Return of the Trickster by Eden Robinson (ebook voice reader TXT) 📗

called the compound, which ended with him running for the exits. He hadn’t dealt well with learning she’d married into coy wolves who used skins to transform into their human shapes.

Dear Jared,

You left before I could give you the chip, the Big Book, and the money. Congratulations! One year is quite the accomplishment. I have 67 sober years. Each year is a challenge but none of them were as hard as the first. When you live as long as I have, everyone dies and you are left alone so many times. I know the pity ditty well—poor me, poor me, pour me another drink. The money is for your schooling. This doesn’t obligate you to me and you don’t need to pay me back. I give this to all my nieces and nephews and grandchildren for their first year of post-secondary education. If you are uncomfortable accepting it, do pass it along to someone who needs it.

I’m sorry we scared you. I didn’t think you could see as well as you do. Most humans can’t. We will leave you alone. You will never hear from us unless you initiate the contact. I promise.

On that note, please don’t think me presumptuous, but I’d like to offer my assistance if you ever need it. Magic can get you drunk too. You lose the ability to function without it. You lose sight of what’s important and you use until you are spent, and then you borrow. I borrowed. I was indebted to creatures and people and beings you can’t even imagine. If you ever find yourself in that position, please don’t hesitate to call me. You have my phone number. You don’t have to fight it alone. I’m here if you ever need me.

Yours,

Mrs. Georgina Smith

—

She’d claimed to be his aunt. Whether she was or not, right now he couldn’t think about her without his brains spazzing, but if he could give the book and letter to his mom, she’d know that the danger they were facing was bigger than David. If he could tell Sophia, she’d know…

Jared blinked. He felt as if he’d just woken up from a nap. What was he looking for? What did he need? He stood in the middle of his bedroom, confused. He needed to find something and it was important. Just then, Mave called out that she was starting lunch. Could he set the table?

Sophia popped in as Mave served up a stir-fry. Jared ate a bit. Sophia made yummy sounds but said she’d already grabbed a sandwich. Sophia said that they should head out and Mave kissed him as though he was a baby. At least Justice had gone back to her place, so he didn’t have to be kissed by her too.

The driver’s name was Walter. He called Sophia ma’am and ran to open her door, practically bowing as he closed it. He ignored Jared, which was fine. The limo had an optional privacy screen that Sophia sweetly asked Walter to raise.

They drove through East Van towards the Second Narrows Bridge, and then followed the highway upwards. Sophia stared out the window, her expression distant, but she held his hand.

“How many of the Otherworld have you met?” she said.

“The what?”

“The supernatural contingent. Other than your father.”

“I dunno. A couple.”

“I hope you’ve shown manners. Some of these beings live a long time and they don’t forget disrespect.”

Jared remembered the girl he’d hung with who said she was a Selkie, and decided not to share that little moment with his…former grandma? Friend? What was her role now? She seemed to want to help him because she liked him. That was— It made him feel things he couldn’t identify. Glad? Relieved? Grateful? None of them were close, but they hinted at this new thing. He braced himself to tell her about Georgina. But once again he couldn’t get his mouth to form the words and then forgot what he was trying to say and then he was cold. Something important had dropped out of his mind. Something he needed to tell people. He struggled to remember, but he was so tired.

“Can you hear the sky?” Sophia said out of the blue.

“Um, no.”

“How about mountains? The ocean?”

“Like when it’s windy?”

“Do you hear them singing?”

“Is that a thing?”

“It’s one of the indicators of raw talent. A medicine man I know can hear the stars.”

“That sounds awful.”

“By his account it’s delightful, although not terribly useful. It does make him a horrible driver.”

She rummaged through the mini-fridge and brought out a can of club soda and orange juice, which she mixed and handed to him in a wineglass. She poured another one for herself.

“When you see people with things hidden under their skin, avoid, avoid, avoid,” she said.

“So run away. That’s your advice.”

“Run hard.”

“Then why are we going to one of those people for advice?”

“He can tell you things I can’t. If you were my grandson, I could teach you, but you’re not, so I can’t.”

“I’m a slow learner, but I get there.”

“The old ways have broken down, all the old ways. People forgot the rules or they don’t care. There are things I know but can’t tell you. Charles can.”

“Because of rules that no one’s following.”

“I’m still following them.”

The limo blew past the exit leading to Sophia’s bungalow. “Where are we going?”

“His kind love mountains, forests, the less human-infested places of the world.”

“His kind.”

“The Wild Men of the Woods. What the modern world derogatorily calls ‘sasquatch’ or ‘Bigfoot.’ Don’t think of him like that. Charles is sensitive.”

“Charles is a sasquatch.”

Sophia slapped him upside the head.

“Ow.”

“What did I just tell you? Manners, Jared. Manners still count for something.”

“Hitting isn’t exactly polite, you know.”

“You need him. He doesn’t need you.”

Jared rubbed his ear. He wished people would stop hitting him and screaming at him. “So sas— the Wild Men are real?”

“Most have assimilated. Charles is unique, even among his own kind. He’s a hugan, for starters, which means he doesn’t eat people anymore.”

“Oh, good.”

“He makes his money on vacation rentals. He