Aru Shah and the Song of Death

by Roshani Chokshi

  The others stared at her. Only then did Aru realize she’d raised her voice. Her face flushed. The truth was, Aru didn’t recognize even a sliver of herself in the tales of Arjuna. Sometimes she thought that was a good thing. It meant that she was her own person. But other times, it felt horrible. Maybe, in a different person, Arjuna’s soul could make someone a legendary hero. But in her? In her, it seemed just average.

  “Dude, don’t worry. We’ve seen you in action,” said Aiden. “We know you’re not Arjuna.”

  Aru didn’t know if she wanted to thank him or strangle him. Maybe both.

  “Let’s just get through this place,” she said. “It literally looks like a horror-movie set.”

  And then Mini shrieked.

  They turned to see her scuttling backward.

  “It—it—it talked!” she said, pointing at something on the ground.

  The rest of them walked closer to investigate. It was a human skull.

  Mini shuddered. “This place is cursed.”

  Brynne toed it with her the edge of her sneaker. “Hello?”

  The skull did nothing.

  “I think you’re hearing things, Mini,” said Brynne.

  Mini tiptoed over, bent down, and tapped the skull gently. “Hi?”

  As soon as Mini touched the skull, its jaws snapped open. A faint purple glow, like the light that Dee Dee gave off, bristled along the edges of the bone and lit up the entire courtyard.

  Ah…We can strike a bargain, Daughter of Death.

  Nearby another skull—or, honestly, little more than a jawbone—laughed and whispered, You seek to undo a great wrong, but you do not know the name of the thief…. What good is capturing the soul song without a name to unlock its secrets?

  The first skull spoke again. Even though it didn’t have eyeballs left (gross), something about its hollow sockets seemed fixated on Mini. Daughter of Death, you must merely take our burden and we will give you what you seek…. It is the just thing to do. Are you not as just and wise as the Pandava prince who once held your soul?

  The ruins trembled as if in a small earthquake.

  “Mini, stop!” called Aiden.

  But she ignored him. It looked as if she’d fallen under some kind of enchantment.

  “They know the thief’s name…. All those Heartless could be saved…” she muttered as she moved in an eerie daze, touching every bone she could find. A multitude of voices rippled into the air.

  “Hear our tale, Pandavas—”

  “Arjuna was cursed—”

  “Ah, how Queen Uloopi wished to free him—”

  “But there was only one way.”

  “What?” asked Mini, her voice distant. “What was the way?”

  Laughter filled the courtyard.

  At first, Aru thought that a lot of skulls had started talking at once. Her immediate reaction was NOPE. But it wasn’t the skulls.

  She saw a flicker of movement inside one of the three caves in the black rock. Was that a tail?

  “Brynne, hold Mini!” ordered Aru. She extended her lightning bolt into sword form. Energy crackled through her bones. Aiden moved closer to Aru, and they stood back-to-back, weapons raised. A tail whipped out from the middle cave, about ten feet away. The tail nearly wrapped around Aru’s ankles, but at the last second it recoiled, as if it wasn’t supposed to touch her. Brynne spun her mace. It brought forth a vortex that spun up the debris and skulls in a sandy hurricane.

  “Foolish girl. Do you think you can intimidate us? We, who are the guardians of terrible secrets…” came a voice from the first cave.

  “And knowledge…” said a voice from the second cave.

  “And treasures untold,” a voice from the third cave continued.

  Aru’s heart pounded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the edge of a purple backpack. Mini. She was walking toward the caves, still in a daze.

  “BRYNNE, GET MINI!” Aru called out.

  “Welcome, daughter of the Dharma Raja,” the voices said in unison. “Pay the price of knowledge.”

  Three powerful tails whipped toward Mini, one from each cavern. Aru rushed at them, trying to protect her sister as an inky pool of darkness emerged from the caves and enveloped her.

  Right then, Mini turned toward Aru. It looked as though she had snapped out of the trance. “I know the thief’s name!” she said triumphantly. “It’s—”

  But Mini never got the chance to finish. A serpent tail as thick as a redwood trunk curled around her body and yanked her toward the cave.

