Arti lifts her chin; her lips draw tight. “I can fix this.”
“Can you?” I yell. “Can you bring back Kofi and the other children? Can you undo all the harm that you and Efiya have caused?”
A flutter of Arti’s magic brushes against my forearms as she narrows her eyes. “What are you doing here?” I’m bewildered that it took her this long to ask, but like me, she must sense that Efiya’s committed some new gods-awful crime.
I cross my arms. “There’s no place for me here.”
“You’re leaving?” Arti asks, her expression blank.
“I am,” I reply. Don’t try to stop me.
“Perhaps it’s for the best.” My mother turns her back to me again. “Efiya is unpredictable.”
I glare at her, half in shock that that’s all she has to say. I almost spit at her feet, but no, it’s not worth it. Let her suffer here with Efiya. It’s the fate she deserves.
With so much left unsaid, there is no true goodbye between my mother and me. Terra and I continue for Kefu as Arti’s last words and blank stare taunt me. Perhaps it is for the best.
We walk for what feels like too long, and Kefu is still a glimmer in the distance. The nighthawks begin to circle us, their cries louder with every step we take. Terra keeps cursing at them, but I don’t waste my energy. It’s the sting of demon magic that worries me. Wherever my sister has gone, she’s left some of her army behind to keep watch. I haven’t seen any demons in human form outside of Merka and Nezi since the rest marched into the desert. I hadn’t expected that some would be following us now—keeping to the shadows.
I clutch the strap across my shoulder so hard that my hand aches. I should’ve come up with a real plan, but I’m here now and I have no intention of going back. Why don’t they attack? Whatever their reason, I don’t fear them as much as before. Something has changed, something new has awakened within me. It runs hot in my blood.
“What are we going to do when Efiya comes after us?” Terra asks.
“I don’t know yet.” It’s the most honest answer I can give her.
It’s still night when we finally reach Kefu. The port city is quiet and the streets dim. The air is wound tight with tension. Do the residents also feel the restlessness of the demons? I stare at face after face, looking for unnatural green eyes, my heart racing. There’s demon magic here too—faint on the breeze. We head for the docks. It’s our only way out of this miserable town. Men haul crates of supplies from boats with ropes and pulleys. Fishermen, laborers, merchants of all walks of life move about their business in a slumber.
Three fishermen step in our path. Not fishermen—demons. Their magic crawls up my arms, chilling me to the bone.
“No.” Terra shakes her head. “I won’t go back!” In a panic, she ducks into an alley.
“Terra, no!” I run after her.
I’m halfway down the alley when I catch up with her and realize we’re trapped. Tears stream down Terra’s cheeks as two sets of demons close in on us—five on either side. I search for something, anything to fight with, but there’s nothing but barrels of garbage that reek of fish guts. Not for the first time, I miss my demon magic, but would it work against them? I reach for Terra’s hand, and we hold on tight to each other. This is it, then. I can’t believe it’s going to end like this after everything that’s happened.
The air shifts around us, and Koré steps out of the void. I sigh, letting go a pent-up breath. Part of me thought she and the edam had given up. She’s dressed in a captain’s black trousers and a vest with a white blouse underneath. Her long braids are in a ponytail, not writhing about her head for once. She flashes me a wide smile, and it’s good to see a friendly face after my mother’s cold gaze. “You brought your little friend.”
Terra startles at my side and backs against the alley wall.
“It’s okay.” I hold up my hands to calm her. “Koré’s here to help.”
Terra frowns, but she doesn’t protest.
“Where have you been?” I ask Koré. “Where are the edam?”
She regards me with sad eyes. “They’ll be here soon enough.”
Relief floods my body. Grandmother and the other witchdoctors are coming. They’ll finally put an end to my sister’s reign of terror.
“Filthy beasts.” Koré spits on the ground and makes a show of wiping her mouth. Now that she’s here, the demons turn their attention on her. Their green eyes glow brighter, their teeth bared. Her hair begins to wriggle as she stretches her neck to one side, then the other. “This is going to be fun.”
She’s the reason they didn’t attack in the desert. They wanted to get close to her first, to steal their master’s ka, which must mean that Efiya hasn’t found it yet.
Koré flourishes a bow at the demons. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
They hiss at her, their voices like twisted birdsong. “Give us the box.”
“What box?” She shrugs, feigning ignorance.
“Do not toy with us, false god.”
“False god?” She grimaces. “You wound me.”
“She’s coming for you,” warns another.
Koré raises an eyebrow, her interest piqued. “You’ll be dead before she arrives.”
“What are they saying?” Terra whispers as she slips close to me.
“What . . .” I frown, realizing that both Koré and the demons are speaking a language that I shouldn’t understand. The language that Arti used in that awful summoning ritual. First the whispers and sudden sharp pain in my room, now this. There’s something very wrong. I can feel it. “They’re posturing . . . ,” I mumble, lost in my thoughts.
The demons draw their swords, but they do not advance. They must be waiting for my sister to arrive. Two phantom daggers appear in Koré’s hands. The handles shimmer, the blades glow. A demon eases up behind her. When he gets too close, one of her braids strikes his throat and a bolt of lightning cuts through him. His ka escapes his vessel and disappears into the night.
The nine remaining demons charge at Koré. Her daggers soar through the air and cleave two clean through their hearts. I snatch up a fallen sword and step in front of Terra, the blade heavy in my hands. It’s nothing like a nimble staff, but I’ll make do.
Koré sprints and leaps against buildings. Her body is horizontal to the ground as she propels herself through the air. The demons launch too, their claws, teeth, and swords aimed for her small frame. She crouches midair when her daggers reappear in her hands. She strikes again. Her aim is true. My heart soars with hope that we’ll survive this night. That there’s still a chance to stop my sister from breaking the world.
Then another sharp pain slices through my head and brings me to my knees. The sword lands with a heavy thud on the ground. Magic whirls around me in a cloud of sparkling dust, settling on my skin before shrinking inside me. The magic is like feather strokes, wingbeats, and fills me with longing. It’s the magic of the tribal lands, the magic of Heka. When I open my eyes, everything appears sharper, crisper, like a fog lifted from my mind. I sway as the world tilts around me.