“No. Cancelling lessons is a good idea. We’ll be digging graves and burying corpses all morning. I could use the afternoon to train these guys some more.”
Tony nodded. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
“Thanks, Tony.”
He gave me a small smile before walking away. Everyone else was busy digging already, so I grabbed a shovel and got to work helping Alex.
“He’s right, you know.” Alex didn’t look at me. He was focused on shoveling, and his tone was completely serious. “You have to stop blaming yourself. It’s not like you know what’s wrong with your powers.”
Sure. Except I did know what was wrong with them. I was conflicted. I liked Chase. As much as I wished I didn’t, I liked Chase. I didn’t know how long I could keep lying, especially to Alex.
He stopped digging and looked at me. “Hey, you don’t think it’s us, do you?”
“What do you mean?” Did he know something?
“Well,” he stepped closer and lowered his voice, “your powers keep going all crazy when we’re together or you’re thinking about me.”
I smiled at him. “No, I don’t think we’re the problem. You’re the only thing in my life that’s right.”
He wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me to him. He kissed me as if we were the only two people in the cemetery, and in that moment, we were. I forgot about the others. This was how I wanted things to be. Why couldn’t it be this simple?
“Seriously you two.” Randy flung dirt at us.
“Hey!” I jumped back, trying to avoid the dirt.
“Hey, yourself. If you two don’t stop making out in front of me, I’m going to throw myself in this open grave just so I don’t have to see it anymore.”
“Funny.” I rolled my eyes.
Leticia leaned on her shovel and stared at Chase. “I think it’s romantic the way they can’t keep their hands off each other, don’t you?” But Chase wasn’t paying any attention to Leticia. His eyes were fixed on me.
Alex glared at him. “You got a problem, Chase?”
“I was just thinking.”
“About what?” Leticia was drooling a little.
“About how every time I see these two it’s something different. One minute they’re kissing, and the next minute they’re fighting. I’m waiting for their relationship to implode.”
“That’s it!” Alex lunged at Chase, and the two fell backward into an open grave.
“Alex!” I yelled.
“Chase, are you okay?” Leticia called down into the grave.
Luckily, it wasn’t deep, so they didn’t fall far. But there wasn’t a lot of wiggle room, and since they were intent on beating on each other, dirt was spilling from the sides of the grave right on top of them.
“Stop!” My blood was going crazy. My skin rippled, and my heart raced. Sweat poured down my face. I wanted it to stop. I begged my blood to stop mixing, but it wouldn’t.
Leticia screamed. “Guys! Stop! It’s Jodi. Something’s happening to her!”
Alex and Chase climbed out of the grave, clawing at each other in the process. Chase reached me first, and he placed his hand in mine.
“Don’t touch her!” Alex yelled, ripping Chase’s hand away from me. “Every time you touch her, you almost kill her.”
Randy grabbed Chase’s arm before he could take a swing at Alex. “He’s right, man. The last thing Jodi needs is an extra power boost from you right now.”
“Jodi, look at me.” Alex was holding my face in his hands. “Focus on me. Don’t worry about him or anyone else. Look at me.”
My body was on fire, and my blood wouldn’t stop bubbling. If I didn’t stop this soon, the power was going to consume me.
“Oh, God!” Leticia yelled. She pointed toward the school.
Alex let go of my face, and we both turned to see what had Leticia so scared. The corpses from my room were walking toward us. My blood had called them to me.
“Well, at least we don’t have to carry them all out here,” Chase said.
Alex squeezed his fists and turned toward Chase. “Alex.” I reached for him, but he wasn’t going to listen to reason. He was determined to pound on Chase. I did the only thing I knew would make him stop. I pretended to faint. I let myself collapse on the ground, which, considering how much energy my body was using to summon all those corpses, was more than easy to do.
In seconds, Alex was at my side, cradling my head in his lap. I opened my eyes and tried to look as helpless as I could. I needed him to feel bad enough for me that he’d forget about Chase. “I need your help,” I said in a soft voice.
