“I found the trail. Come.”

She turned off onto some kind of side path. It was so narrow we had to stay single file, but I certainly wasn’t going to risk putting so much as a toe off of it.

Instead, I made sure I was at the back. Keeping Kanesha between me and Loki seemed smart.

But even Loki was subdued. He hadn’t said a word since admitting he liked vultures, which I wasn’t sure he hadn’t said just to get them on his side. The vulture was still following us.

Get them on his side or get them not to eat us? I still felt like it was planning on doing just that if we stepped off the path.

Then ahead I saw a black cliff. Or rather, it appeared that the world literally ended. Just a black, vertical… “Okay, it looks like we’re about to leave the movie.”

The owl woman laughed. “In a way, we are. Trust me and follow close.”

Did I trust her? I didn’t really have a choice, and so far none of us had been harmed.

Then I realized the wall of black was moving, slowly, towards us.

I knew what it was. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Positive.” A pause. “Mostly.”

That actually made me feel better. I kept walking.
The black wall was cloud, mist, it washed over us, sent cold into the depths of me once more, then we were on the other side of it.

And, apparently, in Africa. Wilderness Africa. A vast plain, and in the distance I saw animals of some kind moving. No sign of human habitation or technology.

And it was still cold, even though the sun shone brightly. “This is even worse…”

The owl woman nodded. “This is not real.”

“And the rest was?” Kanesha quipped.

“Yes. What you saw reflected underlying reality there. What you see here is an Anansi story.”

Which meant we were in the right place. “Loki?” I asked.

“Hold on.”

He dropped onto one knee and put a hand on the ground. “Definitely a glamor, but a good one. He’s as good as me.”

“Break it?” I suggested.

He shook his head. “Nah. I’ll spare you what’s under it. But now I know where Brother Death is.”

“Where?”

He pointed ahead. “In the hole, of course.”

I couldn’t see a hole, but I trusted him.

“So? Let’s go get him.”

“It might not be that easy.”