“Oh. Yes?”
“This is really creepy.”
“I know,” said Kara, turning even more red. “So I shouldn’t say all that when I meet everyone?”
Aru shuddered, trying to imagine exactly what she would tell the others when she showed up with Kara.HI, HONEY, I’M HOME! BTW, HAAAVE YOU MET THE DAUGHTER OF OUR ENEMY?Hmm. She needed to work on that speech.
“Yeah, definitely not,” said Aru.
Kara nodded. “Sorry. I was just excited to have a sibling, honestly.”
Aru didn’t know what to say to that. All her life she’d wanted a sister, and then, after Mini and Brynne came into her life, she’d no longer felt that ache for family. But sometimes Aru wanted adifferentconnection, like what Nikita and Sheela had, with someone whose room was right across from hers and who could read all of Mom’s moods, too.
Aru was still thinking about it when she mindlessly tugged another book off the shelf. The floor beneath her lurched and she stumbled, Vajra sparking as the throw rug rippled like the skin of an angry animal.
“You found the book!” said Kara excitedly. “Look! It’s happening!”
The bookshelf in front of them began to shake. A seam of light shot down the middle, as if someone had cut it in half with a laser beam. With a loudcreak,the shelves were magically wrenched apart.
“What book was it?” asked Kara.
Aru glanced at the cover. It wasWhere the Wild Things Areby Maurice Sendak. Her mom used to read that book to her when she was little. This copy looked old enough to be the same one, but that wasn’t possible….
The jacket was yellowed and ripped, and when Aru flipped open the cover, she saw a note inscribed on the endpaper:
For my Arundhati.
This was the only book they had in the hospital gift shop, but I think it’s perfect for my little girl, who is bound to be a wild thing indeed.
Love,
Dad
Aru felt an uncomfortable lump in her throat.
The message was a bit smeared, and part of it had bled onto the opposite page, as if he’d written it quickly and then closed the book before letting the ink dry. He must have been in a hurry.
To get back to me?she wondered.Or to get back to hisotherdaughter…Kara?
How many days had he spent with Aru before her mother locked him in the lamp? Had he carried this book on his quest to find the Tree of Wishes?
A light tremor ran through the room. Books toppled off the shelves, thudding loudly on the floor. A cold shadow stretched over Aru.
“Uh-oh,” squeaked Kara. “Tiny problem.”
Aru snapped the book shut, her senses on high alert. She kept her eyes focused on the exit growing before them. It was barely a foot wide. At the moment, there was no way they could fightandrun through it at the same time, but the opening expanded with each passing second.
“How tiny a problem?” asked Aru nervously.
“Well, um, I guess I forgot to mention that Dad said this whole place is protected by what he considers the most dangerous thing of all….”
Images of hissing crocodiles, hungry sharks, and irate baboons flashed through Aru’s head.
“Books,” finished Kara.
“Books?”repeated Aru, almost laughing. “But—”
WHUMPF.
