Kelly Hashway: Face of Death

“Why? If you wanted answers, you should’ve taken a piece of my soul.”

“Because I needed a willing participant.”

Willing. So Chase had agreed to this. My guess was that he’d thought it was a good idea, but Hades’ control over him became too much. Maybe this would teach him something about letting power go to his head.

“You heard everything Chase and I said on the way here, didn’t you?” I stepped closer to Medusa, hoping to get close enough to call her soul to me without Hades noticing.

“Actually, no. I wasn’t watching. But when I felt Medusa’s soul enter the underworld, I tuned in. Convinced Chase to look for the both of you. What a happy coincidence he was still nearby.”

Alex let out a guttural cry and lunged at Chase. A whoosh of air left Chase’s lungs as Alex slammed him into the ground. The sickening sound of breaking bone followed.

“Alex!” I rushed for the gate, not caring about Hades or what he might do to me. “Stop! He isn’t worth it.”

Chase had blood running down his face, and his nose was bent to the left.

Alex shoved himself off Chase and started toward the gate. I reached my hand through and touched his cheek. “Don’t become like them.” I couldn’t help worrying that Alex would wind up like his parents—evil. He was a great guy, despite their terrible influence, but when situations like this came around, I worried he’d lose it and give in to that darkness that seemed to overtake so many Ophi.

He pressed his hand against mine. “What are we going to do? He’s been spying on us, Jodi. We have to get rid of him.”

“But not like that. Not by beating him to death.” I swallowed hard. “I won’t lose you just to get rid of him.”

His jaw clenched. “I’ll be okay. I won’t become either of my parents, and I definitely won’t stoop to his level.” He glanced back at Chase, who was holding the bridge of his nose and cringing.

“Good, because we have bigger problems right now.” I nodded back over my shoulder.

Alex peered around me, and his breath caught in his throat. I yanked my hand back through the gate and whipped around.

Hades was gone, and he’d taken Medusa with him.

I ran back through the fields to where they’d been standing. There was no sign of either of them or that they’d ever been here.

“Damn it! He used Chase as a distraction and took her.” I fell to my knees and pounded the asphodels. Twice my feelings for Alex had put us all at risk. Maybe I wasn’t meant to be in a relationship. Maybe as leader, I had to sever my personal connections and put the needs of the group first. Only I couldn’t. I wasn’t human anymore, but my emotions still felt human. I loved Alex. I couldn’t see how that could be a bad thing.

He banged on the gates until they finally opened. Hades wasn’t keeping them locked now that he’d gotten away with Medusa’s soul. Alex rushed to me and pulled me to my feet. “We have to find her. My guess is, once Hades has her under control, he’ll come back for us. We aren’t going to sit here and wait for him.”

I nodded and wiped my tears with the backs of my hands. “I can’t believe I suck this bad as a leader.”

He gripped my shoulders. “Don’t do that. Don’t sit there and feel sorry for yourself. Medusa wanted you to become like her. To take her place. She wouldn’t have asked you to do that if she didn’t believe in you. You’re her only hope right now. So push whatever feeling of helplessness you have aside, and do your job.”

That was another reason why I loved him. He called me out when I was acting stupid. Medusa believed in me. Alex believed in me. Out of the people I still had in my life, they mattered the most. I wasn’t going to stop until I fixed this—for them.

“I’m going to try to communicate with her. She used to be able to appear in my mind. We’re both here, so maybe we still can.” Unless Hades was torturing her. Then she wouldn’t have the strength to make the connection.

Alex let go of me, and I closed my eyes. “Medusa? Can you hear me?” I waited, listening for even the smallest sound. “I’m going to find you and join your soul with mine, but I need help. Can you give me any sign of where you are?” I wasn’t even sure she could hear me, let alone answer or give me a sign, but I had to try. Still nothing.

Alex gently grazed my arm with his hand. “Anything?”

I shook my head. “Wherever he has her, she can’t hear me. Either that, or she’s in so much pain that she can’t respond.”

“You think she’s in Tartarus?”

It was a good bet. I nodded.

“Let’s go.”

We had no plan other than finding her. If Victoria had her, I’d have to use my powers to knock out Victoria. My blood was already boiling under my skin. I had enough emotion running through me to wipe out every Ophi here with my poison. Chase was lucky he wasn’t around anymore.

Chase! “Alex.” I grabbed his arm, stopping him just outside the gate. “Chase might know where Medusa is. He must have seen something.”

“I don’t know. He was on the ground and in a lot of pain. Besides, Hades didn’t go by us, so how would Chase have seen him? Hades may have part of Chase’s soul, but that doesn’t mean Chase has access to it or that he knows what Hades is up to.”

That was true. Hades had hurt Chase in the palace, too. If Chase had any insight into what Hades was going to do, he might have avoided that.

“All right. We’ll check Tartarus and hope for the best.”

Finding strength in each other, we walked hand in hand, an army of two. We were almost to the entrance to Tartarus when Bristol came walking up behind us.

“Jodi!” Her voice was a loud whisper.

I turned to see the fear on her face. “What is it? Did something happen? Did you see Medusa?”

“Medusa?” Bristol’s head jerked back. “She’s here?” Even she knew that wasn’t good.

“Yes, and we have to find her soon.”

“She’s not in there.” There was more. “The others are. All of them. Hades said he wants us to torture them until there’s nothing left.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Until they’re dead.”

No. My hands shook. Alex yanked his hand from mine.

“Jodi, you’re on fire.”

My power was out of control.

“What’s going on? What are we going to do?” Bristol’s eyes pleaded with me. “I don’t want to kill anyone. I’ve been taking care of that girl Amber for you. I’ve been doing everything you asked. I just want to get out of here. I don’t belong here. I’m not evil.”

Now she was losing it. I reached for her but thought twice about it. I didn’t want to burn her with my touch. “Calm down. I’m going to figure this out.”

“You better do it soon. They can’t hold on much longer.”

“What is Hades having you do to them exactly?” They couldn’t have been in Tartarus for that long. Hades had only left us moments ago.

Her body shook as she took a deep breath. “He’s making them relive every death and raising they ever caused, all at once.”

That was how Hades killed an Ophi. It was supposedly the worst way you could die. He wanted to end this quickly. No savoring the moment this time. He was done playing around.

“Please, Bristol, do whatever you can to slow things down. I need to find Medusa. Once I do, I can save us all. I’ll get you out of here, but I need your help right now.”

Her eyes teared. “But how? I don’t know what to do.”

“Create some sort of distraction. Anything. Get the focus off the others. Pretend you’re hurt, in pain.”

I calmed my blood for a moment, focusing on the life-restoring power alone. I gently touched Bristol’s arm and sent a wave of the energy to her.