Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes, page 19
We Are All Potatoes
Boo alighted on his favorite spot in the world….
The top of Aru’s head.
He pecked her affectionately, then hopped about. Even though Aru couldn’t see him, she assumed he was making sure Brynne and Mini were fine, too.
Their pigeon guardian made a strange hissing sound at Garuda, who looked more bewildered than terrified out of his wits, but perhaps that’s to be expected when a pigeon starts insulting you out of nowhere.
“Subala,” said Garuda in his gravelly voice. “You are much changed.”
“He’s been taking new feather supplements,” said Mini defensively.
Boo puffed out his chest. “I am here to tell you that the Pandavas’ mission was sanctioned by me, a member of the Council of Guardians, and therefore you cannot punish them.”
Garuda’s wings lowered, and he looked down at the pane of moonlight in his talons. Aru’s hands twitched to take it. Once they had it, they could finally find the Tree of Wishes.
“You allowed them to go on this quest?” asked Garuda quietly.
Aru frowned. Why did it sound like he was insulting Boo?
Garuda did not take his eyes off Boo. “You should know better. You know the cost. Or perhaps you were blinded by the hope of gaining a new form for your soul. You should have protected your charges.”
The pigeon seemed to wilt.
“Boo does protect us!” said Mini angrily. “He always has!”
“I care very deeply for my girls,” said Boo, a barely restrained fury in his voice.
Garuda regarded him steadily. “And yet even the ones who love us and have our best interests at heart make mistakes. My mother enslaved herself to my aunt by impulsively accepting a bet. Maybe it was her pride. Or maybe she hoped it would put an end to my aunt’s bullying of me. Instead, my mother and I both suffered more. I do not trust any instant fix, be it a bet…or a wish.”
After a moment of consideration, Garuda laid the pane of moonlight on the ground. “As this journey has been sanctioned by a member of the Council, I cannot stand in your way. Though I wish you would let me.”
He pointed to the moonlit square. “Only chakora birds can decipher what is written here. It will reveal where Kalpavriksha has been hidden. But know this: the birds are gossipy things, and they honor no currency except secrets.”
“How do we find them?” asked Aru.
“Follow the path through the moonlight,” said Garuda. He lifted his chin. “I pray you know what you are doing.”
And with that, he unfurled his giant wings and took off.
Aru stared after Garuda as his silhouette shrank into the clouds. She thought she would feel victorious, but instead she felt hollow. Maybe the others felt the same way too, because only Brynne bent to retrieve the moonlit pane.
“Well,” said Boo, almost awkwardly.
He hopped down into Mini’s outstretched palms, tilting his head from one side to the next as he gazed at the unreadable message, and then at Aru, Brynne, Mini, Aiden, and Rudy.
“I must return to the heavens soon,” he said. “I’ve been watching the twins, and—”
“Wait a sec, Boo,” said Aiden. “How’d you know where we were?”
“And that we needed help?” added Brynne.
Boo’s feathers stiffened for a moment, as if he’d been caught off guard. “The Maruts,” he said breezily. “They’re keeping me updated.”
Aru frowned. He’d answered too quickly. Also, the Maruts didn’t know about their mission, did they? As a kinda-sorta-reformed liar, Aru was pretty good at recognizing when someone wasn’t telling the truth.
“Now, please tell me you’ve each brought a change of clothes and you’re not questing in your pajamas,” he said, before leveling a glare at Aru. “Again.”
“Again?” echoed Rudy and Aiden.
“HA,” said Aru a touch too loudly. “Let’s move.”
She had only just noticed everyone’s sleepwear choices. Aiden wore flannel pants and his dad’s old law-school sweatshirt. Rudy was wearing a shimmering snakeskin, patterned with music notes. Brynne looked a bit like an angry armadillo in her silver reflective-armor set. Mini was practically drowning in a long black T-shirt.
And Aru? Well, her old Spider-Man pajamas got incinerated after their first quest.
So she’d switched it up to Iron Man.
“We’ve got stuff to change into,” said Brynne.
