King Shibi bowed his head. “If you must have fresh meat, then take my own.”
He gestured to a soldier to place the pigeon on one weighing pan of the great scale. Then he…well, Aru couldn’t bring herself to watch, but from the cries of “Ah! My leg!” she gathered that the king was cutting pieces from his own thigh and putting them on the other pan to equal the bird’s weight.
And yet, when Aru peeked at the scale, the pigeon’s side was still lower.
She stared at the king’s advisers. Some of them were crying in sympathy for the king’s plight, but no one wasstoppinghim. Not a single person was like,Hmm, that’s a weirdly heavy pigeon, orWow, what are we feeding these birds?Nothing!
Finally, there was a great clanging sound as King Shibi jumped onto the scale, shouting, “Take me! Spare the pigeon!”
A vivid glow enveloped the king, the scale, the birds, and the terrace. Aru blinked a couple of times as heat overwhelmed her senses. Two divine voices called out, their words shaking the floor and practically rattling her bones.
“OH, KING SHIBI, WE HAVE WITNESSED YOUR GOODNESS AND YOU HAVE PASSED OUR TEST. BE WELL, AND FIND YOURSELF RESTORED.”
When Aru blinked, she was once more in Lord Agni’s volcano lair. His extra arms had vanished, and he was regarding the Pandavas excitedly.
“Oof,” said Mini, swaying a bit. “I feel woozy.”
“Well!” said Agni. “I think that was clear enough!”
“Uh, no?” said Aru. “King Shibi couldn’t ask hisroyal chefto make a chicken sandwich for the hawk? He had to jump straight to offering his own leg?” Aru briefly thought of Boo ruffling his feathers and quickly added, “Not that I wanted anything to happen to the pigeon.”
“What was the point of that?” asked Brynne. “What’s the test? Some kind of…food challenge?”
“No,” said Aiden quietly, and all eyes turned to him. “The test is about what we do when we think no one’s watching, isn’t it?”
Agni smiled. “You wish to enter the labyrinth containing the nectar of immortality, yes?”
The Pandavas nodded.
“Then do so,” he said. “And perhaps the manner in which you do will win the favor of the gods.”
“Perhaps? Might?These aren’t exactly words of comfort,” said Aru. “How will we know for sure?”
“Well, for starters, you’ll possibly remain alive.”
“Possibly?”repeated Brynne.
“But we can only navigate the labyrinth with the light of the sun,” said Mini. “How are we going to do that? The Sleeper already has the advantage because Kara is the daughter of the sun god.”
“You said you would help us,” pressed Aru. “If you can’t give us weapons, there has to besomething.”
At this, the goat—which had been persistently trailing after Aiden and trying to nibble Shadowfax’s leather strap—bleated excitedly. Aru didn’t speak goat, but if she did, she’d bet it was saying something likeOoh! Show them the thing!
“There is,” said Agni. “Though it is known to do more harm than good….” The god of fire unclasped the bright necklace around his neck and held it out to the girls. “Only one thing can guide you through the labyrinth. This is one part of the Syamantaka Gem, but you might know it by its other name—the Sun Jewel.”
“This is perfect!” said Brynne, grabbing the necklace. “We’ll use it to get into the labyrinth and—”
“That piece alone will do nothing,” said Agni. “Only when it is whole can its light guide you.”
“Why isn’t it whole?” asked Mini.
Agni sighed. “The jewel has not always brought happiness. It caused strife amongst those who were so dazzled by its brightness that they could recognize no other light. To safeguard humanity from temptation, the jewel was chiseled into three pieces. One piece was given to me. Another went to Vasuki, great king of all the nagas. And the final piece is with Jambavan, king of the bears.”
The longer Aru stared at the Syamantaka Gem, the more she kept hearing the Lord of the Rings soundtrack echoing in her head.One ring to rule them all…
“What?” said Agni.
“What?” said Aru.
