he bull-headed rakshasa advanced on them.

“That prophecy belongs to the glorious vision of the Sleeper,” he growled. “Deliver the clairvoyant to me, and I might spare your young lives.”

“Might?” repeated Aru. “Not exactly a bargain.”

The rakshasa laughed. “Little girl, your luck has run out. Give her to me.”

Aru’s gaze darted to the lightning bolt, now in the form of a sparkling bracelet. If she could just get the demon into the right position…

Aru was distracted by a moan from Sheela, who was clutching her stomach. Her ice-blue eyes began to glow. “Nikita! It’s coming soon!”

Nikita grabbed her sister. “Are you sure?”

Sheela began to tremble. “Y-yes—”

“Hold it in,” pleaded her twin.

The rakshasa gave a ghastly smile. “Speak, clairvoyant. What do you see?”

Panic shot through Aru. No, no, no! she thought. No one was supposed to hear it but them.

“Don’t tell him!” Aru yelled.

Brynne’s voice called out over the Pandava mind link: BRACE YOURSELVES!

Mini dropped into a crouch. “Hold on!” she shouted to the twins.

With a flick of her wrist, Nikita created a protective screen of black vines over the open door.

Aru’s jaw nearly dropped. What the—?

“Aru!” yelled Mini.

A powerful gust of wind flattened Aru to the outside of the compartment. She grabbed hold of the nearest vine and gripped it hard. Out the corner of her eye, she caught the glimmer of traffic hundreds of feet beneath her and her stomach swooped. Mini, holding tight to a metal support beam, changed Dee Dee from a compact to a stick. Violet light erupted from the tip, ready to make a shield to protect them, but the rakshasa was now nowhere to be seen.

The wind subsided, and Brynne’s voice sounded in Aru’s head: Did I knock him off?

I’M the one who almost got knocked off! replied Aru.

I said brace yourself!

Well, I was NOT braced!

A low, menacing growl filled the air, and the hair on Aru’s neck prickled. On the spoke she and Mini were standing on, Aru saw a series of dents appear, as if left behind by very strong invisible fingertips.

The rakshasa materialized once more, one hand clutching the bridge as his body dangled in the air beneath them. “You will regret that.”

He flung out his other hand, and an S-shaped piece of onyx came hurtling toward Aru. The weapon writhed as it flew, emitting shadows that obscured her vision. Mini swung Dee Dee over her head, and a ray of violet light cut through the blackness. As the glow washed over them, Aru caught sight of something else—tendrils of shadow. One wrapped itself around Mini’s ankle while another slipped under her sneakers, trying to dislodge her shoe suckers.

“Mini, watch out!” screamed Aru.

Aru reached for Vajra, but she was too late. One moment, Mini held Dee Dee. The next, her arms pinwheeled as she fell backward, screaming.

Without hesitating, Aru dove off the metal beam she’d been standing on, cold air rushing into her lungs as she fought to breathe.

Above her, she heard the rakshasa laughing. “Good-bye, Pandavas!”

You just jumped off a Ferris wheel! screamed Aru’s brain. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!

Aru squeezed her eyes shut, then clenched her hand into a fist. “Vajra!” she called out.

Heat clambered up her arm as Vajra activated and leaped off her wrist, transforming into a crackling hoverboard made of lightning. Electricity snapped in the air as Vajra zoomed beneath her and Aru’s feet touched down on it. She opened her eyes, and together, she and Vajra accelerated through the evening sky.

Mini spun fifteen feet below them, caught in a vicious downward spiral. Her panicked thoughts blared through the mind link.

I’M SORRY I DIDN’T FLOSS MY TEETH YESTERDAY. I PROMISE I’LL NEVER FORGET AGAIN! AND I’LL EAT ALL THE VEGETABLES ON MY PLATE! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE—

Look up! Aru called through their mind link.

Aru stretched out her hand, trying to grab hold of Mini’s outstretched fingers, but her sister kept pinwheeling just out of her grasp. With every second that passed, the ground surged closer to meet them. The streetlights came into focus, as well as the red taillights blinking down the highway.

With one last burst of speed, Aru tilted Vajra forward, slicing through the air until the girls caught each other. Mini hugged Aru fiercely as the Vajra hoverboard shot back up toward the Ferris wheel.

“What’re we going to do?” asked Mini. “You heard her! The clairvoyant can’t hold in the prophecy much longer, and the whole mission will be ruined! The Council will—”

A panicked gasp choked off the rest of her words. Aru followed Mini’s horrified gaze up to the rakshasa. He twisted his hand, and a giant sword manifested in the air. He grabbed it and started hacking away at Nikita’s vines. The moment the rakshasa captured Sheela, the Otherworld would be doomed. And Aru refused to let that happen.

Time seemed to slow. Her senses turned diamond-sharp. She could feel the cold light of distant stars, hear the crunch as the rakshasa’s sword hit metal—even smell the tinny residue in the air from the thunderstorm hours ago.

“I’ve got a plan,” she said, thinking of Mini’s illusion abilities. “Mini, can you make the clairvoyant’s booth look like all the others?”

Mini’s hand tightened on her shoulder. Through the mind link, Aru sent a message to Brynne: We’re going to need one more powerful gust.

Aru felt a gleeful answering tremor from Brynne. Done and done.