“So do I,” said Rudy shyly. “If…you know. If I can go, too.” His cheeks turned red.
The others paused, looking at each other.
Aiden was the first to relent. “I guess we could use a playlist guy.”
Rudy beamed.
“BUT YOU HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO USE A SWORD!” said Brynne.
“I’m sorry. Who in the world are you?” demanded Boo.
“I’m Prince—”
“My cousin, Rudy,” explained Aiden. “He’s adjacent to me, a Pandava adjacent.”
“Pandava adjacent–adjacent,” said Boo, clearly unimpressed.
“Well, if we can’t call all of us Pandavas, then what do we say?” asked Aru. “We need a secret code name—something that sounds strong and capable.”
“How about the Masseters?” offered Mini. “It’s the strongest muscle group in the body based on its weight!”
They stared at her, and Mini clarified: “Your jaw muscles? Duh. It can put two hundred pounds of force on the molars.”
Aiden rubbed his temples, and Boo seemed to wither a little on the spot.
Aru folded her arms across her chest. “What about the Pandava Avengers?”
“I’m thinking…potatoes,” said Brynne.
“The vengeful potatoes?” asked Rudy.
“No,” said Aiden. “Avengers Potatoes.”
“No!” said Brynne. “Just. Potatoes.”
“That’s the most depressing group name ever,” said Aru. “What if we have to explain ourselves? We can’t just be like ‘Look, it’s us! The Potatoes! AKA the Pandavas!’”
“Potatoes are strong, hearty, starchy, and versatile,” said Brynne. “You can do all kinds of things with them: grate, bake, boil, broil, roast, dice, slice, scallop, steam—”
“Please stop,” said Aru.
“—grill, flambé—”
“That does it! You’re officially the Potatoes!” squawked Boo. “Now I must be going. The twins were en route to the House of the Moon when I left and—”
A radio-crackle sound emanated from a small gadget affixed to Boo’s ankle. A deep voice crackled out over the night air:
“Emergency alert! All guardians return to base! The clairvoyant has been abducted. Return immediately!”
But Soft, What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks?
Mini gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “Sheela must be terrified!” she said. “We have to go right now—”
On Aru’s wrist, Vajra blew off sparks of angry electricity. “I bet it was the Sleeper.”
“No way we’re letting that fly,” said Brynne rolling up her sleeves.
Boo hovered before them. “I know you want to go after her, but you can’t stray from your mission,” he said sternly. “You have only two days left to find the tree. No doubt the Sleeper’s army took Sheela to locate it because of her ability with plants—”
“Oh gods,” said Aru. A cold pit opened in her stomach. “They took the wrong twin! They meant to take Nikita, but they took Sheela!”
At this, Boo paused. Something flashed in his eyes, like irritation, and Aru couldn’t understand that. Why wasn’t he angry? Or worried? Or flapping about and shedding feathers?
“Where was she last seen?” asked Aiden.
Rudy held up his messenger bag. “I think I’ve got a gemstone here that helps locate—”
“No,” said Boo again. “If they get to the Tree of Wishes before you, then everything is lost, including Sheela. The best way you can help her is to find Kalpavriksha before they do.”
Aru set her jaw. She hated how coldly he’d said it, but Boo was right. Maybe the moment they found the tree, they could wish Sheela back to their side. And Nikita, too. Aru couldn’t imagine how she must be feeling now, with no parents, no Pandavas, and no sister.
“I’m going to coordinate with the Maruts right now. We’ll start the search for her,” said Boo, rising in the air. “Stay safe! I don’t want to lose any more feathers!”
And with that, he took off.
Aru watched him go, unease coiling at the back of her brain, though she couldn’t pinpoint why.
“We need to talk to the twins,” said Mini.
“You’re right,” said Aru.
But the only way to do that was through their dreams.
“I don’t think I can fall asleep after all this.”
“I can help with that,” said Rudy, pulling out something that looked like a moonstone wrapped with strings. It made a soft jingling sound.
“Maybe Sheela will tell us where she is,” tried Brynne hopefully.
