rogue excerpt by gina damico

7/28/2019 Rogue Excerpt by Gina Damico

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ADVANCE

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For Gamma and Papa

Copyright 2013 by Gina Damico

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Grotton wondered, or a brie moment, i there were a special

circle o hell reserved or someone like him, or i Dante would

have to cobble together an entirely new one.Please, the armer at his eet moaned. Please.

Other than delivering a small kick to shut the man up, Grot-

ton ignored him and went back to his task. He had to keep his

wits about him, or this would never work.

Te heavy smoke had darkened the thatched roo o the arm-

ers hut, but some small bits o light had begun to edge back in.

Grotton picked up his scythe a heavy stone made rom lead,

orged by his own two hands. Te best blacksmith in the village,

theyd called him, back beore the rumors started.

He smiled at the irony, how the only people who were able to

conrm that the rumors were true never lived long enough to tell

anyone.

Case in point: the cowering, dirty wretch on the ground,worlds away rom the pued-up, righteous man hed been up un-

til a ew moments beore, as i someone had pricked him and let

all the air out. Every ew moments his gaze would dart to the two

still lumps beside him, but hed quickly squeeze his eyes shut and

let out another whimper.

I was only protecting our village, he moaned. With a de-mon in our midst

Im not a demon. Grotton knew better than to engage in

Prologue


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x prologue

conversation with the brute, but the words came regardless. I

hurt no one.

Te armer looked up at him, a swath o greasy hair allingover his eyes. A demon, he insisted. Stalking through the night,

taking the souls o

O people who are already dead.

Dead and cold and lling with mold, his students liked to say.

Tered certainly been no shortage o test subjects or them

the Great Plague had made sure o that. Teyd called themselvesreapers, which Grotton had ound amusing at rst and, as their

experiments continued with increased success, oddly appropri-

ate. He was glad his students not been identied; perhaps theyd

be able to rejoin him aer he ed the village.

Aer hed taken care o this one loose end.

You hurt no one? the armer growled. Perhaps he knew

what awaited him; but then again, even Grotton did not know.

Tey were breaking resh ground today, the two o them the

scientist and his lab rat. How can you say that?

You mistake my words, said Grotton. I hurt no one until

today.

o illustrate this, he administered another kick, this time to

one o the little lumps lying next to the man. Tat did it what-ever small amounts o bravado the man had conjured now melted

away. He dissolved into sobs, putting his thick hands over his

eyes to block the view o the blood seeping out o his childrens

skulls in thin rivulets, draining to the sunken center o the oor.

Please, he said again. Mercy.

Mercy? Grotton almost laughed. Like the kind you showedmy amily? He knelt down to look the man in the eye and spoke


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prologue xi

calmly and evenly. Setting re to a mans home, roasting his wie

and children alive that sort o mercy?

I thought you were with them . . . We needed to be rid o you,all o you, demons

Grotton slapped him across the ace. Te man went quiet.

Grotton stood back up and wiped his red-stained hands on a

towel. I alreadyhae shown you mercy.

Te man made a noise o disbelie. How?

Your children, Grotton explained in a measured voice, aremerely dead. He walked over to another heap on the ground,

this one charred and black. Your wie did not are as well; she is

Damned, her soul in unbearable pain as we speak.

Te armer cried out, no doubt replaying in his mind the way

Grottons hands had squeezed her skin and set her on re, black

smoke bursting out o her body and lling the room.

Yet neither o those ates, Grotton nished, are as odious as

yours will be.

By now the man could barely speak. I I

You set the re, Grotton said, his voice growing thick, the

taste o revenge on his tongue. You made your choice.

No, please

Te scythe in Grottons hand was already black, but now aneven denser shadow seemed to burst out o it, surrounding his

hand as i it were glowing, but with darkness instead o light.

He raised it above his head, allowed himsel one last look at the

mans terried eyes, brought the blade down into his chest

And the room went dark.


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xii prologue

So all that really happened? What you did to the armer, all

those years ago?

Grotton nodded. More or less.A pause. Tink you can do it one more time?

I you brought what I asked or.

His guest emptied the requested items onto the table. Tey

clinked and bounced, producing a sound like wind chimes.

Here.

Grotton leaned orward, his ace aglow in the light o theburning candle. Ten I believe we have a deal.


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1

Driggss hair was still wet.

Tats the odd thought that popped into Lexs head as they

ran. She and Driggs and Uncle Mort were eeing a mob o angryvillagers in the middle o the night, through a thick orest, and

in a blizzard, no less so it wasnt as i there werent other things

to ocus on.

