Jambavan started chuckling. It was a soft, pitying sound, and he made a great show of trying to spare their feelings by turning his head.
“Children,” he said, wiping at his eyes. “If that were true, it would prove my point even more! I’veseenthe past reincarnations of the Pandavas. The one who was a judge, the other who was an Olympic athlete…and ifyouare what the universe has to offer as we draw to the end of an age, well, surely you can agree that all the powers in the world have no faith in you.”
Aru’s mouth turned dry and her shoulders caved as Jambavan’s words found their mark. What if he was right? What if this was all some terrible cosmic joke? Her heart beat even faster and her palms began to sweat.
“Where are your celestial weapons?” asked Jambavan, studying them.
“There was a fight, a-and—” Mini stammered.
“And you lost them,” finished Jambavan,tsking. “Well, there you have it! The fact that your weapons haven’t been restored to you speaks of your inadequacy. And I mean that, of course, in the kindest way possible. Why, you must have known from the start you were not intended to be the agents of change. You’re far too young! And, forgive me, but I’ve never heard of a girl—”
“That’s enough,” said Brynne loudly.
Aru turned, stunned, to see Brynne propel herself off the couch, eyes blazing.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Brynne. “You haven’t left this cave in forever. And you don’t know what we’re capable of.”
Yeah, take that!Aru wanted to shout, but Jambavan was looming over them, the hot chocolate had gone cold, and this, perhaps, was not the best time to speak up.
“It is good to dream, child,” said Jambavan, with a dismissive wave of his paw.
“I’ll prove it,” said Brynne. “Let’s fight it out. You and me.”
Mini’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. Even Aru had to bite back a wince. Was that really the best idea? Brynne was superstrong, but strong enough to defeat Jambavan? The odds didn’t look good.
Jambavan laughed. “Though I have grown tired of the world, I have not lost my appetite for victory. If you wish to taste loss, who am I to stop you?” The fire picked out a proud gleam in his eye. “The rules are simple. Either you manage to knock me off my feet or you agree to forfeit all efforts to take the Sun Jewel from me.”
Brynne Tvarika Lakshmi Balamuralikrishna Rao had always been strong. Like, so strong that even her shadow bristled with muscles and other shadows would wither away in its presence. Probably. But ever since she’d lost her wind mace, Gogo, it seemed like all that strength had vanished along with her celestial weapon.
Brynne knew that sometimes being strong demanded the courage to be weak, but weakness wasn’t a choice right now—it was something that had been forced on her the moment Kara used the astra weapon to destroy their celestial gifts. Without Gogo, Brynne was so…less than. When she shape-shifted, she could no longer transform into gargantuan creatures. When she reached into the air, she could no longer weave cyclones out of nothing. It was as if the world was telling her that there was really nothing special about her.
But at this moment…Brynne was pretty sure she’d been wrong.
Beside her, Aiden touched her arm. “You don’t have to do this. We can find another way to get the Sun Jewel. We can go to the Council—”
“Look at your watch. We’re already down to four days, Ammamma,” said Brynne. “If we leave now, we’ll have to find our way to the Otherworld, explain that we lost our weapons, and then what? We’ll lose time and confidence. This is the only way.”
The Potatoes were standing in an arena hidden deep inside Jambavan’s cave palace. It was a large domed space in the brown rock. In deep niches in the walls, lit candles twisted the shadows. The floor was swept earth, broken only by a circle drawn in white chalk.
On the other side of the room, Jambavan shrugged off his heavy robe. Underneath he wore a pair of loose white pants. He did not stretch. He did not warm up. He merely watched Brynne, waiting for her to be ready.
“Bee?” said Aru. “I know what he said was, well, awful, but—”
“It wasn’t awful,” said Brynne. “It waswrong.”
Mini, who had her arms wrapped around herself, looked up.
“It’s like what Boo told us,” said Brynne. “We’re so much more than what we fight with.”
It was one of the last things Boo had ever said to them. Brynne had been thinking about it ever since Aru had made them all quote something from Lord of the Rings and pledge to get their weapons back.
More than anything, Brynne wished she could ask Boo what he meant, ask him to prove it to her….But right now, Boo was a baby firebird far more interested in cookies than warfare. Brynne didn’t blame him.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” asked Mini, nervous. “He could really hurt you, Bee.”
Brynne looked between her sisters’ faces. She knew what they’d been thinking these past few days…that she’d been too lost in her own world to notice what the two of them were going through. But they were mistaken. She saw how haunted Aru looked when she thought no one was watching. She saw how Mini’s confidence had plummeted. And then Jambavan had made his big speech.
Speaks of your inadequacy…
