When Sunny got home, everything seemed normal. She kicked a soccer ball around with her brothers. She easily stole the ball and wove between them with her fast feet, and because they found this annoying, they talked rubbish about how she looked like a white girl. Her mother, who was home early, made spicy red stew with chicken. Her father came home late and ate alone as he read his newspaper. Not once did the world bloom or shift.
But goodness, she was tired. Exhausted. She tried to read a few pages of Purple Hibiscus, a book she’d begged her mother to buy, but soon she fell asleep. She slept like the dead. When morning came, she felt better. She lay there thinking about what happened yesterday. Whatever Chichi and Orlu had done to her, she would open her mind to it, she decided. Why not?
She quickly dressed in jeans, a yellow T-shirt, leather sandals, and her favorite gold necklace. It was the only costly gift her father had ever given her.
“Be back by four o’clock,” her mother said during breakfast. Sunny was surprised that her mother hadn’t asked a whole bunch of questions. She quickly got up before her luck changed.
“Where are you going?” her brother Chukwu asked.
“Out,” she said. “’Bye.”
In one hand, she carried her black umbrella. In the other was her blue purse with a stick of lip gloss, some sunscreen, a washcloth, a mango, her cell phone, and enough money for lunch and a little whatever.
“Sunny!” Chichi yelled when she saw her coming up the street. Chichi was dressed up, at least by Chichi’s standards. She wore a green rapa with yellow circles on it and a white T-shirt. She was wearing sandals, too. Sunny raised a tentative hand in greeting.
“Oh, stop,” Chichi said. “Relax.” She linked her arm in Sunny’s and they walked toward Orlu’s house. He stood at the gate.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Nice shoes,” Chichi said, looking at Orlu’s brand-new red Chuck Taylors.
“My mother’s brother is visiting from London,” he said. “He brought me these.”
“So where are we going?” Sunny asked.
Chichi and Orlu exchanged a look.
“You told your parents you’ll be back around three?” Orlu asked her.
“Four,” she said proudly.
“Well done,” Chichi said, grinning.
“I asked my mother about this,” Orlu said to Chichi. “She was really angry with me for making that trust knot with Sunny.” Here we go again, thought Sunny. More things I don’t know. More of them not telling me anything.
“Sunny has to be involved,” Chichi said, looking annoyed. “I told you what my mother said.”
“Well,” Orlu said slowly. “I asked my parents. She can’t set foot in Leopard Knocks… unless she’s fully initiated.” Chichi tried to hide a smile. “Chichi, you knew this was the rule!”
“I did,” she said, laughing. “What better way to make her get initiated?”
“But…” Orlu tapered off, looking very angry.
Sunny had had enough. “All right, you guys, start explaining. Leopard Knocks? Initiation? What’s going on?”
Orlu only shook his head. Chichi took Sunny’s arm again. “Just come and see for yourself.”
“As if she has a choice now,” Orlu snapped. “As if any of us does now.”
“Orlu, I believe she’s one of us,” Chichi said. “My mom does, too.”
“Would you want to go through something like this without knowing anything?” he asked Chichi.
Chichi only shrugged. “It’s the only way.”
Sunny groaned. “Please, quit talking like I’m not right here.”
Chichi lowered her voice. “The worst that can happen is-”
“Is what?” Sunny shouted.
“We can never talk to you again and you can never speak of any of this.”
They started walking away without her. For a moment, Sunny just stood there, watching them go. Then she collected herself and followed.
“Where’re we going?” she asked after several minutes. “Just tell me that, if nothing else.”
“To the hut of Anatov, Defender of Frogs and All Things Natural,” Chichi said.
They caught a cab on the main street.
“Take us to Ariaria Market,” Orlu said, handing the man some naira. Orlu waved Sunny off when she tried to offer some money. “No, this is on me.”
It was a typical Nigerian cab-the car reeked of dried fish, egusi seeds, and exhaust. There were big holes in the floor. The three of them got out at the market, but didn’t go in. Instead, they crossed the busy street and went in the opposite direction. They walked for a while, passing buildings and avoiding hawkers selling cashew fruits, suya, phone cards, cell phone accessories, and plantain chips.
They turned a corner and walked, turned another corner and walked. Sunny knew the area, but now she felt lost. They stopped at a small path that led into a patch of lush bush. A group of older men were just emerging. Some of them wore old jeans and shirts, others wore colorful rapas and T-shirts.