  “No!” shouted Aru. She threw Vajra at the tail, but fear frayed her thoughts and ruined her concentration. The lightning bolt missed. “MINI!”

  Just as she ran after Mini, another tail slashed toward Aru. Someone hauled her back—Brynne. Beside her, Aiden sliced at the tail with his scimitars. The tail recoiled and a low hiss filled the courtyard as it retracted into its cave. The third tail followed suit.

  When Aru looked up, Mini was nowhere to be seen. She had disappeared deep into the first serpent’s cave.

  Aru fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face and a scream caught in her throat. The Lord of the Waters’ voice drifted through her head: The sea gives. But it also takes.

  In that second, Aru hated herself. What was wrong with her? The Sleeper was right. She wasn’t meant to be a hero.

  Her words echoed back to her: I’m not Arjuna. That much was obvious. Arjuna would never have lost his family. He was a brave warrior, and he’d also had Krishna by his side, whispering advice in his ear, helping him every step of the way.

  But no god spoke to Aru. No help came. And in the end, Aru was left with the terrible consequence of how different she was from Arjuna….

  She had lost her sister.

  Uloopi’s Secret

  Mini was gone.

  Mini? MINI? MINI! Aru called through the Pandava mind link. Nothing. It was like Aru’s thoughts were being thrown against an invisible wall.

  She had to do something—now! Aru struggled against Aiden, who had helped her get back to her feet.

  “Don’t panic, Aru,” he soothed. “We’ll figure this out. We’ll get Mini back.”

  Aru whirled around to face Brynne. “I told you to hold her!”

  “The snakes were coming for all of us!” shouted Brynne. “I had to handle that first!”

  “You should’ve listened to me!”

  “Why?” demanded Brynne. “Who says you get to call the shots?”

  Aiden moved in between them, his arms held out. “Stop fighting!” he said, his voice raw. “Just…take a deep breath! Let’s think for a minute….”

  But Aru was too wound up, and so was Brynne.

  “You’re not better than me, Shah. So stop acting like it.”

  Aru was so furious in that second. Furious that Brynne wouldn’t admit she was wrong. Furious that Aiden wasn’t standing up for her when she was in the right. Furious that none of them had gotten to Mini in time.

  “You want to know why you weren’t chosen for that first quest? It’s because of this,” said Aru coldly. “You only want to act like a hero. Not actually be one.”

  Brynne recoiled as if Aru had slapped her.

  Aiden dropped his arms. Disappointment was plain on his face. “That went too far, Shah,” he said quietly. “And you know it.”

  There was a moment when Aru could have—should have—admitted that it wasn’t just Brynne’s fault. Yes, Brynne should have held on to Mini. But then again, Mini shouldn’t have walked straight toward the serpents’ caves. And Aru should have kept a closer eye on her. They were all to blame.

  “Brynne—” started Aru, guilt flooding her, but the hissing sound returned and all thought of talking left her head.

  The three of them turned to face the caverns where Mini had disappeared. A naga woman streamed out of each one. Their skin was the dark shiny gray of hematite stones. Ragged white bandages covered their eyes. Their tails were powerful silver coils.

  Brynne held up
her mace. “What did you do to our friend?” she demanded. “Give her back, or—”

  “Ssshe…” said the first.

  “…isss…” said the second.

  “…resssting…” said the third.

  The three naginis laughed.

  Resting? Aru’s stomach dropped. What did that mean? There was a reason why people wrote RIP when someone died. It stood for rest in peace. Rest was another word for death. Did that mean that Mini was…dead? One of the naginis’ tails whipped the sand, and Mini’s purple backpack sailed through the air. Aru grabbed it, clutching it tight. Her whole body felt cold with panic.

  “Is she…?” asked Aru, unable to finish the question.

  The first serpent woman gave a sly smile and shook her head. “She is sssafe…”

  “And ssstuck,” whispered the second naga woman.

