Moon Witch, Spider King

Nsaka, tasked with safeguarding Lissisolo’s son, loses him—or he is taken. Sogolon journeys to Malakal, back in the Northern Empire, a city/fortress built on a mountain. Guided by a Sangomin—now on the side of the “true cause”—she takes another portal, warding off an attacking spirit as she passes through. Sogolon suspects the boy—missing for three years now—might be in Malangika, “the tunnel city and secret underground witches’ market” (490). She finds the corpse of Fumanguru, long dead, his writs against the throne of Akum safely hidden.

Nsaka tells the account of Fumanguru’s death: Aware of the boy’s presence in his house, Omoluzu (shadow demons) invaded, killing him, his wives, and his children. Bunshi showed up just in time to save the boy. She gave the baby—just over a year old—to a nursemaid in Kongor, but her husband sold the child to a trader, who, in turn, sent him east on a caravan. The caravan, however, was attacked by mercenaries who killed everyone, leaving only “husks.” They spared the boy, however, taking only him and “something else.”

Sogolon suspects it is the work of Ipundulu (a vampire lightning bird in service to a witch), who can poison the mind of its victims in mere days. Lissisolo’s son has been missing for three years, so Sogolon reasons that his mind will be so fundamentally changed, he could never become king. Despite the futility of the quest, Sogolon decides to help Nsaka search for the boy.

A team is assembled: Sogolon, Nsaka, an Ogo (a mountain giant), Leopard (a shapeshifter), and Tracker (a man with a wolf’s sense of smell). Amadu, who trades enslaved people, fills the team in on the history of the boy’s kidnapping and the death of his family. Tensions flare as each member of the quest has different priorities. Just then, Nyka, a mercenary enters, and Tracker attacks him. The two have a fraught history, and it’s unclear if they can cooperate on this mission.

They prepare to leave in two days, but before then, the king has planned a visit, the perfect opportunity for Sogolon to kill the Aesi. The day arrives, and as the royal procession parades down the street, Sogolon waits, but she is swept up in the crowd and pushed into an alley when the king passes. Her wind lifts her up to the rooftops, and she pursues the king’s palanquin from above, but the Aesi is not with him. Suddenly, a flock of crows blots out the sun and swoops down on her, her wind not responding to her calls. As she tries to escape, a black fluid pools around her feet and engulfs her—Bunshi to the rescue.

Six days later, the mission reaches the Uwomowomowo Valley, and Tracker and Leopard join the party (along with an archer). At the mouth of the valley, Nsaka lifts the veil from a cage she has brought along, revealing a “lightning madwoman.” She releases her, and the creature dashes off, but Tracker claims she is going the wrong way.

The party rides east until it comes to the edge of the Darklands. Sogolon wants to take another route, but Tracker insists they push forward. Soon, they stumble upon a swamp trolls’ camp; the trolls are feasting on a boy, and a girl is next in line. Tracker cuts her loose, and they escape, but the girl, Venin, protests that she is meant to be a “glorious sacrifice.” The trolls pursue them, and Sogolon directs them to a small island in the river—chipfalambula and Bunshi are waiting for them. When they are all safely aboard, it carries them to safety and lets them off at the edge of an enchanted forest. Sogolon, fearing the enchantment will lead the ghosts to her, suggests they go around. Tracker is impatient, however, and urges the direct route. Tracker, Leopard, and the Ogo all take the direct path, leaving only Sogolon and Venin to go around.

As Sogolon and Venin make their way around the forest, Sogolon is tormented by the voice of Jakwu, the warrior she killed, who lives in her head. She reflects on her mission—to kill the child Aesi—and reasons that violence is the inevitable response to oppression.

Six days later, they reach the Tarobe quarter on the outskirts of Kongor, and they make their way to a house—Bunshi’s contact, a griot with knowledge of the boy’s location. Ten days after splitting up, the other members of the team have not shown up, and Sogolon fears Bunshi has intentionally sabotaged the mission. Sogolon’s memories of Kongor are sketchy, many of them having been stolen by the Aesi. She remembers being “a runaway, then a whore, then a gift” (520). She remembers enough to know that the city has changed. After a great flood many decades ago, part of Tarobe is still underwater, and fearing the flood was a punishment from the gods, the city has imposed strict moral rules (women must cover their bodies and faces, and the slightest infractions are met with severe punishment). She also learns that troops are gathering, preparing for a conflict with the South.

