Face of Death

Chapter 28

Hades had thrown me with enough force to send me straight to the gates of the Fields of Asphodel. If I wasn’t so upset that Alex had seen me with Matt, I would’ve hated Hades even more for denying me the time with Alex on the walk to my afterlife. But as it was, I was grateful that I didn’t have to see the hurt on his face or figure out what to say to make things better.

My soul stopped at the gate, and I stared out over the fields, wondering how long it would take for me to forget everything. Being Ophi, seeing Mom again, getting tortured in Tartarus. But most of all, I wondered how long it would take to forget Alex. Somehow I knew that would take the most time.

At the sound of Alex’s footsteps, I placed my transparent hands on the gate.

“Don’t go yet.” His voice wasn’t angry or hurt. It was pleading.

I turned to see him smile at me. “You’re not mad?”

“No. I had to make Hades think I was, though.” He moved toward me, reaching his hands out to touch me, but that was impossible thanks to my lack of form. “I couldn’t let him send your human soul to Tartarus. You’d never be able to reunite with your body from there.”

“I don’t think I can go back to my body. Hades is blocking it or something. I couldn’t get close to it.”

Alex shook his head. “He wasn’t doing anything. You were.”

This was too weird. First Alex wasn’t upset with me for kissing Matt, and now he was telling me I was stopping my soul from going back to my body. “What do you mean I was doing it?”

“Only your Ophi soul can put your human soul back in your body. You have to put your focus back on your Ophi soul and call this,” he waved his hand in front of me, running it the length of my ghostly form, “back to you.”

Of course! Why didn’t I think of that? “I’m such an idiot. I could’ve called my soul back to me right away.”

“It’s better you didn’t.” Alex looked around, making sure no one was coming our way. “Now Hades will think your human soul is here. You can catch him by surprise.”

“And do what?” I raised my phantom arms out to my sides. “I failed, Alex. Medusa told me I had to break the statue and free her spirit. She wanted to bargain her soul for ours. Only, the body I borrowed didn’t hold out long enough for me to break the statue.”

Alex sighed and put his hands on his hips. “That’s what she told you to do? We can’t lose her. Do you realize what that would mean for us, for the Ophi? Connecting to her statue—her soul—is what gives us full access to our powers. It’s why the Ophi at the school have always been stronger than the others.”

“That’s not entirely true. Chase was pretty damn strong before he came to the school.”

“Yeah, but he had Hades fueling his powers, and he was the other Ophi in the prophecy. He’s a special case.” He waved his hand, dismissing the topic of Chase. I was sure he’d noticed Chase’s reaction in the palace when Hades told him to take me to Tartarus.

“Besides,” I said, shifting the focus off Chase, “Medusa said that, since her blood is in my veins, I could do the same thing for the other Ophi that she did.”

“You’d become the next Medusa.” He said it more as a statement than a question.

“Crazy, right?”

He smiled at me. “Not at all. I’ve felt your power.” Yes, he had. Some of our makeout sessions had gotten a little intense, and I’d given him some of my power. He’d loved the feeling. “Of course, I’m not sure I want you making that same kind of connection with other Ophi.”

I swore my cheeks blushed, even in my ghostly, bodiless state. “No, not like that. Nothing like that. Certain things are reserved just for you.” My mind wandered back to Matt and how Alex had seen me kiss him. “Listen, about what you saw—”

“You don’t have to say anything. He wanted to move on, right?”

“He said outliving everyone he loved would’ve been torture.”

Alex nodded. “He was probably right.” He cocked his head to the side. “He told you he wasn’t upset with you for how he died the first time, didn’t he? That’s why you kissed him while Mason released his soul.”

Alex knew me well, but apparently he knew people, too. “Yes.”

“The judges were right. You do put other people’s needs above your own. You tried to do right by him because you didn’t want him to suffer anymore. You cared about him. Loved him.”

How was he getting this out? I wasn’t even saying the words, and they were slicing through me, making me feel so guilty for loving two people at once.

“Alex, I told him I love you. I chose you.”

“I know that. Even in your human form with all those leftover feelings for Matt, you chose me in the end.”

