Part 17 (1/2)

But that brought up a disquieting question: Had the carpe t purposely put Amesh in danger so I would have to save him? i n other words, were the two of us mere puppets? I challenged th e carpet on this point, and it replied that I had to have faith, tha t I had been led to the island and the carpet for a reason. Later, I asked the carpet about other people who had invoked the djinn . I ts answer was chilling .

”M ost of those humans are now thralls of those djinn. ”

” Where are they now?” I asked .

”You don't want to know.”

Frustrated with how slow I was learning to throw pots, I asked the carpet if Aleena could make one for me. But it sai d if I wished to attach a djinn to the pot, then it had to be a n extension of who I was or I wouldn't be able to control th e creature .

What was the secret of throwing the perfect pot? it wa s fearlessness and confidence. Aleena taught me to approach th e clay with a quiet mind, but with a firmly fixed vision of what I wanted to create . T hen I would be able to mold the lump of cla y into a thing of beauty . I cannot recall how many days it was after I faced th e bloodthirsty djinn that I threw my first perfect pot . I t coul d have been three or four days, it could have been a week. Bu t when I did it, the result was exactly what I needed . I was no longer simply an apprentice . I was a real liv e potter .

Yet the pot needed a lid; it needed handles . T hose too k another day to fas.h.i.+on . I n the meantime the pot dried and I primed it with a white liquid and set about painting it according to the carpet's instructions . I had to create a specific sta r pattern, which the carpet said mirrored the djinn's character . I n other words, I was recreating my djinn's astrological chart o n the pot .

And here I had always thought astrology was for the birds . I asked why the other artifacts did not have stars painte d on them . T he carpet's answer surprised me. ”they do; you just can' t see them.” t he carpet also had me paint and carve the name of th e djinn into the pot . I t explained that such a technique made i t almost impossible for the djinn to disconnect itself from th e artifact. Once I returned to istanbul, it a.s.sured me, I would nee d such control . T he carpet made it sound like I was going to war . s...o...b.. it, I thought. Bring them on; I felt ready .

Or maybe I was just sick of the goats . T heir smell, thei r brutal kicks and constant baying . I tried to convince Hara w e should eat more goat meat and less lamb. I'm afraid to say tha t I never formed a warm and fuzzy relations.h.i.+p with the beasts . T he day after I painted my pot, Aleena immersed it in th e intense heat of the kiln . T he process was fascinating to watch . T he clay and paint fused to form a s.h.i.+ny surface that, colorwise, reminded me of the carpet as much as Aleena's finest work .

When it was done, she set it out in the cool evening air . T hen we shared a meal that we understood would b e our last . T hey tried their best to get me to stay longer . I refused. Ye t if I was honest with myself, I was pretty sure Amesh had alread y made his third wish . I f that was the case, and he was a thrall, I w as not sure how I could use my djinn to free him . T he carpe t did not answer when I asked such things . I t never gave me muc h hope that he could be saved .

”A ct. Do the best you feel you can do. But don't worr y about the fruit of your actions . T hat is beyond your control.” t he night the pot was ready, Hara offered to help me carr y it to the valley of the temples . I politely declined . I planned t o fly there. But then the carpet said it wanted Hara to come, an d to fly on the carpet with me . I should have known somethin g odd was up right then, but I did not understand .

Hara held my two-foot-tall pot . I carried a torch and th e lid of the pot. Aleena stayed behind, but gave me a long lingering hug goodbye . S he had tears in her eyes when she let go. W e had become close, but I did not know we were that close .

Perhaps I had misread her feelings from the start .

We rode the carpet to the valley, but got a late start . T h e red star had already risen in the east and its sober light shon e over the cold pools of water that separated the temples . I trie d asking Hara about the star but he shook his head as if to say i t was not something to talk about in the dark .

We landed outside the triangular temple and entere d through the front door. Approaching the altar, I feared tha t trakur a.n.a.lova ta would put in an appearance, but the buildin g felt oddly calm . I asked the carpet if Hara should be presen t while I invoked the djinn and it said no . I t added: ”But be grateful for his help. He will watch over the pot.”

