The yaksha swirled his hand in the air and a pink clipboard appeared. His sunglasses—which had magically levitated back onto his face—transformed into a pair of reading glasses.
“And what’s the name of your band so I can add it to the roster?”
Aiden frowned. “Uh—”
“IT’S RUDY ROCKS!” shouted Rudy. “WE’RE KNOWN AS RUDY ROCKS. THERE IS NO OTHER NAME.”
Rudy was so excited that Brynne had to grip his shoulders to hold him in one place. Even Mini, who hadn’t smiled once since the incident with the World Elephants, cracked a grin.
Aiden sighed again and turned back to the yaksha. “What he said….Our band is Rudy Rocks.”
The moment the Potatoes were admitted into the pavilion—with a brisk “Someone will be with you shortly. NEXT!”—its interior changed. From the outside, it had looked beautiful and tranquil, with its glass stage and the floating portal door.
Inside, however, it waschaos.
Aru could now see dozens of tents behind a giant semicircle of bleachers. Performers disappeared in and out of the flaps. Various acts were warming up on the field: jugglers, winged dancers, a trio of treelike creatures sprouting roses as they sang, and a band of fire performers who were literally walking flames. Wooden platforms with numbered flags floated in the air to the left of the main crystal stage.
“Those are definitely the audition stages,” said Rudy, glaring at the other contestants. “We gotta crush the competition.”
Just then, a boulder rolled up to them. It paused twenty feet away from Rudy. Craggy hollows opened in the middle of its surface, making what looked like a glowering face.
“Mostof the competition,” amended Rudy.
The boulder slowly rolled away.
“Forget the competition,” said Brynne, pointing at the glass stage about a hundred feet away. “That’sour goal.”
Hovering above it, like a spotlight angling down, loomed the violet portal. Aru felt a lump in her throat when she looked at it. If they were lucky, it would be the last boundary between them and the labyrinth.
Aru stared at her empty hands. They were so close to the entrance, and yet Aru was no closer to getting her powers back.
“Those things donotlook friendly,” said Rudy.
Aru snapped back to attention. The yaksha had said that the stage was well protected, but it hadn’t looked like it when they were standing in line. Now that they were past the threshold, she could see huge jaguars stalking around the stage. Were these the “living hurricanes”? Their eyes were nothing more than points of light, and their long teeth were as bright as polished knives.
“I could take them,” said Brynne, her wind-mace choker glowing.
“But the rest of us can’t,” said Mini sullenly. “And that’s not to mention who or whatever else around here might attack us if we try to make a run for the portal. Which means we’ve got to get through the audition round and onto that stage.”
“Rudy Rocks, Rudy Rocks, Rudy Rocks,” chanted Rudy happily until he caught Mini’s glare. “Rudy Rocks…but for the common good?”
Mini did not look amused.
“Except we don’t have any musical talent,” said Aru.
“Yet,” said Aiden, but he muttered it mostly to himself, his fingers tapping nervously against the strap of his backpack.
Brynne looked highly affronted. “I play the harp.”
True, thought Aru.But not well!
She did not express that thought telepathically, but Brynne scowled at her anyway.
“I tried violin once,” said Mini, frowning. “It gave me a nosebleed.”
Aru was on the verge of asking how in the world that was even possible when she heard a commotion behind them. Three important-looking yakshas stalked past them, followed by an entourage of a dozen assorted Otherworld creatures.
“YOU’LL GET YOUR TURN! MAKE WAY!” shouted one of the entourage members. “JUDGES COMING THROUGH!”
