Who was I? I didn’t want to be the girl who thought about another guy while kissing her boyfriend. I forced my eyes away from Chase, which, surprisingly, was harder to do than pulling away from Alex.
“Sorry, I’m freezing.” I wrapped my arms around myself.
“No problem. Let’s get you inside.” He put his arm over my shoulder and kept me close as we walked inside.
My eyes rose to Chase’s window. His light was off, but I could sense he was still watching us. I laced my fingers through Alex’s. He walked me to my room and kissed me goodnight.
“I’ll come get you before breakfast.” He gently kissed me again.
I smiled and nodded before going in my room and shutting the door. I leaned my back against it and slid to the ground. I was out of control. I shouldn’t want anything more than Alex. He should’ve been enough. My teeth chattered again, so I got up and took my third hot shower of the day. Then I crawled into bed and pleaded with myself to only dream of Alex, but the second I closed my eyes, it was Chase’s face I saw.
I tossed and turned all night, afraid to let myself sleep long enough to dream. I actually set my alarm and repeatedly hit snooze so I would keep waking up. It was pure torture, but it was better than waking up to a room full of corpses. Or should I say half-full. We were running low on corpses these days.
Alex met me before breakfast, like we’d planned.
“Hey, did you have trouble sleeping? You look beat.”
“Thanks, that’s just what a girl wants to hear from the guy she’s dating.”
He laughed and kissed my cheek. “You look beautiful, but I can tell you didn’t sleep well.”
“I appreciate the little white lie. I woke up a lot. My alarm kept going off.” There, that wasn’t a lie.
“Is it broken? I could look at it for you.”
“No, that’s okay. I think I fixed it.” Yeah, I fixed it, when I finally shut it off.
We passed Chase in the hallway. “Sleep well?” he asked.
I wondered if he had any trouble sleeping. Probably not. “Fine.” I looped my arm through Alex’s as we walked past Chase.
Breakfast was louder than ever. No one could stop talking about the Ophi from Serpentarius coming today.
“What time are they getting here?”
“Are any of the guys cute?”
“Should I set some extra plates?”
“Whoa,” I said. I didn’t really know the details. Chase was the one who had convinced Mason and the others to come. I turned to Chase. “Tell us what you know.”
He downed his orange juice and leaned back in his chair. “Okay, Uncle Mason said they’d be here some time today. He had to close things up there. I’m sure he worked late last night, so I’m guessing they won’t be here before noon.”
Arianna nodded and got up from the table. “I’ll plan for a big lunch then. What are we taking about, number wise? I’ve made up all the beds to be on the safe side, but I need to know how much food to make and how many plates to set.”
Chase counted on his fingers. “There’s Uncle Mason, Aunt Carol, Thayer, Jared—”
“Jared?” I jumped at the name. I knew him. He was Matt’s cousin.
“Yeah, he’s a bouncer there.”
“I know. I used to date his cousin.”
Alex put his hand on my leg. He’d known Matt. They hadn’t gotten along, and Alex had ended up having to kill Matt after I turned him into a bunny-eating zombie, but he knew I had cared about him. He knew it wasn’t easy for me to talk about him. “You going to be okay with having him here?”
I nodded. “But I’m confused. How were they cousins? Matt is—was—human.”
“They weren’t really cousins.” Chase surprised me. I didn’t know he knew who Matt was.
“You knew Matt?”
“Yeah. I told you I used to hang out with humans a lot.” The way he said it made it sound like he and I had had some big heart to heart. I knew it was intended to make Alex suspicious. “Jared introduced us. Their parents were good friends, and Matt always called Jared’s father Uncle Thayer, so Matt assumed Jared was his cousin. They weren’t really related.”
I couldn’t help feeling jealous that Chase and so many other Ophi could be around humans and keep their powers under control. I wanted to change the subject. “So who else is coming?”
Chase eyed me for a second before rattling off five more names.
“All nine of them.” Arianna looked stressed. Sometimes I forgot that she used to work there and knew all of them. “I’ve got a lot of work to do this morning.”
“We’ll clean up after breakfast, and we can help with lunch, too,” I said.
