Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,78

up, well, anywhere.

The Potatoes stared at Mini in silence. Mini held herself utterly still, then stepped forward and dropped the key in Rudy’s hand.

YES, blasted Brynne through the mind link.

Aru started clapping.

“One, that was awesome,” said Brynne. “But two…Why would your great-great-great-grandparents need to break into a safe?”

Mini shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Aru wanted to ask more about Mini’s interesting ancestors, but the Anywhere Elevator beckoned. Brynne and Aiden entered first, with an unconscious Kara floating beside them. Rudy went to the elevator and blocked Mini and Aru from entering.

“I…I was hoping I could come and help out?” said Rudy, looking straight at Mini. “Seriously. Tell me what to do!”

“You can start by getting out of my way,” said Mini, bored.

“I mean, yeah, sure, but what else?” said Rudy, staying put. “I’m a prince….”

Mini raised an eyebrow, as if saying So?

“And my parents are good friends with Lord Kubera! If something goes wrong, I can totally help smooth it out! And I know you’re down one person because of the unconscious girl, so I can fight in her place. Or I could just watch over her and make sure she’s safe while you guys fight?”

Honestly, Aru thought it couldn’t hurt. Rudy did know a lot of people in the Otherworld, and it wasn’t like they had any idea where they were going to end up next. Although she did have major concerns about Rudy’s fighting techniques. Or rather, the lack thereof.

Mini looked at Brynne, who said through their mind link, Up to you. That said, literally no one is worthy of you. Especially some dumb prince who does not respect YOUR POWER.

Then Mini glanced at Aru through the glass wall of the Anywhere Elevator. Aru raised an eyebrow and said, You’re the daughter of the god of death. Act like it.

Aiden looked away, fiddling with Shadowfax.

“Fine. You can come with us,” said Mini, flipping her hair and pushing past Rudy. “But while you may be a prince, I’m a demigod. So let’s just remember who’s the boss.”

Aru blinked rapidly against the terrible brightness of wherever it was the Anywhere Elevator had taken them. The air was searing, and her skin felt sunburned within seconds.

“Hold on,” said Mini. “I can help.”

A burst of cool violet light spread over Aru. Huddled under Mini’s shield, the Potatoes could finally see around them.

When Mini had asked the Anywhere Elevator to take them to the place where they could restore Kara and complete Kubera’s third trial, about all Aru had imagined was that it would get them out of the water.

Maybe put them on a rooftop somewhere.

Or a cliff.

Someplace where the sky was visible. After all, the only hint they had about the third trial was Last, the sky shall judge your sight.

She’d never expected this….

Above them, stars winked against the velvety-black expanse of space. Beneath them wound a familiar star-paved road studded with huge palaces. Aru recognized it as Navagraha Avenue, the boulevard of planetary gods and mansions.

So far, Aru had learned where many of the gods lived…but not three particular deities and their equally powerful consorts.

Boo called these three the greatest of the gods. There was Vishnu, the preserver; Shiva, the destroyer; and Brahma, the creator. And then their wives…Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune; Parvati, the Mother Goddess; and Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. They stayed far out of sight, even to the Otherworld.

“Why don’t they just stop the war?” Aru had once asked.

Boo had laughed. “Oh, child. We are not even a blink in their eyes. We can hope they have a plan, but there’s no way we could understand it.”

Now, Aru stared up at the stars, wondering if she could poke the universe. Am I…doing this whole plan thing right?

But the universe didn’t answer, and a moment later, Aru turned back to face the glittering palace where the Anywhere Elevator had dropped them off. Its walls shone so brightly they looked like slabs of pure sunlight.

“So, Mini brought us to…the sun,” said Aiden.

“I didn’t pick the sun! The Anywhere Elevator did.”

Beside Aru, Kubera’s eye, which had been following them listlessly, now brightened. It knocked against Mini’s shield as if eager to be let out.

“Looks like we’re in the right place,” said Brynne.

“Wrong,” murmured Rudy, whipping on a pair of shades. He flipped up the collar of his jacket. “There’s nothing right about this climate for my skin. I could shrivel up here. Look! My scales are dulling already!”

“You’ll be fine. I’m pretty sure Dee Dee offers both UVA and UVB protection,”