Yet she couldnt take her eyes o his hair, which had been that

way since hed died o hypothermia a ew hours beore. Shouldnt

it have dried a little by now? Teyd stopped in Grottons rela-

tively warm cabin long enough or at least some o it to have

evaporated. But he still looked soaked, making his dark brown

hair spikier and more chaotic than it usually was.

Appropriate, Lex thought bitterly. Drowned hair, drowned

lie. Just when she thought shed stumbled upon some evidence

that proved Driggs hadntjust been turned into a ghost those

eeting moments when he went solid, his ngers physicallybrushing up against hers as they ran here was this hair thing,

slapping her in the ace.

Determined, Lex reached out or Driggss hand but grabbed

only air not because her aim was o, but because air was what

his hand was made o at the moment. She slowed her sprinting

pace to a jog and tried to look straight into his eyes, but the wayhis head was ading in and out o existence made it somewhat

difcult to gure out where his eyes actually were.


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2 gin ad amico

But she soon caught them the blue one rst, then the

brown one. He orced a grin onto his ace. Working on it, he

said, hal panting as he ran.Lex swallowed and tried to look at the situation with a glass-

hal-ull mentality. Except when your boyriend has been turned

into some type o weird part-ghost, part-human hybrid and its

all your ault, the power o positive thinking becomes a bit o a

challenge. Its really not that bad, she lied through her teeth,

contorting her ace into something that resembled human happi-ness. She would be strong. She would notlose it, no matter how

many creepy clown smiles she had to make. Its not.

I know, he lied right back. Just then, he popped into tangi-

bility, shoving his hand into Lexs and letting out a breath. Tere.

Easy.

Easy?

I the denition o easy has been changed to extraordinarily

strenuous, then yes. He gave her another one o those awul

grins. Easy.

And Lexs heart broke all over again, into a million pieces,

probably tearing up all her other organs in the process.

Hurry up, you two, Uncle Mort shouted rom up ahead.

Terell be plenty o time later or agonizing assessments o ourcruel, cruel ate. Tat is, i we survive. He turned back to glare at

them as he ran. Which, judging by your glacial pace, seems like

something that Im the only one trying to do.

Te spectral white gure oating just behind Uncle Mort

held up a single bony nger. Actually, i were to be precise, I can-

not technicallysurie i I am already Dead? Uncle Mort nished or him, shooting Grotton a

rude sneer beore surging on ahead. Yes, we know.


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rogue 3

Te centuries-old ghost gave him a thorny smile. Just point-

ing it out.

Lex and Driggs doubled their pace, winding through the darktrees that made up the woods surrounding Croak. Still, the mob

o bloodthirsty townspeople wasnt that ar behind Lex could

hear their shouts echoing through the snow-laden trees into the

cloudy night sky.

Keep going, Uncle Mort yelled. Were almost out o

the He stopped running so abruptly that Lex slammed into his

back. Driggss hand was wrenched out o hers, and he instantly

went transparent again, oating right past them. Grotton,

meanwhile, chuckled to himsel and dried above everyones

heads, crossing one leg over another as i patiently waiting or a

train.

Lex began to rub her nose rom where it had smooshed

against her uncle, but she stopped as soon as she saw why he had

halted. Oh, shitballs, she whispered.

Apparently only hal o the townspeople had been pursuing

them rom behind. Te other hal had split o some time beore,

circled around, and were now coming at them rom the other

side, weapons drawn and at the ready. Norwood, the mutinousmayor, was at the ront. His ace was slick with sweat and loath-

ing unsurprising, given the act that Lex had Damned his wie

an hour prior. Standing beside him was rumbull the butcher

who at one time had employed Zara but was now Norwoods

head goon and Riley, she o the giant sunglasses and ber-

bitchery.Uncle Mort bristled. Shitballs is right.

Can we Crash yet? Lex asked. Instantly scything out o


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4 gin ad amico

there would be the best option, but she wasnt sure it would work.

Are we out o range?

No more Crashing, Uncle Mort said. Norwood beinggranted the ability to Damn has most likely caused a huge wave

o new destruction in the Aerlie. Add that to all the other

Damning thats been going on lately, and the Aerlie is probably

hanging on by a thread. We cant risk damaging it urther by

Crashing.

Lex cringed. Te Norwood thing had been her ault, too.Shed tried to Damn him, but had succeeded only in transerring

some o her Damning power to him. And any time a Grim did

something unnatural like that, a little bit more o the Aerlie

eroded away.

And any time thathappened, her dead twin sister, Cordy, and

all the other souls in the Aerlie got one step closer to disap-

pearing altogether.