“Anything.”
“Lure the corpses into the graves. I’ll release them after they’re in the ground.”
“Are you strong enough? I could have Leticia get Tony and Arianna.”
Damn. Playing the damsel in distress wasn’t the easiest thing to do. Yes, I was tired, but I was still strong enough to release the souls. Hell, I was silently commanding them all to obey the others right now, knowing the others couldn’t control them on their own.
I nodded. “I think I can do it.”
Alex stood up and motioned to Randy. “Come on. We have to get them in the graves.”
Randy stepped back. “Me? You want me to control them? I didn’t summon them. You know I can’t do that.”
“I can.” Chase walked past Alex and closer to the zombies. They were almost to us now. He stopped for a moment and stood absolutely still, tapping into his power. “Get in an open grave.” He repeated the instructions several times. I was right. Chase did have more power than the average underage Ophi.
Alex followed Chase’s lead. Well, almost. When he got to the last zombie, he stepped close and whispered something the rest of us couldn’t hear. I watched in horror as the zombie approached Chase from the side and swung at his head. Chase turned as the zombie’s fist connected with his cheek. He went down hard.
“Chase!” This time Leticia wasn’t the only one worried about Chase. I was at his side, too. Alex stared at me, no doubt wondering where my sudden burst of energy had come from. He knew I’d been faking. He knew I’d tricked him. Worse, he knew that I definitely did have some sort of feelings for Chase. Alex grabbed the zombie by the arm and flung him into the last open grave.
“Make sure Chase is okay,” I told Leticia, but she was practically cowering behind Chase now.
Everyone stared at Alex. His jaw was clenched, and his nostrils flared. He didn’t look like the same guy who’d had my back since I came here.
“Alex, you need to get a hold of yourself.”
“Don’t tell me what I need, Jodi. What I need is—” He stopped, meeting each pair of eyes on him. “Screw this.” He headed for the house.
“Um, Jodi,” Randy said. “The zombies aren’t exactly staying in their graves.”
I wanted to go after Alex, but I couldn’t leave the others to deal with the zombies. I watched Alex for another second before I turned to the graves and started commanding my blood to mix. I was instantly lightheaded. I’d spent most of my energy already. Chase came up next to me and started releasing the souls, too. I was thankful for that, and I was especially thankful that he was doing it on his own instead of trying to transfer his power to me.
Once all the souls were back where they were supposed to be, I headed inside for a much needed visit to Medusa, but when I opened the front door, I saw Alex was already holding Medusa’s right hand. His brow was furrowed, and he looked like he was concentrating on something. Normally holding Medusa’s right hand was a power rush, almost euphoric. So, why did Alex look so strained?
I waited for him to release her hand before I spoke. “Alex.” My voice was soft and almost pleading.
He met my eyes without saying a word.
“I’m sorry I tricked you out there. I didn’t know what else to do to make you stop attacking Chase.”
“Do you really want a boyfriend you have to protect?” His words were filled with ange
r.
“What are you talking about? You’re my boyfriend.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Are you breaking up with me?” The words came out slowly and painfully.
“Do you want to break up?”
“Alex, I don’t want to play games. Please, just give me a straight answer.” I stepped toward him, wanting to be as close as possible.
“Then stop playing games, Jodi. You’re the one who’s doing this. Not me. You’ve changed since Chase got here. You’re different, and I’m not sure I like it.”
I felt like someone was squeezing my insides. Alex didn’t like me? Was that what he was saying? “Alex, I love you.”
“What about Chase?”
“What about him?”
“Do you love him?”
“No!” I didn’t. I barely knew him.
“Then what is it? Why does he make you act so differently? Why do you stick up for him?”
“I—” How could I explain what was happening to me without destroying my relationship with Alex?
“You like him.” Alex turned away.
I couldn’t let him leave like this. It would be the end of us. “Wait! Please, let me explain. It’s not what you think.”
