Return of the Trickster

by Eden Robinson

  Everyone went quiet.

  “Maggie said they have a compound in Ladner,” Neeka said. “But she took care of it.”

  “That’s Aunt Georgina’s old pack,” Jared said.

  “Who?” Neeka said.

  “Also known as Jwasins,” Granny Nita said.

  “So Jared’s aunt is an ogress.”

  “Yes,” Jared said. “She was threatening to hurt you all, so, um, I helped take her to a different universe. Her new pack is trying to get to me to bring her back.”

  “Thus the outbreak of violence,” Sarah said.

  Neeka sighed. “It would be helpful to have Maggie around if we’re about to go to war with an ogress and her coy wolves.”

  “No war,” Jared said emphatically. “No fighting. Just sensible running away.”

  “Yes,” Granny Nita said. “Tricksters are known to be paragons of sense.”

  “Hey.”

  “She’s not wrong,” Neeka said. “All this could have been avoided if you’d simply accepted who you are.”

  “ ‘I’ statements, please,” Sarah said. “Chill with the hindsight.”

  Neeka and Granny Nita turned to study Sarah.

  “Well,” Granny Nita said. “Someone likes his women bossy.”

  Sarah flushed. “We’re not together. I’m his friend.”

  “Of course,” Granny Nita said.

  “Mm-hmm,” Neeka said.

  “Has anyone heard from Mom?” Jared said, desperate both to change the subject and to know if any of them had heard from her.

  Sarah and Neeka pulled out their phones. Jared closed his eyes, willing his mother to be safe, wanting her safe.

  “Maggie is resourceful,” Granny Nita said.

  “I’m sorry you had to drain your—”

  “Stop it,” Granny Nita said. “Stop traipsing around with that guilty look on your face. It was my choice. I knew the cost and I was willing to pay it.”

  Hank returned and stopped in the kitchen, where Mave loaded him up with a platter of pancakes and a bowl of fruit salad. Justice followed with plates and cutlery. Jared got up to help, but Mave told him to park his butt. They brought out a small buffet of breakfast food.

  “Should we dig in?” Mave said. “Or wait for the Wild Man of the Woods?”

  Jared regretted being so blunt this morning, but he hadn’t slept and the first coffee hadn’t kicked in. Mave and Justice seemed to have heard only “guest coming for breakfast” and leapt into action.

  “I’ve never met a supernatural being before,” Mave said breezily, ignoring the resounding lack of response. “Is there protocol?”

  “Chuck has never stood on ceremony,” Granny Nita said.

  “Charles Hucker. Wild Man of the Woods,” Mave said.

  “So you know him as well?” Justice said to Granny Nita.

  “He’s Wee’git’s friend more than mine,” Granny Nita said.

  Hank made a face then tucked into the pancakes. Neeka watched Mave for a reaction, then caught Jared looking at her. Sarah remained glued to her phone.

  “If you could see what we see,” Jared said to Mave, “would you want to?”

  “Is the Wild Man invisible?” Mave offered the bowl of fruit salad.

  Jared shook his head. “No, but he’s got an illusion making him look like a human.”

  “I think you have enough on your plate without adding sasquatches,” she said.

  “If you could see ghosts and spirits and supernatural beings, would you want to?” Jared asked again.

  Mave shrugged. “I haven’t been up Burnaby Mountain since you disappeared. There’s rumours the geotech work starts soon and I want to support the protest. You could come up the mountain with me.”

  “Fair enough,” Jared said, “but as a favour to me, could you spend this one weekend with Chuck?”

  “I wouldn’t mind,” Justice said. “I’ve heard the hiking is amazing near Whistler.”

  “Fine,” Mave said.

  “Good,” Granny Nita said. “That’s settled.”

  “You’ll get to meet my whole clan,” Neeka said, nudging Hank.

  “I’m staying with Gran this weekend,” he said.

  Neeka smiled. “She’s coming.”

  “She can barely stand,” Hank said. “She’s in a lot of pain.”

  The buzzer blared and they all went silent. Jared hopped up and went to answer. “Hey.”

