Face of Death

Chapter 27

I’d failed. My soul had released too soon, and Medusa was still trapped inside the statue. It was over. I had nothing left to bargain with Hades. He’d never let us out of the underworld. All of this had been for nothing. Matt was dead again. Melodie was dead. Everything was worse than it had been before. I cursed myself as the human half of my soul found its way back to the underworld.

I saw the River Styx beneath me. Most likely my body was in the palace. Either there or in Tartarus. I hoped I wasn’t coming back in time for my daily torture. I’d had enough after I’d ruined the lives of so many people. Even Mom wasn’t safe. Yes, coming back meant Hades wouldn’t take her soul, but she had no idea that Matt was gone again. She had no idea that I wouldn’t see her ever again. I’d stupidly allowed myself to think that Mom and I would be able to see each other on occasion, now that she knew the truth about me. I’d been stupid about a lot of things.

My soul soared over Cerberus’ heads, which barked repeatedly at me. I felt myself being pulled toward the palace, toward my body, which was waiting to escort the next soul to the afterlife. Being able to move through the air like this was a lot like flying. I was more swirling white smoke than anything else; I could see what was happening around me, but I had no form. I wasn’t like the other souls that came here, probably because my soul was split in half. It was hard to have any form at all when you weren’t complete.

The palace doors opened as if they were expecting me. I tried to tell myself it was only coincidence, but the sinking feeling I had told me otherwise. Hades knew I was coming. I saw myself standing off to the side of the thrones, looking like a zombie, a shell of my former self. It was odd, considering that was my real body and my Ophi soul, yet I seemed more alive as a floating half-soul than the person I was staring at. What had happened to me?

Instead of rejoining my Ophi soul in my body, my human soul stopped in front of the judges. I hovered there, unable to move.

“What’s going on?” My voice was like a faint echo. My soul was slowly taking on a human form being around my body, but I was transparent like a ghost.

The judges on the ends sat back in their chairs, while the one in the middle leaned forward. “Jodi Marshall, you are here to be judged. Await our decision.”

“What? I’m not here to be judged. I had to return to my body. Right there.” I tried to point, but my limbs weren’t fully visible.

“Await your judgment,” the middle judge repeated, only much louder this time.

Laughter behind the judges made me look up. Hades was seated in his throne and staring right at me. A young woman sat by his side. Persephone. It had to be her. I’d never seen her before, and even though I’d heard stories about her beauty, I was shocked at how stunning she truly was. Her hair, the color of grain, cascaded down to her shoulders, and she wore a crown of asphodels on her head. Chase was standing next to my body, practically drooling over Persephone. But how was she here? Mason had said this was her allotted time with Demeter. She should’ve been free from this hell.

“Welcome, Jodi Marshall.” Hades’ voice filled the palace. “You’re earlier than I was expecting. Did things not go quite according to your plan?” He tapped his fingertips together, looking very pleased with himself.

He must have known what I had been doing before I came here. He knew I’d failed miserably, and now he was going to rub it in.

“Be careful, Hades. Your wife may think you missed me or something. Don’t want to upset the Mrs., especially when she’s not very fond of you as it is.”

Hades gripped his armrests and glared at me. “Careful, soul. You are in no position to get me angry. I’m showing mercy by allowing my three judges to decide your fate.”

“No one should be deciding my afterlife, because I’m not dead. This isn’t me. Not all of me. You can’t send half a soul to the afterlife.” I directed my words to the judges. “Do you hear me? I’m not a full soul like this. You can’t judge me. I need to get back inside my body, which is very much alive.”

“‘Very much’ might be a stretch.” Hades smiled again. “Victoria went kind of hard on you today. You look rather beaten and burned.”

I studied my body again, wondering what would happen if I focused on my Ophi soul. Would this soul simply return to my body? It was worth a try. At this point, I was defenseless. Who knew? Maybe this plan was desperate enough to save me.

“Don’t even think about it, Jodi.” Hades was out of his seat and standing by my body. “I’m not allowing your human soul to return. You’ve owed me this half of your soul for months. I’m collecting what is due to me.”