So . . . whats the plan, then? Driggs asked, the opaqueness

o his body coming and going in waves now, possibly in time with

his heartbeat.

Um Uncle Mort winced. Hide.

Lexs jaw dropped as Uncle Mort ducked behind a tree.

Hide?she sputtered in disbelie, alling over her own eet as shetried to conceal hersel. Tats the best you can come up with?

He gave her a look. You got a rocket launcher in that bag o

yours? No? Ten hide it is. Grotton, get down! he shouted at the

ghost, who was now oating higher and seemed to be glowing a

brighter color.

Grotton lowered himsel to the ground. I was merely tryingto provide a bit o light or your attempts at he let out a quiet

snicker concealment.


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rogue 5

Uncle Mort, suppressing the urge to reach up and smack the

everdeathing snot out o their new companion, gritted his teeth.

Next time set o some reworks, itll be more subtle.A bang pounded through the air. Lex jumped, a resh batch o

goose bumps breaking out across her skin as she considered the

possibilities o what could have made that noise. Seconds later it

rang out again, ollowed by a series o slightly quieter staccato

bursts o sound, like a machine gun. Ten, oddly, a dry, wheezing

noise, as i the machine gun were having an asthma attack.Lex squinted across the dark eld and nally saw it a tall

pu o smoke slowly coming toward them. Te worried line o

Uncle Morts mouth crinkled into a smirk. Tat cray old bag.

Cray old what now? Lex watched the slow-moving cloud,

which was now weaving back and orth in wide, erratic curves.

What is that? A car?

No, said Uncle Mort, standing up. Tat, my riend, is ar

too ne a contraption to be called a mere car.

What then, a truck? A tank?

Is it Driggs stopped himsel, looking embarrassed.

Lex looked at him. Were you going to say Batmobile?

I was maybe going to say Batmobile. What o it?

Te townspeople didnt seem to know what to make o thephenomenon either. Tey scrambled to get out o its way as it

plowed toward them, some o them diving into the snow. Yet as

the smoke picked up speed, something arose out o the murki-

ness a glint o metal, a reective glass surace all the pieces

eventually coming together to orm something that was decid-

edly not even close to a Batmobile: a giant black hearse.Uncle Mort grinned. Te Sti.

Te death car roared on, still sending townspeople le and


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6 gin ad amico

right. It soon chugged to a stop right where Uncle Mort had been

standing not two seconds beore, just as hed shoved Lex and

Driggs into a bush to avoid getting hit.Te drivers side window rolled down. Sorry, Pandora said.

Been a while since I drove the thing. Te gearshi sticks.

Yeah, must be the gearshi, said Uncle Mort, brushing him-

sel o. Certainly not your pristine driving skills or the act that

you havent been licensed in decades.

Is that sass? Are you sassing me?I would never.

Dora! Lex burst out in amazement. I thought you were in

hiding! How did you nd out whats going on?

I havent the oggiest idea whats going on! the old coot shot

back. I saw the whole town riling themselves up like it was the

second coming o Elvis, and gured that i trouble was aoot,

then you three were probably smack-dab in the middle o it. So I

grabbed the car, headed straight or the yelling, and lo and be-

hold, here you are. She smiled a toothless grin, quite pleased

with hersel. Now get in beore the unruly mob dents my paint

job.

Driggs headed or the back-seat door and assumed the stance

o a personal chaueur. Well, darling, he told Lex in a ancyvoice, here we are, dripping wet and scared and running or our

lives, and yet the tricked-out ride I reserved has arrived right on

schedule. Now, i we can only make it in time or the crowning o

prom king and queen

Lex almost laughed, until the hand he was using to open the

door disappeared, causing her to smack her head against theglass.

Driggss ace went red, even in its paler-than-usual state.


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rogue 7

Dammit. Sorry. He turned away rom Lex, but not beore she

caught a glimpse o his throat moving up and down as i he were

trying not to cry.She tried to grab his ace between her hands, but that particu-

lar part o him wasnt quite tangible. Hey, she barked instead,

insistently positioning her eyes in ront o his no matter how he

tried to squirm away. Im ne. And youre going to be ne.

Tis all this She waved her hand around within his trans-

parent torso. It changes nothing. I still love you and cherish youand all that goopy shit that I will urther expand upon when

were not about to get disemboweled by a gang o pitchork-

wielding maniacs. Got that?

He blinked back at her, resolve slowly returning to his eyes.

Okay, he said, but in such a little-boy-lost voice that Lexs heart,

now held together by the thinnest o threads, tore itsel apart yet

again. Surely there couldnt be much o it le.

