Nikita peered at her sharply.
“Look, the fact that no one can see what’s coming next isn’t necessarily bad,” said Aru. “It means the future can still be changed. We can still change it.”
Sheela tilted her head as if she were daydreaming about that idea.
“We may not understand it yet, but we’re also not done,” said Aru. “We have to focus on what we can do right now, which is getting the third part of the Sun Jewel. Lord Agni said himself that if we can prove we can get to the labyrinth on our own, there’s a good chance our weapons will come back.”
“A chance…” said Brynne darkly.
“It’s better than nothing,” said Aru.
Brynne looked at her for a long moment and then sighed. “Fine. I guess you’re right.”
“What was that?” asked Aru, cupping her ear. “I couldn’t hear you over the sound of your ego shattering….”
Brynne shoved her. Aru grinned.
Mini turned to the twins. “So, the third part of the jewel is with Jambavan,” she said. “What’d you guys find out? Who is he? Where does he live?”
Nikita snapped her fingers. The air shimmered as an image took shape of a huge bear with black fur and a spot of white on his chest. A constellation encircled the head of Jambavan, the bear king.
Aru remembered him as part of the Council of Guardians. He’d been there when she and Mini were put on trial for supposedly stealing Kamadeva’s bow and arrow. Aru wasn’t sure she’d ever heard the bear king speak. And she’d never seen him anywhere else in the Otherworld.
“He’s really reclusive,” said Nikita. “That crown is excellent, though. I wonder where he got it from….”
Brynne studied the image of King Jambavan. “Gunky and Funky used to tell me stories about him. They called him the Hero-Maker. Supposedly, defeating him in combat is the mark of a great warrior, or something like that.”
“You love combat!” said Sheela before pausing thoughtfully. “And cake. That one dream with the tiramisu locked in mortal combat with a stack of macaroons was…”
“Both disturbing and delicious?” suggested Aru.
“Yeah!” said Sheela.
But Brynne didn’t smile.
“Maybe we don’t have to fight him at all,” said Mini soothingly. “If he’s part of the Council, can’t Hanuman and Urvashi get the Sun Jewel piece from him?”
Nikita shook her head. “Hanuman and Urvashi have been out of touch throughout their whole mission.”
“Do we at least know where his house is?” asked Aru.
“Everyone knows where he lives,” said Nikita. She dragged her hand through the air, and the image displayed a cold, craggy chunk of land surrounded by snowcapped trees. Aru could almost feel the freezing wind of that place reaching out to touch her.
“Whoa,” said Mini. “Where is that?”
“Literally the end of the world,” said Nikita.
“King Jambavan does not want to be disturbed,” said Sheela.
“Do we know if he’s, um, dangerous or anything?” asked Mini, nervous.
“This place looks just like Ahch-To!” said Aru excitedly.
“Bless you?” said Sheela.
“Oh, not again,” said Brynne.
“Ahch-To, from The Last Jedi!” repeated Aru. “You know, the place where Luke Skywalker is hiding out when Rey goes to find him? The place with the porgs! What if King Jambavan is just like Luke? Kinda gruff and reclusive, plagued with secret guilt…just waiting for heroes like us to come along and save the world.”
Brynne rolled her eyes. “You watch too many movies, Shah.”
Aru ignored her and reached up to touch her hair, which she normally kept in a loose braid. “Maybe I could—”
“I’m telling you this now, out of love. You cannot pull off Rey’s hairstyle,” said Nikita. “One, you don’t have the forehead for it. And two, you will look like a hedgehog that got into a fight with a lawnmower.”
Aru scowled and tossed her braid over her shoulder.
“Rudy said he can get you guys to the outskirts of Jambavan’s home,” said Nikita.
“How?” asked Mini.
“Something about an elevator bank?” said Nikita.
Aru shuddered. She was in no rush to go back to that eerie place in Rudy’s kingdom.
“We asked him when we stopped by in his dream,” said Sheela.
“I needed his address so I could send over a cold-weather wardrobe,” added Nikita.
“I like Rudy’s dreams,” said Sheela, clapping her hands. “They’re so loud and fun!”
“And full of mirrors so he can look at himself,” grumbled Nikita.
“Aiden’s dreams are a lot sadder…” said Sheela. “We tried to talk to him, but he got mad when he saw us. He was in the museum. Actually, you were there, too, Aru….”
“What?” asked Aru.
Nikita shushed her twin. “Astral projecting is serious stuff. We’re not supposed to share what we see.”
“But you just shared the thing about Rudy and the mirrors!” said Aru.
“That was different,” said Nikita primly.
For some reason, Brynne now looked very guilty. That was weird. Aru made a note to ask her about it later.
“Time to go,” said Nikita, glancing up. A thunderstorm was coming. Lightning flashed across the sky.
Sheela shivered, her blue eyes flashing icily the way they always did when she caught a vision. “I see such sorrow and such cold. I see what greatness weakness holds.”
“Rise and shine, your hero has arrived!” announced Rudy.
Aru blinked and found herself staring into the eyes of Rudy’s favorite mortal celebrity: Dwayne Johnson, aka the Rock. Dozens of posters of him lined the walls of Rudy’s private living room. Everywhere Aru looked, she was met with either a fierce or a smiling image of the celebrity fixing the room with an eyebrow so arched that, according to Rudy, it deserved to be a national monument.
“He’s the best,” Rudy had once explained during one of the Potatoes’ epic movie nights. “I mean, the guy used to be a rock. And then someone with special powers came along and was so impressed with how cool he looked as a rock that he turned him into a human rock!”
Everyone had stared at Rudy. Eventually, Aiden had said, “Dude, that is not why he’s called that.” But Rudy had refused to listen.
Aru sat up on the couch. Mini, Brynne, and Aiden were gone. Rudy tossed her a parcel. Only now did she notice that he was dressed in a tie-dyed faux-fur getup. With velour. It was so transcendently awful that it looked almost…cool?
“Nikita sent over a cold-weather wardrobe a couple of hours ago,” said Rudy. He did a little spin. “Mine is obviously befitting of my new status as savior of worlds, et cetera, et cetera, you’re welcome. Now I’m kinda mad my family isn’t home and I can’t tell them about it, but these are the sacrifices that a real hero—like myself—makes.”
Rudy beamed, and Aru cracked a smile. “Thanks, Rudy. You did save us.”
“I know,” said Rudy, lifting his chin. “Everybody else came to before you did, so get dressed! We’re leaving in ten.”