by Anne Forbes
“Lewis has always done what he likes, when he likes!” grinned Peter. “And he’ll be quite safe, you know. Nobody’ll bother him out there. The bedouin won’t go near the place after dark.”
“You think he’ll do it then?”
“Of course he will!” Jack said witheringly. “Lewis Grant refuse a dare! You must be joking!”
“Well, we’ll soon know,” announced Peter as a shining, silver 4x4 drew into the driveway. “Here he comes now … and surprise, surprise … he’s driving himself!”
Lewis Grant winced as the full force of the desert heat hit him as he jumped down from the cool interior of the jeep. Slamming the door shut, as though he drove his father’s car every day of the week, he waved casually to the group of boys clustered in the bay window of the flat-roofed, white villa. Pleased that there was an audience to witness his arrival, he flicked back his long, black hair and swaggered up to the front door.
“Hi, there,” he said, walking through to the living room and throwing himself into an armchair. “Is there anything to drink, Peter? I’m gasping!”
“Sure, hang on. We’ve bags of cola in the fridge.”
“How come you’re driving your dad’s car, Lewis? Does he know?” Jack asked breathlessly.
“Don’t be daft, Jack! Of course he doesn’t know. He’s in Bahrain just now. One of the BAPCO wells is on fire and they’re getting Boots & Coots in.”
The mention of the famous firefighters impressed the boys and Lewis preened himself; being the son of the Managing Director of one of the biggest oil companies in the area certainly had its advantages.
“But taking the 4x4 …”
Lewis sat up. “What on earth did you expect me to do?” he demanded. “You didn’t really think I was going to leg it all the way over here in this heat, did you? It’s fifty degrees out there, in case you hadn’t noticed!”
“Didn’t the house staff try to stop you? I mean, your mum’s in Edinburgh, isn’t she? They’re responsible for you.”
“Yeah! So responsible that they’re all going to some dance at the club tonight! Anyway, it’d take more than the staff to stop me! They know that Dad has been letting me drive on the private roads for ages and anyway, I’m so good now that I could pass my test tomorrow if I wanted.” He shrugged at their doubtful expressions. “Forget it, for Pete’s sake! What have you all been up to?”
“Not a lot. Reading comics mostly,” Jack said. “My dad bought a pile from the bookshop in the souk. This one’s really good,” he chucked it over to him. “It’s all about djinns.”
“Djinns?” queried Lewis, leafing through the pages.
“Yeah, you know … desert spirits …”
“I wonder if it’s really true,” Peter said dreamily. “There’s one about a man who goes into a ruined city in the desert that’s supposed to be haunted …”
“And he sees djinns?” mocked Lewis. “Don’t be so gullible!”
“I think it’s true, Lewis. I don’t care what you say,” Jack said, his eyes gleaming. “I think there are djinns. It says they live in trees and houses and old wells …”
“There could be some in that old ruined village near the hills,” agreed Peter in a voice that was carefully casual. “My dad says the Arabs won’t live in it ’cause they’re scared of ghosts. And djinns are ghosts, aren’t they?”
“You mean at whatsit … Al Antara? Rubbish!” Lewis said dismissively. “We’ve been to Al Antara dozens of times and we’ve never seen anything or anybody. The whole place has been crumbling to bits for years.”
“We’ve never been there at night, though. Maybe that’s when they come out,” Jack said, sitting up suddenly.
“Hey, that’s an idea!” Peter interrupted, his eyes shining. “I’d love to go there at night! Just think what it’d be like to see a djinn!”
Lewis’s eyebrows lifted in disbelief. “You?” he sneered, “at Al Antara in the middle of the night? Don’t give me that, Peter!” He leant forward and flicked him with the pages of the comic. “You’d be scared stiff!”
Peter looked suddenly furious. “Well, if you’re so brave,” he snapped, “why don’t you go and spend the night there! Go on, Lewis! I dare you!”
Copyright
Kelpies is an imprint of Floris Books
First published in 2007 by Floris Books
First published as an eBook in 2013 by Floris Books
© 2007 Anne Forbes
Anne Forbes has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the Author of this Work.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without the prior permission of Floris Books, 15 Harrison Gardens, Edinburgh
www.florisbooks.co.uk
The publisher acknowledges subsidy from Creative Scotland towards the publication of this volume
British Library CIP Data available
ISBN: 978–178250–074–2