When the grasscutter flew into the air, Sunny felt no exhilaration. As they zoomed high over the house, away from the council car that was sitting at the gate as the council police pushed the gate open, Sunny cried and cried. All she could see in her mind was the look of terror on her brother’s face. It was a look that said he was seeing a monster. I am a monster, she thought.

Yes, it was juju, but he was her older brother trying to protect her from danger. And make no mistake, she was heading to a very dangerous place. And she’d forced him to flee like a terrified child. If that wasn’t something only a monster would do, she didn’t know what it was.

28

THE YAM FARM

They were on the run. There was no getting out of this without being arrested. They could not return home without facing harsh punishment. No matter what they discovered in Osisi.

For the first half hour, Sunny could think of nothing but this fact and the look on her brother’s face. Then, maybe it was the feel of the wind blowing in her face, or maybe it was the smooth motion of Grashcoatah’s flight, or maybe it was the sound of Orlu’s rare delighted laughter. Whatever it was, it caused the veil of sadness and doom to lift from her shoulders. And soon she, too, was in awe of the whole experience.

Grashcoatah flew high in the sky where it was cool and silent. His body was remarkably warm, so none of them was uncomfortable. And he flew so smoothly. It was not like an airplane slicing through the air. It was as if his very presence caused the air to part and give way. There was no loud wind, though they flew fast. They were heading northeast.

Grashcoatah communicated in his own way that he instinctively knew the way to Osisi. According to Orlu, who was best at understanding the beast, Grashcoatah could smell the way. They were invisible to the world around them. When Grashcoatah made himself invisible, they also disappeared as long as they held on to his hairs. Sunny could even feel it, a warm sensation that traveled up from his body. At first, Sunny welcomed this visual nothingness. She was just wind passing through the air, similar to when she glided.

Once they were out of the city, they all agreed that it was okay for Grashcoatah to make himself visible. The night was dark and they were over mostly trees and small unlit villages. Sunny looked at her cell phone. It said NO SERVICE AVAILABLE. Grashcoatah was quiet as they flew. Sunny wondered if he was worried about what the council would do when they caught him. In Nigeria, intelligent beasts who broke protocol by showing themselves to Lambs would face execution.

“Even if we make it to Osisi without getting caught, I don’t know what I’m looking for,” Sunny said.

“Well, at least you’ll arrive there in the same way that you arrived in your dream,” Orlu said. “By air. Maybe you’ll remember the rest of the dream when we get to that same point.”