Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava Quartet #1)(14)

“Heights?”

Aru looked down. And then she wished she hadn’t. There was a reason it seemed like they were hovering above the earth: they were.

Beneath her feet were two cloudy wisps. And beneath those…a very long fall through a lot of empty sky.

“Don’t take off those cloud slippers,” said Boo, flapping beside them. “That’d be quite unfortunate.”

Mini whimpered. “This is where the Council meets?”

“They gather on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and during full moons and new moons, and also for the season premiere and finale of Game of Thrones.”

Speaking of thrones…Seven huge royal-looking chairs floated around them. All the thrones were made of gold. Except one, outside the circle, that was tarnished and rusty. She could only make out the letters U-A-L-A printed beneath it.

The other names were easier to read. As she sounded them out, Aru gasped. She recognized them from the stories she’d heard and the artifacts her mom had acquired for the museum.

There was Urvashi the apsara, the celestial singer and dancer who was said to be unmatched in beauty. Then there was monkey-faced Hanuman, the trickster who had famously helped the god Rama in his fight against the demon king. There were other names, too. Names like Uloopi and Surasa, the serpent queens; the bear king, Jambavan; and Kubera, the Lord of Wealth. These Guardians were immortal and worthy of worship, but they were often considered separate from the main league of gods and goddesses.

When Boo had mentioned a council, Aru had imagined stern summer camp counselors…not the very people from the myths and tales that had been crammed into her head since she was a toddler. Urvashi was, like, a heavenly nymph queen, and Hanuman, who was the son of the god of the wind, was a powerful demigod.

Now Aru really wished she were not wearing Spider-Man pajamas. It was like some horrible nightmare where she was walking the red carpet of a fancy movie premiere in an aluminum-foil hat and rubber-duckie rain boots, and why was this happening to her?

Aru turned to Mini. “On a scale of one to ten, how bad do I look? Ten being burn your clothes.”

“But then you wouldn’t be wearing anything!” said Mini, horrified.

“So what you’re saying is that I look horrible, but the alternative would be much worse?”

Mini’s silence was a very clear YUP.

“Better pajamas than skin,” said Boo. “Unless it’s the skin of a demon you slayed. That would be fitting for a hero.”

Wearing heavy, stinking demon skin?

“I’ll stick with polyester,” said Aru.

“Polly Esther? That poor child!” squawked Boo. For a pigeon, he looked thoroughly disturbed. “Middle school children are uncommonly cruel.”

Perhaps sensing that the conversation was moving from stupid to stupefying, Mini piped up. “Why are some of the thrones only half there?”

Aru peered closer at the circle of thrones. Some of them were partly transparent.

“Not every guardian of the Council is in residence at the same time,” Boo said. “What would be the point of that when the world isn’t in need of saving? No one believed the lamp would be lit for another ten or twenty years. They thought there was more time to prepare for the Sleeper. Until…someone.” He glared at Aru.

Aru blinked innocently. Who, me?

Beside her, Mini risked a look beneath her feet and started swaying. “I’m going to be sick,” she moaned.

“Oh, no you don’t!” said Boo. He hovered in front of her face and pecked her nose. “You two are not going to embarrass me in front of the Guardians. Spines straight! Wings preened! Beaks pointed!”

“What’s going to happen?” asked Aru.

She didn’t normally feel anxious about meeting people. But Urvashi and Hanuman weren’t just any people. They weren’t legends, either. They were real.

“It is the duty of the Council to deliver a quest. The Sleeper is out there right now, searching for a way to get the celestial weapons and use them to wake up the Lord of Destruction. You must get the weapons first.”

“By ourselves?” asked Mini.

“You’ll have me,” said Boo primly.

“Great. Because nothing says Come at me, demon like a pigeon sidekick,” said Aru.

“Rude!” huffed Boo.

“It’s not so bad!” said Mini with false cheer. “Isn’t the Council meant to help us?”

At this, Aru heard a laugh that sounded like someone tickling a chandelier.

“And why should I want to help you?” asked a silvery voice.

Before, the space had smelled like a summer thunderstorm; now it smelled as if every flower in existence had been distilled into a perfume. It wasn’t pleasant. It was overwhelming.

Aru turned to see the most beautiful woman in the world sitting in the throne labeled URVASHI. She wore black leggings and a salwar kameez top that would have appeared as simple as white spun cotton if it didn’t glimmer like woven moonlight. Around her ankles was a set of bright gunghroo bells. She was tall and dark-skinned and wore her hair in a messy side braid. She looked as if she’d just stepped out of dance rehearsal. Which, given the fact that she was the chief dancer of the heavens, was probably true.

“This is what you brought back to save us? I might as well set myself on fire and save the Lord of Destruction the trouble.”