Its voice made her feel like a tuning fork was being held close to her flesh. The vibration made her want to stick her pinky in her ear. It was vaguely female. “I know you, Anyanwu,” she said. She hung before Sunny’s eyes. Even with her life being in danger, her fear of spiders made her tense up.

“I know what you all tried and failed at so long ago,” Sunny said.

The spider clenched her legs to her body. Sunny suppressed a disgusted shudder.

“You were on the plane,” Sunny said. “The Enola Gay. I know. You were on the bomb, and you tried to weave the storytelling juju your people are most known for. You wove a thick thread that was supposed to cause the bomb not to work when they dropped it on Hiroshima. But when you attached it, you misspoke one of the binding words, and it snapped when the bomb was released. You failed and no one has seen you since. So, this basement is where you came with all your descendants to hide from the world.”

“No, this basement is where Udide cursed us to stay until I have completed my task,” she said. “Which is impossible because I have already failed.”

The lights flickered. And Sunny heard a scraping sound from across the room. The djinn had located its nerve. Such things never give up so quickly, she knew.

“Wait, please,” Sunny said. “Help me.”

“We will not,” Ogwu said. “We can’t help anyone. I am useless and my children are useless. The djinn takes from those sent down here for punishment, but we have only seen it kill one person punished down here. And that was forty years ago. A young man whose bones were so strong they could not break. Let it take from you, some blood, some years from your life, some of your life’s good luck. Then leave this place and never do anything stupid enough to cause your return. Or . . . maybe yes, it will kill you, Anyanwu. I will see you in the wilderness.” Ogwu started to ascend on her web, and Sunny began to panic. The djinn feared the spider. As soon as she was far enough from Sunny, it would have nothing to fear.

“Sunny Nwazuuuuue,” the djinn sang. “I’m coming for youuuuu!”

“I know how you can break your curse,” Sunny quickly said. Ogwu stopped. She waited.

“I need to do what you all tried to do but on a larger scale.” She was making it up on the spot. Sunny had no clue why she’d been shown the vision in the candle and was having the strange dreams. But this wasn’t a time to worry about flat-out lying. “I’ve seen the end. And this time it’s not just a city in flames, it’s the entire world. I’ve seen it in a candle. That’s what caused me to discover I was a free agent Leopard Person. And I’ve been seeing it over and over in my dreams for the last few months! So maybe it’s supposed to happen soon! Oh, saving the world will require more than just me, but I am needed. Please. Help me. If you do, you’ll be doing what you should have done back in 1945! And this time, it’ll be on a grander scale! You won’t just be saving a city, you’ll be saving the earth! Fear of failure leads to more failure! And you won’t fail this time! You will be able to leave this place, trust me. Remember sunlight? You’ll see it again, if you help!! I am . . . I am ignorant. I can’t defeat a djinn!”