Sunny knocked on the door. If days had passed, the house girl who lived in the servant house might be inside cleaning the house or cooking a meal. When no one answered, they all sat on the staircase in front of the house. Sunny brought out her phone. Without bothering to read all the messages, she called Chukwu. It rang once before he answered.

“Chukwu,” Sunny said. “Hi! I . . .”

“Sunny? SUNNY?!”

She held the phone away from her ear, his shout was so loud. “Yes, it’s me.”

“WHERE ARE YOU? Are you all right? Where have you been?”

“I . . .”

“Are you all right?!”

“I’m fine,” she said. “We are at the house.”

“Oh, thank God! Thank God, o!! I thought ritual killers had taken you! I thought you were dead! I thought . . .”

“I told you, we have nothing to do with any of that.”

“What the hell are you are involved in, then?” he snapped. “You disappeared for two days! Is this even you?”

“Yes!” Sunny shouted.

“I don’t believe you, o,” he said. But he sounded calmer. “Why should I?”

Sunny’s eyebrows went up. Two days. That was bad but not too bad. She slapped her forehead. Why hadn’t she thought to check her cell phone’s date?! Days of being so close to Chichi, Orlu, and Sasha were rubbing off on her. She was losing her reliance on technology by the second. “Did you call Mom and Dad?”

He paused for several moments. “No,” he finally said.

Sunny’s legs wobbled with relief as she leaned against the door. “Thank goodness,” she whispered.

“I wasn’t sure,” her brother said. “I should have but . . .”

“I’m glad you didn’t! I’m fine. We . . . we did what we needed to do but, Chukwu, there’s more. We have to stay here longer.”

“What? How long? School starts in a few days. I have to go.”

“Then . . . then go. I can . . .”

“No. I go home when you do. Where have you been?”

“I can’t say.”

“Then where are you going?”

“I can’t say that, either.”

There was a long pause.

“I’ll be there in five minutes. I’m with Adebayo. Since you all disappeared, we’ve been searching for you all over.” He was silent again for a moment. He was not telling her something. She didn’t ask.

“Okay,” she said. “See you soon.” She clicked END and turned to the others. “He’s on his way.”

“As long as they don’t try to park the car on that side of the compound,” Orlu said, pointing to where Grashcoatah was sleeping, “we should be fine.”

Adebayo wouldn’t stop giving Sunny strange looks. Sunny’s brother had hugged her tightly, and she even thought she saw tears in his eyes. “I’m okay,” she told him. “Really.”

Chukwu only grumbled something and pushed past her to scoop Chichi into his arms. Chichi giggled as he hugged her, and Sasha looked ready to burst.