“Good morning,” Orlu, Chichi, and Sunny said together.
The men looked each of them in the eye and nodded. “Good morning, children.”
“Do you know where you’re going?” one of them asked.
“Yes, sir,” Orlu said.
“No, I mean her,” the man said, pointing at Sunny. She felt her face grow warm.
“She’s with us,” Chichi said.
This seemed to satisfy him, and he moved on with the others.
“Where are we going?” Sunny asked as they walked down the shaded path. The bush seemed to close in around them. Where it had been hot, it was now sweltering.
“I told you,” Chichi said. “To see Anatov.”
“Yeah, but who is he?” She stopped walking. “Chichi, Orlu, stop.” She hoisted up her purse, her closed umbrella under her arm. “What’s going on? Where are we going? What’s happening?”
They both looked uncomfortable.
“Anatov will explain, Sunny,” Orlu finally said.
“It’s easier that way,” Chichi said. “Just trust us.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re your friends,” Orlu said.
“And we’ve changed your life… maybe,” Chichi said. Then she looked away. “Just let Anatov explain.”
They started walking again.
“Is he mean?” Sunny asked. The path had narrowed and they were walking single file, Sunny last. She heard Orlu laugh to himself.
“Anatov is Anatov,” Chichi said, turning around and grinning.
Great, Sunny thought. Some friends. Not telling me a thing. For all she knew, they could have been accomplices working with Black Hat Otokoto. Anything is possible. Even the worst is possible. The candle showed me so. The worst was more than possible. The worst was inevitable. But she was in too deep now. Her parents didn’t know where she was-she didn’t even know where she was! She slapped at a mosquito on her arm.
Sunny heard it before she saw it. At first, it sounded like a bunch of people softly whispering, yet she saw nothing but forest. Minutes later, the noise grew to the sound of crashing water. It was a river so angry that its churning waters threw up a white mist. Never heard of this river, she thought. Stretching across it was a thin, slippery-looking wooden bridge. There were no handrails.
“How is anyone supposed to cross that?” she asked, horrified.
“You just do it,” Orlu said, stepping up to a large rock that sat in front of the bridge. He rubbed its smooth black surface with the palm of his hand. “Beyond the mist is the entrance to Leopard Knocks.”
She waited for him to go on.
“The full name is Ngbe Abum Obbaw, that’s Efik for ‘Leopard Knocks His Foot,’” Chichi explained. “Long ago, some Efik woman created a juju that stopped a leopard from attacking her. It made the leopard stub its foot on something hard, and the pain scared it away. The builders named Leopard Knocks His Foot after her strong juju. The Efik people have the strongest juju in the world.”
“In whose opinion? Not the Igbos’,” Orlu said irritably. “Sunny, there are Leopard People all over the world from every tribe, race, whatever. None is better than the other.”
“Oh, be realistic,” Chichi said, rolling her eyes.
But Sunny wasn’t really listening. She couldn’t take her eyes off of that narrow bridge. The wild waters beneath it boiled and churned.
“Only truth will allow you across,” Orlu said.
“Every time,” Chichi added.
“So you’ve crossed that?” Sunny cried. “It’s so flimsy! The thing doesn’t even look like it’s-” She stopped talking and just stared at it.
“Relax,” Chichi said, putting her arm around Sunny. “We’re not going over the bridge right now. We’re going that way.” She pointed to a small path that ran to the right, beside the river. She pulled Sunny along.
“I don’t like this,” Sunny said.
“You’re just not used to it,” Orlu said.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t like this. You’re both crazy.”
Chichi giggled.
Anatov’s hut was much bigger than Chichi’s. It was long with a thatch roof. The red walls were decorated with white symbols and caricatures of people. The wooden front doors were waist-high, and looked as if they swung in and out like the doors of a saloon in an American western. They were painted with black and white squares. In swooping white letters, one door was labeled IN, the other OUT. She noticed that they entered through the OUT door.
Inside, the air was heavy with incense so strong that it made her slightly ill. She waved her hand in front of her face. Through her watery eyes she saw that the hut’s inner walls were also decorated with white chalk artwork.