So that was it. The judges were allowing Hades to force my human soul to move on because, technically, I’d killed my human self. I was getting really tired of technicalities. If only I’d been able to get Medusa free. Maybe this would all have changed. Maybe I’d have a fighting chance.

The palace doors opened behind me, making me jump. I hadn’t even realized they’d closed after I came here, and now an intense black cloud was sweeping into the palace and coming to rest in front of the judges. The smoke settled, and I saw the faces of my friends. All the Ophi from the school. Alex.

If only I could run to him, throw my arms around him, press my lips to his. But I was barely able to keep from falling through the palace floor.

“Welcome, my Ophi friends.” Hades raised his arms wide in greeting. The gesture was full of sarcasm, as were the words. We weren’t friends. We were sworn enemies now.

“What’s going on, Hades? What game are you playing now?” I wasn’t sure I was ready for his answer.

“Game?” He raised one hand to his chest and pretended to be offended. “Why, Jodi Marshall, I don’t know what you mean. I just thought you’d like to see your friends one last time. Consider this my going-away present. A send-off party of sorts.”

This was fun for him. He was going to torture me and make my friends watch. I eyed Persephone. She looked bored by all of this, as if it was an everyday event that didn’t concern her in the least. She wasn’t going to be any help to me. At least not in fighting Hades. When I first saw her there, I thought maybe I’d be able to use her hatred for Hades and how he’d kidnapped her to my advantage. I was wrong. She didn’t want to be here at all, and she wasn’t helping a single one of us.

“This must be really old for you, Persephone,” I said. She looked up at me, surprised that anyone had addressed her.

“Don’t talk to her!” Hades’ voice shook the palace, and if I’d had any control over my soul or if I’d been inside my body, I would’ve had to steady myself like everyone else. But the one perk to being a floating, transparent soul was that I couldn’t fall over. At least not from the ground shaking.

“Touchy subject.” I nodded. “It’s interesting how nothing in our lives is off-limits to you, but no one here is allowed to even mention Persephone. How’d you get her here, anyway? She’s not supposed to be with you in the summer months.”

Hades’ face had surpassed being red and had reached purple. He was full of rage, and it was all directed at me. “Rhadamanthus, Minos, Aeacus, call down her judgment now! I want her out of here and in Tartarus, suffering for eternity like she deserves.”

My God! If the judges sent me to Tartarus, I’d never have enough focus to return to my body and Ophi soul. The pain would be too intense to tune out. My human soul wasn’t strong enough to block it. Even when my Ophi soul had been shielding this half of me from the torture going on here while I was back in the real world, I’d been sucked back here by it. My human soul wouldn’t stand a chance. I stared at my body, all robotic and lifeless. It would stay that way forever.

More than anything, I wished I could get back inside my body, but Hades was keeping me frozen here. I wished I’d succeeded in freeing Medusa. I wished I could rip Hades’ head off and feed it to Cerberus.

Everyone was yelling around me, but I heard Alex’s voice above the others. “You can’t send her to Tartarus. She hasn’t done anything to deserve that kind of punishment.”

Hades burst out laughing. “Now, that is the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time. She’s a necromancer.”

“We have reached our decision,” the middle judge said, leaning forward in his seat again.

If a soul could gulp, I would have. This was it. They were sentencing me. Would I really go to Tartarus?

“Jodi Marshall, we have reviewed your life and you will be sentenced to an afterlife in the Elysian Fields.”

“What?” Hades and I both said, only he was on his feet and flames were sprouting from his dark hair and hands, sending plumes of black smoke into the air.

“This is impossible! She’s done terrible things. She’s tortured souls. She’s killed humans. She belongs in Tartarus, being punished for her wrongdoings!” The flames on his head soared higher.

Persephone shook her head. “You are thinking of her Ophi soul. This is her human soul being judged. I’m not even here all the time, and I can see that.” She turned away, resting her head on her hand on the armrest. “Idiot,” she mumbled.

Hades’ flames went out. He really did love her. She was awful to him, yet he loved her.

“That’s your punishment,” I said. “You kidnapped her, forced her to come here and leave her mother, so while you love her, she despises you.”

He glared at me. “No one is free from punishment.”

“Consequences.” I used the word Medusa had. “Our actions have consequences.”

