Aru Shah and the Song of Death

by Roshani Chokshi

  “I did it on purpose,” said Aiden. “If I hit one with a sword and he doesn’t get hurt, they’ll all just attack.”

  “Oh right. We can’t use our weapons against them,” said Brynne grimly. She raised her fists in a fighter’s stance. “So be it.”

  “Hold up, Rocky,” said Aru. “We have to get to the door on the left. But we can’t let them see where we’re going….”

  Mini brandished Dee Dee and a shield flickered around them, but the Heartless didn’t stop. They groaned and shuffled closer.

  “We can’t fight them,” said Aru. “We have to do something different.”

  “Like hide?” asked Mini.

  “Don’t be such a baby,” Brynne scoffed.

  That made Mini stand up straighter. In her daughter of the god of death outfit, she looked scary in that second.

  “I’m the oldest Pandava, remember? And I meant what I said,” asserted Mini. “We can still use our weapons, just not to fight. We can use them to hide. What if I turned my shield into a mirror?”

  Aru snapped her fingers. “YES! That’ll trick them!”

  “Good idea,” said Aiden.

  Guilt flickered on Brynne’s face. Aiden gave her a gentle nudge.

  Brynne looked at the ground, fidgeting with one of her trophy bracelets. “Um, I can add to that?”

  Mini nodded. “Good.”

  Mini’s purple shield ballooned over the four of them. It was her best casting yet. Brynne turned her choker back into a mace and swung it over her head. A cold wind picked up. All at once, the sheets of paper covering the sidewalk lifted into the air. Brynne twirled the mace as if she were going to lasso the papers, and they spiraled like a cyclone toward the charging zombies. At the same time, Mini made a quicksilver substance pour over her shield. It made a one-way mirror they could see through but the zombies couldn’t.

  The Heartless stopped short.

  “HNGHHHHHH?!” the Apple-Genius-Heartless zombie shouted in confusion.

  It sounded a lot like Whoa! Where’d they go?!

  Aiden snapped another photo.

  “Seriously?” demanded Aru.

  “The lighting is perfect!”

  Slowly, the four of them shuffled across the street under the dome, the mirror illusion hiding them completely until they got to the left-side door of the Georgia Aquarium. This one looked older than the polished glass entrance on the right. It was made out of driftwood and a sea smell rolled off it. Light leaked out around the edges—a light Aru was sure no human would be able to recognize.

  Brynne opened the door first, and Mini finally let down her shield.

  “You saved us back there,” Aiden said to Mini, grinning.

  Aru elbow-bumped her, and Brynne—bright red in the face—mumbled something.

  Aru wasn’t sure, but it sounded like sorry.

  Terminal C. Get It? LOL

  The four of them walked quickly down a long tunnel—well, everyone except Aru.

  “Why are you moving so slowly?” demanded Brynne. “Stop gawking!”

  “Can’t help it!” said Aru, awed. “We’re underwater.”

  Aru gestured around her. They were walking through an invisible tube that kept them completely dry. Outside, jellyfish bobbed peacefully. A shark darted overhead. Mini, however, was not convinced by the magic. She was huddled beneath a spotted umbrella, which made her look like a traveling mushroom.

  “We’re also on a deadline,” said Brynne. “You heard Kamadeva. Nine mortal days left—”

  “And time moves faster in the Otherworld,” Aiden pointed out in a worried tone. “We’re obviously not in Atlanta anymore.”

  “This is as fast as I can walk, honest,” said Aru. “So unless you want to carry me, then—Wait, Brynne. Why are you looking at me like that? Hey!”

  Brynne lifted Aru and threw her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

  “Shouldn’t you at least take a vote?” asked Aru.

  “All in favor?” asked Brynne.

  “Aye,” said Aiden.

  “Aye,” said Mini sheepishly.

  “Betrayal!” shouted Aru.

  Actually, Aru found it pretty comfortable. The walk to the aquatic airport was long, and her legs were tired from all the walking through Kamadeva’s endless Soul Exchange and the running from the Heartless. It wasn’t so bad being carried. In fact, it was kinda nice….

  A few minutes later, she was unceremoniously dumped on the floor.

  “Hey!”

  Brynne had her hands on her hips. “You fell asleep.”