I moved closer to him, and even though I couldn’t actually touch him, I traced the air around his face. “There was something about you from the moment we met. Even when I was scared of you, I was drawn to you. I think I always knew we were supposed to be together.”

“Then let’s get you back into your body so we can be together.”

“Okay.” I closed my eyes, focusing on my Ophi self.

“Jodi, wait!”

It was too late. I was already tuning out, but I heard Alex’s voice faintly in the background. “You can’t let Hades know…” What couldn’t he know? I couldn’t hear the rest. I was already becoming aware of new sounds. Yelling. I blinked. The judges were arguing with Hades. Chase was cowering on the floor in the corner, most likely because Hades had punished him in some way for not following orders earlier when I was sentenced to Tartarus.

No one was paying attention to my body because they thought it was virtually empty. Persephone got up from her throne and walked out of the room. I felt sorry for her. She was stuck with Hades for all eternity. She’d definitely drawn the short stick. I tried to keep very still. Alex had been trying to warn me of something. The only thing I could think of was that he didn’t want Hades to know I was going to call my human soul to me. I couldn’t do it here. Hades would see my soul, or at the very least sense it. I had to get out of the palace and to the Fields of Asphodel. But how?

My eyes searched the room. I was too scared to move any other part of my body, in fear of drawing attention to myself. Chase was staring at Hades and cringing every time Hades raised his voice. What had Hades done to him while I was gone? As much as I hated Chase, I felt bad for him now. I knew what Hades was capable of. I wiggled one finger, hoping Chase would see it, but he was too focused on Hades.

Damn it, Chase! Look at me! I wiggled my finger more, but it was useless. I kept my eyes glued on the others as I slid my right foot back a little. No one noticed, so I slid my left foot back to meet it. Chase’s head jerked in my direction. He’d seen me move. I waved my fingers slightly, motioning him over to me. His eyes widened, but he stayed on the ground. He was petrified. I hated that I needed his help, but Chase had always loved it when I needed him for anything. I hoped, if I kept insisting he move toward me, he’d finally give in.

I inched back again and gave another small wave. This time Chase moved toward me a little, but Hades’ voice boomed, rendering Chase useless again. Who would’ve thought Chase would crumple like a baby after all the terrible things he’d managed to pull off? I kept inching backward until my hand was near Chase’s shoulder. I sent a small wave of life-restoring power to him, and he straightened up under my touch. His eyes rose to meet mine. I wasn’t sure if I could trust that he’d actually help me, but I didn’t have any other options.

He stood up and took me by the arm. “Keep your stare as vacant as possible,” he whispered. “I’m going to get us out of here. Just follow my lead.” He walked me over to the palace doors.

“I don’t remember saying you could leave.” Hades slammed the doors in Chase’s face.

Chase closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning to Hades. “I wanted to check up on Alex. I’m not sure we can trust that guy.” Of course he’d throw Alex under the bus. Even if it was a good excuse, he’d jumped at the chance to question my boyfriend.

“What about her?” Hades pointed to me. I tried to keep my eyes focused straight off into the distance, but I could see him in my peripheral vision. Part of me wanted to make eye contact with Tony or Arianna, let them know I was okay, but I was too afraid of doing anything that might screw up my plan.

“You guys seemed…busy. I didn’t want to leave her here unguarded.”

Hades wrinkled his brow as he thought for a moment. “Fine, but be quick about it.”

“Yes, sir.” Chase opened the door again and pulled me through it before Hades could get a good look at me.

I waited until we were halfway to the Fields before I said a word. “Thank you for that. I couldn’t have gotten out of there on my own.”

“I’m assuming you and Alex have a plan.” He gave me a sideways glance.

“Yeah.” I wasn’t about to tell him what the plan was. Sure, he’d helped me get out of the palace, but that didn’t mean I trusted him with information.

“You aren’t going to tell me, are you?”

“Can you really blame me? You haven’t earned a shred of my trust. You’ve been a monster to me.”

He lowered his head. “I don’t want to stay here. I’m guessing you guys are trying to find a way out. I want to come with you.”

