“Matt, please. I don’t want you to die. I brought you back to give you the shot at life you were supposed to have. Don’t make all that be for nothing.”
“I don’t want all that. I don’t want to be here. I’m not supposed to be. I died kissing you. Yeah, it sucked that we couldn’t be together and that I missed out on college and finding out who or what I’d become. But this,” he patted his chest, “isn’t me. I wasn’t meant to be immortal. It’s obvious you love Alex. You’re willing to do anything to save him. The few moments we’ve had together have been amazing, but they aren’t who you really are. I’ve felt that.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I mean, you went back to Alex while we were kissing. If that doesn’t say it all, then I don’t know what does. You’ve made your choice, and if you’re going to go through with it, then you’re going to have to end my life now.”
My body shook, and since I didn’t have Gorgon blood running through Liz’s veins, I knew it was from the pain of knowing Matt was right. I’d basically turned him into a monster. I couldn’t blame him for not wanting this life.
“I’m so sorry.” I stepped closer to him and took his hands in mine. “I thought I was doing the right thing bringing you back. I wanted to make up for—”
He pressed his finger to my lips. “You don’t have to apologize or try to explain. I know you, Jodi. You have a good heart, and I’ve always loved you for it. I don’t blame you for any of this.”
“Is this really what you want?”
“I want you to be happy.”
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 passed 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 bumpiness 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.