  “Did not!”

  “You started snoring.”

  “Oh…”

  “I can’t have you drooling down my back,” said Brynne.

  “Look!” said Mini, lifting her umbrella and pointing up ahead. “We’re almost at the entrance to the aquatic airport!”

  Something zoomed past them on the right: a giant eel with a transparent bubble on its back crammed with members of the Otherworld. Beyond the eel, Aru could see what looked like a runway in the distance. Large glowing fish swam in straight lines, guiding orcas and humongous sea turtles that were carrying their own passenger pods. As for the arrivals, a huge octopus detached the pods from the aquaticrafts—handling several at once—and then slotted them into hatches in the “airport.” Aru wondered if the octopus ever got things mixed up.

  Through the water, she could hear the dim crackle of someone announcing, “Leviathan, you’re cleared for Runway One with service to Avalon.” Aru looked around, trying to choose which of the sea creatures she’d want to take them to the naga realm.

  “Hopefully they’re not boarding immediately,” said Brynne, patting her stomach. “I’m hungry again. Aiden, got anything?”

  “You ate it all,” said Aiden distractedly. He was staring at his phone screen. Though there was no cell service or Wi-Fi in the Otherworld, Aiden’s enchanted camera was somehow still able to transmit his digital photos to the phone.

  Brynne’s stomach grumbled louder.

  Frowning, Aiden lifted his phone to show them a picture of a zombie. “You know what’s weird?”

  “The fact that you don’t have any snacks?” asked Brynne grumpily.

  “No…. All the Heartless we’ve seen so far are all guys,” said Aiden. “Why would the arrow thief only choose men?”

  “Because the thief hates the patriarchy?” suggested Aru.

  Brynne raised a fist in solidarity, and Mini snorted back a laugh.

  “I’m serious!” said Aiden. “It’s weird.”

  It was weird, but they didn’t have long to sit with Aiden’s realization, because they’d pushed through the bright coral doors of the aquatic airport. Being inside was like standing inside a large, blown-glass jellyfish that protected them from the water outside. Slender, translucent tentacles disappeared into different transportation docks with the names of places that Aru had always thought were out of myth: LEMURIA, AVALON, ATLANTIS…NAGA REALM.

  There were businesswomen typing away on glowing laptops. Men pushing strollers across the hard-packed sand floor. Naga kids dragging suitcases shaped like tiny BB-8s. Jellyfish floated in the air overhead, carrying digital readouts announcing the departures and arrivals of various transports. A sea turtle flapped lazily through the jellyfish, trailing an ad banner that said: TIRED OF WAITING IN LINE? SIGN UP FOR EXPRESS PRECHECK SERVICE! COST = JUST ONE YEAR OF YOUR LIFE!

  “‘Terminal C for Naga Realm,’” Mini read aloud from an information screen inside a giant open clamshell. She folded her umbrella, stuffed it in her backpack, and scanned more lines before groaning. “Oh great, there are no more departures to the naga realm after dusk.”

  “What do they mean, after dusk? That’s so imprecise!” said Brynne. “The time for sunrise and sunset isn’t always the same. How are we going to know when—?”

  Aiden coughed and pointed up.

  In the ceiling above them, a large sand dollar slowly rotated. Words were written on it in different colors. A f
aint line of light shot out from its middle, looking like one hand on a clock. It was close to hitting a word in purple ink: DUSK.

  “Oh no, oh no, oh no!” said Mini. “We gotta run!”

  Aru was staring up at the inky water beyond the ceiling, where she was 99 percent sure she’d just seen a mermaid, when Mini’s words registered.

  “Right, I’m ready!” she said quickly.

  Aiden raised an eyebrow and Mini shook her head.

  “Why are you guys looking at me like that?” Aru asked.

  Brynne took a step closer.

  “Not again—”

  Once more, Aru found herself dangling over Brynne’s shoulder. To be fair, Brynne was fast. Unlike Aru, she didn’t stop to look around at all the airport’s marvels. In a matter of seconds, they found themselves in the security line, which looked almost exactly like the one at the entrance to the Night Bazaar. All passengers had to step through a glittering archway. To the right was a crystal conveyer belt. And at the end stood a very bored-looking naga flipping the pages of the latest Dan Brown book.

