Page 36 of The Tricksters Deception

"Ow," Corvu sighs, grabbing the back of his head.

"Oh shit, are you okay?" His eyes snap open quickly upon hearing my voice.

"Tia?" he questions, "Are we dead?"

"No," I state, unable to stop myself from smiling, "Welcome to New York."

I’ll admit, I’m beyond flabbergasted that we were transported to the back alley of my apartment building, but I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. Pulling on Corvu’s arm, I run upward and into my building, where I search for the fire extinguisher I hide the spare key behind. Corvu doesn’t speak, but his eyes are wide and he keeps looking around. Frantically opening the door before someone sees us I pull Corvu inside and slam the door shut, locking it again. Thankfully, it didn’t look like anything had been touched. In fact I was pleasantly surprised there were no eviction notices on my door.

I look at Corvu, who is bewildered at the sights before him. He never would have seen any of it previously to now. I tried to contain my giggle as I turned on a light switch and he flinches.

“That’s electricity. It helps power things, like lights, no candles required. Although I do consider those quite romantic.” I say. He looks at me and exhales deeply, taking steps forward he embraces me in a sudden and gripping hug.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again.” Letting out a sigh I hug him back, mostly happy we were both still breathing. I'm still mad at him for tricking me and locking me in a dungeon but I also know he did it to keep me alive. Letting me go he looks around the apartment again. What happens now? I have to get him home.

“Must have accidentally activated the amulet when I crashed into you, and brought you here.” I say. Corvu nods as he walks over toward the couch, which probably looks really different to any kind of seating arrangement available in his world. “Just sit while we figure this out.” I smile. He nods at me and takes a seat on the couch, thoroughly startled and alarmed when he accidentally switches on the television by sitting on the remote. He even jumps up onto the couch. “Whoa! It’s okay.” I say, dashing over and hitting the power button on the television stand itself. “That’s just something we watch shows and movies on. It’s not real stuff. Kind of like plays and theatre.” This is going to be interesting. He was probably freaking out as much now as when I found out the Daemonaria around me were real. Which reminds me of something important. “I think we should go find the woman who gave me that amulet, she might be able to tell us how to use it to get you home.” His expression looks a little deflated after I said that. As he jumps down off the couch, I realize there were a few things I have to do urgently. “Corvu?” I question, waiting for a response. He seems really distracted by the lights on the ceiling. I should probably avoid turning on the fairy lights I’ve scattered around the place to help me get into a writing mood. “Corvu?” I repeat. He looks at me, sadness in his eyes.

“I’m sorry I tricked you. That’s the last thing I wanted to do to you.” I can’t help but smile in return.

“Hey, I got tricked by a Trickster. Can’t say that happens to me very often.” I giggle. He walks up to me, pulling the amulet off from around his neck and placing it back on mine.

“Just in case, it’s probably better that you have it, it's magic seems to work for you.” I’ll admit, I oddly feel better getting it back, even though it causes so much trouble. Now that Corvu is closer and I had a moment, I can actually see some of the wounds around his neck starting to heal before my eyes. I guess Tricksters really are unique in a way. Knowing there isn't a lot of time to get him home before the Orcs do something crazy, I run to my computer to message my boss. Since I had lost my phone at some point during the struggle in Central Park, I had to assume it was long gone by now. I apologize for not messaging him beforehand and should he need it I’m happy to explain my absence, but before I hit send there is one crucial indicator that I may or may not be losing my mind.

Barely a day had passed since I left. I didn’t even have another shift until tomorrow according to my calendar. I refreshed it over and over again but nothing changed. Two days. I was only gone for two days. Corvu is cautiously looking over my shoulder.

“Is that what your language looks like? How did you get the letters onto that shiny paper?” He asks me. I suppose this is the strangest looking thing he’s ever seen.

