Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes, page 26
“Because it could choke!” said Aiden, tossing one of Rudy’s shiny gems over his shoulder.
“They’re plants!”
“And that jewel could cut its roots!” said Aiden, snatching back the baby and awkwardly patting its spiky head. “Shh…”
“You’re so controlling!” said Rudy, reaching for the plant baby.
Aiden gripped it harder, giving Rudy his shoulder. “You’re reckless!”
“Uh, boys?” tried Aru as the ground began to tremble.
“Well you’re boring!” said Rudy. “At least I’m fun—”
“Fun? Fatal? What’s the difference to you?” demanded Aiden.
“AIDEN,” shouted Brynne.
He stopped and swiveled around. The statues all took one thunderous step forward. Aru wondered if she could just zap them backward with Vajra, but the moment she moved her wrist away, her baby plants started to wail.
In three more steps the yalis would be at the boundary.
“Stay where you are, Aru,” said Mini. “I’ll make sure they can’t get to us.”
She let loose her Death Danda, but the violet glare woke her plants and set them howling.
“Oh no!” said Mini. “Don’t be frightened! Remember the cardiovascular system? Wasn’t that fun?”
Her plants howled louder, as if saying It was not fun!
The yalis were now two steps away. Small pebbles quivered and tumbled on the ground and the statues’ feet sent up tiny dust storms when they moved.
“I’ve got this!” yelled Brynne.
She brandished her wind mace but only succeeded in kicking up the dust and sending it swirling around the plant-nursery bed. A chorus of wails sliced through the air. The statues towered over the babysitters, casting a cold shadow over everything. The Potatoes couldn’t leave the baby plants, but they’d be killed if they stayed put. The mongoose statues slowly raised their fists as each lifted a foot to take the final step….
“Almost have it!” yelled Nikita. “Just make it quiet!”
Aru was torn. Any movement from her would only make her plants scream louder and the statues move faster. Vajra, equally torn, kept shifting back and forth between a spear and a bracelet.
A sound cut through the plants’ crying and the statues’ creaking movements….
A song.
Aiden was singing a lullaby. All the baby plants began to nestle contentedly in the dirt. Some of them propped clumps of soil behind their fronds like loamy pillows. The yali statues stepped back.
Aru wasn’t even sure the song had lyrics. Aiden’s singing was like Rudy’s gift with the jewels. It summoned a feeling of contentment, like spending the whole day out on the lake or at the pool, drowsy with sunshine.
Brynne’s warning rang through Aru’s head: Don’t look at him. He’s using one of his apsara powers.
Aru tried her best, but the lure of the song was too strong…. She couldn’t help herself. She looked.
Aiden appeared backlit by the sun. An invisible wind stirred his dark hair, and the plants beneath him glowed.
She knew the stories about apsaras. How they were not just beautiful, but capable of drawing the whole world’s focus. It made them dangerous and sought-after. All this time, Aru had thought it was all just poetic exaggeration….
But when she gazed at Aiden now, the nursery fell away. Aru imagined the world was frosted over, snow spangling like diamonds, and she and Aiden were dancing the way people did in movies. Not a movie where the wind was blowing her hair and all the landscapes kept changing and people could somehow dance and sing at the same time, but dancing the way she imagined it should be…where you’re held close and the music is the humming of hearts and—
“Okaaaaay, gonna reel you back in now,” said a voice.
Aru blinked to find that she had her arms lifted as if she were dancing a waltz. Brynne gently brought them back down to her sides.
Rudy was laughing. Mini was shaking her head in pity. And Aiden? He was staring at her. The plants beneath him cooed in sleep, and the yalis had reclaimed their spaces against the wall and gone still.
“Next time, just set me on fire,” Aru whispered to Brynne, her face flaming.
“I told you not to look when he does his apsara thing.”
Aru scowled.
“How come you didn’t do that earlier?” Mini asked Aiden.
“I didn’t want Nikita’s plant to fall asleep.”
“Oh.”
