excerpt from 'the space between worlds'

"Do you ever wonder what sets you apart?"

"You mean why I haven't died?"

She nods, but won't say it.

Why have I survived? Because I am a creature more devious than all the other mes put together. Because I saw myself bleeding out and instead of checking for a pulse, I began collecting her things. I survive the desert like a coyote survives, like all tricksters do.

"Luck, I guess," I say, because the first thing a monster learns is when to lie.

Micaiah Johnson, [source]