  “Please take out all laptops, cellular devices, cursed items, and weapons of mild devastation. Bottled constellations or enchanted bodies of water must be kept in a three-ounce container. Please note that Samsung Galaxies are now banned, as per the Otherworld Transportation Security Guidelines,” droned the naga.

  Aiden went first, placing his camera and satchel onto the conveyer belt. He moved through the arch without incident.

  The naga man pawed through Aiden’s bag and examined his wallet, pulling out a photo that had been tucked inside. “Is that…? No, it can’t be!” said the security guard. “Is that Malini? The apsara celebrity? She hasn’t been seen for ages! How do you know her?”

  Aiden snatched back the photo. “That’s my mom.”

  The guard blushed. Since he was mostly green, he didn’t turn red, but bright yellow. Aru quickly looked away. Now she knew why Aiden had called Urvashi his aunt. Malini was a famous apsara dancer and singer, one of the elite sisters of Urvashi. Aru vaguely remembered a signed poster of her in Boo’s classroom.

  Next was Mini, whose purple backpack passed through easily. After her went Brynne. Aru lagged behind…. She’d never had much luck with Otherworld Transportation Security. Something always went wrong.

  The naga picked through Brynne’s stuff. “Why did you pack salt? You are aware that this could be construed by some species of the underwater worlds as an act of aggression?”

  A family of sea slugs on the other side of the conveyer belt huddled closer together.

  Brynne crossed her arms. “I always carry salt with me. I hate when food doesn’t have enough salt.”

  When Aru looked up again, the family of sea slugs was nowhere to be seen.

  Probably for the best.

  “Tell the truth, asura girl,” said the naga man.

  Brynne turned red, and Aru remembered how Takshaka had treated her in the Council of Guardians. As if her lineage made her dangerous. Anger spiked through her, but Brynne defended herself:

  “Just because I’ve got asura blood doesn’t mean I’m lying.”

  “I have reason to doubt you, and that’s all I require,” he said with a sneer. He confiscated the salt. Next, he picked up what looked like a photo album. “And this?”

  Brynne clenched her jaw. “That’s personal.”

  The naga man leafed through it. From what Aru could see, it was just a bunch of pictures of Brynne. Brynne with her #1 medals and trophies before they’d been turned into bracelets. Aru rolled her eyes. Self-confidence was great and all, but what kind of person needed to carry around proof of their successes? It was just weird.

  The security officer carelessly tossed the album back to Brynne. Then he turned to Aru. “Your turn.”

  Okay, you got this, Shah.

  She felt a zing of reassuring warmth from Vajra, which was now in Ping-Pong-ball form in her pocket. Aru placed her backpack onto the conveyer belt and put Vajra into a separate bin. She walked through the scanner only to meet the naga man’s upheld palm.

  “Miss, please wait.”

  “’Kay,” said Aru.

  One minute passed…then two….

  She could spot the others well ahead of her. Mini was purchasing tickets near a vast glowing pod. Passengers were lined up to enter. First they had to give a sea-glass ticket to a naga lady in a green uniform. She would scan the chips over a coral tube and then, one by one, the travelers would walk in and find their seats.

  Brynne had finished repacking her stuff and was now at a kiosk ordering food. Aiden was talking to the owner of a stall marked MESSAGE DELIVERY SERVICE, and pointing to a bouquet of flowers. Wow, he was really going through a lot of trouble for someone, thought Aru. First he secretly wanted a love arrow from Kamadeva, and now he was sending flowers?

  Aru felt the slightest twinge of envy. It wasn’t that she wanted to be the girl on the receiving end of Aiden’s flowers—or, heaven forbid, the god of love’s arrow…. She just wished she could inspire that kind of attention.

  Her mom certainly did. Over the years, Aru had had to sign for lots of deliveries of elaborate bouquets from different men who were smitten with her beautiful, brilliant archaeologist mom. Usually her mother tossed the flowers straight in the trash, and that’s where they stayed…except on Valentine’s Day. Every February fourteenth, Aru would fish a bouquet out of the trash and bring it to school (never mind if the blooms were slightly crushed and had a bit of eggshell on them) and tell everyone that they’d been delivered to her house (which, technically, was not a lie).

  Oh well, thought Aru. At least I have Vajra.

