Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (Pandava Quartet #3) - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,20

it definitely can’t grant wishes.”

“We tested it,” added Sheela mournfully.

Nikita clapped once, and the dirt vanished from her hands. She placed them on her hips.

“The tree can’t be a fake,” said Boo. “That would mean…all this time I…”

He trailed off, stunned. But the longer Aru looked at the tree, the more an urgency grew inside her.

“The prophecy,” she said. “It mentioned a false treasure.”

“One treasure is false, and one treasure is lost, but the tree at the heart is the only true cost,” sang Sheela.

Aru said, “If this tree is false—”

“The real one is lost?” finished Mini.

“No war can be won without finding that root…no victory had without the yield of its fruit,” said Aiden, putting his camera away.

“What if that means winning the war depends on finding it?” suggested Brynne. “And the part about victory—I mean, it’s a wish-granting tree. A person could just wish to win!”

“But what about ‘the tree at the heart’?” asked Mini. “How is that the ‘true cost’?”

“Maybe that’s a hint about where the real Kalpavriksha is?” tried Aru.

“Maybe…” said Mini, but she didn’t sound too convinced.

“Well, then we have to find it!” said Aru, growing more excited. “I mean, we’ve only got five days, right? We have to go right now and tell the Council—”

“You can’t.”

All six of them turned to face Boo, who was staring up at the tree. He’d never looked so small to Aru. She thought of him searching for his own shadow and felt a pang in her heart.

“It would be impossible to reach Hanuman and Urvashi in Lanka,” he said. “The location of their audience with Kubera is wrapped in secrecy. No one would be able to get word to them before Holi. Not even me.”

“What about Opal?” asked Mini.

Aru and Brynne scowled at the same time.

“As if she’d believe us,” said Brynne. “She told us to stay out of the way. And, according to her, no one is going to trust our word right now…. If we’re going to find the tree, we’ll have to do it ourselves.”

“I’m in,” said Mini.

“Me too,” said Aiden.

Once again, the whole fate of the Otherworld depended on them, Aru thought. And it wasn’t just the Otherworld’s fate…it was theirs, too. She couldn’t shake off Opal’s nasty words about her being the Sleeper’s daughter. If they brought back the Tree of Wishes, no one would ever doubt them again.

“Three,” said Aru firmly.

Even the twins raised their hands.

But when they looked at Boo, he was horrified. Aru had learned to pick up on his physical cues: feathers sticking out at all angles, round eyes wider, beak ajar.

“What is it, Boo?” asked Aru. “I thought you’d be happy. If we find the real tree, you can wish on it and…be free.”

Their mentor turned his head and shuffled slightly farther away.

“Boo?” pressed Aiden, gently.

The pigeon sighed. “There’s something you need to know.”

Aru felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. “What?”

“I’ve been coming here for years. I don’t know when she put this decoy here, but Aranyani must have had a good reason for hiding the real tree. She must have been afraid the wrong person would try to wish on it….”

“The wrong person…Like…the Sleeper?” Aru guessed.

“If it was, it would’ve been before he was the Sleeper,” said Boo. “He couldn’t have gained entrance to Amaravati after.”

But what about before, when he was just a man? Aru wondered. What would he have wished for back then?

Boo took a deep breath. “If you start looking for the real Kalpavriksha, the Sleeper might figure out that this one is a fake. Then he could track you to get to the real tree,” he said. “That would be a disaster.”

“We can keep it secret,” said Aru. “We’ve—”

“This mission is far too risky,” butted in Boo. “I can’t let you go. And I can’t come with you. I’m sure Opal’s team is watching my every move.”

“Boo, we have to,” said Aru. “We only have five days! The Sleeper’s army could already be on its way, and the Otherworld could be attacked! We can’t let that happen!”

“Even if I let you go, what will you do if and when you find the real tree?” asked Boo.

Aru eyed the redwood-size tree. “Uh…I guess we’ll just dig it up by the roots, stop by Home Depot, and stick it in a planter on the way back here?” she suggested pathetically.

“Rein in the optimism, Shah, it’s too much,” said Aiden.

“I don’t really trust shapes and sizes,” said Sheela, gently stroking the leaves