“Hey, wait a sec—” started Aru, but Brynne yanked on her wrist.
They plunged through the portal. Fortunately, its muddy water slicked right off them and they stayed dry. At least they did until Aru landed on her butt on a soggy piece of ground. They were surrounded by swampland: tall brown reeds, bare gray trees, patches of ice, and an empty wooden boardwalk, all undera leaden sky. It hardly looked like a secret entrance to the Ocean of Milk would be anywhere around here.
Brynne helped her up. “You okay, Shah? You looked a little nervous about the yaksha back there.”
“Yeah,” said Aru uncertainly. “He just seemed kinda shady, is all.”
“I didn’t like him, either,” said Aiden, still protectively holding on to his camera.
“Well, duh,” said Brynne. “He triedto take Shadowfax. At least it’s safe here. Now come on—I think I see the entrance to the Ocean of Milk between those trees.” She pointed to a copse up ahead.
“How do you know that?” asked Mini.
Brynne tapped her nose. “’Cause I’m the daughter of the god of the wind. I have a pretty good instinct for where we are in relation to stuff.”
“But how are we supposed to get there?” asked Mini. “Thetrail is way over there.”
Brynne transformed into a hawk and said, “I can give you a lift. Aru, you take Aiden. Not so sure he’s going to trust that hoverboard again, though….”
“I know what to do,” said Aru. “Vajra, make a car-seat thing—”
“I don’twanta car-seat thing! I’ll be fine,” said Aiden defensively. “My dad always said to get back up on the horse after a fall.”
“Sure, but what abouta cow?” teased Aru.
Aiden glared at her as they climbed onto the hoverboard.
Brynne took Mini’s shoulders in her talons and they launched into the sky with a “Whooaaa!” (That was Mini.)
Soon they could see what looked like an archway straight ahead, beneath a cluster of trees. The entrance! They dove for it, but right before they got there, they heard branches snapping, and the very air seemedto change, becoming heavier. The four of them landed on a pathway in front of the arch, and Brynne morphed back into a girl. Aru kicked the hoverboard up and caught it in her hand in Ping-Pong-ball form. Together, they formed a tight circle.
From the left, five figures in dark hoodies emerged from behind trees that were much too thin for anyone to hide behind. Where had they come from?
One ofthe strangers broke off—Aru assumed he was theleader.His hoodie was drawn low over his face, and there were two holes cut out at the top. Sharp horns protruded from them, slick and black. So he was an asura.
“Heading to the Ocean of Milk?” he said with a grunt. “Fuhgeddaboudit.”
