A Tale of Two Tricksters Read online

  “Why do you have to dictate?” Jenn asked, trying to grab something in the torrent of words.

  “It’s pretty hard to write on paper in the water, and even if I write on something dry, my hair always manages to drip on it. I have to stay in the water, after all.”

  “Why do you have to stay in the water?” Jenn asked.

  In answer, a fin rose up above the surface of the pond.

  “You’re a merman!” Jenn cried.

  Abe looked a little hurt. “Why do they always think that? I’m an Abgal. We’re protectors of the land, and teachers of the people. Nothing about singing sailors to their doom here. I’m afraid singing is one skill I’m still lacking in.”

  Jenn turned to Luke. “So, what did you do? Travel the world and grab up whatever creatures you could find?”

  Luke shrugged a little. “Something like that. It’s hard to live in some of the water in Mesopotamia anymore, and Achiyalabopa got tired of people trying to shoot her.”

  “And what do they do here?”

  “Here? Some creatures recover, some simply stay on, until the day we can all return to our full glory.” For a moment, Luke’s face took on a different aspect. His blond hair became a dark, burning black, and his blue eyes burned like fire, his skin glowed, but his face became incredibly scarred. Then, as soon as it started, it stopped and Luke was a regular person again.

  “Oh yes,” Abe said, as if nothing had happened, “but for now it’s been nice to protect a new land, and I have so many new students here. Even the most educated know about science and art, but not about the mysteries of life. The joy of travel and living off of the land.”

  “Living off the land?” Jenn asked, flashing back to her aunt and uncle’s farm.

  “Oh yes. It’s much easier to do here than it is in the dessert. I do hope the others are teaching the Bedouins well without me. We all agreed that I was the best one to send, but sometimes I wonder.”

  Jenn wondered if Abe talked to himself when no one else was around. He probably talked to the bird, although maybe she responded to him.

  “Our friend wanted to be shown something magical,” Luke said.

  “And you brought her here and not to a different room?” Abe asked with a wink.

  Jenn did not like the implication that Luke should have brought her to his bedroom. She considered what would happen if she punched Abe in the face, but she couldn’t be sure what he would do in response. Instead, she just glared at him.

  “Yes, I brought her here,” Luke said firmly. He sounded pretty annoyed. It would be better if Abe’s comment hadn’t annoyed Jenn as well, but at least it was something.

  “Well then, what’s your pleasure, miss?” Abe asked Jenn. “Dancing lights? Water people? Rabbit out of a hat?”

  “I was wondering what it would be like to fly,” Jenn said, remembering the vision she’d had on the way to Darryl’s farm. It couldn’t have been a memory.

  “I can’t help you with that,” Abe said.

  “I can,” Luke replied. He turned to face Jenn and held out his hand. “Do you trust me?”

  Jenn looked at his hand for a moment. He had sworn that no harm would come to her, and she had a feeling he kept his promises. To the letter, if not the spirit. Jenn set down her purse. Still dubious, Jenn put her hand in his. Luke pulled her closer and wrapped his other arm around her waist. “Be careful what you grab on to,” Jenn warned him.

  Luke laughed, and then they were off the ground. Jenn looked down at her feet, dangling in the air. It was amazing. It didn’t even feel like Luke’s arm was taking her weight. Jenn tried to push away from him, but he held onto her. “If I let you go, you’ll fall,” he warned her.

  Jenn decided not to debate with him, as they were rising steadily higher. Once they got up close to the roof of the cavern, they started to ease forward. Then, they jerked forward and flashed around the cavern. Achiyalabopa left her perch and flew with them, weaving in and out, so close that Jenn could have touched her if she’d dared. It was amazing being up here, but Jenn wished she was doing it herself. That was crazy, though, she couldn’t fly. Luke was the one keeping them up here. The thought bothered her, and she didn’t bother to hide it.

  “Everything all right?” Luke asked.

  “Yes,” Jenn lied. “That was great, but how do we get down?”

  In answer, the ground rose up to meet them far too quickly. Without thinking, Jenn shut her eyes and prepared herself for impact. As she braced herself, she felt her feet land softly on the ground.

