Touch Of Death: Face Of Death Part 7

Tears fell from her eyes. I wished there was something I could do for her.

"You'll be okay. Matt's been through a lot. He didn't die under normal circ.u.mstances."

"We died in a car crash," Brian said. "Trauma to our heads, I think. Will we forget who we are, too?"

Car crash. I hoped their bodies weren't too badly banged up. I didn't want to put Matt and me in busted-up and broken sh.e.l.ls. Putting our souls into the bodies would heal them to a certain extent, but not completely.

"You'll be okay." G.o.d, couldn't I think of anything better to say? "Will you find Matt for us? Please?"

Liz nodded. Brian took her hand, and they disappeared into the asphodels.

I stared in the direction they'd gone. "What if they can't find their way back? I'm afraid if I use my powers to call out to Matt's soul, Hades will sense me doing it and stop me." And that would be the end of our deal.

Alex didn't answer. He just put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, who's guarding this place with you?"

"Arianna."

I looked around. "Where is she?"

"Hades said he needed to see her. Something about Abby."

Hades wasn't the type to reunite families, so what was the deal? "What's wrong with Abby, and why would Hades need help from Arianna?"

"Abby did something wrong. Didn't follow orders specifically. Hades is punishing her extra."

No, he was making Arianna punish Abby. "That's torture for Arianna! Abby's her daughter. No matter how bad Abby is, Arianna still loves her."

Alex wrapped me in a hug. "I know. Hopefully, she'll be back soon." He stroked my hair, trying to keep me calm, but I was like a bomb ready to explode. We had to find Matt so I could get out of here and figure out a way to put an end to all of this.

The faint scent of smoke made me pull away from Alex. A swirling cloud of black was coming our way. I prayed it was Arianna being transported here by Hades, but my history of stellar bad luck told me differently.

Hades dropped down next to us. "Well, what do we have here?"

"I was escorting two souls to the Fields," I said, trying to stand my ground.

"Ah." He stroked his chin. For a brief moment, I was mesmerized by him. The guy was seriously hot. Not that it overrode the fact that he was a complete jacka.s.s. "I take it the souls are inside the gate now?"

"Yes." I hoped they wouldn't return with Matt while Hades was still here.

"Then you have somewhere else to be, Jodi Marshall." Hades' glare zeroed in on me. "Don't make me have Arianna torture another person she loves today. You're like another daughter to her, you know."

I glanced at Alex quickly, communicating a silent goodbye for now, but said aloud, "I'm going." Without even looking at Hades, I turned and walked away.

Chase was coming out of the palace with a young girl in tow. "Hey, Jodi. What do you think? Can I make this good girl go bad on the way to the Elysian Fields?" He laughed.

"Don't you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk?" I glared at him before reaching for the girl's hand. "I'll take you there. Trust me, you don't want to be anywhere near this guy." The girl was more than happy to go with me and get away from Chase.

"Be sure to tell her all about our history together on the way. Start with how you couldn't keep your hands off me!" Chase yelled after us.

I stopped. I knew I should ignore him, but I couldn't. "Your mom would be so proud." My voice was laced with sarcasm. His mom was his weakness.

His jaw clenched, and for once, he didn't have a snappy comeback. Satisfied, I smiled at the girl and walked her to the Elysian Fields.

The gate to Heaven was beyond words. It glowed a brilliant shade of yellow, with a hint of pure white mixed in. The warmth that came from beyond the gate was intense, but in a completely peaceful way. Happiness. That's what awaited this girl. She was one of the lucky ones.

I was so in awe of the Elysian Fields that I didn't even notice Carol and Jared standing next to us.

"Hey, Jodi." Jared smiled at me. "Thanks for working this out for us. It sure beats those asphodels and, of course, Tartarus."

I nodded. Couldn't argue with that.

Carol gently put her arm around the girl and walked her to the gate, which opened immediately for her. "Go ahead in." The girl smiled as she disappeared inside and the gate closed behind her. Yup, she was lucky.

I motioned for Jared and Carol to come closer so I could whisper. "I found the two souls I'll be using. They're in the Fields of Asphodel looking for Matt right now. I'm going to sneak over there before I head back to the palace. If they've found Matt and brought him to Alex, then I'm going to try to raise our souls."

"So, this is goodbye?" Jared reached his hand out to me.

"You want to shake? Really?"

"I didn't think I should hug you. I mean, you're Alex's girl, but you used to be with Matt, and even though he and I aren't cousins by blood, I appreciate you looking out for him."

Jared and Matt had been close. I'd always envied the Serpentarius Ophi and how they seemed to have such control over their powers. They were around humans a lot more than the rest of us. "See you soon, Jared." I gave him a quick hug.

"Just so you know, I'm telling Alex you hugged me."

I smiled. "Got it."

