Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,69
Let me take the guessing out of it and put you out of your misery.”
Beside Aru, Aiden’s face paled.
“WAIT!” she called out.
But Aiden sprang forward, charging at his doppelgänger with vicious speed. Other Aiden brought up his scimitars, and they were once more lost in a fight. Aru didn’t even have a second to wonder what Other Aiden was talking about before Other Aru started stalking toward her and Kara.
“One of us has to pin her in place, and then the other can grab the eye,” said Aru.
“I hope I don’t confuse—” started Kara, but Aru didn’t hear the rest of her sentence, because Other Aru threw her spear. Kara and Aru sprang apart. Now Other Aru stood neatly between them, rotating slowly on the spot with her lightning bolt held over her head.
“Catch her!” screamed Aru.
Kara hurled her trident, knocking Other Aru to the ground and neatly restraining her by the neck. Aru darted forward and kicked away her lightning bolt.
Other Aru thrashed angrily, trying to pull up the trident.
“You’re not one of us!” she screamed at Kara. “You never will be!”
“Ignore her!” yelled Aru.
Kara’s face was a mask of concentration as she grabbed her trident’s handle and held it firmly in place. “Go, Aru. Now…”
Aru stumbled forward, narrowly missing the Aidens, who were still slashing their scimitars at each other. Not ten feet away, the blue lotus hovered in its pillar of light. The eye, floating over it, slowly rotated to face her. She stretched out her hand, blinking back tears as wind from Brynne and Mini’s battle threw dust into her eyes.
Her fingers had almost reached the edge of the eye when Kara screamed, “WATCH OUT!”
Aru spun around to see the Other Aru charging toward her. How had she gotten free? Aru extended Vajra like a sword and their lightning bolts clashed. Electricity sparked and flew around them. Then Other Aru let loose her bolt…but not at Aru—at Vajra. The weapon went spinning out of her hands.
“Vajra!” cried Aru.
She stretched out her hands for her lightning bolt to return, but on its way back, Other Aru hit it with another lightning strike and Vajra went soaring toward the opposite wall. Aru tried to stand up, but her foot slipped on the stone pavement and she fell.
“When you think about it,” said Other Aru, “it’s really your own fault.”
Other Aru lifted her javelin. Sparks flew from it and rained down on Aru, burning her flesh.
“NO!” yelled Kara.
“My blade is revenge, and my aim is true,” whispered Other Aru.
Kara flung herself in front of Aru. Light spangled across Aru’s vision. Too late, she felt the familiar electric purr of Vajra back in her outstretched hand. Too late, she found her footing and managed to stand up.
Kara was splayed out on the floor between Aru and Other Aru, her golden eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
Aru couldn’t make herself move. She stared and stared at Kara’s motionless body on the floor. Maybe if Aru just looked hard enough, the scene would change. But it didn’t. If anything, the world broke faster around her.
Wind, dust, and violet light swirled through the area. Aiden and Other Aiden growled and thrashed, their scimitars now dented and lightning flashing between them. Behind the Other Aru, the blue lotus glowed brighter.
Aru finally bent down to reach Kara only for Other Aru to block her with a lightning sword.
“You can’t help her,” her clone said. “Now she’s just another person you ended up destroying. Pretty familiar pattern, to be honest.”
Aru stood up and Vajra turned into a sword to match her opponent’s.
“You were too weak—that’s why Boo turned on us!” Other Aru screamed, waving her lightning bolt. “You couldn’t finish the Sleeper when you had the chance!”
Every terrible thought that had lurked in Aru’s brain now found voice in this hateful person. And yet, no matter what insults her replica flung at her, Aru’s gaze kept returning to one person: Kara.
Was she dead? Or just wounded? What could Aru do?
Aru dodged blow after blow. She grew tired and weak, and her footing became clumsy. Her arms felt heavy, her eyelids even heavier.
Eventually, she slipped and fell. Aru scrambled to get up, but Other Aru was faster. In a flash, she had cast out her lightning bolt as a net, pinning Aru to the wall. Vajra thrashed furiously, hurtling itself at the imposter lightning bolt, but it made no difference.
“My blade is revenge and my aim is true,” said Other Aru.