Touch of Death (27 page)

Chapter 25

Whoever said the living dead were mindless was dead wrong. These two definitely had something on their minds. Revenge. They hated us for torturing them, and if they had it their way, they’d take us back to hell with them. And I was convinced these two souls had come from hell. I just hoped it wasn’t Tartarus, or I’d have Hades visiting me soon.

I grabbed the woman by the back of her head and pulled. A clump of hair and scalp tore from her head. Ugh! I tossed it aside and pulled my knees up to my chest. Pushing them into her body as hard as I could, I rolled her off me. I jumped to my feet and concentrated on mixing my blood. As soon as I felt it bubble under my skin, I shouted, “I release your soul. Go back to the hell you were pulled out of.” She lunged for me, but her body slumped to the ground as her soul sailed out of it. I heard her shrieking again.

Gurgling sounds drew my attention behind me. Alex was turning blue, and the man was inches from biting off his nose. I held up my hand. “Stop! I command you to return to where you were before I forced your soul back into your body. Leave now!” The body slumped forward onto Alex, who gasped for air. I pushed the body off and pulled Alex to a sitting position. He continued to fill his lungs with air and glare at me.

“I’m guessing I did that wrong.” I sat down beside him.

He motioned to the bodies on the ground. “You think?” He sighed and shook his head, still gasping for air. “Victoria is not going to be happy about this.”

“Sorry. I really did try my best, but I don’t understand how to command two bodies simultaneously without giving them the same command.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant, but we’ll work on that.”

“What did you mean then?”

“You returned the souls. They’re harder to raise if their souls have been released. That is why Victoria isn’t going to be happy.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What was I supposed to do with them? Make them into more servants?” He didn’t answer, making me wonder if it was something worse. “Kill them?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not a problem. Let’s try again. You’ll get it right next time. I’m sure you will.”

Try again? He was keeping something from me. I wanted to know what it was, but he gave me that look. The one where he made me feel like I was the only girl, Ophi or not, that existed. He was so complicated.

“Are you okay? That woman didn’t hurt you, did she?”

I shrugged, and suddenly remembered my shoulder. “She bit me.” I pulled my jacket and shirt down, exposing the red circular mark her teeth had made. Thank goodness I’d had on layers. “How about you?” I asked, suddenly remembering the guy had taken a few bites at Alex. “He was going for your neck and nose.”

Alex tilted his head back. “Nothing major. His tooth only nicked me.”

I touched his neck, next to the small red cut. “You’re not going to turn into a zombie or anything, are you? I’ve seen movies where people get bitten by zombies and then become like them.”

He laughed. “No. Nothing like that. The stuff you see in movies is just Hollywood garbage. Zombies can’t infect people with their saliva.”

No, that was only true for Ophi, and I wasn’t sure that made me feel any better. “They wanted to eat us, though. Like Matt with the bunny.” My stomach did flips. I was grossed out, in pain from the memory of what I’d done to Matt, and sad that I’d lost the first guy I might have actually loved.

“No way would they be able to eat us. It actually would’ve worked to my advantage if that guy had bitten me. My blood would’ve killed him again. Then, I wouldn’t have had to wait so long for you to take care of him.” He smirked to let me know he was only teasing me.

“Tell you what, next time I’ll remember to let the dead guy bite you. How’s that?”

He smiled before standing up and giving me his hand. “How about next time you control the living dead?”

I rolled my eyes as I let him pull me to my feet. “Well, sure, but that’s not quite as much fun as watching you scream like a girl and get strangled by a dead guy.” I started walking away from the two bodies, but Alex stopped me.

“Where do you think you’re going? You’re not done.”

“I know. I was going to find two more graves side-by-side like these.”

Alex shook his head. “Uh-uh. You’re going to try again with these two. Only this time you’re going to get it right.”

“But you said it’s harder to put souls back into their bodies after they’ve been released.”

“That’s right.”

“Then why are you making me do this? After what happened, I’d think you’d try to make things a little easier for me.”

He put his hands on my shoulders. “How pissed off are you at these two right now?”