He stopped but didn’t turn toward me, so I went to him. I was going to have to be the one to hold onto what we had. “Alex, ever since Chase contacted me and said he was coming, something changed in me. In my blood. It’s like my blood recognized the power in his blood. But that’s it. I don’t like him. I promise. To be honest, he scares me a little. The power he has—that he transfers to me—scares me. But I know I have to figure out how to use it if I’m going to save the Ophi.”
Alex stared at me with his arms crossed, guarding his emotions. “So, you aren’t attracted to him? You don’t think he’s hot, like Leticia does?”
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, and I knew I was turning red. Not good. I couldn’t lie my way out of this. “He’s not ugly.” It was the closest to the truth I could get. “But that doesn’t matter. I’m sure you find other girls attractive. It doesn’t mean anything.” I stepped closer and put my hands on his forearms, uncrossing his arms. “It doesn’t change how we feel about each other.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I stepped into him, resting my face on his chest. “Yes. You are the only Ophi I want.”
He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed tight. “You have to set Chase straight. I’m not putting up with his comments. I don’t like the way he looks at you or the way he openly shows his feelings for you. You can’t expect me to sit back and take that.”
I leaned my head back so I could look at him. “I know. I’ll talk to him. Tell him that I’m not interested and he needs to stop or—”
“Or what?”
“I’ll ask him to leave.” Why was that so hard for me to say? I had Alex. He was perfect for me. Yet, I didn’t want Chase to leave. As much as he scared me and caused trouble for me and Alex, there was a part of me that wanted Chase here. God, what was wrong with me?
Alex smiled. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” He leaned down and kissed me. The kiss was so passionate I felt my legs shake. Good thing Alex was still holding me tight. We only stopped when the front door swung opened and Leticia rushed in, bumping right into us.
“Sorry,” she said.
Alex looked annoyed by the interruption, but I said, “It’s okay. Is something wrong? You look like you’re in a hurry.”
“Jodi.” Leticia’s voice shook. “We finished burying the bodies, but there’s something you should know.”
“What is it?” I wasn’t sure I could take any more bad news right now.
Leticia lowered her head and stared at her feet. “We lost a lot of corpses to Hades.”
“Yes, I know.” Why wouldn’t she spit it out already? How bad was the news?
“Well, we think one of the bodies he took was…” She stopped and looked at me.
“Leticia, you’re killing me here.”
“Your dad.”
I tried to swallow, but there was a lump in my throat the size of a baseball. How hadn’t I noticed my dad’s body was gone? I’d seen his corpse before, and I’d never forget it. Even though I’d only met him that one time in the cemetery, when Victoria raised him to torture me, I’d recognize him anywhere. I’d been too preoccupied with all the drama of Chase and Alex, and now my dad’s body was in the underworld with Hades. Who knew what torture Hades was putting his soul through? And now that Hades had his body too, I couldn’t raise him. I’d never see him again.
Chapter 11
Since I’d come to the school, I’d had almost no contact with my mom. I’d emailed her once to tell her I wasn’t coming home but that I was okay. I deleted the email account immediately after I sent the message, because I knew if I got any emails back from her—which I definitely would have—I would’ve broken down and called her. I couldn’t let myself do that. This whole situation was too crazy to ask her to understand. She thought my dad had been some teenage jerk who didn’t want to take responsibility for getting his girlfriend pregnant. That was awful, but the truth would’ve been more painful to hear. How did you tell your mom that the guy she loved and had a child with wasn’t really human? That he was a Gorgon necromancer who was killed by his own kind barely a month after their baby was born?
Except now, my mom was the woman whose boyfriend and daughter walked out on her. I’d destroyed her life and mine. I had no parents left. At least knowing my dad’s body was nearby had given me a false sense of comfort. I’d never planned on raising him again, but I marked his grave and kept flowers on it. It was my way of letting him know I didn’t blame him for what had happened. Now, he was lost to me too. Hades had taken the one last piece of family I had.
