Aru Shah and the Song of Death

by Roshani Chokshi

  Aru knew what happened next, because it was the story told in the epic poem the Ramayana. Ravana stole Sita, and Rama launched a war to get her back.

  Kamadeva waved his hand, and the image changed. “Or I can end a war.”

  The land had been ravaged by a terrible demon. A council of the gods declared that only the son of Lord Shiva, the god of destruction, and Parvati, the Mother Goddess, could do away with the culprit. There was only one problem, though…Parvati had been reborn on Earth and had never met Shiva. So there was no kid.

  “Allow me to assist,” Kamadeva said to the concerned council of gods.

  He found Lord Shiva meditating in a clearing in the middle of a lush forest. The beautiful Parvati was approaching. Kamadeva ran around the glade rearranging leaves and flowers. “Look alive, people!” he shouted. “This is it! First impressions are everything!”

  Just as Parvati was about to enter, Kamadeva reached for his bow and arrow.

  “And one…two…three…” said Kamadeva. “Spring breeze.”

  A light wind rolled through the forest clearing.

  “Perfume!”

  Flower blossoms opened.

  “Music!”

  Soft drumming and a flute echoed in the clearing.

  “Lights!”

  The afternoon sun’s rays dimmed to a golden glow.

  “And now…a touch of je ne sais quoi.”

  Kamadeva gently blew some glittery dust from his palm and the air looked star-touched.

  “Perfection!” he said, stringing his bow—

  “Wait…” said Aiden. At the sound of his voice, the image on the floor froze with a sharp sound like a record scratch. “Isn’t this the part where you get incinerated?”

  Kamadeva dusted the shoulders of his suit. “Oh, so you’ve heard this story before.”

  Brynne frowned. “You got incinerated?”

  “A little.”

  Aiden shook his head, which was hard to do with a blade at his throat. “That’s not what I heard.”

  Kamadeva scowled. “Let’s just call it a beta test that went wrong, okay? As it turns out, immortal beings don’t like their hearts being tampered with. You cannot rush love. And I wasn’t! I’m simply one aspect of attraction. Like a prickling awareness, you know? In this form, I’m just here to open your eyes and open your heart, you understand?”

  The four of them wore matching expressions of nope.

  “What about the bow and arrow?” asked Brynne. “The ones we didn’t steal,” she emphasized.

  Kamadeva’s expression turned sly. “Oh, I believe you,” he said. “While you were watching my stories, I had a peek inside each of your hearts. Very interesting things there. Lots of sorrow. Lots of yearning. So very, very ripe.” His gaze lingered on Aiden. “You, especially. Look at that handsome face! All the makings of a tortured, brooding hero. I could make you a star!”

  Aiden looked horrified. “Please don’t?”

  Aru was tired of people looking inside her without her knowledge or permission, but she let it go for now. “If you’ve seen our hearts,” she asked, “then can you tell Uloopi we’re innocent?”

  Surely the god of love could convince the naga queen, Aru thought. Then they wouldn’t have to be banished from the Otherworld. And Boo—poor Boo—he’d be free.

  “She’d never listen to me, I’m afraid. She blames me for making her fall in love with Arjuna, which led to her present condition…” said Kamadeva. His face turned rather solemn. “But that is not my story to tell. What I can tell you is that the only way you’ll convince Uloopi of your innocence is by bringing her my bow and arrow.”

  Mini raised a timid hand. “But…it’s your weapon.”

  “True, but I had to put it away. You see, after I was blasted to smithereens, my beloved wife, Rati, carried the bow and arrow for me while I awaited reincarnation. But she felt the pain of my loss so keenly that the song in her soul—”

  “What song?” cut in Brynne.

  Aru gently tapped her collarbone (is that where souls hide?), wondering if a song might burst out someday. What if her song was really dumb? What if, when she was about to die, every cell in her body started singing The hills are aliiiiiiiive with the sound of musiiiic—?

  “It’s not a song you can perceive,” said Kamadeva, with a sharp look at Aru. She dropped her hand back to her side. “It’s the humming of harmony, the subtle dance of pulses, the rhythm that two hearts beat together in blissful accord.”

  Aiden looked like his eyes were going to roll back in his head out of pure boredom.

