Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,53
with a Midwestern accent?
Aru looked over her shoulder to where Mini, Aiden, Kara, and Brynne were crowded together. Kubera’s eye was nowhere to be seen, but his voice floated back to her: In each trial I give you, you must find and take my eye. So where had it gone? On Aru’s wrist, Vajra gave off a faint spark of electricity.
Brynne stomped over to the cow. “We want to see what’s inside the barn,” she demanded.
Aru frowned. Usually they made decisions together, but this was the second time in a few minutes that Brynne had taken charge without asking for anyone else’s input.
What’s up with you? asked Aru.
Brynne didn’t answer.
“Of course! Follow me!” The cow trotted toward the barn, which was about a hundred feet away. Aru waited for the others and then followed, inhaling the sweet-smelling air. The farm felt calm and peaceful after the chaos of the vanara kingdom and the glittering sidewalks of Lanka. The only problem was that the ground was a bit soft, and Aru’s shoes kept sinking into the mud.
She’d almost gotten the hang of it when the cow turned to look at them and said, “Ope, meant to tell you to watch your step!”
“Huh?” said Aru.
SPLAT.
Aru looked down at her foot and groaned.
“Smile!” said Aiden, snapping a picture.
There was one crappy drawback to the realm of cows, and now it was all over her shoe.
So much for treasure, thought Aru as she trudged toward the dark barn. Kubera probably meant for them to search for his eye like it was a needle in a bunch of haystacks.
“A bit strange your parents sent you to do shopping at this time of day,” said the cow. “Don’cha know there’s a curfew? Demons running about?” The cow shivered, and its flanks rippled.
Enchanted lights flickered on when they stepped inside. After the wonders of the Night Bazaar and even the Magical Plant Nursery at Home Depot, Aru was expecting something…else.
The moo-tique of Kamadhenu looked suspiciously like an ordinary convenience store. The ceiling was low, and the space was cramped. Products were lined up on a dozen peeling, rickety metal frames. A shiny cockroach scuttled across the floor, and the whole place had the cold-and-clammy feel of a neglected grocery-store aisle. Aru felt nauseated. Beside her, Mini fumbled for hand sanitizer, and Kara’s nose was discreetly hidden in the folds of her sweatshirt.
“Ope, hold your horses there!” said the cow.
“I thought this was a kingdom of cows,” muttered Brynne. “Do you even have horses?”
Aiden narrowed his eyes at her, but Brynne didn’t look at him.
“Can I help you folks with finding anything?”
On one of the metal shelves, Aru caught a wink of gold. Her pulse kicked up. Kubera’s eye! It was hiding somewhere in here.
“Maybe. We—” she started to say.
Brynne cut in loudly, “No, thanks. We’ll look around ourselves.”
The cow nodded. “You betcha!”
They passed a rusty, dented sign that said YOU BREAK IT, YOU BUY IT.
What if, when we’re chasing the eye, we end up breaking something? asked Aru through their mind link.
“How would we, uh, go about making a purchase?” Mini asked the cow.
“I’ve got my mom’s credit card,” offered Aru.
“Oh boy. We don’t take credit cards. Anyone who wishes to buy something from Kamadhenu’s moo-tique must pay with a week’s worth of service.”
“A week?” echoed Brynne, gesturing at the store. “For this?”
A fly buzzed into one of the ugly lamps, got electrocuted, and fell to the floor. Dead.
The cow nodded. “Nothing too hard, I promise ya. Maybe use the sweeper a bit. Run some milk deliveries. If you can’t do the work, well, tough tomatoes! No shopping for you.”
“Right,” said Brynne, rolling up her sleeves. “We can take it from here.”
“Okeydoke,” said the cow, wandering elsewhere. “Let me know if ya need anything!”
Aru headed down the aisle where she’d seen the golden glint of Kubera’s eye. Along the shelves, the goods weren’t magical at all, just stuff that was downright gross: moldy cheese and expired yogurt, bottles of yellowish cream, and even a cloudy vial of perfume labeled EAU DE COW.
“This is nasty,” said Brynne. “I hope we don’t end up having to shoplift just to get out of here with the eye.”
“Shoplift?” said Mini. “Brynne, that wasn’t part of the discussion.”
“Do you want to work here for a week?” asked Brynne.
“Where’d the eye go?” asked Kara. She rose up onto her tiptoes, scanning an array of generic cereal boxes before pulling one of them down. “I don’t see it anymore…. Uh-oh!”