“Is that a trick you see every day? Or this?” Their bedding—the coarse blankets on which they had lain together in such ecstasy—flew into the back of the truck. They kept coming nonstop. Red blankets. Blue ones. Plaids and knobby tweeds. Wool. Cotton. Silken coverlets. Until finally Nesrin gave her head a quick shake to stop the spell.
She drew an uneven breath.
“How did you...how did you do that?” he asked, visibly shaken out of his complacency.
“I am a genie, Parker. I was born in this village nine hundred years ago. My father, and his before him, were genies with mystical powers far greater than mine. I was condemned into a lamp, and you, Parker Dunlap, released me.”
“No.”
“Would you like me to conjure another spell? A thousand wolves, perhaps. Or a sandstorm. I have never tried that.” She flicked her wrist and a fountain of sand arose around his feet.
The horrified look in Parker’s eyes sent a shaft of pain to Nesrin’s heart. Now he believed her. Finally. And the reality appalled him. In his mind, she had become a monstrous witch. She had not anticipated such a disastrous reaction. She had only wanted him to see her...accept her...as she was.
His normally healthy complexion drained of all color, then his cheeks shot through with furious red. “Last night...did you...what we did...was that a spell you cast?”
“Not in the same way,” she conceded softly. She had cast that spell with her heart, evidently with even less skill than she could conjure mourning doves into the air.
“The other things...back at the ranch...” She could almost see his memories scrolling through his mind. “Those birds were your doing?”
She nodded.
“At the river, when Kevin said the horse flew?”
“I believe I levitated Magnum without realizing what I was doing. Normally such an act is a very complicated spell to conjure.”
Visibly shaken, he said, “Once I saw Amy floating above the bed. Did you—”
“I was practicing. She fell when you broke my concentration.”
“Once, I thought...dammit, I was sitting on a throne and eating grapes. Did you...”
She nodded again. “I was not sure you would also see the vision of my mind’s eye.”
“Good God...” He snatched up the shirt he had hung over the truck’s windowsill and tugged it on. “I think we’d better get back to town.”
“Yes, of course.” Keeping her chin held high, she went around to the passenger side of the truck. Her future now seemed no less bleak than during the long years she had spent in the darkness of the lamp.
He sat there, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “Maybe it’d be quicker if you just zapped us back to the airport. Or all the way to Colorado, for that matter.”
“If you wish, I will attempt such a spell. But you should know my powers are sometimes erratic.”
“Are you saying we could end up at the North Pole?”
“Possibly.”
With a disbelieving shake of his head, he started the engine. “If you don’t mind, I think I’d rather rely on a more ordinary mode of transportation.”
As they drove away, Nesrin glanced over her shoulder and directed the full power of her incantations at the ruins.
A moment later there was a gratifying rumble from deep in the earth. A cloud of dust rose from the village as the walls of Rasheyd’s evil conjuring room collapsed in on themselves. Above the ground, walls already dissolving to dust toppled over and filled the hole. There was no trace left of the man who had brought Nesrin so many years of agony.
Even so, she felt little sense of relief. Her heart was already filled with too much sorrow that Parker could not love her.
* * *
THE TRAFFIC THROUGH TOWN en route to the airport was as chaotic as Parker’s thoughts.
A real genie? With a bag of tricks that had no logical explanation?
Impossible.
Except he’d seen it with his own eyes. More than once. All the way from the ruins back to the city, incidents had looped through his brain like a circling videotape. A mile-high pile of peanut butter sandwiches. Black birds appearing out of nowhere. A horse that literally flew. And finally a belt and buckle snapping apart for no apparent reason.
Parker’s equilibrium shifted. He was spinning on a centrifuge and pulling too many Gs, but he couldn’t find the “chicken” switch that would stop the damn thing so he could get off.
A garishly painted taxi darted out from a side street right into his path. Parker swerved the truck just in time to avoid a collision.