A flash of blue came from far below. At the same time, Aru heard Mini whisper the command “Hide” as a violet shimmer burst in the air like colored sugar crystals. The twins’ battered compartment blinked back into view as the Ferris wheel began to turn—slowly, then fast and ever faster until its lights blurred. Even Aru couldn’t tell anymore which booth held the twins. The rakshasa’s grip loosened and he tumbled, his bull head knocking against the metal spokes as he dropped from one rung to the next.

“Hold tight!” Aru said to Mini.

She urged Vajra through the sky, and the lightning board took a sharp dip, careening toward the earth. Aru and Mini jumped off the hoverboard, and Brynne and Aiden raced to meet them. Brynne twirled her mace like a baton, and the Ferris wheel screeched to a halt.

The rakshasa had hit the ground near a compartment and was sitting up, shaking his head. “Feeble effort,” he growled, slowly rising. “I know they’re here, and you’re too late.”

Aiden brandished one of his scimitars, but Brynne held back her friend. The demon hobbled over to the booth, and when he reached it, Aru shifted Vajra into a spear and pointed it.

She waited for Mini’s quick go-ahead nod, then took a deep breath, aimed, and let loose. Electricity rippled around the door just as the rakshasa grabbed the metal handle. He howled as a surge of lightning shot through his arm, sending him crumpling to his knees. Vajra rebounded into Aru’s outstretched hand. Instantly, Aiden, Brynne, and Mini had their weapons pointed at the demon.

The rakshasa raised his head, clutching one arm to his chest. Behind him, the compartment was smoking and the door had been blown off, revealing nothing inside.

“What did you do to the seer?” he screeched as he struggled to his feet. “I need that prophecy!”

Once again he wielded his S-shaped stone, but Aru was quick. Her lightning bolt erupted into a crackling net and sprang toward the demon, covering him completely. The rakshasa tried to pull out his sword, but the net held him fast.

“Too bad you can’t find your way,” said Mini, spinning Dee Dee so that a shimmering illusion wrapped around the rakshasa.

“Too bad about that freak wind,” said Brynne, waving her mace so a cold gust blew against him.

Aiden leaped forward and tossed a glowing scimitar across the cement. “Too bad about that fall,” he said, grinning.

The blade tripped the rakshasa. He let out a terrifying roar right before he knocked his head on a telephone pole and promptly passed out.

Aiden, Brynne, and Mini dropped their weapons and surrounded their unconscious foe. Vajra the net gave the demon one last squeeze before boomeranging back to Aru’s wrist as a bracelet.

“That. Was. Amazing,” said Mini.

“Correction,” said Brynne, pocketing her mace. “We are amazing.” She nodded toward three other rakshasas that she and Aiden had knocked out and dragged to the side of the road.

“That too,” said Aru.

“Aren’t we forgetting someone important…?” said Aiden. “The clairvoyant? The ginormous prophecy?”

Mini pointed to a booth three spots up from the sizzling ground-level compartment. Brynne summoned a new wind that turned the Ferris wheel gently. Once it stopped, Mini waved Dee Dee and the air in front of one booth rippled and twisted, as if someone were tearing down a curtain to reveal a compartment wrapped in black vines. From within, a green light pulsed faintly.

“You guys can come out now,” called Aru.

The light cut off abruptly, and the vines started to retract with a wet, suctiony sound, like tentacles letting go. Aru lifted her chin proudly. They’d done it. They’d rescued the twins and beaten back the rakshasas and kept the prophecy out of the Sleeper’s clutches. Aru grinned, thinking of how the Council would react once they got back.

Two days before the assignment, Aru had overheard Boo loudly defending them: The Pandavas are ready for anything! I’d stake my feathers on it!

Don’t worry, Boo, Aru thought now. Your feathers are safe and sound.

And when Aru caught sight of herself in a rain puddle, she thought her hair looked pretty good. So that was a plus.

Aiden moved beside her. As usual, he was reaching for his camera, Shadowfax. But this time…this time he was aiming it at…her? Aru felt like a bunch of hot needles were drifting down her skin—which sounded awful, but in reality was strangely pleasant. She tucked her hair behind her ear, adjusting her posture so that Vajra got a bit more of the spotlight, and moved in front of him.

Aiden looked up at her. “Aru?”

She ignored him.

Indifference, the apsara Urvashi had told her, was the key to success in all things boy.

“Aru,” said Aiden once more.

“Hmm?” she said.

“Could you move? You’re blocking my shot of the Ferris wheel.”

Aru deflated instantly. Just as she slunk back, the compartment door swung open. Nikita, the stylishly dressed twin, took a dainty step forward. Sheela staggered out next, her face pale and sweaty.

“Careful, careful,” said Mini. “There was a lot of swinging around…. You might feel dizzy. Or even nauseous.”

Mini offered Sheela a hand, only for Nikita to step in front of her sister, swatting Mini away like a fly.

“No touchie,” Nikita snapped.

Brynne’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Uh, excuse you? Where’s the thanks?”

Sheela groaned and clutched her stomach, swaying to a stop in front of Brynne.

“The prophecy!” said Brynne. “Is it coming now?”

“Uh, Bee, you might wanna—” started Aiden.

BLERGH! Sheela vommed all over Brynne’s shoes.

Aru winced. “Aaand…too late.”

Aiden snapped a picture. Brynne looked like she was going to toss the Ferris wheel into oncoming traffic.

“I cannot believe you just did that,” Brynne said to Sheela. “Don’t you know who we are?”

“Pandavas,” said Nikita. The little girl lifted her chin and grabbed her sister’s shaking hand. “And so are we.”