A man sat in a throne-like chair on the far side of the room. When he stood up, she gasped. He was the tallest man she had ever seen-taller than any Maasai or American basketball player. He was light-skinned with short brown bushy dreadlocks and a small gold ring in his left nostril.
Sunny was trying to be polite when she stifled her sneeze, but the sneeze was so hard that she blew snot into her hands instead. Great first impression, she thought. Her face and hands were a mess.
“This girl isn’t proper,” Anatov told Chichi. He spoke in English and had an American accent. He turned to Orlu and looked down his nose at him. “Explain. I can barely stand to have so many Ekpiri in here. Clutters up the vibe, know what I’m sayin’? But you bring an improper, at that? Y’all don’t think.”
“Oga Anatov, this is Sunny Nwazue,” Chichi quickly said. “We’re sorry.… Are you busy?”
Suddenly, Anatov strode over to Sunny, who was still holding her face. He frowned at her. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked, switching to Igbo.
“I need-I need a tissue.”
He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and thrust it at her. To her further embarrassment, he watched intently as she wiped the snot from her hands and face and blew her nose.
“Yellow,” he said, when she was finally done. “On all levels, she’s yellow.”
“I know I’m yellow,” she snapped. “I’m albino! Haven’t you ever seen an-”
“Quiet,” Anatov said. “Sit down or I’ll throw you out and make your life more miserable than it is. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“Sunny, sit,” Chichi hissed.
“Fine!” she said, sitting.
“Good,” Anatov said. He walked a circle around her. “Okay,” he mumbled. He reached into his pocket and brought out a handful of white powder and started sifting it from his hand as he circled her again. This time he moved slowly. When he’d completed the powder circle, he brought out a knife. It had a handle with red jewels. The blade was shiny and very sharp looking.
Sunny glanced at Orlu, who gave a small smile of encouragement. All she could think about was Black Hat. Anatov was too close for her to make a run for the door. “Excuse me,” she stammered. “What are you…”
“You’ll remember this for a long time,” Anatov said with a chuckle. She leaned away from him, her hand up as a shield, as he raised the sharp, shiny knife. She braced herself. But no blow came. He seemed to be drawing in the air. A soft red symbol-a circle with a cross in the center-floated above her head like smoke. Slowly, it descended on her.
“Hold your breath,” Chichi said just as it touched her upturned face. But before she could, she was pulled down. Yanked like a rag doll. First through the hut’s dirt floor and then into sweet-smelling earth.
As she was pulled downward, Sunny’s mouth filled with earth. She couldn’t scream! The earth was pushing its way down her throat, pulling up her eyelids, scratching her eyeballs, grating her clothes away, and pressing at her skin.
It got worse.
Her skin went from cold to hot and then cold again, as if she were passing through various living and dead parts of the earth.
Finally, she stopped descending and started moving slowly up. All was dark. She was glad. She didn’t want to see where she was. Her entire body screamed with pain. How was she still alive? How was she still breathing?
As she ascended, she heard a mulching low wet grumble. It grew louder. Suddenly, she burst into water. It had to be that terrible river. It was cold and turbulent, threatening to rip her apart, but she was moving too fast, dragged up through whipping river debris and bubbles and underwater noise and currents.
Then, just as suddenly as she was taken-splat!-she was back in the hut. She inhaled incense-tinged air. She sneezed, but at least now she could breathe. She tasted gritty mud on her breath and it coated her lips, throat, and nostrils. Several small but heavy things were dropping around her. They hit each other with a metallic chink chink chink chink.
“No. Step back,” she heard Anatov say. He whispered a phrase, and then she felt something rough wrap itself around her body.
“Who’d have thought?” she heard Chichi whisper.
Sunny decided to open her eyes. Her face felt tight and tingly. When she looked around everything was deep, colorful, and almost too alive, like when they’d made the trust knot.
“What happened?” she mumbled, and froze. Her voice was deep and throaty, like some sultry, glamorous woman who smoked too many cigarettes. When she got up, her movements felt effortless, amazing, full of poise and grace.
She stood up, her shoulders back and her head held straight and high. When she touched her face, it was with gently held arms and softly curved hands and lightly parted fingers, like a ballet dancer.
“Look at her,” she heard Orlu sigh. “I’ve never seen that kind before.”
