The Genie Rings Read online

  For Jemima

  – who wanted to be a witch.

  CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE

  1 WISHFUL THINKING

  2 FLASHING LIGHTS

  3 ZAREEN THE JEWELLER

  4 TENT 42B (THE DESERT ROSE)

  5 SWORD DANCING

  6 A DAY AT THE BEACH

  7 A GHOULISH CURIOSITY

  8 HEAT VISION

  9 A FAMILIAR SENSATION

  10 A BED OF SCORPIONS

  11 THE LION’S DEN

  12 ARABIAN NIGHT

  13 THE TOMB OF ZAREEN

  14 A PINCH OF SALT

  15 PLAYING WITH FIRE

  16 THREE WISHES

  17 INTO THE SUNSET

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  COPYRIGHT PAGE

  1

  WISHFUL THINKING

  ‘THIS IS A BIT DIFFERENT,’ SAID MAX.

  Anna wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. A breeze was blowing in through the car window, but the air was warm and stale – just the opposite of how a good breeze should feel. Max looked like his head might be about to boil over.

  ‘I don’t think anything could live out here,’ he muttered. ‘Not even a vampire, and definitely not a troll.’

  Anna tried to reply, but her tongue felt too sticky to move. She took a long sip from her water bottle instead, swirling it around her mouth as she stared out the window. It seemed that Max was right.

  She just hoped they weren’t lost.

  It was a dry and dusty day in Iran. The sun shone high above the desert plains, sparkling like a coin flipped into the pale sky. Great yellow sand dunes rose and fell like waves, rippling and rolling all the way to the empty horizon.

  Anna took another sip. She had been rationing her water carefully, but the bottle was almost empty. Max smiled slyly from across the car. Anna saw that his bottle was still half-full.

  ‘Play a game with me and I’ll give you a drink,’ said Max.

  Anna frowned. ‘I’m reading.’

  ‘No you’re not,’ said Max. ‘You haven’t turned a page for ages.’

  Anna looked at the book in her lap. Her friend Jamie Sparrow had posted it to her, along with a letter explaining that it was the very best guide to birdwatching a traveller could have. It wasn’t the sort of book Anna would normally have picked up, but to her surprise she had been thoroughly enjoying it so far. She frowned again, trying to find her place.

  The black vulture (Aegypius monachus) is the largest true bird of prey in the world, easily recognised by its dark feathers and pale, skull-like head. The vulture will feed on almost any type of carrion (including deceased humans), and is able to break through bones with its powerful bill. These birds can be found …

  Anna blinked. It really was impossible to concentrate on anything in such terrible heat. The words were crawling around before her eyes.

  ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Give me the water, and then I’ll play a game.’

  ‘No,’ said Max. ‘Game first, then the water.’

  Anna sighed. For someone who was partly dead, Max was a pretty good vulture himself. She watched as he took a particularly large sip, smiling at her meanly as he gulped the water down. She knew exactly what he was doing, but it still made her own throat feel rather dry.

  But Anna wasn’t about to give in so easily.

  ‘I’ve run out of water,’ she said loudly. ‘Is there any more?’

  The Professor jumped in his seat. The car wobbled from one side of the road to the other, although Anna wasn’t as worried about this as she usually was. Out in the desert, there wasn’t really anything to run into.

  ‘I’m afraid I’m out of water as well,’ said the Professor. ‘You’ll just have to hold on. It shouldn’t be too much further.’

  Anna groaned. ‘Where are we going, anyway?’ she said. ‘It looks like we’re in the middle of nowhere.’

  ‘I know,’ said the Professor. ‘Isn’t it incredible? The golden deserts of Persia, as far as the eye can see! Sultans and citadels, armies and empires, all of them buried beneath the sand. I’m so pleased that Ali thought to invite me on his expedition. One can only imagine how many stories we could find here, if only we had the time to dig them all up.’

  He sounded very excited. Anna stared out at the dunes. Before, she’d been trying to spot things that were alive. She hadn’t thought about how many things out there might be dead.

