“Jodi, you need to figure this out. Hades is going to come after you if you don’t stop this.”
“I know. I’ll figure it out. Something is going on with my powers. Maybe they’re increasing. I’ll have to learn to control them better. I’ll talk to Medusa some more about it.”
The room shook with a loud rumbling. Sounds of glass shattering and wood splintering filled the air. The entire mansion was going to come down. The floor split open. Alex grabbed me and pulled me toward the bathroom and away from the crack. Bodies toppled into the darkness. Arianna and Tony huddled in the doorway. I couldn’t see Randy or Leticia in the hallway, but I hoped they were safe.
Black smoke swirled out of the crack in the floor. This was it. Hades was coming for me. I’d broken our agreement, and he was coming to collect my soul.
Hades emerged from the smoke and stared directly at me. “I think it’s about time we had a talk, Jodi Marshall.”
He was every bit as gorgeous as I remembered. Gorgeous in a completely terrifying way. After my first meeting with Hades, I’d discovered where the term “tall, dark, and handsome” came from. Why he chose to appear to me in this form, I didn’t know, but he certainly knew what my type was. Physically at least. His personality was horrifying.
“Hades, please, let me explain.” I put my hands up in surrender. “I didn’t know I was raising those souls.” I pointed to the bed. “I was asleep. Something is going on with my powers. I don’t know how to control them. But I released the souls. We worked together to get them back to you as soon as possible.” I had to get it all out before he interrupted. Before I lost my nerve.
“It’s not her fault.” Alex came to my rescue. “She’s trying to figure out what’s going wrong with her powers.”
Hades narrowed his eyes, and I felt them burning into me. Literally. My entire body felt like it was on fire, and I knew it would be that easy for him to kill me. I tried to cry out, but the pain in my throat wouldn’t allow it. I crumpled in Alex’s arms.
“Stop!” Alex yelled. “You’re killing her!”
Chase ran into the room, pushing past Tony and Arianna. My eyes burned, and I actually saw flames. I was looking at Hell, but I could sense Chase’s blood. He came closer, and the fire went away. Hades stared at Chase, no longer interested in burning my soul. Chase didn’t say a word, and neither did Hades. They just stared at each other. Finally, Hades turned back to me. I cringed, afraid he’d pick up where he’d left off, but he only spoke.
“Figure out what’s happening, and learn to control it. Soon. I won’t tolerate much more of this.” He waved his arm around the room, and a whirlwind of black smoke swept most of the bodies into the crack in the floor. He glared at me one last time before disappearing into the ground. The floor sealed up behind him, but my room was still a mess.
“Well, he’s pleasant,” Chase said.
“Thank you,” I said. “If you hadn’t come in here and broken Hades’ stare…”
“Any time. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Jodi.” Chase gave Alex a look before he turned and left the room.
I shivered even though I was still burning up from Hades’ stare. Chase had declared war on Alex. He’d openly shown his feelings for me in front of everyone. Alex was shaking with rage. I buried my face in his chest, squeezing him tight. I wanted to show him that I’d chosen him, regardless of how Chase felt.
Randy finally stepped into my room. “Hey, where was Chase during all that?”
Leticia let go of his arm. “What do you mean?”
“When we heard you scream, we all came running. Everyone but Chase.”
We all looked back and forth between each other. No one had an answer.
Alex pulled away from me. “I’m going to find out.”
“No, please. Let it go. Maybe he didn’t hear Leticia. Maybe he was in the shower.”
“His hair wasn’t wet,” Leticia said.
Randy smirked. “And if you hadn’t already raised them, the dead bodies in the cemetery would’ve heard Leticia, too.”
Alex stared at me. “Why are you defending him, Jodi?”
“I’m not. I just don’t think we should all go storming his room, making accusations. We’ll never get an answer out of him that way.”
“He does like to avoid answering questions,” Randy said.
“What do you mean?” I’d experienced this about Chase, but I wasn’t aware he was keeping things from the others. I mean, what would Randy ask him that Chase wouldn’t want to answer?
“The other day I asked him about his parents. I was curious if either of them had more powers than other Ophi, because Chase had to get it from somewhere, right? But he wouldn’t answer. He changed the subject, and when I tried to bring it up again, he made up an excuse and left.”
“He’s hiding something,” Alex said. “More reason to make him talk. He’s got a lot of things to explain.”
I looked to Arianna for help, but she shrugged. Tony saw us exchange a glance and said, “Let me talk to Chase. He’ll only feel threatened if we all go asking questions.”
I mouthed a “Thank you” and he nodded.
Alex noticed, and he gave me a questioning look, so I changed the topic. “We’ll have to rebury these bodies right away. Hades took several bodies with him, which means we have fewer corpses to train with. We can’t afford to lose any more.”
“I’ll get started on it now,” Tony said. “You all can help me after breakfast.”
We nodded.
“Oh, and, Jodi, if you don’t mind, I’m going to leave the bodies here until we get the graves dug, okay?”
“Sure.” Unfortunately, I was getting used to having corpses in my bedroom.
Everyone left, going back to their own rooms to finish getting ready for the day, but Alex stayed behind with me. I hugged him, loving how safe I felt in his arms. I wanted to only want Alex, but something inside me was screaming for Chase, and I didn’t know how to make it stop.
Alex pulled away. “I saw that little exchange between you and Tony. What was that about?”
I sighed and sat down on the bed. “Listen, I know you hate Chase, and I know he gives you a hard time, but we’re short on numbers. Hades was in my bedroom threatening me. He could’ve killed me, Alex. If Chase hadn’t—”
“No! Chase did not save you from Hades. He showed up late because he was doing God knows what.” Alex was yelling now. “He’s not the good guy. I mean, did you see the way Hades looked at him? It was like he recognized evil.”
That was crazy. Hades and Chase had locked eyes, but I figured it was only because Hades hadn’t seen Chase before. He wasn’t here at the school when I’d made the deal with Hades two months ago. “I’m sure Hades was surprised to see a new face around here. That’s all, and really—whatever it was, I don’t care. All I know is I’m alive right now. Can’t we take two minutes to be thankful for that?”
Alex pulled me to him and kissed me lightly on the lips. “You know I’m thankful you’re alive. I watched you die once, remember? After you drank Medusa’s blood.”
“I didn’t die.”
“The human part of you did.”
Sometimes, I forgot there was a difference between being human and being Gorgon. But Medusa’s blood had transformed me, made me fully Gorgon. Hades hated me for that. I’d killed the human in me, and there was no soul to show for it. As far as Hades was concerned, I owed him my soul.
“I think you should leave the school,” Alex said.
“What?” I nearly stumbled back in surprise.
“I’ll go with you. We’ll go somewhere Hades can’t find you. Just until you get your powers under control.”