Page 14 of Grave Curse

“Remember, H brought Audrey into the fold as his ol’ lady when Ginger was only four or five years old. He knew how stubborn Ginger could be. He knew she’d tell him to go fuck himself with his so-called choice. So he told Ginger that if she refused to choose, he’d cut off one of her mother’s fingers. Audrey began to scream.”

Romeo cursed.

“I remember yelling at Ginger to run before things got any crazier, but Marvel went and snagged up Ginger’s hair that she’d had in a braid, and told her that it was finally time for her to recognize she wasn’t a real person with rights and shit. She was just a bitch on their leash like any other whore they owned, and she wasn’t running anywhere.”

“I really wish I could kill that shitbird again,” Romeo growled, grimacing. “What happened next?”

“Ginger made her choice.” I didn’t pause or close my eyes or let anything I felt show. But the rage that lived inside me from that night to now burned all the way down to the very core of my being. “She cut herself, because in spite of everything Audrey puther through, Ginger still loved her mother, and because Ginger thinks she’s somehow indestructible.”

Romeo’s hands curled into fists. “How long did this psycho game last?”

“Three cuts.”

“Jesusfuck.”

Yeah. “After the first cut—a horrible gash that opened the top of her forearm—I threatened H. Told him I was going to follow the path of my grandfather and father before me, and beat him to death with my bare hands. Fucker just laughed and called me a slow-learner, because threatening him broke the rules of Obey Hades Or Else. That meant Ginger got punishedagainwith the same choice—cut herself, or her mother. At this point, Audrey was whimpering, but Ginger didn’t even look at her as she switched the razor to her other hand and cut the top of her other forearm. She went deep on both cuts, probably because she knew Hades wouldn’t settle for anything less. Blood poured down her arms and off her fingers. Within a minute it looked like she was wearing red gloves.” I had a hard time thinking about that night all these years later, watching her blood pour off her fingers to pool at her feet. No wonder she had trouble looking at her injured hand today.

“I’ve seen the scars on the tops of her forearms, but I never thought to ask where they came from.” Romeo’s expression was a masterpiece of rage for Hades and pity for Ginger. “If Hades had insisted she slice the inside of her arms, that would’ve been the end of the line for her.”

“The final cut almost came to that. Though to be fair, Hades wouldn’t have wanted to lose his whipping girl and all the leverage he had over me. I’d always been protective of Ginger, even when we were kids, because she hadn’t been born into our world like I had. When Hades spotted how protective I was, hethought he had me over a barrel. That’s why he ordered Ginger to put the razor to her neck.”

“Goddamn it.”

Yep, that about summed it up. “The bastard actually grinned as she did it, then told me to swear undying allegiance to him to the point where I would forfeit both Ginger’s life and my own if I ever defied him. I stood there like a fucking moron, my brain spinning its wheels and going nowhere, because that sonofabitch really did have me up a shit creek without a paddle. I looked over at her, and our eyes met. That’s when I saw something I never believed I’d ever see in a firecracker like Ginger.”

“What?”

“Defeat. I saw it in her eyes, man. Not fear, or even rage anymore. It was like she was just so goddamntired. Tired of all the insanity, the pointless bullshit my family had put her through, all of it. In that moment, I could see she just wantedout. I knew as clearly as if I could read her mind that Ginger was going to slit her own throat, just so she could finally escape Hades, and go out in a way that she could control. Then her mom screamed, begging Ginger to stop and to cut her instead. Ginger turned her head and looked at her for the longest time, almost like she didn’t recognize Audrey. Not talking. Not crying. Just staring. It was the weirdest fucking moment, and we all seemed to be as stuck as Ginger was. Then I said, ‘Ginger, don’t.’ She closed her eyes, moved the blade to just below her collarbone and gave herself a shallow cut. That scar’s still there, too.”

“Goddamn evil bastard.” Romeo let out a breath in an audible huff. “How the hell did you get everyone out of that?”

