“Shut up,” Sunny muttered. A flash of lightning nearby made her jump. She looked at Anyanwu. “You did that!”
“I didn’t do anything,” Anyanwu said.
Sunny didn’t believe her. “You . . . you have always known who you are. You’re old, you know everything.” She had to stop to catch her breath, tears in her eyes again. “How am I supposed to believe in what I am when no one even knew this could happen? Even Orlu looked at me like I was an alien!”
“Yes. You are insecure.”
Sunny grabbed a handful of wet grass and threw it at Anyanwu. She blinked when the clump hit the soft glow and fell to the ground. She threw more. Then Anyanwu grabbed an even bigger clump and flung it at Sunny, hitting her right in the face. Some of it got in her mouth, and she spit it out.
“Do you think I make you a Leopard Person?” Anyanwu asked.
“Yes!”
Anyanwu laughed. “I’m your spirit memory, I’m you outside of time, I’m your spirit face, I am you. You are me. Our Leopardom is within all that makes us.”
“Then why couldn’t I go to Leopard Knocks that day?”
“Because, as I said, you’re insecure.”
Sunny pressed her lips together and frowned.
“Our bond’s been broken,” Anyanwu continued. “That trauma . . . few will ever know it. We’ve gone through it twice; it took two traumas to tear it completely. When that djinn pulled us in and when Ekwensu took advantage and finished the job.”
Sunny nodded as they both felt a ghost of the sharp pains that had reverberated through their entire being. Twice.
“The second time, did you feel when we drifted?” Anyanwu asked.
“Yes.”
“That was when we should have died. We’d have lost this connected duality and returned to the wilderness as one again. But we lived, because we are Sunny and Anyanwu.” Sunny felt Anyanwu’s confident pleasure at this fact. “Sunny, you can work whatever juju you please, whether I am there or not. That’s why I say you’re insecure. You couldn’t get into Leopard Knocks because you didn’t believe you were a Leopard Person without me.”
“But . . .”
“Work a little harder and be more confident. Our bond is broken; some compensation is required. It’s like loving and cherishing someone without needing the bonds of marriage to enforce it,” Anyanwu said. “By sinister means, you and I are free.”
Sunny sat with Anyanwu’s words, staring into the pouring rain. The lightning and thunder were fading. But even if they didn’t, she wasn’t afraid of being struck anymore. Sunny took a deep breath and then asked, “What was the meeting?”
She could feel Anyanwu smile. “None of your business.”
Sunny stared at Anyanwu for a moment and then burst out laughing. She got up and grabbed her soccer ball. It flew out of her hands as Anyanwu took off with it across the field. Sunny had to run fast to catch up with her. And the two played like that until the rain stopped.
On the way back, she came upon Sasha walking up the road, his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. By this time, the air had taken on so much humidity that breathing it was almost like drinking water.
“What are you doing in the rain?” Sunny asked, slapping and grasping hands with him.
“Looking for you.”
“I was playing soccer,” she said, tossing her wet ball up and catching it.
“With the lightning and thunder?”
“You could say that.”
“You’ve been avoiding us all weekend.”
Sunny shrugged. They began to walk.
“How come Orlu didn’t come?”
Sasha shrugged again. “Said you probably needed some time to yourself. Me, I don’t mess around. I came to see what’s up. So, you good?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said.
“Even after . . . after what happened with . . .”
“Yeah. We can go to Leopard Knocks today, if you all want.” She hesitated and then said, “The river beast won’t stop me.” She could feel Anyanwu within her as she said it. And she could feel that her presence was different. Not so locked. And this was verified when she realized she suddenly didn’t feel Anyanwu within her. Anyanwu had gone off again, to wherever she went off to.
Sasha looked at her, narrowing his eyes. “You’re different somehow.”
“Yeah,” she said. Then she laughed, tossing her soccer ball in the air and catching it with her feet. She passed it to Sasha, who caught it and then tapped it back to Sunny. She caught it, brought out her juju knife, and worked a quick juju that rubbed off the mud. It hadn’t been difficult, but she noticed that she did have to concentrate a little harder on mentally aligning her words with her juju knife flourish.
