Aru Shah and the Song of Death

by Roshani Chokshi

  With that, the soul song’s vision ended and the mirror rolled back up into a pendant-size orb.

  “It is a dangerous thing to cast off a part of one’s soul,” said Durvasa. “She’s exchanged it for power, and there is another bargain in the making.” Warily, he picked up the orb and stowed it in a small bag at his side.

  “They’re after amrita?” asked Mini, shocked.

  Honestly, Aru had forgotten what amrita was. The only Amrita she knew was a girl in the grade below her, who stuck a marble up her nose on a dare and had to be taken to the emergency room. Aru was pretty sure she was not what Surpanakha and Takshaka were after.

  “Isn’t that…a drink of some kind?” asked Aiden. “I can’t remember.”

  “It’s impossible,” the sage muttered to himself.

  “What is?”

  “They can’t be after amrita. It cannot be done.”

  “But what is it?” pressed Aru.

  Durvasa waved his hand. In the middle of the astral plane floor, a new image appeared: a large golden cauldron tipped forward ever so slightly to reveal a glowing liquid.

  “The nectar of immortality,” said Durvasa. “Once, long ago, someone caused the gods to lose their immortality—”

  “Someone? Don’t you mean…you?” asked Aru.

  Durvasa glared at her. “Let me tell the story! Ahem. Anyway, the gods needed amrita to restore their immortality. They would have to churn the Ocean of Milk in order to find it. The gods convinced the asuras to help by promising them a sip of the amrita.”

  “But then the gods reneged on their promise,” said Brynne.

  “It had to be done,” said Durvasa. “Asuras, though semidivine and gifted with magic, were never meant to be immortal.”

  “Well, no wonder they’re after it now,” said Brynne. “It’s kinda unfair….”

  Aru understood why Brynne felt that way. After all, she was of asura descent, but Aru was surprised to find that she sided with her. The gods hadn’t kept their promise. The fact that a god could be a villain made Aru’s head spin. As a Pandava, she was expected to fight on their side…but how could she do that when she wasn’t sure she could trust them?

  “Just because something is not fair does not mean it is without reason or even compassion,” said Durvasa serenely. He closed his eyes and pronounced: “Fairness is like a multifaceted gem. Its appearance can vary, depending on the angle of the beholder.”

  He cracked one eye open. “WRITE THAT DOWN!” he scolded. “That was free wisdom I just dispensed!”

  “Whoops! Sorry!” said Mini, grabbing her Post-it pad and pen from her backpack.

  “Sage Durvasa, you said it was impossible for someone to get the amrita,” said Aiden. “Why?”

  “What an inane question,” huffed Durvasa. “The amrita is hidden deep beneath the Ocean of Milk, inside a golden dome that can only be opened with a magic spell. The dome covers a labyrinth that is not only impossible to navigate but also is guarded by fire serpents that will incinerate anything with a heartbeat. It’s foolproof.”

  Mini frowned. “But it’s not.” She started jotting something on her notepad.

  “Pish!” scoffed the sage. “You might as well wait for Surpanakha to fail, then just return the bow and arrow to Uloopi. Done. Quest finished.” He wiped his hands together. “Now it’s time for you all to get out of here. I detest this much socialization.”

  “You said the fire serpents will ‘incinerate anything with a heartbeat,’” Mini pressed. She held up a sketch that looked like: . “By using Kamadeva’s arrow, that’s exactly what you get rid of—a heartbeat.”

  Aru caught on immediately. “The Heartless! They can get through the labyrinth and grab the nectar of immortality.”

  “She’s building an army!” said Brynne.

  “And she’s hiding them in the Ocean of Milk,” added Aiden.

  For a moment, Durvasa said nothing. And then the sage did what he did best.

  He cursed.

  We’ll Even Throw in Starvation for Free!

  Once Sage Durvasa had finished cursing, he led them out of the office and locked the door behind him.

  “Happy thoughts, happy thoughts,” muttered Aru to herself. “Fire-breathing serpents? Cool, cool. That’s fine. This is fine. Everything is fine—”

  “Chill, Shah,” said Aiden. “You really need a better pep talk.”

