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up to follow her into the garden.
    Sharat’s heart sank as he thought about how his father would react if he came back talking about demons and jinnis. “He’ll never believe me,” he said as he hurried after them.
    “Yes, he will,” said Uma. “Tell him you’ve seen me. Remind him of his promise. He’ll remember me.”
    For a moment she hesitated. Then she untied a necklace from around her neck and handed it over.
    “Here,” she said. “You’d better take this.”
    Sharat looked down at his hand. Lying on his palm was a golden bee with an enormous blue diamond at its centre.
    “What is it?” he asked, frowning as he turned over theamulet.
    “It belonged to the woman who gave me Emira,” Uma told him. “She said it would protect my garden, but by rights it should be yours.”
    Sharat glanced up at her in surprise. “Why?”
    Uma’s eyes glinted. “Because
you
were the baby I delivered that night.”
    Sharat could hardly believe his ears. “Are you saying Emira’s owner was my
mother
?” he gasped.
    Uma nodded. “Yes.”
    Sharat felt a rush of emotion. Lemo had always refused to talk about his mother. All he knew was that she’d died when he was born. He clutched Uma’s arm.
    “Who
was
she? Where did she come from? What did she look like?” he blurted out, unable to hide his excitement, but before she could answer a single question, a terrible shriek broke the air.
    “Uma! Uma! UMAAAGGHHHH!” Above them, Ripiraja blazed scarlet as he circled the garden like a flying banshee.
    “What is is?” demanded Uma as the parrot landed with a flurry of feathers.
    “Lickers!” cried the bird. “Run away! Run away!”
    A look of panic crossed Uma’s face. Quickly, she hobbled over to the doorway in the wall, gesturing urgently for Sharat and Emira to follow.
    “There’s no time for questions,” she said. “If they find you here they’ll kill us all!”
    Sharat and Emira hurried to catch up.
    Sharat was desperate to find out more about his mother, but no sooner had he passed through the hidden door when he heard a metallic buzz and lifted his eyes to see a shimmering cloud of gold rising up over Shergarh.
    “What is it?” he demanded.
    Uma’s face was ashen. “Never mind what it is,” she gasped. “Just go!”
    “Go! Go! Go!” The parrot’s raucous cry echoed overhead.
    Emira growled at the golden cloud. It was approaching fast and soon the noise became more distinct, like the sharpening of a thousand knives.
    Sharat didn’t need any more convincing. Heart pounding, he swung himself on to the tiger’s back.
    “You heard the witch,” he said. “Let’s get out of here!”
    With a growl, Emira began to run.

Chapter Six
SHERGARH
    S harat and Emira flew like the wind as they retraced their steps back to the circus. By the time they arrived, the encampment was alive with activity as the crew got ready for that evening’s show. Sharat glanced over at Shergarh, but whatever had been heading for Uma’s garden had disappeared. Quickly, he locked Emira up in her cage and ran to find Lemo and Hussein. They were with the elephants, preparing for the procession into town.
    Lemo frowned as he caught sight of him. “Sharat!” he said. “Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
    Gasping for breath, Sharat seized his father’s arm. “Cancel the show!” he said. “We have to get out of the city.”
    Lemo brushed off his hand to tighten a buckle under Baba’s belly. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “We can’t cancel the show. We’re just about to perform for the Emperor.”
    Sharat shook his head. “But we
can’t
!” he insisted. “We’re in terrible danger. I just met the witch who gave Emira to the circus.”
    Nearby, Pias and Ram were hitching their horses to the acrobat’s cart. Ram lifted his head. His broad mouth twisted in a sneer. “It’s witches now, is it?”
    Sharat ignored him as he appealed to his father. “Surely you must remember,” he