Even though it was the middle of harmattan dry season, it had been raining for almost a week. The markets were muddy. The streets were flooded. The schools had closed two days ago. The rain was so unexpected that, though it was perfect mosquito weather, there were no more mosquitoes than there usually were. It was as if someone had flipped a switch marked RAIN.
The morning of the seventh rainy day in a row started like almost any other.
The first thing Sunny did when she woke up was look at her cabinet. Her wasp artist, whom she’d decided to name Della (after the famous sculptor she’d read about on the Internet named Luca della Robbia), had built a mud sculpture of the mermaid deity Mami Wata. As always, the wasp stood on top of its creation waiting for her response.
“That’s really beautiful, Della,” she said, meaning it.
It buzzed its wings with glee, circled its creation, and then flew out the window. Sunny unrolled her Leopard Knocks Daily. Tomorrow they were to meet with Anatov and probably find out what they were expected to do about Black Hat. She braced herself for news of his latest act of debauchery.
Instead, the headline read, RAIN, RAIN, PLEASE GO AWAY!
She laughed, relieved. Everything was rained out. Even the criminals seemed to have taken cover. Maybe Black Hat’s hat wasn’t broad enough to protect him from the rain, either.
She went to get some breakfast and froze. Her heart threatened to leap from her chest. There at the kitchen table sat her mother, and she was handing a cup of hot tea to… Anatov.
“Good-good morning?” Sunny squeaked.
“Sunny,” her mother said, looking uncharacteristically rattled. “Sit.”
Sunny had to really force herself to move.
“This is-this is the son of a friend of your grandmother’s-my mother.” Her mother’s hands shook as she picked up her cup of tea. She laughed to herself. She sounded on the verge of tears.
“Yes,” Anatov said. He poured a large amount of cream into his tea, stirred it, and took a sip. “I was in town and decided to… drop by.”
Sunny could only nod.
Suddenly, her mother whirled around and faced her. She obviously wanted to say something. Instead she kissed Sunny’s cheek and nearly ran out of the room.
Anatov took a calm sip of tea. Sunny waited. “We’re going to Leopard Knocks,” he said.
“What? But it’s-isn’t that tomorrow?”
“Bring your knife, your powders, and one of your umbrellas.”
“Won’t my mom-”
“She won’t stop you,” he said. “Go fetch your things. There’s little time.”
One of the official Obi Library cars waited outside. Behind the wheel was a short, unsmiling Hausa man. A lit cigarette hung from his lips.
“Put it out, Aradu,” Anatov snapped.
“Sorry, sir,” Aradu said, quickly flicking the cigarette out the window.
Sunny looked back at her mother, who stood like a statue in the front doorway. Sunny waved. Her mother didn’t wave back. She just stood there as they drove away.
Maybe she knew she would never see her daughter again.
The driver maneuvered the car easily, first on the muddy road and then on the slick street. It was an oddly smooth ride. When they accelerated, there was no sound at all. Clearly, like the funky train, the car ran on some kind of juju. Sunny wondered why the Leopard People didn’t share this technology with the rest of the world. It would solve some serious environmental problems.
They passed Orlu and Chichi’s houses. “Aren’t we picking up-”
“They’ll meet us there,” Anatov said. “Your home situation is not so easy, so I had to come get you.”
“What’s happening?” she asked.
“When we get there.” She nodded and looked out the window. “You’ve made good progress, Sunny,” Anatov said.
“Thanks.”
“What I’d like you to think about, though, is who you are. Because within that knowledge is the key to how much you can learn.”
She frowned, thinking about what had just happened with her mother. “Oga,” she whispered, “these days I don’t really think I know who I am.” Anatov was silent. “What do you know of my grandmother? Who was she?”
“Only her oldest daughter, your mother, can tell you that.”
“Why won’t you tell me?” she asked desperately.
“It’s not my place,” Anatov said.
“Was she bad?”
He didn’t respond.
“Why was she Black Hat’s teacher? Of all people?” she asked.
When Anatov remained silent, she pounded her fist against her leg. For a while, the windshield wipers going back and forth were the only sound.
Anatov patted her shoulder. “We have a half-hour drive,” he said. “Take the time to relax while you can.” He leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoulder. “Put on some Lagbaja.”
Sunny closed her eyes and listened to the afrobeat music.
The car stopping woke her up. They were outside of the Obi Library. Sasha and Orlu were already there. “Wait here,” Anatov said, and went inside.