  “I am excellent at pep talks. Witness,” said Durvasa. He cleared his throat. “You have approximately two days left before Queen Uloopi exiles you from the Otherworld. That which you seek will be well guarded, and the path to the shore of the Ocean of Milk is already treacherous. Not to mention the fact that Surpanakha is an accomplished warrior, and so is Takshaka. You are all woefully outmatched. There. How was that?”

  Aiden lunged forward to catch Mini before she fainted. Even Brynne, the most confident out of all of them, let out a whimper.

  Aru’s jaw fell open. “That was your pep talk?”

  “Yes. P. E. P. Preparing for Evil People. Surely that is what you meant.”

  “It was not.”

  “What’s the quickest route to the Ocean of Milk?” asked Brynne. She was standing up straighter now, her jaw clenched in determination.

  Durvasa glanced down both sides of the hall, wary of being overheard. “I would not go to the Mall of Meditation Groves,” he said, fixing them with a strict glare. “And I certainly would not ask for transport to the Great Swamp of New Jersey…. There is no illegal portal to the Ocean of Milk that is closed to the public.”

  “Illegal?” echoed Mini. “Breaking another Otherworld law? How many laws have we broken by now?”

  “Lost count,” Aiden said with a shrug.

  “Where’s this mall?” asked Aru.

  “It is not down the hall…and it is not to your left,” said Durvasa.

  He crossed his arms, his face imperious and grumpy once more. It was clearly a sign of That’s it. Not-help is over! The four of them bowed and paid their respects. For the briefest moment, Durvasa’s face softened.

  “Now, seriously. Go away.”

  They hurried down the hall, which was lined with all sorts of plaques like:

  BEST CURSE-DISPENSER OF THE MONTH: SAGE NARADA!

  Or:

  AWARD FOR BEST ENLIGHTENMENT MOMENT: SAGE BHRIGU!

  “Do you think the Ocean of Milk is filled with actual milk?” asked Mini, pushing her glasses farther up on her nose. “Because I’m lactose intolerant.”

  In the past, it had always been Aru’s job to calm down Mini and distract her somehow—usually by asking about an obscure disease. But this time, Aiden beat her to it.

  “It’s probably magical and harmless,” he said. “It may even have medicinal properties.”

  That piqued Mini’s interest. “Really?”

  “Maybe?” He looked over Mini’s head and mouthed, I have no idea.

  Aru laughed.

  “We have to be ready to take on Surpanakha,” said Brynne solemnly. “Kamadeva said we have to plunge the stolen arrow through her heart. Only when we do that will the Heartless be human again.”

  “I wish we didn’t have to stab anyone,” Mini said. “That’s so violent.”

  “We’re at war!” said Brynne, irritated. “Of course it’s violent! Besides, she’s a thief!”

  Aru knew that…and yet she couldn’t shake the sound of Surpanakha’s voice. Sweet and sorrowful. It made Aru wonder if maybe they didn’t know the whole story.

  The Mall of Meditation Groves sounded to Aru like it would be the chillest place ever. The sages and rishis in her mother’s stories had always acquired their powers through intense meditation, and Aru figured that could only take place in a beautiful natural spot where one could be alone and at peace, free from distractions and stress. The Mall of Meditation Groves was probably like a spa. A few leafy green trees surrounding a luxuriant circle of grass. Flute music playing softly in the air. Or maybe it was like the outdoor section of Home Depot, with
all the plants and stuff.

  But when they stepped through the door on the left, Aru saw she was completely wrong.

  Stretched out before them was a vast convention hall with rows of fenced-in areas representing different kinds of meditation environments. Each area looked no bigger than a mall kiosk, and yet, as was always the case with magic, it seemed like a slice of something infinite. Aru scanned the different displays. There was a marshy patch of land where a lazy alligator basked in an errant sunbeam. Beside it was a Saharan plain, where a calm wind stirred the long tawny grass. Off to the left was a dark jungle draped in shiny green vines. And looming behind it was an outcropping of rock covered with fresh snow.

  Taken on their own, the settings were breathtaking.

  But taken in with the crowds of rishis and sages who were examining them, and the yakshas and yakshinis who were trying to outsell one another, the mall was chaos. It reminded Aru of a department store makeup section, where the clerks spray perfume on scraps of paper and shove them in your face.

  A yakshini with living vines in her hair and lime-green wings on her back alighted before them. “Interested in spending days of meditation in the wilds of India?” she asked.

