Page 102 of Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes

“Chhaya!” said Mini, her eyes widening.

Aru turned to see the goddess of shadows smiling at them.

“Oops. Seems I forgot to tell you that only those who have the gods’ favor can get anywhere with this route.” Chhaya chuckled. “You want to know whether the gods are smiling upon your journey? Well, here’s one way to find out.”

Chhaya flicked her wrist. Shadows shot out from her fingertips and grabbed Aru and the others around their ankles.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” yelled Aru.

“My father will hear about this!” shouted Rudy.

Chhaya shrugged, then yanked. The group dangled over the edge of the room, barely held in place by the goddess’s ropy shadows.

“Wouldn’t want to be rude,” said Chhaya. “Looks like someone wants a word with you, boy.”

Aru craned her neck to see one prophetic ribbon of smoke wind its way to Aiden. It grew thicker and more solid, forming the barest suggestion of a woman’s face. Aiden’s eyes flew wide open.

“Beware, Aiden Acharya…. The girl you love will be the death of you.”

“Ooh…ominous,” said Chhaya.

Aru had barely wrapped her head around what she’d heard and all that had happened when Chhaya let go.

“Oops again.”

The Potatoes plummeted through the darkness of space.

The Potatoes careened through the dark, stars swirling all around them.

“I! HATE! THIS!” yelled Rudy.

Brynne tried to drag out her wind mace, but they were falling so fast the magic wouldn’t catch. Vajra couldn’t hold the shape of a hoverboard. Mini cast out shields only for them to fizzle and blip out. On Aru’s left, Kara fell gracefully, blissfully unaware, while Aiden grasped uselessly at the inky clouds. He didn’t look at Aru. In the back of her head, Aru could still hear the rasping prophetic voice:Aiden Acharya…. The girl you love will be the death of you.

What did that mean?

And who was the girl?

“What do we do?” yelled Mini.

It snapped Aru’s thoughts back to their current situation. Technically, they could keep falling until the end of time. Boo had once told them that the Otherworld’s space was not like human space. Distance didn’t work the same way. Aru glanced up. In her head, they’d been tumbling for maybe ten seconds. But the House of the Sun looked miles away, like a match struck in the distance.

They might fall right into Lanka, or they could end up someplace else entirely….

Chhaya’s voice moved through Aru’s thoughts.You want to know whether the gods are smiling upon your journey? Well, here’s one way to find out.

“We need the gods’ favor!” said Aru loudly.

“DEAR GODS, I PROMISE I’LL DONATE ALL OF—I MEAN, MOST…WELL, DEFINITELYSOMEOF MY TREASURE!” hollered Rudy.

“What a sacrifice!” snarked Brynne.

“We’re not going to get their attention by yelling at them!” said Mini.

Something shifted in the space around them. The stars drew into sharper relief against the dark nothingness. Far below them, a huge bank of sunset clouds in every hue of pink and orange appeared. And on top of the clouds sat the glittering heavenly city of Amaravati, home of Lord Indra himself. Aru’s heart leaped at the sight.

“HEY!” she hollered, waving her arms. “ARE YOU THERE, GOD-DAD? IT’S ME, ARU!”

But nothing changed.