Aru was stunned.Thatwas Surpanakha? She didn’t look atalllike how the poems had described her. Where were the fangs? The dragging limbs and gray skin?
One of the boys let out a loud wolf whistle.
“Don’twhistle at the image of my future wifey!” snarled the leader.
Mini whispered, “I wonder if Surpanakha used the love arrow on the two of them.”
That was a possibility. Surpanakha could have also bewitched this whole group of asuras to see her as a beautiful woman and not a hideous demoness.
Hira changed back and rejoined the posse.
“Please don’t make me do that again,” Hira mumbled.
One ofher cohorts laughed.
Another one said, “I dunno why you keep looking like that when you can change into a hot girl whenever you want to.”
Aru glowered, but before she could act, Brynne pointed her wind mace at them. The two obnoxious asuras were blown into the reeds, landing with a satisfying splash and a wail of outrage.
“Enjoy the mud, pigs,” said Brynne.
Three others—including the leader—werehurled against the trees by another blast of Brynne’s wind mace.
Hira remained standing, thanks to a sphere that had shielded her. She stood there openmouthed and incredulous. Mini, on the other hand, had a sly smile on her face.
To her right, Aru heard a soft chuckle, and she realized that not all the thugs had been defeated. Sparky had also not moved from his place in front of the archway.He looked … taller than before, she thought. Even from behind his bizarre sunglasses, Aru could feel his intense gaze.
“Whoa! No way!”
Aiden’sexclamation made Aru turn away from Sparky the Silent.
“Is that … ?” asked Aiden. “Wait, I think it is!”
Thanks to Brynne’s wind mace, all the asuras’ hoods had been blown back. This whole time, Aru had thought they were in their late teens or twenties.But no. They were seventh and eighth graders. One of them had a bad case of acne. The other wore black eyeliner and a shirt that said 4.0GPA.WITNESS ME. Two of them were wearing thin gold necklaces that had been looped around twice to look more like intimidating chains.
The leader lurched out of the trees, groaning and rubbing his back.
Aiden started laughing. “Dude. Navdeep, is that you?”
Aru squinted at the asura leader. She definitely had seen that guy at Augustus Day.
The leader went wide-eyed, then shook his head frantically.
“Um, we have homeroom together in Atlanta?” tried Aru.
“Nah, girl. I don’t know you. You don’t know me. And you def don’t know how I live.”
“We were lab partners in Mr. Dietz’s honors bio class?” said Aiden.
“Bruh—” said the boy in guyliner.
Aru didn’tknow that. Then again, she was not in Mr. Dietz’s honors science class. She had, however, been a frequent guest of Mr. Dietz’s after-school detention.
The others had recovered by now and were advancing cautiously. Except Hira. She must have run off at the first chance.
“I’m getting tired of this,” said Brynne. “You’re going to get out of our way. Now.”
She brandished her wind mace again. Aru,holding herlightningbolt, fell into place next to her. Aiden and Mini flanked them with scimitars and Dee Dee.