Uncle Mort, who was watching all o this with a haunted ex-

pression that matched Lexs as opposed to Grotton, who was

pretending to le his nails shook all emotion rom his ace and

pushed both Lex and Driggs through the door.

Te car smelled like a crime scene. Tere was a drivers seat

and a passengers seat, just as in a normal car, but the back end othe vehicles rame stretched out into a creepy open area with no

seats to speak o. In their place, pelts o some sort o animal were

draped across the oor, and the spaces in between were covered

in what looked like approximately thirteen decades o gunk.

Oh, stunning, Lex said, gagging as she eased into the space

that was normally meant to be occupied by a cofn.Dont you start up, missy, Pandora scolded her. I havent

driven this jalopy in twenty-some-odd years! Its bulletproo, you


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8 gin ad amico

know keep it only or emergencies, hidden back behind the

Crypt

Driggs nudged Lex. Just be thankul theres not a body inhere.

and you should count yourselves lucky theres no body in

here! I you want to ride in style, call yoursel a limo, because I

aint hey! Quit straddling my gearshi!

Grotton, gamely continuing his campaign o unhelpulness,

was now settling comortably in the space between Pandora andUncle Mort. I highly recommend you rerain rom spitting on

me, he said, giving her a distasteul look. Hag.

Ooh! Lets use the secret weapon, Uncle Mort said, rubbing

his hands together, his eyes lit up like those o a childs on Christ-

mas morning. Just to scare them.

Pandora grinned. I was hoping youd say that.

Trusting her hand through the obstacle that was Grotton,

she put the car back into gear, executed a perect three-point

turn, and gunned it straight or the crowd o townspeople. Lex

watched her push a red button atop the dashboard.

Te eld was bathed in light as a great plume o re shot out

o the ront o the car. Te townspeople scattered.

Whoa! Driggs yelled.What the . . . Lex trailed o.

Uncle Mort turned around in his seat and smiled at her. old

you, kiddo.

Lex recalled her rst ride into Croak, when shed gotten her

rst glimpse o the village rom atop Uncle Morts motorcycle.

Tis was back beore shed learned that she was a Grim, one othe ew people on earth entrusted with the task o retrieving dead

peoples souls and transporting them to the Aerlie. Beore shed


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rogue 9

delved ace-rst into the town o Croak and beriended its citi-

zens, then later endangered Croak and majorly pissed o its citi-

zens by being able to Damn people, sending their souls to eternaltorment instead o the serene, lovely Aerlie. Beore shed shared

this talent with her ormer riend Zara, who then used it to ter-

rorize the Grimsphere and Damn innocent people.

Beore shed become the royal screwup she was today.

And o course, beore shed learned or the rst time what a

psychopath her uncle was. She smirked back at him. Ah yes. Teamethrower always shoots orward.

Bingo. He tapped the red button a couple more times or

good measure, creating a path o melted snow or them to drive

through. Lex looked out the back window. Unhurt, the towns-

people slowly got to their eet, muttering at one another. Some

shook their sts at the departing car. Driggs, meanwhile, was still

watching the ames with glee, the word Batmobile begging to

escape rom his lips. Dont even say it, Lex warned.

He gave her a wry look. Hey. I wasnt ar o.

Te car rumbled along across the eld, bouncing as Dora hit

divots and tree roots and probably a whole zoos worth o wood-

land creatures. So! she shouted, seemingly in ne spirits. Lets

catch up! Starting with the invisible boy back there. What in tar-nation happened to you, Driggsy?

Driggs ran a hand through his cold, wet hair, inadvertently

spraying Lex with small droplets. Well

Speak up, boy! And make it snappy!

Snappy, okay. Well, Zara kidnapped me and le me on

the top o a cli to die. And then I diddie. But not really. Actu-ally

Oh, criminy, Dora said, throwing her arms o the wheel or


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10 gin ad amico

a second, causing everyone to grope or something to hold on to.

Like pulling teeth with this one. Lex, gimme the quick version.

Howd you get sprung rom the clink?Te last thing Lex wanted to do was rehash this all over again,

but i she didnt, Dora would yell even louder, and no one wanted

that. Zara let me out.

Why?

So that she could orce me into doing a shi with her. So

helped.Tat little lying sneak, Pandora growled. Never did trust

her. oo many hair colors. She made a loud spitting noise. So a

shi, eh? And the target was

Driggs.

Why?

So she could threaten to Damn him i I didnt give her the

Wrong Book.

But you didnt give it to her, judging by the presence o Sir

Snottington over here.

Grotton bristled, and Lex nodded. Right.

And instead o Damning Driggs, she ghosted him?

Well, no. Beore she could do anything shed planned, I sort

o What?