Or maybe Nesrin had cast a spell to ward off the vehicle.
How the hell was he supposed to know? It was enough to drive a man crazy.
Worse yet, he wouldn’t dare let anyone back home know the truth. The locals would be sure Nesrin was a candidate for the funny farm. Hell, they’d probably escort both Nesrin and Parker inside and lock the door. At the very least, they’d turn her into a media sideshow.
Where would any of that leave Amy and Kevin? he wondered in a grim moment of near panic.
With a great gnashing of gears, the truck lurched to a stop in the airport parking lot. Abdel knew to pick it up later and return it to the owner. That had been part of the deal made by the honorable beggar. Parker’s job was to get Nesrin safely out of the country without a passport, which was likely to take a lot of smooth talking on his part.
“When we get inside let me handle things,” he warned. “You not having a passport is going to make getting a ticket out of the country a little dicey.”
As Nesrin got out of the truck, she asked, “When does the plane leave?”
“In less than an hour, if it’s on time.”
She nodded. Soon she would be leaving her homeland forever. Certainly there was nothing in this harsh country to keep her and she had no doubts Parker would complete what he saw as his duty to her, helping her to escape Rasheyd and his men.
Her future, however, was still obscured by her feelings for Parker.
Although she had grown accustomed to the clothing worn in his country, and the freedom of movement they provided a woman, today she was grateful to be fully veiled. She had held herself erect and determined throughout the entire trip back from her village, but she knew if she were unveiled, her face would reveal a deep sadness that she could not mask.
Walking two paces behind Parker, as was the custom of her people, she followed him toward the bustling air terminal. The modern glass-and-steel building contrasted sharply with the ruins of her ancient village, and the poverty of the beggars who lingered near the entrance. Inside it was like a crowded bazaar. Nesrin closed the gap between herself and Parker. He carried the lamp, with its treasure of jewels, in a pack slung over his shoulder.
Parker glanced over his shoulder. “Can you keep up, Nesrin? I don’t want us to get separated in this crowd.”
When he reached for her, she shrugged away. “Hush, Parker,” she hissed. “You will draw attention to us. I am supposed to walk behind you.”
He grimaced. “Well, stay close.”
But it was already too late. Someone in the crowd had noticed them.
“There she is!” a woman shouted. “Look at her feet! That gold anklet!”
Nesrin whirled. “Tuëma,” she gasped. “Rasheyd’s wife.”
“Get the man, too,” a male voice shouted. “The sheikh wants his eyes plucked and mounted. Ten thousand rupees is the reward.”
Parker cursed. He grabbed Nesrin’s hand and pulled her away from the ticket lines. At a run, they raced back outside.
“Rasheyd wants the gems,” Nesrin said. “Give them to him.”
“He wants more than that, Nesrin. You can bet he still wants you. Forget he wants to mount my eyeballs for a trophy.”
She groaned. Parker was right. She had angered Rasheyd and embarrassed him in front of his friends. He would want vengeance, as well as the gems. Against both of them.
“Then you must go without me. You can c
atch the plane and I will hide—”
“Not on your life, sweetheart.”
“But no one will recognize you.”
“Rasheyd and one of his buddies would. They came to the ranch, remember?”
“But not when you were wearing the robes of an Arab.”
They raced around the end of the building and stopped, both of them breathing hard. Nesrin knew Parker was trying to form a plan in his mind. Their situation appeared quite hopeless, unless—
Fear sliced through her. Could she, even to save Parker, suggest such a desperate plan? She wanted to be that noble. She wanted to believe her love for him would be strong enough to carry her across a terrible threshold and safely back again.
But nine hundred years of darkness had taken its toll. Her courage faltered.
“Perhaps we could drive the truck to the border,” she suggested.
“You’re right. That’s probably our best bet.” He peered around the corner, then swore loudly. “There’re guards swarming all over the damn truck. They’ve got Abdel, too, and it looks like they’re having a very unfriendly conversation with him.”