They were too nervous to talk. Instead, they just stood together, shoulder to shoulder. Five minutes later, Chichi arrived with her mother, walking under a large green umbrella. Even with the umbrella, both of their cheeks were wet. Chichi looked shaken. Her mother sniffled and wiped her eyes. Chichi gave her a tight hug and watched her mother walk down the street toward the Leopard Knocks markets.
Sunny hugged Chichi. Sasha and Chichi exchanged more than hugs. Sunny and Orlu just avoided each other’s eyes. Standing out there in the rain, it was as if they were waiting to be sent into battle, to their deaths.
“Okay,” Sasha said, standing up straighter. “Everyone lighten up. God.”
Orlu sighed. Chichi put her arm around Sasha’s waist and said, “Children are dying and being maimed, right?”
“Right,” Sasha said. “We’re lucky, really. We’re going to have a chance to prove what we’re made of. Some people never get that, man. Not in their whole life. But what’s up with this rain?”
“That’s what bugs me,” Orlu said.
Sunny was about to say something when Sugar Cream came up behind them. She held a white umbrella and wore white pants and a long top with fringe. She smelled like flowers, even in the rain. “They’re ready for you,” she said. “Let’s go.”
The library felt different. People weren’t smiling and no one spoke, even when they reached the university on the second floor. Students walked close with their heads together, whispering. And when they saw the four of them, they stared, some occasionally giving them fake reassuring smiles.
To Sunny’s surprise, there were buckets and towels all over the floors and on the stairs, catching drips. She’d have thought that the library, of all places, would be protected from something as simple as heavy rain. She hoped the books were okay.
They followed Sugar Cream to a large door on the third floor. “Your best behavior,” she sternly told them. “Don’t ask any questions until you are told you may.”
She opened the door. Another indoor jungle. Sunny had to work not to groan. She was reminded of the tent at the Zuma Festival, and that brought back memories of the terrible masquerade.
But this jungle was more controlled-the foliage grew only around the edges of the room. A toucan sat in a tree near a window. The bird looked at them suspiciously. In the center was a large oval table. Around it sat seven people, all of them ancient except for Taiwo, Kehinde, and Anatov. Sugar Cream motioned them to sit in the four empty chairs.
A bent woman with black skin and milky blind eyes laughed loudly and said something Sunny couldn’t understand. The language she spoke was full of click sounds, most likely Xhosa. The man beside her wheezed with laughter, slapping the table with a rough hand. Sugar Cream sat down in a chair beside the blind woman and said something. Sunny only understood the last word: “English.” Two of the scholars on the far side of the table, both women, sucked their teeth loudly.
The blind woman said something else in her click language and the old man beside her added his two cents, pointing accusingly at Sasha. Sugar Cream responded soothingly. The two old women on the other side of the table joined the conversation. One of them switched languages and started speaking something that sounded like French. Kehinde, Taiwo, and Anatov remained silent.
As the heated conversation ensued, the toucan whistled and flew a circle over the table. It landed in an empty seat next to the two women on the end. Sunny gasped as the bird slowly grew into a large-nosed old Middle Eastern- looking man with green eyes. He wore a white turban and a white caftan. He slapped his hands on the table and scowled at Sasha.
Sugar Cream politely said in English, “It must be this way. Sasha’s American. And this one here is American, too, though she’s Igbo also and speaks the language.”
The toucan man scoffed. “They don’t teach them to understand others, they teach them to expect others to understand them,” he said in English. He humphed and said, “Americans.”
“Hey,” Sasha said, growing annoyed. “I’m not deaf! Don’t insult my country.”
“Yes,” the toucan man said. “You are deaf. Dumb and blind, too! Now shut up!”
Sasha jumped up, angry.
“Sasha, sit,” Anatov said firmly.
“Now!” Kehinde said, pointing a long finger.
Sasha sat down, looking pissed. There were even tears in his eyes.
“Let me open your ears, mind, and eyes a little,” the toucan man said, leaning forward. “Your beloved country, Sasha and Sunny, the United States of America, has made Black Hat economically wealthy enough to push his plan forward.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Ali,” Sugar Cream said.
“We’re actually way behind,” Ali said, looking away and thumbing his long nose.
Sugar Cream got up and stood behind them. “These are the four of the Oha coven brought together to handle Black Hat,” she said. She touched them each on the head. “Sasha Jackson. Sunny Nwazue. Chijioke of Nimm. And Orlu Ezulike. If you object, speak up.”
