Son of a Trickster

Baby’s toy, which he had brought out for her the previous night, is outside his door covered in blood. Jared reluctantly approaches Maggie to tell her Sophia is coming and anxiously explains the reason for her visit: “He had trouble saying the crazy. Admitting it. Because it was weird. And he didn’t want her to see him as weaker than she already did” (242). Maggie believes him and exasperatedly explains that his visions are a result of him hooking up with Sarah, who is a witch. She further explains that Sarah is unstable “magically,” and that Mrs. Jaks, also a witch, does not use her magic because she is a “holy roller” (242). When Jared insists that witches are not real, Maggie reveals that she is one too: “You are knee-deep in witches. You are neighbours with one. You are boning her granddaughter. You are sitting beside one right fucking now” (244). Jared is incredibly confused but relieved that his hallucinations might have an explanation, even though this means “a world that he thought he knew turned into something he didn’t know at all” (244).

Maggie explains that Nana Sophia is a Halayt, “a high chief lady medicine woman” (244). Maggie tells him he has always been a “bone-headed mule about magic” and that as a child he never was interested in the spells she tried to teach him (245). This time, when the ape men appear through the floors, Maggie shoos them away, and they disappear. She explains that some spirits come back and that he and Sarah must have “picked up” the ape men somewhere. She assures him that he’ll get used to the weirdness. Maggie retrieves an abalone shell and eagle feather from her closet to cleanse the house, instructing Jared to collect all the candles in the house. He receives a call from Sarah, crying that Mrs. Jaks is not breathing. He rushes over to their dark house, and a man crouching behind a car hits him over the head as he runs by.

Jared wakes up in a dark muddy cave, bound in duct tape. He realizes that he was tricked again, knowing Sarah never would have used the landline to call him. He picks up one of the many bones littering the cave and cuts himself free. The Fake Sarah taunts him as a group of otters with human features hold him down, hurting him, while one bites off his pinky toe. Fake Sarah expresses her disappointment in realizing he holds no magic power. They feed on magic, and he understands that they want to eat his mom. They ask about other witches in his “coven,” and to distract them, he mentions the Anthropocene. The spirits commiserate on humans ruining the world, leaving nothing for them to eat. Just as the otters are about to bite off more of his body, everything freezes. A voice explains to Jared, whom he calls “son,” that he has altered time, allowing Jared to escape the cave. 

Outside, Jared realizes the raven above him is Wee’git, who encourages Jared to shapeshift and leave with him. As Jared struggles to remain conscious, Wee’git reveals that he has been Jared’s “inner voice.” Wee’git explains that Tricksters are different on “the sub-quantum level” (257), which is why the paternity test Sophia ordered could not differentiate Wee’git from Phil. Jared resents Wee’git for only taking an interest in him when he demonstrated his “first act of magic” (257)—the night he left his body with Mrs. Jaks. Wee’git explains that he was not present for Jared’s childhood because Maggie killed him, which Jared does not understand. Jared is angry and refuses to go with him, even though Wee’git promises him answers and a life in which he “can be anything, anything at all” (259). Time unfreezes, and the otters come for Wee’git, giving Jared a chance to limp away. Maggie and Richie appear in the truck, and Maggie lobs grenades at the otters, threatening them, before helping Jared into the truck.

In the emergency room, Jared asks Maggie about Wee’git. She says she “thought we’d have a few more years without that son of a bitch poking his nose in our life” but refuses to explain anything else about him in a public place (262). Jared gets his wounds stitched up after lying to the doctors about what happened, and they return home, where Nana Sophia is waiting for them. She performs a ritual using some of Jared’s blood, and before she leaves for the night, she tells him: “No more wandering through the spirit world, okay? That could have been much, much worse” (264).

Sarah arrives early the next morning, and he tries to explain the witches, otters, spirits, and fireflies. At first, she thinks he is high, but she believes him about the fireflies because she used to see them as a child. The fireflies tell him that Sarah has “a capacity for ‘super entanglement” and that “when she touched [them], [they] could understand [human] language, [human] culture, [the human] world” (266). When Jared tries to relay this information to Sarah, she believes he is making fun of her and storms off.

Nana Sophia arrives, and Jared briefly considers keeping the truth about Wee’git from her, knowing how much his life would improve if he lived with her. He tells her the truth, however, explaining that “you can’t tell Tricksters apart at the DNA level” (267). Sophia accuses Maggie of being a liar, and Maggie explains that Phil always knew the truth and that she had to marry him to avoid losing Jared (268).

Jared sees a pterodactyl-like creature within Nana Sophia, which terrifies him and prompts him to ask if he is fully human. Maggie refuses to answer him, but Nana Sophia tells him: “You’re the son of a Trickster… And a whore” (269). Jared is distraught with the new knowledge that Sophia is not his biological grandmother, sensing that their relationship has ended. Sophia writes him a check as repayment for what he lent Phil and, before leaving, stresses that “blood is blood” (269). Maggie assures Jared he is just “a human dumb-ass” because there are no “signs” he is a Trickster (270).

Later, Jared cashes the check and gives it to his dad. He thanks Phil “for taking us in” and being a good father (271). Phil tells Jared that Maggie is “delusional” for living in an “imaginary world” in which she is a witch, offering Jared a place to live if “it gets too crazy” (271).

Maggie keeps Jared home while he heals, wanting to keep him “close” until the river otters are dead. She finally explains that she shot Wee’git in the head and then drowned his body. It is impossible to kill Tricksters, “but you can put them out of commission while they pull themselves back together” (274). 

Jared goes to say goodbye to the Jakses, who are packing up their remaining belongings. Maggie warns Jared not to show his magic to Sarah because she is “not ready.” That night, Sarah shaves his head, and they get drunk together. Jared tells her he will miss her, but Sarah does not want to hear the “end credits.” As they have sex, Jared hears the fireflies singing. He watches the fireflies descend on Sarah, and parts of her begin to shred and disappear. Sarah witnesses this, too, but she is not afraid of “joining” with the fireflies. Hoping they’ll disappear, Jared leaves the room, even though Sarah begs him to return. A string of fireflies flies straight for Jared’s eye, and he experiences visions of a tree spirit and longhouse while the unknown narrator interjects with excerpts from previous chapters.

The Fake Sarah and otters appear, and Jared runs home, where Maggie awaits the “entourage” of spirits. Maggie sends away a forlorn Sarah with her fireflies and threatens the otter people and Fake Sarah, who tells Maggie: “We owe you pain” (282). When Richie returns home, Jared sees a grizzly bear spirit following him. Jared stays home from school the following day and cannot bring himself to answer Sarah’s texts. That night he wakes up to sirens coming from the Jakses’ house, but Maggie does not let him see Sarah, saying he has “done enough.”