“Oh? And how many ‘kinds’ have you seen?” she heard Chichi snap. “Why don’t you have some decency and turn away?” When Sunny looked at them, she saw that Chichi, who was looking away, had pink sparks jumping off of her and Orlu was dripping with almost invisible blue water. She didn’t look at Anatov.
“Okay,” she whispered. “Enough. Can this stop now?” She felt whatever was holding her up shrink into her, like it was a genie and she was the bottle. She staggered and sat down heavily on the floor. When she looked down, she was wearing some kind of dress made of light brown raffia. She touched her neck and was relieved to find that at least her gold necklace was still there. Her sandals were still on her feet, too.
“You passed! I knew it,” Chichi said, throwing her arms around Sunny and pulling her up. “I knew I was right.”
“My clothes!” At least her voice was normal again. “Where-?”
“Forget your clothes,” Chichi said. “You passed!”
Anatov came toward them, a wicker chair following of its own volition, like a faithful dog. He sat down. “Orlu,” Anatov said, “put the chittim in her purse.”
She stared as Orlu took her purse and scooped the handfuls of fist-size horseshoe-shaped copper rods into it.
“Rare,” Anatov said, still looking at her. “Just as it’s rare for a pure Igbo girl to have skin and hair the color of washedout paper, so it is for one to be a free agent. Neither of your parents, I assume?”
“What?” she asked.
“Are Leopard People.”
“I-I guess not,” she said. “Not that I know of.”
“If you don’t know, then they aren’t. No mysterious aunts, uncles, grandparents?”
“Well,” she said. Her throat was sore and she wanted to get the taste of dirt out of her mouth. “My-my grandmother on my mother’s side was… a little strange, I think. Maybe she was mentally ill. My mother won’t talk about her much.”
“Ah,” he said. “And let me guess, she’s passed on.”
She nodded. “Some years ago.”
“She look like you?”
“No.”
“Do you know her name? Her true name, the name before she was married?”
She shook her head.
“Hmm,” he said. “In any case, you’re what we call a free agent Leopard Person. You’re in a Leopard spirit line… somehow. It’s not a blood thing. Leopard ability doesn’t travel in the physical. Though blood is familiar with spirit.
“It may have been through your grandmother or she may have just been crazy, who knows. It’s known to happen once in a while, but rarely. Most Leopard People are like your friends here, born to two sorcerer parents-strong ancestor connections. They are the most powerful, usually. Those born to one parent can’t do much of anything unless they have an especially expensive juju knife or something like that or if they come from an especially adept mother. It travels strongest from woman to child, since she’s the one who has the closest spiritual bond with the developing fetus.
“And to tell you what’s just happened-you’ve been initiated.” He paused. “Do you use computers?”
She blinked at the odd question. Then she nodded.
“Of course you do,” he said. “Imagine that you are a computer that came with programs and applications already installed. In order to use them, they have to be activated; you have to, in a sense, wake them up. That’s what initiation is. You were probably ready for initiation around when these two were, two years ago. You have anything odd happen to you recently?”
Sunny’s mouth went dry.
“What happened?” he asked more intently.
It was a relief to tell him about what she had seen in the candle flame. But when she finished, she didn’t like the look on Anatov’s face. “Are you sure this is what you saw?” he asked quietly. She nodded. “Hmm. That’s… interesting.”
“Why don’t you start from the beginning, Oga?” Orlu said. “All you’re doing is confusing her.”
“That’s your job,” Anatov said, annoyed. “Teach her the rules, too. I expect you all back here in four nights. Twelve midnight, sharp.”
“What?” Sunny said. “I can’t-”
“You’re now a Leopard girl,” Anatov said, getting up. “Find a way.” Business completed, he turned to Orlu and grinned. “Guess who arrived today?”
Orlu groaned. “Already? Come on.”
“Your mother didn’t remind you?” Anatov said with a laugh. “She, his mother Keisha, and I have been talking about it for a week. Maybe your mother wanted to surprise you.”
“I hate surprises,” Orlu mumbled.
Chichi laughed. “If not for Sunny, we wouldn’t have come today.”
“Things have a way of working themselves out,” Anatov said. “It’s as I taught you: the world is bigger and more important than you.”
Orlu grunted.
“So,” Chichi asked, looking around, “where is he?”
“Who?” Sunny asked, rubbing her forehead. She had a headache.
