Every fiber in my being twisted and turned, kicked and punched, scratched and bit me not to go forward with this. The heavy pounding in my chest persisted, my heart issuing an ultimatum to me not to watch Baba get killed.

But I had to.

My soul knew it. My body knew it. My mind knew it.

I needed to know the killer's identity. If not for me, then for my family.

"Who'll do the honors?" Mr. Simon asked, looking at the three travelers.

"I've never traveled with Binti before. I'll do it," Preacher Boy said with the enthusiasm of a puppy. He stared at me while rubbing his hands together, eager to impress his sensei. What could I say? The kid looked up to me.

"We'll see how good you are," I said.

"I'm the best traveler," he replied.

Zainab coughed. "Second best."

Anthony coughed twice. "Third best."

Preacher Boy stared at them with his mouth ajar, making me and Mr. Simon chuckle. The three must've been arguing regularly about who was better among them—positive competition was necessary between team members. But the answer was Anthony: he had powerful magic energy and the experience to match it. Him entertaining the two showed he was a good leader. Not better than me, but he was getting there. Ha!

"Can I see the crime scene?" Preacher Boy asked.

Travelers couldn't safely portal to a location they hadn't been to or seen. They needed an image or video of the area before choosing a safe place to teleport to.

Anthony took out his phone and showed Preacher Boy a picture of the crime scene during the day back then. "Focus on the trees and bushes. That's where we should appear," he said.

I gulped; the ache in my heart grew. Clenching the chair's arms with my hands, I restrained myself from backing out. This was good for me. It was! Probably for Mama too. She had spent years contacting everyone she knew, asking for answers none of them had. Maybe if she knew the killer's identity, she'd finally have closure and move on with her life. There was so much out there for her to see and learn. Sitting inside the house and doing nothing but cooking, cleaning, and crying over Baba wasn't living. It was a slow death sentence—she was punishing herself for losing him, even though she had no way of stopping it. And when she tried summoning Baba's soul to find out what had happened, she failed. His soul had moved on quickly. It was unnatural. No one knew why. I suspected The Fellowship might've had the answer.

"When did he die?" Preacher Boy asked, needing to know what time to travel to. Otherwise, we may appear while Baba was getting killed and ruin everything.

"Between eight to eight-thirty pm," I replied.

"Got it." Preacher Boy clasped his hands together, then formed a "V" with his fingers. Out of the three sorcerer types, he was a chanter. "Time Magic: Back To The Past."

A six-foot white ring appeared behind him, humming like a bird. Different colored energies swirled around it while it moved back and forth like a heartbeat. Preacher Boy had conjured it within seconds. I was impressed. He was far removed from the boy who couldn't even open an inch of a portal before.

The other guests gave the magic ring a single glance before minding their business. Shit like this was ordinary around sorcerers. They would've been more surprised if no one had used magic freely. There was a comfort in using magic around peers that you didn't get with magicless people—the weird looks they gave us weren't fun.

"We need to mask our presence," I said, knowing whoever killed Baba must've been powerful. And the moment we stepped foot in the area, they'd detect us.

"I got it," Mr. Simon said before standing up. He snapped his fingers—activating his barrier magic—and a force field surrounded us. He snapped them again, and his invisibility magic hid us from everything and everyone. Only very few sorcerers could bypass his cloaking spell and tell where he was—Baba wasn't one of them. Hopefully, his killer too.

"Let's go," I said, walking through the ring first. The rest followed.

Coming out of the other end, we arrived in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, standing behind a thick bush. It was dark and cold; the breeze gave me goosebumps. Animal sounds came from all directions, along with glowing eyes. Thanks to Mr. Simon cloaking us, the animals didn't know we were here.

In front of us was a large open space with muddy tire tracks crisscrossing each other. The smell of rainwater filled the air, and the dark clouds in the sky revealed it would rain soon. At least the moon was out and about like a sassy goddess, highlighting everything not hidden by the forest.

