CONTENTS Title Page Copyright Dedication Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One About the Author
PROLOGUE The words CLUB FEAR blinked in bloodred neon above the door's entrance A stone gargoyle or some nightmarish creature perched above it as if surveying its prey The stranger who wore a clean white suit handmade Italian shoes and a feathered fedora hat tapped his walking stick against the door three times He waited patiently as the spine-rattling thump of heavy bass pulsed from inside The solid iron door opened with a groan A woman with short red hair and black lipstick stood before him Hello the stranger said his eyes hidden by the brim of his hat The woman snapped her gum and gave him the once over Yeah she asked not too kindly The stranger grinned and it was a wide grin that seemed to take up his whole face I'm here to see a friend he said His name is Nightmare
CHAPTER ONE T'Challa rested his head against the cool glass of the plane's window He was exhausted his The flight to Alabama was a grueling sixteen hours and the last leg of the journey was quickly coming to an end The flight attendant a very tall man with a Southern accent came through the first class cabin More orange juice sir T'Challa shook himself awake No he said rubbing Um no thank you eyes Very well sir We will be landing shortly Finally T'Challa thought
SPELLBOUND Even though he was the Prince of Wakanda a technologically technologically advanced nation hidden from prying eyes on the continent of Africa he had to settle for a first seat on a regular flight although the hot towels slippers and salted cashews were an unexpected treat Of course he could have begged his father T'Chaka the ruling Black Panther and King of Wakanda to hire a private jet for the trip But then T'Challa thought where would we have landed They couldn't just fly into an ordinary airport The jet would attract too much attention Air traffic control would probably think it was a UFO and shoot it down Unfortunately his seatmate a businessman from a place called Dover Delaware tried to engage T'Challa in conversation conversation several times Where in Africa did you say you were from again Have you ever seen a rhino What kind of business is your family in Americans sure do ask a lot of personal questions T'Challa thought The only answer he gave after much persistence was that the family business was mining A deafening screech jolted T'Challa fully awake He peered through the window A flight crew in orange vests swarmed the tarmac waving their batons T'Challa released a satisfying satisfying sigh He had pestered his father for weeks to allow him to visit his friends Zeke and Sheila in America Sheila