The room was silent, but Sunny could feel the deep scrutiny. The two women on the left had closed their eyes. The blind woman had turned an ear to them. The old man next to her was staring. And Ali, the toucan man, hummed to himself. A small breeze flew through the room, rustling the leaves of the palm trees in the corners.
“That one carries rage,” Ali said, gesturing at Sasha. “At small, small things like his country and his awareness of the politics.”
“They fight plenty,” said the blind woman.
“They make up just as much,” one of the women on the left said. “There’s love, too.”
“And lust,” Ali added, laughing slyly. “That’s good.”
“Mhm,” one of the women on the end said, nodding. “You’re right, Ntombi and Ali-love and lust. They have checks and balances.”
“Otherwise, they’ll be dead moments after they meet Black Hat,” Ntombi said.
“So this is Ozoemena’s granddaughter, eh?” the blind woman said, nodding at Sunny. “Looks nothing like her.”
How can she tell? Sunny thought, irritated.
“I was born blind, but I see better than everyone in this room,” the blind woman snapped. Sunny felt her face turn red and she looked down.
“What does it matter that she doesn’t look like her?” Ali said. “I hear she’s an athlete like Ozo.”
“That one,” the man next to the blind woman said, pointing at Chichi. “Fast, fast, fast, and sharp like a Ginen-made sword.” He clapped his hands together. “Oh, I’m impressed. But royal blood will mean extra danger for her.”
“Royal blood means royal responsibility,” Anatov said, speaking for the first time since they’d walked in.
“The free agent,” the blind woman said. Her voice was shaking. “She’s-she’s seen it.” They went silent. “Haven’t you?” the blind woman asked.
“Seen what?” she asked, feeling her throat constrict.
“You know what I speak of,” she said. “It’s why you all are here today. It’s why Black Hat has been kidnapping, killing, and maiming children. He is only one leg of the centipede, and the centipede’s head is yet to emerge.”
“It’s going to happen? For sure?” Sunny said.
“It will,” the blind woman simply said.
“You’ve really seen it?” Ali asked, his voice softening for the first time. Sunny nodded. “I’m so sorry. No one so young should witness the end of the world.”
“The beginning,” the blind woman corrected.
“Can someone speak straight?” Sasha said. “We’ve been told we have to fight Black Hat. We four, not you all. Sunny is the youngest, Chichi is the oldest”-he looked at Chichi, but she said nothing-“or maybe she’s the youngest and I’m the oldest. I’m fourteen and a half. Why us? What can we possibly do? Who is Black Hat?”
“He’s right,” Orlu said, standing up. He placed his hand on Sasha’s shoulder, a sign for Sasha to keep his mouth shut. “We need information.” He addressed the two women on the left and the toucan man. “Great Oga Ntombi, Oga Bomfomtabellilaba, Oga Ali.” He turned and addressed the blind woman and the man beside her. “And Great Great Oga Abok and Oga Yakobo, you are all very, very old and wise beyond imagination. You’ve traveled a long way. But what seems clear to you is confusing to us.
“Please, tell us how Black Hat is only one leg of the centipede, as you said, Oga Abok. Why do we have to do this and not a group of older, wiser people? Tell us what to do!” Orlu sat down and the room was silent.
“Checks and balances, you see?” said the woman Orlu had called Bomfomtabellilaba.
Abok, the blind woman, spoke. “There will be a nuclear holocaust, but there will be something else, too. It will bring green and everything will change. Many laws of physics will shift and become something else. This place will become a new place. Sunny isn’t the only one who’s seen it. Several old ones have seen it, too.
“Whether Sunny knew it or not, she has always been a Leopard Person. Just as her grandmother was. All free agents are what they always were-Leopard. And she is a child of the physical and spirit world. Sunny, you have friends and enemies in the spirit world, for before you were born you were a person of importance there. What kind of person were you? Well, that is something you’ll have to figure out. A friend or enemy of yours showed you that vision in the candle. It changed you, no?”
Sunny nodded. It had been the first sign of what she was.
“Now, as I said, many know of what’s to come. Some see that they can take advantage of it. Imagine chaos, and then in the middle of it all, someone comes with a logical blueprint for a new order. What would you do? You would follow that person, no? The closer the change comes, the more Black Hat types we will see. I say he is a leg of the centipede because I believe he is one of several, a minion. Above him is the true leader.
“Black Hat’s real name is Otokoto Ginny. As you know, he passed his fourth levels, which means he is expert; he is master; he is powerful. But something went wrong, and now he is corrupt, too.
