Aru Shah and the City of Gold - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,86
that had happened when Chhaya let go.
“Oops again.”
The Potatoes plummeted through the darkness of space.
The Potatoes careened through the dark, stars swirling all around them.
“I! HATE! THIS!” yelled Rudy.
Brynne tried to drag out her wind mace, but they were falling so fast the magic wouldn’t catch. Vajra couldn’t hold the shape of a hoverboard. Mini cast out shields only for them to fizzle and blip out. On Aru’s left, Kara fell gracefully, blissfully unaware, while Aiden grasped uselessly at the inky clouds. He didn’t look at Aru. In the back of her head, Aru could still hear the rasping prophetic voice: Aiden Acharya…. The girl you love will be the death of you.
What did that mean?
And who was the girl?
“What do we do?” yelled Mini.
It snapped Aru’s thoughts back to their current situation. Technically, they could keep falling until the end of time. Boo had once told them that the Otherworld’s space was not like human space. Distance didn’t work the same way. Aru glanced up. In her head, they’d been tumbling for maybe ten seconds. But the House of the Sun looked miles away, like a match struck in the distance.
They might fall right into Lanka, or they could end up someplace else entirely….
Chhaya’s voice moved through Aru’s thoughts. You want to know whether the gods are smiling upon your journey? Well, here’s one way to find out.
“We need the gods’ favor!” said Aru loudly.
“DEAR GODS, I PROMISE I’LL DONATE ALL OF—I MEAN, MOST…WELL, DEFINITELY SOME OF MY TREASURE!” hollered Rudy.
“What a sacrifice!” snarked Brynne.
“We’re not going to get their attention by yelling at them!” said Mini.
Something shifted in the space around them. The stars drew into sharper relief against the dark nothingness. Far below them, a huge bank of sunset clouds in every hue of pink and orange appeared. And on top of the clouds sat the glittering heavenly city of Amaravati, home of Lord Indra himself. Aru’s heart leaped at the sight.
“HEY!” she hollered, waving her arms. “ARE YOU THERE, GOD-DAD? IT’S ME, ARU!”
But nothing changed.
“Focus, Aru!” called Mini.
Why was her voice coming from above Aru?
Aru looked up and saw that Mini had slowed her own fall. Her legs were crisscrossed and her eyes were closed. A faint purple glow enveloped her body.
A bright light stole Aru’s attention, and the city of Amaravati came and went in a flash. Now the sunset cloud bank hovered at eye level. The clouds looked like mountains of whipped cream, pulled into shapes that were almost recognizable. One mound kind of reminded Aru of an elephant.
“If we don’t get the gods’ attention now, we’re never going to make it to Lanka!” yelled Brynne.
“I don’t want to fall to my death!” moaned Rudy.
“Probably impossible, since this is the fall that won’t end,” said Mini serenely. “You’re much more likely to die of dehydration or starvation. Or you might get hypothermia and freeze to death.”
“WHAT?!” screamed Rudy.
Aru clapped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. Mini was right—she needed to focus. Aru tuned out her arguing friends. She tuned out Chhaya’s laughter, the mirage of her mother’s haunted face, and the prophetic voice that had whispered to Aiden. None of it would matter anyway, if they couldn’t get back to Lanka.
Please, please, please, thought Aru. And then, quietly—so quietly she could hardly acknowledge it to herself—Aru asked, Do you even think I’m doing a good job?
It was a thought she had come to dread.
Aru hadn’t forgotten that the Otherworld had turned on her. Some people blamed her for bringing about this war. Many had lost faith in the Pandavas. Every now and then Aru wondered if that was a sign that their soul dads were just as disappointed in them.
I believe in us, thought Aru fiercely. And if you do, too, then give us a sign.
Aru opened her eyes. Now Amaravati was far above them. Disappointment stole her breath.
This was it. They’d really failed.
Chhaya had been right to laugh. They’d never had the gods’ favor.
What was happening right now in Lanka? Was the Sleeper’s army already there? Was Kubera squealing with delight in his throne? Or—
“What is that?” asked Aiden loudly.
Aru looked up. It seemed a piece of the Amaravati cloud bank had broken off and was now drifting toward them. An enormous puffy thing as pale as bone, with a tufted cloud on each side and a curved tail that made it look a lot like…
“That’s an elephant!” said Brynne.
The cloud elephant drew closer, and Aru could see that