Touch of Death (17 page)

“Alex.” I reached for him but stopped when he pulled away. “All the texting you were always doing, you were communicating with your parents, weren’t you? Keeping them updated on what I was doing.”

“Them and Mr. Quimby.” Of course. That explained why Mr. Quimby was always emailing in study hall and in between classes. There was something else I had to ask him. Something that had been bugging me. “Why’d you get into a fight with Matt?”

“He was always in my way. Every time I tried to approach you, there he was. It was annoying.”

“But you fought him. That was dangerous.”

Alex shrugged, and that’s when I realized what had really happened. Aside from the initial shove, Alex hadn’t touched Matt. He didn’t punch him. He didn’t even let Matt hit him. He dodged everything to avoid any bloodshed.

“You ducked and backed off when Matt swung at you.”

“What was I supposed to do? I could’ve killed him… easily. I was mad, but I didn’t want him dead. I let him do what he thought he had to do to defend your honor. You know, act all boyfriend-like.”

Alex turned off the main road onto one I could barely make out. It might have been a fancy gravel driveway at one time, but was now more like an overgrown trail with extra rocks.

“Hang on. It gets a little bumpy up ahead.”

That was an understatement. I grabbed the door handle and the edge of my seat to keep from bouncing around and bashing my head into the window. I cried out in pain from my injured fingers.

“We’ll get those healed up soon enough.” Alex motioned to my hands.

My seatbelt was virtually powerless against the so-called road. We passed a cemetery, and I couldn’t help shivering a little. Now that I knew what I was capable of, being around dead bodies didn’t seem like such a good idea.

We followed the path—I couldn’t accept that it was actually a road—up a hill to where an enormous old building stood. Alex had said it was a mansion, but seriously this thing looked like a university. Maybe that was a good thing because it didn’t seem like I’d be going to college anymore. Alex parked the car in the six-car garage. Six! Yes, the place could’ve used a facelift, but the size made it easy to overlook that.

“Ready to meet the family?” He gave me a killer smile. For a second, it almost felt like we were on a date and he was taking me home to meet his parents. I hoped they’d like me.

Alex walked back out of the garage and waved for me to follow. I looked at the door leading from the garage into the house, just a few feet away from the car, and then back at Alex.

“You can’t make your grand entrance through the garage. Come on, the entryway is the best part of the house.”

I followed him around to the front of the house. There was a curved stone staircase, leading up to massive wooden double doors that were probably the size of my entire house. I must have looked nervous because Alex squeezed my arm. I looked down at his hand and got a strange sinking feeling in my stomach. Oh, God, I was starting to have feelings for Alex. And not “creepy my-former-stalker-is-touching-my-arm” kind of feelings. They were “I-can-kiss-him-and-not-kill-him” kind of feelings.

The door opened without us even knocking or Alex using a key, and two people, a man and a woman, stood in the doorway. By the way the man looked at Alex like he was a major disappointment, I could only assume he was his father. Which meant the stunningly beautiful blonde woman next to him was Alex’s mother. I felt myself feeling really insecure standing that close to her. My clothes were wrinkled from being in the car so long, and I was sure I had bed head. All we had in common were our green eyes. But she didn’t seem to mind my appearance one bit because she stepped forward, wrapped me in a hug, and said, “Welcome home, Jodi.”

Chapter 16

Home? I was home? I wondered what Mom was doing and if she was okay. Looking at Alex’s mother, I knew she could never be like my mom. Still, she seemed happy to see me.

“Thank you, Mrs. uh… Alex’s mom.” I didn’t even know Alex’s last name. Alex laughed beside me, and I shot him a look.

“Please, call me Victoria. Mrs. anything makes me sound old.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said before turning to Alex’s father. “You must be Alex’s—”

“Troy Montgomery.”

The tension was thick. I looked quickly at Alex before staring at my shoes.

“Well, come in,” Victoria said. “You must be hungry.”