Bunshi reappears and accuses Sogolon of not taking the mission seriously. To remind her of the stakes involved, she cites the number of women still being executed as witches. The purge will continue until the true line of Akum is restored. She reminds Sogolon of her dead son. Furious, Sogolon summons her winds and blows Bunshi to pieces, but she reassembles, pins Sogolon to the wall, and nearly drowns her. Despite her anger at Bunshi, she knows the water sprite is right; as long as an illegitimate king sits on the throne, nothing will change.

A month after Sogolon reaches Tarobe, Tracker, Leopard, and the Ogo are still missing. Trying to be proactive, Sogolon visits the great hall of records, searching for information about Chimungu, the lightning bird. The archivist leads her to a scroll—a recent one—that tells the story of a woman impregnated by an Ipundulu who then killed her husband. The woman wandered to the sand sea, where the child was either stillborn or she killed it. She pursued the Ipundulu, and the scroll traces a history of sightings across time and distance. Sogolon realizes that the narrative was chronicled by Bunshi. What’s more, the only way the Ipundulu and “his band of blood drinkers” (533) could traverse such great distances so quickly was by using the portals, the locations of which only Bunshi knows. The records also show that the Ipundulu was traveling with a boy, but the account is too far in the past. She needs more recent news.

The archivist brings out a “talking drum,” an instrument that reveals “tidings before they tide” (534). After a night of asking it questions and interpreting its responses, he tells Sogolon that the boy and his captors were seen in the hills of enchantment just over a month ago. Further, the accounts never mention the Ipundulu’s master. He fears she may be dealing with “a masterless bird. An Ishologu” (535): a creature of pure chaos.

Sogolon visits Fumanguru’s house looking for clues, but all she finds are bodies buried in urns. With no tracker to sniff out a trail, she resolves to find the boy herself. Venin will be a hindrance, but she has no choice but to bring her along. Shortly after leaving the Tarobe quarter, she finds Tracker, Leopard, and the Ogo still alive, although they lost a month in the enchanted forest. Sogolon suspects they traveled through a portal as Tracker has the power to open them. Time in the Darklands has put Leopard and Tracker at odds, Leopard accusing the other of only looking out for himself. That night, Tracker sets out in search of clues, and Sogolon follows him.

The next day, the animosity between Tracker and Leopard comes to a head. Leopard shapeshifts into a full cat and locks his jaws around Tracker’s throat. Sogolon orders him to let go. He does, and Tracker orders him off the mission.

As the festival of Bingingun arrives (a hedonistic celebration of sexual freedom), Tracker moves through the throngs to Fumanguru’s house, where Sogolon suspects he will tell her what she already knows. As she tries to keep tabs on Venin, the voice of Jakwu—a pedophile and child killer—whispers constantly in her mind, “Give me the girl” (546). With no better options, she visits a witch, who sells her an enchantment to prevent Venin from fleeing. Shortly after, Bunshi appears in a panic. She urges Sogolon to find Tracker, saying they must get out of Kongor.

Sogolon finds the hall of records on fire, and the citizens of Kongor watch, horrified. Suddenly, all voices are stilled; then, as if being directed, the crowd starts charging at Tracker, who appears down the street. Through the crowd, Sogolon sees the Aesi, but only for a moment. She summons her wind to disperse the crowd, and Sogolon and Tracker flee along with Mossi, a magistrate investigating Fumanguru’s death. Together, they cross the river and meet up with the Ogo and Venin.

As they ride, Tracker tells Sogolon that Fumanguru’s writs carry instructions to take the boy to Mweru, a dangerous, uncharted part of the North Kingdom. Tracker has the boy’s scent, and it leads them south, but they have no specific destination.