Mini harrumphed. “Well, I’m not going to exist on demon standby. I, and by that I mean we—”
Aru grumbled. The whole Mini-stepping-into-her-power thing had come with some bad consequences. Mainly that the rest of them kept getting dragged in the wake of her ambition.
“—are going to contribute to society! We’re going to go to school! And we’re going to worry about our GPAs! And get a mortgage!” said Mini, clapping her hands with a savage glee. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”
“No,” said Aru.
“What Aru said,” Brynne called from the kitchen.
“Ooh, what’s a mortgage?” piped up Rudy.
Rudy was sitting next to Mini at the table, a pair of headphones dangling from his neck and a sheet of music composing paper in front of him. Aru still wasn’t sure why Rudy insisted on joining their study sessions. They already saw him on the weekends during Otherworld training, and his underwater palace had become the go-to choice for movie nights. Rudy’s parents were even considering letting him try a year of “human school.” With Aiden.
Rudy was excited.
Aiden was not.
“A mortgage is how people pay off their houses,” said Mini.
Rudy frowned. “For fun?”
“No,” said Mini gently. “Houses are expensive, Rudy.”
Rudy blinked. He did not seem to understand this word.
“If you want a house, I can build you a palace!”
“No.”
“It’ll have gold everywhere!”
“No, Rudy, that’s not what I meant,” said Mini, sighing.
Over the past few months, Mini and Rudy’s relationship hadn’t really evolved. Aru and Brynne had, of course, asked Mini about it, and she had responded with a vague I don’t know yet. Her uncertainty hadn’t deterred Rudy, who, for the most part, addressed Mini as my dark, benevolent queen.
He’s a bit of a dork, Mini often said, smiling.
Now Rudy continued, “Or maybe a bunch of palaces that spell out your name…”
Mini gave up, putting her head in her hands.
Behind Aru, she heard the sudden whir and click! of a familiar camera. She turned around and immediately felt the sensation of butterfly wings in her stomach. Normally, she would consider that disgusting. Butterflies were pretty and all, BUT WHY DID THEIR TONGUES CURL LIKE THAT? And how come they tasted with THEIR FEET? None of that was okay!
But what was infinitely more than okay was the person standing in the doorway. Aiden. He grinned at Aru and lowered Shadowfax. Baby Boo was perched on his shoulder.
Cheep! the firebird said.
Which they had recently decoded as COOKIES. I WANT. GIVE?
“Where’ve you been, Wifey?” Aru asked.
He rolled his eyes at the nickname before plopping into the seat beside her. Her chair was a little farther away than Aiden seemed to like, because he reached out and dragged it closer to his, which made Aru’s face burn.
“I was visiting my nani,” he said. “She says hello. She also gave me a letter.” Aiden held it out to Aru. “C’mon, I know you’re curious.”
Aru took the envelope from him. It was cream-colored and addressed as follows:
TO THE PANDAVA SISTERS,
WHO OWE ME A DEBT
Aru frowned. “Mini? Brynne? I think you should come read this.” She looked around the room. “Where are the twins?”
“Gunky and Funky took them to get ice cream,” said Rudy.
“There’s no way I’m coming out there to watch you guys make eyes at each other for five minutes straight!” shouted Brynne from the kitchen.
“We don’t do that!” said Aru.
You do, said Mini through their mind link.
Aiden pretended to be very preoccupied with Shadowfax.
It seemed silly to call Aiden her boyfriend when he’d started off as Wifey, so Aru had stuck with the latter. Her mom had laughed her head off at the notion of Aru and Aiden “going out.”
“Going out where?” Krithika asked with a cackle. “With whose money? You’re too young to have a boyfriend.”
Aru had glared and crossed her arms. “But not too young to be reincarnated? Or to fight a battle? Or literally enter this existence with someone who, thousands of years ago, was my actual wife?”
Krithika scowled.
“What?” said Aru, feigning innocence. “You said we should be more honest with each other. I’m telling nothing but the truth.”
“It’s a little too much truth for ten a.m.,” her mother had responded.
They had settled on a truce—supervised interaction. As in, no door closed at any time, absolutely no being “alone alone,” but most importantly…
“Just talk to me,” her mother had said. “Don’t hide things.”
Aru had smiled. “I won’t.”
She and her mom were getting pretty good at that. Maybe a little too good, considering the conversations her mother had been trying to have with her lately.
Aru opened the envelope. As she read the letter, she started to laugh. Brynne stomped out of the kitchen and grabbed the note from her. Mini hopped out of her chair, abandoning her standardized test practice session to read over Brynne’s shoulder.
I have come to collect my debt.
Did you think I would forget?
The time is now, the debt is called!
Ignore me and I will be appalled….
–V
* * *
A few hours later, the Potatoes exited the nearest portal and entered a dark forest. It was instantly familiar to Aru, even though she’d only been there once, years ago. She waited by the trunk of an oak tree until she caught sight of a line of ants.
This way, they seemed to say.
They followed the ants deep into the trees, where the great poet Valmiki was waiting for them. He looked just like he had when Aru and Mini first met him and ended up granting him the right to tell their story. Valmiki glared as they came into sight. He adjusted the huge scarf around his neck and lowered his reading glasses.
“First things first,” said Aru, lifting her hand. “I cannot speak to you in iambic pentameter. I’m in high school. And I’m in Otherworld training. So, I’ve got, like, three brain cells left, and it would take at least four for me to come up with rhymes.”
Brynne snorted. “I think you’re being generous about the three, Shah.”
Mini mumbled about the anatomical absurdity of Aru’s statement. “You’re literally born with billions of brain cells, and they’re all linked through millions of synapses—”
Valmiki sighed. “Fine, fine. Tell me your tale! I was always curious about whether good or evil would prevail….Do be mindful of the plot! Otherwise the entire story shall be shot!”
Aru eased herself onto the ground and stretched her neck from side to side. “All right, I’ll start,” she said, in her most dramatic voice. “It was a dark and stormy night—”
Mini frowned. “Wasn’t it four p.m. on a Monday?”
“And you were still in your Spider-Man pajamas?” added Brynne, laughing.
“I hope you don’t have those anymore,” said Nikita. “That’s horrific.”
“I want Spider-Man pajamas,” said Sheela, pouting.