Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (Pandava Quartet #3) - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,32

creating a funnel of air, and volleyed it at the column of glass. The wind bounced back, swiping her feet out from under her and sending her sprawling against Aiden. He caught her right before she hit the floor.

Above them, the ceiling loomed closer. Close enough that Aru could see the details in the stone faces and smell the rock, which had an iron tang like dried blood. Terror shot through her veins, but Aru pushed it down.

Not today, Shah, she told herself. You are not going to be squished like a bug by a giant NOSE.

She aimed her lightning bolt at the crystalline column and let Vajra loose. With a loud crackle, the bolt sparked against the glass. Prickles of light shot up only to spin outward. The column was unscathed.

Aiden frowned, then charged the column himself, his scimitars flashing. His blades landed with an empty thud. Nothing. Mini slammed Dee Dee against the pillar. Violet light burst through the room, but still the enchanted cylinder wouldn’t break.

The stones from above fell faster. Now the ceiling was hardly five feet above their heads. Rudy held his hand over his perfectly coiffed hair and measured the distance between it and the descending ceiling. “Shouldn’t you guys be doing something?!”

Brynne growled and whirled on him. “We’re trying to break this thing! If you have any smart ideas, feel free to chime in!”

She charged the column once more with Aiden and Mini right beside her, but Aru hung back. “Shah!” called Brynne. “Get over here!”

But Aru knew that column wasn’t going to budge. Against all their powers, it remained as pristine as ever. And yet…off to the side that small white flower danced and hopped, skipping from vine to vine as if it were…

Alive.

“Forget about breaking the glass!” hollered Aru. “It’s not the real key!”

“What are you talking about? It’s right there,” insisted Brynne.

“It’s a trick,” said Aru.

She ran over to the small white blossom, which had jumped to a leaf at Aru’s shoulder level. She reached out and gently cupped the flower in her hands. It lay still in her palms for a moment before a flare of light shot through the petals. Luminescence skittered up the vine, moving from the top all the way down and disappearing into the ground…..

“The roots,” said Aru. “The key is in the roots!”

The ceiling kept descending. Brynne glared at it. “You work on the roots, I’ll take care of the ceiling,” she said.

In a flash of blue light, she transformed into a sapphire-colored elephant kneeling on the floor. Her broad back held up the ceiling.

“Can’t—do this—forever,” she managed.

Aru gripped the plant tightly. She felt a sudden pressure around her waist and looked down to see Brynne’s trunk was wrapped around her.

I’ve got you, Shah.

Aru smiled. “I know,” she said aloud. “Mini, Aiden, stay alert. Whatever’s at the base can change and come alive, so you guys have to be ready. On my count…One, two—”

On three, Aru and Brynne yanked out the vine. The root ball emerged from the dirt, glowing intensely, and on the bottom of it, something thrashed and twisted. The light was so bright, Aru almost couldn’t see it, but eventually she caught fluctuating shapes—a silver fish turned into a silver bird turned into a silver key. An impossible key that fluttered like a heartbeat.

The vine wrestled with Aru, flapping like a possessed octopus.

“Grab the key!” she called to the others.

Mini lunged for it, but the tiny thing wriggled out of her reach. She dove again, trying to pluck it off the roots, but the key was too tricky.

A clang sounded, and out of the corner of her eye, Aru saw Aiden leap forward, his scimitars blazing. He sliced off the root ball with one sharp move. The strange plant howled and flopped to the floor.

Aru reached forward and snatched the key off the ground just before Brynne collapsed with a groan, changing back to human form, and the rock ceiling finally gave way.

There was a flash of violet and a yelp of surprise from Rudy as a translucent dome covered the group, protecting them from the falling rubble. Mini stood with her Death Danda pointed upward, a triumphant look on her face. An expanse of afternoon sky stretched above her.

Rudy turned his face to the light, gazing up at Mini in shock. “You made this shield?” he asked. “If you hadn’t, I could’ve died in, like, a second.”

Mini lowered Dee Dee, her smile spreading wider. “I don’t think it would’ve happened