  The naga security guard coughed. “Your lightning bolt keeps transforming and I cannot properly scan it.”

  Aru sighed. Sometimes Vajra got skittish. It would change from Ping-Pong ball to sword to rope and whatever else, refusing to settle down.

  “Sorry…”

  The scanner whirred impatiently. Aru started to panic. The last thing she wanted was to have to demonstrate Vajra’s full capacity, which was something a security rakshasa had required on her last quest. It had taken literally a thousand years.

  Or at least twenty minutes.

  Whatever.

  They didn’t have twenty minutes to spare. Already, the ray of light on the sand-dollar clock was about to hit DUSK, and the pod to the naga realm was losing its glow. The green-uniformed passenger-service agent tapped her serpent tail impatiently. From the ticket kiosk, Mini mouthed to Aru, HURRY UP!

  Time to turn on the charm, Shah.

  “I keep thinking I’ll see Luca Brasi here,” she joked to the security guard.

  “Who?”

  “You know, from The Godfather? ‘Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes’? It’s, like, a famous quote about this guy who—”

  “Miss, if you know of any Luca Brasi who is trying to find lodging with fishes and has been reported missing, it is your civic duty to notify the authorities per Otherworld Transportation Security Guidelines—”

  “Oh my god, it’s a joke!”

  “Jokes are prohibited in the security area,” said the naga man. “Also, sleeping among fishes is no laughing matter. They never blink! Do you know how disturbing that is?”

  At that moment, the crystal scanner beeped. Vajra popped out on the other side looking, Aru imagined, rather grumpy for a ball of light. When Aru reached for it, it zinged her with a tiny bolt of electricity.

  “You may go,” said the naga man sourly.

  “Thank you. Bye!”

  Aru raced over to Mini, who was waiting for them at the gate. Aiden strolled over with a bag full of candy he had bought.

  “For emergencies only,” he said, catching Aru’s greedy eyes. “Sorry that took a while. Had to send something to my mom in case she got worried.”

  Oh…thought Aru, feeling a bit silly. So that’s who the flowers were for.

  “Where’s Brynne?” Mini asked. “The pod is going to leave soon!”
r />   “I thought she was getting something to eat?” said Aiden.

  Over at the food kiosk, they saw a bull-headed rakshasa nervously pacing and wiping his hands on his apron, but they didn’t spot Brynne at first. The three of them crept closer. Behind the counter, wearing an apron and laboring over a fire, was Brynne. She held out a spoon to the rakshasa, who took it gingerly, and sipped.

  “THAT,” Brynne yelled, “IS FOOD! Notice how it satisfies the five basic tastes? Sweet! Sour! Bitter! Salty! Umami!”

  Aru’s eyebrows soared up. Whose mommy? What?

  “I will come back,” said Brynne menacingly. She tore off her apron and threw it on the floor. “And I hope you’ve learned to cook by then.”

  “Yes, m-ma’am. Sorry, m-ma’am,” stammered the rakshasa, clutching the spoon for dear life.

  Brynne stomped toward them, still glaring and mumbling, “If I want something good, I always have to make it myself….”

  Mini and Aru tried to meet her halfway, but Aiden held them back.

  “Some advice for the future,” he whispered. “Do not get in the way of Brynne and food.”

  The four of them just barely reached the pod before its door closed. They were the only non-naga passengers aboard, which made Aru feel self-conscious. She took a seat on a plushy pink anemone and pretended to read a Divine People magazine while she snuck peeks out the window.

  The pod was spat out of the dock and into the ocean, only to be snagged by an octopus tentacle that attached the bubble to the top of a humpback whale. Aru—though thrilled—was half-terrified that she’d go catapulting out the pod from all the turbulence. Mini examined the translucent walls like she feared they were going to spring a leak any minute. Aiden snapped pictures—though they were going so fast, Aru thought they’d all come out blurry. Brynne concentrated on eating.

  After a short flight (swim?), they docked and de-whaled in a vast but dark indoor terminal that reminded Aru of an art deco train station. The walls were covered with overlapping jewels that looked like serpent scales. Living, hissing cobras with tongues of flame cast the only light. At the end of the hall, their glimmers turned wavy, like moonlight hitting the sides of a sea cave.