Chapter Sixteen

We traced around the country for hours, directed by Torrent, who kept an eye on everything from the Golden Citadel and texted us updates. Our efforts, combined with that of hundreds of gods and faeries, turned the tide both literally and figuratively. The storms receded, and the beavers went with them. And yes, Trevor's magic did work on the animals. Even the most violent of them went meek when he whammied them. They simply turned around and skittered away.

But all the beavers were normal animals. We didn't find Wishpoosh or any other beaver god. Not even an enchanted creature. And so, we didn't find the trickster.

Trevor and I went back to my mom's house to find my children asleep on the couch and Kirill at the dining table with my mom and stepdad. My brother was in his room playing video games. As usual. Even a beaver apocalypse couldn't keep him from Super Mario for long.

“It's over,” I said as I fell onto a wooden chair.

“Thank God,” my mom said.

“Yes, quite a few of them helped,” Trevor said. “I was surprised by that. In a good way.”

“Yeah, but they're going to be annoyed that the Fey are getting all the credit,” Re said. “If there's one thing gods crave, it's attention. They've already been upset by the faerie invasion. This is going to make them want to come out of the god closet. ”

“Maybe they should,” I said.

“No, they shouldn't,” my mom said firmly. “Humans are still processing the existence of magic and faeries. The world religions are suffering. And religion helps to keep people in line.”

“But wouldn't revealing the gods help with that?” Re asked.

“I don't think so.”

“Why not?”

“Because no one would be right,” Richard said. “Gods love attention and humans love to be right. They go to war over who is right and who is wrong. Especially when it comes to God. If you tell them that everyone is right and all the Gods exist, there will be riots.”

“But everyone will be right,” Re said, baffled.

“How do you know so little about humans after living so long?” I asked.

Re stuck his tongue out at me.

“People don't feel right unless someone else is wrong,” I explained.

“That's stupid.”

“Da,” Kirill said. “Humans can be stupid about many zings.”

“So many issues would simply vanish if people could get over their need to be right,” I said. “So I guess you're right, Mom. The Gods need to stay hidden.”

“Does this mean we can take down the boards and put the cats back into the catio?” Mom asked.

“Maybe wait until morning, just to be safe,” I said. “And keep an eye on the river. This thing with the beavers isn't over.”

“Oh, no,” Mom whispered. “When will it be?”

“We don't know. We never found the god behind it all. I assume he'll try again.”

“Do you know why he's doing this?” Richard asked.

“No,” Re said.

“Hold on,” I said. “Were you attacked at all?”

“Nyet,” Kirill said. “But could be because no rain.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I said. “But I noticed something when we were out there today. The beavers weren't attacking just anyone.”

Trevor frowned, then said. “You're right. They left families alone, even if they were large groups.”

“Then who were they attacking?” Richard asked.

“Workers,” I said. “Men and women defending work sites.” I blinked. “Like dams. They wanted the dams to fail.”

“Not just dams,” Trevor said. “They attacked loggers too. And there were many places that I wasn't sure what the humans were doing, but they were definitely performing a job of some kind.”

“Dams and logging companies,” I murmured. “We need to have that meeting now.”

“It's late and the Squad has been out fighting the floods,” Re said. “We'll contact them tonight and meet them in the morning.”

“We'd better invite Hermes and his kids too,” I said. “So make it at Moonshine.”

“I'm on it,” Trevor said and pulled out his phone .

“We need to take the kids home,” I said sleepily.

“I made sugar cookies.” My mom pushed a plate toward me.

I looked at the cookies and sniffed the air. “Is there any coffee left?”

“Of course.”

“I guess we can stay a little longer.”