“Jollof rice and goat meat at Mama Put’s Putting Place?” Sasha asked.
Sunny smiled. “Definitely. My treat.”
19
TRUST, SHA
“My clothes were ruined, but I knew that would happen,” Orlu said, grinning wider than Sunny had ever seen him grin. “Nancy took me over the ocean!” His jeans were filthy with bright red palm oil and splashes of mud, as were his T-shirt and red Chuck Taylor gym shoes.
He’d been working closely with his mentor Taiwo’s Miri Bird for the past two weeks, and he’d had a particularly interesting weekend. The bird, whose name was Nancy, regularly flew him up to Taiwo’s palm tree hut, and the two had cultivated a friendship. Orlu had since taken it upon himself to study Nancy’s species and ancestral bloodline. Flattered by his interest, the bird had agreed to take him for an extended ride to visit its mother forty miles east in the Cross River Forest.
“You’re crazy to let that big chicken fly you that far, man,” Sasha said.
Orlu only rolled his eyes. His general philosophy when it came to Sasha’s smart mouth was, Do not engage. Sunny thought it worked every time.
Chichi, who sat in the doorway, loudly sucked her teeth and looked away. Sasha glared at her, and Sunny could practically feel the temperature rise a few degrees.
It was a rare Sunday where they’d all finished their chores, homework, and assignments, and none of them had any relatives or family friends to visit with their parents. It was Chichi’s idea to meet in her hut. Her mother was at Leopard Knocks giving a lecture to some other third-level students. Thus, Chichi sat in the doorway, the cloth curtain piled on her back, a Banga brand herbal cigarette in her left hand. She took a puff and Sunny squeezed her face and looked away. Bangas were healthier than tobacco cigarettes and smelled nicer, but Sunny agreed with Orlu: a cigarette was a cigarette. And cigarettes were filthy.
“If you’ve got something to say, don’t bother saying it,” Sasha snapped. “Nothing comes from your mouth but lies.”
“Come on, you guys,” Sunny whined. “Can’t you just . . .”
“Just what?!” Sasha screeched. “She’s been cheating on me with your brother! She doesn’t deny it!” He looked at Chichi. “Deny it.”
Chichi slowly blew out smoke. “How old are we? We’re not attached at the hip.”
“Why am I even here?!” Sasha shouted. He started to walk away, but Orlu caught his shoulder.
“Because I asked you to come,” he said. “Please. We’re an Oha coven, remember? We can’t . . .”
“Black Hat is dead,” Sasha snapped. “Nigga killed himself. We all saw it. Our coven is dissolved.”
“It’s not over,” Sunny said. “Ekwensu is here now! We . . .”
“If we are a coven, then there should be trust,” Sasha insisted as he looked at Chichi.
“You think I don’t know about Ronke? Months, you and her,” Chichi spat. Sunny and Orlu looked at Sasha with raised eyebrows. Sasha’s mouth hung open with shock.
“Trust, sha. It goes both ways,” Chichi quietly said.
“Who is Ronke?” Sunny asked.
&n
bsp; But Sasha’s and Chichi’s eyes were locked. They stayed like this for several moments. Chichi was the first to look away. She looked at Orlu. “There is a reason I asked you to have us meet here,” she said. She momentarily looked at Sasha. “All of us. I have been thinking about it all. Black Hat, Ekwensu, Sunny, your dreams, that first vision you had in the candle. I’ve been thinking most about your . . . condition.”
“You mean being doubled?” Sunny said. “Sheesh, it’s not like Voldemort’s name, you can say it aloud.”
“Sorry,” Chichi said, wrinkling her nose as if she smelled something bad. “It’s just so . . . ugh.”
“I know, right?” Sasha said. “I don’t even know how you deal with it. It’s like a guy waking up one day, looking down, and finding his . . .”
“Shut up, Sasha,” Orlu groaned. “Chichi, what were you saying?”