  “Uh, no thanks,” said Aiden.

  But the nature spirit ignored his refusal. “If you select the Naga Manipuri Chin Hills, we automatically include one free guard leopard, access to an array of nearly three hundred species of medicinal plants, and complimentary bottled morning dew!”

  “I—”

  “Our hills are lush and beautiful!” continued the yakshini. “Free of almost all demonic involvement! That said, ifyouarebeheadedor­sufferfromsevereburn­sasaresultofdemonin­cineration,this­companyisnotliable!”

  Aru noticed that the yakshini’s smile never moved, even when she talked. It looked like someone had nailed it to her face. Now Aru’s own face hurt. FROWN, WOMAN! I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!

  “It offers perfect photo opportunities, too!” said the yakshini, noting Aiden’s camera.

  That got his attention. “Really?”

  “Okay, that’s enough,” said Brynne, shoving Aiden behind her. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

  This time the yakshini’s smile twitched slightly. “Of course! Have a wonderful century. You know where to find us if you change your mind!”

  At the far end of the floor, Aru could see less traditional meditation environments clustered together. The options included skyscrapers and industrial ships, swamplands, and even, though it grossed the heck out of Aru, the insides of insect hives.

  “I bet the swamp Durvasa mentioned is down there,” said Aiden.

  “How are we going to get through all this?” asked Aru.

  There were hundreds of rishis and yogis walking through the mall, and the yakshas and yakshinis descended on unattended shoppers like sharks.

  “I’ll handle them,” said Brynne.

  Aru half hoped that meant Brynne was planning to release a huge gust of wind to sweep everyone away. Instead, Brynne muscled Aru, Mini, and Aiden past a half dozen stalls, yelling and haggling and scoffing the whole way.

  Which is to say, Brynne was having the time of her life.

  “This place makes me feel alive!” she said fiercely.

  “It’s just like a shopping mall,” said Mini, huddling closer to Aru. “I hate malls. Anyone can sneeze on you.”

  Aru agreed, though not because of the sneezing. Aru hated malls because there was always the chance she could run into someone she knew, and then what? She could never afford to buy anything. Once, when she’d spotted a bunch of her classmates coming her way, Aru had gone into every nearby high-end store and asked for an empty bag. That way she was able to flash an oh-I’m-carrying-so-much-I-can’t-really-wave smile before hiding out in the parking garage and waiting for her mom.

  “I can’t take this place,” said Aiden, pulling his hood over his face.

  “Because of the germs?” asked Mini.

  “No, it’s all the loud haggling. Just a bunch of people screaming at each other,” he said, hunching his shoulders. “It sounds just like home.” The moment he said that, his face paled and his mouth set in a tight line.

  Aru recognized that expression. It was the face someone made when they’d revealed too much. Aru remembered Aiden’s nightmares from the Grove of Ratri: his mother’s despair, and Aiden’s guilt. There wasn’t anything Aru could say that would make him feel better, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth trying.

  “Sometimes it’s good not to get used to something,” she said. “When you do, maybe it means you don’t care enough to notice.”

  “I agree with Aru,” said Mini. “It’s usually a good thing! Unless you’re practicing mithridatism.”

  “What’s that?” asked Aiden.

  Mini brightened. “It’s named after this Persian emperor who was so scared of getting poisoned that he ate some every day to make himself immune.”

  “And it worked?” asked Aiden.

  “Yep!” Mini said cheerfully. “He didn’t die by poison. He got stabbed instead.”

  “Hooray?” tried Aru.

  Aiden, on the other hand, looked shocked.

  Up ahead, Brynne continued to bulldoze her way through the kiosks of meditation groves. By now, yakshas and yakshinis were diving in opposite directions when they saw her approaching.

  “You’re terrifying!” called Aru happily.

  Brynne bowed. “Thank you.”

  The kiosk marked GREAT SWAMP OF NEW JERSEY was curiously empty. No beaming yakshini or crowd of eager ascetics here—just one sour-looking yaksha. He had whorled ears, a mop of icy hair that seemed all the more stark against his almond skin, and he wore a faded blue Giants sweatshirt. He quickly shut the New Jersey Monthly magazine he was reading when he saw them and flashed an oily smile.

  “Customers!” he said.