  ‘I know that word,’ said Max. ‘Persia. That’s where magic carpets come from.’

  Anna knew the word too. She wished she’d mentioned it first.

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ said the Professor. ‘And you’re right about the vampires, too. Only ghuls out here, I’m afraid.’

  The children froze.

  The Professor looked at them in the rear-view mirror. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.’

  ‘That’s okay,’ said Anna quickly. ‘We were just making up scary stories.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Max. ‘Anna was trying to frighten me again.’

  ‘You don’t sound very frightened,’ said the Professor.

  Max shrugged. ‘I’m getting braver,’ he said.

  The Professor smiled, and Anna breathed a sigh of relief. It was true – Max was getting braver – but what the Professor didn’t know was that ever since their trip to Transylvania some months earlier, the scary stories the siblings told one another weren’t made up at all. Only two other people in the entire world knew all the details, and both of their names – along with their stories – were written in the battered green notebook tucked securely into Anna’s suitcase.

  First they had met Isabella, the Romanian girl with a crescent-moon scar on her cheek. She and Anna had rescued Max from a castle in the middle of a tangled forest, fighting off wolves and mice and even a bear over the course of one terrifying night. That was the story of the vampire, the fiery-eyed shadow monster that had sucked the life from Max’s palm, leaving him with a dead hand he couldn’t entirely control.

  Then there had been the adventure in England, where Anna and Max had helped investigate a boy’s disappearance beside a cold and misty river. From there they had followed a bloody trail all the way to Norway, where they finally found the missing boy, Jamie, trapped at the bottom of a slimy burrow. That was the story of the troll, the child-eating beast that had conducted its evil business across an old stone bridge.

  Now Anna, Max, Isabella and Jamie had formed a secret club of penpals: four of the only children in the world who knew about the monsters and the magic lurking in the old woods. Every week Anna and Max received long letters from their distant friends, eagerly replying with tales of their own. The siblings stored their letters at the very bottom of Anna’s suitcase, where the Professor would never find them, alongside the three other treasures they had taken from the fairies: the razor-sharp knife with the cream-white blade, which allowed the bearer to control animals; the stone heart of the broken troll, bristly and small; and the strange gold coin with the shifting face, stolen from the troll’s burrow beneath the earth. Anna had retrieved the white knife from her case as soon as they had left the airport, smiling at the nest of envelopes in her bag. Even though the siblings hadn’t seen Jamie or Isabella for a long time, it sometimes felt as if they had barely been apart.

  ‘I didn’t mean to say vampire,’ whispered Max. ‘I’ll be more careful next time.’

  Anna shook the thoughts away. Remembering their battles against the fairy monsters had been enough to make her shiver, but now the desert heat was burning her face again. She sighed as she tucked the birdwatching guide back into her bag.

  ‘It’s okay,’ she said. ‘He doesn’t think we’re serious. And anyway, I’ve just thought of a very good gam
e.’

  Something Max had said had reminded Anna of one of the biggest books on her bedroom shelf: a dusty old copy of The One Thousand and One Nights. The book was far too heavy to take on the Professor’s work trips, but Anna could clearly remember the story of the magic carpet – and although the carpet had always sounded wonderful, it was another treasure from the book that Anna coveted most of all.

  ‘Here’s the game,’ she said. ‘We pretend that we’ve found a magic lamp, just like Aladdin did. When we rub it a genie comes out, and we’re allowed to have three wishes each. The game is to make the best three wishes that you possibly can.’

  Max’s eyes lit up. ‘Are we allowed to –’

  ‘You can’t wish for more wishes,’ said Anna. ‘Everybody knows that.’

  Max scrunched up his face. Anna helped herself to a drink from his bottle while he thought about the problem.

  ‘I’m ready,’ said Max. ‘My first wish is to have a palace full of gold.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Anna. ‘My first wish is to have two palaces full of gold.’

  ‘That’s cheating,’ said Max.

  ‘No it isn’t,’ said Anna. ‘What’s your second wish?’

