“Take those stairs up to the platform right beside the elephants’ knees, and the Sun Jewel will lead you to the door, which shall take you to the labyrinth,” said Jambavan.
Aru stared at him. “Elephants?”
“Why of course, child!” said Jambavan. “What else did you think those were?”
He pointed to the huge gray pillars, then looked back at Potatoes. When Jambavan saw their expressions, he slowly zoomed out…and out…and out…past the silver mist on the crescent of land, past the white staircase winding through the dark space, past the cloud bank that had cut off the tops of the surprise,-it’s-actually-an-animal! pillars until Aru found herself staring at outer space. Frosty planets and distant stars moved in a slow cosmic dance. Rivers of dust and light wound through the dark, linking it all together. In a way, it was too vast to comprehend, but one thing was certain….
All of it was balancing on the backs of four gigantic elephants, each of whom faced one of the four cardinal directions. Aru couldn’t imagine what would happen if one of them sneezed. Or, heavens forbid, caught a sudden, uncontrollable case of the itchies.
“Right beside their knees is a platform with revolving doors that will take you anywhere you need to go,” said Jambavan. “Just…be careful when you’re near them. The doors can be, well…” He paused, thoughtfully scratching his muzzle.
“Kinda hard to open?” suggested Aru.
She knew firsthand how some doors went out of their way to mock you. After all, Aru had lost many minutes of her existence pushing on doors that were clearly marked PULL. She did not like to talk about this.
“No,” said Jambavan, lowering his paw and not meeting their eyes. “The doors can get…hungry.”
Rudy’s eyes went wide. “Say what now?”
“The doors go everywhere, into any time,” explained Jambavan. “They are sustained by the daydreams and nightmares of humanity. The doors rarely meet individuals in the flesh. Whatever thoughts you have will, I imagine, deeply intrigue them.”
“Naturally,” said Rudy, puffing out his chest.
Aiden sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe we’re related.”
“So what do we do when we get there?” asked Mini.
Jambavan nodded to the lantern beside Brynne, which held the Sun Jewel’s three fragments. Its brightness was now a pleasant glow, as if it were sleeping. “Now that the three pieces have been reunited, the gem will act as a compass and guide you to the correct door. But you must move quickly. Try to focus on only one thing, so as not to draw the doors’ attention. When the correct one appears, open it, and go through.”
That sounded easy enough, thought Aru, relaxing. All they had to do was follow the Sun Jewel. It was bright enough, so at least that wouldn’t be a problem.
“One last thing,” said Jambavan. “Whatever you do, don’t touch the elephants’ legs. They’ll panic.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” said Brynne, patting the lantern.
Just then, wind began to howl through the arches of Jambavan’s cave. The shrill, swooping sound raised goose bumps on Aru’s arms.
It sounded like someone shrieking.
The wind may have been howling, the clock may have been ticking down, and the Potatoes may have been growing more anxious about catching up with the Sleeper, but at least they had the Sun Jewel.
“How much do you think this thing is worth?” asked Brynne, weighing the lantern.
“I dunno,” said Mini. “But you could probably feed a whole country with it.”
“Or buy a country,” said Brynne. “Or, like, several private islands.”
“I vote for that last one,” said Aru, pointing at her.
Mini sighed, sharing an aggrieved why-are-they-like-this look with Aiden. He only laughed, while Rudy mused about the cost of various objects in the human world that had caught his attention.
“I bet you could buy at least five thumbtacks with the Syamantaka Gem,” he said as they prepared to leave Jambavan’s kingdom. “Or a whole case of paper clips…”
Rudy was under the impression that thumbtacks were the most advanced weapons humanity had to offer. Nobody had bothered to tell him otherwise. As for paper clips, he just liked putting them on the tips of his fingers and pretending they were claws.
“Are you ready?” asked Jambavan with a determined look on his face. “I’ll accompany you to the staircase, but then I must turn back.”
Earlier he had gone outside to clear a pathway to the stairs leading to the World Elephants. Snow still dusted his long muzzle and the thick black fur on his shoulders. The old bear king seemed rather sad to see them go. Since the battle with Brynne, there was more sparkle in his eyes and he stood a little straighter.
The Potatoes looked at one another, something unspoken passing between them. As of now, there were four days left until the entrance to the labyrinth closed for good. Four days in which Aru hoped to win back her celestial weapon the way Brynne had.
Even now, Gogo glowed on Brynne’s neck. A steadiness had taken over her sister, and Aru felt even more weird and off-balance. She tried to shrug it off, but the feeling clung.
“We’re ready,” said Aru.
Jambavan nodded toward the door. A stray winter wind had followed him inside, and even though Nikita’s jacket kept her warm, Aru felt a chill creeping past her coat.
The moment they set foot outside Jambavan’s palace, Aru kept her eyes focused on the lantern. Since Brynne was the only one who had her celestial weapon back, the Potatoes had decided that she should be at the front of the line with Jambavan. Behind her was Aiden with his two scimitars sticking halfway out of his sleeves. Rudy followed him, holding an enchanted rock to create a sound barrier and keep them from getting distracted. Next came Mini, then Aru.
Aru tried to think of nothing but the light on the snow as they trekked through the sparse trees and damp ground for what felt like eons. Finally, they came to a stop.
“Take a final look, children,” said Jambavan.
Aru lifted her head. They were standing at the base of a huge staircase carved out of white stone. The steps were at least twenty feet wide and they wound up so high into the sky that they disappeared into a layer of clouds. Beneath the glowing staircase was nothing but space…and the single leg of a massive elephant whose gray hide was crisscrossed with old scars. The rest of its body was too large to comprehend from where they stood.
“Go now,” said Jambavan. “Be careful of what will greet you on the other side, for as I said, there are many amongst us who simply wish for the world to begin anew.”
Brynne nodded, then took the first step. Aiden, Rudy, and Mini followed, each of them bowing their heads and pressing their hands together as they walked past Jambavan. When it was Aru’s turn, Jambavan held out his paw.
“This is for you, daughter of Indra,” said Jambavan. In the middle of his palm was the tip of a sharp black claw, roughly the size of a pencil. Aru took it gently. It was lighter than she thought it would be, as if it were hollow.
“What’s it for?” she asked hopefully. Maybe it was a cool weapon she could use and then not feel quite so useless.