  “My Rati’s soul song fled…and it granted my bow and arrow a dark power. Anyone struck by grief and armed with the knowledge of enchantment could carve out their own soul song. The sheer desperation of that act would give them the power to wield the bow and arrow for a terrible purpose, allowing them not to join hearts together, but to rip them out instead. That’s why, after Rati’s soul song returned and we were reunited, I gave the weapon to Uloopi. The queen has kept it safely stored in the great vaults of the naga realm for thousands of years…until now.”

  “Does that mean you don’t use the arrow anymore to make people fall in love?” asked Aru.

  “Correct,” said Kamadeva. “But trust me, I don’t miss it. These days I’d have to lie in wait at coffee shops, or youth group lunches, or take intro to philosophy classes at eight thirty a.m., or scroll through Reddit Fortnite threads. No thanks.”

  “You said that the bow and arrow could rip out people’s hearts…” said Mini. “Is that what that wound was on the Heartless?”

  Kamadeva nodded, and Aru shuddered, remembering the strange scars in their chests where frost spiderwebbed out onto their skin.

  “Why would someone want an army of Heartless?” asked Aiden.

  That was the same question Aru was going to ask. She glared at him.

  “As you’ve seen, they’re nearly invincible,” said Kamadeva.

  “Nearly?” asked Brynne.

  “Their strength is tied to the one who made them Heartless. If that person’s soul song is returned, then the negative effects of the bow and arrow would be reversed, thus changing them back into human form.”

  “Do you know who the thief is? Could you help us?” asked Mini excitedly.

  “Or…you know…go after your own bow and arrow?” pointed out Aru.

  For a moment she thought the god of love would curse her and turn her into an unfeeling toad or something, but instead he shook his head sadly.

  “The task was given to you, Pandavas,” said Kamadeva. “I am not allowed to interfere. Besides, the Soul Exchange is in dire straits—just look at the stocks! There’s far too much chaos going on in the mortal realm right now, and the investors are up in arms. But I can tell you this. Whoever corrupted my bow and arrow had to leave their soul song in the place where the weapon was stolen.”

  “The naga realm,” said Brynne.

  “Specifically, the treasury,” said Mini.

  Aru recalled the blind naga king who guarded the treasury: Takshaka. He hadn’t seemed to like them at all, though she didn’t know why.

  “What’s a soul song look like?” asked Aru. “Sheet music or something?”

  She really hoped it wasn’t that. She couldn’t remember anything about reading piano notes except some weird acronym…. Each good bear delivers frogs? That couldn’t be right.

  “The song might take a variety of forms,” said Kamadeva. “It’ll be representative of the thief’s soul, but it won’t look like any ordinary object.”

  Well, that was helpful. Not.

  “Once you have found the song,” said Kamadeva, “you must speak the name of the thief over it. Then the song will reveal the location of the stolen weapon. When you retrieve it, you must plunge the arrow through the heart of the thief. Only then will the Heartless be restored to their human selves, and the arrow cleansed of its dark power.”

  Plunge the arrow through the heart? Aru thought that sounded kind of vi
olent. Then again, getting your heart torn out and basically becoming a robot wasn’t great, either.

  “How are we going to get to the naga realm?” asked Aiden. “It’s not like Uloopi and Takshaka are exactly fans of ours. They might have guards waiting for us at the portals.”

  “There’s a way around that,” said Kamadeva. “But you’ll have to watch out.”

  “For what?”

  “Sharks, obviously.”

  That Went Well…Not

  According to Kamadeva, the best way for them to get into the naga realm would be via the aquatic airport.

  “You can blend in with the other tourists that way,” he told them.

  “Why would an underwater transportation system be called an airport?” Mini asked. “Isn’t that an oxymoron?”

  The god of love dismissed her questions with a wave. “The Otherworld authorities sometimes pick names just because they like how they sound, like Abattoir Spa. It’s very French. It also means slaughterhouse. Anyway, come with me to my office!”

  The four of them followed him from the lobby to the vast floor of the Soul Exchange. All around them hovered giant monitors filled with long lists of names and zodiac signs. Overhead, swans swooped across the night-sky ceiling, honking and trumpeting. After their encounter with the swan outside the Soul Exchange, Aru had to fight the urge to yell Back, beast! Begone!