  “Did you think I would let go?” Luke teased her.

  “You can let me go now,” Jenn said curtly, forcing her hand to open and let go of his. Her whole body had tensed up. Now she had two things to get back at him for.

  “Magnificent!” Abe said. “A truly dizzying display from all of you. I haven’t seen such artistry since the last abgal dance!”

  “When was that?” Jenn asked, ignoring Luke.

  “Last month,” Abe replied. “Some of the abgals from other places have different dances and it was truly a wonder to be able to combine the styles of dance into one unique program.”

  “So, Luke brought other abgals here?” Jenn asked, shaking out her hand. She had grabbed onto Luke’s hand in a death grip. She was surprised he hadn’t said anything or apologized for scaring her. Then again, she probably shouldn’t have been surprised about the last part. She noticed Luke wasn’t standing next to her any more, but she was glad he left.

  “Oh yes,” Abe replied. “He’s been around the world a few times, dear girl. Very experienced, that one.”

  Jenn couldn’t tell if he was hinting at something else or not, but it didn’t matter. There was no future for her and Luke together, so she didn’t care about his past conquests.

  “But,” Abe continued like he hadn’t paused, “Out of the abgals, I’m the one who speaks English the best. Got to keep up with the new trends, you know. I may be old school, but I’m not out of date.”

  Jenn couldn’t help smiling at that. “You know your slang is out of date, right?”

  Abe smiled. “It doesn’t surprise me, but when one doesn’t mingle much in society, it’s hard to keep up with such fleeting phrases. Perhaps you can tell me about them sometime.”

  “Maybe,” Jenn said. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to come back here because that would mean seeing Luke again, and after she left tonight she didn’t think she wanted to do that. “Do you know where Luke went?”

  “I would assume that he’s getting a token of your experience tonight so you don’t forget it.”

  “Forget it? I’m not likely to do that any time soon,” Jenn replied, confused.

  “I’ve seen people explain away stranger things,” Abe told her. “That’s one of the fascinating parts of psychology. If an event doesn’t fit in a person’s frame of existence, then they will twist and change their memory until the event fits with what they know.”

  “That seems counterproductive,” Jenn replied.

  “Indeed,” Abe said, “but the human memory is unreliable anyway, so even if a person didn’t change their memories, they still would have inaccurate ones.”

  “What about abgals?” Jenn challenged.

  “We do our best to record what we have, but the water washes away our marks in the banks, even if they are stone, so ours is mostly an oral tradition.”

  “It would be hard for you to read a book, I guess,” Jenn replied.

  “Oh yes,” Abe told her. “Achi only wants to turn the pages for me for so long, and I can’t touch the book myself. If my skin gets too dry, it’s a very bad thing for me.”

  “Achi?” Jenn asked.

  “Oh yes. It’s the nickname I gave Achiyalabopa and she seems to like it.”

  “So I could have been calling her Achi this whole time?” Jenn asked.

  “Yes, but it was funny to hear you stumble on her name,” Luke said from behind her.

  Jenn turned around, ready to give him a piece of her mind
.

  “Here,” Luke said, holding out a long, narrow block of wood to her.

  “Thanks?” Jenn asked, taking it from him. As she looked at it, she could see the grip on one part, and how there was a slight break just past the grip.

  “It’s a knife made from one of Achi’s feathers,” Luke told her.

  Jenn unsheathed the knife and looked at the blade. It was a blue feather with a slow fade to purple. There was a central tube and the outer edges were serrated. It looked just like other bird feathers Jenn had seen, except for the color and the fact that it was made of metal. It was beautiful.

  “It’s from the last time she molted,” Luke continued.

  “You sure know how to show a girl a good time,” Jenn replied dryly, but her eyes didn’t leave the knife for a few more seconds until she regretfully sheathed it. Jenn picked up her purse and put the knife inside.

  “And now, if you’ll allow me, I’ll show you the way out,” Luke said, offering his hand to Jenn.

  Jenn was pretty sure the only way she would be leaving was if he escorted her. She wanted to look around without him and see what he was hiding. “Sure,” she said, ignoring his hand and walking past him.

  “Goodbye,” Abe said. “I hope to see you again soon.”