A group of tourists had found Baba's dead body in the open space before reporting it to the local authority, who contacted Mama. I had been here a few times in my youth—never after Baba's death. I had fond memories of my family here, especially the one time our tour guide got chased by a lion and we had to save him. We spent our journey back home laughing until we cried, reminiscing about how the events played out. If I could relive a memory forever, that was it. There was no magic involved or any other shenanigans that came with being a sorcerer. We were like a normal family at that moment.

"There they are," Preacher Boy said, pointing his finger at Baba and a mysterious man in a black cloak. The moonlight washed over them, revealing Baba's wide nose, plump lips, and brown eyes that were full of life and hunger for knowledge as he spoke to the stranger. He was a beautiful man. No wonder Mama used to fight girls who looked at him seductively. Mama was no slouch either—she was as hot as Ice—but jealousy corrupted everyone.

Staring at Baba, tears streamed down my face. I placed my hand on my aching chest, feeling my heart thumping against my palm.

"I can't hear what they're saying," Zainab broke the silence.

"I got it." I cleared my throat and rubbed the tears from my face before punching my palm with my other hand, activating my sense magic. Then I interlocked my fingers and tapped the heels of my palms together. The wind started blowing in our direction, carrying Baba and the stranger's voice with it, allowing us to hear them as if they stood next to us.

"Are you sure about this?" the stranger asked Baba.

"Yes, it's the only way," Baba replied.

The stranger pulled down his hoodie, revealing his round face, butt chin, small nose, and a big forehead with a receding hairline. I had never seen him before, but his eyes... those fucking eyes.

"I've never seen anyone with glowing red eyes before," Zainab said.

I had.

I clenched my jaw.

That fucking bastard. I should have known.

"Are you sure about this?" Lucifer asked Baba again; concern masked his voice. The frown on his face showed he didn't want to do it, and Baba was forcing him.

"Yes, there's no other way. The women in my wife's lineage are descendants of Eve, making Binti one too. Since Eve was the first user of moon magic, you'll be able to revive her with Binti's blood. For that to happen, you need to enter Heaven and find Eve's corpse. But you can't do that without a moon magic user. So, if you want to enter Heaven and get Eve back, Binti needs to have moon magic. You'll kill two birds with one stone," Baba said.

I swallowed the lump in my throat while my heart pounded so hard I felt it in my ears. The only thing I knew about Mama's lineage was that she came from a long line of occult detectives. It was in my blood, she'd usually say when I told her I wouldn't be one. But this? This was new information. Too new for comfort. I didn't know how to process it.

Glancing at the others, they had the same shocked expression.

Zainab gazed at me with a child's wonder; her eyes were wide and glimmering.

Shit! This might change our relationship dynamic forever.

Lucifer continued. "How can I give Binti moon magic?"

"You have cosmic magic. Use it to manipulate the cosmos by sending moon magic to Binti during a full moon, which is tomorrow. I joined The Fellowship to learn more about magic and how it could save many people. I hurt no one during my time with them. I was only a researcher. There's more to magic than we know, but The Supreme Leaders don't want others to find out. Why else do you think they banned the usage of curse magic? There's still so much to learn. I wish I had more time." Tears welled in Baba's eyes, and for a few seconds, he stared at the moon with a grin on his face. "Sadly, every life has an endpoint." He looked at Lucifer. "Tonight is mine."

"How do I manipulate the cosmos?"

"First, the current user has to die during the full moon. Then the moon magic will search for the next one as a shooting star. It'll move around the Earth until it finds the right sorcerer. Since the next user will be from Europe or North America, the shooting star will pass through the Pacific Ocean by midnight tomorrow. When you see it, use your powers to grab and lock it away in this." Baba reached inside his jacket's pocket, took out a small jar, and handed it to Lucifer. "When you see Binti, give it to her in exchange for her soul."

"You're Ok with tricking your daughter?"

"The Fellowship has been trying to take her for years. I joined them not only to learn about magic but to protect her. Her potential as a sorcerer is limitless, and it scares those at the top."

"Are you saying she's overpowered?"

"Even saying that is an understatement. That's why you need her help to retrieve Eve and revive her. If Binti unlocks all the magic abilities locked inside moon magic, she'll be untouchable."

