“Okay, hold on,” Sunny said to Grashcoatah. He seemed relieved to hover in the air far above things for the moment. In the distance a large green glowing centipedelike creature spiraled between two skyscrapers. Sunny wondered if the others could see it.

“What was happening down there?” Orlu asked. “I didn’t see anything. Just empty road and quiet buildings.”

“Me neither,” Sasha said.

“I dunno,” Sunny said, rubbing her aching temples. She was tired in the same way that she was when she read Nsibidi. Anyanwu, she called in her mind. What is happening? Though she continued to see in the double vision, Anyanwu didn’t respond. Where had she gone? Tears fell from Sunny’s eyes, her nose ran, and her heart began to beat fast. She sniffled and shut her eyes tightly. She took a deep breath. Someone took her hands. “Inhale,” Chichi said. Sunny inhaled. “Exhale.” Sunny exhaled. “Do it again, Sunny. Breathe. We need you to be strong now,” Chichi softly said.

Sunny inhaled and then exhaled, and each time she repeated this, Chichi squeezed her hands reassuringly. She opened her eyes and blinked away her tears.

“She’s gone again,” Sunny whispered.

“What?” Chichi asked.

I’m incomplete, she thought. Can’t you tell? However, she didn’t say this aloud. Sunny only shook her head. “Why are we even here? I had a vision I thought was the apocalypse, and then some crazy lady who refuses to wear a shirt told me to come here. What is that?”

“Anatov says the universe guides us all,” Chichi said. “It’s up to us to listen. The universe is pushing you here. You know it. Stop being a coward. You’re a Leopard girl, you should know better.”

“The world is much bigger than me, right?” Sunny said.

“Right,” Chichi said with a smile.

Oddly enough, the phrase she’d been told over and over by her Leopard teachers and mentors, the phrase that had always seemed so callous, made her feel better in that moment. The universe may have wanted to make use of her, but its purpose was not to specifically harm her.

Chichi brought out her juju knife and held it up. Sasha did the same, then Orlu. Sunny brought hers from her pocket. When they touched them together, as friends touch wine glasses together in a toast, there was a large periwinkle spark and a jolt. One felt through the tip of one’s juju knife as if that tip was part of his or her body. However, when they touched their knives together, it was like feeling with four knives.

Also, for a moment, Sunny saw through four pairs of eyes at once. She saw herself, Orlu, Sasha, and Chichi in ways that she didn’t normally see them. She saw herself as yellow-skinned and yellow-haired, but different. She was herself, but she was beautiful. Was this how Orlu saw her? She saw Sasha as lighter-skinned with sharper features and a warm red aura wafting from him; this was Sunny seeing through Chichi’s eyes. She saw herself again, her yellow features glowing like the sun, her spirit face not visible but looking ready to burst forth at any moment. This was how Sasha saw her?