Brenda's POV:

Brenda had woken up around 4 am and went to the Port of Dar Es Salaam to receive a shipment from Madagascar. Samwell Simba and Dickson Dimon (Angel Hunters) had ordered weapons made from a unicorn's horn—it was the only thing capable of killing a low-ranked angel.

Rumors had spread about the blood of an angel granting magicless people a one-time wish after drinking it. Though there were limitations: the wish shouldn't involve harm, manipulation, or power over the world or people. It had to satisfy one's basic needs and desires, like finding love, winning the lottery, and healing one's body from its inflictions.

The Court of Hyenas—a secret society comprising the wealthiest magicless people in Africa—had hired Samwell and Dickson to hunt low-ranked angels and bring them their blood.

"Your prices are too high, Brenda," Samwell moaned while his men carried the large boxes to their vans outside. "Can't you give us a discount?"

"If I give you a discount, then everyone else will want one. I'm running a business here, Samwell, not a charity."

Samwell sighed. "Fine."

"Don't mind him, he's just nervous," Dickson said, while he placed his arm around Samwell's shoulders. "Too many low-ranked angels have gone missing recently and Heaven has noticed. They've dispatched middle-ranked ones to kill us."

Brenda whistled. "Tough luck."

After Samwell and Dickson left, Brenda closed the backdoor and headed to the shop's front, finding Bahati staring at a mannequin in a black flowery dress. He had a measuring tape around his neck and scissors in his back pocket.

"Help me, Brenda," he said.

"With what?" she asked.

"I want to see how the dress looks in different shapes and sizes."

Brenda wanted to smack the back of Bahati's head. Her magic was too good to be used on such nonsense. Nevertheless, she had nothing else to do. There were no more shipments until next week.

Aiming her hand towards the mannequin, she covered it with her magic aura before Bahati did the same with his. Then in a fluid motion, they changed the mannequin and the dress into different shapes and sizes until it satisfied him.

"Thanks," he said, removing the dress from the mannequin and placing it on his arm. Then he headed for the exit.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm returning the dress to Kim. She asked if I could make more for her friends, and now I have an answer."

Brenda raised her eyebrow. "Can you?"

"Of course." He left the shop.

Brenda sat behind the front counter, and the bell above the door rang. A tall, brown-skinned woman entered the store. She wore a long black coat, wide-brimmed sun hat, and sunglasses—looking like she came straight out of a magazine.

She took off the hat and sunglasses, revealing her bright green eyes, button nose, thin lips, and thick brows.

Brenda held back a gasp after recognizing her: Esther Bennet. The necromancer after Binti Nasra's moon magic. She arrived from China a few days ago—a friend who worked at Julius Nyerere International Airport informed her.

The question was: would she be able to take moon magic from Binti Nasra?

There were two ways to acquire moon magic: Natural or Manipulation.

The natural way involved the user dying and the magic going to a random sorcerer on another continent. While the second option required an archangel to manipulate the cosmos and send the magic to a specific target.

Sorcerers never knew about the second option until after Lucifer's actions. It only worked once per archangel, meaning the remaining seven would have to manipulate the cosmos before Lucifer had his turn again.

This allowed the archangels to team up with their preferred sorcerers and take moon magic from Binti Nasra.

This brought up another question: which archangel backed Esther?

"I'm not shocked you know who I am," Esther said. "You're the Queen of Information, after all."

Flattery got no one anywhere with Brenda. But it was a good start on Esther's part. "Would you like to sit?" Brenda asked.

"Yes, please."

Brenda aimed her hand toward the tall stool at the corner of the room and enveloped it with her magic aura. Then she snapped her fingers, and the stool walked to where Esther stood, stopping behind her.

"Thank you." Esther sat down.

"Why are you here?" Brenda asked.

"I want to know where Binti Nasra lives and works."

Moon magic hid Binti Nasra from locator spells. The only way to find her was by asking around. "I trade information for information. You tell me something I don't know, and I'll answer your question." Brenda crossed her arms. "So, what do you have for me?"

"Will the name of the archangel supporting me be enough?"

Brenda licked her lips. It was more than enough. Since Heaven didn't consider Lucifer an archangel anymore, the remaining seven divided the continents among themselves. Esther's archangel had to be the one keeping tabs on Asia. So, who was it?

"Yes," Brenda replied. "But before I tell you, why do you want moon magic? Unless you were born with voodoo magic, you won't be able to use it to its full potential. You're better off going after sun magic."

Mawu being the Moon and Voodoo Goddess meant a sorcerer with voodoo magic could use moon magic to its full potential—they'd be able to speak and learn from Mawu and her descendants (the spirits).

Binti Nasra was the perfect sorcerer for it.

"I don't care about Mawu or her descendants. I want the powers of the past users." Esther's hands squeezed into fists and her eyes burned with rage. Something had happened to her. Whatever it was, it seemed she wanted moon magic to help her deal with it.

"I see." A normal necromancer was dangerous to any sorcerer, but a pissed-off one was a threat to the world. "Binti Nasra lives in Temeke and works in Samora Avenue, near the Askari Monument."

"How does she move around town? Personal car? Public transport?"

"She has a regular auto-rickshaw driver called Hussein."

"Do you know where I can find him?"

"Yes."

The bell above the door rang again. Brenda thought Bahati had returned. Instead, two bus drivers walked in. Their milky-white eyes told her a vana possessed each.

"I would like to speak to them alone," Esther said.

"Of course." Brenda stood and left the shop, finding Bahati staring at the cloudless sky. "What are you doing?"

"I felt a dark presence inside the shop and stayed outside," he said.

"The necromancer from China is here, asking about Binti Nasra."

"She's about to make her second move?"

"Yes."

If Binti had mastered the abilities of the past users, then she wouldn't even sweat fighting anyone. But because she hadn't, this was the perfect opportunity for Esther to take moon magic from her before she became too powerful.

"We have to warn Binti Nasra," Brenda said.

Bahati glanced at her. "You want to make it a fair fight?"

"There's no fun if it isn't. I want to see how powerful she has become. This is her first big test in a while."

"True. But how can we reach her? She hardly answers her phone."

"Them." Brenda pointed at the crows staring at the two from the power lines. "Apparently, she can talk to animals."

"Like Dr. Dolittle?" Bahati raised his brow.

"Yes." She chuckled. "They'll deliver our message to her."

"What will you say?"

Brenda cleared her throat, knowing the nosy crows were listening. "If any crow sees Binti Nasra, tell her to see me."