"Trakur a.n.a.lova ta," I said. "It's not I who have called upon you, but this man. He has a wish to make that only the great trakur a.n.a.lova ta can fulfill." trakur a.n.a.lova ta bore down on me. " I'm not through with you, Sara. Take the sword from your friend; let me drink of your blood, then perhaps we can see if your wish can be fulfilled."

"It's not my wish but his." I spoke to Amesh. "time to take charge."

"Trakur a.n.a.lova ta, it is I who have summoned you,"

Amesh said in a strong voice. "Ignore her and listen to me. It is my blood you're drinking."

trakur a.n.a.lova ta whirled on him. "Your blood is common and weak. It is does not belong to a Kala. Why should I waste time on you?"

Amesh was thinking and I hoped he'd come up with something good.

"Your time with me is not wasted, oh great trakur a.n.a.lova ta," he said. "Soon I'll mate with Sara, and when we're married, i, too, shall share in her power as a Kala. Drink deeply of my blood while you can. At the same time, listen to my wish."

Amesh's response was inspired! never mind that he was talking about us getting married. As long as the djinn believed him, I didn't care. The djinn probably believed; there was plenty of romantic tension between us. Well, at least I was tense-i was not sure how Amesh felt. He had said I was hot, but of course, that had been when I was about to die. People said all kinds of nice things to you when you were about to croak. Trakur a.n.a.lova ta suddenly acted interested in Amesh, but he did not turn his back on me. He stood between us, so he could keep an eye on us both. Yet he kept moving and I noticed Amesh was having to turn to follow him.

"What's your name?" trakur a.n.a.lova ta asked him.

Amesh did not answer. Good, I Good, I thought, thought, keep silent. keep silent.

"Your full name. You know mine; it's only proper I know yours." "Your full name. You know mine; it's only proper I know yours."

Amesh went to speak. He had been staring at trakur a.n.a.lova ta too long without a break. I knew he must be hypnotized. Yet I was afraid to interrupt at such a crucial moment. I had warned him . . .

"Amesh . . ." he began.

"Amesh is his name!" I snapped.

"Silence!" trakur a.n.a.lova ta screamed at me. "I offer to speak to you and you turn me over to your potential mate, and now we are talking and you interrupt. Do not do that again.

Once my blade has tasted your blood, Sara, it can always find a way to taste it again. Did you not know that when you thought to trick the king of the djinn?" trakur a.n.a.lova ta smiled and repeated the name to himself. "Amesh . . . Amesh . . . Amesh . . . . Tell me, is it your desire to be with Sara?"

"Yes," he said. I bowed my head and remained silent. Amesh had already made a mistake. If he made another, we were doomed. I could only hope my interruption had broken the djinn's hypnotic spell. It was a pity the creature had Amesh's first name to play with. Each time he said it, Amesh twitched.

"Amesh," trakur a.n.a.lova ta said. "tell me more of your desire for Sara. I a.s.sume that's why you've summoned me. You wish to be her mate?" I held my breath for what felt like an hour before Amesh answered.

He smiled! "i do not need your help in that area, oh great trakur a.n.a.lova ta. She desires me as much as I desire her. No, I have another task in mind. Listen. I, Amesh, wish for you, trakur a.n.a.lova ta, to restore the health of the woman you see lying here. Her name's tracy, and I wish for you to restore her physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health-to the level it was at on her thirty-fifth birthday. This is my wish, trakur a.n.a.lova ta. Please carry . . ."

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 in his gut. Trakur a.n.a.lova ta smiled. "Are you sure there's not another wish I can perform for you first?" the djinn asked.

Amesh, G.o.d bless him, even with his side gushing blood, smiled again. "Oh great trakur a.n.a.lova 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 command you."

Amesh had recovered nicely. Trakur a.n.a.lova 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 the corner of my eye I saw bandages. Tape and gauze.

Amesh stared up at the djinn. "Heal her now," he said firmly. Trakur a.n.a.lova ta set about healing tracy in a curious way.

First he allowed his shape to dissolve, until he was a large oval of red light. Then that oval shrunk 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 lay down on top of 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 nurse's station going crazy. Grabbing the chair the first guard had been sleeping on, I wedged it against the door 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. "h.e.l.lo? 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. 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 like 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 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. 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 a.n.a.lova 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 a.n.a.lova ta reformed into his usual shape and hovered above her.

"She has been healed," he p.r.o.nounced. "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 what he would say. He was going to tell trakur we wanted nothing else. Then I felt a strange 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.

"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 something 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. I felt it like it was a physical hand. "What do you desire from Amesh? His love? 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 lay 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.

"Now formalize your wish. Say, 'Oh great trakur a.n.a.lova 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 a.n.a.lova 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, Sara," 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 a.n.a.lova 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 a.n.a.lova ta is to leave!" Amesh said, tak ing charge again. "Her mother says it, too. You, too, Lova. You're no longer welcome here! Go on! Both of you, get the h.e.l.l out of here!" I felt a hard snapping pain at the back of my head. 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 seen 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. T 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 holding into my pockets.

"Sara! Dammit! Fly the carpet!"

"I love when you curse," I said, blinking. I woke up right then 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. Out the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of the doctors, the nurses, and the guards. Their expressions were priceless.

e p I l o g u e

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 gra.s.s and trees in every direction. The house itself was huge but old, made of red brick.

A relic, probably, from the turn of the previous century. It was four stories tall. The nearby trees blocked the moon. Tracy told me where to find a key-under a pot on the wooden porch-and soon we were inside. Despite the home's ne glect, 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 gla.s.ses 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 had finally come home. 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. "It's too 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." I had picked up a bottle of Vicodin in my mother's hospital room.

"I don't need any pills," he said. I shrugged. "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 a.n.a.lova ta stuck his blade in my guts."