“Sasha!” Anatov called. A voice responded from somewhere outside. Anatov sucked his teeth, irritated. “What are you doing? Get over here,” he said in his American-accented English.
“Sasha?” Chichi whispered to Sunny in Igbo. “What kind of name is that for a boy?”
Sunny was tired and confused, but she couldn’t help but giggle. It was a girly name. Still, the boy who entered the hut wasn’t girly at all.
“What took you so long?” Anatov asked sternly in English.
“I was taking a nap,” Sasha said, blinking and rubbing his eyes. He, too, spoke with a strong American accent. “Still got jetlag, man.” He wiped his face with his hand.
“Sasha, meet Orlu, Sunny, and Chichi,” Anatov said formally.
“Hey,” Sasha said coolly, thrusting his hands in his pockets. “’S up?”
Everything about him said “America.” His baggy jeans, his white T-shirt with a logo on the chest, and his super white Nike sneakers. He was tall and lanky like Sunny and he had tightly cornrowed hair that extended into long braids that went past his neck, and a gold nose ring like Anatov’s.
“Good afternoon,” the three friends said together in English.
His eyes fell on Sunny.
“Sasha’s from Chicago,” Anatov said. “He’s been sent here to… cool down. In the meantime, he’ll also be taught by and going through Mbawkwa with me.”
“Did you just get here?” Chichi asked.
“Yeah, three days ago,” Sasha said. “My first time on a plane. Can’t wait till I pass Ndibu, so I’ll never have to use a goddamn plane again.”
“What makes you so sure you’ll pass Ndibu?” Chichi asked.
“Watch me,” he said.
Chichi seemed to like this response. “How do you like it here?”
He shrugged and smiled. “It’s cool.” He laughed to himself. “No, it’s hot, damn hot. But it’s cool. I dig Leopard Knocks. Wish we had a community central space like that in Chicago. Most of us are in what I consider hiding.”
“Oh, we hide here, too,” Chichi said. “But we get by.”
“Orlu, Sasha’s things are already on their way to your parents’. You’re all free to go,” he said, shooing them out. “I’ve got things to do. I’ll see y’all in four nights.” He paused and looked at Sunny. Then he smirked. “And take care of her.”
“We will,” Orlu said.
“Of course,” Chichi added.
Before Sunny knew it, Anatov had pushed them out through the IN door.
“What’s wrong with that guy?” She went to lean against a nearby tree, feeling nauseous, tired, and irritable. Not a good combination. “And why does he have those ‘in’ and ‘out’ signs if no one uses them?”
“To him, his hut is outside the average rubbish-filled world,” Orlu said, looking back. “Only with reluctance does he leave.”
“Here,” Sasha said, reaching into his pocket and bringing out what looked like a fresh chewing stick. “Gnaw on this for a while. You’ll feel better.”
It was minty. She did feel better. “Thanks,” she said.
“Yeah,” Sasha said. “Man, I wish I’d have known. I’ve never seen an Ekpiri initiation on a free agent. I was half asleep outside when I heard your return. Splat!” He laughed.
“It was loud like that?”
“Yep,” Sasha said. “Like a load of rotten entrails dropping on the floor.”
“How come I’m dry now?”
“That’s the way it works.”
Chichi looked at Orlu as if waiting for him to say something. When he didn’t, she turned to Sasha and asked, “Are you ready to go?”
Sasha cocked his head. “Why doesn’t he ask me?” he said, looking at Orlu. “He’s the one I’ll be living with.”
“Because I don’t speak to dangerous people,” Orlu grumbled in Igbo.
“Yo, what is your problem?”
Orlu turned to Sasha. “I know about you,” he said in English, scowling at Sasha. “My parents told me everything. Why would I want to live with someone like you?”
“Orlu!” Chichi said.
Sunny leaned back against the tree, chewing the mint stick.
Orlu scoffed. “Why don’t you tell them why you’re here? Give them some details.”
Sasha thrust his hands deeper into his pockets. “Selfrighteous African,” he mumbled.
“Troublemaking black American,” Orlu spat. “Akata criminal.”
“Hey!” Sunny said.
“As if I don’t know what that means,” Sasha said, looking mildly annoyed.
“As if I care,” Orlu said.
“Both of you, shut up,” Chichi said. “Ugh, this won’t do! Sasha, what’s your story? Just tell us.”
“Why should I?” Sasha said.
