Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava Quartet #1)(35)

“Miss, are those your feet?”

“Are you serious?”

“Does this job look like something that encourages humor?”

Aru considered this. “No.”

“Then yes, I’m inquiring as to whether those are, in fact, your feet. You will notice on the board to your left that any removable body parts, yours or otherwise, must be registered as per Otherworld Transportation Security Guidelines.”

“Dude, these are my feet. It’s not like I’m hiding cloven hooves.”

“Why did you specify cloven hooves?”

“It’s just a joke! That’s what we say in Georgia when we don’t like someone! And then we add Bless your heart after!”

The raksha spoke into his lapel again. “Yup. Copy. Potentially small, unregistered demon.” Then, after listening to his earpiece: “Nope. Unthreatening.” He looked at her. “You may pass.”

Aru felt insulted. I can totally be threatening! But now was definitely not the time. She stepped through and glared at the raksha until he handed back her ball.

“Welcome to the Night Bazaar,” he said. “On behalf of the gods and storytellers around the world, we hope you leave with your life intact and your imagination brimming.”

Now that she’d stepped through the archway opening, the Night Bazaar truly unfolded around her. The half-torn sky of day and night glistened. And the smells. Aru wanted to roll around in them forever. It smelled like popcorn dripping with butter, cookie-dough ice cream, and fresh-spun cotton candy. She made her way to Mini and Boo, her head whipping back and forth so fast trying to see everything—the trees that weren’t made of bark at all, but glass; the stores that seemed to literally chase after clientele—that she almost tripped.

“It’s something else,” said Mini, grinning. “And it smells so good. Like a book! Or vanilla!”

Aru was about to ask if Mini’s nose was working right, but Mini kept talking.

“Only my brother has seen this place, but I don’t think he remembers it.”

“Your brother? Why?”

Mini’s face turned as red as a tomato. “They thought he was the Pandava brother…not me.”

“When did they find out it was actually you?”

Mini turned even redder, now looking like a tomato’s mutant cousin.

“Last week?” she said, squeaking on the word week. “Pandavas are supposed to sense danger and sometimes even react to it before they have full control of their abilities. Every time my brother did something that we thought was a miracle, I guess it was actually me doing it, because I was nearby and got scared, too. Last week, our car skidded into a ditch on the side of the road on the way to my brother’s track meet. I must’ve freaked out or something, because I…I lifted the whole car.”

“You what? I wanna do that!”

Mini looked horrified. “Really?”

“Mini, you lifted a car, when you’re so small that I don’t think you even register on—”

“Okay, okay. Geez, I get it.” She sounded annoyed, but Aru could see the small smile lifting up the corners of her mouth.

As impressed as Aru was, she also felt bad. Mini hadn’t been lying when she said the backpack wasn’t hers. It was meant to be her brother’s, when he went off on his quest.

Now Aru understood why Mini was so hesitant about everything. Not once had Mini been taught to think that maybe she was supposed to be the hero.

“Imagine what your family will say when they wake up and realize you saved the world!” said Aru.

Mini beamed.

Boo fluttered to Aru’s shoulder. “Come along. We need to find the Court of the Seasons. I know it’s in here somewhere…” he said.

“And the second key, right?” said Mini.

Aru glanced at the mehndi design on the side of her hand. The symbol for the second key was a book. But there were no bookstalls in sight.

“You move so slowly,” scolded Boo. “And your posture has gotten worse. I don’t know how such things are possible.”

“You’re so grumpy,” said Mini. “Maybe your blood sugar is low.” She fished around in her backpack. “Here, have an Oreo.”

“I don’t want an—”

But Mini broke the cookie into small pieces and shoved a bite into his beak. Boo looked outraged for about five seconds before he finally swallowed it.

“What ambrosia is this?” He smacked his beak. “Gimme more.”

“Say please.”

“No.”

Mini fed him part of an Oreo anyway.

As they made their way into the bazaar, Aru could finally read the three huge signs pointing down the three main paths through the market:

THINGS YOU WANT

THINGS YOU NEED

THINGS YOU DON’T WANT TO NEED



“Well, we need to get our armor and the second key…so the second sign?” Aru guessed.

Boo nodded, and off they went. Around them family clusters streamed toward the three paths. The signs floated above the ground, completely unsupported and shaped like giant ribbons with hanging tassels. The round, scalloped ends of the tassels reminded Aru of cat paws.

As Aru, Mini, and Boo got closer to THINGS YOU NEED, the sign started moving. It skirted around the edges of a shop that sold laptops and computer wiring. They jumped and lunged at the sign, trying to catch it. But the sign kept scooting out of reach. It was dodging them.