“Door on the left,” repeated Aru.
“Right,” said Brynne.
Aiden groaned. “No,left!”
“Right, Iknow that!” said Aru.
“Stop sayingright!” 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 beverypolite to him.”
Kamadeva handed Aru a business card. It read:
S.DURVASA
DO NOT BOTHER ME WITH INFANTILE CONCERNS
I WILL CURSE YOU FOR WASTINGMY 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 toeachof 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 plentyof 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’dbeen 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 giantGglowed bright blue. The Georgia Aquarium on BakerStreet! 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’veswornshe’d heard a voice sayMy God, that’s an appalling accent!But it was probably just her imagination.
Today the aquarium was entirely empty, which was bizarre.Itwas almost always bustling with tourists. A cold wind swept a sheaf of whitepapers 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 honestlydid 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 andsaw a text-message warning:
ALL CITIZENS ARE ADVISED TO STAY INDOORS. ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY CAN BE REPORTED TO THE FOLLOWING NUMBER …
