Spoiler about three paragraphs in maybe:
Man, AJ was a really crappy MoO guy then. How am I to believe he wasn't paralysed in disbelieving terror to terrible ghosty things and the like if he can't hold his bladder or his ground to a guy in a mask?
Actually I think that part makes sense:
Everyone in the house had a dream that Trilby would butcher all of them, right? At least, Trilby, Simone and the school-kid-whose-name-I-forget did. If AJ worked for the MofO, maybe he was psychic and got that dream (or one similar to it) a bit earlier then everyone else did. So then, when Trilby shows up, AJ goes "OMG it's the guy who is going to kill us all!" and promptly freaks the hell out. As for the story, well, when wits fail, there's always betrayal and brute force.
The Following is chalk full of spoilers, so don't read it unless you've read the story. It's not like it's going to keep you up all night. What I want to know is when and how Trilby became such a powerful he-witch/warlock/whatever-you-call it. When you think about it, the exorcism of John Defoe was a pretty stellar bit of magic which he performed all on his own.
I'm not sure of the exact rules for the magic of the Trilby universe, but if it's anything like the magic of more reality-themed supernatural shows, that's a hell of a feat, especially for one's second spell ever (the bear I guess was the first one). Usually you have to be ordained or otherwise have special training to pull off that kind of stuff, just ask a priest or a nun. And here, he just took the most potent, powerful ghostly manifestation on record and shoved it right off of the Big Roof of Mortal Life by sheer magical muscle-mass.
Either he's got some kind of inborn gift for spell-work or there's something else going on. Either way, he's DEFINITELY one of those hybrid souls himself.
I liked the story: Trilby's got a heart of gold and he's always standing up for right of some sort or another (wither it's the right of humans not be be killed by ghosts or the right of the uber-rich to get burgled as kind of cosmic payback for being so uber-rich) so I liked this glimpse at the more ruthless, cold-hearted side of his nature. Sure, it was best for the kid to leave this world and move on, but still, forcibly excising a mostly-innocent child to save himself headaches and annoyances was a pretty heartless move on his part.
And I don't get the part about all the deaths in the beginning, were those Greg? Greg doesn't seem the manevolent sort of spirit. Morose, maybe, but not particularly violent or dangerous...I can't help but wonder if Trilby got the right ghost. It's not quite a polished piece of work, there are some awkward passages in the beginning as the stage is set and it sounds like Trilby is casting around trying to find his voice, but the point came through, it was witty, and I read the whole thing.
+10 pts. for Mr. Yahtzee. Hoping for more of these, more Trilby is always a good thing.
I'm gonna go watch some SUPERNATURAL episodes now.