Free The Secret of Ka by Christopher Pike Page B

for power, or else we had lost our ley line. I told Amesh as much but he was unimpressed.
    This was the first time I had seen him get mad at the carpet. I supposed it was because he was hot and tired.
    Amesh continued. "Last night you kept saying, 'It knows where it's going.' Well, we tried it your way and now we're stuck on a deserted island without water."
    "You just said we're bound to find water. And earlier you praised my intuition. Your opinion of me, the carpet, and the island keeps flip-flopping."
    Amesh was weary. He plopped down on a boulder. "I'm sorry. I should have insisted we turn back when we were floating offshore."
    My anger eased up and I smiled. "We're not dead yet. And you have to admit, the carpet's taken us to a pretty mysterious island. We can't even find it on the map."
    He grunted, dug a candy bar out of the backpack, and then put it back.
    "Amesh, when I say the carpet's alive, I'm saying there's an intelligence about it. And if my gut feeling is worth anything, I feel like it brought us here for a reason."
    "So you're not anxious to get off this island?"
    "I'd like to discover something first."
    "What?"
    "I don't know. Something magical."
    Amesh laid his head back and closed his eyes. "I'd rather find a nice cool pond of water and take a bath," he mumbled.
    I lay down and closed my eyes, too. We rested for over half an hour. Then Amesh was shaking me and saying it was time to get going. The sun seemed to be higher in the sky. It felt hotter. I wished I'd had the foresight to have brought shorts and sunscreen. My jeans and shirt were soaked through with sweat. I didn't have sunglasses or even a hat.
    As we hiked, the terrain changed. The ground firmed up; there was more grass and shrubs to give it stability. That was good. Unfortunately, the hills got bigger and steeper. Up and down, up and down—there seemed no end to it.
    Yet the ravines were not as deep as the rises. Which meant we were climbing. So we never got a clear look at where we were headed.
    As my legs turned to rubber and the burning cramp in my shoulders swelled to encompass my entire back, I began to believe the island had been purposely designed so that anyone foolish enough to try to cross it on foot would not be given a glimpse of what they were in for. At the same time, I began to think Amesh was right. I was looking for mystery in a place where there was only misery.
    God, I was tired! I did not want to just rest. I wanted to lie down beneath a tree—which we had yet to discover—and not wake up for twelve hours. My parched lips were cracked. The blisters on my feet had already popped. Now they were bleeding.
    Without asking Amesh, without warning him, I sat down and took another break, even though we had taken one an hour ago. He walked on another fifty yards before he realized I was no longer by his side. He called from the hill.
    "Are you all right?" he shouted.
    "Great! Any other stupid questions?" My sarcasm was unfair and uninspired. If anything, I was feeling guilty for having dragged him to the island. But it was easier to complain than to apologize.
    He stumbled back down the hill and sat across from me. Then he pulled out a chocolate bar and looked at me like a hungry puppy. I nodded and he opened it, took a bite, and offered me the rest. But I gestured for him to keep eating. He didn'tar gue.
    "You know, I haven't seen you pray once since we left Istanbul."
    "We generally don't pray in front of—"
    "Infidels?" I interrupted, teasing him.
    He frowned. "Non-Muslims. But I'll pray later." He paused. "What time is it?"
    I checked my watch, stunned at what it said. "Six thirty!"
    He nodded. "The sun will set in an hour."
    "I didn't know it was that late." But as soon as I spoke, I saw how long the shadows between the hills had grown. All we had to protect us from the elements was a magic carpet. It was funny in a sick sort of way, I thought.
    "Should we camp on top of a hill or down in a valley?" I asked.
    He considered