Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes (Pandava Quartet #3) - Roshani Chokshi Page 0,98

the landmass, and wispy clouds veiled it from every side. Nearly a hundred feet in the air, the island hovered within two beams of light—one of sunshine and one of starlight.

How are we supposed to get to it? wondered Aru. The walkway of river stones ended abruptly at a steep drop into churning water filled with sharp black rocks.

“Are we supposed to fly there?” demanded Rudy.

“I could…” said Brynne.

“If the Sleeper’s up there, we have to go together,” said Mini. “But if he is in the Pavilion…how’d he even get there?”

“I expect he used that,” said Aiden, pointing down.

That’s when Aru noticed two sturdy posts on either side of the path, both looped with rope. She looked over the edge of the cliff to see one end of a rickety wooden bridge dangling like a ladder, its other end floating in the water.

“Welp,” she said.

In a flash of blue light, Brynne transformed into a turquoise falcon. She cawed once, dove toward the rapids, gathered the other end of the bridge in her beak, and flew back to them. The moment she transformed into her normal self, the planks fell in a pile at her feet.

“Plah!” said Brynne, spitting. “Wet rope tastes awful.”

Aiden knelt by the ends of the rope and held them up. “Someone cut these deliberately.”

“So how do we get to the Tree of Wishes?” asked Rudy.

“I can repair the bridge,” said Nikita, moving to the front.

“I’ll keep up the shield,” said Mini.

“And if there’s anyone waiting for us on that island”—Brynne’s grin turned savage as she thudded her mace against her palm—“they won’t know what hit ’em.”

“I’ll, uh, just, you know, stay here,” said Rudy, ducking behind Mini.

“Not a chance,” said Aiden.

Nikita raised her palms, and huge green vines manifested around her wrists. She extended her arms and the vines grew outward, entangling with the severed ropes and weaving themselves in between the planks. The vines kept lengthening until the bridge spanned the chasm again, and then they wrapped themselves securely around two posts on the island. Nikita snapped her fingers and the vines fell off her wrists, slithered over to the two nearby posts, and took a firm hold.

Brynne tugged the rope a few times and then nodded. “It’s ready.”

“I’ll go first in case it needs any strengthening,” said Nikita.

“If I go next, I can anchor the force field better,” said Mini.

“And if I go behind Mini, I probably won’t die,” said Rudy.

“Move out!” said Brynne.

“What about—?” started Aru and Aiden at the same time.

“You guys have a lightning bolt and two scimitars. On a bridge made of vines,” said Brynne, shaking her head. “Keep your weapons close to your body. And, Shah, please don’t set anything on fire.”

“I resent that,” muttered Aru.

As they marched across the bridge, Aru felt her stomach swoop with every movement. The bridge might have been strong, but it swayed with their steps. And with each sway, Aru felt fresh terror climbing up her body.

To distract herself, she looked over her shoulder at Aiden. “So…you sing, huh?”

“Don’t start with me, Shah,” said Aiden, rolling his eyes. “Rudy won’t stop asking me to be part of his band. He wants to call it ‘Rudy Rocks.’”

Aru snorted, imagining Rudy running around a stage, strategically placing his enchanted stones and gems.

“Honestly, it’s so bad it’s almost great,” said Aru, grinning.

Aru was possessed by a sudden terrible urge to add a wink. The muscles in her left eyelid were going rogue. What are you doing? she mentally screamed at them. Stop that! Slowly, her left eyebrow flattened like a depressed penguin.

“Um, is there something in your eye?” asked Aiden.

“Delusions of grandeur,” she muttered.

“What?”

“Eyelash,” she said, rubbing furiously at her eyeball.

“We made it!” called Mini.

Aru kept her gaze straight ahead as they stepped onto the floating island. The ground beneath them was lush and green. Thick curtains of fog and steam from the waterfall slowly parted to reveal what could only be called a paradise. Or rather, paradises, for there were several.

In the sky above, a cluster of flowering trees hung upside down next to a winged-lion statue holding a sign that read FOR THE HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON, TURN RIGHT. A few feet beyond that, the greenery gave way to a desert landscape with a palm-tree oasis and different instructions: FOR ZERZURA, TURN LEFT. Aru also saw a path of clover that wound its way to Tir na Nog, the Irish fairylands, and signs that pointed the way to vast world trees that could hold whole