Aru Shah Is a Piece of Sushi
Cold, dark water closed over Aru’s head, pulling her deep into the ocean until she lost all sense of direction. She started to panic. Were there sharks in this water? Because they terrified her. Aru kicked out, shaking off the tendril that had grabbed her, and swam forward.
Light, she commanded.
Vajra, in bracelet form, sent out a beam. Aru had that painful, tightfeeling in her chest that only comes from holding one’s breath for far too long. Any second now, she’d run out of air. She looked up, but even with Vajra’s light, she could no longer see the surface. She was far beneath the waves. She’d probably drown here….
Something zipped past her—something that felt pointy and sharp. Aru gasped.
And then … she gasped again. Which, technically, she shouldn’tbe able to do unless …
Cautiously, Aru inhaled. No cold water rushed into her nose and mouth. Air filled her lungs. She couldbreathe. She couldbreatheunderwater! COOL! Wait, since when had she been able to do that?
By now, her eyes had adjusted to her surroundings. As she swam over the seabed, phosphorescent seashells lit it up like a motion-activated sidewalk. Shadows carved out a sunken,ruined city. Aru dove down to investigate, and when she reached the bottom, she discovered that she could stand and walk upright. She could even hear everything around her as if she were on land. Being under the ocean sounded like there was a never-ending thunderstorm in the distance. Seaweed-choked statues of nagas stuck up out of the sandy bottom. Fish darted in and out among them, flashing iridescently.
Aru looked up at the surface again, but it was far out of sight. If Brynne, Aiden, or Mini had fallen in here, too, she couldn’t see them. She also didn’t know if they could breathe underwater, like her.
Aru took a moment to process this. She couldbreathe underwater. Think of all the pranks she could pull! She could strap on a dorsal fin, pretend to be a shark, and clear the beach to have itall to herself.
But that depended, of course, on her getting out of here.
Takshaka didn’t like her—that was made obvious when Aru was dropped through a trapdoor.Rude. But that wasn’t going to stop her from getting to the treasury and finding the thief’s soul song.
How was she going to get there, though? It wasn’t like she could ask someone for directions. She might as well find a coconut,name him Wilson, and grow a beard.
A blue fish swam past her.
“Got any coconuts?” she asked wearily.
The usual answer from a fish would have been: *bubble* *gape* *bubble* *disappear*
But this fish said, “I believe there’s some Indonesian kopyor dwarf coconuts being sold in the upstream naga market. Or, if you’re interested in the Philippine variety, a ship has just sunk southeast of here.”
Aru screamed.
The fish looked highly affronted. “If you don’t want the answer, then don’t ask!You’rethe one asking about coconuts in the off-season!” it huffed. “Foolish girl!”
Aru glared. “Well,youswim in your own toilet!”
The fish did not have an eyebrow to raise villainously. But its tone managed the effect well enough. “And you’ll never knowwhenI use the ocean as a toilet. Enjoy themystery.”
It flapped its tail and swam off.
Why was everything so rude?
And why did the fish have a British accent?
One thing at a time, Shah. So far, she had discovered that she could breathe underwater, walk underwater, talk underwater, and also argue with a fish. She wondered if anything else could understand her down here.
Aru tapped into the mind link she shared with Mini, but only staticran through her thoughts. She hoped her friends were okay. Maybe they were still stuck in customs.
She turned Vajra full-size and held it tightly.Dad?
The lightning bolt glowed.
Encouraged, Aru asked,Could I get some help? I’m not popular with snakes—surprise. Also, I can talk to fish? Is that normal?
Up ahead, something emerged from the sand. Naga statuesfellleft and right as a huge,speckled eel lifted off the ground. The wordsSEA LINEwere written across its dorsal fin. The eel opened its mouth, and passengers—fish, people, fish-people, and … Was that Tilda Swinton?—streamed out of its jaws. The human passengers wore clear bubble helmets. Most of the nagas were wearing headphones and had canvas bags slung over their shoulders. Only now did Aru notice that there were littletrails stretching across the ocean floor. In the distance, she could see the colorful lights of what might have been a naga market.