“Oh, no you won’t. You all have more important things to be doing.” She turned and winked at Randy. “I heard someone has almost gotten the hang of summoning multiple souls. Wouldn’t it be impressive to show the other Ophi from Serpentarius when they arrive?”
Randy smiled and took another bite of his pancake. “That’s why I’m eating a little extra this morning. I want to have enough energy to get it right this time.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him summoning the dead had nothing to do with food. He was so excited.
“I’m ready to get out there when you are, Randy.” I finished my coffee. I usually tried not to drink caffeine, but with the little sleep I got it was a necessity this morning.
“Just let me finish these first,” he said with his mouth full.
“Are you two training alone?” Alex asked, keeping his voice low.
“I think that would be best. Randy is really close to getting this right. I want to help him as much as possible.”
Alex nodded. “I’ll take Leticia and work on controlling souls after they’ve been raised. She’s getting better. I think in a few more days she’ll have it.”
“Take her to connect with Medusa before you go out. I think that will give her the confidence boost she needs.”
“Good idea.”
“Does this mean you and I aren’t going to work on joining our powers?” Chase was standing right behind me. I hadn’t even noticed he’d gotten up from his seat.
“Oh, um, yeah. Not today. Helping Randy is more important right now.”
Chase shook his head. “I doubt that. Uncle Mason is going to be pissed if he gets here and finds out we lied about our combined powers.”
I looked at Alex. He was trying to stay calm, I could tell. I also knew him well enough to know it was a struggle for him.
“We’ll tell Mason that it’s a power drain on me, and we had to slow down our training until my blood gets used to the connection.” I pulled that out of nowhere, but I thought it sounded pretty good.
Chase glared at me for a second before walking out of the dining room.
“Guess that means I’m stuck with him this morning,” Alex said.
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I’d rather have him where I can see him. I don’t trust him, and I don’t want him near you.”
Randy shoved his last pancake into his mouth. “Ready.”
I laughed. “Me, too.”
Alex smiled at me. “See you out there in a few.”
I nodded. “Good luck today, Leticia. I have a good feeling about this morning.”
She smiled, but it was a timid smile. “Thanks. I’ll do my best.”
I took Randy out to the row of graves that still had bodies in them. I picked two at the end of the row. I sort of remembered them being a man and a woman, possibly a couple at one time.
“This will work,” I said.
Randy took a deep breath and pulled a pocketknife out of his jeans. “Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need luck. You’ve got this.” I was trying to be more encouraging, like a good teacher.
Chase came out of the school and watched us. Or should I say watched me? Randy was the picture of concentration. He cut the tip of his right index finger and dripped blood on each grave. I tried to focus on Randy, on helping him tune in to his own blood and raise both bodies in front of him, but it was hard to do with Chase staring at me. I hoped Alex and Leticia would get out here soon. As the corpses climbed to the surface, I saw Randy shake.
“Relax. Remain in control. You need to give two separate commands now. At the same time. One aloud and one in your mind. Your blood will carry the silent message to the soul. Got it?”
He nodded, but he swallowed hard, showing his fear.
“I’m right here if you get into trouble, but I know you can do this.”
Before the bodies were fully out of the ground, Randy started spouting orders. “Stop! Don’t come any closer. Stay where you are. Don’t move until I tell you to.” He got quiet, and I knew he was repeating the orders in his head, but the one corpse, the male, wasn’t listening.
“Jodi!” Randy yelled.
“Stop him, Randy.” I didn’t want to take over. I didn’t want another incident like with Leticia. If Randy thought I didn’t have confidence in him, he might never master his powers. “You can do this. Concentrate.”
He stumbled backward, falling over a headstone. He toppled to the ground, cringing like a baby. I’d never seen him so scared. It wasn’t like him at all. The zombie stalked over to him.
“Stop him!” I yelled again. “You have the power, not him. Use it!”
But Randy didn’t even try. He cowered on the ground while the zombie jumped on top of him. Randy’s scream pierced the air as the zombie bit into his shoulder.
“Randy!” Leticia yelled, running toward us. Alex was right with her.
I was frozen, unable to believe what was happening a few feet in front of me. The zombie collapsed on Randy’s chest. Alex rushed over and pulled the corpse off. I saw Randy’s blood dripping down the side of the man’s mouth. The poisoned blood had killed him instantly.