Tears sprang to Nesrin’s eyes. She could not allow Abdel to suffer. Not if she had the power to protect him.
“Parker, you must curse me back into the lamp.”
He cut her a glance. “Honey, that kind of stunt is way outside my league.”
“I remember the words Rasheyd spoke.” If she had been in the lamp ten thousand years, she never would have forgotten a syllable of the ancient words that had condemned her. “If you repeat them after me then I will vanish into the lamp.”
“What good will that do us?” Though skeptical, at least he had listened to her idea. “They’re still going to nail me.”
“The jewels in the lamp will save us. When I am back in the lamp, you will scatter the gems on the ground in front of the building and I will conjure up a hundred more beggars—”
“Can you do that from inside the lamp?”
“I do not know,” she conceded. “Even so, I think the plan will work and will solve the problem of my not having a passport, for no one will see me.” Surely, though desperate, it was their best chance. And she hated herself that she was so frightened by the prospect. “With so many jewels on the ground, people will go crazy. Then you will slip inside the building and simply become an Arab businessman traveling alone to America.”
“Carrying a brass lamp in my hands?”
“Yes, please. I would not wish to remain here.” Not in unending darkness so far away from Parker she would not even hear his voice again.
“Has it occurred to you, if I can get you inside that lamp, I don’t have the vaguest idea of how to get you back out again?”
“You did it before.”
“Yeah, but—”
A bloodcurdling scream came from across the parking lot. Abdel...
“There is no time to waste, Parker. Say these words after me.”
Nesrin began the curse, slowly, hesitantly, her voice trembling on each harsh sound. As Parker’s deep voice echoed hers, dread gnawed through Nesrin’s awareness. To never feel the warmth of the sun on her flesh again, nor to see a human face, was a terrible price to pay. But to know she would never feel Parker’s arms around her, or his lips pressed against hers once more was almost a greater burden than she could bear.
Abdel screamed anew. She had no choice but to continue. An honorable man, the beggar should not pay that which was still due on her father’s wager.
She finished the curse, and so did Parker.
A great pressure squeezed her from all sides. She called out her pain, but to no avail. As she felt her insides reshape and become boneless, she knew it was too late. Her dancing skirt caught on a rough edge, and she knew her only hope was that Parker could recall the power that had once released her from imprisonment.
She trembled in the darkness of the lamp, and a single tear crept down her cheek as she prayed that Parker would remember the key that would allow her escape.
* * *
“MY GOD...NESRIN?”
The impossibility of what had happened sliced through Parker’s gut. There was no longer a way to deny it, no way to rationalize or hedge. Nesrin was a genie. And he’d just watched the last trace of her silken skirt vanish into a brass lamp. She was gone. Vanished. The lamp hadn’t changed one iota. Not the weight. Not the look of it. Except now Nesrin was inside.
Shock ripped through him like a linebacker hitting a quarterback full on. He all but stumbled backward with the impact.
He looked around as if by still denying what he knew to be true, he could make her reappear, her flesh warm, her dark eyes gleaming with the trick she’d pulled—a magician’s assistant who pops up on the opposite side of the stage, to the wild approval of a gullible audience.
But he couldn’t make her reappear. Not yet. And the goons were still having a serious conversation with Abdel. He needed a distraction and he needed it now.
He lifted his incredulous gaze from the lamp and found what he’d been hoping for. Scores of beggars milled around the entrance to the air terminal. More beggars than Parker had ever seen in his life, and the number seemed to be growing. Nesrin had done her part by casting a spell. Now it was his turn to get the two of them safely out of the country.
He adjusted his turban lower on his head and checked his robes. A traveling Arab businessman, if no one got too close a look.
Heading purposefully toward the mob of beggars, he tipped the lamp. Green and red gems spilled out of the spout into his palm. He hoped it would be equally easy later on to retrieve Nesrin from inside the lamp.
“Here we go,” he said to her, feeling foolish talking to a lamp.