“As unorthodox as this sounds,” the middle judge said, “you may escort your human soul to the Elysian Fields.”

“No!” Hades roared. “She will not be rewarded for her life, not even her human life.”

“It is a fair judgment,” the middle judge asserted. He waved his hand and an image of me floated in the air. “Watch and you will see.” It showed me standing up for my mom when kids at the bus stop were making comments about how young she was to have a baby. I hadn’t known it then, but Mom had witnessed the entire thing. Her face was streaked with tears, but she was smiling. She was proud of me. The image changed to Mom telling me she’d decided to homeschool me. I didn’t argue. I hugged her, knowing it was best for her.

The next image surprised everyone. It was me in Liz’s body. Hades slammed his fist down on his throne, most likely because he hadn’t guessed what body I’d taken over. Had he been paying attention, he would’ve guessed it was Liz and her boyfriend. But he’d been too preoccupied with getting Persephone back here, however he’d managed to pull that off.

In Liz’s body, I told Mom the truth about me. I put her mind at ease, explaining that I was okay. I’d given her peace of mind. The last image nearly tore me apart. I was in Mason’s office with Matt. I turned to Alex. His face fell as he watched me say goodbye to Matt. As he watched me grant Matt’s request to let him go. As he watched me give Matt the last thing he wanted from me—a kiss.

The image dissolved, and the middle judge spoke again. “Jodi put her own feelings aside for those she loved. She sacrificed herself when she thought she could help others. She deserves an afterlife in the Elysian Fields.”

Alex didn’t look at me. His eyes were glued to his shoes. Maybe the judges thought I’d acted admirably, but I’d definitely hurt Alex.

Hades stood. “I won’t have it. You are missing one big part of Jodi’s life. Her human soul is only half of her.”

“Then allow her to return her human soul to her body, and we shall judge all of her when her time comes.” The middle judge sat back as if that was the end of it. I knew differently.

“That soul is mine. She took it from me months ago. I will claim it now.”

“Then our judgment stands.” The judges fell silent. They were done. They couldn’t overrule Hades. They’d given their judgment, but Hades didn’t have to follow it.

“Chase, throw her in Tartarus!” Hades yelled.

Chase faltered. He looked at me, and I saw a glimpse of his former self again. Had Medusa been right? Did that part of him actually love me?

“Send her to the Fields of Asphodel,” Alex said, stepping forward. I stared at him, wondering what he was doing. “If the judges believe she should be rewarded, and you think she should be punished, then compromise. Send her to the Fields of Asphodel. She’ll soon forget who she is, and you won’t have to worry about her anymore.” Was that what Alex wanted, to not have to worry about me anymore? He didn’t meet my eyes. “I’ll take her there myself.”

Hades stepped forward and stared into Alex’s eyes. “You expect me to believe you don’t have a plan in the works here? You’re in love with her.”

“Did you see that last image?” Alex’s voice was full of rage.

“Alex, I—”

He held his hand up. “Don’t. Just don’t. It’s over.”

Hades smiled. “Well, isn’t this interesting?” He rubbed the five o’clock shadow on his chin. “You know, I think I’m going to allow this. I’m feeling suddenly amused. You may escort your former girlfriend to the Fields of Asphodel.”

“The human half of her was never my girlfriend.” He emphasized the word never, and the full impact of it hit me like a knife to my chest.

Hades laughed. “I love it. I have to say this is probably the best punishment after all. Being sentenced by the one you love—no, no, being denied and condemned to losing all sense of yourself by the one you love.”

There was nothing left for me to do. I turned to Persephone. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with him. Your consequence for eating food while you were here was way too harsh. If he wasn’t such a selfish prick, he’d let you go. Maybe one day he’ll learn that when you love someone, you have to put your own feelings aside and do what’s best for that person.”

Persephone met my eyes and smiled. She agreed.

“Don’t talk to her!” Hades threw his fist forward and grabbed my human soul. The palace door flew open. He leaned in close and said, “For your information, Persephone came here willingly.” With that, he flung me out of the palace. As I soared through the air, I saw Alex following, ready to escort me to the afterlife he’d sentenced me to.