The Secret of Ka by Christopher Pike Read Free Book Online Page A

wanted me to lead you to your father."
    "That was just an excuse. The main reason I ran over to the counter was to ... to say hi."
    "You have a strange way of saying hi, Sara."
    "Thank you." I sat back on my knees. "Now tell me how you lost your hand."
    "Why?"
    "I want to know. I want to know you, Amesh. In case you didn't notice, we're in the middle of a strange adventure together. And I have a feeling it's going to get stranger before it's over."
    "There was an accident at my job. I lost it. What else can I say?"
    I put my right hand on his left knee. "That's fine; you don't have to say any more. But I wish you would. I wish you'd tell me exactly what you went through. Because I know it hurts, what happened, and if we're to be friends then I should know what happened."
    He looked away, out at the calm blue of the sea, then back at his plate. "Can I finish my supper first?" he asked.
    "Sure." I returned to my seat. "You have to finish all the desserts, too."
    "All right," he muttered, returning to his steak.
    It didn't take as long as I thought it would for him to finish everything. Okay, I helped with the cheesecake and ice cream. But soon Amesh was telling me what happened to his hand, and when he was done I went out on the balcony to check on his clothes. They were virtually dry, holding on to just a few drops of moisture, which would help with the ironing. And I felt I had to iron them; I had talked him into washing them and now they were all wrinkled.
    The ironing board was not in the bathroom or living room. I searched my bedroom and found it in my closet. It was only while I was stepping back into the center of the suite that I realized something was wrong.
    I panicked. "Amesh!" I cried.
    He was beside me in a moment. "What's wrong?"
    I was close to tears. "The carpet! It's gone!"
    His dark eyes scanned the area. Then he relaxed. He pointed outside the sliding glass door that led to my private balcony. It also overlooked the sea, although it faced south rather than west. Like the main balcony, it was equipped with two lounge chairs.
    One was occupied. By the carpet.
    It seemed to be relaxing beneath the evening stars.
    We took a step closer and realized it was doing more than that.
    "Allah..."
    "God..."
    We both whispered in awe.

CHAPTER FOUR
    T HE FEW STARS in the evening sky were causing the stars in the center of the carpet to glow with a soft light. In some mysterious way, the carpet was tied to the heavens.
    Plus, the carpet had climbed off the bed, strolled onto the balcony, and made itself comfortable in a lounge chair. With each passing miracle, the case grew stronger that we had discovered something truly magical.
    When we showed the carpet to the world, we'd be famous. We'd probably be on the cover of every magazine in the world.
    Yet, the odd thing was, the more I contemplated how rich and famous the carpet could make us, the less wonderful I felt. Indeed, I started to feel sick to my stomach, and I quickly identified what the problem was. We had to keep the carpet secret. I just knew it. Call it intuition, call it paranoia, but I didn't want anyone to know about it.
    I worried about how I could make Amesh understand.
    We were still on the balcony when he turned to me. "I don't think we should try to sell this for money."
    I felt a wave of relief. "You feel the same way I do. It has to be protected." I paused. "We have to keep it totally secret. I swear I won't tell my father about it."
    "I swear I won't tell my Papi about it."
    "What about Mira?"
    "What about her?"
    "Amesh!"
    "I share everything with Mira. We're practically the same person. I'm not kidding; even if I don't tell her about it, she'll know. She can read my mind. She'll know something's up."
    "Let her know something is up. Just don't tell her it's a magic carpet."
    Amesh hesitated. "All right."
    "I'm serious. I need you to swear on Allah's name."
    He shook his head. "I told you, that's blasphemy."
    "It's blasphemy when you use Allah's name for