A Whole New World (Disney Twisted Tales) - Liz Braswell Page 0,15

they pointed in every direction, thin and yellow with age, like toothpicks. He used an ugly old piece of firewood as a cane and forced himself sideways with the shuffling motion of a crab. “But together, maybe we can be more.”

He rubbed his fingers together suggestively, as if he was counting gold coins. Aladdin found himself relaxing. A man with the craze of greed in his eyes was something Aladdin was used to.

“I’m listening,” he said.

“There is a cave. A cave of wonders, boy, filled with treasures beyond your wildest dreams!” He stuck a gnarled hand into his threadbare robe. When he pulled out his closed fist, shoved it into Aladdin’s face, and opened it, the boy almost fell back in surprise.

Rubies.

Three of them. Huge. Dusty and old, with the facets of one chipped and in need of the hand of a skilled jeweler. But rubies nonetheless. Those three would have bought most of the Quarter of the Street Rats—and the people who lived there, as well.

“Treasure enough to impress even your ‘princess,’ I would wager,” the old man said with a crafty smile, taking them back and hiding them again.

Aladdin felt a blush wash over his face quickly before disappearing.

The rubies…

He started to smile. That was more wealth than he had ever seen up close. Enough to buy horses, fancy clothes, servants…

…and then his smile faded. Until that moment Aladdin never would have imagined that limitless treasure wouldn’t be enough for him.

“It doesn’t matter how much gold or jewels I get,” he said morosely. “She has to marry a prince. I have to come from a noble family, a line of princes. Or be granted the title and lands, which I can’t really see the sultan doing anytime in the near future.”

The old man struggled for a moment, frowning and wheezing as some undefined pain bothered him. Then he took a deep breath and stuck his face into Aladdin’s.

“You’ve heard of the Golden Rule, haven’t you? Whoever has the gold makes the rules!” The man laughed—perhaps insanely; perhaps he genuinely thought himself funny. Aladdin noticed as the old man’s lips were spread wide with mirth that his only healthy-looking tooth was gold.

“All right,” Aladdin said cautiously. It was true: money bought almost anything. All the guards could be bribed to look the other way with enough gold or gifts. All the guards except for Rasoul, of course. He was like a big, stupid rock of morality. Maybe sultans and kings could be bribed, too…or haggled with. Maybe with enough gold, the title of prince could be bought.

“But why would you share all of this wonderful treasure with me?”

Catches—like perfect girls turning out to be unattainable princesses—Aladdin was used to. Free treasure, he was not used to—and highly suspicious of.

“I need a young pair of legs and a strong back,” the old man said, tapping Aladdin’s legs as solicitously as a camel buyer. Aladdin squelched a shiver of fear. Was the man a sorcerer who meant to literally take Aladdin’s back and legs?

No, that was foolish, Aladdin told himself, shaking his head.

Right?

“Because the treasure is in a cave. In the desert,” the old man spat. “I’m…not quite as nimble as I used to be. I need you to go get it for me and bring it out. Now, do we have a deal?”

“Oh, sure,” Aladdin laughed. If it wasn’t for the existence of the rubies, he would have thought the old man was completely mad. “Except for one thing. The cave is out there and we’re in here.”

The old man cackled.

“Things aren’t always what they seem!”

He tapped a stone in the wall several times with his cane. It slid aside, slowly, grindingly, but somehow under its own power.

“So, I repeat,” the old man said as if enjoying the taste of every word. He put his hand out. “Do we have a deal?”

Aladdin hesitated. Perhaps the old man really was a sorcerer after all. Or an ancient, angry djinn.

But then again, treasure…

Aladdin squared his shoulders, set his jaw, and shook the old man’s hand.

After he crawled through the narrow space, Aladdin found himself in a pitch-black cave. Strange subterranean winds blew frigid one moment and searingly hot the next. The walls suddenly flickered with an evil red light, and a gust of hot air burned the side of Aladdin’s face.

Abu screamed and clutched Aladdin’s neck.

“The very blood of the earth comes up through here,” the old man explained, leading the way with his crabby shuffle. As they rounded a corner, they