Unfortunately for Aru’s wounded dignity, that made sense. At the other end of the nursery table, Nikita gently lowered her now-slumbering plant back into the earth. When she looked up, a huge grin split her face.
“I got it,” she whispered.
“Where’s the tree?” asked Brynne.
“The Atlanta Botanical Garden,” said Nikita. “It’s the only place in the mortal world that has direct access to something called the Botanical Pavilion of Lost Cities? Kinda like the Otherworld, but with more plants.”
“What?” said Aru. “It’s been there all this time?”
Aru had been to the Atlanta Botanical Garden often. Around Christmastime, her mom would take her to see the holiday lights show, where the whole garden got dressed up in shimmering colors and the air smelled like cocoa and cider.
She’d seen all the exhibits, and there was no way a ginormous wish-granting tree was hiding in one of them. How would that even work? Statistically, there had to have been one visitor who offhandedly said, I wish I had some ice cream right now, only to have a huge vat of it land on their head. Wouldn’t someone report that? Or maybe they thought it was so awesome they didn’t want to share the news, and kept it to themselves….
That’s totally what she would’ve done.
“Let’s go!” said Brynne, but Rudy stood frozen, still stunned. He flailed a hand at Aiden.
“You can sing?” asked Rudy, awed.
“Sometimes,” said Aiden cagily.
“Wait, with my music and your voice—”
Aiden winced. “Please don’t—”
“We—”
“No.”
“Should start—”
“Rudy. No.”
“A BAND.”
Who Is Groot?
The five Potatoes and Nikita—who refused to let the others call her a Potato—climbed out of a Lyft and stood outside the entrance to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The gardens weren’t open yet, and there were no other people around. Even the cars ambled by sleepily, no one honking or rolling down the window to ask what the six kids were up to so early in the morning.
Everything about the gardens looked familiar to Aru. She recognized the wide bronze entrance gates, the scent of cut grass and distant roses, the wide banners proclaiming the exhibits that lay inside.
What she did not recognize was the smaller gate, just to the right of the official entrance, hidden in the shade of a myrtle tree and positively radiating with magic.
Aru waved her hand across it, feeling the air warp around her skin as the smaller gate’s enchantments pushed back at her.
“Okay, I was wrong,” said Aru. “Maybe this place really is hiding the wishing tree.”
“Told ya so,” chirped Nikita brightly.
“So how do we get in?” asked Brynne.
“I really don’t want to use that key again,” said Aru.
“Me neither,” said Aiden.
“Weird,” Rudy said, poking the asphalt on the street. “You don’t use crushed stars in your pavement?”
“Rudy, please get back on the sidewalk,” said Mini.
“I’m exploring!”
“You’ll be roadkill,” said Brynne.
“It has a sort of decrepit charm to it,” said Rudy. “I’ll buy two streets. Who do I pay? Hello?”
Everyone ignored him as Nikita walked right up to the tree next to the silver gate and knocked on the bark twice.
“Knock-knock,” said Aru jokingly.
“Who’s out there?” came a voice from inside the tree.
Aru jerked back. Even though she now knew that plants could speak, she hadn’t expected the tree to respond to a knock-knock joke.
Especially not with a deep Southern twang.
Nikita lifted her chin. “We are the—”
Aru waved her hands, mouthing, Don’t say our names!
As much as possible, they had to keep their mission secret.
“Y’all have to give me a name if you wish to enter the Botanical Pavilion of Lost Cities,” said the tree, annoyed.
“Potatoes?” tried Mini.
“Y’all are obviously not taters. But if you are, bless your hearts.”
“First compliment I’ve gotten all week,” said Aru.
“If I don’t have me a name in the next five seconds, I am shutting—”
“No!” said Aru.
“Your name is No?”
“No,” said Mini.
“Is that a yes?”
“GROOT,” said Aru, running with the first thing that popped into her head. “I am…Groot.”
“We’re all…Groot?” said Aiden.
The tree went silent, and Aru mentally kicked herself. GROOT? That was the name her brain supplied at the last second?
