The Chaos Curse (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #3) - Sayantani DasGupta Page 0,8

pull off in a burger-joint-type crown. “She’s way powerful—she defeated Sesha once. Your birth mom connected us and let us talk when I was in the detention center. She should be able to help get you to New Jersey now.”

I bit my lip. I wasn’t that sure. My biological mother had helped us, it was true. But being a celestial body, she wasn’t like other mothers. Certainly nothing like my own warm Ma, who had adopted and then raised me on food and hugs and loving scoldings. My moon mother was the opposite: kind of aloof, cold, remote. As evil and involved as Sesha was in my life, the moon always seemed to hover above me, kind enough, but still always out of reach.

“What if I can’t find her?” I asked. “Or if she can’t help?”

“Don’t worry. Just let us know, Your Princess-ship, and we’ll come up with a new plan,” said Naya. “Send a gecko-gram.”

“A what?”

“It’s something I’ve been working on!” explained Naya, pulling out a notebook with a lot of hand-drawn diagrams in it. “Lizard-based communication! You see, their nervous systems are very primitive. But with this immunologic boost I’ve developed to their limbic system, and something I’m calling lizard-to-lizard twinning, they can recognize a limited number of sounds and relay them to each other.”

I stared at Naya’s notes, my mouth open. I couldn’t understand anything I was looking at, besides not really being able to follow what she was talking about. “You’ve invented lizard-powered cell phones?”

“Well, not exactly, but interestingly enough, some of the principles are similar,” Naya said. “I’ve also been developing an intergalactic communication device I’m calling chaa-chat. It uses the tannins in tea as a medium, and then translates sound waves through the saucer, but it’s not exactly functional quite yet. Still burning people’s mouths …”

I couldn’t help but be amazed. “I didn’t realize you were so into inventing stuff!”

I’d only just learned my fellow Parsippany sixth grader was from the Kingdom Beyond Seven Oceans and Thirteen Rivers, and also a rakkhoshi. But somehow, the idea that she was so into science seemed just as surprising. I’d always thought of Naya as good-hearted but kind of ding-batty. I mean, she was addicted to her cell phone, was always posting pictures on social media, and had even been a part of the flying fangirls group that crushed on Neel and called themselves the Neelkamalas.

“Why did you think I was so into cell phones?” Naya fixed one of the many ponytails on her head, adding, “Just because someone likes glitter lip gloss and selfie filters doesn’t mean they’re not scientifically minded.”

“Now that you’ve cleared all that up,” Mati interrupted, handing me a tiny lizard with a slithery tongue, “meet Tiktiki One.”

I tried not to shudder as the clammy animal scampered onto my hand, fixing its swively eyes on me. “Tiktiki? Isn’t that just the Bengali word for ‘gecko’? Doesn’t it have an actual name?”

Mati and Naya both gave me weird looks. Finally, Naya lowered her voice, like she didn’t want to hurt the animal’s feelings. “Your Highnosity, this is a lizard. Lizards don’t actually have names.”

I rolled my eyes, trying really hard not to freak out at the slimy feeling of Tiktiki One now walking up my arm. “All right, so how does this work?”

“Easy,” Naya said. “Just whisper to Tiktiki One any message you want to send, and then pull off its tail. It’ll scamper off probably for some peace while it transmits, but eventually, we’ll get the message through one of the geckos we’ll have with us.”

“Pull off its tail!” I exclaimed, staring at the slimy thing with its greenish skin, buggy eyes, and rubbery tail. “You’ve got to be kidding!”

“Every cellular communication device needs a send button!” Naya explained, as if pulling off a gecko’s tail was no big deal. “And these are special tiktikis! Their tails grow right back! Oh, and don’t worry if it takes a while for it to return; these geckos sometimes like to go on walkabout.”

The lizard on my arm gave me a doubtful look, then it flicked out its tongue and slithered from my arm down to the back of the auto rikshaw driver’s bench. Great. Not only did my parents refuse to get me a real cell phone, now I’d have to use a slithery lizard with a fast-regrowing tail. This was way worse than even a flip phone.

“Good luck, Kiran.” Ignoring everyone around us, Neel grabbed my hand. “Come back with my brother as soon