  “The six o’clock news headlines are here!” shouted one of the swans. “‘Are the Pandavas on the verge of exile?’”

  Aru groaned and pulled her hoodie tighter over her head. They’d gone from being legends to losers in the space of a day.

  “‘Naga queen demands justice for stolen treasure—’”

  “‘Mortal realm full of panic as the number of missing persons triples every hour!’”

  Aru’s stomach dipped. More people missing meant more people who might never be human again…and all of it depended on whether they found the thief before time was up.

  And finally: “‘Which Hollywood Chris are you? Chris Pratt, Chris Evans, or Chris Pine? Take the quiz and find out!’”

  Brynne’s mace glowed as she grumbled, “Someone should put a stop to the gossip about us. It’s not helping our case.”

  “Ignore it,” said Mini mildly. “People enjoy seeing other people feel bad. It makes them feel better about themselves. Don’t feed the trolls.”

  Aru had to hand it to Mini. She could be totally weird, but with her weirdness came wisdom. Brynne lowered her mace and it returned to choker form around her neck. Aiden, on the other hand, looked completely unconcerned with the rumors. He kept trying to take pictures of the Soul Exchange, but every time he came close, Kamadeva raised his hand, and light beamed off the camera lens.

  “Can’t have my competitors learning my secrets!” said Kamadeva.

  The tips of Aiden’s ears turned red, but Aru saw him try to sneak photos anyway.

  As they approached the end of the atrium, the atmosphere of the Soul Exchange shifted. It became darker somehow. Brynne started anxiously spinning her many bracelets.

  Aru was close enough to see that they were all engraved…BRYNNE RAO, FIRST PLACE! BRYNNE RAO, CHAMPION!

  Brynne caught her peeking and shrugged. “I had my trophies melted down to make bracelets,” she said, raising her hand proudly.

  Aru’s mouth fell open. “Who does that?”

  “Winners,” said Brynne smugly.

  Aru shot Mini a can-you-believe-this? look, but her best friend was blissfully unaware, and too intent on following Kamadeva’s instructions.

  At the far side of the Soul Exchange, the desks were pitch-black, and the space was divided into two large cubicles, one labeled SPITE and the other INDIFFERENCE. Here, patches of fog hid the sky ceiling from view. In a few places, moonlight broke through, revealing delicate silver staircases that spiraled up to those gaps. The same pair of words appeared in the filigree of each step: LISTEN and LAUGH, LISTEN and LAUGH, LISTEN and LAUGH.

  A grand staircase made of polished silver and twined with jasmine vines suddenly appeared between the two desolate cubicles.

  “Ascension!” called Kamadeva. “Finally.”

  They climbed the grand staircase and entered an executive’s gigantic corner office. Rosy light filled the room. A hanging garden formed the ceiling, and lush flowering vines crawled down the walls. A pair of smoked glass doors appeared on the right wall, dark shapes shifting eerily behind them.

  “All aquariums in the United States have access points to the underwater realms of the Otherworld,” explained Kamadeva. “The larger aquariums lead to major destinations.”

  “Like local airports versus international ones?” asked Mini.

  “Precisely,” said Kamadeva. “The one you’ll be taking has portals to many different underwater realms. Just be sure to take the door on the left. Do you understand?”

  “Door on the left,” repeated Aru.

  “Right,” said Brynne.

  Aiden groaned. “No, left!”

  “Right, I know that!” said Aru.

  “Stop saying right!” said Aiden.

  “Stay focused. The Heartless may be after you as we speak,” said Kamadeva. “If you truly need help, there is one person whose assistance you should seek. But I warn you now…you’ll have to be very polite to him.”

  Kamadeva handed Aru a business card. It read:

  S. DURVASA

  DO NOT BOTHER ME WITH INFANTILE CONCERNS

  I WILL CURSE YOU FOR WASTING MY TIME

  He sounds like my guidance counselor, thought Aru. She wanted to ask who, exactly, S. Durvasa was, but Kamadeva beckoned them to the glass doors.