I hadn’t thought about it. I mean, I was the one who had forced them back into their bodies, but they had been pretty ruthless. My shoulder still ached, and Alex had a cut on his neck. Those bodies had wanted to devour us, make us suffer. “Now that you mention it, I am pretty pissed at them.”

“Good. Use that. Let it fuel you. Your emotions are what will keep your power grounded.”

So he kept telling me, but it seemed backward. Emotions were what caused people to fly off the handle, not control themselves. But we weren’t ordinary people. We were Ophi. “Okay. These two will work fine.” Now, if only I could figure out how to control them. I reached for my locket and gave it a quick squeeze. “Help me, Medusa. Please, show me how to control them at the same time.”

“Are you praying?” Alex asked, but before I could answer, my eyes instinctively closed, and Medusa’s image filled my head.

“See them both side by side. Speak to one aloud and the other in your mind. Your blood is in their bodies. It will carry your message without it being spoken aloud.” She vanished before I could thank her. I opened my eyes and let go of the locket.

“Jodi?” Alex waved his hand in front of my face.

“I’m ready. I know how to do it.” Alex handed me his knife again. Thankfully, it only took a drop of blood to raise the dead. Otherwise I would’ve been anemic by now. I dripped my blood onto each body. The second I heard their wails, I blocked the sound from my mind. Still, I felt their pain, their torment. The souls recognized me and fought me, but I pushed through, willing my blood to command them. I wouldn’t let their pain and anger consume me. I was in charge, not them. Warm blood trickled from my nose, and I wasn’t sure if it was my allergies again or if it was a side effect from using my power. I quickly wiped it away.

The bodies stood up and came right at us. I commanded my blood to mix, feeling strength and confidence as it bubbled. I stared out at them, allowing myself to see them both. Then, at the same time, I gave two commands. One aloud. “Do not move.” One in my mind. “Stay still.” Both bodies stopped and waited for their next command. It took all my energy to remain focused on both of them. My head felt like it was going to split open, but I held the bodies firmly in place with my mind. I commanded them to obey every word I said and not to make any moves without my approval. My body shook the longer I held on to them.

“Jodi, that’s enough.” Alex stepped between me and the bodies, blocking them from my view. “You’re done. You did great.”

I allowed my blood to stop bubbling. The power subsided, and I relaxed a little. I stumbled, but Alex steadied me. “I need a break.” I squinted against the raging headache. This training was doing a number on me. All that concentrating made it feel like someone was squeezing my brain in a vice. But I’d done it. The bodies stayed frozen in place. I’d controlled two bodies at once, simultaneously.

“Headache?” Alex still held onto me.

“Yeah, a pretty bad one.”

“I remember. It used to happen to me, too. But once you get better at harnessing your power, you won’t need to concentrate so hard. It will come more naturally, and the headaches will go away.”

“I can’t wait for that.”

He reached into his jacket pocket and came out with some tissues. “This is pretty normal the first couple of times, too.” He dabbed at my nose. I’d forgotten about the nosebleed.

“I must look great right now. Bloody nose, tear-streaked cheeks, and a head the size of a balloon.”

“It only feels like a balloon. I can assure you it’s still head-sized. And as for the rest of you, you look like Jodi.” I wasn’t sure if I should take that as a compliment. My head wouldn’t let me think too much about it. I winced against the pain.

“Here.” He tilted my head back a little and gently pressed two fingers against each of my temples. He massaged them, making the pressure melt away a little. “Does that help?”

“Yeah.” I closed my eyes and moaned a little. I immediately tensed up, embarrassed.

He laughed. “I have that effect on girls.”

“More like you have that effect on headaches.”

“Okay, I deserve that after all the training I’ve been putting you through.”

I opened my eyes to look at him. “I don’t get you. One minute you’re being a total hard-ass, and the next you’re being nice to me. What gives?”

“I’m trying to help you. Sometimes I need to be tough on you. Other times…” He stopped rubbing my temples and stared into my eyes. His right hand came up to my cheek and brushed away a leftover tear. He leaned forward, and I met him halfway. The moment our lips touched, something came over me. It was like I was starved for contact with another person. My arms flew around his neck, pulling him into me. We backed against the mausoleum, not even caring that the two bodies I’d raised were staring at us. I kissed him with everything I had. Since finding out I was Ophi, I’d been afraid to touch anyone. My touch meant death. With Alex, I didn’t have tobe afraid, and that relief took over.