Bad brain, thought Aru.
Her brain instantly reacted by putting “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” into her head.
“We gave you a name, now let us through,” said Aru.
“All right, all right. No need to pitch a fit. No one wants to come out here today anyhow. It’s Holi.” The tree sighed, bowing its top and shaking down leaves.
The silver gate swung open, and they filed in as quickly as they could. As the entrance shut behind them, Aru heard the tree muttering:
“Awful names…Imagine introducing yourself like that. ‘I am Groot,’” grumbled the tree. “Almost as inane as ‘I am the Sleeper.’”
“Did you hear that?” asked Aru. She snapped her fingers and Vajra lengthened into a full-size spear.
Brynne had already drawn her mace, and Mini’s Death Danda was at maximum length, too. Aiden’s scimitars peeked out from his sleeves, and even Rudy had his messenger bag full of enchanted jewels unzipped and ready.
“The Sleeper is here,” Aru said, keeping her voice hushed.
“Does that mean Sheela is here, too?” asked Nikita. Her fingers flew to the little green heart at her throat, probably hoping to feel her twin nearby, Aru guessed.
“Nikki, I’m sorry, but your tracker was turned off back at the House of the Moon?” said Mini gently. “For your safety.”
Nikita removed her hand, her expression hardening.
“If she’s here, we’ll find her,” said Brynne firmly.
They stood on a wide pebbled walkway lined with waterfalls that stretched high above them. Huge plumes of steam and fog rose in the air, hiding the tops, so it kind of felt like walking through the middle of a parted ocean. Beneath their feet the polished river stones stretched out a good three hundred feet before disappearing into mist. A small sign to the right read:
UP AHEAD: BOTANICAL PAVILION OF LOST CITIES
“Mini and I can take the lead,” said Brynne.
Mini nodded, unleashing a violet force field in front of the two of them.
“Aiden and Rudy, you guys take the middle,” said Brynne. “Aru, you and Nikita guard the rear.”
“Can I guard from there, too?” asked Rudy.
“No.”
While the others took off, Aru hung back. Nikita was lagging even farther behind. The girl’s hand was pressed to her chest, and there was a look on her face that Aru recognized instantly. Loneliness.
“Hey,” said Aru, nudging her a bit. “We’re going to find her, okay?”
Nikita looked up. She usually seemed much more composed than a typical ten-year-old. But in that second, her eyes welled with terror. It was the same expression she’d worn in the nightmare, when she’d stretched out her hand to the mother who was leaving her behind just to keep her safe.
Nikita took a deep breath before saying in a small voice, “I believe you. I’ll always believe you now.”
That made Aru stop short. What a strange burden, she thought, to be depended on like that. It made her feel like she was somehow ten times taller, and only for the purpose of protecting the twins who looked up to her. Nikita took her hand, and Aru felt a surge of warmth and fear. Was this what being an older sister was like? Wanting to yell at someone most of the time but still being willing to jump in front of a car for them?
If so, it was awful.
“You’re not alone,” said Aru, squeezing Nikita’s hand.
“I know,” said Nikita. But even as she said it, Aru noticed that her nature powers kept manifesting as a twist of vines wrapping around her dress like armor. “It’s just…new.”
“Better get used to it,” said Aru.
Nikita beamed. She dropped Aru’s hand and tugged at the faded T-shirt Aru wore, wrinkling her nose in disdain.
“You need some fashion tips.”
“It’s not that bad,” grumbled Aru.
Nikita fixed her with a pitying look.
Up ahead, Brynne called out, “Uh, guys? We might need some help here….”
Aru frowned as she and Nikita made their way to the others. What’s the big deal? she thought. Why couldn’t they just walk into this pavilion and—
Oh, wait. Never mind.
The Botanical Pavilion of Lost Cities wasn’t a gazebo in a courtyard—it was an entire island. The Pavilion floated in the air within a ring of silent waterfalls that each made Niagara Falls look like a water fountain. Huge plumes of steam cast fractured rainbows around 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 cities in their branches.
