Have you ever read a book and thought,Wow, I wish Id written that!
But this is not a book I could have written.
EW can also exclusively reveal the books official cover, as well as an excerpt.
Rick Riordan Presents
The chapter below makes good on precisely what Riordan teases in the foreword.
Read on to see whats in store inAru Shah and the End of Time.
That would be against the rules.
Rick Riordan Presents
The rules she went over every Saturday, when she led the afternoon visitors tour.
It felt like a ceremony.
She would don her crisp scarlet vest with its three honeybee buttons.
She would imitate her mothers museum-curator voice, and people this was the best part of all wouldlisten.
Their eyes never left her face.
Especially when she talked about the cursed lamp.
Sometimes she thought it was the most fascinating thing she ever discussed.
A cursed lamp is a much more interesting topic than, say, a visit to the dentist.
Although one could argue that both are cursed.
Aru had lived at the museum for so long, it kept no secrets from her.
She had grown up reading and doing her homework beneath the giant stone elephant at the entrance.
Aru knew everything about everything in the museum.
For the most part, it remained a mystery.
We call it adiya.
Aru remembered pressing her nose against the glass case, staring at the lump of clay.
As far as cursed objects went, this was by far the most boring.
It was shaped like a pinched hockey puck.
Small markings, like bite marks, crimped the edges.
Why cant we light it?
she had asked her mother.
Her mother hadnt met her gaze.
Sometimes light illuminates things that are better left in the dark.
Besides, you never know who is watching.
Well, Aru had watched.
Shed been watching her entire life.
It was the museums most popular exhibit, filled with a hundred statues of various Hindu gods.
Her mother had lined the walls with tall mirrors so visitors could see the artifacts from all angles.
As if the statues were wearing crowns of light.
She would stand there for minutes, waiting for something .
And every day she was disappointed.
Do something, she whispered to the god statues.
It was a Monday morning, and she was still in her pajamas.
Youve got plenty of time to do something awesome, because Im on autumn break.
The statues did nothing.
Aru shrugged and looked out the window.
The trees of Atlanta, Georgia, hadnt yet realized it was October.
As Aru had expected, the day was on its way to being uneventful.
That should have been her first warning.
The world has a tendency to trick people.
Dont say anything if you’re free to take me to the movies.
Her mom laughed gracefully into the phone.
Why couldntshelaugh like that?
When Aru laughed, she sounded like she was choking on air.
Dont say anything if we can get a dog.
We can name him Beowoof!
Now her mother was nodding with her eyes closed, which meant that she wassincerelypaying attention.
Just not to Aru.
Dont say anything if I
Breeeeep!Breeeeep!Breeeeep!
Her mother lifted a delicate eyebrow and stared at Aru.You know what to do.
Aru did know what to do.
She just didnt want to do it.
She rolled off the couch and Spider-Mancrawled across the floor in one last bid to get her mothers attention.
This was a difficult feat considering that the floor was littered with books and half-empty chai mugs.
She looked back to see her mom jotting something on a notepad.
Slouching, Aru opened the door and headed to the stairs.
Monday afternoons at the museum were quiet.
Any other day except Sunday, when the museum was closed Aru would help hand out visitor stickers.
She would direct people to the various exhibits and point out where the bathrooms were.
On Mondays she had come to expect occasional visitors seeking temporary shelter from bad weather.
Or sometimes just the FedEx man needing a signature for a package.
Aru experienced one of those elevator-stopping-too-fast sensations.
A lowwhooshof panic hit her stomach as the three students stared down at her and her Spider-Man pajamas.
The first, Poppy Lopez, crossed her tan, freckled arms.
Her brown hair was pulled back in a ballerina bun.
The second, Burton Prater, held out his hand, where an ugly penny sat in his palm.
Already short and pale, Burtons striped black-and-yellow shirt made him look like an unfortunate bumblebee.
I knew it, said Poppy triumphantly.
You told everyone in math class that your mom was taking you to France for break.
Thats what mom had promised, Aru thought.
Last summer, Arus mother had curled up on the couch, exhausted from another trip overseas.
Well go to boulangeries and museums, sip coffee from tiny cups, and spend hours in the gardens.
With that promise in mind, Aru had cleaned her room and washed the dishes without complaint.
And at school, the promise had become her armor.
The promise of Paris had brought Aru one tiny step closer to belonging.
Now, Aru tried not to shrink under Poppys blue-eyed gaze.
My mom had a top secret mission with the museum.
She couldnt take me.
That was partly true.
Her mom never took her on work trips.
Burton threw down the green penny.
I gave you two bucks!
And you got avintagepenny started Aru.
Arielle cut her off.
We know youre lying, Aru Shah.
Thats what you are: aliar.
And when we go back to school, were going to tell everyone
Arus insides squished.
When shed started at Augustus Day School last month, shed been hopeful.
But that had been short-lived.
Unlike the other students, she didnt get driven to school in a sleek black car.
She didnt have a home offshore.
But what she did have was imagination.
Aru had been daydreaming her whole life.
So at Augustus Day School, whenever the other kids asked, Aru told tales.
Like the ones she told herself.
She talked about cities shed never visited and meals shed never eaten.
If that failed, shed just sniff and say, Trust me, you wouldnt recognize the brand.
And in this way, she had fit in.
For a while, the lies had worked.
Shed even been invited to spend a weekend at the lake with Poppy and Arielle.
But Aru had ruined everything the day she was caught sneaking from the car-pool line.
Arielle had asked which car was hers.
Aru pointed at one, and Arielles smile turned thin.
Because thats my drivers car.
Arielle was giving Aru that same sneer now.
You told us you have an elephant, said Poppy.
Aru pointed at the stone elephant behind her.
You said that you rescued it from India!
Aru saw the red light on Burtons phone: steady and unblinking.
He was recording her!
What if the video went online?
Or, to avoid the situation entirely…
She could show them something impossible.
The cursed lamp is real, she said.
I can prove it.