Carol hugged me, too, and I started back toward Alex and, hopefully, Matt. I still didn't really know how to raise my human soul. I figured it would be pretty much like raising any soul, except I'd be feeling broken in two after I did it. That was the part I was worried about.

As I got closer, I saw that Arianna was back. I couldn't help it. I ran to her and threw my arms around her. "Are you okay?" I asked, my head buried in her hair.

"I'm okay." Her voice was still shaky. She was trying to put on a strong face, but she was shattered inside. She pulled away from me. "Someone's here to see you."

I looked up to see Liz and Brian, and my shoulders sank. They must not have found Matt.

Liz fidgeted with her hands. "We wanted to say thank you for being so nice to us."

Brian nodded. "And we wanted to let you know we found Matt. Well, actually he found us. He was on his way back here, and he b.u.mped into us. He's walking kind of funny, but he should be here any minute."

They'd found Matt! This was it. We could leave. I could save Matt. I could save Alex and Arianna and everyone.

Tears spilled from my eyes. I waved to Liz and Brian as they walked off into the Fields.

"Jodi?" Alex gently took my arm.

"I'm going to miss you." I could barely say the words. Alex and I had been through so much in the past few months. It seemed wrong to leave him behind.

He pulled me to him and kissed me. To h.e.l.l with Hades. I had to say goodbye to Alex. When he pulled away, Alex turned to Matt, who was now at the gate. "Take care of her, or I'll send you to Tartarus myself."

Matt stared back at him, not comprehending a thing.

"So," I said, "I guess now I rip my soul apart."

Chapter 10.

My hands shook as I willed my blood to mix in my veins. This was going to be painful. Maybe so painful I wouldn't be able to go through with it. No, I wouldn't think like that. I'd find the strength to do this. No matter what.

Arianna touched my arm. "You must raise Matt's soul first, Jodi. Once you raise your human soul, you won't have the power to raise Matt."

She was right. How stupid of me. My fear was taking over and clouding my judgment.

"And another thing." Arianna looked around, making sure there was no sign of Hades. He could show up at any moment, and that would be the end of our plan. We'd be right back in Tartarus. No more time off for good behavior. We'd be done.

"Hurry, Arianna. We don't have much time."

"I know, but you have to locate the bodies of the souls you are reaching out to first. Find them with your blood."

"That's, like, the opposite of what I'm used to doing."

"I know. It won't be easy, but you need to figure it out fast."

Alex took my hands in his. "You can do this. Take some of my power if you need to."

I'd never taken power from anyone but Chase. "It's too risky. I may hurt you or leave you completely defenseless. I have to do this on my own."

"Too bad Chase isn't around. You could drain his power." Alex's face hardened. Chase had that effect on him.

"I don't need Chase for anything. Trust me." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I willed my blood to mix again, and I searched for Liz and Brian's bodies. Knowing their names and how they'd died helped. My blood had a purpose, targets to seek out. Images flashed through my mind so fast I couldn't make out a single one. But then I saw the hospital morgue. The bodies.

"I got it." I opened my eyes. I didn't need to see the bodies anymore. My blood knew where they were. That was enough. "Where's Matt?"

Alex reached for the gate, but Arianna stopped him. "If Matt steps across that gateway, Hades will be alerted. He'll think Matt is trying to break out of the Fields. Jodi has to raise him from where he is."

That was too close. We'd almost ruined everything. I walked to the gate and stared at Matt. He was looking at me with a vague sense of recognition. "I'll see you soon," I said, and I willed my blood to raise Matt's soul. To put him inside Brian's body. I had to work quickly and hope Hades was too busy to notice a soul leaving. With any luck, Matt's soul would blend in with the ones the Ophi still left on Earth were raising. It should've been more difficult, but some part of Matt must have understood I was helping him, because his soul didn't fight me. He floated away, and as soon as he was in Brian's body, I turned to Alex and Arianna. "My turn."

Alex pulled me to him and pressed his lips against mine. Before he let go, he whispered, "Don't forget about me when you're human. Please."

My body shook with a combination of my blood wanting to finish what it had started and with the heartache of leaving Alex. "Never. I love you." I was already pushing my Gorgon blood and soul away to free my human soul.

The last thing I saw was Alex mouthing the words "I love you" in return. His actual words were drowned out by the screaming in my head. My blood was raising my human soul. I felt like I was being ripped in half-because I was. My former strength and power were replaced with pain and weakness. My human soul floated from the underworld and through the ground. I smelled the dirt and worms as I searched for my new body. It felt like someone was pulling me through concrete. The pain was worse than what I'd gone through in Tartarus. When Hades made us relive the raisings of our victims, it wasn't as torturous as the real thing. Not by a long shot.

Even the air felt like it was crushing me from every angle. My soul twisted and writhed in torment. Just when I thought I couldn't handle it anymore, my soul found Liz's body. I was slammed into it with such force I felt like I'd shatter. Only I wasn't whole. Not yet. I bounced around inside Liz's body, instinctively looking for a way out. This wasn't home. This wasn't me.

