Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,77

of old coins, a handful of statue busts, a plane propeller, and even a couple of paintings that sparkled with enchantments. A chandelier made of shark jawbones rotated above them. At the center of the large room was a ten-foot-high rectangular box made of fused metal patches.

“This is the fastest way to get to the surface,” said Rudy, patting the side of the container. “It’s an Anywhere Elevator. You go in, tell it everything you’re looking for, and it will take you to the right place. It doesn’t get used very often, though, so give your directions carefully or things could go…bad.”

“What do you mean ‘tell it everything you’re looking for’?” asked Aru.

“It just knows stuff,” said Rudy, shrugging. “When my parents go on their annual honeymoon—”

“No such thing as an annual honeymoon,” said Aiden.

“There is for my parents,” said Rudy, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Last time they used it, my mom asked to go ‘somewhere that focuses on wellness and has a rugged but not primitive landscape’ and also ‘great photo opportunities that will look more cultured than obnoxious on social media.’ My dad just asked for a place that had a bar.”

“So, technically, we could walk into the Anywhere Elevator and ask it to take us to the place where we could heal Kara and complete Kubera’s third trial?” asked Aru.

“Yeah!” said Rudy. “The only problem is…I don’t know how to get inside.”

Aru studied the Anywhere Elevator. It didn’t have a door panel or even any seams. Floating beside the cube was a glass prism containing a strange object. It looked like some kind of tool, but it shimmered, almost as if…

“It’s a key,” said Rudy. “It summons water, and it can also turn into other forms of water, like vapor or ice.”

“And that’s the key you use to open the elevator?” asked Aiden.

Rudy nodded.

“Well, that’s useless,” said Brynne. “Can’t we just smash a hole in the elevator and step inside?”

“Won’t work,” said Rudy.

“Yeah, right,” said Brynne. “I can totally open this thing.”

Ten minutes, five broken vases, three ruined chairs, and one completely unchanged Anywhere Elevator later…Brynne conceded defeat.

“Okay,” she said, panting. “I can’t open that thing.”

“See?” said Rudy. “Told ya.”

“Could we ask your parents?” asked Aiden.

“No way,” said Rudy. “They don’t want anyone down here.”

“What about your brothers?” asked Brynne.

Rudy made a face.

“I think I might have an idea—” started Mini, but Rudy interrupted as if he hadn’t heard her.

“Maybe there’s a button on it?” tried Rudy.

Mini cleared her throat and said in a near-whisper: “I, um, I said I had an idea—”

“Aru?” said Rudy. “Any ideas?”

Hurt flashed across Mini’s face.

Aru looked pointedly at her sister and said through their mind link, You are the daughter of the god of death.

Let him know, added Brynne.

Mini’s expression changed to one of cold determination. A flash of violet light burst around her.

“I said I had an idea,” said Mini, holding up her Death Danda.

Rudy looked up, stunned. The purple glow highlighted the straight, glossy black strands of Mini’s hair and her wide chocolate-brown eyes. He blinked.

“Gimme the key,” she said, holding out her hand.

Rudy, still struck dumb, nodded and handed it over.

Mini examined the prism in her palm. “The reason no one knows what to do with this is that it demands human ingenuity,” she said. “Not magic.”

“Human ingenuity?” scoffed Rudy.

“Human science,” said Mini, walking past him. “You said the key can turn into three states: ice, liquid, and gas. That means water is the answer.”

Mini seemed to know instinctively what to do. She twirled the prism, and water rushed out from one end in a stream, as if it were a hose. Mini sprayed down the entire structure, then flipped the key in her hand, concentrating as she mouthed the word ice. Frost climbed up the Anywhere Elevator, until it looked like it was laced over in silver.

“My great-great-great-grandfather was a historian and my great-great-great-grandmother was an engineer, and there’s this story in my family about how they worked together to break open a safe by pouring water over the metal cracks and then freezing it,” said Mini. “When the whole thing froze over”—loud crackling sounds started popping in the air—“the expansion of the water molecules made it burst open.”

The Anywhere Elevator fractured, the metal panes clattering to the ground and revealing a glass elevator within, complete with six huge armchairs and matching pillows. The top of the elevator seemed to dissolve into the air, so that it looked like a half-finished crystal cube that could end