Page 55 of Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes

Like, a second ago, I think.She tried to look at Mini only to find that her neck was frozen in place, forcing her to face front. Her tailbone seemed glued to the chair, too.Do you have any idea what’s going on?

No, came Brynne’s message.It’s like he’s forcing us to watch a show or—

The curtains dramatically flew open with a loud rustle, revealing a large floating eye that looked like it was made of hammered sheets of gold. The eye blinked at them. Overhead, a voice boomed.

“YOU HAVE ANSWERED MY SUMMONS, O PANDAVAS! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?”

We get to leave?wondered Aru, trying to pull her arm from the armrest. It didn’t budge.

The eye on the stage quivered.

“YOU!”

The spotlight suddenly swiveled to Aru. She felt the slightest loosening in her neck muscles and realized she could now turn her head. Aru glanced at Mini and saw a violet light beam down on her next.

“GET!”

Brynne was bathed in blue light, while a hot-pink spot glared down at Aiden. He glared back.

“A!”

The eye burst into a thousand pieces, and golden confetti rained down on them.

“QUEST!”

Dozens of golden mongooses took to the stage wearing cancan dresses. Music blasted around them. “Youget a quest! Andyouget a quest! And everybody gets aquest—HEY!”

In the balconies, formally dressed mongooses clapped politely. Beside Aru, Mini spat out bits of golden confetti.

The music died down as the voice of Kubera rang out through the theater once more:

“THREE TRIALS I GRANT YOU, ONE FOR EACH DAY!”

All at once, the spotlights swiveled away from the Potatoes and back onto the stage. The dancing mongooses were replaced with five in new costumes, complete with wigs this time. One of them had a camera, one wore a chef’s hat, the third wore glasses, the fourth carried a book, and the fifth…the fifth carried a paper lightning bolt and was wearing what looked like…red-and-blue pajamas?

Aru’s jaw dropped. “Is that supposed to beme?”

Overhead, Kubera’s voice continued:

“TO START, THE LAND SHALL TEST YOUR HEART!”

A trapdoor opened in the stage near the Mongoose-Potatoes’ feet, and they reared back and chittered in terror. The Brynne Mongoose swatted the Aru Mongoose.

“Accurate,” admitted Aru.

“NEXT, THE SEA SHALL TRY YOUR MIGHT!”

A bucket of water was tossed up from the trapdoor, and the Mongoose-Potatoes pretended to sputter and drown. The eyeglasses flew off the Mini Mongoose’s face.

“Oh no, its glasses!” said Mini.

“LAST, THE SKY SHALL JUDGE YOUR SIGHT!”

The Aiden Mongoose dropped his camera. It tumbled off the stage and exploded like a toy-car prop in an action movie.

“Really?” asked Aiden.

Aru jerked in her seat as firecrackers started going off onstage. The Mongoose-Potatoes squealed and swooned, running in circles and falling over one another. Gold smoke bombs went off around the actors, clearing quickly to reveal a line of paper-doll soldiers, each no taller than a pencil. Was that supposed to be the Nairrata army?