  Jenn waved at him but didn’t promise anything. They walked across the cave in silence and Luke opened the door for Jenn. He put his hand on the small of her back to guide her through, and Jenn felt a slight spark where the inside of his arm touched the back of her arm. She was getting really tired of being so aware every time they touched.

  “I wish you would trust me,” Luke told her.

  “Which is one of the reasons I don’t,” Jenn said, walking into the hallway and stepping away from him.

  Luke closed the door behind him and started walking down the hallway. Jenn stayed just a little too far away from him.

  “So is this the reason it’s your favorite bar?” Jenn asked.

  “Is what the reason?” Luke asked in return.

  “All of this back here,” Jenn elaborated.

  “Oh. No. I like the bar because of the drinks, the dim lighting, and the overall atmosphere. The rest of this came later.”

  “Hm,” Jenn said. It didn’t make sense. It would take a long time to carve all of this out of the rock. It couldn’t have already been here when they built the bar. “Maybe it was magic,” Jenn wondered. Then she pushed the thought down. She did fly with Luke, but she wasn’t about to think magic could do everything. There had to be some limits to it.

  Then, they made it to the door they’d come in through. Jenn opened it and walked through before Luke could touch her again. Luke pulled the door shut behind them and turned to face Jenn. “I hope to see you again soon,” he said, with a smile that shouldn’t have made Jenn’s heart beat a little bit faster.

  “Maybe,” Jenn said. She turned around and resolutely walked away. She didn’t look at the table she had burned, and she barely glanced at the bouncer on the way out.

  **

  The next morning, Jenn woke up remembering her flight with Luke. The sensation of flying had been so real, and so magical. However, in the bright light of day, it didn’t seem like it could have happened. Jenn pulled out the knife Luke had given her and unsheathed it. Just like last night, it looked like a feather that that grown as metal, rather than whatever feathers were usually made out of. Jenn looked at it for a few minutes, trying to find some telling flaw or a maker’s mark to show it had been made and not grown. Other than the two metal stakes in the handle to keep the feather in place, nothing else had been done to it. Which could just prove that Jenn didn’t know what to look for. Sighing, Jenn sheathed the knife and slid it under her mattress. She didn’t want to explain it to her parents.

  They had told her that she would need to get an internship next summer, so Jenn was determined to enjoy her last summer of freedom. One of the best places to do that was at a nearby park. There were beautiful walking trails, and it was a great place to get out of the house and be alone. Jenn’s parents were already at work, so they wouldn’t have to know how much time Jenn was spending by herself. They wanted her to be involved and active like other kids her age. That just meant Jenn took pleasure in lying to them about how much time she spent with her friends. Of course, it worked the other way too. Sometimes, Jenn said she had gone out alone, when she’d really been with her friends, doing something they shouldn’t be.

  Jenn ate a quick breakfast and took her car out to the park. When she got there, Jenn was surprised to see some of her old high school classmates there as well.

  “Hey, Jenn!” a broad-shouldered, sturdy boy called. Brad had been one of their best football players, but he broke the mold by also being one of the smartest kids in their school. He also wasn’t as gullible as he used to be, sadly.

  Jenn waved and headed over. Some of her best pranks came from moments like these.

  “I’m telling you not to touch it,” Trudy snapped. Jenn wondered if Trudy and Brad were still dating, or if the separation of college had finally broken them up. Trudy liked to be in charge and was generally obnoxious. Jenn was surprised anyone wanted to spend extended time with her.

  “It’s not radioactive,” Bill replied quietly. Bill tended to fade into the woodwork if you weren’t careful. He was still in high school, but usually was around wherever Brad was.

  Jenn noticed there were some shears, a weedwhacker, and some other landscaping equipment near them. They couldn’t be worked up over gardening tools, could they? Once she got closer, Jenn saw they were looking at one of Achi’s feathers, glinting orange to red in the sunlight.

  Jenn tried to control her shock, but she had not been expecting this. She knew if she had her knife here, it would match this feather exactly except for the coloring. It had to be real if another feather showed up here when Luke wasn’t putting on a show for her. Jenn tried to shove all of this to the back of her mind and look calm but slightly puzzled. “What is it?” she asked.

