Touch Of Death: Face Of Death Part 23

I choked back the tears that burned my throat. He really was perfect.

I met Mason's eyes, and we silently agreed that Matt deserved better than this existence.

I squeezed Matt's hands. "I want you to know that I do love you. The human in me will always love you." I didn't let him respond. I pressed my lips to his, and when I did, Mason cut his hand and gently touched Matt's shoulder.

His body slumped forward, and I held him up for a second before crumpling to the floor with him. He was dead. For good this time. I cried on his shoulder for several minutes, and Mason stepped out of the office to give me some privacy. This wasn't just goodbye to Matt. It was goodbye to my human life. I knew now that I couldn't go back home to see Mom. I didn't trust Hades enough to believe he wouldn't take her early if he found me with her.

I let my tears speak for me as I cried for everything I'd lost. The people I loved and would never see again. I could've cried all night, but I somehow managed to find the strength to stand, and when I did, Mason was there to help me up.

He held me by the shoulders and stared deep into my eyes. I couldn't help noticing his hand was already bandaged. "I'll take care of the body. You go to Medusa and end this thing once and for all."

"I'll bring Carol back to you. I won't let you feel like I feel now. I won't let you lose someone you love."

He nodded and let go of me. I turned for the door, but he called my name. "Jodi, don't forget that, once you stop being human, you have someone who loves you more than anything."

"I know. Alex is a huge part of why I'm doing this."

Mason gave me a weak smile, and I left. I had been in such a hurry that I'd left the keys in the ignition. Good thing, too, because I wouldn't have been able to go back in there and see Matt's body on the floor of Mason's office. I drove out of the parking lot and across town.

Finding the school was going to be a little tough. I'd only driven directly to it once with Alex. When I stole Melodie's car, I'd tried to find the dirt road leading to the school, but it turned out it wasn't a road at all, and I'd crashed the car into a tree.

When I knew I was close, I slowed down, peering through every opening in the woods, looking for the road. I pa.s.sed several trails and almost turned onto one, but at the last second, I straightened out the wheel and kept driving. I was going on instinct, which felt more than a little odd since I wasn't an Ophi right now. Still, I waited until I got a feeling. It happened about half a mile down the road. I felt a tightness in my chest. When I looked toward the trees, there was a road, barely visible. I slowed even more and turned down it.

The b.u.mpiness was familiar. This had to be it. My poor mom's car bounced and protested against the rough terrain. I hoped I wasn't doing any major damage to it. Finally, I saw the cemetery. This was it. I pulled up behind the row of cars. The first two belonged to Ethan and Carson. The third was Chase's red sports car. As I got out of Mom's car and sprinted past the others, I resisted the urge to stop and key Chase's hot little number. I didn't have time.

I ran up the steps to the front doors and yanked them open. Since Hades had taken us all while we were here, the doors were still unlocked. I stopped when I saw the golden statue. Even though I knew it well, I was still in awe of it. If it wasn't for the serpents on Medusa's head, the statue would've been gorgeous. Every time I'd been near the statue in the past, I'd felt drawn to it. My blood recognized Medusa's soul inside, and I felt a pull. Now, I felt nothing, and it made my heart ache.

If I couldn't feel Medusa, maybe it meant she couldn't feel me now, either. And what would she do when I touched the statue? She'd killed Abby when Abby insulted her by joining both hands with her. If she thought a human was touching her sacred statue...I couldn't even think about how she might end my life. For a moment, I wondered if I should try holding just one of the statue's hands first. Kind of test the waters. Her right hand had life-restoring power. But Medusa knew me by the special connection we had. The way I could hold both her hands instead of one at a time.

I had to do everything exactly as I had when I was an Ophi. That was my only hope of her recognizing my soul. No, wait! There was something else I could do. I ran past the statue and up the stairs, straight to my bedroom. I'd left the locket here. Medusa's locket. I'd been so angry about everything that happened between Chase and me, and I'd blamed the locket-or at least the moment when I let Chase put it on me. I searched my dresser drawers, not remembering where I'd put it. How had I lost track of something so important?

Chase had done a number on me. He'd made me question everything about myself. The only good part about this situation now was that I wasn't around him. I hated him for making me hurt Alex, for making me become so consumed by power that I'd lost sight of Medusa for a while.

I ransacked my bed next, remembering that, in my state of sobbing, I'd taken it off there. I flung the sheets and blankets to the floor and even checked in between the mattress and box spring. Nothing. Where was it? I picked up each blanket, shaking them in case the locket was tangled up inside. When I reached the bedspread, something fell to the floor with a small tinkling sound.