Um, strangled her.

Pandora turned around in her seat, making the car swerve

sharply to the right. You what? she squawked, her voice rising

above her passengers screeches o panic. Zaras dead?

Lexs knuckles were white against the door handle. Yeah. Butshe was Culling Driggss soul at the time, so

So he was ghosted?


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rogue 11

Hal ghosted, Driggs threw in. Or something. Grotton

said he knows, but

Pandora blew a raspberry. I doubt Grotton knows his uglyace rom a splotch o roadkill.

Wait a sec, Lex said, raising an eyebrow at the amiliar way

Pandora spoke about Grotton. You knew about him too?

When Pandora dropped into an uncharacteristic silence, Lex

threw up her arms. Was I the only one in the dark about the act

that the evilest Grim o all time, thought to be dead or severalcenturies, was in act alive and well and having a grand old time

stalking me across the country?

Uncle Mort turned around in his seat to look at Lex and

Driggs. Dora and I and only a couple other Grims knew about

him. Hes . . . part o the plan.

Yeah, about that. Lex looked warily at Grotton, who was

smiling back at her in a devilish manner. You said the only way

to x things was to destroy the one who started it all in the rst

place. And that Im the one who has to dispatch him, or some

reason. What is that reason?

Because youre the only one who can, Grotton said. Doesnt

that make you eel special?

Lex ignored him. But that cant be true, she said to UncleMort. I tried Damning Zara and it didnt work. It had zero e-

ect on her. So why would I be able to kill Grotton?

Its a bit more complicated than killing. Or Damning, Uncle

Mort told her. Ten, doing that inuriating thing that he always

did so well, he neglected to nish his thought and instead turned

back to Dora. Just pull up in ront.Pandora nodded. Gotcha.

Uncle Mort was already unbuckling his seat belt. Lex had as-


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12 gin ad amico

sumed that they were headed or the outskirts o town, but shed

gotten so disoriented in the escape that she only just began to

realize where Dora was parking.I dont mean to nitpick, Lex said, looking at the metallic

gadgets sticking out o the windows o a house that would have

t in a lot better on a moon colony than in the heart o the Ad-

irondacks, but dont you think that the rst place Norwood will

look or you might be . . . oh, I dont know . . . your house?

Good point, Lex, Uncle Mort said with a roll o his eyes asPandora jolted the Sti to a stop. Dont know where wed be

without that brilliant strategic mind o yours.

Im just saying. Aer all that running and escaping and ame-

broiling our ellow citizens, were going to just hole up in here

and wait? I want to smite the bad guys!

Oh, therell be smiting, dont you worry about that. Out o

the car. He picked up the Wrong Book and strolled toward the

ront door as though hed simply run out to pick up a carton o

eggs, not been dashing about on the lam or several months. You

too, Prince o Darkness, he called back, waving the Wrong Book.

Grotton clucked his ephemeral tongue. So weve resorted to

childish name-calling. How

Childish? Lex deadpanned.He gave her a rude look, then reluctantly disappeared through

the windshield. What Uncle Mort had said back at the cabin

must have been true: Grotton was bound to the Wrong Book

and had to go wherever it went.

Lex looked at Driggs, who shrugged. Maybe there are some

pizzas le in the reezer, he said.Lex, who hadnt eaten a substantial meal in weeks, clutched

her gurgling stomach and scrambled out o the car aer him.


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rogue 13

Pandora turned the car around so that its grill was acing out-

ward, readied her nger over the red button should any towns-

people try to overtake the house, and waited with a wily grin onher ace.

Hurry up, or I wont hesitate to get my roast on, she told

them. You know how much I love a good barbecue.

Tey rushed into the house, but Uncle Mort had already dis-

appeared downstairs. Lex scowled. Hed dragged them all the

way over here only to make them wait while he ran down to dosome work in his top-secret, no-trespassers-allowed basement?

Maybe they had time to eat aer all.

Driggss ravenous teenage-boy brain had already reached this

conclusion, and it had even propelled him into solid mode, as he

was rummaging around the cabinets and pulling out every item

he could get his hands on. He tossed hal o the ood to Lex, and

the other hal didnt make it any arther than his own mouth.

Dorito bags exploded into a ne orange mist, cookies were emp-

tied out on the table, and all other ood packages were destroyed

on impact, their contents immediately consumed in as messily a

manner as possible.

Animals. Grotton oated into the doorway rom the base-

ment and watched them with disgust. Swine.Youre just jealous because you cant eat, Lex said around the

approximately seventeen cheese balls in her mouth.

Grotton picked up a cheese ball and threw it at her ace.

