Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava Quartet #1)(26)

“Look at me!” said Mini. “I’d be stuck forever at four feet! That’s…that’s scary.”

Aru pulled a crumpled tissue from her pocket. “If you’re worried about that, then use this so you don’t have to touch the sprig of youth for too long.”

Mini eyed the tissue warily. “Is that used?”

Yep.

“Of course not.”

“Then why are you carrying it in your pocket?”

Aru lifted her chin. “British royalty always carry crumpled tissues with them. They call them handkerchiefs.”

“I’m pretty sure—”

“Four feet forever?” asked Aru, dangling the tissue.

Sighing, Mini took the tissue and wrapped it around the branch. They cast one more glance at the ashes of Brahmasura as they walked to the door.

“First demon slaying!” said Aru, holding up her hand for a high five.

Mini recoiled.

“You really don’t want to touch other people’s hands. That’s the fastest way to get a cold. Or the flu. And if you’re not vaccinated, you’ll die.”

“Yeah, but you might not stay dead. I thought Brahmasura was killed a long time ago.”

“Maybe the souls of demons get to be reincarnated? Like us.”

That was not a comforting thought. Aru lowered her hand. (Nothing is more awkward than an unreciprocated high five…especially when too much time has gone by and you can’t pretend that you were just stretching.)

Seeing Aru’s disappointment, Mini offered another suggestion. “How about an elbow bump instead? It’s hygienic and fun!”

Aru frowned. “You sound like one of those posters in the doctor’s office.”

“I like those posters….They’re informative. And colorful.”

Aru laughed. “All right, fine.”

The girls bumped elbows.

As soon as they stepped out the door, Aru was slammed with a sense of wrongness. Before they had entered Madame Bee’s salon, the weather outside had been a little breezy and chilly. Now there was no wind at all, and the temperature felt downright icy. It had been afternoon when they arrived, but now it was nearing nighttime. The sky was the color of a bruise. Aru glanced across the parking lot to where a stunted tree had lost almost all of its leaves. One leaf was slowly spiraling to the ground. A little too slowly.

From above, the flap of wings made Aru rear back and shout, “Stay back, Sleeper, I’m armed and dangerous!”

But then the winged thing turned out to be Boo. “Reckless!” he scolded. “Don’t go about shouting his name!”

He descended on them, muttering, pecking their hair, and peering into their ears. “What took you so long?” he demanded.

“Excuse you, but we are thinking warriors,” said Aru, smoothing her mangled pajamas with as much dignity as she could muster. “We had to plan. We had to analyze the situation. We had to—”

“Scream, almost die, beat back a demon with a blow-dryer,” finished Mini.

“Here is where you stop regaling me with tales of your ineptitude and surprise me?” asked Boo hopefully.

Mini waved the sprig of youth. “One key down, two to go!” she said. “Next up: bite of adulthood.”

Aru wanted to grin, but her eyes kept going back to the tree in the parking lot. Her thin pajamas weren’t doing much good keeping out the cold.

“I’m sure it was sheer luck that saved you,” huffed Boo, ruffling his feathers.

Aru would’ve argued back, but she realized something. Boo cared.

“You like us!” Aru teased. “You were concerned!”

“Hmpf,” snorted Boo. “If you’d died, that would’ve been a black mark on my reputation, so yes, at some base level, I was…worried.”

Aru’s flash of triumph disappeared with his next words.

“And I have even more reason to worry. Did the asura recognize you?”

Aru shuddered, remembering how Brahmasura had crooned Pandavalings….

Mini nodded.

“That’s not good. Not good at all,” said Boo, anxiously pecking at the ground. “The Sleeper is trying to find allies. Show me the map of the second key.”

Mini held up her hand so that the book with flapping pages showed on the side.

“It’s in the Night Bazaar,” said Boo thoughtfully. “We just might be able to convince those arrogant Seasons to give you some armor.”

“The Seasons?” repeated Mini.

Boo ignored her question and continued talking to himself. “This was far too close. It’s even worse than I thought if the Sleeper spoke to Brahmasura.”

“If he knew her, why didn’t the Sleeper just take the first key from Brahmasura?” asked Aru.

“He cannot see the keys, and Brahmasura never knew what the sprig really was. She probably just thought it was a magical bauble that kept her beautiful.”

“Let me get this straight,” said Mini. “The Sleeper can’t see the keys, but he knows that we can….Which means he could be after us right now….”

That icy feeling Aru had wasn’t just autumn turning sneakily into winter….It was him.

In the parking lot, she saw the same shopgirl who had been smoking before. Now she was hunched over her phone, staring, her mouth caught in a frown.