“Actually, I’m just tired.” I stepped into the house. Alex hadn’t been kidding. The entryway was gorgeous. It had a vaulted ceiling with a crystal chandelier hanging in the middle. The walls were a rich cream color with expensive-looking gold and silver decorative candleholders displayed on them. In the center of the room was a statue. It was a gold statue, and I was sure it was real gold. My eyes focused on the statue’s head. It was a woman, and instead of hair, she had snakes frozen in various wiggly positions. Medusa.

I was strangely drawn to the statue. I didn’t understand why because I hated snakes. Yet, I couldn’t take my eyes off them or her. Being Ophi meant that I had Medusa’s blood in my veins. I circled around her, vaguely aware that Alex and his parents were watching me. They didn’t seem at all surprised by my interest in the statue. I hoped that meant I was acting normally for an Ophi. I was acting on instinct. Like an invisible force was moving my body, I reached my hand out and touched Medusa’s right hand. Instantly, I felt a surge of energy. I felt alive. More alive than I ever imagined I could feel.

“Wow,” I muttered.

Alex came over and stood next to me. “Incredible, right? You know why it’s happening, don’t you?”

I thought back to Mr. Quimby’s lesson. “The blood on the right side of her body restores life.”

Alex nodded.

“But this is only a statue. Why would it have this effect on me?” I still held Medusa’s right hand, letting her pump life into my body.

Victoria placed her hand on my shoulder. “It’s not just a statue, dear. The Ophi claimed Medusa’s spirit when she died. It took the collective power of the group and killed most of the Ophi involved, but death should be expected when you strike a deal with Hades. He allowed us to use our powers to raise Medusa’s spirit in exchange for the lives of several Ophi.”

“But why would he care about Ophi souls when he could have Medusa’s?” I asked.

“Hades prizes Ophi souls above the others. Our power becomes his when we die. He was willing to part with Medusa in order to gain more Ophi souls, and it was a price our kind was willing to pay.” She paused and lowered her head, like she was collecting her thoughts. “We had Medusa’s spirit sealed in this golden statue to preserve her. The statue is passed down to the most prominent Ophi family.”

I dropped my hand and watched Victoria stare in reverie at Medusa. Or at least Medusa’s spirit. I shuddered.

“Don’t be afraid, dear,” Victoria said. “In a way, Medusa is the mother of all Ophi. It is her blood in our veins. Her blood that gives Ophi life.” She gestured to my hands. “See, she’s even healed you.”

My injuries were completely gone. If I had had any doubt about the power of this statue, it disappeared with my cuts.

I looked at Alex. He nodded. “You’ll get used to it.”

“And do you know what would help?” Victoria lifted my left hand toward Medusa’s. I started to pull it away. While I’d enjoyed the supercharge Medusa’s right hand had given me, the blood from the left side of her body was poisonous. “Relax, Jodi. Her blood is not poisonous to you.”

I sighed, remembering that was true. “Sorry, this is all so new to me.”

Victoria smiled, and I knew she understood. She raised my hand again, and this time I let her join me with Medusa. A strange tingling crept up my arm slowly, like a snake slithering. It didn’t hurt, but it did creep me out.

“What’s happening?” My words were shaky.

“Feels like snakes crawling on you, but what you’re feeling is really the poison in your blood. But like Victoria said, it’s not poisonous to you.”

Victoria. Alex just called his mom Victoria. This definitely wasn’t like my family, but they were the closest thing to family I had left now. I had an urge to call Mom. Check on her. Tell her I was okay. Then another urge came over me. Still holding Medusa’s left hand, I grabbed her right.

“Stop!” Victoria shrieked, but she was too late.

My hair blew up, flying wildly all around me. My blood bubbled in my veins like boiling water, but it didn’t hurt. It was the feeling of power. Too much power. My body felt like it was going to burst. Still I held on. My eyes closed, and I threw my head back. An image filled my mind. Medusa. Her snakes wriggled their bodies at me, flicking their tongues. Chills ran down the backs of my legs, but I forced my eyes away from the snakes. Lower. To Medusa’s face. She smiled at me. Her face and eyes filled with warmth. She looked like… Mom.