  Max glared at her. He snatched back his water bottle. ‘My second wish is for a magic carpet,’ he said. ‘A flying one.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Anna. ‘My second wish is for ten flying carpets.’

  ‘Fine,’ said Max. ‘My last wish is to turn you into a mouse. And mice can’t speak, so you don’t get any more wishes, and I’m going to take all of your palaces and carpets for myself. So there.’

  He smiled, looking rather pleased with himself. Anna tried to feel annoyed, but even she had to admit it was a very good wish.

  ‘All right,’ she said. ‘Let’s say it’s not a competition. What would you really wish for?’

  ‘I already said mine,’ said Max. ‘I really would wish for a palace and a magic carpet. I can’t think of anything better than that.’

  ‘That’s only two,’ said Anna. ‘You’ve still got one wish left.’

  Max stared out the window. He peered forward, as if he had just seen something very interesting. Then he began to tremble.

  ‘I wish I knew why that mountain was moving towards us,’ he said quietly.

  Anna quickly leant across the back seat, pulling on her seatbelt to look over Max’s shoulder. Something was happening in the desert – something so big and so strange she could barely describe it. Her first thought was that one of the dunes had come to life. A great cloud of dirt and dust had risen above the plains, stretching all the way into the sky, reaching so high it almost blocked out the sun. It rippled at the edges as it crept across the wasteland, somehow looking both soft and stony at the same time.

  Worst of all, Max was right. The mountain was definitely getting closer.

  ‘Oh dear,’ said the Professor. He wiped his brow. ‘It looks as if we’ve run into a sandstorm.’

  ‘What’s a sandstorm?’ asked Max.

  ‘It’s something we don’t want to be caught in the middle of,’ said the Professor. ‘Wind up your windows! We need to get out of here immediately!’

  2

  FLASHING LIGHTS

  ANNA AND MAX WATCHED IN TERROR AS the sandstorm rolled in. The pale blue sky was becoming darker and darker, the dust choking away all colour. It felt as if someone had just turned off the light on the entire world.

  ‘It’s nearly here!’ squealed Max. ‘Hurry, Dad!’

  The Professor flicked the headlights on, pressing his foot to the accelerator. Anna could hear the sand beating against the roof and doors and windows of the car, crashing down like scratchy rain. How many grains of sand were out there? Thousands? Millions? Anna wondered if they were about to get buried, just like the ancient Persian armies. Would someone from the future come by one day and dig up their bones?

  ‘I can’t see anything,’ called the Professor. ‘We’ll have to pull over!’

  The car clattered to a stop on the side of the road. Something big and dark flew past the windscreen, carried away by the wind before anybody could make out what it was. Was the storm powerful enough to pick up boulders? Could it pick up the whole car? Anna tried to think heavy thoughts.

  ‘Oh dear,’ said the Professor. ‘Oh my.’

  He looked down at his map, scratching his head. He looked even more nervous than usual.

  Anna was scared as well. Her fingers crept towards the magic knife, strapped at her side in its grassy green sheath. The blade had saved her from many sticky situations in the past, and had often made her feel a lot braver, but she didn’t see what use it would be against a storm. She decided to squeeze the hilt just the same, closing her eyes as she tried to ignore the rattling of the sand.

  ‘I think somebody’s out there,’ said Max.

  Anna squinted over at him. Max had his face pressed up against his window, peering out into the maelstrom.

  ‘You always say that,’ said Anna. ‘You always think there’s something out there.’

  ‘That’s because there always is,’ retorted Max. He pointed out into the desert. ‘Look.’

  Anna unclipped her seatbelt and sidled over to Max’s window, elbowing him out of the way, but it was too dark to see anything outside. The crackling sound of the sand against the car made it feel as if she was watching a broken television.

  ‘There!’ said Max suddenly. ‘Did you see it?’

  Anna pressed her face closer to the window. She had seen something. A flash of white light had peeked out from the storm, just for a second. And there was another one! Two small lights, hovering in the distance like stars.

