Aru Shah 3.5 (DISCONTINUED)

The Word Aru Spoke

MINI'S POV

Mini screamed as she saw Aru vanish, fading into smoke with the Sleeper. Half-blinded by tears and fear and rage, she brandished Dee Dee and swept it in a wide arc, batting aside the color-splattered army with angry violet force fields. With newfound strength, she struck and didn't stop until a wide circle of the monsters lay incapacitated around her. Her friends also attacked with newfound fury.

Shaking, she sprinted to the spot Aru had vanished and tapped into the Pandava mind link. Aru? ARU!

All that met her thoughts was a horrible silence and a slight buzzing like static. She fell to her knees in the grass, clutching Dee Dee like it was keeping her tethered to the earth. Dimly she realized that she was going into shock.

Brynne shook her shoulder. "Mini. Mini. Stay with me." Tears streaked Brynne's own face, and there was no sign of her usual ferocity. Her soul sister hugged her close. "Breathe. It's for Aru. It's for Aru." Mini took great gulps of air. Finally, she calmed down enough to look up.

Aiden had retrieved his other scimitar and was trying to tend to his sprained ankle, a look of mingled pain and anger on his face. Rudy had morphed back into his human form and leaned against a tree, looking unusually somber. Nikita was propped up against a fallen log, looking slightly dazed but conscious. Sheela kneeled next to her, a hand on her arm.

What would Aru do? Mini thought. She squeezed Brynne's hand and tried to strengthen her voice. "We should check on the others."

Brynne nodded and helped her up. They walked in silence to Aiden, who muttered in frustration when the elastic bandage unfurled and slid to his heel. Brynne helped him wrap it around his ankle.

"Thanks." He took three protein bars out of his satchel and looked at Mini and Brynne.

"I'm not hungry," Brynne said, her voice tight.

Mini blinked in surprise. Brynne was always hungry.

Aiden didn't look offended. "You need to keep up your strength."

As if to prove his point, Mini's stomach rumbled. She accepted the protein bar and took a bite. It tasted like cardboard but she forced herself to swallow. "We--we need to leave," she said, hating the way it sounded. But she was certain that Aru wasn't here. There was nothing to be gained by staying here. And besides, the vivid fruits of the painted tree mocked Mini with their cheerful color and scents. She suddenly couldn't stand the place. She averted her eyes just as a brilliantly purple portal appeared. It grew to the size of a small elephant. Mini and Brynne helped Aiden up and Nikita limped over, leaning on her twin. "We can't go yet," she said.

Brynne's voice was gentle. "We have to."

"We're leaving Aru!" Nikita's voice rose. "We're abandoning her!"

"Enough." Mini stepped between the two of them. "We are not abandoning Aru. She's been--" she nearly choked on the next word, "--kidnapped. We can't find her when we don't know where she is. But when we do we are going to rescue her. And we will never be separated again."

The words seemed to strike a chord in Nikita. She lowered her head. Suddenly she looked much younger than her age of ten years. "Where are we going?"

Aiden looked at the portal, his mouth flattening into a grim expression. "The Council."