Endangered

by Dani Hoots

  “Huntley, do you bet anything?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “No, I check.”

  A.J. and Hades did the same and I turned over the flop. A 2 of diamonds, 6 of diamonds, and a King of spades. Nothing good. Maybe I should have used my powers this turn, in the most discreet way possible.

  “White chip,” Huntley said as he tossed a chip in the pile.

  I grabbed a handful of popcorn and began to munch on it. I loved popcorn, it was so fluffy. Kernels sucked though, I always got them stuck in my teeth.

  “I’m going to meet that and raise you to a red.” A.J. tossed in a red. Hades and I both met the bid amount. Huntley just stared at A.J.

  “Actually have something or did you just want to up me?”

  A.J. shrugged as Huntley traded his white chip for a red one. I flipped over the next card and it was an Ace of diamonds.

  Huntley seemed to perk up. Figured he must have a diamond, only needing one more to get a flush. Anyone could have a flush at this point.

  “Hmm, wonder if anyone has a flush,” I commented as I bit my lip.

  Huntley placed down a red chip, smiling. “You better fold, if you aren’t sure.”

  “Who said I didn’t have a flush. Maybe I have the King as well, then you would be screwed,” I teased. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but simply smiled.

  “You don’t, you are such a bad liar.”

  A.J. interrupted our jest. “I’ll call your bet.”

  Father also placed down a red chip. “So do I, and I have to agree with Huntley, you are a terrible liar.”

  Huntley smiled. “So we do agree on something? Good to know.” I sided with Huntley, it was really rare for them to agree on something, but it, of course, had to be at my expense.

  I flipped over another card. It was the Jack of diamonds. So pretty much if anyone has a diamond, I was screwed.

  “First blue chip of the night,” Huntley flipped in a chip, a smile apparent on his face. Gee, I wonder what card he had.

  A.J. threw in his cards. “I fold. Hades?”

  Hades stared at Huntley for a moment, debating. “I’ll meet it.”

  I threw in my own cards. “Well, I fold. Guess you all are right, I suck at lying.”

  Huntley bit his lip as he slowly laid out his cards. “4 of diamonds, 8 of hearts. A flush.”

  Hades turned over his card as well. It was Queen of clubs and a 9 of diamonds. “I have a flush as well.”

  “But… then who wins?” Huntley asked.

  “Hades does, you moron,” A.J. said. “His 9 trumps your 4.”

  Huntley threw his cards in the pile and leaned back in his chair. “Fuck!”

  I saw a hint of a smile appear on Father’s lips. He never smiled when Huntley was around, I was glad he was finally starting to warm up to him, even though it was because Hades crushed his hopes with this game.

  It was also nice to see Father enjoying himself. He rarely seemed to have fun, especially when Mother was home. He deserved happiness, especially after everything his brothers have put him through.

  “Should have thought about it more carefully, Huntley. Four is a low card, you were at a disadvantage with that flop if someone else had a diamond,” Hades explained as he took in his pile.

  “Whatever,” Huntley muttered. “My turn to deal right?”

  I nodded. “Yup. Now make this one count.”

  Huntley mumbled something under his breath but I didn’t quite hear it. Probably a few more curse words.

  “Sorry I have to shuffle the mortal way with two hands, and not use magic to pass them out,” Huntley said as he shuffled with both his hands and the table. I laughed a little as he started to pass them out.

  I had a 6 of clubs and a Jack of spades. Not the greatest hand but it could work out to my advantage for me in the end. Huntley could barely stay still with whatever he had. Probably a pair or something.

  “A.J., you start,” I said as I grabbed some more popcorn.

  “I’m going to check. Hades?”

  “Same,” Father said.

  I nodded and Huntley tossed over the flop. It was a 2 of diamonds, 6 of spades, and 4 of hearts. It was A.J. This time he seemed to get excited and more into the game, as I did with the 6 of spades. Hades, well, he always kept his cool while playing a game. Unless he got angry, then he usually destroyed whatever we were playing, which is why we no longer play Aggravation.

  “I bet a blue,” A.J. said. Each of us met it. Apparently we all had something of worth, which I knew required me to exercise caution.

  Huntley turned over the next card. A 6 of hearts. Now I had three of a kind.

  “Green chip this time,” A.J. placed in a green chip. I bit my lip as Father did the same.

  “Someone has something really good. Don’t know what to do,” I said, acting as if I didn’t have something, or did. I just liked talking and throwing people off.

  “We all know you have nothing, just give me your chips and we will call it good,” Huntley teased.

  “I don’t know, maybe this time around I have something good. You really never know. It would be something you would do, giving me a really good hand without realizing it. I call.” I tossed in a green chip and Huntley did the same.

  “Your funeral,” he commented as he turned over the next card. It was a 10 of hearts. So far I still had a three of a kind.

  A.J. tossed in a red. So he probably didn’t get what he had hoped for. I most likely had him beat this time. Father also tossed in a red. I really didn’t know if he had anything.