“It’s okay,” Alex said, leaning over Randy. “It’s not that bad. Really.”
But it
was
that bad. The zombie had bitten a chunk of flesh from Randy’s shoulder. Randy was bleeding all over the ground. Alex pulled his shirt over his head and applied pressure to Randy’s neck.
“He needs a doctor.”
Chase stepped forward so he was next to me. “One of the Ophi who’s coming here from Serpentarius used to be a doctor. An Ophi doctor. His name’s Carson. He can help.”
“What if Randy doesn’t make it until then?” Leticia panicked. “He needs help now.”
“Bring him to Medusa,” I said. “She’ll give him enough power to keep him alive. Then we’ll bandage him up as best we can until help gets here.”
“Arianna should be able to bandage him up,” Alex said. “But we have to get him inside first.”
Chase walked over and grabbed Randy’s legs. “You got his upper body?”
Alex nodded.
Leticia and I walked with them, making sure they weren’t going to accidentally bump Randy into anything on the way inside. Arianna was dusting the Medusa statue when we came in.
She gasped. “What happened?”
“He was bitten by a zombie,” Alex said. “He needs a doctor, but in the meantime we have to stop the bleeding.”
Randy fell in and out of consciousness.
“Bring him to the couch.” Arianna waved the guys toward the living room.
“No,” I said. “He needs to connect with Medusa. His power is draining out of him. He won’t make it if we don’t do something fast.”
Arianna nodded. “Okay, but be careful not to overload him. He can’t handle that in his weakened state.”
Alex and Chase carried Randy to the statue, and I took his right hand, connecting it to Medusa’s. Since I had to hold Randy’s hand in place, it meant I was in on the connection, too.
Medusa appeared to me. “His injuries are too severe. My power cannot sustain him, my child. It is not enough.”
“I know. Help is on the way, but I didn’t know what else to do.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“Thank you, Medusa.” Tears trickled down my cheeks. I couldn’t let Randy die. I could bring him back, but he’d come back exactly the way he was when he died. I’d be raising him just so he could die all over again. There had to be something I could do. I felt fingers lightly graze the back of my hand. By the tingling sensation that followed, I knew it was Chase. What was he doing? Alex was right there. He was bound to notice.
Then I got an idea. “Medusa, can I transfer some of my power to Randy? Would that help?”
“Transferring that much power would severely weaken you. I am the only one who can give my power without being affected. I don’t advise you doing this, Jodi. Let Randy take what he needs from me.”
I hated feeling helpless. This was my fault. If I had stepped in and stopped the zombie, Randy would be okay.
“I feel a surge in your power, my child,” Medusa said.
Oh, God, Chase was still rubbing my hand. Medusa could tell something was affecting me. Did she know it was Chase?
“My emotions are running on high. It’s my fault this happened.”
“Whether or not you could have prevented this, you can’t let your emotions consume you. It is affecting your power.”
“I know.”
“That’s enough for now. Any more of my energy, and Randy will not be able to handle it. His system will crash.”
“Thank you again, Medusa.”
I took Randy’s hand away from Medusa, and mine away from Chase. “Let’s get him bandaged up now.”
Arianna had a medical kit waiting, and she cleaned the area before applying gauze and medical tape. It seemed like every time she got everything in place, she had to change the gauze because it was soaked with blood.
“There’s no need for you all to stand around like this. You’ve got more time to train before the others arrive. Standing around here isn’t helping Randy. Now go.” She shooed us from the room.
We were all in a daze, but we walked back outside. I hoped the fresh air would make me feel a little better, but it didn’t. I could see the corpse of the woman still sticking halfway out of the grave, waiting for Randy’s next command.
“I need to release her soul,” I said.
Alex put his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll come with you.”
Leticia and Chase followed too, not saying a word. I stood facing the woman and willed my blood to mix. Once the tingling sensation spread throughout my body, I said, “I command you to return to where you came from. I release your soul.” She fell forward, her face in the dirt.
“So, I guess we spend the rest of the morning digging graves?” Chase said. “Sounds fun.”
Leticia moaned. “I spend half my life digging graves.”