Aru Shah and the Soul Trident

Don't Choke on the Key!

A/N: THANK YOU FOR THE 10K VIEWS!!!! Also, sorry for the late update (I've been pretty busy lately), but enjoy the chapter!

Turns out, Brynne could not handle it. Aru watched her sister grunt and push the door until her face turned beet red. But it was in vain.

"Ugh," panted Brynne as she slid down to the ground after a couple minutes. "Never mind."

Mini shook her head and rummaged through her backpack to produce a bottle of water, which she handed to Brynne. As Brynne guzzled down the liquid, Mini took a closer look at the door. She traced her finger over the tiny cracks on the stone.

"Hey," she said all of a sudden. "What's this?"

"What?" Aru glanced over Mini's shoulder and frowned. "What is it?"

"These are...markings," her sister murmured. She pushed her glasses up. "Actually, I think it's in Sanskrit."

Rudy sighed. "Aw. But I totally bombed my Sanskrit exam a couple months ago." He turned to Mini, raising an eyebrow. "But I bet you can read it, right?"

Mini seemed to blush a light shade of red. "Y-yeah. I can."

Aru and Brynne exchanged looks with each other, smirking at their sister.

Sooo, said Brynne through the mind-link. I guess Aru and Aiden aren't the only ones making more progress?

Stop that! Mini shot back, avoiding their gaze.

Aru snickered. Looks like Rudy is finally gaining some brain cells.

Mini pretended to not hear them, and focused on the Sanskrit engravings on the door instead. "I need something to write this down with," she mumbled. "I usually pack a notepad...but I was rushed. Anyone have a piece of paper or something? Oh, and something to write with."

Aiden immediately shuffled through his satchel, and triumphantly held up a pad of paper and a pen.

Brynne shook her head. "Classic Aiden."

It took a couple minutes, but Mini finally finished deciphering the text. "Okay," she said uncertainly. "I think I've got it...but..."

"But what?" asked Aru.

"It doesn't really make sense."

"Read it out," suggested Aiden.

"It just says something like, 'Consume the key and surrender thyself'," said Mini, frowning.

"I swallowed a key once when I was younger," murmured Aru. "Mom had to take me to the ER, apparently."

Her friends looked at her weirdly.

"A key?" asked Aiden faintly. "It's honestly a miracle how you haven't accidentally killed yourself till now."

Aru smirked and shrugged. "What can I say- it's a talent, Wifey."

Brynne sighed, shaking her head. "We can discuss all the stupid things Aru does later-"

"Hey!"

"-but right now, we have to figure this out? Do we have to choke on something to get the door to open?"

"And what key?" added Rudy. "I don't see any keys."

"Palace?" asked Mini, glancing up.

The ceiling heaved and sunk, as if it were shrugging. "I wasn't entrusted with any of the sort, I'm afraid."

"Maybe it's somewhere here," suggested Aiden, squatting down to take a closer look at the floor. He lifted one to check, but all he found were a couple of insects. He set it back down, clearly disappointed.