Nevernever by Will Shetterly

Author:Will Shetterly
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Tags: terri windling, fairie, wolfboy, bordertown, elves, borderland
Publisher: Will Shetterly

Chapter 9—Losers, Weepers

I woke up around noon Saturday and didn’t want to get out of bed. I lay there, thinking the sheets should be changed and wishing I lived with somebody and wondering if maybe Strider had done it. Time does that, lets you see things differently, sometimes in ways you wish it didn’t.

Whether he killed Yorl or not, I liked Strider. But what did I know about him? He’d been important in Faerie—I’d heard him addressed as “Your Highness” by Leander. They were both on the same side of a struggle to control the heir of Faerie, a struggle that would shape the relationship between Faerie and the World. If Strider’s side won, Faerie and the World might have a chance to learn more about each other. If Crystaviel’s did, the Wall would remain between them, and trade between them might end.

I didn’t care about Faerie’s future. I cared about Florida’s. Strider seemed to think of her as a person first and the heir second, but could I say I knew that about him?

Maybe the killing had been an accident and Strider thought he had to cover it up. If you accept that, it’s not too hard to imagine him doing the rest, forcing himself to do something so atypical that no one could believe he had killed Yorl. Under normal circumstances, all he’d need would be a reasonable amount of doubt and charges would be dropped. He may not have known that the flashy Elflander he’d killed had been someone important.

The day was cooler than the day before, but that didn’t bother me. I found my other jeans and a corduroy jacket and decided not to bother with shoes. There’s enough broken glass in B-town that that isn’t the smartest thing to do, but it makes people think I’m tough. The truth is, I tended to run from trouble before I was changed. Now that I’m stronger and more perceptive, I run even faster.

I went to Sai’s. She makes great huevos rancheros without the least provocation. And if she didn’t feel like cooking for a stray, she might need some company.

She already had company. Tick-Tick was there, sitting a little stiffly on a purple beanbag, maybe aware that it clashed with her red leather outfit. Sai wore a faded man’s undershirt and cut-offs. Under her black bangs, her eyes were almost as red as Tick-Tick’s leather. I glanced at her knuckles. They were bandaged. A heavy weight bag hangs in Sai’s living room where she can kick or punch it whenever she wants. I suspected the bag had been worked thoroughly that morning.

I made a little circular motion with my hand, and Sai smiled a bit, saying, “Hi, Wolfboy. C’mon in. The Ticker toasted bagels, but I’m not too hungry.”

Tick-Tick said, “Rico and her faithful elfin companion came by earlier.”

I nodded and stuffed an onion bagel in my face.

“They didn’t have anything useful to say.” She shrugged. “We didn’t have anything useful to tell them.”

“She said I could visit Strider,” Sai said.

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