Aru knew that … and yet she couldn’t shake the sound of Surpanakha’s voice. Sweet and sorrowful. It made Aru wonder if maybethey didn’t know the whole story.
The Mall of Meditation Groves sounded to Aru like it would be the chillest place ever. The sages and rishis in her mother’s stories had always acquired their powers through intense meditation, and Aru figured that could only take place in a beautiful natural spot where one could be alone and at peace, freefromdistractions and stress. The Mall of MeditationGroves was probably like a spa. A few leafy green trees surrounding a luxuriant circle of grass. Flute music playing softly in the air. Or maybe it was like the outdoor section of Home Depot, with all the plants and stuff.
But when they stepped through the door on the left, Aru saw she was completely wrong.
Stretched out before them was a vast convention hall with rows of fenced-in areas representingdifferent kinds of meditation environments. Each area looked no bigger than a mall kiosk, and yet, as was always the case with magic, it seemed like a slice of something infinite. Aru scanned the different displays. There was a marshy patch of land where a lazy alligator basked in an errant sunbeam. Beside it was a Saharan plain, where a calm wind stirred the long tawny grass. Off to theleft was a dark jungle draped in shiny green vines. And looming behind it was an outcropping of rock covered with fresh snow.
Taken on their own, the settings were breathtaking.
But taken in with the crowds of rishis and sages who were examining them, and the yakshas and yakshinis who were trying to outsell one another, the mall waschaos. It reminded Aru of a department store makeup section,where the clerks spray perfume on scraps of paper and shove them in your face.
A yakshini with living vines in her hair and lime-green wings on her back alighted before them. “Interested in spending days of meditation in the wilds of India?” she asked.
“Uh, no thanks,” said Aiden.
But the nature spirit ignored his refusal. “If you select the Naga Manipuri Chin Hills, we automatically includeone freeguardleopard, access to an array of nearly three hundred species of medicinal plants, and complimentary bottled morning dew!”
“I—”
“Our hills are lush and beautiful!” continued the yakshini. “Free of almost all demonic involvement! That said,ifyouare beheadedorsuferfromsevereburnsasaresultofdemonincineration,thiscompanyis notliable!”
Aru noticed that the yakshini’s smile never moved,even when she talked. It looked like someone had nailed it to her face. Now Aru’s own face hurt.FROWN, WOMAN! I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!
“It offers perfect photo opportunities, too!” said the yakshini, noting Aiden’s camera.
Thatgot his attention. “Really?”
“Okay, that’s enough,” said Brynne, shoving Aiden behind her. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
This time the yakshini’s smile twitched slightly.“Of course! Have a wonderful century. You know where to find us if you change your mind!”
At the far end of the floor, Aru could see less traditional meditation environments clustered together. The options included skyscrapers and industrial ships, swamplands, and even, though it grossed the heck out of Aru, the insides of insect hives.
“I bet the swamp Durvasa mentioned is down there,” saidAiden.
“How are we going to getthroughall this?” asked Aru.
There were hundreds of rishis and yogis walking through the mall, and the yakshas and yakshinis descended on unattended shoppers like sharks.
“I’ll handle them,” said Brynne.
Aru half hoped that meant Brynne was planning to release a huge gust of wind to sweep everyone away. Instead, Brynne muscled Aru, Mini, and Aiden past a halfdozen stalls, yelling and haggling and scoffing the whole way.
Which is to say, Brynne was having the time of her life.
“This place makes me feelalive!” she said fiercely.
“It’s just like a shopping mall,” said Mini, huddling closer to Aru. “I hate malls. Anyone can sneeze on you.”
Aru agreed, though not because of the sneezing. Aru hated malls because there was always the chance she couldrun into someone she knew, and then what? She could never afford to buy anything. Once, when she’d spotted a bunch of her classmates coming her way, Aru had gone into every nearby high-end store and asked for an empty bag. That way she was able to flash anoh-I’m-carrying-so-much-I-can’t-really-wavesmile before hiding out in the parking garage and waiting for her mom.
“I can’t take this place,”said Aiden, pulling his hood over his face.
“Because of the germs?” asked Mini.
“No, it’s all the loud haggling. Just a bunch of people screaming at each other,” he said, hunching his shoulders. “It sounds just like home.” The moment he said that, his face paled and his mouth set in a tight line.
Aru recognized that expression. It was the face someone made when they’d revealed too much. Aruremembered Aiden’s nightmares from the Grove of Ratri: his mother’s despair, and Aiden’s guilt. There wasn’t anything Aru could say that would make him feel better, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth trying.