I crumbled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Alex bent down and wrapped his arms around me. He rocked me like a baby and whispered in my ear, but nothing registered. I was tuned out. All I could do was cry because the emotions inside of me were spilling over. Finally, the tears stopped coming. Alex took my head in his hands and raised it so I was looking at him.
“Hey, we’ll find a way to get him back, okay? I’ll strike a deal with Hades myself if I have to. I won’t let him take your dad away from you.”
“He already has, and it’s my fault. Everything is my fault.”
He shook his head. “No. Don’t say that. You never asked for this to happen.”
“I might not have asked for any of this to happen, but I gave in to it. No, I didn’t just give in to it. I became the freaking leader of the Ophi. I ruined my mom’s life, and I sentenced my father to be Hades’ slave in the underworld.” Somehow, I managed to find more tears, and they spilled over my cheeks.
“Jodi, I’m so sorry. I’m the one who came to get you. I’m the one who brought you here.”
I wiped my face and looked at him. “If you hadn’t come for me, my mother would be dead. Don’t you dare blame yourself. I killed her. You saved her. I owe you everything for that.”
He kissed my cheek and picked me up off the floor. Leticia stood there, trying not to stare at us. “Um, I’m going to wash up before lunch. I’m sorry, Jodi. About everything.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Leticia.”
The front door opened, and Chase and Randy walked in.
“Jodi, are you okay?” Chase asked.
Alex put his arm around me and started walking me toward the stairs. “She’ll be fine. I’ll take care of her.”
I didn’t even fight him. I couldn’t handle Chase right now. I didn’t have the energy. Alex waited in my room while I washed my face and tried to make myself look somewhat normal. The puffiness under my eyes wouldn’t go away, but at least I’d stopped crying. I took two aspirin for my headache, and several deep breaths, before I walked back to my room.
“All set?” Alex asked, getting up from the bed.
“I guess. Thanks for taking care of me.”
He reached for my hand. “Always.”
Everyone was already eating when we got to the dining room. I stopped in the doorway. I wasn’t the least bit hungry, and I didn’t feel like sitting through a meal with everyone talking about Hades, my dad, and my out-of-control powers.
“What is it?” Alex asked.
“You know, I think I need some fresh air,” I said. “I’m not really in the mood to eat. I’d rather go for a walk.”
“I’ll go with you.” His stomach growled in protest.
I smiled and patted his stomach. “No, go eat. I’ll be fine. I can use the time alone to clear my head.”
“Are you sure? I could grab a sandwich to bring with me.”
“I’m sure. Sit and relax. We have a long afternoon of training ahead of us. I want to look like we actually know what we’re doing when the others arrive tomorrow. The last thing I need is for them to turn right around and go back to Serpentarius.”
“Okay.” He lightly kissed my lips. “I have my cell, so call me if you get lonely or if you just can’t stand being away from me anymore.”
I smiled. That was my Alex, cocky in a cute way.
“See you later.” Chase caught my eye before I left, but I quickly turned away. No need to invite trouble. I walked down the hall and past the Medusa statue. Part of me wanted to stop and talk to her. Get her advice about my dad and Hades, but I really did want to clear my head and forget about everything for a while. I decided I’d talk to her later.
The air had a slight chill to it, the way I liked it. I didn’t want to go anywhere near the cemetery or my dad’s empty grave, so I headed around back and went into the woods. When I was younger, I loved walking in the woods, but I hadn’t really done it since I came into my powers. I hadn’t done a lot of things I loved to do before I stopped being human. When I’d drunk Medusa’s blood, I thought I was doing the right thing. Saving the Ophi and becoming what I was meant to be. Now… well, I wasn’t so sure.
I missed being human. I missed my best friend Melodie, my mom, Matt. I tried not to think about Matt. Poor Matt, who died for kissing me. Poor Matt, who I brought back as a zombie. He was my biggest regret. Alex had been able to save my mom. He’d gotten to her before I could bring her back wrong. But Matt—Alex hadn’t been in time to save him from me.
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