Brynne let out a savage whoop, and Kara tossed her trident into the air. It caught the light in such a way that it left Ravana momentarily blinded. He threw up his hands to protect his eyes, and…
TWANG! TWANG!
Two more golden heads fell to the ground around his feet as Aiden leaped back to the ground, breathing hard from his slashing maneuver. His scimitars dripped gold blood.
“Three left!” said Aiden.
“Two!” yelled Mini, as she flung out her Death Danda. Dee Dee whacked Ravana’s remaining right skull just below the ear, and the head shimmered to gold and rolled off his shoulder.
“All you, Kara!” said Brynne.
Kara caught her trident one-handed, pulled her shoulder back, and let the weapon rip through the air….
“ONE!” yelled Kara.
Ravana swayed on his feet. Fury twisted his face, but when he tried to step forward, he tripped on his own heads, crashing to the ground once more.
His body disappeared in a cloud of golden smoke, leaving them standing in the now-silent courtyard. Kara’s hair had gotten mussed in the fight, and her face was smudged with dirt. She leaned on Sunny and grinned at them.
“Victory!” shouted Brynne, swinging her wind mace.
Aru cheered. Aiden clapped. Mini lifted her Death Danda and shouted, “And with no risk of tetanus, because none of us got impaled!”
That was a somewhat strange way to sayWe did it!but then again, it was Mini. She looked around at their confused faces and sighed. “Tetanus is an infection caused byClostridium tetani, which can be found on pieces of metal and transmitted into the bloodstream through breaks in the skin, and if that happens you could—”
“Die?” said Brynne and Aru.
Both of them fought back a laugh.
“Neuromuscular paralysis and possible mortality is not funny!” huffed Mini. “I’m just saying we should be happy it didn’t happen!”
“I’m happy,” said Kara, lifting her trident. “Hooray for a non-Pyrrhic victory!”
Now the confused faces turned to Kara. She blushed, lowering Sunny.
“Is Pyrrhic a disease?” asked Mini excitedly.
“It means ‘a victory gained at too great a cost,’” Kara said enthusiastically. “The origin is from this battle in 279BCEwhere Pyrrhus of Epirus won against the Romans but practically lost his whole army in the process. And all his friends. And I think some family, too.”
No one but Kara and Mini was still smiling. Mini nodded approvingly. “That’s depressing. I like it.”
“Poor Pyrrhus,” said Aru.
“PoorPandavas!” said Brynne. “We lopped off all of Ravana’s heads, and now what? Those golden steps don’t lead anywhere, and we’re trapped in this courtyard, andallthe fruit on the trees is seriously underripe, so I can’t eat it,and—”
Just then, Aru heard a soft squeak.
At the very top of the stairs, a golden-furred mongoose peered down at them. It tilted its head, squeaked again, then disappeared into a doorway that had not been there moments ago. Across the lintel, neon letters flashed:
WELCOME, PANDAVAS!
Aru stared at the entrance. It looked black as pitch inside. What if it was another trap? But what if it wasn’t, and this was their last chance to get to Kubera? The deadline was today, and even if the citizens of Lanka didn’t care that the Sleeper was moving closer and closer, Aru couldn’t ignore that pulse of approaching war pounding in the back of her skull.
“Should we go in?” asked Brynne.
Aru shrugged. “Red pill or blue pill?”
“Whatpill?” asked Mini.
