"Fuck!" I smacked the seat cushion.

"Boss, is everything alright?" Hussein glanced at me through the rear-view mirror.

"Yes." I sighed, then leaned back in my seat and let the wind whistle in my ears as the auto-rickshaw sped down the road. "What should I do?" I muttered, staring at the oblivious people outside. Sometimes I wished I wasn't a sorcerer. Maybe then I wouldn't have to deal with shit like this.

Archangel Remiel was the one backing Esther Bennet.

This was bad.

She hated humans more than anything else.

After God created Earth, Remiel thought it'd be home to archangels and the Highest Order (Seraphim, Cherubim, and Throne). But then God made humans and gave them the planet, wounding Remiel's fragile ego, leading to the manifestation of the first deadly sin—Pride.

Brenda knew nothing about celestial beings and their history. She was like everyone else, relying on religious texts and the clergy for information. But the former wasn't a reliable source because the latter had manipulated it for millennia.

I'd say Lucifer was my only option, but he had returned to Hell. And even if he was here, he'd only twist "the truth" in his favor. Like always.

If only Brenda knew. Sigh.

I wasn't mad at her for giving Esther my work and home address. It was her job. Her nickname was "Switzerland" for goodness' sake. Just like the nation's armed neutrality in global affairs, Brenda did the same in the sorcerer community.

Honestly, the fact she warned me about Esther shocked me. She could've let me swim in darkness while the necromancer had the advantage. But she didn't. And I appreciated her for it.

Esther going to my office wasn't a problem. Aisha and Preacher Boy were there. If the nine-hundred-year-old vampire wouldn't be able to deal with the necromancer until I arrived, then the traveler would take care of her.

Remiel, though? Oof! I wanted no beef with her. I was strong, but not enough to think about fighting an archangel. Lucifer's warning about how archangels had less patience with humans rang in my head. Hopefully, Remiel would leave me alone with the necromancer.

"We're almost there," Hussein said as the auto-rickshaw cut a corner and entered a quiet neighborhood.

There was no one in sight. No street vendors, children chasing each other, or old heads sitting on a log talking about the good old days. It was peaceful—boring. And Mama wanted me to leave the hood and live out here? Pfft! No chance.

Though, I did like how the houses looked. They were big and had colorful walls, looking like something out of a fantasy movie. But the neighborhood's beauty ended there. Outside the homes was a bumpy dirt road with deep puddles from last week's rain.

How was it that a neighborhood full of senators, Olympic athletes, world-famous musicians, famous actors, and wealthy preachers didn't think about repairing it? Didn't they know this shit represented them?

Oh, well. To each their own.

As we neared the preachers' house, I gazed at Hussein. Brenda told Esther about him, and I waited patiently for us to get here before finding out what the necromancer had done to him.

No dark energy surrounded him. So the chance of him being a corpse was off the table. Also, his eyes weren't milky-white—I ticked off "vana possession".

Now, to find out what he knew.

I crossed my index finger over my middle one, activating my puppet magic. Then I clasped my hands and interlaced my fingers, leaving the index ones pointing forward. I tapped them against each other thrice, producing a magical string from each tip. They snaked up Hussein's neck from different sides, coiled around his head, and covered his face like a helmet.

"Stop driving," I ordered. He parked at the side of the road. "I have questions. Do you swear to answer honestly?"

"Yes."

I breathed a sigh. I didn't have to use forced puppeteering to get the answers. "Are you compromised?"

"I don't understand."

He was right. I asked the wrong question. I already knew he wasn't. Still, I had to be sure. I didn't know what tricks Esther had up her sleeves. "Is there a demon inside you?"

"No."

"Are you dead?"

"No."

Now that that was out of the way. "Did you meet a brown-skinned Asian woman today?"

"Yes."

"What did she say?" I bit the inside of my cheeks.

"This city will be hers soon, and there's nothing you can do about it."

The vana had said the same thing back at Mama Joni's house. But from Brenda's story, it sounded like Esther wanted nothing to do with Dar Es Salaam. So, if it wasn't her, then—

"Of course." It was the only answer.

Esther wasn't the one behind the brief messages. Why would she care about Dar Es Salaam when she had other things to worry about? This was all Remiel. But why did she give me the message? I wasn't in charge. The Supreme Leaders were. She should tell them. Mxiu!

I unclasped my hands, freeing Hussein.

He glanced around, confused. He turned to me. "Boss, what happened? Why did we stop?"

I shrugged. "You tell me."

He stared to the side, doubt seeming to cloud his mind, then looked back at me. "Sorry, Boss. I don't know what came over me." Turning on the auto-rickshaw, he drove.

I hated manipulating people when I could talk to them and get the answers. But I was in a unique situation that required a fresh approach. And as long as I didn't harm anyone, I was good.

We arrived at the preachers' home: a two-floor red house with a brown rooftop, a large black gate, and a grey perimeter wall.

I chuckled after sensing the wards on the wall. The clergy couldn't cast the protection spell with faith magic. Only sorcerers could.

The nerve of preachers calling us devil worshippers only for them to ask one of us for help. Mxiu!

I paid Hussein, got out of the auto-rickshaw, and watched him drive away. My heart ached after what I did to him. He was a kind soul. But I had to. Sadly, in this world, magicless people were nothing more than tools for people like me to use.

Before I reached the preachers' house, a white door appeared beside me, freezing me in the spot. I gulped, sweat forming on my forehead. Where did it come from? How had I not sensed it? I should have. My sixth sense was A1.

I glanced around, trying to spot the sorcerer responsible for the door, but found no one. Walking around it didn't prove useful. Neither did moving my hand across its top, hoping I'd find something holding it still.

How did it pop out of thin air?

Without touching it, the door opened a little. Bright white light escaped from inside. "Come in, Binti Nasra," a feminine voice said.

I gulped.

Usually, I had information on such weird things so they wouldn't surprise me. But this... this was new. How could I explain it to anyone? Even Brenda would think I was crazy.

I entered, and the bright light blocked my vision. The door closed behind me. When my eyesight returned to normal, I found myself—

"What the fuck!"

I gazed around, still outside the preachers' house.

Or was I?

Everything looked...

How could I explain this?

Um...

The best way to say it was: Everything looked backward.

The trees, sky, road, houses, walls—all of it looked inside out.

"What's going on?" There was no sun in this world. And yet, a bright light illuminated the atmosphere. Also, the heat that usually tormented Dar Es Salaam wasn't there either—a plus in my book. "Mystery Lady with the sweet voice: where are you?"

"Here I am."

I looked behind me and saw a tall, dark-skinned woman with gold eyes, a small nose, thin lips, and a round face. She wore a gold robe, looking like a queen. But instead of having a crown on her head, a gold halo floated above it.

I gasped. "It can't be!"

"It is." She smiled, revealing her perfect white teeth.

The only way to determine an angel's rank was by the color of their halo: Gold was for archangels.

"Welcome to the Mirror Dimension, Binti Nasra. I'm Archangel Uriel, overseer of Africa."