  “Hey yourself, Baby Trickster,” Chuck said. “Sorry I’m late. Parking sucks around here when your ride’s a bus.”

  “No worries,” Jared said, pressing the button to let Chuck in.

  Sarah smoothed her hair. Granny Nita sat up straighter. Mave and Justice exchanged a glance. Hank kept eating, while Neeka’s phone suddenly began to ping.

  “Knock knock!” Chuck said, opening the door and poking his head through. His hair was corralled into a braid. He had on a nubby grey sweater, ratty jeans and hiking boots. He beamed when he saw Jared and clomped up to him, giving him a bear hug. Jared had forgotten how tall he was.

  “You look better,” Chuck said, holding him by the shoulders to look at him.

  “Gran took a hex off me.”

  Chuck’s head swivelled and his eyes locked on Granny Nita. “Oh, man. You are a sight for sore eyes. Did I piss you off or something? Why the silent treatment?”

  “It was just easier,” Granny Nita said.

  “For who?”

  “Don’t play dumb.”

  Chuck manoeuvred between the table and chairs to kneel in front of Granny Nita. “I’m not taking sides. Your relationship is between you guys.”

  “And his 535 children.”

  “That’s survival, man! It’s for the future!” Chuck paused as if just realizing there were other people there. “Whoa. Serious room. Jared, intro me.”

  “This is Chuck,” Jared said. “This is Sarah Jaks. She made you some vegan oatmeal.”

  Sarah gave a shy wave.

  “Hey,” Chuck said to Sarah, nodding.

  “My aunt, Mave, and her daughter, Justice.”

  Mave and Justice wore identical shell-shocked looks.

  “Hey, Justice. Mave, your poetry rocks,” Chuck said. “Big fan.”

  “Thank you,” Mave said.

  “This is my cousin, Hank, and his girlfriend, Neeka.”

  “Otter peeps in the house!” Chuck said, holding his knuckles up to Neeka for a fist bump that she pointedly did not do.

  Hank helped himself to some bacon, mumbling through a full mouth: “Hi.”

  “And you already know Gran,” Jared finished.

  “Wee’git’s in the tree outside,” Chuck said. “He’s just gonna watch from a safe distance.”

  Jared went to the picture window, followed by Neeka and Sarah. Wee’git tucked his head under his wing.

  “Is he going to be at the cabin?” Granny Nita said.

  “Nooooo,” Chuck said. “No, no, no. He’s trying to figure out where the other Tricksters are being held. He’s got their grave dirt and some bits and pieces. It’s all pretty gruesome, but if he can free them, that’d limit the coy wolves to their lupine form. If you don’t wanna tell him the type of hex, I can pass the info along.”

  Neeka glared out the window as if she had laser vision. Sarah stepped back and headed for the kitchen.

  “What kind of security do you have?” Neeka said.

  “Well, there’s me,” Chuck said. “And the location. And the armoury in the basement.”

  “Cameras?”

  “A chief tree and tree spirits. Just chilling. They’re pretty ornery when anyone goes stomping through their woods.”

  “Good,” Neeka said. “How many can your bus hold?”

  “Twelve. Unless there’s wheelchairs.”

  “
We can do it in two trips with my minivan. Kids and their guardians first and then the elders and then the rest of us. Do you have the space?”

  “We’ll make space,” Chuck said.

  “I didn’t know if you wanted cinnamon or not,” Sarah said, returning with a bowl for Chuck. “So I put it on the spoon.”

  “Hey, I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Sarah. I’m honoured. I love cinnamon.” He dumped the spoon in his dish and grabbed a seat, smiling as he ate. “Did y’all eat already? Don’t let me eat by my lonesome. Dig in.”

  Everyone started moving as if a spell had been broken. Jared caught Mave staring at him, but he couldn’t read her expression. She seemed to realize she was staring, and then turned to look out the window towards Wee’git, who still had his head tucked. Justice went to the kitchen and brought back a carafe of coffee, offering refills by holding it up and quirking an eyebrow. Jared picked up a mug and she smiled at him.