“Because we asked,” Sunny said quietly, sitting down at the foot of the tree.
Sasha paused, then sighed.
“So you know,” she continued, “I was born in the States, too. I came back with my parents when I was nine. That’s only three years ago.” She paused and looked meaningfully at Orlu. “I may not talk about it much, but most days I feel very much like an… akata.”
Orlu looked at his feet, obviously ashamed. Serves him right for being so thoughtless, Sunny thought.
Sasha seemed a little calmer. “Fine. Okay. Like it matters.” He ran his hand over his cornrows. “I got into one too many fights at school. My parents were stupid enough to move into a neighborhood that was not only all white but all Lambs.”
“Lambs?” she asked.
“Folks with no juju,” he said. “There wasn’t a sorcerer, healer, or seer, for miles and miles. Anyway, so yeah, because of all that and because I don’t take crap from anybody, I got into a lot of fights. And,” he added quickly, “maybe I worked some stuff on some kids who were giving me problems.”
Orlu laughed scornfully. “He set a masquerade on three boys in his class!”
“What?” Chichi exclaimed.
“They talked smack about my parents and were harassing my sisters!” Sasha shouted.
“You can do that?” Chichi asked, impressed. “That’s Ndibu level juju!”
“Who cares what level?” Orlu said. “He’s Ekpiri like we are.”
“Man, there are books and I read them,” Sasha said. “Plus, it was only a minor masquerade.”
“So?” Orlu cried. “There are rules! And two of those boys are mentally messed up because of what you did. I heard my father on the phone talking to your father just after it happened.”
“Oh, well,” Sasha said with a shrug. “Shouldn’t have disrespected my parents or touched my sisters.”
“Sasha hasn’t mentioned that he also switched the minds of two police officers,” Orlu added.
“They were harassing me and my friends,” Sasha said. “They were pushing around this girl I know. And they were just… they were abusing the power they were given! Y’all don’t know what it’s like for a black man in the U.S. And y’all certainly don’t know Chicago cops on the South Side. Here everyone’s black, so you don’t have-”
“Oh, don’t give me that!” Orlu said. “You rationalize everything. That’s why your parents sent you here.”
“Enough,” Sunny said. “How are you two supposed to live together? Sasha, turn over a new leaf or something. It’ll be easier if you and Orlu try and be friends.”
Sasha and Orlu looked at each other and then away.
“You’ll feel better if you walk around some,” Chichi said, helping Sunny up. “Let’s take her to Leopard Knocks.”
“What?” Sunny said, nearly sinking down again.
“Relax,” Chichi said. “You’ll be fine.”
Orlu chuckled.
“I checked it out yesterday,” Sasha said, brightening up. “My parents would love that place.”
Chichi smiled. “Let’s go, then. While we get lunch, we can explain more things to Sunny.”
Sunny tried to stand up straight and stumbled to the side. “No way! I’m not crossing that-”
“Here,” Chichi quickly said, pushing it into her hands. “Take your purse.”
“Aha!” Sunny exclaimed. “It’s heavy, o!”
“You’ve got at least a hundred chittim in there, I’d say. Maybe more,” Orlu said.
“What’s chittim?” she asked.
“Currency,” Orlu said. “You earn it when you learn something. The bigger the knowledge, the more chittim. I didn’t receive half as many chittim when I went through Ekpiri!”
“Ekpiri is level one,” Chichi explained. She turned to Orlu. “That’s because you always knew what you were. Sunny’s a free agent. She didn’t know anything.”
Even Sunny couldn’t argue with that.
What Are Masquerades?
Up to now you’ve known masquerades to be mere symbolic manifestations of the ancestors or spirits. Men and boys dress up in elaborate cloth and raffia costumes and dance, jeer, or joke, depending on whom they are manifesting. Up to now, you’ve believed masquerades to be nothing more than myth, folklore, theater, and tradition. Now that you are a Leopard Person, know that your world has just become more real. Creatures are real. Ghosts, witches, demons, shape-shifters, and masquerades, all real. Masquerades are always dangerous. They can kill, steal your soul, take your mind, take your past, rewrite your future, bring the end of the world, even. As a free agent you will have nothing to do with the real thing, otherwise you face certain death. If you are smart you will leave true masquerades up to those who know what to do with juju.
from Fast Facts for Free Agents