Black Leopard, Red Wolf

There are only ten and nine such doors in all the lands, and one in this forest you call the Darklands.

“Sadogo, can you carry the Leopard?”

“Can I—”

“Sadogo!”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.”

“I’ll carry the boy.”

The ten and nine doors, surely you have heard of them.

“Another trick.”

“Who do you talk to?” Sadogo said.

“A minor demon who will not be quiet.”

“I worked for slavers once,” Sadogo said.

“Not now, Sadogo.”

“I … do not know why … my head keeps rolling out to sea. But I have seen many days working for a slaver. I stopped a slave revolt once all by my own, with these hands you see here. They said I could kill five and not affect their profits so I killed five. I don’t know why I did it. I know why I killed them but … my head goes out to sea, I do not know why I was in a slaver’s employ …. Did you know there are no female Ogos … or I have found none in all the lands I have seen …. Know this, Tracker … why do I wish to tell you, why do I wish to tell you so? I have never … ever … never been with a woman, for who can the Ogo mate with that he does not kill … and if this does not kill her …”

He lifted up his skirt. Long and thick like my entire arm.

“And if this does not kill her, giving birth to an Ogo surely will. I do not know my mother, just as no Ogo knows. The King of the South tried to breed a race of Ogo to fight in the last war. He kidnapped girls … some very young … some not childbearing age … wickedness, witchcraft, noon magic. Not a single Ogo he produced, but monsters now roam. We are not a race … we are a mishap.”

“Grab the Leopard, Sadogo,” I said.

The Ogo stooped, still wobbly, scooped the Leopard by the waist, and slung him over his right shoulder. Fumeli, as light as I thought he would be, I slung over my right and picked up his bow. The Ogo went to the door and stopped.

“The mad monkey …”

“Sadogo, there is no mad monkey. The Anjonu was trying to trick you.”

Kafin ka ga biri, biri ya ganka.

“The mad monkey …”

“Sadogo, do—”

“The mad monkey … outside.”

Before you see the monkey, the monkey has seen you.

The scream again. A long EEEEEEEEEEE that screeched through the leaves. I went to the door. The creature was maybe two hundred paces away and moving very fast. Faster than a galloping horse and coming to the door. His arms flailing about, his legs hopping long leaps, his knees almost hitting his chin. Sometimes he stopped and pushed his nose in the air, catching a smell on the wind, then looked our way and dashed again, gnashing and spitting. His thick tail swishing, whipping away. Skin like a man’s, but also green like rot. He ran headfirst, two eyes popping, the right small, the left bigger and smoking. He screamed again and the ghost of birds flew off. Too fast. Ripped cloth flapped all over him.

“The door, Sadogo, the door!”

Sadogo threw off the Leopard, slammed the door, and dropped the three bolts across it. A bang hit the door like a lightning bolt. Sadogo jumped. The creature EEEEEEEEEEE’d again, threatening to deafen every soul close.

“Shit,” I said.

The walls of the hut were stick leaves and dry shit. The creature would punch a hole right through it as soon as he saw that he could. It banged and banged and the old wood started to crack. He EEEEEEEEEEE’d again and again. Sadogo picked up the Leopard.

“The door,” he said.

I thought he was pointing to the front door, but he nodded at the back. The creature punched a hole through the front door and pushed his face against it. Face shaped like that of a man bred with a devil. His left eye really did smoke. Nose punched in like an ape’s and long, rotten teeth. He snarled and spat through the hole, then pulled away. I could hear his feet, his footsteps quicker and louder, running, right into the door. The hinges broke, but did not break off. His face pushed through the hole again. EEEEEEEEEEE. He ran off to charge again.

Sadogo grabbed each lock and ripped them off the back door. The mad monkey rammed into the wood and his whole head burst through. He tried to pull himself but was stuck. Now he looked up at us and yelled and screamed and snarled and I could hear his tail whip against the hut. We turned to the back door and all the locks Sadogo had ripped out appeared again.

“He will get through the door the third time,” I said.

“What kind of magic is this … what kind of magic?” Sadogo said.