“It’s not your fault, Sunny,” Chichi said. “Plus, I think you will change. Soon.”
“What are you talking about?” Sunny asked, frowning. She’d told the three of them about being torn from Anyanwu, but not the full extent of it. Her relationship with Anyanwu who came and went as she pleased was as much her own business as the sight of her spirit face. But was there something else she needed to know about all this?
Sasha stepped closer. “It’s obvious. Chichi has an idea,” he said flatly. “What is it?”
Again, Chichi and Sasha looked at each other for a long time. Sunny looked from one to the other. She hated when they did this. Even when they were fighting, they shared some weird telepathy-like communication. It had something to do with their natural ability, that lightning-fast photographic thinking they both possessed. Orlu put his hands in his pockets, waiting. He was also used to it.
“Okay, so, Sunny, you . . . we have to get to Lagos to find Udide, according to Bola, right?” Chichi said. “You can’t do this alone and it only makes sense for all of us to go.”
“Well, yeah,” Sunny said, biting her lip. “But how are we supposed to . . .”
“Your brother can take us,” Chichi blurted.
Sasha cursed loudly and walked away.
“What?” Sunny said. “But Orlu and I are in school. It’s not . . .”
Sasha had turned back and was looking at Chichi again, his face still angry. But not as angry. Chichi nodded at him. “This is messed up,” he blurted.
Chichi shrugged. “But you know it’s a good idea.”
“Can you two please tell us your plan,” Orlu said, sounding irritated, “since Sunny and I are too slow to follow your mind-reading?”
“I’ve asked Chukwu already,” Chichi said. “Sunny, he knows he owes you. After making the greatest, most dangerous mistake of his life, he’s back in school and alive because of you. He knows it was you, even if he doesn’t know exactly what you did. He’s got friends in Lagos and he’s got his Jeep. We can go after Christmas, during your break.”
“A road trip?” Sunny said. “We drive?!”
“Yes,” Sasha said.
“But Aba Road is not friendly,” Sunny darkly said. “It’s . . .”
“I can’t afford a plane ticket,” Chichi said. “And I will never get on one of those filthy things, anyway. When I reach third level, I’ll teach myself how to glide so I can travel distances in a more sophisticated sanitary way.”
“Well, maybe my parents could . . .”
“Sunny, you know they’d ask too many questions,” Chichi said.
“How about a funky train, then?” she asked. “There must be some that travel to Lagos.”
“How will you explain going away for so many days, this time?” Chichi said. “You can convince your parents more easily if you go with Chukwu.”
“What of Anatov and all our mentors?” Sunny asked. She hadn’t told Sugar Cream about Bola’s words or her doubling, nor Anatov. She wanted to, but she just didn’t know how. Or maybe she wasn’t ready.
“It’s a road trip,” Sasha said. “They’d all love for us to do that kind of thing.”
“Well, it’ll take forever, if we live,” Sunny said. “I made that drive once with my father and brothers years ago. It was crazy.”
“We can work some protection jujus,” Orlu said. “It’s doable.”
“We’re Leopard People and we’ve faced worse things,” Chichi said.
Sunny couldn’t argue with that.
Orlu turned to Sasha. “If we go, will you come?”
He paused. Then he said, “Yes. For Sunny. If Sunny goes.”
Orlu smiled and so did Sunny.
“But my parents will never allow it,” Sunny said. “That’s, like, a ten-hour drive! And it’s dangerous and . . .”
“Leave that to your brother,” Chichi said. “He’ll get them to say yes.”
Chichi was right. Chukwu, God’s Gift to Women, the Apple of Her Father’s Eye, He Who Was Named After the Supreme Deity of Igbo Cosmology, could do no wrong. Ever since they were young children, her father had given Chukwu the freedom to do basically whatever he wanted. When Chukwu insisted on it, there wasn’t a problem.
“And remember, he has friends in Lagos, too,” Chichi added. “He can say he’s going to see them and we’re just going along for fun.”
