Page 19 of Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes

“It sounded like a prophecy…and not a happy one,” said Aru. She recited it for them.

Mini paled.

Brynne frowned. “Well, that’s cheerful.”

“Could be worse?” said Aru. “Could’ve just beenNice try, you’re gonna die.”

Aiden snorted out a laugh.

As the bus rolled to a stop outside the Dahlonega Gold Mines, Aru looked at Kara, whose expression was growing more and more concerned. She was probably scared. And why shouldn’t she be? She hadn’t gone through what the Pandavas had. They were pretty hard to frighten these days.

“You’ll get used to the feeling of impending doom,” said Aru brightly. “It’s not so bad.” She pulled up her sleeve a little to reveal Vajra glowing brightly on her arm. Aru hoped it said,This lightning bolt has seen a lotta action.

“Well,I’mnot used to it,” said Mini, rubbing her belly. “Ugh. Just hearing a prophecy makes my acid reflux act up.”

“Acid reflux?” Brynne looked interested. “Is that a new weapon?”

“Only to my esophagus. It’s being attacked by the hydrochloric acid that lives in my stomach.”

Now Brynne looked horrified.

“To be clear, we’re notalwaysin peril,” said Aiden to Kara.

“Much peril, very danger,” contradicted Aru, stepping out of the bus and into the bright afternoon.

May in Georgia was a time of amiable sunshine before the muggy, awful, hair-sticking-to-your-forehead-heat of June, July, and August. Insects sang in the trees, and a gentle breeze ruffled the fragrant wisteria blossoms draping the brick walls. In the distance, Aru heard the sounds of kids laughing and splashing around in a nearby public pool. According to Aru’s home calendar, school had been out for a week, which meant that Aru had not only missed out on all the fun end-of-year events, but also she was living out her mother’sworst excuse ever. Apparently, Aru’s mom had blamed her daughter’s long absence on mono and promised that Aru would finish all her schoolwork over the summer, which was terrible for many reasons:

1)Mono was called “the kissing virus,” and the closest Aru Shah had ever come to a kiss was when a bumblebee had stung her chin.

2)Now everyone was going to think shehadkissed someone, and she’d have to make up a fake boyfriend in Canada.

3)She had never been to Canada.

4)She had to do homework over the summer on top of taking command of a giant golden army in, like, a week.

5)Last, and most important of all, Aru would have given anything to be able to point out these things to her mom in person, but she had no idea where Krithika Shah had gone.

Aru’s spirits rose a little as a small museum came into view. Like her mom, she loved museums. Krithika had once said of them:What we know of the world are blips and fragments. The only people who can truly speak of history are ghosts.

There didn’t seem to be any hint of ghosts here, though. The only sign was a small post with a brass plaque that read:

THE SIDEWALKS OF DAHLONEGA ARE HISTORIC

BE MINDFUL OF YOUR FOOTING!

“Dah-lah-nee-gah,” pronounced Kara slowly. “I wonder what the name means.”

“Does it matter?” asked Brynne. “It’s not like that’s gonna help us find the way to Lanka.”

Kara primly squared her shoulders. “True, but it never hurts to understand a place a little better. That’s why words are so important. They’re like a soul and a story all in one.”

A soul and a story, thought Aru. That was beautiful. Aru scolded her brain:WHY DON’T YOU COME UP WITH STUFF LIKE THAT?Her brain responded by unleashing the nightmarish KARS4KIDS jingle.

“Wait a minute…” said Aiden, glancing down at his phone. “We got off at the wrong stop. The gold mine is six minutes thataway.” He pointed in another direction.

“So where arewe?” asked Aru.

“We’re at the Dahlonega Gold MineMuseum.”