I felt her skull sealing back up and her skin pulling itself together where she'd been cut in the car accident. The body burned and itched; it wasn't as painful as h.e.l.lfire, but a close second. Finally, the body sealed around me, locking me inside. I was a prisoner in someone else's corpse. To say it was disorienting was an understatement. I couldn't see a thing. I thought I was blind for a second before I realized I was under a sheet. No, not a sheet. I was in a body bag. I had to get out. Matt was trapped on the gurney next to me, and he had no idea what was happening to him. He must have been terrified.

I groped for the zipper on the body bag, but m.u.f.fled voices sounded in my head, making me raise my hands to cover my ears. It was like a buzzing that wouldn't stop. I kicked at the body bag and screamed to block out the noise in my mind. I was losing it. Raising my human soul had driven me mad.

No. Tony had said I'd have to tune out one of my bodies-or one half of my soul. Was I hearing what was happening in the underworld? I settled down, being absolutely still, and listened.

"She really did it." Alex's voice was a faint echo.

"We'll have to keep an eye on her. She's moving on autopilot now. I'm not sure anything is really registering." Arianna's words made me panic. If I was acting weird in the underworld, Hades would notice.

"She reminds me of the souls in the Fields of Asphodel, dazed."

"She'll learn to tune out one soul for a while to give herself some peace. It will make her body robotic, just going through the motions rather than thinking, but we'll get her through it."

Alex closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "How will she get back if she doesn't have any powers in human form?"

"She can still summon her human soul from down here. Her Gorgon soul is strong enough."

"Does she know that? Does she know she'll have to keep checking in with us?" Alex was panicking. He had no idea I was listening in and seeing everything they were saying.

"She'll be okay. Let's give her time to get settled in her new body, and then we'll try calling her here."

"If Hades suspects what Jodi's done, he'll bring her back himself."

I was sure he'd find the most painful way possible, too. My head pounded as Alex and Arianna's faces invaded my vision. I was seeing double-the body bag and the underworld at the same time.

"She's opening her eyes," Alex said.

Arianna grabbed Alex's hand as he reached for me. "Don't touch her. Just let her be for now. She must be going through a lot."

Arianna was right. I had to focus on my human soul and getting out of this bag. I tried to block out the underworld completely by throwing myself into finding a way to bust out of this bag. Where was that zipper? I reached up by my head, but the bag was fully zipped-of course. d.a.m.n it! I jabbed my pointer finger at the end of the zipper, hoping to make it poke through. Trying to undo a zipper from the inside wasn't going to be easy by any means. It took a few tries, but I finally forced my finger through, making a small opening at the top of the bag. Now I had to work the zipper down the rest of my body. I hooked my finger over the zipper and tugged. It was awkward, and the zipper snagged on my hair, so I had to tug at Liz's blonde strands to get free. Little by little, I pried more of my body through.

When I got the bag open to just below my knees, I bent my leg and used my foot to unzip the bag the rest of the way. Using my elbows, I propped myself up and looked around to make sure no one was in the morgue. I felt like I was in a horror movie, because, just like those dead guys that rose from the slabs and walked out of the hospital, I was a zombie. We had to be inside one of those walk-in refrigerators because the room was freezing cold and the walls were silver, like they were made of steel or some other metal to keep the room cold enough to preserve the dead bodies.

I sat up and stretched my limbs, trying to get used to Liz's body. It was completely foreign to me. Luckily, since I'd raised myself, I didn't need to wait for anyone's permission to speak or do anything else. My blood was controlling me, allowing me to be more than just a normal zombie. Matt would be a different story, though.

There was no sign of movement in the body bag next to me. Where was Matt? I slid off the metal table and unzipped Matt's bag. "Come on, Matt. Open your eyes." I couldn't risk someone walking in here and finding us. It was bad enough we were going to leave the hospital with two missing corpses on their hands. Thankfully, we'd be going far away from here so the police wouldn't be able to track us down.

Why wasn't Matt moving? I looked down at Liz's body. That was it! My human half was useless in this situation. I needed my Ophi powers to command him. I closed my eyes and tuned in to my body in the underworld. I was in the palace again. Chase was going on and on about another soul he'd taken to Tartarus. I ignored him and focused on sending a message to Matt's soul. "Be free. Live out your life in Brian's body." As soon as the message was sent, I shifted my focus again.

I heard him stir and opened my eyes. "Matt." I reached for him, but he pulled away. "It's okay. You're all right. Talk to me, Matt. Say something."

"Stay back." His voice was strained, and he swallowed hard. "Who are you? How do you know me?"

Of course he didn't recognize me. I was in Liz's body. How could I be so stupid? "Matt, it's me, Jodi."