“Chichi,” Sasha said.
“Fine,” she said, getting up.
Neither Sunny nor Orlu said a word as Chichi and Sasha walked up the road, several feet between them, backs stiff, talking softly.
Orlu took Sunny’s hand and Sunny smiled. He squeezed it.
“Do you really want to do this?”
“Do I have a choice?” Sunny asked. It wasn’t a good time to do this, either. The doubling made working juju more difficult, and the effects of it still left her feeling . . . beside herself. And even if they made it to this full place, what effect would being there have on someone who’d been doubled?
“Yes,” Orlu said.
Sunny chuckled. “If my parents allow it, I do. Will you come?”
“You need to ask me?”
“For this, I think I do.”
He nodded. “I’ll come.”
“I’m not sure if I like the idea of being in a Jeep with Sasha and Chichi with Chukwu driving.”
“Sasha will sit in the passenger seat,” Orlu said. “That’ll calm his ego. Chichi will sit behind him. You will sit in the middle and I will sit behind Chukwu. There will be less trouble that way and you’ll be in the most protected position.”
“You think I need to be . . .”
“Yes,” he said. “Sunny, I don’t think you fully understand your position in this.”
“I do,” she said.
“No, you don’t.”
They were quiet. Sunny thought of the last thing the possessed Bola had said just before the friendly wilderness spirit possessing her left her body: “Ekwensu is getting her rest. She will strike soon. Gather yourselves.” Ekwensu would strike at her, Sunny, first.
“Maybe,” Sunny said. “But Ekwensu hates me and I’ve seen what was in the candle, Orlu. I know better than anyone what’s coming.” She paused. “If I can help stop it, I’m ready to do what I need to do.” She sighed. “Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”
“Can’t argue with you there.”
20
ROAD TRIP
It was days before Christmas, and Chukwu had come home from university. Sunny was in the kitchen cooking rice and stew when she heard him drive into the compound blasting Nas. Sasha would have been impressed. Nas was Sasha’s favorite rapper of all time.
Chukwu was with his best friend who’d nearly gotten him killed, Adebayo. Sunny eyed him as she added the last of the chicken wings to the stew and set it on low heat. She knew Adebayo but not that well. When he came by, he’d disappear into her brothers’ room with Chukwu to play video games. As they grew older, they’d immediately be off t
o play soccer or join those boxing matches Chukwu had never told her about or whatever they did.
The Adebayo whom Sunny knew was from that fateful night with the Red Sharks. He hadn’t seen her, but she’d seen him. All she could think now as she approached him and her brother, both of whom were bobbing their heads to the loud music, was that this idiot had slapped Chukwu across the face. How were they still friends? And from the swollen looks of the muscles bursting from their designer T-shirts, they’d continued working out in that dank sweaty basement of a gym.
“Welcome,” Sunny said, smiling at Chukwu as she walked up to the car. “How na dey?”
“I dey kanpe,” he said, giving her a hug. “I’m fine.”
She looked at Adebayo and felt a cool satisfaction when even with his muscles he seemed to shrink in her presence. “Good afternoon,” she said to him.
He grunted, “Hello.”
Sunny waited for Chukwu to greet their parents with Adebayo, drop Adebayo off at his home, and come back. She cornered him in the kitchen when she knew Ugonna was in his room submerged in a video conversation on his computer and their parents were watching a Nollywood film in the living room. Chukwu was microwaving some jollof rice and two large pieces of goat meat.
“Is that supposed to be a snack?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said, moving past her to sit at the table. He flexed his arms as he put the plate down. “Gotta feed these.”
Sunny rolled her eyes and grabbed two plantain. “Want some?”
“Of course.”
She brought out a knife and sliced the first one down the skin. She removed the thick peel and put the plantain on a plate and did the same with the next. “So how have things been?” she ventured. “At school.” Her back was to him but she didn’t have to look to see that he’d stiffened.
“Very well,” he said.
“Good.”
“Next semester, my biology professor wants me to be his assistant lecturer.”