  But with his thick Jersey accent, it sounded like cus-tah-maz.

  “You looking for a portal to the Morris County, I presume? Step right up. We are still meeting the baseline requirements to qualify as an Otherworld sanctuary, despite increased rates of rakshasa attacks,” he said.

  No sooner had he finished speaking than the N fell off his sign. Now it read GREAT SWAMP OF EW JERSEY. What joy.

  “Ain’t it a place of beauty?” He swept his hand toward the portal and grinned.

  This portal looked nothing like the pristine pools they had seen elsewhere. Instead, its lip was ragged and brownish liquid sloshed out. A roach skittered around the edge, then backed away as if saying You know what? Never mind. I’m good.

  “Increased rates of rakshasa attacks?” asked Brynne.

  “Oh yeah. A little dismemberment here and there,” said the yaksha, waving his hand. “I think it adds a certain, uh, character to the place. You know?”

  Mini was horrified.

  “Whaddaya say, how ’bout we strike a deal?” asked the yaksha. He grinned and then eyed Aiden’s camera. “You give me that chunk of metal, and I’ll give you complimentary, VIP, executive, first-class transportation to the one…the only…GREAT SWAMP!”

  Aiden clutched his camera tightly.

  “No deal,” said Brynne. “In fact, you should be giving us passage for free. Do you know who we are? We’re Pandavas.”

  Aru tensed. It was the same tactic she’d used at the Court of the Seasons not too long ago, but it didn’t feel right here. Maybe people shouldn’t know where they were going…because if Takshaka, Queen Uloopi’s right-hand man, could betray her, who was to say what side any person was on?

  “Heavens!” said the yaksha, falling to his knees.

  A little too dramatic, thought Aru.

  The yaksha thanked them profusely, then bowed and stepped aside, allowing them access to the portal.

  Brynne was triumphant. “Nailed it!” she whispered, beaming.

  Aiden bumped her fist and Mini bumped her elbow, but Aru hesitated. The yaksha had reached under the desk of his kiosk. Aru had seen Sherrilyn, the head of s
ecurity at the museum, do the same thing in emergencies. He was pressing a secret alarm button.

  “Hey, wait a sec—” started Aru, but Brynne yanked on her wrist.

  They plunged through the portal. Fortunately, its muddy water slicked right off them and they stayed dry. At least they did until Aru landed on her butt on a soggy piece of ground. They were surrounded by swampland: tall brown reeds, bare gray trees, patches of ice, and an empty wooden boardwalk, all under a leaden sky. It hardly looked like a secret entrance to the Ocean of Milk would be anywhere around here.

  Brynne helped her up. “You okay, Shah? You looked a little nervous about the yaksha back there.”

  “Yeah,” said Aru uncertainly. “He just seemed kinda shady, is all.”

  “I didn’t like him, either,” said Aiden, still protectively holding on to his camera.

  “Well, duh,” said Brynne. “He tried to take Shadowfax. At least it’s safe here. Now come on—I think I see the entrance to the Ocean of Milk between those trees.” She pointed to a copse up ahead.

  “How do you know that?” asked Mini.

  Brynne tapped her nose. “’Cause I’m the daughter of the god of the wind. I have a pretty good instinct for where we are in relation to stuff.”

  “But how are we supposed to get there?” asked Mini. “The trail is way over there.”

  Brynne transformed into a hawk and said, “I can give you a lift. Aru, you take Aiden. Not so sure he’s going to trust that hoverboard again, though….”

  “I know what to do,” said Aru. “Vajra, make a car-seat thing—”

  “I don’t want a car-seat thing! I’ll be fine,” said Aiden defensively. “My dad always said to get back up on the horse after a fall.”

  “Sure, but what about a cow?” teased Aru.

  Aiden glared at her as they climbed onto the hoverboard.

  Brynne took Mini’s shoulders in her talons and they launched into the sky with a “Whooaaa!” (That was Mini.)

  Soon they could see what looked like an archway straight ahead, beneath a cluster of trees. The entrance! They dove for it, but right before they got there, they heard branches snapping, and the very air seemed to change, becoming heavier. The four of them landed on a pathway in front of the arch, and Brynne morphed back into a girl. Aru kicked the hoverboard up and caught it in her hand in Ping-Pong-ball form. Together, they formed a tight circle.