  “We’re not sure,” Trudy said. “Bill’s kid brother found it earlier, so of course he called us over to look at it.” Jenn looked at Trudy and guessed that she had been laying out and working on her tan. Jenn decided not to warn her about skin cancer, since Trudy wouldn’t care anyway. Then Jenn looked at Bill. She would bet he called one of them over, and Trudy invited herself along.

  “It doesn’t look dangerous,” Jenn said, reaching toward it. “I bet it’s really flimsy.”

  “I’ll decide that!” Trudy snapped, grabbing the feather before Jenn could. “Ow!” Trudy dropped it, blood dripping from her hand. “That’s really sharp!”

  “I’ve got a first aid kit in my car,” Brad said, pulling Trudy away.

  Jenn looked at the feather and back up at Bill. Carefully, she picked up the feather and set it in her purse. “It’s a shame Trudy and Brad still seem to be glued at the hip. I heard Brad was looking for something different in his love life.”

  For a moment, Bill looked hopeful, but then he looked warry and shook his head. “He’s stuck with her forever,” Bill guessed. “Stupid.”

  Jenn agreed. “So, about this thing. We don’t want the police all over this park, and I know I don’t want to be questioned. Let’s just pretend this never happened.”

  “Whatever,” Bill said. “I’m not going to lie to the cops, but I won’t call them either. It’s just a stupid feather.” He walked away, and Jenn remembered when Bill was younger and more gullible.

  “I provide a public service,” Jenn thought. “How else will my classmates be prepared for the real world where everyone lies?”

  Brad and Trudy came back. Trudy’s hand was covered in white gauze, which was starting to turn red. Jenn wasn’t sure if that meant Brad had good first aid skills or bad ones.

  “Where’d the thing go?” Trudy demanded. “It was right here.”

  “What thing?” Jenn asked. “You grabbed a pair of shears for some reason and cut yourself.”

  �
�No I didn’t,” Trudy contradicted her. “There was a metal feather. Right there.”

  “You’ve lost a lot of blood,” Jenn said soothingly. “Maybe you should go to the hospital. You might need stitches.”

  “Stitches!?” Trudy yelled, shuddering. “I can’t get stitches. It’s so gross!”

  “We probably should get you to a doctor,” Brad said, giving Jenn a look. She knew he wasn’t fooled, but he didn’t care enough to pursue this. That meant Trudy was the only one Jenn could try to gaslight.

  “Then let’s go, before I bleed all over your car!” Trudy said. “What are the symptoms of blood loss?” she asked as they walked away.

  It was always hard to tell if you’d tricked Trudy or not, because all she really thought about was herself. Either way, Jenn’s mood was ruined. She wanted Luke to stay safely away from her regular life, and this feather showed how easily his world could move into hers. Muttering to herself, Jenn got back in her car and drove home.

  When she got there, Jenn went straight to her room to get out the knife Luke had given her. Sure enough, the two feathers looked the same. It was real then. At least, the previous night had all been real, and that had to mean magic was real. At least in part. Jenn had cut herself on Achi’s feathers, and seen where Abe’s tail connected to his human torso. She had flown with Luke. But could she really do magic?

  Jenn concentrated on turning the orange feather black. She thought about it with all her mind and pictured that it was so. The feather stayed the same color. “Either I don’t have magic, or there’s something else I need to do to use it,” Jenn thought. For now, she wrapped the feather up in an old t-shirt and stuck it at the back of her closet. Her parents wouldn’t find it, and Jenn could think about what she wanted to do with it.

  Jenn apparently couldn’t do magic on her own, but she could check into what Luke had told her. She pulled out her phone and did a search on Achiyalabopa. It took a few tries to get the spelling right, but then Jenn found it. The pictures weren’t quite right, but they were close enough. There wasn’t too much folklore out there about the achiyalabopa, except that it helped create the world. “That can’t be right,” Jenn thought. “There’s no way Achi is that old. Besides, even if she were that old, a giant, shiny bird didn’t create everything. The big bang did. Something that makes sense.” Jenn set her phone down and stood up to pace.