“Actually—”started Aiden.
“PANDAVAS,” boomed a voice coming from the Durvasa booth.
Aru’s heart rate kicked up a bit. They needed Durvasa tohelpthem bring back Mini. Surely he would, right? Mini had mentioned his name for a reason.
In a corner, a light-skinned girl with antlers rocked back and forth, muttering, “Nextinlinenextinlinenextinline…”
Aru, Aiden, and Brynne walked over to the booth. A littlemetal box markedTICKETShopped up and down until Brynne dropped the green ticket into the slot. There was a shimmer in the air and an old man appeared behind the glass. He had a generous belly, nut-brown skin, and black hair piled into a matted bun on top of his head. He was wearing a white polo shirt with a small badge that read:
S.DURVASA
THE ANSWER ISNO
This was the great sage?
“I didn’tlike him, he had a horrible haircut,” the sage was muttering. He started scribbling something in his book. “And did he offer me a place to sit? Inquire about my health? No!Andhe breathed through his mouth.Disgusting. Hmm … What to do, what to do? Ha!”
He licked his pen and wrote in the air. Sparkling letters appeared:
May all the chocolate chip cookies you reach for
turn out to be cleverlydisguised oatmeal raisin.
“Yes, yes.” He cackled to himself. “FEAR ME, MORTAL!”
The sage steepled his fingers together. He rifled through someone’s file and scoffed. “Ugh. This person asks for a mantraforbetter sleep?Thisis what people choose to waste my time with? Abominable. Oh yes, I have ablessingfor you—”
Once more, he wrote in the air:
When you go to bed, may both sides of yourpillow be slightly too warm, and may your door keep opening a crack as soon as you get sleepy.
Aiden inhaled sharply, whispering, “Harsh.”
But the sage wasn’t done. His list of curses continued:
May your spoon always fall in your cereal.
May you always fumble with your credit card in Starbucks when there’s a huge line behind you.
May your towel after a shower always be a smidge too far toreach, so you have to step out.
“Hey—” started Brynne, but Aru yanked her arm.
The sage paused. It seemed as if he was giving them a moment to decide whether or not to disturb him. They were hardly a foot away. There was no way the sage couldn’t see them, but Aru felt a prickle of foreboding. This was a test.
She remembered Kamadeva’s warning:BE VERY POLITE.
Something itched at the back ofAru’s skull. There was a reason why Durvasa’s name had stuck with her … a reason why she’d been a little wary. Goose bumps pebbled her skin. She suddenly felt about the size of an ant.
Aru tapped into the Pandava mind link.
Brynne’s response was immediate:What is it?
Rememberthe sage who cursed all the gods to lose their immortality?sent Aru.And that’s why they churned the Ocean of Milkfor the nectar of immortality and everyone lost their minds and the universe descended into chaos?
Yeah?
Well,sent Aru,I just figured out who Durvasa is. HE’S THE SAGE WHO CURSED THEM.
