He shook his head. " I told you, that's blasphemy. "

"I t's blasphemy when you use Allah's name for somethin g trivial . T his may be the single most important discovery in th e history of the human race . S wear to Allah that you'll keep th e c arpet secret. At least until we both agree it can't be kept a secre t any longer."

He paused. "All right. But you have to do the same. "

" Fine . I swear on the holy name of Allah that I'll never . . . "

"S top! "

" What's wrong? "

" You're not a muslim. You can't swear to Allah. "

" Why not? "

" He's not your G.o.d. You have to swear to Jesus. "

"B ut I don't go to church regularly. "

" You don't? Why not? "

"I don't know. Why don't you pray to Allah fiv e times a day? "

"I do. "

" Gimme a break . I haven't seen you pray once. "

"I do it when you're not looking. "

" You mean, you were praying in the bathtub? "

" Yes. "

" Didn't you get water up your nose when you bowed down? "

" Don't make fun of our prayers. "

"I 'm sorry. Let me start over . I swear to the Father; and t o the son, Jesus; and to the Holy spirit, that I'll keep secret th e unique and mysterious qualities of this carpet. "

" Why don't you just say you'll keep the carpet carpet secret? " secret? "

"I would but there's a good chance my father will see it. I'm going to tell him it's just something I bought."

Amesh shook his head. "You're not keeping it here. "

" What are you talking about? Of course I'm keepin g it here. "

"I t would be safer at my house. "

" Your house? I don't want to hurt your feelings, but fro m what you've told me, your neighborhood's not that safe. Besides, y ou're gone all day at work. "

"T hat's why mira . . . "

"M ira's ten! she can't be trusted with a secret this big! Plu s you promised not to tell her! "

"A ll right, you can keep it here." Amesh lowered his head .

"I swear on Allah's holy name to keep the carpet secret. "

"T hank you." I gave him a hug . I had not known him lon g but somehow trusted that his word was good .

His body was pretty good, too . I let the hug linger; he di d not push me away . I rested my head near his collar, on the lef t side, where I could hear his heart beating .

Like mine, it was pounding .

But it was no time to fool around. He would have been to o shy, anyway . N ot that I wasn't feeling shy, too . S ad to say but I was fifteen and had never been kissed .

We turned back to the carpet . I t was still acting like a mirror of the heavens . T he darker the sky got, the brighter th e carpet's stars became .

"While you were in the bathtub, I read up on magic carpets," I said. "they're historically connected to genies, or wha t y ou guys call djinn . . Do you know how many times the djinn ar e mentioned in the Koran? it speaks of them like they're real. " Do you know how many times the djinn ar e mentioned in the Koran? it speaks of them like they're real. "

"M y Papi said something about that. Did you find ou t anything about how to operate the carpet? "

"M any magic carpets are controlled by spells or incantations . I f you know the secret words, and repeat them three times, t hen the carpet lifts into the air. "

"A lot of good that does us," he grumbled .

"I felt the same way until I discovered another techniqu e listed on two sites . T hey said magic carpets don't fly just anywhere, b ut follow what are called ley lines. Have you heard of them? "

"N o. "

"I hadn't either . T he British are the experts on them. Le y lines deal with lines of magnetic energy that cover the earth . T here are legitimate scientists who have mapped them throughout en gland . S tonehenge, for example, is supposed to be a foca l point of dozens of ley lines . T hat's why it's considered a plac e of mystical power. "

" We're not taking the carpet to en gland. "

" We don't have to! I'm just saying the British studied them . T here are probably as many here as there are there. We just hav e to find them. "

" You think the carpet will fly on such lines? "

"I t's possible. We know the carpet has twice tried to fly i n this room. But it's never really taken off . M aybe it can't withou t a ley line to float on."

"Did these sites tell you how to find one? "

" Just hold a compa.s.s in your hand, and when you cross a ley line, the needle will dance. "

" Dance? "

"I t will start spinning like crazy. "

" Why? "

"A compa.s.s is sensitive to magnetic fields, and ley lines giv e off strong fields. From what I've read, the lines are all over th e place. We shouldn't have to go far to find one."

