Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (Pandava Quartet #3) - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,30

Princeling,” he spat, fixing the eyes of Head Two on Rudy.

The other heads didn’t follow suit. One stared at the paper. The third gazed out the window, sighing. And the fourth narrowed his eyes at Aiden, Brynne, Aru, and Mini. Aru shrank back. The last thing she wanted was Vishwakarma figuring out that they were Pandavas.

“Yes, I do,” answered Rudy, pitching his voice lower.

An immediate change took place in the snake boy. His grin didn’t waver, but he stood up straighter and arched his eyebrows as if he’d just heard something supremely unimpressive. “My father’s kingdom has long loved your exquisite designs, and he—”

Vishwakarma leaned back, plunking his feet up on his desk. “Let me guess…wants a golden kingdom?” he said with a sneer. “Because I’M ALL OUT.”

“No—”

“A flying swan chariot with gilded wings and eyes of jet?”

“No—”

“Then what? Spit it out! You’re wasting my invaluable brain energy on guesswork!”

“A key,” Rudy sputtered.

Vishwakarma stared at him for what seemed like ages. At last he blinked, then threw his head back and laughed.

“A key?” he howled. “What am I to make next? Roombas?” Mr. V paused. “You know, that might not be a bad idea. They’re strangely charming…. Perhaps they could be a sort of hybrid pet–device. It would need some improvements, of course. It has no capacity to defend itself, so fangs are critical. A tail could also serve as a mop. And then—”

“We need a key that can unlock all doors,” cut in Aru. “Including magical and enchanted ones.”

Mr. V paused and turned to scrutinize them a little more closely. “Who did you say your companions were?” he asked Rudy.

“I didn’t,” said Rudy casually. “They hardly matter. My entourage changes daily.”

Vishwakarma’s fourth head craned its neck toward Aru. “That one looks familiar.”

“She gets that a lot,” said Brynne. “Very, uh, generic face.”

Aru cut her eyes at Brynne, who gave her a grin and a tiny wave.

“Oh, come now, Four,” Head One said. “It’s just a little girl.”

The fourth head scowled. “I don’t trust little girls.”

“Well, now you just sound like a curmudgeon,” said Head One. “What do you think, Two and Three?”

“Fanged roombas…” the third head said dreamily.

“We’ve lost Number Three,” Head One said with a sigh. “I, for one, am thinking about the utility of such a key. Would it be used to free imprisoned maidens? Steal treasure? Hide cookies? I do like cookies….”

“I’m known for building cities, Princeling,” thundered Head Four. “Palaces! Things of beauty! Not hardware! What does a naga prince want with such a key, anyway? It would be a hungry, curious thing indeed.”

Rudy cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “In the realm of Naga-Loka, we have an extensive underground tunnel system where we store our jewels and treasures. We’ve had these for at least”—he flipped his hand dramatically—“four millennia. Sadly, we sometimes find ourselves locked out of our own vaults or forgetting the passwords. A key like yours would solve the problem.”

For the first time, Vishwakarma looked troubled. He stroked his four chins with his four hands. Then his third head ducked so that one of the hands could scratch the tip of his nose.

“I have not taken such a commission in some time,” said Head One. “I suppose it’s not an outrageous request, given your status as a naga prince. And it would be within my power to grant….”

Mr. V raised his four hands. When he twisted them, the room went completely dark. A glowing orb appeared in the air, rotating slowly before darting around like a laser pointer and shifting into different forms—from orb to shovel to key and back to a ball of light.

It was unlike any key Aru had ever seen. Vajra bobbed up from her pocket, as if curiously inspecting this new magic. Vishwakarma’s fourth head stared hard at the glowing ball, and Aru quickly shoved Vajra out of sight. Her lightning bolt shot her with a quick, disgruntled zap!

“Using a key like this will not be easy,” mused Mr. V. He reached up, caught the ball of light, and spun it on his palm. It shifted into a slithering snake, and then a fish with rainbow scales. “A key that unlocks all things has to be able to see what it’s doing. It is, in a sense, alive, and it might demand something in return for its services.”

Mr. V glared at them with all four pairs of eyes when he said, “Are you willing to pay the price?”

In Which A Giant Nose Spells (Smells!) Trouble

Are you willing