”Watch over it?” I asked, shocked. ” I'm taking it with me. ”

” You cannot. ”

”A mesh took his lamp with him when he left wit h his djinn. ”

” His artifact is hard to destroy. Yours is easy . I t must b e guarded. ”

”B ut doesn't my djinn go back inside my pot when I'm no t using it? ”

” Your mind is stuck on cartoons about genies and thei r lamps . T he djinn gets attached to your pot . I t is through you r pot that it gets attached to this world. But it does not have t o stay inside the pot, not once you have bound it to you and t o this world. ”

” Won't the distance the djinn is from the pot affect th e control I have over the djinn? ”

”N o . E specially if she believes you're going to make thre e wishes. ”

”T hat's my point!” I complained . ”I f I do make wishes, I'll need to destroy the pot to cancel out my contract wit h the djinn. ”

”I 'm aware of your plan and it is sound. ”

”B ut if the pot's here and I'm in istanbul, I won't be abl e to destroy it when I want to. ”

” Do not worry about that.” I shook my head. ”this is insane . T his is not what I planned.”

”You must learn that things do not always go according t o your plans . T o keep your djinn attached to your pot, and the po t safe, it must stay here.”

Hara saw that I was distraught, arguing with the carpet. H e felt helpless, I think, that he could not do more for me. He gav e me a hug the same way Aleena had. He shed a few tears, too . T hen he took the torch and left the temple. Yet he made sur e the door remained propped open. He really was going to chec k on my pot . T he carpet instructed me to set the pot in front of th e altar, and to sit with the pot between me and the altar . I laid th e carpet out nearby; I still had some last-minute questions .

”I s trakur a.n.a.lova ta's mate in the temple?” I asked .

”S he is near . R emember, she is free, unattached to an artifact. But she will be anxious to attach to your pot, especiall y after you defeated her mate. ”

” Why? ”

”S he seeks revenge.” I s.h.i.+vered. ”Her husband got at least four pints of bloo d out of me . I didn't even scratch him. He has nothing to complain about. Besides, my side's not totally healed . I still hav e pain there. ”

” You may always have such pain . I t's part of the price yo u pay to walk the path you have chosen. ”

”I haven't chosen to walk any path. I'm just trying t o save Amesh.”

”You have a great destiny set before you. You can try t o achieve it, at great cost and sacrifice, or you can run from it an d sink into mediocrity . T he choice is yours. ”

” Did I ever tell you that you need to lighten up?” I said .

”Greatness requires commitment. ”

” each time I've faced a djinn, I've felt intuitively that I hav e to try to remain in charge. But it makes me wonder how to ac t with a djinn that's going to be following me around . S ay I tel l it to go away so I can sleep . T he djinn can always say to me, 'i s that a wish?' You see what I'm getting at? ”

”T he djinn will try to do that every chance it gets. Yo u have to stop it from taking liberties . M ake it clear that you'r e the master and your orders are not the same as your wishes.” t here was a rustle in the air .

”T rakur a.n.a.lova La comes. Quietly repeat her name. Guid e her into the pot. When she is inside, put the top on . T hen sh e will be bound to it. ”

” Won't I have to let her back out when we head fo r istanbul? ”

”A part of her will remain connected to this pot . M ost o f her will go with you to the city. But once she enters the pot, l eave her inside. ”

”I 'm finally beginning to see how this works,” I said .

”Good. You fly the carpet, not the djinn . T hey have a tendency to abuse magic carpets and treat them as slaves. ”

” Okay.” suddenly I could sense an invisible being in th e a rea . S he didn't feel as large as her husband, yet she felt mor e focused. Her energy was more concentrated . I began to recite her name. ”trakur a.n.a.lova La . T raku r a.n.a.lova La . T rakur a.n.a.lova La.” it wasn't long before a mis t formed between me and the altar. unlike the previous invocations I had been involved with, this djinn didn't quickly a.s.sume a form . I thought I understood why. unlike the other djinn-wh o were attached to artifacts and accustomed to ensnaring unwar y humans-this one had not put its foot into our realm in ages, i f it had ever done so . I continued to chant its name for hal f an hour before it settled on a shape . I didn't get impatient . I could see it was making progress. Also, the form it chose wa s pleasant . S he looked like a human queen, with long, black s.h.i.+ny hair, a veritable shawl made out of darkness . S he wore a crown, a small gold one, and not much else. Her dress was mostly shee r and black . S he was dark-skinned . I f not for a wide silver bel t around her waist and a similar necklace atop her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, sh e would have been exposed . T he necklace and belt were draped i n hair-like material and inlaid with precious stones, mostly rubies, w hich matched the creature's eyes . T hey were black and had fier y red pupils . T he color reminded me of the blood her husban d had stolen from my veins . I wondered if they shared the same appet.i.tes .

s he stood. ”trakur a.n.a.lova La,” I said in a firm voice .

”Come closer.” s he came near, glancing at the pot with distaste . T o m y surprise she gave off a faint camphor smell, which was rathe r pleasant .