“What a life I have,” she whispered.

To her left, she could see about thirty large spiders on the cave wall scrambling into the darkness. To where, she had no idea and didn’t care one way or another.

All four of them bounced as Udide lifted the great web-wrapped mass and then let it fall to the ground again. They coughed and scrambled together, grabbing each other as the cloud of dust rushed over them. Everything was light blue as the blue marbles that sat on the ground between them, and Udide and her creation glowed brighter in the settling dust.

“Oh my God, it’s exactly how I imagined,” Orlu said. “Thryonomys volante, wow.”

“You imagined this?” Sasha asked, pointing at it.

“Disgusting,” Chichi said.

The mass was undulating. The blue marble light only lit part of it. There was something inside. Unt, unt, unt, the thing inside grunted. It sounded like a giant pig. Udide scurried around the mass three times, laying three of her legs on it after each rotation. Then she plucked a hair from her back and stuck it into the mass like a pin, using two of her legs. The mass calmed, and Udide let out a great billow of her smoky stench, which made Sunny’s eyes water. Then Udide stepped back and waited.

“One of us has to release it,” Orlu said after several moments.

They all looked at Sunny. She shook her head. “I . . .”

“Because we’ll all die if we get close to it,” Chichi said. “We can’t survive the wilderness.”

“It is safe now,” Udide said. “Just like Osisi is safe for you all; I have pulled down the veil of the wilderness. The creature is mortal and alive.”

“Then you go,” Sunny said to Orlu. “You’re the one who likes animals so much.”

“Yeah,” Sasha agreed. “Which one of us knew its scientific name?”

“Okay,” Orlu said.

“We can’t all go?” Chichi asked.

“No, only one at first,” Orlu said. He crept forward and slowly walked across the great cave. It took him nearly five minutes to get halfway across. He stopped, his hands clenching and unclenching. Then he started moving them quickly in the air.

“What is that?” Sunny shouted.

“It’s . . .” He worked his hands some more. “Never mind. I’m okay.”

“He’s undoing jujus,” Chichi said.

“It’s protected itself,” Orlu shouted. “And . . . well, I think it’s joking with me. But not in a good way. If any of you had been in my shoes, you’d be on the floor itching and screaming right now from the stings of Seven Stinger Mosquitoes.”

“Damn!” Sasha said. “I used that juju once in the Leopard Library of Chicago because this guy shoved me aside to get a book we both wanted. The man hollered like crazy.”

“It’s not even out of its cocoon, and it’s already showing it’s got a sick sense of humor,” Orlu shouted. “This is why it’s best for only one person to approach it.” When he reached the cocoon, he paused and stared at Udide. “I know exactly what he’s feeling,” Sunny muttered. There was nothing like having Udide’s undivided attention.