Page 36 of Aru Shah and the End of Time

Aru scooped him up and hugged him. “Thank you,” she said.

“No touchie!” huffed Boo. But he didn’t move away from her.

“That was the Sleeper, right?” asked Aru.

There was no mistaking that voice, or that laugh. Guilt needled her.Shehad let him out into the world.

“He knew where we were,” said Mini, clutching her backpack. “And now he knows where the second key is!”

Boo fluttered away from Aru. “No. He doesn’t. I changed the portal location at the last minute to hide our whereabouts.”

They were surrounded by wilderness. Aru didn’t see a single other person. Wherever Boo had taken them was not in the same time zone as the salon, because it was still daytime. Not that there was much sunlight. Overhead, solemn oak trees drank up most of it, so that little was left to illuminate the cocoa-dark forest floor.

“You are safe, but not for long,” said Boo. “The Sleeper will be watching for any signs of magic. We need additional protection to get you to the Night Bazaar, where the second key lies.”

“Protection? Like travel insurance?” asked Mini.

“What isthat?” asked Boo. “You know what? Forget I asked.”

“We could ask the gods for some help?” suggested Aru. “They weren’t just going to leave us with a ball and a mirror, right?”

Aru felt silly for hoping their soul dads would care more, but it didn’t stop her from looking at the sky, wondering if she might see a message spelled out in lightning. Just for her.

“I told you, they will not meddle in human affairs.”

“What about demigod affairs?” asked Aru.

“Nomeddling. It is their rule.”

“So whoisgoing to help us?”

Boo seemed lost in thought for several moments. He circled the ground, then tottered over to a small anthill beside a log. He stared at it.

“I think I might know someone who would be very interested in meeting you…” he said slowly. “Now if I could only find him. Hmm. Ah, wait! There! See that?”

He was pointing at the dirt. Aru and Mini exchanged nervous looks. Mini made a little swirling sign ofHe’s lost itnext to her head.

Boo glared at them. “No.Look.”

Aru moved closer and saw a slender line of ants leading away from the log and over a pile of leaves.

“We must follow the ants,” said Boo.

“Yup,” said Aru to Mini. “He’s lost it.”

“We follow the ants, because all ants go back to Valmiki.”

“Valmiki? He’salive?” asked Mini, shocked. “But he was alive thousands of years ago!”

“So were you,” said Boo curtly.

“Who’s Valmiki?” asked Aru. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.

“The sage of learning,” said Mini. “He’s the one who wrote the Ramayana!”

Aside from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana was the other ancient epic poem that lots of Indians knew. It told the story of Rama, one of the reincarnations of the god Vishnu, who fought a ten-headed demon to rescue his wife. Aru’s mother had collected some art depicting Rama’s adventures, and now Aru recalled an image of a sage sitting on an anthill. She also recalled something else about him:

“Wasn’t Valmiki a murderer?”