Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,45
practically lost his whole army in the process. And all his friends. And I think some family, too.”
No one but Kara and Mini was still smiling. Mini nodded approvingly. “That’s depressing. I like it.”
“Poor Pyrrhus,” said Aru.
“Poor Pandavas!” said Brynne. “We lopped off all of Ravana’s heads, and now what? Those golden steps don’t lead anywhere, and we’re trapped in this courtyard, and all the fruit on the trees is seriously underripe, so I can’t eat it, and—”
Just then, Aru heard a soft squeak.
At the very top of the stairs, a golden-furred mongoose peered down at them. It tilted its head, squeaked again, then disappeared into a doorway that had not been there moments ago. Across the lintel, neon letters flashed:
WELCOME, PANDAVAS!
Aru stared at the entrance. It looked black as pitch inside. What if it was another trap? But what if it wasn’t, and this was their last chance to get to Kubera? The deadline was today, and even if the citizens of Lanka didn’t care that the Sleeper was moving closer and closer, Aru couldn’t ignore that pulse of approaching war pounding in the back of her skull.
“Should we go in?” asked Brynne.
Aru shrugged. “Red pill or blue pill?”
“What pill?” asked Mini.
“It’s from The Matrix.”
Kara frowned. “It’s from a rectangular array of quantities?”
“No, it’s this movie where—”
“You’re stalling, Shah,” said Aiden. “What are we doing?”
Aru felt everyone’s gaze on her. She spun Vajra around her fingers, then took a step forward.
“We’re going in.”
“Wait,” said Kara loudly.
They turned to look at her.
“I can’t,” she said.
“Why not?” asked Aru, shocked. “Don’t you want to come with us?”
Hurt flashed across Kara’s face as she pointed at the sign. “It says Welcome, Pandavas. I’m not a Pandava.”
Aiden frowned. “Well, neither am I, I’m technically—”
“A Pandava adjacent, I know. But I’m not even that,” said Kara quietly. “I’m no one. I know it won’t let me in. Watch.”
Before anyone could stop her, Kara bounded up the steps. She turned sideways as if ready to bust down an invisible door, but the moment her foot met the threshold, a force threw her backward. Kara tried again…and was thrown out once more, this time all the way to the courtyard.
“See?” said Kara shakily. “I told you.”
“Kara, we—”
“We had a deal,” said Kara, not looking up at them. “I promised to give you the name of the weapon the Sleeper wants.” She took a deep breath. “Ask Kubera for the antima astra.”
Once Kara uttered the name, Aru heard a clap of thunder. She looked up and saw a dark cloud intrude on the previously pure-blue skies of Lanka. On the horizon, the sun flared red for a second. In the courtyard, the fruit trees withered and then immediately sprang back to life. A gust of wind carrying snow blew past them, leaving a trail of quickly melting frost in its wake.
Brynne held her hand to the air, the wonder on her face turning quickly to wariness. “That was our…our…”
“Soul dads,” breathed Aru, studying the patch of sky where she’d seen the thundercloud. There was no sign of it now.
Their soul fathers, Indra, Vayu, and Yama, never communicated with them. At least, not directly.
Mini looked at the trees, once brown and now a healthy green. “What does that mean?”
“It means they recognized the name of the weapon,” said Aiden. “What is it?”
“It’s a piece of the Brahmastra, the most destructive weapon in the world. It’s like some sort of cosmic missile,” said Kara. “After the last war, the gods destroyed it, but a sliver survived. Even that tiny piece is capable of destroying all godly weapons. And without your weapons—”
“We won’t be able to fight back,” finished Aru.
She held Vajra a little closer to her. Was it just her imagination or had her lightning bolt trembled a little at the word Brahmastra? Aru tried picturing what life would be like without Vajra and shuddered. Without her lightning bolt, she’d be so…ordinary.
And yet, as soon as Aru had that thought, she remembered Boo perching on her shoulder, affectionately nipping at her ear. You are so much more than the weapons you fight with, child.
Once, Aru had thought that was true.
But that was before Boo had betrayed them and gone to the Sleeper. Even with their weapons, Boo hadn’t believed in them, and if the Sleeper destroyed Vajra and the rest, then nothing the Pandavas did would make a difference.