Amesh was surprised. "You want to look for one now? "

" Why not? "

"I t's getting late. Your father will be home soon . M y Pap i will be waiting for me. Let's look for one tomorrow, during the day. "

" You're working all day tomorrow . E ven if you call in sick, i t's too hot to go hiking when the sun's up. You might be use d to this climate, but I'm not. "

"I can look for one while you wait here. "

" Listen . T here are other reasons I want to do it tonight . T he carpet came alive as soon as it got dark . T he stars at th e center might have been glowing before, and we just didn't notice, b ut I don't think so . I t's possible the carpet only flies at night. "

" What's your other reason? "

" Common sense . I f we do find a ley line, and we're able t o use it to ride the carpet, then no one can see us . S ince I got here, I've been hiking in the evening by the water." I pointed. " The b each is usually deserted, and I have the place to myself . T here' s lots of room . I wouldn't be surprised if that's where we find a ley line. "

" Does your dad know you hike there? "

" Of course not. "

" You shouldn't go out after dark. "

"I know; it's an Arab country and I might be killed .

What is it with you males? I feel as safe here as I do in an y American city."

Amesh hesitated. "Do you plan to ride the carpet ove r the water? "

"I f that's the direction the ley line goes. "

" Do you have a compa.s.s? "

" One. But maybe we can buy another in the hotel shop . T hat way we can search together."

Amesh glanced at the carpet and smiled. "What are w e waiting for?"

Chapter Five.

Before We Left the room , I change d into jeans and a shirt . T hen I packed a bag of supplies: bottle s of water, binoculars, protein bars, candy bars, a flashlight, a ma p of turkey and the surrounding area, a jacket . I also left my father a note explaining that I had been invited to a slumber part y by a girl named rini . R ini was a real girl . I had mentioned her to my father before . I n fact, he had met her; she worked at the hotel as a maid .

He wouldn't worry if I was hanging out with her, even durin g the night. But he would still be annoyed I hadn't called an d asked his permission .

"You think we'll be gone that long?" Amesh asked as h e watched me prop up my note .

"B est to be prepared. You should call your Papi and tel l him you might be staying overnight with a friend."

He looked uncomfortable. "He wouldn't believe that. "

" Why not? "

"I don't have many friends. "

"A ll you need is one. What about spielo? Wouldn't h e back you up? "

"S pielo's still in the hospital," he said .

"I s he okay? "

"T hey say he's going to be fine. "

"T hen use another friend."

Amesh fidgeted. "Let's not worry about it. "

"A ll right," I agreed, going against my gut feeling . T he sun had completely set by the time we reached the beach . T he night was as black as the bottom of the carpet. Ames h carried our supplies while I held our prize. Once again, I wa s amazed by its weightlessness . I t was as if holding it to my ches t made me feel lighter . T he night was warm and dry, but a faint breeze stirred ove r the water, adding a salty flavor to the air . I felt its coolness o n my neck as we took out our compa.s.ses and figured out whic h way was north . I double-checked the accuracy of our tools b y following the cup of the Big Dipper to the north star-a tric k I had learned from my dad. Both compa.s.ses were working . N ow all we had to do was find a spot-no, a line-where the y didn't work .

We walked near the water . I took off my shoes and let th e foam wash over my bare feet. Amesh preferred to stay on the dr y sand . T he beach was deserted . T he glow of the stars embedde d in the carpet did not waver . T here was no denying it-the carpet was reacting to the nighttime sky .

"I wonder why," I muttered .

" Sara ?" he asked .

"Why the carpet likes the stars. "

" You would have to ask the man who made it. "

" How do you know it was a man? maybe it was a woman. "

"M aybe it was a team of men and women. "

" Ha! the boy is finally learning to be diplomatic. "

" Don't call me a boy. "

" How old are you really?" I asked .

He did not answer and I thought he was embarra.s.sed t o admit that he had lied earlier . I couldn't see him very well in th e dark . I certainly couldn't read his expression. But I saw his han d shaking .

" Sara !" he cried . "I t's spinning! "