  “I’ll meet that. Come on Huntley, toss in your red so I can take it all,” I commented.

  He laughed. “As if.” Huntley tossed in the red chip.

  “Two pair, fours and sixes,” A.J. said.

  “Same.” Hades turned his cards over.

  I grinned widely. “Three sixes. Ha!” I turned to Huntley. “And you?”

  He was frowning. “Two pair, eights and sixes. Damn it!” He threw his cards in.

  I laughed as I took in all the chips. “You suck at this Huntley. You barely have any chips left.”

  “Yeah, yeah. A.J.’s turn to deal.”

  A.J. gathered the cards and started shuffling them like Huntley.

  “See, sucks to be mortal, huh?” Huntley commented.

  A.J. gave him a look. “I’m a demigod, not a mortal. Get it right.”

  Huntley shrugged. “Either way, you have to shuffle those like a mortal.”

  A.J. passed out the cards. I had an Ace of diamonds and a 7 of diamonds. Two diamonds, that would come in handy.

  “Hades, do you bet anything?” A.J. asked.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “I do, one white.” I tossed it on the table.

  “Gonna be like that, eh?” Huntley tossed in a chip. “Only jerks bet pre-flop.”

  “Well maybe I’m a jerk.”

  I could tell Huntley was holding back a snarky comment, probably because my father was there. A.J. and Hades met the bet and the flop was turned over. 6 of clubs, 7 of spades, and an 8 of clubs.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have bet pre-flop. I was hoping for a flush but at least I had two sevens. Father put down a white chip. He didn’t have anything.

  “Raise to a blue chip,” I smiled at Father.

  “Raising the stakes. I can get behind that.” Huntley added his chip and so did A.J.

  Hades stared at me for a moment, then put down his hand. “I fold.”

  I took a bite of some more popcorn, happy that I had defeated my father and made him fold. The next card down was a King of hearts, which was worthless. I put down a red and everyone matched. Next card was a 6 of diamonds. Now I had two pair.

  “Blue chip.” I glanced at Huntley. He shook his head.

  “Fold. I only get crap hands, I swear.”

  “I’ll meet your bid, Chrys.” A.J. didn’t seem to waver. He had something. Again.

  I flipped over my cards. “Two pair.”

  A.J. flipped h
is cards over. “So do I, eight high.”

  “Damn it!” I threw in my cards and went to grab another handful of popcorn. The bowl was empty. Standing up, I grabbed the bowl. “I’m going to get some more popcorn.”

  Hades started to get up. “I can do that— ”

  “No,” I said. “You shuffle and deal. I will be right back. Give me some good cards this time. Anyone want some more beer?”

  Everyone but A.J. wanted another and I hurried off towards the kitchen as I heard the cards begin to be shuffled for another round. The anxiety of my forthcoming turn spiked my adrenaline. I loved popcorn and was most definitely going to get a stomach ache between that and the beer, both great distractions away from the tension brought on by my mother

  I sat in the counter as I waited for the popcorn to finish. As it stopped popping for a few seconds, I opened the microwave and pulled out the bag. Luckily I didn’t get burnt from hot things, which always threw Huntley off when he grabbed something after me. He healed quickly, it was the Underworld after all, but not after a few curse words brought on by the pain.

  Opening the fridge, I grabbed four beer bottles. The bottle opener was in the game room, so I didn’t have to worry about opening them, and most likely spilling them everywhere.

  My hands full, I hurried back to the game room. As I passed by one of the spare rooms, I could hear my mom giggling. Suddenly the door opened in front of me and she stepped out in a robe… With another man.

  “You slut!” I heard Chrys scream from the hallway. I glanced up at Hades whose body I could tell instantly tensed at those jarring words. He had worked so hard to get her to smile again, to get her to calm down. He even let A.J. and I play games with the two of them to lift her spirits. Now it was all in vain.

  “I knew I should have had one of you two get the popcorn,” he mumbled. He appeared to be indecisive about whether he should get up and tend to her or not, sort of starting to stand up but not really. So I made the decision for him.

  I got up and headed towards the hallway. It was probably better that I went after her compared to Hades as he and Persephone would just start fighting again. She only did this to piss him off, but unfortunately it only hurt their daughter in the long run.

  I found Chrys throwing beer bottles at the guy who was just in his boxers. There was popcorn everywhere. Okay, I knew it wasn’t my business but Persephone could definitely be a little more discrete about it all. Did she ever think it through, though? Also, this place was huge, couldn’t she just use one of the bedrooms on the other side of the palace?

  “Chrys, please stop!” Persephone yelled, but kept out of the way of Chrys’ oncoming wrath. Chrys was definitely the goddess of the Underworld. You didn’t want to piss her off or there would be hell to pay. Literally.

  “You fucking whore!” she yelled, tears falling from her face, her eyeliner creating streaks down her face, making her look even more terrifying, honestly. Though she could be scary, and hurt anything around her, I knew I would never turn my back on her. I couldn’t. I owed her that much, my life, or life after death, was in her hands and she could honestly do as she pleased. It would be better than what I suffered on Earth.

