Swans Are the Worst
Aru sized up the monster swan as it came at them. And herself, too. She knew she was small. She wasn’t that strong, either.
But she didn’t have to be.
The battle was a game in her head—dodge and jab, use the enemy’s own momentum against them, and letthemdo all the work.
“Mini!” shouted Aru.
Her sister knew immediately what to do. Dee Dee flashed and grew, sproutingfrom Mini’s sleeve. Purple light exploded in a burst in front of them. The swan squawked and stomped back, its webbed foot crushing the pond reeds that had surrounded its lake.
Beside them, Aiden tapped his leather bands and two shining scimitars shot out from the magical arm braces. He pushed a golden button on the top of his camera and it, along with his camera bag, folded up until it becamea watch on his wrist.
Aru’s eyes widened. So that’s whatemergency accessory transformationmeant.Whoa.
Amoment later, the swan found its balance and stalked toward them. Aru mentally ran through some strategies, but before she could say anything, Brynne leaped into the air and shouted, “Aiden, I’ll distract it! Take the key, but don’t go in without me!”
“Wait up!” said Aru. “We haven’t—”
“Stay out of the way, Shah!” shouted Brynne. “I’ve got this!”
She threw the key to Aiden, who caught it in his fist.
Then Brynne morphed. Blue light blazed around her. Where she had once stood, there was now a blue elephant almost as large as the swan. Elephant-Brynne swung her head. Tusks out, trunk raised, she charged at the bird. Aru had just enough time to roll away before she got trampled.
As it turned out, elephant trumpeting and swan honking sounded a lot like how Aru imagined fighting dinosaurs would. Elephant-Brynne tried to dig her tusks into the swan. It honked loudly, thrashing. Feathers exploded in the air. The swan pumped its wings. They unfurled to the length of an airplane. And when they were flapped vigorously, the effect was like that of a jet turbine. Even the puffywhite clouds overhead were blown back by the wind. The tops of the trees swayed. Aru grabbed hold of a branch just to keep from flying away while Elephant-Brynne tumbled head over heels and smacked into a tree trunk.
The wind died down. With a loudTAKE-THAT-WEIRD-BLUE-ELEPHANT!honk, the swan toddled forward. Its target was clear:
Aiden.
He had only just recovered his balance. Staggering forward,Aiden brandished his scimitars. The swan started pecking athimlike he was a particularly yummy breadcrumb. Aiden dodged, parrying the swan’s stabbing beak as if it were a sword. But the swan was faster.
Elephant-Brynne came charging back into the scene. “DO SOMETHING, SHAH!” she bellowed, which, firstly, was supercool, because she could be a talking animal, but secondly, wasnothelpful, becauseAruwasdoing something. At first, she’d tried to throw her lightning bolt, but Vajra missed. Near Aiden, Mini’s force fields kept flickering, weakened by her fear.
Aru needed to think….
If Hanuman had taught her anything, it was to assess a fight not just from her point of view, but also from the eyes of the enemy. What did the swan want?
Elephant-Brynne trumpeted again, but the swan didn’tturn around to face her. Its entire attention was focused on Aiden—who had the key. The key that had been lying in the middle of the swan’s nest … like an egg. Which meant the swan considered the key its baby!
“I have an idea!” shouted Aru.
Brynne’s bellowing drowned out her voice. That left Aru only one option—the Pandava mind link. The last place she wanted to be was inside Brynne’s head,but she didn’t have a choice.
She closed her eyes, reaching for Brynne’s mind the way she reached for Mini’s….
Brynne?
Elephant-Brynne jumped up and let out a startled cry.WHO THE—?
I need you to turn into a bird.
What?! Why? GET OUT OF MY HEAD! And no, I got this—
Dude,you just got thrown into the trees.
Aiden was tiring quickly. His scimitar jabs were slowing even as he ducked and dancedthrough the swan’s legs. Finally, Mini cast a shield just in time to block a peck from the swan’s wickedly sharp beak. Aiden dove into a thicket of springtime hedges.
