River Marked (Mercy Thompson #6)(27)
Author: Patricia Briggs

"Surviving, evidently." Uncle Mike’s voice was suddenly grim. "Which is better than we had feared. Otterkin aren’t like the selkies, who are their closest kin. There are other fae who wear otter shapes, but they aren’t really related to otterkin. For one thing, otterkin don’t interact with people well. We brought all that were left to the Walla Walla reservation and turned them loose in our waters."

"You don’t have waters there," said Adam, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It was one of the things that the government made sure of–no running water that went into any of the reservations could come running out." He wasn’t arguing. He was just telling Uncle Mike that they both knew there was something odd going on in the Walla Walla reservation.

Running water was supposed to enhance the powers of a number of fae. I was surprised anyone in the government–who wasn’t fae– knew that little gem. It had been a useless precaution, though. I’ve seen oceans in the reservation where they’ve somehow managed to open entry points into Underhill. That was one of the things I couldn’t tell Adam–or anyone else. I’d promised, and the ones who’d suffer if I broke my promise included my mentor, Zee, so I kept my mouth shut.

"We have ponds," said Uncle Mike, not-lying even better than Gordon Seeker had. "But they weren’t enough. So Edythe bought a scrub piece of desert and turned it into a campground."

"And turned the otters loose here."

"Otterkin. Edythe had a sanctuary built for them near the swimming hole. They should have been happy there, but they disappeared from it, and we haven’t been able to find them for about six months. None of them were in good health when we put them there, and we assumed that they were gone until Edythe suddenly decided to send you."

"Tell me about the otterkin," said Adam.

"You should feel a kindred spirit with them," Uncle Mike told him. "They are shapeshifters who can take human form though their true shape is otter. As humans, they tend to resemble someone with severe autism. In the past, it got many burned at the stake."

"Do they kill people?" asked Adam.

There was a rather long pause. "Not for food," said Uncle Mike.

"Neither do werewolves. Nonetheless, there are bodies wherever there are packs. Are there bodies where there are otterkin?"

"Not of the kind that would bring attention," said Uncle Mike. "They are territorial. Sometimes people drown near otterkin lairs."

"And you put them near the swimming hole."

"Which is protected by rune and magic," snapped Uncle Mike. "They couldn’t even drown a baby in that swimming hole. They can swim and fish, but they can harm none therein."

"So they moved to where they could," Adam said. "We found them a few miles upriver. Are we supposed to stop them?"

"For that we wouldn’t need you." Uncle Mike’s voice was impatient. "There are seven of them. You could eat them for lunch and be hungry by dinner. They have very little magic of their own though they are clever with what they have, and they cooperate with each other. When there were hundreds of them, they were dangerous. There are otter-shaped fae who are powerful–but they are still back in the Old Country and doing fine."

"Otterkin are minor fae," I told Adam. Not too long ago, I’d read a book about the fae, written by a fae woman. It took me a while to remember them because they’d gotten the barest mention. "They used to be very common, but they aren’t powerful. Probably no more trouble than real otters would be. River otters usually avoid people, which is good for the people."

"Ah, is that Mercy I hear? What does she say?"

That didn’t mean that Uncle Mike couldn’t hear me. Maybe he just didn’t want Adam and me to know that he could hear what we said. Still, Adam politely repeated my words to Uncle Mike.

"Otterkin were supposed to be friendly and helpful," I added.

"Right," Uncle Mike agreed. "Being hunted to near extinction changes a lot of things. Still, they’re not big enough to seriously threaten anyone."

Unless he was hurt and defenseless, as Benny had been.

"Ask Uncle Mike if they’d be able to do what something did to Benny’s foot," I said. I couldn’t see how they could, but it would be stupid not to ask.

After Adam relayed my question, Uncle Mike said, "No. They might be able to sever a toe or finger. They could kill someone, I suppose, just as a regular river otter could under the proper circumstances. But it would be because they opened up an artery." Then slyly, he said, "Sort of like a coyote might kill a werewolf." Which I had done–and didn’t plan on doing again anytime soon. Sheer dumb luck is not something I felt like counting on.

"And Edythe thought that it was important that we check out seven otterkin?" Adam said.

Uncle Mike made a neutral noise. "Her premonitions aren’t specific to the fae," he said. "Something bad is going to happen unless the two of you somehow manage to stop it. Or not. Her predictions aren’t perfect." His voice got very serious. "You have to understand. This is not a favor you are performing for the fae. It may have nothing to do with the fae at all. We just saw to it that you are in the right place."

"Fine," said Adam coolly. "Have it your way for now. We’ll discuss this again when Mercy and I return."

He hung up the phone.

"I was wrong," I said.

"About what?"

"Gordon Seeker wasn’t as bad as the fae. At least he didn’t engineer our presence at a disaster."

"You think seven otter-sized fae with very little magic comprise a disaster?"

"No," I told him. "But something bad is coming. It doesn’t sound like Edythe has premonitions about stubbing your toe or even about some poor guy getting his foot taken off. And Uncle Mike knew it when he sent us here."

Chapter 6

ONE OF THE REASONS I HATE TO TAKE ANTIHISTAMINES is because of the dreams. They never make any sense, but they are consuming and difficult to throw off the next day.

That night I dreamed I was encased in stone. No matter how hard I struggled, no matter how hard I fought, I could not move. I grew hungry, and there was no surcease, no ease of the great appetite of my captivity.

I dreamed that I was freed at last, and I feasted on an otter that filled me more than an otter should, appeasing my hunger for a moment. So I didn’t eat the other otters who swam around me.

They looked like the otters who had watched me pull Benny’s boat out of the brush.

I woke up with the dry mouth and feeling of impending doom that were not unfamiliar after I’d taken antihistamines. I felt the same way after vampire, demon, or fae attacks, too. After, because, not being prescient, I never knew when the sword of Damocles was going to fall.