  A thick wave of dust blew over the car. For a moment, the strange white lights vanished behind the sand, but they appeared again as soon as the dust had passed, bobbing across the darkened desert like a pair of great, glowing eyes.

  It seemed like they were getting closer.

  ‘What do you think?’ whispered Max. ‘Fairies, or not fairies?’

  Anna gulped. ‘I thought you said nothing could live out here.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said Max. ‘No vampires, and no trolls.’

  You’re right about the vampires. Only ghuls out here, I’m afraid.

  A new fear bloomed inside Anna’s chest. What had the Professor meant?

  ‘Professor?’ she called out nervously. ‘What’s a ghul?’

  ‘Oh, nothing really,’ said the Professor absentmindedly, peering at an upside-down map. ‘Just a type of genie found in some of the old stories. Horrible little things. It’s said they used to lure travellers out into the desert so they could feast on their flesh. Wouldn’t leave anything but the bones.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Anna. ‘How did they lure people?’

  ‘Well, usually they’d just stop a traveller on the road and ask for help,’ said the Professor. ‘But I suppose a good old flashing light would also do the trick … I say, what’s that?’

  The Professor had finally looked up. Now he was staring out the window, confused.

  ‘It’s nothing,’ said Anna quickly. ‘Really, it’s nothing.’

  ‘You’re probably seeing things,’ said Max. ‘Just keep reading the map.’

  ‘No – I think there’s somebody out there!’ said the Professor. ‘I can see lights! We’re saved!’

  And before the children could say anything more, the Professor honked the car horn as hard as he could. The beeping rang out above the chittering sand, loud and piercing, the perfect sound for drawing attention to a lonely car trapped in a barren desert. Anna and Max winced as the horn rang out again and again.

  ‘I think they heard us, Dad,’ said Max in a small voice.

  The lights were definitely getting closer. Anna could see shadows moving in the distance: dark shapes that were somehow even blacker than the storm. The two white eyes glared back at her.

  ‘We’re over here!’ called the Professor, waving his arms. ‘We’re over here!’

  ‘Get the knife ready!’ w
hispered Max.

  The black shapes were almost upon them. Anna slid the white knife halfway out of its sheath. She knew that she could protect Max, but what could she do if the Professor decided to get out of the car? Anna tried to think of a plan – but time was running out.

  ‘They’re here!’ squeaked Max.

  A bright light shone through the window, blinding the children. Anna narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth, trying to catch a glimpse of the figure standing in the storm. She heard a sound that might have been a voice, and then the light moved away. It shone into the front of the car instead, illuminating the Professor’s eager face.

  ‘Hello!’ he said. ‘I’m afraid we’re a bit lost! Can you help us?’

  The black shapes were almost upon them.

  There was no response. The light dropped away, leaving only darkness outside the window. It was hard to tell if there was anyone there at all.

  And then a face pressed itself against the glass. It was a smiling face, with bright eyes and a neat black beard, and it called out with a voice that was merry and deep.

  ‘Salam, old friend! How is the drive treating you?’

  The Professor gasped. ‘Ali?’ he said. ‘Is that really you?’

  The man laughed a booming laugh. ‘You are not as lost as you think!’ he yelled. ‘We saw your headlights just as the storm came down. Our dig is not far away. We can take you there now – unless you wish to wait here for the winds to pass!’

  Max squealed as another man appeared suddenly at his window. This second face did not look friendly at all. Strands of hair were flying around the man’s cheeks like tentacles, blown up from a beard that was tangled and wild, and his eyes were dark and cold. His stare made Anna tremble.

  ‘What’s going on?’ asked Max shakily. ‘Where are we?’

  ‘No idea,’ said the Professor happily. ‘Ali can take care of that now. He’ll lead us back to camp. We’ll have food and water and nice comfy beds. Doesn’t that sound nice?’

  ‘Hang on,’ said Anna. ‘Do you mean we’re going out there?’ She pointed out to the storm. Max cringed as a spray of pebbles blew against the car, ricocheting off the bonnet like firecrackers.