“Ah, not quite how it works. I’ll explain some other time.” I mutter, standing up straight and staring off into the wall. It's not an interesting wall, but I need to think. I was in the other world for about three weeks, and yet two days passed here. No one would even know that I’m missing yet. How did that happen? It also meant we had even less time to wait around here if time was faster in the other world. I look at the clock on the wall. It's only eight in the morning. Shelia won’t be at the fountain today until about one in the afternoon. I hope that isn't too much time passing in the other world. I’ll have to work on the math later. “Corvu, I’m going to take a shower.” His face scrunches up as I say that. “Okay I know you don’t have plumbing but you must have something like a shower.”

“I know what a shower is, I’m just not sure how you take one.” Wondering if we were talking about the same thing I drag him over to the bathroom where I turn on the hot water. He jumps a little at the speed in which the water comes out. He puts his hand out and retracts it right away. “When did you boil the water?” He questions.

“I didn’t. It’s gas, it constantly heats the water and the plumbing helps push it through the pipes in the walls.” I can tell this amuses him. “Maybe you’d like to take one first? I’m going to ask the neighbor to borrow some clothes to change you in. You can’t go walking around like that outside.” He looks down at his clothes as if to question what was wrong with me but otherwise doesn’t argue. I show him the hot and cold tap, so that he can adjust the water. I also show him that there was soap, shampoo and conditioner and instructed on how they were used. I don’t know if he caught everything, but I said once he was done to switch off the taps and put a towel on till I got him some clothes.

Doing a very quick change into jeans and a sweater, I go across the hall to a nearby neighbor and politely give him twenty dollars, since it’s all the cash I had in the apartment, in exchange for jeans and a shirt.

Returning to my place I leave the clothes on the couch as I hear Corvu finishes his shower. I face away as he comes out, and I tell him to put on the clothes I left on the couch while I quickly take a shower.

Even though I technically had a bath recently, I still felt that putting a conditioner through my hair really helped me feel more like me again. Before I go to use the hairdryer, I decide it best to tell Corvu before doing so in case he is alerted by the noise. Putting my clothes back on, I come out into the living area to see Corvu on the couch, flipping through a magazine sideways in a navy blue v-necked sweater and dark jeans. It was different to see him dressed like that, a practical modern day Trickster. His hair was already dry and a lot bouncier than normal. His ears twitch as I enter the room and he sees me with my wet hair and all.

“These clothes feel strange.” He comments. “These pants are tight around my legs.”

“Yeah,” I sigh, “, it’s fashion, they’re kind of meant to be a little irritating.” He nods although I’m sure he was just being polite. “Anyway, if we go outside we’re going to need to hide your...well,” I gesture to my ears and his brow furrows.

“I know why I hide them in certain villages, but you said you don’t have Tricksters around here.”

“Exactly. We don’t have Tricksters. Or Orcs, Elves, Pixies, Clawhops, Snouts or any other Daemonaria. There are only humans here. Magic doesn’t exist.” He ponders for a moment but otherwise nods in agreement. “Also I’m going to dry my hair, it makes a bit of noise so don’t be alarmed.” Walking back to the bathroom and leaving the door open, Corvu follows me and leans on the threshold. I try not to laugh as he steps backward when the hair dryer goes on. I show him that it’s just hot air and it’s harmless. He’s amused by it now.

I can't wait to show him a refrigerator.

It’s twelve, which means there was only a half hour before we leave for the fountain. After going through an assortment of appliances from toasters to kettles, and everything between, we sit on the couch where I show him a map of where we are. He had the same impression as I did about Skiora. They look almost identical. The more Corvu learned, the more his ears would twitch and move based on his interest, which at the moment is a lot.

“Can I ask you something? Feel free to say ‘no’.” I ask.

“Anything.” He responds, smiling at me. I hesitate for a moment, though I'm not exactly sure why.

“I’ve really kept to myself, while I was in Skiora, and I was really, really curious about something. Only because it’s so unusual and I’ll probably never see real ones ever again.”

“Real what?” I mutter so much I didn’t even ask the question. Why am I this nervous?

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