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Back The Trickster Save as PDF
Chapters (74)
  1. The Trickster
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. Preface to the 20th anniversary edition
  6. Introduction
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. 61
  68. 62
  69. Keep Reading
  70. FURNACE
  71. Acknowledgements
  72. About the Author
  73. ALSO BY THE AUTHOR
  74. About the Publisher

He screamed and rushed at the thing with his full weight. But before Daniel Hawk could reach the other side of the kitchen, the thing that was as solid as him was bigger than him, bigger than the kitchen, and enjoying proving that the denial of its existence was of little consequence.

26

He wasn’t there. His Mom was sleeping in an empty bed. Billy sniffed round the place his Dad’s head should have been and then round his Mom. She was hurting inside. He could feel it. Something was churning around in her mind and she was wrestling with it even as she slept. Billy felt sad and worried, but he was keen to find his father. The wolf was tugging him downstairs and reluctantly he left his mother with the thought of a kiss on her cheek. She stirred as he left the room, as though feeling its phantom touch on her skin.

They were hurrying now, through the town and up onto the road that went through the trees on the forest trail. There was something making Billy afraid. A huge, dark, sick feeling in him that made him want to stop and run back home. But the wolf was pounding ahead. The wolf that was there ahead of him, and yet he was the wolf. He was outside it and part of it. He could see the loping stride of the animal as it bounded through the thick snow, and at the same time feel the icy cold through his own paws, see the road ahead through the wolf’s eyes and smell the air with his keen and twitching nostrils.

The lights of the town that would normally twinkle and blink through the trees, were shut out by the thick sweeping blanket of snow that was falling from a laden sky. They ran on, the wolf’s legs not long enough to keep its body out of the deep drifts, and with every bound making itself a pit from which it had to leap and start anew. It left a curious trail in the snow, although Billy knew in his heart that no such trail would be there at all once they’d gone. But they were covering ground at a tremendous speed, and they were getting near the thing that was making him afraid. Too near. Billy stopped in his stride and the wolf that was him stopped too, the breath they shared steaming in the frozen air.