“Do not fear me, Jodi. My blood lies in your veins and in your heart. You are one of mine. My children.” Before I could react, Medusa faded away, and I felt my hands slipping from hers. I was breathing heavily, staring at the statue. While everyone else stared at me.

“Jodi,” Victoria asked, “what made you take both Medusa’s hands at once?”

I stared at my hands. “I don’t know. It was instinctual, I guess. Something I felt I was supposed to do.” I looked up at Victoria. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

She looked confused, like I’d asked the most difficult question. Finally, she cleared her throat. “Jodi, every Ophi who has seen the Medusa statue has touched each of her hands and felt the power in each side of her body.” For once, I had done the right thing. “But not one Ophi has ever held both Medusa’s hands at the same time.”

“Why not? It was pretty incredible.”

Victoria stepped closer to me and took my hands, palms up, in hers. She stared at them like there was something written there, but nothing was there. “What was it like?”

“I felt… powerful. Like Medusa’s power was rushing through me. It was a little scary because it felt like too much power. Like it was going to consume me. But then I saw—” Victoria squeezed my hands and nodded her head, wanting me to continue. I was thankful my hands were healed or it would’ve really hurt. “I saw Medusa. The real Medusa. Or her spirit, I think. She spoke to me.” Victoria’s grip was like a vice. “She told me not to be afraid of her. That I was one of her children.”

As soon as I stopped talking, Victoria let go of me and spun around. She walked to the window beside the front door and stared out it. Troy glared at me, and I got the feeling that he was trying to see if I was telling the truth. Like I could’ve made any of this up. I turned to Alex, looking for answers.

“I don’t get it. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal,” Victoria said, turning back to me, “is that Medusa has claimed you as one of her bloodline.”

I shrugged. “So? I thought all Ophi had Medusa’s blood.”

“We do,” Alex said. “But that doesn’t mean we’re actually related to her.”

“You’re saying I’m
related
to Medusa? Like she’s my great-great-however-many-greats grandmother?”

“We all consider ourselves Medusa’s children,” Victoria said, “because we share her blood. The blood Ophiuchus received from Athena. But now the prophecy about you makes more sense.”

“What prophecy? Alex said something about it on the way here. Something about how I’m supposed to save you all from Hades.”

“There is a reason you were supposed to bring her here immediately after she showed signs of her powers,” Troy said, practically growling in Alex’s face. “It would’ve been better for her to learn about all this in time. From us.” He leaned closer to Alex. “But, as always, you are a disappointment.” Alex held his ground, but I could tell it was taking a lot of effort.

“I want to know about the prophecy. I’m glad Alex mentioned it.”

“Later,” Troy said. “It will all make sense in time.”

“No, Troy. She should hear it now.” Victoria sighed. “Your father was Ophi, which is why you are Ophi. We knew that. What we didn’t know right away, is that your father”—the word ‘father’ came off her lips like a curse—“wasn’t a regular Ophi. He was descended from Medusa. He was supposed to be our leader. Our savior. Now, it looks like that responsibility falls on you.”

For a brief moment, I thought Victoria was going to tell me Mom was the one who had to be related to Medusa. “There’s something I don’t understand.” All three of them stared at me. “When I saw Medusa, she looked like my mom.”

Victoria nodded. “Medusa has not blessed an Ophi with a vision of her in a very long time, but there is a rumor that her spirit can appear with the face of anyone it chooses. If she wanted to assert a connection to you, it makes sense she’d take on your mother’s face to do it.”

“Isn’t that a little manipulative?”

“Not at all. She wanted to make you comfortable, so she chose a face you were comfortable with.”

I squeezed my head in my hands. How was I supposed to handle all of this? Being chosen, descended from Medusa, a completely new life? I exhaled long and hard, trying to push the stress right out of me.

“Jodi, it’s the middle of the night. You’re exhausted. I think we should leave the rest of your questions for the morning.” She put one arm around my shoulders and walked me to a staircase at the end of the enormous entryway. “Alex, show Jodi to her room. See that she has everything she needs, and then report to the study. There are some things we need to discuss.”