I didn’t know how long we stood there kissing, only that I could’ve continued for a lot longer if Victoria hadn’t come rushing over. “Alex! Jodi!”

Embarrassed, I pulled back, smacking my head against the mausoleum. “Ouch!”

Alex removed his hands from my waist and stepped away from me. “Jodi raised and controlled two bodies.” He tried to take focus off the scene Victoria had just witnessed.

She didn’t look at the bodies. She looked at me. I was the girl making out with her son. Even if she didn’t allow Alex to call her Mom, that didn’t change the fact that he was her son. I felt my cheeks blush.

“I’ve called an emergency meeting. You’re both to report to the conference room.” She looked back and forth between us. “Immediately.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Alex spoke in a way that made me wonder why he hadn’t saluted her, too. I nodded and watched her walk away. Alex motioned for me to go first, but I stopped at the two bodies.

“What about them? Should we release them or bring them with us?”

Alex’s shoulders slouched as he stared at the ground in a daze. I’d never seen him like this. There was no sign of his cockiness. I wondered if he was going to get in trouble for kissing me. We hadn’t really done anything wrong, not that I’d be looking Victoria in the eyes anytime soon. “Alex?”

“Um.” He shook his head. “We don’t need them right now. Go ahead and release them, I guess.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering if he regretted kissing me. It had seemed like he was enjoying himself… before Victoria showed up.

I stepped in front of the two bodies and allowed my blood to mix once more. I released their souls and turned toward Alex, only to find he was halfway to the house.

I didn’t know what to think or feel. Before, I had been thinking about Matt, but then Alex and I kissed, and it felt right. There had always been something between us. Even before I knew his name. Yes, I’d called the cops on him, but what about all the things I’d let him get away with? Staring up at my window all night long, ransacking my room, leaving me a dead rat. He’d done all those things, and yet I’d felt attracted to him. Like my blood recognized something in his. And once I got here, I kind of got the impression he felt the same way about me. But now? Victoria clearly wasn’t happy about seeing Alex and me together. Maybe we weren’t allowed to be together. Maybe he needed to kiss me to get over his crush. Maybe I wasn’t anything more than the person who was supposed to save him and the other Ophi.

I walked into the house, realizing I had no clue where the conference room was. From what I did know about the layout of the mansion, I guessed it was somewhere downstairs. Since the sitting room, dining room, kitchen, and servants’ quarters were all to the right of the stairs, I headed left. I passed a ballroom and kept going. I heard voices up ahead on the left. The door was closed, but not fully shut. I pushed it open, and all eyes turned on me.

“Everyone, take your seats please,” Victoria said, only looking at me briefly before moving to the head of the long conference table.

I went for my usual place next to Alex—at least that was my usual place at meal times—but he was sitting between Leticia and Abby. And Abby’s arm was looped through his. When Abby saw me heading toward them, she whispered something in Alex’s ear. He nodded, still not pushing Abby away or taking his arm back. My eyes stung, but I forced myself to walk past them. There were no empty seats on that side of the table, which meant I had to take the long embarrassing walk around the back of the table, past Troy’s glaring eyes, and to the other side. I sat down without looking at anyone, though I felt their eyes on me.

“I have bad news,” Victoria began. Like I needed more bad news. “A few minutes ago, I received a phone call. It seems Hades has claimed a group of Ophi in Washington. I know this news comes as a particular shock for some of you.” Her eyes moved to Leticia. “Your parents were among those who were taken. I’m terribly sorry for your loss.”

Leticia started bawling. Randy stood up. “What about my father? Is he—?”

Victoria held up her hand. “We’re not sure. I was informed that he is missing. I will certainly stay on top of the matter and report back to you as soon as I know anything more.”

“What does this mean?” I asked.

Victoria finally looked at me. “It means we must call on your powers, Jodi. We need to go to our brothers and sisters in Washington, and you must raise them.”

“Me? But I’m not ready. I raised two human bodies today, and I wasn’t very good at it. It took me a couple tries. These are Ophi we’re talking about. What if I mess up?”