  “There’s never a dull moment with you around,” Justice said.

  “Sorry,” Jared said.

  “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

  Hank and Neeka’s whispered argument caught their attention, but they instantly stopped when they realized people were listening. Mave served herself some scrambled eggs and bacon. Justice poured them both some coffee then went to sit beside Mave, who leaned against her.

  Sarah gestured for Jared to join her at the small table. He grabbed some pancakes and fruit, then ladled on scrambled eggs and bacon and poured maple syrup over everything. He sat across from Sarah.

  Then he dropped—his whole being dropped—and his head went back as he felt his mother reach out to him mind to mind—

  27

  MAGGIE

  A hand removes the charm that blocks you from magic.

  “Hoods off!” Cheerful, girly voice.

  A barn. The rank smell of moulding hay and old shit. Stumbling out of the van that delivered you, blinking at the sudden light. Shadows become silent coy wolves and a Native girl with a black leather jacket painted with roses and the thugs that grabbed you from the motel parking lot. Two large men hold your arms. You kick them and one of them clocks you so hard your skull rattles. You sag.

  Richie in front of the headlights. Richie’s hands zip-tied behind his back.

  The humans and coy wolves are focused on you. Richie’s eyes find you. Both of you are gagged, so there will be no final words. He never could talk to you mind to mind. What would he say if he could?

  These coy wolves don’t all have human skins. Most of them are on four legs. Richie doesn’t watch them, he keeps watching you. He gets in a few kicks, but they are a pack and once he’s on the ground, they have access to all of his soft spots and they rip. The sounds of concentrated tearing, the pop of joints, the rich smell of blood, his muffled screaming.

  The girl, Mallory, comes to you with a machete. Her pretty face and the fake lashes that everyone has these days make her blinks look slow, but she studies you as you watch one of the coy wolves break from the pack with Richie’s arm in its teeth and hustle to a quiet spot.

  “Hey, Jared,” the girl says to you, through you. “Granny Georgina says hi.”

  You can’t move, you can’t move, you can’t move, and the rage is like an undertow that spins you down, and you will your hands into fists and you imagine them punching through her bony face, because when this is over, you are going to drag them all to hell.

  The two men haul you to a chair and force you to kneel. One of them holds your arm straight on the chair seat and you realize they’ve stretched it out like a chicken’s neck on a chopping block.

  You scream through the gag. You struggle. Mallory strokes your cheek with the machete and some of your hair is shaved from your temple and drifts down.

  Oh, God, you think, and you fight.

  Jared is here, Jared is here in your head, and he’s going to feel what you feel and Mallory spins the machete like a cheerleader twirling a baton before she brings it down.

  A hot blast of pain consumes you like fire through dry grass. Your breath, your heart stop and your fingers spasm because the girl didn’t put enough force into the blow. She pulls back again and this time severs your hand and the sound ripped from you is a demented squeal. Then there is a pause, a searing ebb as your raw wrist bleeds.

  They are licking your blood, licking your blood off the chair as you screech and twist. Mallory reaches into her jacket pocket and brings out a charm that she puts around your neck.

  28

  OH CHISPA LOCA

  The benefit of being eaten alive and torn apart so many times and surviving was that a part of him had been rendered cold. He went to that part of himself and immediately stopped broadcasting. Sarah was curled up crying on the floor. Granny Nita keened and held her wrist. Chuck had dropped his illusion and was roaring furiously, a sound between a wolf and a human, as loud as a plane taking off. He was fearsome from his pointed teeth to his terrible claws to his thick fur. Justice and Mave were shouting at each other in total freak-out. Hank had fallen off his chair and was scrambling away from the Wild Man. Neeka stared blankly ahead.

  (Kill and die, bucko.)

  A flurry of black wings landed on the balcony and then Wee’git entered the apartment in human form, grabbing a throw blanket and wrapping it around his naked body. “Chuck! For fuck’s sake!”

  Once the Wild Man had managed to stop roaring, Mave and Justice fell into each other’s arms, and Mave started to sob.