  Wind started whipping around her dark hair, growing more and more strong. It felt like a tornado beginning to form, a tornado of power as the crackle of static electricity sounded. Dark shadows began to appear in the air, the light from the chandeliers in the hallways was almost completely extinguished.

  Ah, crap. Not again.

  So if I had a daughter who would control life and death, I probably wouldn’t piss her off to the extent where she might kill whoever I had snuck into the Underworld. Or is that just me? I hated how she was caught in the middle of whatever was going on between Hades and Persephone. She was probably just pissing off her daughter to get under Hades skin. That or she was completely stupid.

  Darkness was completely pouring out of Chrys now. Her eyes were black, almost as if possessed by a demon. It was her own demon, though, the demon that always resided within her. She couldn’t control it, she was the master of it, and sometimes she let it out of its cage. Like right now, for instance. We were all doomed unless I did something quickly.

  And, you know, didn’t die again in the process.

  Black tendrils swung out around her and Persephone and the idiot man who easily fell for her good looks got out of the way. I, however, wasn’t so lucky.

  Fuck that hurts.

  I bit back the pain as the spot on my shoulder where it hit turned black with death. It would heal, eventually. My shoulder would just be sore for a few days. However, if I didn’t act now, I would be in a lot more pain.

  As fast as I could, I grabbed Chrys’s waist and threw her over my shoulder. The wind stopped but she was definitely still angry. She punched and kicked but at least she wasn’t going to make the hallway explode anymore. A few kicks and punches were definitely better than that.

  I brought her into the room we were playing poker in and slammed the door shut with my foot, but not before Hades saw the guy Persephone was with. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed about Persephone sleeping with another guy or that she had been caught by their daughter. I don’t think I could deal with that kind of shit if I were him, especially if I were the god of the Underworld. He was fucking Hades for crying out loud.

  I let Chrys down as she had calmed herself down a lot, taking deep breaths. A.J. and Hades stayed at the table, waiting to see if she was alright. Hades didn’t want to interfere again, in fear that they would get in a fight. He did, however, see my shoulder but didn’t say a word. He knew I was in excruciating pain and that his daughter hadn’t noticed what she had done yet. With a snap of his fingers, a jacket appeared on me. I mouthed a thank you, grimacing a bit as it was rubbing on the wound.

  Rubbing Chrys’ arms, I said. “Chrys, breath. Everything is okay now.”

  Tears stopped falling from her eyes and she nodded. “I’m okay. Thanks. Sorry, I almost lost it.”

  I shrugged. “It’s fine. No worries.”

  She turned to the table with a deep breath. “Finish our games then? I seemed to have dropped the beer and popcorn.”

  A.J. stood up. “I will go get some more. You can sit down.”

  Chrys nodded as she took a seat. I could hear the crunch of glass under A.J.’s shoe as he walked through the broken beer bottles. I sat back down across from Hades as Chrys stared at her cards, lost in the thought of everything.

  Hades mouthed “thank you”. I simply nodded. It wasn’t like I could let Chrys fight her demons alone. I owed that much to her, I knew.

  Believe it or not, I lost all my chips by the end of the game. Yeah, if this was golf or something, I would have been really well off.

  Chrys had the most chips, which I had a feeling was her father’s doing, as every hand he dealt she won. How he could do that, I wasn’t really sure. But he was a god so it wasn’t all that surprising that he manipulated things to let Chrys win in the end. He would do anything to make her smile.

  She didn’t talk much during the rest of the night of playing games. She seemed to be lost in her own world, thinking about everything that just happened. I supposed after thousands of years of dealing with that kind of crap, I would be pretty pissed too.

  Hades let A.J. and I walk her back to her room after the game. I wished I had some pomegranate seeds to give her, but they were hard to come by when Persephone was home. I had a feeling she had them a lot.

  My arm still hurt, by the way. The wound was hidden beneath the jacket I wore and I tried not to think about it, but god it hurt. Bad. And it was going to take a while to heal.

  I could hear Hades and Persephone arguing from down the hallway. There were some things being thrown, I could tell, but had no idea by whom. Probably Persephone as Hades didn’t seem like someone who would ever throw something at his wife or daughter. Other people, yes. He made that clear when he threw the poker chip at my face.

  Chrys pretended not to hear the
m, but it was clear she could. Her body was still tense, and she was quiet. I glanced at A.J., wondering if he knew what to do. He simply shrugged.

  We made it to Chrys’ room and she plopped on her bed. I didn’t know if she wanted us to leave right away or if she wanted to talk a. We both kind of just stood there, waiting for any kind of signal.

  “We should run away,” she whispered. “For just a little bit, like A.J. said.”

  I was hoping she had gotten the idea of running away out of her head by now. It didn’t feel like a good idea to me. It scared me that the god of the Underworld was afraid of Zeus. It could only mean bad things would happen if we went to Earth.