He’d taken only a few steps when he spotted the beady eyes and hawk nose of Rasheyd on the opposite side of the mob. Things were likely to get very uncomfortable if Parker didn’t act quickly.
He seeded the sidewalk with a handful of gems. “Rubies for the sons of Allah,” he announced.
For a moment, he didn’t think anyone in the crowd had heard him. The beggars kept milling around hassling anyone who looked as if they might have a few extra coins.
Parker began to sweat. Rasheyd was getting closer. The whole deal was about to blow up in his face. “Nesrin, nothing’s happening....”
Then, as though they’d heard a silent command, the mob surged forward like the head of some monstrous dragon. Those in front dived for the gems on the ground. Others shoved their way up from the back of the crowd. They shouted and cursed.
Parker tossed another handful of treasures into the air.
The beggars scrambled for their share, all of them equally greedy. They swarmed past Rasheyd until he was lost in the crowd.
Bystanders raced to join in the hunt. The goons from the parking lot, unwilling to give up the sudden windfall to others without a fight, sprinted to enter the melee, leaving Abdel unattended.
Parker threw more stones into the fray. Then, with the care of a precision quarterback, he tossed the last red ruby in Abdel’s direction. It landed at the beggar’s feet. Abdel waved his acknowledgment, and Parker figured the old man would make good use of the money the gem would provide. A small token of his appreciation, Parker thought grimly, wishing it would be as easy to save his ranch. But for the moment, escape and Nesrin’s safety came first.
Skirting the throng, Parker made his way into the terminal. Travelers and workers alike dashed past him as the word spread about precious gems covering the ground. He could hear fistfights breaking out behind him adding to the general chaos.
He found himself alone at the check-in counter. No clerks. No customers.
Still carrying the brass lamp, he clambered through the counter opening usually reserved for luggage. He spent a hurried minute trying to get the computer to spit out a ticket for him, and then gave it up. He’d have to bluster his way on board.
All of the security personnel, lured by the chance of instant wealth, had abandoned t
heir posts, so Parker didn’t have to worry about setting off alarms at the metal detectors with his bum ankle. He simply sauntered around them.
It all seemed too easy. And it was, except for the anxiety that had his heart racing and sweat creeping down his spine. But still no one stopped him as he boarded the waiting plane and settled into a seat in first class.
The corner of his mouth twitched into a troubled grimace. For all he knew, Nesrin was inside the lamp conjuring up spells that would make this 747 fly them back home without the necessity of a pilot. Or else they’d end up at the North Pole.
He cradled the lamp in his arms.
When he got Nesrin back home, she would have to swear off this genie business. It was too damn nerve-racking.
Chapter Twelve
Parker placed the lamp smack in the middle of the back of his pickup. Right where he’d found it the first time. Shivering against the cold blast of morning air that swept down from the Colorado peaks, Parker willed the inanimate brass object to respond to his command.
“Let her go, dammit!”
Parker had racked his brain all the way home from the Middle East trying to remember what he had done that had released Nesrin from her prison. He’d been thinking about Marge...and her kids, he recalled. But what had he said or done that had broken a centuries old spell? He’d tried a dozen different ideas and so far had come up empty.
“You’re the genie,” he pleaded aloud, hoping Nesrin could hear him. “Can’t you get yourself out of there?” She should have given him the necessary words before he put her back in there. But then, maybe she didn’t know them, either. As near as he could tell, her spells weren’t all that precise.
God, she had to be going crazy inside that lamp. He remembered how much she hated the dark and knew what a sacrifice it had been for her to voluntarily reenter that living tomb. He wished he could hold her, reassure her, tell her there wasn’t anything about the dark she had to fear.
Where had she found the courage to risk spending eternity inside a dinky little lamp? He’d known men with chests full of medals who weren’t half as brave as she was. Himself included.
The Cowboy & The Belly Dancer (Heartbeat) Page 16