Aru Shah: Different Perspectives

Aru Shah and the City of Gold: Chapters 42-43

A/N: This is the scene where Kara betrays them all, written from her perspective.

Kara started to scream.

Before she could finish, however, a hand clapped over her mouth and a familiar voice whispered, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Kara turned. Her father, Suyodhana, better known as the infamous Sleeper, smiled at her. It wasn't necessarily an evil smile, but it wasn't a nice one, either.

"What do you want?" Kara whispered, taking a step back. Glancing around the room, only then did she realize that all of her friends were . . . frozen.

Brynne's and Mini's eyes were unfocused, staring into space. Rudy was mid-scream, and Hira was behind Brynne, her eyes squeezed so tightly shut it looked painful. To both her dismay and relief, Kara didn't see Aru and Aiden. She felt a pang of jealousy directed toward her sister, though she tried to focus on what needed to be done.

"What do you want?" Kara repeated, more forcefully this time, as the ring on her hand glowed once. The beacon, which let her know when the Sleeper was around, along with her biological mother, then let out all the light it was holding and returned to a dull glow.

The Sleeper didn't respond. Kara wasn't surprised, but she was a little annoyed.

But she was really annoyed when he lunged forward and bound her wrists.

"Is this your idea of trying to convince me to help you?" Kara asked, furious. She didn't struggle, knowing there was no point.

Aru, where are you? Not for the first time, Kara wished she were a Pandava so that she could send her thoughts directly into her sister's brain using the Pandava mind link.

The Sleeper pulled Kara behind him, into a huge, murky sphere with shadows crawling across it like snakes.

A second later, on the other side of the sphere, Aru and Aiden rounded the corner.

Kara saw their expressions of shock and horror as they took in the wreckage. Aru's face looked as if someone had just killed her favorite stuffed animal, and Aiden . . . Aiden looked like Kara imagined he would if someone had destroyed his beloved camera, Shadowfax. He gasped.

"Happy birthday, Arundhati."

In front of Kara, the Sleeper stepped out of the sphere. He was suddenly draped in darkness, and made a gesture to the rubble of the museum lobby. He smiled at Aru, then glanced around at her frozen friends. "A powerful spell, I must admit–one I haven't used since our meeting three years ago. It's quite a draining endeavor, even though this version is a less powerful one. It will allow for exactly eleven minutes of stillness – more than enough time to convince you to let me back into your life."

"You made your choices," Aru said, her voice shaking. Even so, Kara was still a little jealous of her brave sister. She knew she could never defy their father like that. "And I've made mine. There's no way I'm joining you."

Aru started to raise Vajra, her lightning bolt, and Aiden clanged his scimitars together. Kara wanted to help them, but she was still stuck by the Sleeper's stupid bindings.

"Nuh-uh-uh," the Sleeper said. He wagged a finger at Aru. "I wouldn't do that." He stepped to the right and revealed Kara.

Kara met her sister's gaze, feeling her shoulders start to tremble. Aru looked stricken, and Kara felt a burst of gratitude towards her friend.