“Maybe…” said Aru, but she didn’t think it would be that easy.
The three Pandavas headed back to their tent as Rudy released a song like snow falling lightly on the ground just before bedtime.
“You’ve got fifteen minutes,” said Aiden. “Then we’re waking you guys up.”
Aru, Mini, and Brynne got into their sleeping bags and linked hands.
“We’ll fix this,” Aru muttered sleepily as she immediately drifted off.
When Aru opened her eyes, she was in the dream studio where Nikita had previously made their outfits for the Crypt of Eclipses. Only now the walls and worktable were empty.
Nikita stood before them in a plain white robe.
“Where’s Sheela?” asked Brynne, turning around in a circle.
“Gone,” said Nikita, her eyes dull.
“What happened?” asked Brynne. “Have you heard from her at all?”
Nikita wouldn’t look at them. Aru noticed that her flowery tiara was missing, and there were scratches on her forehead, as if she’d torn it off.
“The Maruts were taking us to the House of the Moon by cloud carriage,” said Nikita, rubbing her arms.
Aru felt a new stab of fear. The storm deities—the defense guard of the entire heavens—had been protecting the twins, and still it hadn’t been enough.
“One moment Sheela was looking out the window, and the next, the door was ripped open and this…this…demon just plucked her out! It said she would lead them to victory.” Nikita shuddered at the memory. “The Maruts went after the demon, but it vanished. They don’t even know how it got into the heavens.”
“Did she get hurt?” asked Mini, her face paling.
Nikita screamed, “I DON’T KNOW!”
Oily vines—dark as shadows, and with thorns sharp as blades—emerged from the dream ground.
“I don’t know where my sister is! I saw them do something to her tracking symbol…. I don’t know if she can reach me in her dreams.” Nikita sobbed. “You have to go after her! Promise me you will!”
Nikita looked at all three of them as she said this, but her gaze lingered on Aru.
Aru faltered, Boo’s words zipping through her skull. “The best thing we can do right now is find the tree, and then we’ll find Sheela—”
“Liar!” hissed Nikita. “You don’t care about her at all!”
“That’s not true!” said Brynne. “Of course we do!”
“I thought you’d be different,” said Nikita. “I thought you’d be like…”
She clammed up, but Aru knew the word she wouldn’t say. Sisters. Even though it was just a dream, Aru felt the air squeezed out of her lungs.
“We’re doing everything we can,” said Aru. “We’ve already got the next clue to the wishing tree—we just have to take it to the chakora birds. If the Sleeper is looking for the tree, too, he’ll bring Sheela with him as he searches! I know it. Trust me—”
“NO,” said Nikita. “I’m done with that.” She turned on her heel.
“Wait!” yelled Brynne. “We can help!”
“Leave. Me. Alone.”
Nikita snapped her fingers, and Aru jolted up in her sleeping bag, gasping for breath and clutching her chest. Guilt racked her. But she had to believe they were doing the right thing. They could fix this. Nikita would see, and then she’d forgive them.
Would you forgive you? asked a nasty voice in Aru’s thoughts.
Mini looked over at her. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it,” she said quietly. “She’s grieving.”
Aru nodded, still feeling a little numb over the whole thing.
Brynne jumped to her feet, hauling up Aru and Mini. “No more clues,” she said, practically growling. “We’re getting to that tree. It’s the only way to find Sheela.”
For all the bravery Mini had been displaying ever since the House of Months, she could still be pretty jumpy. The Potatoes had been walking for nearly an hour in the forest when Mini hollered, “SPIDER!”
It turned out to be a bunch of twigs on the ground.
“Did you know there’s like forty thousand venomous spiders in the world?” said Aiden.
Mini whimpered.
Aru heard a sharp “Ow!” from Aiden. Brynne must’ve elbowed him in the ribs.
“She likes facts. I thought it would help!” he muttered.
At least they hadn’t encountered any bears. Aru suspected that was because Brynne was too scary and Mini too annoying.