Tat certainly got their attention. Tey both stared at him

open-mouthed, a perect orange circle now situated on Lexs

cheek. Ghosts cant become solid, Lex thought. Ghosts cant throw

cheese balls!


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14 gin ad amico

And then: Tat might be the weirdest sentence Ie eer thought.

Oh, I can eat, Grotton said. I just choose not to sully my

innards with the manuactured slop o this day and age.Hang on, said Driggs, holding a glob o peanut butter in his

bare hand. I thought you were a ghost.

Araid not. Im a Hybrid, same as you. His smile widened.

Tough I dont go solid very much anymore. oo risky. But

that he pointed at Lexs orange cheek with a snicker was

worth it.Lex scowled back at him. Risky?

He raised his eyebrows. Why, someone might try to stab me.

Or Damn me. Orstrangle me.

Lex looked away, disquieted, even though that she knew he

was pushing her buttons on purpose.

Driggs, meanwhile, seemed to have gotten some o that pea-

nut butter stuck in his throat. So this is it, huh? he said quietly.

Back and orth between solid and transparent, or the rest o

my He swallowed. Forever?

Grotton studied him. I memory serves me, the transitions

will be erratic at rst; then, aer a day or so, you may be able to

control them. But beore long the solidications will be ewer

and arther between, and then . . .When he trailed o, Driggs nodded curtly. Mostly ghost.

Got it.

Lex saw the melancholy passing over his ace and reached out

to him, but he waved her away, still intent on Grotton. You said

Im a Damning Eect Reverser, too, whatever that means. And

that you know why I can unDamn.Oh, my boy, Grotton said with a grin, you can do so much

more than that. With that, he disappeared into the basement.


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rogue 15

Driggs scoed. Tat was helpul.

Seriously, said Lex. Te guys a rst-rate douchecrate.

Agreed. Shall we move on to the ridge?Tey were well on their way to eating a ull spray can o

whipped cream between them one spurt or Lex, two spurts

or Driggs, shake well, repeat when Uncle Mort appeared at

the basement doorway and, given the act that neither o them

had ever been allowed to set a single toe on the basement stair-

case, said the most surprising thing he could have uttered:Downstairs, kids.

Out came the whipped cream. In a perect spit-take, too

through both mouths and all our nostrils.

Uncle Mort grinned. I were going to smite the bad guys,

were going to need a ew toys rst.


23/31

2

Oh, so this is whats down here, Driggs said as he and Lex de-

scended into the basement. Only everything in the known uni-

verse.It also seemed to be a testing ground or the limits o how

much weight a bunch o two-by-eight wooden shelves could sup-

port, as all our walls o the basement were lined with them, oor

to ceiling. Each held an impossible amount o weird, oreign-

looking things that Uncle Mort had cobbled together, none o

which Lex could identiy and all o which shed label with the

highly scientic term o doohickeys.

It made her think o her room back home. Not or the rst

time, she was reminded that she truly was her uncles niece.

Uncle Mort rested his bag on the large table in the middle o

the room and glanced at a laptop, which displayed a green night-

vision video eed o what looked like some long white poles. At

the corner o the table sat a stack o papers with a big rock hold-ing them down made o a material, Lex noted, that she was

pretty sure didnt exist anywhere on the periodic table. Uncle

Mort set the rock aside and started to si through the papers,

staring at them intently.

Should we point out that theres nothing on them? Lex

whispered to Driggs.And spoil the un o watching an honest-to-God crazy per-

son do what he does best?


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rogue 17

Its written in Elixir ink, Grotton said behind them. When

Lex looked at him with the sort o expression that such a state-

ment might elicit, he pursed his lips. Invisible to everyone butthe person who wrote it. Amateurs.

But Driggs wasnt listening. Lex, look at this thing. He

pulled her over to a purple screen that resembled a radar display,

with an arm sweeping out rom a point in the center, and a ew

triangular blips scattered around a crude map o the United

States. Some o the triangles were brighter than others.Chicago. Lex pointed to one, then scanned the others. Se-

attle, Boston, New York City wait. She tapped a button, hop-

ing that the image would zoom in, and it did. Not just New York

City Queens! Tats my neighborhood!

Driggs rowned. Bang and Pip came rom Chicago. And I

think Ferbus once said he used to live near Seattle.

Lexs eyes widened. You think this is how Uncle Mort tracks

down potential Grims? she whispered.

Why, yes it is! Uncle Mort boomed in a game-show-host

voice. Grotton, tell them what theyve won!

Grotton narrowed his eyes. Dont drag me into this.