I looked down to see my locket. The beautiful bloodstone, which no longer had blood in it, was now mostly green. If only Medusa's blood was still inside. Maybe I could've drunk it and made her recognize me before she stopped my heart. But then again, I didn't have Gorgon blood in my veins right now, and that meant the locket wouldn't open for me, no matter how hard I tried. I had to hope wearing the locket would be enough. I put it on, making sure the clasp was tight. I couldn't take any chances. My life would depend on Medusa sensing her own power lingering in this necklace.

I looked down at the bloodstone, wishing I felt something, anything, now that it was around my neck. But I didn't.

I walked back downstairs very slowly, gathering my courage. The stairs seemed to go on forever, and the statue looked bigger than ever as I approached it. My heart raced, and my hands shook. It was surreal that I was nervous about talking to Medusa. She was my ancestor, my family.

I stood in front of her and spoke aloud, clutching the locket in my right hand. "Medusa, if you can hear me, it's Jodi. I know I look a little different right now, but this was the only way I could come see you. I need your help to save the others. I need to connect to your statue so we can talk and figure out how to defeat Hades once and for all. If you could avoid...killing me, I'd really appreciate it. I'm sort of counting on you recognizing my soul quickly, which is why I'm wearing your locket. Our locket. We are one and the same now. Even in this body, you must be able to see me."

I let go of the locket and inched my hands toward the statue. This was it. I might die. "Please, Medusa," I pleaded as my hands slipped into hers.

At first, nothing happened. I thought maybe Medusa's soul had no effect on humans. I opened my mouth to talk to her, but an intense pain shot through my hands, up my arms, and into my chest. My lungs and heart clenched as if they were being shocked. The pain traveled up my neck and to my brain.

My eyes rolled back into my head, and I blacked out.

Chapter 26.

Silence. That's all there was. The air around me was completely still. I couldn't feel my body, and all I saw was darkness. Was I dead? Had Medusa killed me? I couldn't move, so I spoke with my mind. It was how Medusa and I had always communicated when we were connected by the statue.

"Medusa?"

No answer.

"Hades?" I wondered if I was back in the underworld. If Medusa had killed me, that was where I'd end up.

"No, child." Medusa's voice filled my mind. Peace washed over me. She was here. Even if I was dead, it was okay because Medusa was with me. She'd make sure I moved on safely.

"You aren't dead, Jodi."

"You know who I am. You recognized me."

"Yes, but not before I hurt you very badly. This body will no longer be able to serve as a host to you."

What? Where was I if I wasn't in Liz's body?

Through the connection, Medusa read my mind. "You are still inside your host body, but you won't be able to remain there. You need to reach out to another body nearby and put your human soul into it."

Oh, G.o.d. She'd destroyed Liz's body, made it so I couldn't use it anymore. And now that I was human, I couldn't raise my own soul. "I can't. I don't have any powers."

"I know you are weak, but I can help you."

"Help me? I won't be able to do anything at all. You'll have to do it for me. My Ophi soul is in the underworld. I can't access it without going back there."

"No, you can't do that. I'm keeping your soul in this sh.e.l.l. If you return your focus to the underworld, I won't be able to hold your human soul here. It will move on." She shook her head, making the snakes hiss. "I can't raise a body for you, either. Not from inside this statue."

What else was there?

"You are tethered to the statue right now."

Tethered to the statue. Trapped like she was.

"Yes. In a way, that is true."

"If my human soul pa.s.ses on, I'll be forced back into the underworld."

"Yes."

"I can't go yet. I don't know how to defeat Hades. That's why I'm here. Mason said I'd have to make a deal with him. One big enough to end all of this for good."

"I agree." Medusa lowered her head, giving me a good view of the snakes wriggling around.

The question was, what did Hades want?

"Me," Medusa answered my unspoken question.

"What do you mean you?"

"You know the deal the Ophi made with Hades for my soul."

I nodded. "Yes, they freed you from him. He can't touch you."

"Not while I'm locked in this statue." She held our hands out to the sides, and I could feel an unseen force keeping our arms from extending any further.

"Medusa, I don't understand. What are you saying?" She spoke in riddles most of the time. I needed answers, real answers, and fast.

"You must free me. Break the statue."

She couldn't be serious. The second I did, Hades would take her.

"Not if I'm inside another."