As the five of them wandered, Aru noticed that the stars overhead were starting to fade. Still, they hadn’t yet found a chakora forest. In one of their lessons, Boo had told them that, in the old days, chakora forests were places where humans sometimes accidentally stumbled into the Otherworld at night. They’d see a ton of strange things, and then, as soon as the sun came up, be tossed out.
The Irish loved their Otherworld experiences so much, they made a habit of getting lost in the forests just for the stories, Boo had said.
In the distance, finally, she saw it: a shaft of moonlight breaking through the trees, spreading into a puddle of molten silver on the ground. The hairs on Aru’s arm prickled, and she recognized something familiar in the air.
Magic.
“That has to be it!” said Brynne excitedly.
Aru tapped her Vajra bracelet, and the lightning bolt zoomed into her hand. Now they could see that they were entering a grove of birch trees. In the glow, the bark looked like it was covered in frost. The sky was still dark overhead, and there was no sign of wildlife anywhere. Aru raised Vajra and then heard a high-pitched gasp.
“What was that?” asked Aru, swiveling around.
Brynne, Aiden, and Rudy pointed at Mini, who stared back at them, her brown eyes huge behind her glasses.
“That was not me!” she said.
One of the branches beside them bounced, and the five of them jumped back and turned toward the sound.
It was a chakora bird.
Aru had never seen one up close. It was lovely—the size and shape of a dove, with a faint glimmer to its feathers as if someone had outlined each of them with a trail of glitter. Its crest ruffled up, each plume as long as Aru’s hand and white as snow.
“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?” it declared.
That was…a strange thing to hear from a bird. Aru remembered the line from her Shakespeare unit in English class.
“You,” it said with a sigh, its black eyes fixed on Aru. “You’re the most wondrous thing I’ve ever beheld! Refulgence incarnate! What is your name, fair bird? For I must declare that you, and only you, possess my heart.”
It’s Not You, It’s Me. All Right, Fine, It’s Also You.
Aru was mortified.
Brynne burst out laughing. Aiden and Mini looked at the chakora bird with pity.
Rudy just shrugged. “You know, I had an aunt who married a bird. Huge family drama, actually. At the wedding—”
“But we just met?” blurted out Aru.
This was, probably, the least of her concerns about a bird professing its undying love to her.
“I know,” said the bird, shaking its head. “But you, O glowing one, complete me.”
“Or maybe you’re just missing a lot,” whispered Brynne, tapping her temple.
“I’ve never seen lights as electrifying as you!” declared the chakora.
“Uh, thanks?” said Aru, taking a step backward.
“The world is dimmed in your presence!”
“I—”
“You’ve shocked me!”
“You’re welcome?”
The bird flew toward Aru, and she instinctively raised her arms to shield herself. It alighted on her arm, and Aru was plagued with the thousand things she didn’t know about birds. First, did birds try to kiss people? Was that a thing? She really hoped not.
The bird bumped its forehead against her lightning bolt. Bird eyes are fairly dark and round in the first place, but if it were possible, this bird’s eyes got even rounder.
“Wrought from the heavens themselves,” whispered the bird adoringly.
Vajra shocked it, and a sheen of neon blue shirred over the bird’s feathers.
“Ah!” it declared. “A feisty thing, you are!”
Okay. So, the bird was not in love with her.
The bird was in love with her lightning bolt.
Aru was both relieved and, if she was being honest, a little insulted.
Vajra turned from a towering lightning bolt to a bracelet trying to inch its way up Aru’s sleeve and hide from the moon bird’s affections.
“I’ve been too forward,” mourned the chakora.
“A bit,” said Aru. “Listen, now that I’ve got your attention—”
The bird finally glanced at Aru. It hopped up her arm, looked her up and down, and declared, “Ew!”
“Thanks a lot,” said Aru.
“A mortal!”
Aru did jazz hands. “Surprise!”
“What are you doing here, frightful being?”
“I really don’t think adjectives are necessary—”
“Perhaps it’s a boon that the fair lightning bolt has dimmed so I might bear your visage.”