“Otokoto was a Nigerian oil dealer who did big business with the Americans. But he had greater aspirations than financial wealth, just as he sought more than just chittim. He wanted power. That remains his greatest hunger, and his hunger has opened him up to terrible powers of the earth. There is a forbidden juju, a black juju. It is old and secret. He had only part of the juju and needed the book he stole from the library for the rest. The juju is to bring the head of the centipede through-Ekwensu.”
Chichi and Orlu gasped so loudly that Sunny jumped.
“Why would anyone do that?” Orlu asked in a strained voice. Chichi looked about to cry.
“The hunger for power will lead a person to dark, dead places,” Abok said. “He’s lost control of himself. He is lost. He will attempt it. Especially now that he has that book. If he brings Ekwensu through, Ekwensu will build an empire. She did it once before, thousands of years ago, and it was only by coincidence that Ekwensu was sent back.” Abok paused. “People say it was a combination of lightning, an angry willful girl, a rotten mango, and perfect timing.”
“What’s expected of you four is simple,” Abok said. “Two children have been taken. It happened two hours ago. Your job is to bring them back safely to their parents.
“This rain is no coincidence. It is sent by Ekwensu. The thunder and the lightning and the water cleanse the atmosphere in preparation for Ekwensu’s arrival. It’s like rolling out the red carpet for a great queen. You see all the leaks? No natural rain could penetrate library walls.
“In about six hours, Black Hat will perform a ceremony on these two children. He will have them drink Fanta laced with calabash chalk, a substance that will enhance the spirit life within the children. Then he’ll kill them. And when he completes this ceremony, he’ll have gathered enough force to bring Ekwensu through.”
“Will…” Sunny hesitated. But she had to know. “Will he recognize me?”
Sasha, Orlu, and Chichi all looked at her, baffled.
“He might,” Abok said. “Though you don’t look like your grandmother, there are other ways to know a spiritline when it runs strong.”
She clenched her fists. “How do we find him?” she asked.
“He owns a gas station near Aba,” Taiwo said. “Start there, follow his tracks. Use the element of surprise. He is arrogant and has no respect for young people. He will not be expecting you, and when he sees you, he will think you harmless.”
“Why didn’t people do this for-for all of the other children?” she asked.
“Timing is everything,” Abok said. “It wasn’t time.”
“We had people try, but they all came to a bad end,” Ali added quickly.
“Timing,” Abok said again. “This time, it will be right.”
“We hope,” Ali said.
Sunny frowned. “You mean you’ve sent other groups like ours? And-”
“We have and will continue to until Black Hat is taken down,” Yakobo said. “More is at stake than your lives.”
“Black Hat is a shrewd sorcerer,” Abok said. “He has protection, but we have watched for loopholes. The children that returned maimed but alive were all rescued by Oha covens.”
“Did the rescuers escape, too?” she asked.
None of the scholars replied. That was answer enough.
Sunny held the phone closer to her ear and turned away from the others. They were on a funky train, speeding down the road in the rain. The line remained quiet, but she knew someone was there. “Mama, hello? I can hear you breathing.”
“What do you want?” her brother Chukwu said. “What did you do?” There was the sound of a struggle. “I want to know!” her brother demanded.
“Let me talk to her,” she heard her other brother Ugonna say.
“Give me the phone,” she heard her mother snap. “Sunny?” Her voice sounded thick and she sniffed loudly. “You there?”
“Yes, Mama.” Silence. “Hello? Mama?”
Silence.
“Is-is it raining there?” her mother finally asked.
“Yeah.”
“Of course it is,” she said quietly.
“Mama, do you…” Sunny tried to speak, but it felt like something was softly squeezing her throat. It was the pact she’d made with Orlu and Chichi.
Silence.
“J-just come home,” her mother whispered. “Make sure you come back home.” Silence. “Be brave. I love you.”
Sunny closed her phone, wiped her tears, and put all her questions out of her head. She had to focus. She turned to her friends. “Tell me about Ekwensu.”
“She is what Satan is to the Christians,” Chichi said. “But more real, more tangible. She’s not a metaphor or symbol. She’s one of the most powerful masquerades in the wilderness. If she comes through, if Black Hat succeeds-think of what you saw in that candle. Now see that controlled by some demented super-monster that no person or thing can stop.”
They had twenty minutes before they reached the gas station. Sunny held her head in her hands.