Lucifer smiled. "Good to know."

"Everything I've told you is known by very few people in The Fellowship, including me. Once you do as I say, they'll know I'm responsible and go after my family to teach me a lesson. But if you kill me, they'll think you tortured the information out of me and leave my family alone. You're Lucifer, after all."

Lucifer started laughing. He laughed so hard, his voice filled the sky and sent the animals scattering away. His screech-like laugh made me grind my teeth from being uncomfortable. "You truly are smart, Vincent."

"Smart people live longer," Baba said.

"They sure do." Lucifer stared at him. "Are you ready?"

"Yes. Promise me one thing, though."

"What?"

"When the time comes, give Binti her soul back."

"I promise."

"Thank you. You may proceed."

Lucifer grabbed Baba's neck and lifted him a few feet off the ground. Baba didn't even try to fight it. His hands hung limply by his sides and his legs shook as he choked.

The others looked away, but I held my gaze.

Every part of me wanted to scream, to let Baba know I was here, so he'd end this madness. But I couldn't. No matter how much I wanted to, it wasn't right. The difference between saving the world, or saving one person and dooming the world, depended on how selfish you were.

I gulped, the saliva burning my chest, encasing my heart in a fiery dome while tears streamed down my face. No one should have to watch their parents die. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. A lifetime of nightmares awaited me.

While the others were still looking away, Lucifer turned towards us, tilted his head sideways, and smiled. It was only for a few seconds, but he knew we were there and allowed us to watch.

Shit!

Lucifer had known this whole time.

I gasped before my mind drifted into an abyss of colorful memories, each floating randomly in the darkness without colliding. An invisible hand plucked a red memory and brought it forward, drowning me in a vision.

Wards protected my home from supernatural forces and other sorcerers—they couldn't enter without my permission. I never worried about magicless humans: the worst they could do was shoot me, and normal bullets couldn't hurt me.

"Take off your shoes," I told Lucifer after opening a doorway through the force field around my house, letting him pass through—I closed the path right after—and arrived on the veranda. It had tables and chairs I used when studying a case or relaxing with guests.

Lucifer looked at me with a smile. "I saw you and your friends that night. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"What night?" I curled my lip.

"You'll find out soon."

I panted after the memory passed. Cold sweat dripped down my face and back, sending goosebumps all over my body. All these years, Lucifer knew I'd one day travel back to the past and watch him kill Baba, and he said nothing until our last meeting.

That... That... That... That piece of shit! Not even one hint? Damn, what a selfish prick.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts before smiling. I didn't know how to explain it, but the ache in my heart and mind had vanished after recalling the memory.

I felt alive in more ways than one.

Now I knew who the killer was, but it was Baba who wanted to die. Otherwise, his family would've been in danger. I would've been in danger. It seemed even he also had a problem with The Supreme Leaders and The Fellowship—two groups I promised myself to deal with after taking care of Esther.

By the time I looked back at Baba and Lucifer, Lucifer had already snapped Baba's neck and vanished. The latter's dead body lay on the ground, waiting for the group of tourists to find it in the morning.

"Binti, are you alright?" Preacher Boy asked.

"Never better." I smiled. "We should go. There's a party waiting for us."

The four of them glanced at each other worriedly, as if I had gone mad, but said nothing. Preacher Boy reopened the portal, and one by one, we walked through it.

I didn't know how to explain it to them without sounding crazy. Yes, they heard about me being overpowered, The Fellowship wanting me for whatever reasons, and The Supreme Leaders fearing me—I should've known. But the most fucked up thing was, the most traumatizing moment in my whole life—watching Lucifer kill Baba—was also the most freeing. For the first time in a long time, I had clarity on everything, and now I could move forward without the weight of Baba's death holding me down.

How could I tell them that without them thinking I had lost it?

Honestly, I didn't believe in the whole "it's your destiny" crap. But this shit made me think twice. It seemed my whole life had been pre-planned until now. A new and exciting start awaited me, and I couldn't be happier.

Staring at Baba's dead body for the last time before going through the portal, I smiled. "Thank you for everything. I'll make every one of them pay."