  “Her knowledge came at the price of energy. She is a Pandava and has much energy to offer…” said the third. She rolled her head from side to side like she was waking up from a long nap. “Ahhh…for the first time in centuries I can taste sssecrets again.” She flicked out a forked tongue. “I taste abandonment,” said the nagini, her sightless gaze pivoting toward Brynne. “A heart broken from being left behind all her life.”

  The second nagini turned her head to Aiden. “In you, I taste a vengeful heart. A heart that aches.”

  And then the first faced Aru. “Your heart is full of doubts. And want. I taste a heart that has everything to lossse…. But we are not here to gulp down your secrets like candied jewels…. Oh no, we need this energy to impart to you a treasure.”

  “We don’t want your treasure!” said Aru. “We want Mini! Give her back to us!”

  “Ooh, such a lovely fire to your words!” said the second. “You think your sister is the key to your success. But if you abandon your quest in order to rescue her, you may miss your only chance to locate the thief’s precious song. And without it you would be—”

  “Ruined!” sang the third.

  “Ruined!” sang the first.

  “Ruined,” echoed the second with a cruel sneer. “Oh yes, we know what you seek. You seek to undo the pronouncement of Uloopi and prevent your own exile. Such a sssmall thread you tug in a greater tapestry.”

  “You should thank us for what we are about to offer you,” they said in unison. “But our gift will mean nothing if first you do not learn the truth of this place.”

  The three naginis shot up in the air, their tails waving powerfully behind them and swirling the sand. Aru, Brynne, and Aiden gasped as the scenery changed. The broken spires regrew, the toppled walls righted themselves, the skeletons faded away, and the ruin became a picture of its former grandeur. And at the center of it was…Uloopi.

  Well, a vision of Uloopi, as her younger, more beautiful self.

  Her hair was strewn with gemstones, but nothing shone brighter than the huge emerald in her forehead. It glowed with an unearthly light. Uloopi’s serpent tail was wrapped tightly around her torso and…she was weeping. Pleading. Before her was an enormous black cobra. At the center of its forehead sparkled a ruby the size of a football.

  “He will die, Father,” Uloopi said. “You know the curse! The gods foretold that Arjuna will be killed by his own son’s hand. I can save him from his fate.”

  The cobra’s deep voice echoed through the courtyard. “And what concern is his life to me? Men die. That is what they do best. You have already given him many gifts, my dear. You made him invincible underwater. You gave him the gift of communication with all sea creatures. Let that be enough.”

  “I cannot watch him die,” said Uloopi fiercely. “He is my own, my husband.”

  The great serpent laughed. “You had his attention for one night, and he has your heart for the rest of his days? Think of what you are saying, for you will never die and he was always meant to.”

  “He would do the same for me,” she insisted.

  “Would he?” asked the serpent gently.

  “Please,” begged Uloopi. “Give me the jewel that will restore his life. Then, if the curse comes true, I will be able to snatch him back from the Kingdom of Death.”

  The cobra bowed. Uloopi reached for the jewel glimmering on his scaly forehead, but before she could grasp it, the serpent pulled back.

  “That is not the jewel you seek, my child,” he said.

  Uloopi gasped in pain, her hand flying to her face. When she removed her hand, a sparkling green emerald—the one that had been in her forehead—now lay in her palm. She clutched it tightly.

  “Now do you understand the price?” pressed the serpent. “Without your heart jewel, you will age…and you will be vulnerable among the immortals of our kind. You will no longer be able to tell when someone is lying to you. A shadow will fall across your reign.”

  “Prince Arjuna will return it to me,” said Uloopi. “You’ll see.”

  Aru and the others did see, in a different vision….

  Uloopi, in her human form, glided out onto a battlefield. A mortal woman was already there, weeping and crouched beside a fallen soldier. Aru knew, even without seeing the man’s face, that it was Arjuna. And from the way the mortal woman clutched him, Aru could tell that she was one of his wives. Aru thought she’d feel something looking at this former bearer of her soul, but he was a stranger to her.

  Uloopi approached them. She set the emerald—her heart—on top of Arjuna’s chest. A few moments passed, and then he stirred…his chest rising as he drew breath once more. But when he finally opened his eyes, he did not look at Uloopi. He gazed at the woman beyond her. And it was with the other woman that he shared the first smile of his renewed life.

