Black Leopard, Red Wolf

One of them grabbed Mossi’s horse. Sadogo ran to her and punched her but she still held on to the horse, which was too big for her to eat, but small enough to take down in the hole with her. Sadogo ran, jumped, and landed on her shoulder, his legs wrapped around her neck. She swung up and down and around, trying to throw him off, but he hammered into her forehead until we heard a crack, and she dropped the horse. The Mawana witch grabbed Sadogo and flung him away. He rolled in the dirt until he stopped, on his feet. He was mad now. A bloodied witch grabbed the buffalo’s horns to pull him away, but nothing would move this bull. He backed away, pulling her. I jumped up on his back and swung my ax at her, but she dodged and backed away, almost cowered. Sadogo leapt on the back of a dusty one, all of him about the size of the witch aboveground. She swung and slashed and tried to strike but he was on her back. She shot up, swung down, shook her skin rapidly like a wet dog, but Sadogo held on. He wrapped his arm around her neck and squeezed until she choked. She could not get a grip, so she rose and fell and shook, until his legs swung, then she cut into his right thigh with her claws. Yet he would not let go. He gripped her around the neck until she fell. Two more rose, and went after Sogolon and the girl. As I ran to them, jumping over Mossi and shouting for the buffalo to come with me, the girl raised her lance to ram right through the witch’s stomping hand. She shrieked and I jumped on the buffalo’s horns for him to throw me high at her. My two axes out, I swung both to her neck and chopped her head off. It hung on, swinging on skin. The other witch backed away. Mossi looked at me. The witch was coming up behind him. I threw an ax to him, he caught it and swung his whole body around, throwing force behind the ax and slashing right through her throat. His throat. This one had a long beard. The last two, one dusty, one bloody, rose so high in the air that they looked like they would pull themselves out of the ground and fly away. But both dove back down. I ran towards them and both broke away and dove into the earth as birds dive into the sea.

“I never knew witch would attack witch,” I said.

Sogolon, still on the ground said, “They would not attack you.”

“What? I fought them all, woman.”

“Don’t tell me that you never see them all backing away from you,” she said.

“It is because I’m still covered by the Sangoma.”

“They is flesh, not irons or magic.”

“Maybe they afraid of a man-born Ku,” I said.

“You did sleep last night?”

“What you think, witch?”

“Don’t bother with what I think. You did sleep?”

“And as I said, what do you think?”

The girl grabbed her lance and raised it above her shoulder.

“You was awake all of last night?”

I looked straight at the girl. “Woman-child, what is this you doing? Sogolon teach you two lessons and you think you can throw a lance at me? Let’s see if your lance can pierce my skin before my ax splits your face.”

“He was awake all night, Sogolon. I was there with him,” Mossi said.

“You don’t have to vouch for me.”

“And you don’t have to keep making malice with people right beside you,” he said.

He shook his head as he walked past me. The girl helped Sogolon up. Sadogo came back holding his hands out as if he lost something.

“Your horse, she broke two legs,” he said. “Nothing to do but—”

“If the Aesi don’t jump in your dream, then he find some other way to follow we,” Sogolon said.

“Unless you mean the daydream of me between an Omororo prince and his comelier cousin, I will say no.”

“What about the prefect?”

“What about me?” Mossi said.

“He attacked you first, Sogolon,” I said.

“And he never attack you at all.”

“Maybe my runes work better than your runes.”

“You the one who can hound the boy. He might need you.”

We walked through thick forest bush until we came to see stars dancing across open savannah, where not far away was the house of a man who Sogolon said owed her. Mossi walked beside me but he winced often. Both of his knees were bruised, as was my elbow.

“I don’t know why you would know,” Mossi said to me.

“What would I know?”

“Why the boy’s trail goes hot, then in a blink goes cold, then hot again.”

Behind me walked the buffalo, and behind him, Sadogo.

“They are using the ten and nine doors,” I said.

SEVENTEEN

Divide the Kongor lord’s house by six. A house that is but a room, with an arch door, and walls of clay and mortar. Now put another room on top of that one, then another, then another, and another, then one more and one more on top of that, with a roof that curves like when the moon cuts herself in half. That was this man’s house, a house that looked like just one column was cut off and sent to the Dolingo mountain roads. This lord waited outside his hut, chewing khat, and was not surprised when we approached. It was three nights since we left Kongor. Sogolon nearly fell off the horse trying to dismount. The man pointed inside and the girl helped Sogolon in. Then he sat back down on his stoop and chewed.