Tis is how you track down rookies? Lex asked Uncle Mort,

incredulous.Yep. Uncle Mort had broken away rom the table, moved on

to the shelves, and was now grabbing things le and right. As

soon as kids turn delinquent, they start to emit a sort o signal

through the ether. Te stronger the signal, the more potential

they have as a Grim. All I have to do is pick out the brightest.

Driggs rowned. Why arent I on here?You werent the brightest. Heads up!

He tossed something at Driggs. It looked like a little ootball.


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18 gin ad amico

It was shaped like a little ootball. It was, or all intents and pur-

poses, a little ootball except that it was made o gold. Driggss

eyes went wide at the prospect o dropping a priceless inventionto the oor and thereby blowing up the universe or doing some-

thing equally undesirable, but he managed to catch it with only

the smallest o umbles.

Woo! he hooted in celebration, hoisting it above his head.

Sports!

I wouldnt do that, Uncle Mort said, stufng a large compassinto his pocket. Unless you want to kick-start a new bubonic

plague. I you want to kick-start a new bubonic plague, then by

all means, continue with the excessive celebration.

Lex just stared at him. You tossed a potentially plague-start-

ing device at someone who is, at best, intermittently tangible?

You need to lighten up a little bit, Lex, Uncle Mort replied.

I you cant have un at the end o the damn world, when can

you?

Lex and Driggs exchanged glances. Tis is the end o the

world?

Well, the end oa world. Hand me that map, would you?

Lex limply passed him a rolled-up world map. She was be-

yond trying to understand what was going on. Shed just go whereshe was pointed. Shed do whatever she was instructed to do.

Shed stop asking questions.

What are we doing? burst out o her mouth milliseconds

later. What about the other Juniors? What is the plan, exactly?

She looked to Driggs or backup, but he had placed the plague-

ridden ootball on the oor and was staring at it warily. Why arewe down here?

o stock up on weapons. Uncle Mort crossed to the ar wall.


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rogue 19

We need lots o em. Driggs, pick that up, its not going to kill

you Driggs gave him a look. Okay, it wonturtherkill you.

ake a couple o these, too. He handed Lex and Driggs a ewthin vials o Amnesia each.

What are these or?

Weapons. Arent you paying attention? He walked to yet

another wall and began to load up on items that were, at long last,

recognizable as instruments o death.

Guns? she asked, surprised or some reason. Not, like, Am-nesia blow darts?

Oh, which reminds me. He took something else o the

shel.

Whats that?

Amnesia blow darts.

Lex shook her head. But why guns, i we have all o this other

cool stu ?

Because despite our best eorts to use Amnesia as much as

we can instead o lethal orce, well probably need to kill some

people, and guns kill people. He moved on to the next wall and

began riing through more gadgets. Or people kill people. I

orget how the hippies say it. Now, this ones or you, Lex. Im

going to need you to guard this with every meager iota o atten-tion span you have le. Okay? Im trusting you with this. Dont

lose it.

Lex got all her hopes up even though shed gotten to know

Uncle Mort pretty well by now and should have known better

than to get even a small percentage o her hopes up. And sure

enough, the item he gave her caused the smile to evaporate righto her ace.

Dont lose it, he repeated.


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20 gin ad amico

Her eye twitched. What is it?

What does it look like?

An oversize hole punch.Exactly.

What? she boomed as he went back to his papers. You get

guns, and Driggs gets the deadly Heisman, and all I get is an ofce

supply?

Yes. Dont lose it.

It took every ounce o Lexs strength to not kick the bubonicootball into his ace. Noticing this, Driggs swooped in and

wrapped her in a calming, solid embrace. Relax, spaz, he said.

But he

wouldnt give you a bazooka. Oh, the unbearable trials

and tribulations o the living.

Lex deated. Nothing put things in perspective like remem-

bering that your boyriend had been killed not a ew hours earlier

and was now stuck in some hellish existence halway between lie

and death.

Sorry, she said, giving his arms a squeeze, happy that she

could even do that.

Tats okay. Human problems are hard. Hangnails and tricky

toothpaste tubes and getting shat on by birds and the like.Mondays suck too, she mumbled into his chest.

Oh, Mondays are the worst.

Tey hugged or a moment more, then parted at which

point Driggss body immediately aded. Hmm, he said.

What? Lex asked.

Te same thing happened when we were holding hands ear-lier. Te second you let go, I aded.

You think your solidness has something to do with my


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rogue 21

touch? She reached out or his skin, but her hand passed

through. No, that cant be it.

Maybe you cant make me solid, he said. Only keep mesolid once I do it mysel. Which . . .