I shrugged. “I had it in my head that Ginger wasn’t going to last much longer, because eventually she was going to choose death rather than continue to be Hades’s plaything, so I got inspired in a hurry. I turned and broke Popcorn’s neck before heeven knew he was dead, then shoved his body at Hades. I needed to buy time to get to Ginger, and having Hades deal with a dead body that landed on him gave me that time. But Marvel was right there with her, and I’m sure you won’t be surprised to know my recently deceased cousin tightened his hand around her braid and cowered behind her with promises of killing her if I got any closer.”

The man who had made my cousin recently deceased curled his lip in disgust. “Not surprised at all. Once a coward, always a coward.”

I nodded, my mouth twisting. “As I closed in on them, Ginger looked me straight in the eye, mouthed something at me, though no sound came out. I think she said,sorry. Then she turned as best she could and slashed the straight razor at Marvel. She got him across the chest, though mostly it was just clothes that got cut. But it was enough to make Marvel squeal like a stuck pig. I think that was when he fully realized the age-old conundrum of having caught a tiger by its tail.”

“To let go or to not let go.” For the first time Romeo grinned. “I would’ve paid money to see Ginger go after that spoiled little brat with a weapon they’d been stupid enough to give her.”

“No doubt about it, poetic justice was rolling hard,” I agreed, and my smile felt savage. “Problem was, Marvel was a lot stronger than Ginger and he kept jerking her head around by her hair. I think he was trying to snap her neck with all those sharp movements while he tried staying out of her slashing range. That was when she suddenly reached back and cut off her own hair. Shocked the shit out of Marvel, I can tell you that. He just sorta stood there like the dumbass he was with her braid in his hand, her so-calledleash, like he couldn’t comprehend what she’d done to be free of him.”

Romeo whistled. “I always said she’d make one helluva fighter. I had no idea how right I was.”

“The most dangerous person in a fight isn’t the most powerful or well-trained,” I agreed, nodding. “It’s the person who’s got nothing left to lose. That was Ginger that night. Even on a calm day she doesn’t fear pain or death, because Hades beat that out of her, and I don’t think there’s any way to undo that kind of soul-deep damage. I’m not even sure she fears Hades anymore, because of what happened next.”

“I can’t wait to hear it.”

“I let Ginger do her thing with Marvel and got to Audrey, since logic told me that Ginger’s mom was the last bit of leverage Hades could’ve used against us. Once Audrey was on her feet I told her to get her ass out of there and save herself, while Ginger kept chasing after Marvel, slicing away like she’d turned into fucking Edward Scissorhands.”

“Damn, that must’ve been a beautiful sight.”

“It was, but right about then Hades got out from under the body I threw at him, and he began to slow-clap at all the chaos. Marvel ran to him and cowered, because of course he did, while Hades smiled and announced that I’d passed the real test by killing Popcorn. He’d managed to get me to finally pop my cherry when it came to killing, he said, the fucker, like it had been his plan all along. Then he followed up that shit sundae by magnanimously letting me know there was no need to thank him for it, because as my uncle, it was his duty to teach me the tough lessons.”

“Oh my fucking God.” The outrage that burned in Romeo’s eyes threatened to light the room on fire. “There it is, Hades’s bullshit that everything is all going according to plan. Except the only plan he’s ever had in his life is fucking people over. He’ll never be wrong, because his goals always change with the outcome. Jesus, I can’t believe anyone buys his shit.”

“Trust me, no one in that room bought it, even though he was all smiles. He then ordered Marvel—who was still coweringfrom Ginger—to deal with Popcorn’s body, and told us we were all free to go. I looked at Audrey, who could barely stand she was shaking so much, and Ginger, who was covered in her own blood and most of her hair gone, and I realized they were both at their limit. Maybe I should’ve tried killing Hades then, but with a clubhouse full of Chicago Gravediggers to get through with two women who were in rough shape, I chose to stand down. To this day, I still don’t know if that was the biggest mistake of my life.”

“You had Ginger and Audrey to take care of. Any man worth that label would’ve gotten them to safety.”

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