“Nimm warrior,” Udide said. “Something is wrong with you, and that is interesting to me. You are two, but you both are one. They will take you next. Thieves. All of you. I let you live out there only because you people make for good stories, and you have the nerve to come down here and face me.”

She wrapped Chichi some more and more, thicker and thicker. Chichi wriggled and wriggled to no avail.

“Oga Udide,” Orlu said, moving forward with Sasha. He pressed his hand to Sasha’s mouth, and Sunny heard him whisper, “Not a word.” He stood up straight and spoke loudly. “My friend Sasha here is from Chicago, in the United States. He grew up on the South Side, in a place called Hyde Park. His grandparents are from Mississippi and participated fully in the civil rights movement, though they were more on the Malcolm X side than the Martin Luther King Jr. side. They passed that down to Sasha, too. He’s a fighter, born and bred through the racist fire that still burns in the United States of America.” He paused. “He . . . he was sent here to Nigeria to stay with my family and me because his parents wanted to keep him out of trouble. He’s too smart and rebellious.

“He is the one who found your Book of Shadows. And Chichi, there, Chichi is the Nimm princess you are wrapping up and preparing to kill. But she is Sasha’s girlfriend, and she, too, is obsessed with your words and ideas. Both of them used one of your jujus to call an Aku masquerade at a party almost a year ago. Your teachings are good and effective, though dangerous to the reckless.

“Me, I have read parts of your Book of Shadows, but it is not your spells and stories that I am interested in. It is you, Udide. I’ve read a book called The Book of High Beasts. In it, you are cited as the true creator of destiny. You are one of the few who answers only to Chukwu, the Supreme One. There is a Great Crab who lives deep in the Atlantic Ocean whom you love and see once every millennium. The hairs on your body can change the passage of time. You and Mami Wata have inspired human rebellions on every continent.”

“You know much,” Udide said.

Orlu nodded frantically. “And . . . and this girl here, Sunny Nwazue. That is her name. I love her very much.” He glanced at Sunny. She could feel saliva running from the side of her mouth. “Sunny recently met and freed the spider named Ogwu and her children.”

“She did not free Ogwu,” Udide said. “Ogwu freed herself. Ogwu saved your Sunny from a djinn.”

“Sorry, Ma Udide,” Orlu said respectfully. “You are right. But Sunny helped Ogwu free herself, and Ogwu sends her greetings to you from a place of freedom.” He paused, taking a breath. “Please, Chichi is like my sister. Please. We have come here for a good reason. I know your kind can sting venom and the antidote to the venom into a person. Please do this for the girl I love and my . . . my sister. Don’t let them die. Please.” He calmly nodded his head and again said, “Please.”