Would be happening less and less. Tis unsaid bit led to a

pained exchange o glances the most pained theyd exchanged

yet, by ar ollowed by a series o nervous scratching o necks

and the inability to say anything that would ever make this any

less excruciating.But at the end o it all, she put her hand in his through

his and smiled up at him. He smiled back. Tey pretended this

was normal, because they had to. Otherwise theyd just start

screaming.

Almost done, Uncle Mort said. He crossed back to his lap-

top, minimized the night-vision window, and started to compose

an email.

What are you doing? Lex asked.

Just leaving a parting gi with Kilda, i shes still alive to

receive it, he told her. A little educational lm or her to play

or the townspeople in secret. o help sway them back to our

side.

Back to our side? Lex could hardly say it without laughing.Te townspeople hate us. Tey voted you out as mayor, they

wanted me dead even beore I Damned Corpp and Heloise,

and She scowled. She was really starting to hate being able to

tick o the names o the people shed killed. What could possi-

bly sway them back to our side?

Uncle Mort brought up the night-vision video again. Tis.Lex squinted at the thick white lines. Tey seemed amiliar

yet alien, like a big, picked-clean skeleton.


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22 gin ad amico

I always knew Norwoods big at mouth would do him in,

Uncle Mort said. I just didnt know hed make it so easy or me.

Staring at the bright lines, Lex suddenly understood. TeGhost Gum tree! When Uncle Mort had ramped up security

right aer Zara attacked Driggs, hed put in more security cam-

eras. I hed put one in the tree It would have recorded the

whole thing. Me Damning Heloise, Zara giving him my Lie-

glass

And Norwood bragging that he blew up the ountain.Lex should have been able to anticipate her uncles guerrilla

genius, but it still surprised her, every time. Kloo hadnt been the

only one to die in that explosion a bunch o Seniors were

killed, and many others had been injured. It had enraged the

townspeople, whipped them into such a uror that theyd over-

thrown Uncle Mort and replaced him with Norwood, never

knowing that Norwood was the one responsible or the explo-

sion in the rst place.

Uncle Mort was right. Tis they couldnt orgive.

I, deep down, Croakers are as loyal as I think they are,

he said, then perhaps by the time we get back, theyll be a

little more open to our position. And willing to ghtorus, not

against us.Tis was good news. Which, o course, meant that bad news

was not ar behind.

So then wait, Lex said to Uncle Mort. Were escaping to

Necropolis, right? What do we need so many weapons or?

Uncle Mort paused in his work to look up at her. Do you

know o a better way to invade a city?What? Lex looked to Driggs or help, but he appeared just

as startled as she did. Were invading?


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rogue 23

Well, yeah. Necropolis is built like a ortress. Cant just waltz

in there and expect to be greeted like its a amily reunion and

were the eagerly awaited branch o really attractive cousins.Lex was shell-shocked. I thought She didnt know why,

but up until now shed believed that Necropolis was the one place

they could go where theyd be sae. She thought itd be ull o all

the other Grimsphere rebels, people who supported the Juniors

and believed in Lexs innocence. She thought it would be a sanc-

tuary, not a deathtrap that was even more dangerous than Croak.No one there is on our side? said Lex. Not even the Juniors?

Arent they being persecuted just as much as we are?

Yes, but that doesnt mean theyll be willing to stick their

necks out or a band o notorious criminals.

So let me get this straight, Lex said slowly. Were leaving

pitchork-waving townspeople behind to march headlong into a

heavily armed military? Why are we going to a city that wants to

see us dead?

o be air, Lex, he said matter-o-actly, eery city in the

Grimsphere wants to see us dead. So its not like we have much

choice in the matter.

Lex elt sick. Tat whipped cream bonanza had been a huge

mistake.Uncle Morts ace soened. Were going because what I said

back in the cabin is true, Lex. All the human involvement and

corruption in the aairs o death has triggered a destructive chain

reaction in the Aerlie. Any time a Grim does something that

were not supposedto be able to do Damn or Crash, anything

outside the realm o reasonable involvement in peoples deaths another hole gets poked in the Aerlie. Tese transgressions

against the natural order violations, theyre called are whats


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24 gin ad amico

causing the vortexes, the memory deletions, and whatever else is

bound to pop up the more we interere. I we dont stop the dam-

age soon, then poo no more Aerlie or the currently dead,the soon-to-be dead, or the centuries-rom-now dead.

Okay, said Driggs. So how do we stop the damage?

We permanently seal o the Aerlie rom the rest o the

world.

Lex all but stopped breathing. What?she shouted. How?

Uncle Mort paused, then sighed.By destroying the portals.

rogue excerpt by gina damico

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