Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Author:Nalo Hopkinson [Hopkinson, Nalo]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Speculative Fiction
ISBN: 9780759520448
Publisher: Aspect
Published: 1998-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Rudy was pissed off. Tony had blurted out his story to him in the limousine ride back to Rudy’s office. Only three more days left to collect the heart for the hospital, and this pissant boy had been wasting time. He’d even found a match, but he was too cowardly to do what had to be done. On top of it all now, Tony had put his three best generals out of commission. Rudy didn’t even know if Crapaud was going to live, and Jay and Crack were only lying there like babies, talking foolishness about how Tony’s girlfriend beat them up. He scowled at Tony across the oak dining table. He touched the linen napkin to his lips, put it down. The waiter moved in quickly to clear the table, glancing fearfully at Tony from time to time. Rudy watched him in silence, then, “All right. You could go now.”

Tapping the fingers of one hand on the tabletop, Rudy glared at Tony again. I have a mind to just feed him blood to the calabash one time, Rudy thought. Lately the thing in the duppy pot had been demanding to be fed more often. And what about that message that Crack had brought him from Eshu? The Eshu in the Black Cape. The one that had shown him the way to control people, to work the dead.

Rudy thought about it. Now that he knew where to find a match for Uttley, he could get some of his boys to beat the woman up, then just call the hospital to come and collect, and claim his finder’s fee. Less money, but still profitable. Maybe not yet, though. He still had a chance to use Tony to get the full fee. Rudy was sure he could give the man the right incentive. And it would get those blasted women and their nicey-nicey balm-yard spirits out of his way once and for all.

“I figure,” Rudy said to Tony, “you must be did see what happen out there by the highway? You see the spirit that appear to Crack?”

Of course, Tony couldn’t reply. He was flopped limply in the armchair in Rudy’s office, head flopped to one side. Only the panicked look in Tony’s eyes betrayed any awareness.

“Some people call that spirit the One in the Black Cape, seen? Him does always dress in funeral colours. Him is the one you call when somebody work a obeah ’pon you and you want revenge. I call him. Twelve years ago. I wasn’t nobody then, you understand? Just a poor man who get kick out of he house by he ungrateful wife. Motherass woman take up with a next man behind my back. Them days, I was living in a flophouse, and I had one little problem, same like you. Buff. Used to spend all my money on it, then steal to get more. And just like you, I make a mistake. I steal from the posse.”

Tony’s eyes were watering.

“But your eyes must be stinging you, eh, Tony? It does burn when you can’t blink them, right? Is so the toad poison does take you.

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