  “You must hurry,” said Kamadeva. “You only have nine mortal days left. Find my bow and arrow, and I will grant you each a boon. Something fitted to each of your needs.” As he said this, his gaze moved to Brynne, Mini, and, last, Aru again. She could hear his voice in her thoughts: I’ve seen your terrors, Aru Shah. I’ve seen your guilt, your battle with your very soul…. I can help. Aru thought of the unending nightmares of the Sleeper and shame coiled inside her.

  Next, Kamadeva turned to Aiden and said aloud:

  “As for you, Aiden Acharya. I will give you that which you desire most. Though I no longer use my arrow, I do have plenty of its milder brethren in supply, and I shall gift you a single one to use at your discretion.”

  Brynne reached out and squeezed Aiden’s shoulder. Aru wasn’t sure what to make of that. Aiden wanted a love arrow? It’s not like he needed the help…. At school, tons of girls had crushes on him. Aru rolled her eyes, even as she remembered that the first time he’d smiled at her, she’d felt like she’d been hit by a truck.

  Kamadeva opened the doors on the right wall. A burst of cold, wintry air blew through Aru’s hoodie and she shivered. So long, pretty springtime. Hello, cold and misery and despaiiiir. She stepped over the threshold and into the blinding light. Kamadeva hadn’t said which aquarium airport he’d chosen, but it sure didn’t feel like the Maui Ocean Center. Rats.

  Kamadeva waved. “Farewell, Pandavas!”

  “I’m not a Pandava!” called Aiden as he stepped through.

  But Kamadeva only smiled. “I know what I said.”

  Once they crossed, they found themselves on a sidewalk, facing an empty road. Aru blinked against the cold sunlight and pulled her hoodie tighter. Across from them was an aquarium where a fish tail attached to a giant G glowed bright blue. The Georgia Aquarium on Baker Street! She’d come here just last month on a school field trip. For half an hour she’d tried speaking whale to the resident beluga, and she could’ve sworn she’d heard a voice say My God, that’s an appalling accent! But it was probably just her imagination.

  Today the aquarium was entirely empty, which was bizarre. It was almost always bustling with tourists. A cold wind swept a sheaf of white papers across the ground.

  Mini picked up one of the flyers and read it. Her face paled. “There’re more people missing….”

  “
More people turning Heartless, you mean,” said Brynne. “That’s what the headlines in the Soul Exchange said, too.”

  Aru grabbed a flyer. In bold black letters it said:

  HAVE YOU SEEN THIS PERSON?

  There were offers of rewards, and also some weird details that Aru honestly did not need to know. One description read, Charles is easily recognizable, because he only wears boxers that have rubber duckies on them. Another said, Thomas looks a bit like an organic egg. Bald. Brown. Speckled.

  “Poor Thomas,” said Aru.

  Aiden pulled out his phone. “Check it out,” he said, holding up the screen. “It’s the first time in a while I’ve had any bars.”

  The girls leaned in and saw a text-message warning:

  ALL CITIZENS ARE ADVISED TO STAY INDOORS. ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY CAN BE REPORTED TO THE FOLLOWING NUMBER…

  “We should move inside as fast as we can,” said Aiden.

  Across from him, Mini—and even Brynne—looked thoroughly creeped out.

  “It’s okay,” said Aru, even though that was far from how she felt. “There’s no one here.”

  On her wrist, there was a surge of heat from Vajra.

  “I think you spoke too soon, Shah,” said Brynne.

  When Aru looked up from the flyer, she nearly stopped breathing. What had been an empty street before was now filled with Heartless. There were at least fifteen stalking toward them, each with a blank, slack-jawed expression.

  Aru heard a click as Aiden snapped a photo.

  “This is so not the time for that!” she said.

  But Aiden ignored her. He seemed to be focusing on something she couldn’t see.

  “We’re blocked off!” said Mini, pointing at the entrance to the aquarium.

  Kamadeva’s instructions had been clear: Take the door on the left. But they couldn’t get to it. A line of Heartless stood there, as if they knew that was where the Pandavas and Aiden were headed.

  One Heartless stalked closer. He was wearing an Apple store shirt that said HI! I’M A GENIUS. HOW CAN I HELP? In one sharp move, Aiden hit the pavement with his scimitar. The Heartless hissed and reared back.

  “What happened to your aim?” demanded Brynne.