"The Lutheran preachers, Joshua and Nuru Bendera, passed away this evening at their home in Mbezi. While the cause of death remains unknown, the police don't suspect foul play. We'll keep you informed when we find out more," the big-headed news anchor, Ahmed Kissamo, said.

I switched to a music channel, seeing as everything had gone to plan. After the fight with Fake Esther and the vanas, I erased the minds of the security guards and the house girl, making it look like the necromancer and I hadn't been there. Also, I removed our magical scars—magic energies sorcerers used to trace each other—knowing other occult detectives would be on the case, searching for evidence of foul play, as preachers of this importance usually dealt with threats from sorcerers.

Stretching my legs and arms on the couch, I yawned. It had been a long day full of twists and turns, and my muscles ached as a reward. I had high expectations for the case when I took it. But in the end, it felt anti-climatic. Though, the knowledge of The Fellowship, aka Followers of Judas, was a welcoming surprise.

A group that controlled the world from the shadows, huh? Deciding who lives and dies? What a horrible way to live. Mawu had told me too much power always corrupted people, no matter how good their intentions were at first. It was why when I unlocked the abilities of past moon magic users, I did it one at a time so I could get used to them without them corrupting me.

"Here you go," Ebony said after entering the living room, holding a plate of rice and stew.

Taking it off her hands, I placed it on the small table in front of me. "Thank you," I said before getting a smile from her.

Honey and Denzel arrived next, the former holding a jar of juice, while the latter carried a glass twice his size.

"I didn't think the necromancer would be this tricky," Honey said, pouring the juice into the glass. "And you showed her your strongest hand." She shook her head, looking like a disappointed mother, reminding me of Mama. "Now she knows what to expect from you."

"Not exactly," I replied, grabbing the glass and taking a sip. Passion juice, my favorite. "She doesn't know I have a few abilities left to unlock before I can officially say I've mastered moon magic."

"More than ten isn't a few," Ebony said.

"Depends on who you're asking," I replied.

"You seem to like her," Denzel said, sitting next to me.

"I do. She reminds me of myself: fierce and not afraid to go after what she wants."

"You said she's fun too," Denzel added.

"Yes, she is."

"It's sad you have to kill her."

I sighed. "That's life."

We spent the next thirty minutes watching music videos on TV before my phone rang. Checking the caller ID, it was my youngest brother, Albert. I was more of a mother to him than Mama, but I couldn't say that in front of her or she'd smack my head. Though it was true. As the middle child and only girl in a family of seven, I ended up raising the youngest three. Even if they wouldn't admit it, I was their role model.

The one thing I hated about Albert's calls was the video call aspect. And he knew I'd always pick up, no matter how I looked, where I was, or who I was if.

"What do you want?" I answered, seeing his angular face, short afro, and a pencil mustache he used as an indicator he was a grown man now.

Albert gasped, then placed his hand on his chest. "Is that how someone talks to their sibling?"

I rolled my eyes. "Did your girlfriend leave you? Is that why you're calling?"

Last month, Albert had called to tell me about his new girlfriend and how she was the one. I wanted to say the cliche "you're young and you'll find a lot of girls you'll want to marry", but I stopped myself. Maybe his first girlfriend would be his last, like Mama and Baba. And if she turned out not to be, I didn't want to be the one who had jinxed it.

Albert gasped even louder. "No way. We're still together."

"So, why did you call?" I raised my brow.

He chuckled before glancing to the side. Yeah, I recognized the look in his hazel eyes. Whenever he wanted something from me, he'd chuckle then look away, knowing I would read him like a book.

I sighed. "Just tell me what you want?"

"There's a new iPhone—"

"You know I'm not rich, right?"

"You're not poor either."

Smart bastard. "Why don't you ask Mama?"

He gave me a long stare.

I laughed out loud. I missed seeing Albert and his theatrics in person. Sadly, he was studying in the States and would only return after graduating from university to continue the family business of occult detectives, picking a different region from the rest of us to operate in.

Mama and Baba had made sure the seven of us got university degrees so that if the occult thing became too much for us, we could quit and do normal jobs. But we all knew that was impossible. It was in our DNA. So going to school was for us to experience the last bit of normalcy in our lives before returning home—everyone had to study abroad, and in different countries, so we could have separate experiences.

"I'll send you the money on Monday," I told him.

"Yes." He shook his fist.

If you wanted something from Mama, you had to work for it. I remember the days of hunting ghouls and harpies so she could let me go on a school trip. Back then, I used to think she was so cruel. Now, I thank her for teaching me how to be strong and independent from an early age. I wouldn't be where I was today without her.

I spoiled him too much. "Anything you want to add?"

Albert smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"How are your children?"

Turning to the voodoo dolls beside me, they were asleep. It made sense why it had gotten quiet all of a sudden. I moved the phone in their direction.

"When they wake up, tell them I said hello."

"I will."

"Oh, I almost forgot. I also called because of The Locals."

"The ghost hunting team?" I raised my brow. "What about them?"

The Locals were a group of high school YouTubers who visited haunted houses at night. They didn't care about the malevolent spirits in those homes; their main goal was increasing their subscribers and views, which increased their pay.

"They went to the Kaa Mbali house," Albert said.

I paused, eyes widened and my hand covering my mouth. The Locals were young and stupid, but this was a new idiotic level even for them.

The Kaa Mbali house used to be a slave butcher shop colonialists built to cut, eat, and sell Africans' meat, thinking it would make their skin resist the sun's effects like ours. The estimated number of butchered people was in the tens of millions.

It was the most haunted house in Africa. Not Tanzania. Not East Africa. But the whole of fucking Africa.

Forget about ghost hunters for a moment: no sane sorcerer had ever dared to enter the house for fun. The evil spirits gave off dark energies that choked you the moment you arrived at the gate. I went there once and I couldn't move. Fear had me by the throat, bringing tears to my eyes and sweat to my body. Preacher Boy and Zainab had to rescue me.

"Subscribe to a new ghost hunting channel, Albert. If what you're saying is true, then The Locals are dead."

"Binti!"

"What do you want me to do, Albert?"

"Help them."

I scoffed. "I have visitors coming soon."

"Don't you know someone else who can?"

A light turned in my head. "Preacher Boy. His teleportation can help. You should talk to him."

"Can't you tell him to do it?"

I shook my head. "Once you become a full-time occult detective, this is what you'll be dealing with, especially if you open your own office."

Albert sighed. "Fine. Send me his number."

"That's more like it." I smiled. "Talk to you soon. Love you."

"Love you too." He ended the call.

After sending him Preacher Boy's number, I carried the dolls to their room, placed them on their beds, and returned to the living room. Before I sat on the couch, the gate's bell rang.

Groaning, I left the house and opened the gate's door, finding James and three other crows staring at me. Placing my hand on the perimeter wall, I lowered the magic barrier.

"Come in." After they entered, I pulled my hand away, restoring the barrier. "Are these the other designated leaders?"

"Yes." James pointed at a crow with greyish feathers on its head. "This is David." Then he turned to the one with thick black feathers all over its body. "That's Kim." And finally, he finished with the one with a cracked beak and a missing left eye. "That's Tom."

"Nice to meet all of you." I turned and headed inside the house. "Follow me. We have a lot to talk about."