Akata Witch

Sasha scoffed.

Anatov nodded at him. “Exactly,” Anatov said. “You know the deal. Anyway, while there, she developed the idea that free agents like you, Sunny, are the scourge of the Earth. She believed them ignorant and misguided. You can imagine what this African woman thought of us African Americans.” He paused. “Prejudice begets prejudice, you see. Knowledge does not always evolve into wisdom.

“That said, when you read her books, you have to really read them. Be aware of her biases toward those not from her homeland and those who are not of traceable spirit.”

“So, she’d probably want to kill me,” Sunny mumbled. “I’m Nigerian, American, and a free agent.”

“What a bitch,” Chichi said.

“But useful,” Anatov emphasized. “Sunny, wade through her vile way of speaking. You’ll see that her book is good. She’s the only scholar who took the time to write a book for free agents. Just know that most Leopards as a whole don’t often consider your kind. Free agents are so rare.

“Now,” he said, slapping the arm of his chair, “the book spoke of Leopards as if we are the most confident beings on Earth and beyond. Don’t get her wrong, we are a confident people. And we do embrace those things that make us unique. However, we have insecurities and problems like any other humans.

“You all know why Sasha’s parents got fed up and sent him here to live with Orlu’s family,” Anatov said. He glanced at Sasha, who looked at his hands. “A troublemaker through and through. Though he respects his parents, he has no respect for authority. I can tell you from personal experience, to be a young black man in America with a hatred for authority is a recipe for disaster.

“You see, Sasha can remember things,” Anatov said. “He has what Lambs would call a photographic memory. He can read something and remember it word for word. On top of this, he has a lot of energy. You see the problem? He knows too much. He’s always ahead. So how do you expect him to respect just anyone? How can you expect him to sit still? This young man is like a thousand volumes of juju.

“Chichi here, she is the same. It’s rare to find two people so similar who come from different parents and countries. Chichi would never have survived at your Lamb school, Sunny. She’d have spent most of her time being punished for mouthing off. You know her; you must agree she has a big mouth.”

They all snickered.

“But like her mother, like Sasha, she can read a thousand books and remember what’s in all of them. Most people would dismiss Chichi and Sasha as disrespectful, uncouth children who can’t even get though a year of school. They’d insist they were destined to be criminals and streetwalkers. Doctors would prescribe Ritalin for their ADD and then throw their hands up, perplexed, when it didn’t work. But as Leopard children, they’re destined for great, great things. These two could probably pass their second and third levels if they were emotionally mature. Which they are not. Not even close.”

Chichi frowned deeply at this and Sasha rolled his eyes.

“Now in Orlu’s first few years of Lamb school, the teachers told his parents that he would never be able to read,” Anatov said. “When Orlu tried, the pages looked like gibberish. When he tried to write, his hand wanted to write backward or combine the letters. They said he had a learning disorder called dyslexia.”

Sunny glanced at Orlu, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“The moment the teachers told Orlu’s parents this, they were elated. Orlu wasn’t too happy. He was ashamed. The influence of Lamb society is strong. But his parents knew that this was the key to what their son would be. And to have such a serious ‘disability’ meant his talent would be amazing. And it is. Orlu can undo things. Throw a juju at him and he can undo it and make it harmless or useless without ever knowing what he’s doing.

“Everyone can work juju charms, some of us better than others, but few can undo them on instinct. Once I started teaching Orlu how to hone this skill, his ability to read kicked in,” Anatov said. “When I am through with this boy, no one will be able to harm him with any kind of juju.

“And that brings us to you, Sunny.” He paused. Everyone looked at her and her skin prickled. “Your name reflects the sun, like the color of your skin, no?” He grinned. “An ugly, sickly color for a child of pure Nigerian blood. Everything about you is ‘wrong’-your eyes, your hair, your skin. Otherworldly.”

Sunny frowned but held Anatov’s eyes.

“What has the Supreme Being endowed you with, eh?” he said. “They say your kind has one foot set in the physical world and one foot in the wilderness-that’s what we call the spirit world. Do you believe you have that ‘here and there’ quality?”

“No,” she said.

“Believe it. To be Leopard and albino is often a rare gift,” he said. “Can any of you guess what she can do?”

“That’s easy,” Chichi said. “She can make herself invisible.”

“And why is that?”

“Because she has the natural ability to go into the wilderness whenever she wants. That’s what makes her invisible.”

“She can mess with time, too,” Sasha added. “For the same reason. Time doesn’t exist in the wilderness.”

“Right, but that is a more difficult skill to harness. Sunny, all these things experienced Leopard sorcerers can do. But they will need their juju knives, powders, and other items to do it. You can do these things without any of that, once you learn how.”

“Don’t forget the premonitions,” Chichi added. “That’s what happened with the candle, right, Oga?”

“Right,” Anatov said. “Because you can go into the wilderness, you are susceptible to wilderlings showing you things for whatever reason.”

“Wilderlings?” she said. Her mouth went dry.

“Creatures, beasts, and beings from the wilderness,” Anatov said.

“So, because I’m a Leopard albino, I can-”

“Yes. Certain attributes tend to yield certain talents. Very, very tall people tend to have the ability to predict the future through the stars. Very, very short people tend to make plants grow. Those with bad skin usually know and understand the weather. Abilities are things people are able to do without the use of a juju knife, powders, or other ingredients like the head of an ebett. They just come naturally.

“That’s enough for now,” Anatov said. “Orlu, Chichi, last lesson I had you go out to the street folk and talk to them. I wanted you to see them, to understand how it is they live. I had you go out with sacks of food. So?”

“We went out and helped,” Orlu said. He looked at Sasha as he said it. “But two men tried to rob us. Chichi blew lockup powder on them. We left them on the side of the street groaning with cramped muscles. We were lucky they only had knives.”

“Knives?” Sunny cried.

“But most of the people we met, they were either homeless or just too sad to go home or were trying to find home. They were happy to see us,” Orlu said. “Well, maybe they were happy to see the food we brought them.”

“They thought we were angels,” Chichi said.

“And did you sit and talk with them?” Anatov asked.

Orlu and Chichi nodded.

“What did you learn?”

“That all those people… they have stories and lives and dreams,” Orlu said.

“And that sometimes right is wrong and wrong is right,” Chichi added.

Anatov nodded, looking pleased. “Sasha, from what I understand, the scholar you worked with in the United States, Jose Santos, sent you and his other students backpacking from San Francisco to some small town deep into Mexico?”

Sasha nodded. “For two months. I perfected my Spanish. We were robbed three times at gunpoint…” He laughed. “It was great.”

“I met Jose once, years ago. I admire him,” Anatov said. “Now, you two-you four-are my students. My job is to guide you.” He looked mainly at Sunny as he said this. “You will learn about yourselves from me, you’ll learn new and old juju, and I will help you, if I can, to pass your levels. And I’ll send you out there into the world to catch your