Come with me? Was he serious? “You think helping me once is enough to make up for all you’ve done?”

“No. I know you still hate me. I guess I’m trying to appeal to your humanity.”

“Yeah, well, right now it’s at the Fields of Asphodel.”

He nodded his head, probably expecting as much. “Can’t blame me for trying.”

“I can blame you for a lot of other things, though. Like all of us being stuck here in the first place.”

“Are you saying I was your downfall?” He finally let go of my arm and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“That’s putting it mildly.” I glared at him as the memories of all the ways he used me flooded my mind. The good thing about my time in Liz’s body was that I could almost forget the events of the past few months. All but Alex. Now everything was back. All those feelings. All that pain.

“Should I be prepared for a dose of poison to keep me under control until you go through with your plan?”

“Not unless you make me resort to that.”

“Then you do trust me.”

“As far as I can throw you.”

He reached for my bicep and gently squeezed it. “Hmm, doesn’t look good.”

He was being that guy again. The almost-human one. “Don’t do that.”

He lowered his hand and shoved it back into his pocket. “Sorry.”

“No, I didn’t mean touching my arm.” I moved away, knowing he’d take that as an invitation to touch me again. That was just the way he was. “Not that I want you doing that again, either. I just meant don’t try to act nice. You only do that when you want something. You play people like that, and I’m not in the mood. I have too much on my mind.”

“Are you telling me you want me to be a jerk to you?”

Ugh! He was so frustrating. “How about we don’t talk? That seems like the best solution.”

He shrugged, and to my surprise he didn’t say another word.

Alex ran up to me when he saw me approaching with Chase in tow. “What’s he doing here?”

“He was my way out of there without looking suspicious.”

Alex glared at him. “You can leave now.”

“No, I can’t. If I go back without Jodi, Hades will come looking for her.”

“He’s right.” I reached for Alex. His touch felt incredible. He pulled me to him, wrapping me tightly in his arms.

“We should do this quickly before anything goes wrong.”

“I don’t trust him,” Alex whispered in my ear. “He might go running back to Hades.”

“He’s scared. He doesn’t want to be here any more than we do.”

“What are you saying?” He let go of me, studying my face for answers. “You’re not thinking of—” He looked past me at Chase. “Please, don’t let him play you like that again.”

“I haven’t made up my mind either way yet. All I’m worried about right now is getting my human soul back in my body before Hades figures out what I’m doing.” I kept my voice low, hoping Chase wouldn’t hear. I turned to face him. “You’ll need to go wait over there.” I pointed off toward Tartarus.

“Why?”

“Do I really need to answer that?” Our lack-of-trust issue was obvious.

“Fine.” He turned and walked off. “Far enough for you?” he yelled back.

“Turn around.”

He rolled his eyes, but he did as I asked.

“Okay, here’s the plan. After I call my soul back to me, we’ll tell Chase that I wanted to see it off before it wandered deep into the Fields. It was a closure thing. He’ll buy that.”

Alex nodded. “Sounds good. But what’s our next move after that?”

“I have no idea.” I sounded like a complete failure as a leader, but I wasn’t going to lie to Alex and pretend I had this great plan to free us all. I had nothing.

I stood in front of my human soul and reached my fingers for the ghostly hands. I willed my blood to mix. I spoke only with my mind. “Come back to me. Find a place beneath the Ophi half of my soul.” I watched the soul shimmer and enter my body. It was like seeing a ghost walk straight through my chest. I felt its presence as it struggled to find a place to settle. My blood pushed it down, burying it deep inside me.

The soul didn’t resist at all. It knew its place inside me, and maybe it was even relieved not to be sent to the Fields, where it would lose itself entirely. Once the process was complete, I no longer felt like two separate people. I was whole again. Even with the human side of me dead, I needed that half of my soul to be fully me.

“Everything okay?” Alex asked.

“Yeah. Good as new.” I threw my arms around him and pressed my lips to his. I could’ve stayed like that forever, but a mist of white soared through the air, landing next to us. The second it took shape, my heart nearly stopped.

“Medusa?”