  The vision changed again to show Uloopi returning to the sea.

  Another naga greeted her, and Aru recognized him instantly. Takshaka, the blind guardian king of the naga treasury. He looked just as he had when Aru had first seen him in the Court of the Sky—young, and covered with burn scars.

  “The Pandavas have all left this earth, my queen. And as I suspected, your beloved husband never returned your heart to you, did he?”

  Uloopi remained tight-lipped and stone-faced.

  “I do not mean to gloat,” Takshaka went on. “I only meant to say that I was among those who tried to warn you. Just because he is a hero does not mean he cannot also be a monster. The Pandavas burned down my home, after all. I have not forgotten.”

  Uloopi seemed distant. “I refuse to believe Arjuna would leave this earth without returning it, when he knew how precious it was. Will you tell me if it is found?”

  “Of course,” he said. “You have my word, Queen Uloopi.”

  “Thank you, Takshaka. You are a true friend.”

  Aru blinked and the vision disappeared. So this was why Uloopi was old compared to the other naginis. Her heart had never been returned. Something else struck Aru, though. You will no longer be able to tell when someone is lying to you. A shadow will fall across your reign. Uloopi had trusted the word of Takshaka…but what if Takshaka had lied?

  “The sssea may take,” said the first nagini.

  “But it also givesss,” said the third.

  “We are cursssed for withholding the truth from the queen, and it is a sssecret we no longer wish to bear.” Something shiny fell before them, thudding softly into the sand. “Return this to the queen, and our souls shall be free. Perhaps it shall aid you, too.”

  As one, the three naginis laughed. Their laughter shook the courtyard, which was once again in ruins. The whole place had taken on a different hue during the naginis’ story about Uloopi, and it was back to feeling desolate.

  Now Aru understood why the naga queen despised her. Now she knew where her own special underwater abilities had come from…. They were gifts not from her soul father, but from Uloopi to her love. Aru had inherited them from Arjuna.

  “Our energy borrowed from your sssister fades now,” said the first nagini.

  “We have done our duty,” said the second.

&nb
sp; “But Mini—” started Aru.

  “Is in the land of sssleeeeep,” said the third nagini. “Far from the reach of mortals….”

  “You are welcome, Pandavas, for thanks to us, she holds the thief’s name,” said the first.

  And with that, the naginis crumpled into shadows and seaweed. Aru, Aiden, and Brynne stood in silence for a moment. Then Brynne cleared her throat:

  “One thing at a time, Rao,” Brynne murmured right before she started talking. “Mini is in the land of sleep?”

  Aiden frowned, tugging at his hair. “I know where it is…. It’s near the Court of the Heavens and is ruled over by the goddess Ratri. But the naginis are right. You can’t just go there on a wind antelope—”

  “Gazelle,” corrected Brynne.

  “It’s dangerous,” continued Aiden, “even if you have Otherworldly blood. That place is soaked in celestial power—you’d need protection from a sage just to walk through it. Mini should be safe while she’s in the land of sleep, but there’s no way she can get herself out safely.”

  Aru’s mouth turned dry with panic. “You mean she’s stuck there? Forever?”

  Brynne pounded her hand with her fist. “So let’s go right now! We’ll find a sage and get her!”

  “And risk not being able to get back into the naga realm? Or find the song in time?” pointed out Aiden. “We only have six mortal days left according to my watch….”

  “Are you honestly suggesting we leave her there?” asked Brynne.

  Aiden crossed his arms. “Not leave her there. But get her after we find the song.”

  Brynne scowled, then turned to Aru. “Aren’t you going to say anything, Shah?”

  Aru remained quiet. Hurt and worry and confusion tore through her thoughts. Mini’s backpack was still in her arms, the zipper halfway undone. She tried to shut it, just to buy her some extra time before she had to answer them, but something blocked the zipper. It was the corner of the Post-it notepad Mini wrote on sometimes. Aru frowned.