last name. My father had forgotten to tell her what it was. That fact caused her to panic. I felt her scream inside.

"What is your last name, Sara?" then I laughed, at her fear, and I think it was this laughter that saved me the most. Because only someone who feared they could lose their soul could have it taken away. I was never going to become anyone's thrall. I lost all awareness of where I was. I was just gone.

But I did not black out. If anything a switch was thrown on the inside and I began to feel another part of me waking up. This part of me had always been there, I realized. I had just not been aware of it because for fifteen years my head had been consumed with trivia. It was sad but true-99.99 percent of my thoughts as Sara had been worthless. For example, I realized I had spent up to two hours a day thinking about my body-whether I was cute or not. That seemed impossible but it was a fact. Worse, I had spent another two hours a day fantasizing about what I was going to eat. Finally, when it came to guys, forget about it. I thought about guys even when I was looking at myself in the mirror or eating a cheeseburger.

Yet these thoughts didn't bother me because they were not me. I'd had them, of course, but that part of me seemed far away. That part concerned a girl named Sara. The rest of me had just sat back and watched. That was what I felt like right then. Like I was the Watcher. The Watcher was huge, and I was her, and I could go where I wanted and do what I wanted. These Sara thoughts-i could worry about them later, or never. They sort of bored me anyway.