All this mind-reading was really making it difficult to think. "Inside another. How?"

"Think about it, Jodi. It's what you do, right?"

She wanted me to free her soul and then place it inside another body.

"Not just any body." She stared into my eyes, looking into my soul. "Your body, Jodi."

"I'm not even in my own body."

"But you could be." She gave me a brave smile. "You'd have to say goodbye to your human soul forever."

"Won't Hades torture it for all eternity? I'll have this double vision thing forever. I can't. It will drive me insane. You have no idea the torture I've gone through living in both souls."

"We can bury your human soul under your Ophi one, but for good this time. Deeper than before. You won't be able to access it ever again. It won't be easy."

Nothing I ever did was easy. "Okay, let's say I can do that, get my human soul back in my body and bury it there. How do you expect me to get you free?"

"I can give this body-"

"Her name was Liz." I didn't want to treat Liz's body like an empty sh.e.l.l or an old coat I was borrowing. Liz had helped me get to Medusa. Her body deserved to be taken care of and treated fairly. I hadn't done a good job of protecting it. The least I could do now was speak properly, respectfully, about it.

Medusa nodded. "I can give Liz's body enough power for you to remain inside it long enough to break the statue. Once my soul escapes, you'll need to let go. That's all. Liz's body doesn't want to hold you inside, and my power will wear off from the exertion. We'll go to the underworld together."

And Hades would sense Medusa's soul like a big, blinking, red light flashing the words "Come and get me!"

"You'll need to act quickly. Rebury your human soul and then find me. Call me to your own body. Force me inside. I will try not to resist you, no matter how unpleasant the experience is for me."

I knew what it felt like to be forced into the wrong body. It was painful and...well, I didn't want to think about putting Medusa through that.

"Don't worry about me. It won't be pleasant for you, either. You'll have both our souls fighting for control of your body."

"Fighting? Why would we fight?"

"Perhaps fighting isn't the right word. We'll be at odds with one another. You'll have to unite us."

My head wanted to explode. How was I supposed to unite two souls inside my body?

"Think about how you split your soul. This will be the exact opposite."

Great. That cleared things up...not at all.

"What will all of this do? Why put your soul inside my body?" She was leaving me out of half the plan, maybe more.

"Hades will recognize my soul inside you. He'll also know you are too powerful for him to threaten. You'll have the upper hand."

"To make another deal?"

"Yes. And this is where you need to be very clear. The deal must be my soul for the safety of all Ophi for all time. You must make him understand that, if he should break his end of the deal in any way-as deemed by you-that you will regain control of my soul once again, and we'd be more powerful than he wants to deal with."

Could I do that? Could I make demands of a G.o.d? I was only one Ophi-well, two with Medusa sharing my body.

"I wouldn't ask you to do this if it wasn't possible."

Okay, maybe it was possible. Difficult but possible. There was still one major problem, though. "Medusa, I can't let you sacrifice yourself for us. The Ophi need you. They wouldn't have made that deal with Hades ages ago if you weren't important to our survival."

"That was before you came along, Jodi. My blood is in your veins. You can be what I used to be to the Ophi. I'm no longer needed."

"No. I can't let you do this. You're like a mother to me." I was already losing my mom again. Now that Liz's body was destroyed-or would be after Medusa's power wore off it-I couldn't even say goodbye to her. How could I give up Medusa, too?

Medusa smiled warmly. "Your loyalty and affection are much appreciated, my child. But you will come to learn that, when you lead, you must make sacrifices. I believe you've already had to make sacrifices of your own."

Definitely. I'd sacrificed Matt, Melodie, and my entire former life, including Mom.

"See, you know why I have to do this, and you must also know that I want to do this. You are the future, Jodi. I see that. I'm grateful for the time I was given with you and the other Ophi, but that time has come to an end. My power lies in your veins. You can provide the connection my statue once did."

Have the Ophi connect powers with me? Become the next Medusa? This was crazy. I was nowhere near what Medusa was.

"Yes, you are, Jodi. Why do you think everyone around you wants to protect you? Why do you think Matt, Alex, and Chase all fell in love with you?"

"Chase?" My voice squeaked. "He hates me. He tortured me."

"Because Hades made him. You saw glimpses of the way he used to be. Against my advice, you held on to those rare moments. He showed them to you, alone, because he loved you. My guess is he still does, whether he is showing it or not."

Now I really felt sick. I couldn't forgive Chase for what he'd done to me, Alex, and the others.