  Chuck shut his eyes. His fur sank into his body, hardened, then became rough bark. What stood in Chuck’s place was a large old tree stump wearing Chuck’s clothes.

  “It’s okay!” Wee’git said, holding up his hands as if he was surrendering to everyone. “Chuck’s upset, so he’s cooling off in his stump form. Everyone calm down. Calm.”

  “Maggie,” Granny Nita cried. “Maggie!”

  “What the hell is that!” Hank shouted, pointing at the stump. “What the hell is that!”

  “Yelling is not helpful,” Wee’git said.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “Wee’git,” Neeka spat.

  “Is this really the time and place for a throwdown?” Wee’git said to Neeka. He turned to look at Jared. “How you doing, kiddo?”

  “Mom said the splinter group of coy wolves have a farm in Abbotsford,” Jared said. “I need to go get her. Now.”

  Wee’git flapped his arms in irritation. You can’t defeat a pack of coy wolves. You can’t out-magic a sorcerer. You can’t survive an ogress. To get to your mom, you have to take them all on at the same time, along with random mercenaries like Mallory who want to rip you a new one. You’re barely holding together, and your mom knows that. She’ll understand.

  (I love my Shithead.)

  The best plan is to get everyone to Whistler.

  I’m getting her back.

  Mave started screaming again, pointing to the ceiling as Bob drifted down and began running his tentacles all over the stump.

  “Holy crap,” Hank said.

  “It’s okay!” Wee’git said. “It’s just a transdimensional being that’s gotten stuck in the liminal space between our universe and his. Hers. Theirs. I’m not really an expert on octopus genders.”

  “Not now!” Jared said to Bob, waving him off.

  Bob slid his arms along the floor, heading for Sarah.

  Get away from her, Jared thought.

  Bob zipped through the picture window and then up and out of sight. Jared went to one of the bookcases, grabbed the pistol case and headed for the door.

  “Stop him!” Wee’git shouted.

  Hank tackled Jared, who saw the wall coming but couldn’t avoid getting knocked out.

  * * *

  —

  He woke in his room. The blinds were closed and Mave sat on the desk chair, watching him
. Then he remembered his mother, and sat up so fast his brain banged around in his skull.

  “Take it easy. Hank rang your bell hard,” Mave said.

  “Is Mom okay?” Jared said.

  “No news. But Wee’git and Mother are working on it.”

  He slid his legs over the side of the bed, gingerly touching the spot where his head had hit the wall. A decent goose egg, but no more serious than other blows to the head he’d taken.

  “Did you…could you hear me when I was with Mom in the barn?” Jared said.

  “I know they killed Richie and I know Mallory cut off Maggie’s hand.” Mave’s voice quivered on that last part. She took a breath. “But me, Justice and Hank didn’t experience it the way the others did. We just saw…we saw the Wild Man change.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh? Lord, you really are the king of understatement.”

  “You could see Bob too. Can you see other things now?”

  “Bob?”

  “The octopus thingy.”

  “Good Lord, Jared. Yes, I saw whatever Bob is. I saw Chuck turn human again. And Wee’git transformed into a raven in front of us and flew home to get some dirt, which he’s tasting with Mother. I owe you an apol—”

  “Mave,” Jared said. “I put you in danger from some very bad people. I’m the one who’s sorry.”

  “I’ve dealt with dangerous people before,” Mave said. “Please let me say this: I’m sorry I doubted you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You couldn’t see what you couldn’t see.” Jared stood, wobbled and then headed to the living room. “How long have I been out?”

  “A few hours.” Mave trailed him.

  Wee’git and Granny Nita were sitting at the kitchen table as she sprinkled dirt over a map of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, arguing about where the clusters were heaviest. A divination spell, Jared thought. Sarah was sitting cross-legged on the living room floor. Lala and Lourdes were at the patio table, which was now covered in weapons and ammo. They wore straight-up army surplus clothes, in no-nonsense olive-green, and combat boots.

  “Hey,” Jared said.

  Wee’git and Granny Nita looked up. Sarah came over and hugged him.