At that moment, the crystal scanner beeped. Vajra poppedout on the other side looking, Aru imagined, rather grumpy for a ball of light. When Aru reached for it, it zinged her with a tiny bolt of electricity.
“You may go,” said the naga man sourly.
“Thank you. Bye!”
Aru raced over to Mini, who was waiting for them at the gate. Aiden strolled over with a bag full of candy he had bought.
“For emergencies only,” he said, catching Aru’s greedy eyes.“Sorry that took a while. Had to send something to my mom in case she got worried.”
Oh …thought Aru, feeling a bit silly. So that’s who the flowers were for.
“Where’s Brynne?” Mini asked. “The pod is going to leave soon!”
“I thought she was getting something to eat?” said Aiden.
Over at the food kiosk, they saw a bull-headed rakshasa nervously pacing and wiping his hands on his apron, butthey didn’t spot Brynne at first. The three of them crept closer. Behind the counter, wearing an apron and laboring over a fire, was Brynne. She held out a spoon to the rakshasa, who took it gingerly, and sipped.
“THAT,” Brynne yelled, “IS FOOD! Notice how it satisfies the five basic tastes? Sweet! Sour! Bitter! Salty! Umami!”
Aru’seyebrows soared up.Whose mommy? What?
“Iwillcome back,”said Brynne menacingly. She tore off her apron and threw it on the floor. “And Ihopeyou’ve learned to cook by then.”
“Yes, m-ma’am. Sorry, m-ma’am,” stammered the rakshasa, clutching the spoon for dear life.
Brynne stomped toward them, still glaring and mumbling, “If I want something good, I always have to make it myself….”
Mini and Aru tried to meet her halfway, but Aiden held them back.
“Some advice for the future,” he whispered. “Donotget in the way of Brynne and food.”
The four of them just barely reached the pod before its door closed. They were the only non-naga passengers aboard, which made Aru feel self-conscious. She took a seat on a plushy pink anemone and pretended to read aDivine Peoplemagazine while she snuck peeks out the window.
The pod was spat out of the dockand into the ocean, only to be snagged by an octopus tentacle that attached the bubble to the top of a humpback whale. Aru—though thrilled—was half-terrified that she’d go catapulting out the pod from all the turbulence. Mini examined the translucent walls like she feared they were going to spring a leak any minute. Aiden snapped pictures—though they were going so fast, Aru thought they’d allcome out blurry. Brynne concentrated on eating.
After a short flight (swim?), they docked and de-whaled in a vast but dark indoor terminal that reminded Aru of an art deco train station. The walls were covered with overlapping jewels that looked like serpent scales. Living, hissing cobraswithtongues of flame cast the only light. At the end of the hall, their glimmers turned wavy, like moonlighthitting the sides of a sea cave.
There were two exit tunnels. Above the one on the right, a sign readBAGGAGE AND SCALES CLAIM. The sign above the left tunnel said:CUSTOMS FOR NON-NAGA RESIDENTS.
“That’s us,” said Aiden, heading to theCUSTOMSsign.
“Kamadeva didn’t say anything about having to go through customs,” said Mini. “Do you think that’s safe?”
“Too late to worry about that now,”said Brynne. “The last whale just departed.”
Aru had been to the Otherworld plenty of times by now. She was used to the sensation of being surrounded by magic. But the feeling here … this was different. Her skin prickled. Sea mist surrounded her and left her thoughts sticky with fear. Even Aiden, who was always documenting the world around him, hadn’t raised his camera.
Aru glanced down andquickly wished she hadn’t. Flat black tiles cut into the shapes of snakes formed the floor. In the dim, flickering light, they kinda looked …alive.
At the customs checkpoint a tired-looking nagini official sat inside a glass booth.
“Identify yourselves,” she intoned, bored.
Mini blanched.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Aiden said, nodding encouragingly to her. “Just go with the flow.”
The fourof them held up their celestial weapons.
