“Funny?” Alex asked.

“You know, in an ironic kind of way.” I forced a laugh and reached for his hand, lacing my fingers through his.

Chase’s eyes dropped to our hands before he gave me a look that clearly meant “What are you trying to prove?”

“Shall we?” I motioned toward my room.

As we went inside, Alex whispered in my ear, “You owe me. Big.”

I reached up and kissed his cheek. He gave me a small smile, and we sat down on the bed. I kind of thought the bed would give out under the weight of all five of us, but it held strong. The movie was every bit as cheesy as I’d expected it to be. We were all cracking up five minutes into it.

“Oh, yeah, as if a zombie would really walk around with its arms out all the time,” Randy said.

Leticia laughed. “Or yelling, ‘Braaaaiiins,’” she said in her best Hollywood zombie voice.

I smiled at Alex, happy to see everyone having a good time. Well, almost everyone. Chase was sitting by my feet, and he spent most of the movie staring at me instead of the screen. I ignored him as best as I could, trying to keep my attention on the movie.

I must have been tired because, at one point, I dozed off to the sounds of everyone talking and getting along. I woke up to a tingling in my foot. It started very lightly and crept up my leg. The sensation was electrifying, and after all the stress I’d been under, it felt amazing. I opened my eyes and rolled over slightly, resting my head on Alex’s chest.

“Thanks, that feels great.”

“What does?” he asked.

I saw Alex’s hands behind his head. I discreetly looked down at his feet, thinking maybe he was rubbing my foot with one of his, but his legs were crossed. My gaze met Chase’s, and he smiled.

Oh, God!

“Jodi, what feels great?” Alex asked again.

“Being here with you.” I tried to keep my voice steady. “Thanks again for agreeing to this.”

He smiled. “I don’t really have a choice when it comes to you.”

I put my head back down on his chest and stared at Chase. He was still rubbing my foot, sending waves of this strange tingling sensation throughout my body. Why wasn’t I stopping him? I willed my foot to move away from Chase’s hand, but it wouldn’t. I was paralyzed by this feeling. I didn’t want it to stop. Not really.

I closed my eyes, giving in to it. My blood surged with power I’d never felt before. It was sort of like the power I used to raise souls, but there was something different about it. Something stronger. Something that felt almost wrong. Yet, I couldn’t stop it. Wrong felt right.

I felt Chase’s fingers on my other foot now too, and the power welling up inside me doubled. I didn’t know what was happening. Only that I didn’t want it to end.

“Jodi?” Alex’s weight shifted under me. “Are you okay?”

I couldn’t answer. Couldn’t open my eyes. I was lost in the power. Lost in Chase’s touch. The energy in my body was overwhelming.

“Leticia?” Randy said. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s choking,” Alex said. He sat up, and my head fell onto the pillow. “And something’s wrong with Jodi, too. She isn’t moving.”

I heard Leticia gasping, and suddenly the feeling in my feet stopped. The power slowly drained from my body, leaving me feeling like I had pins and needles all over.

Something fell to the floor with a thud just as I managed to open my eyes. I sat up, feeling wobbly all over.

Randy reached for Leticia’s body, resting in a heap on the floor. “I think she’s dead!”

Chapter 6

I tried to get up, but I collapsed back on the bed. My head was spinning, and sweat dripped down my forehead. Alex wiped my face.

“Oh, God, Jodi, you’re burning up.”

“What about Leticia?” Randy asked, panic in his voice.

“Check her pulse,” Chase said.

I was vaguely aware of Randy checking on Leticia. “I can’t feel anything! Jodi, do something. You’re the only one who can raise an Ophi.”

Alex shook his head. “Look at her. She’s sick or something. I don’t think she’s strong enough to try raising anyone.”

“So, what, we let Leticia die?”

“She’s already dead,” Chase said. The coldness in his tone brought me to attention.

“But why?” I croaked.

“Shh, don’t try to talk. I’m going to get you some water, okay?” Alex kissed my head and headed for the bathroom.

“We have to do something!” Randy insisted.

“Jodi.” Chase slid into Alex’s spot. “I can help you. Mason said Ophi can combine their powers to make them stronger. It’s dangerous, but it’s possible. I’d guess, with you being the Chosen One, you have a better chance than anyone at figuring it out. Let me help you raise Leticia. Before her soul leaves her body.”

Combining powers. Victoria had told me that the Ophi had had to combine their powers to raise Medusa’s soul and put it in the statue. Many of them had died in the process. This was more than a little risky, but I had to try for Leticia’s sake. I glanced toward the bathroom. “Okay, but we have to hurry. Alex won’t let me try this without knowing what’s wrong with me.”

Chase scooped me into his arms and carried me to the floor near Leticia. He held my hand, and we touched Leticia’s forehead. I didn’t normally need blood to raise things anymore. Other Ophi did, but since I’d drunk Medusa’s blood I no longer had to bleed on the body of the person I was raising. Chase didn’t know that though. He took a needle from the sewing kit on my dresser and poked both our fingers. Drops of blood dotted Leticia’s forehead.

“Ready?” Chase asked.

I nodded and willed my blood to mix. I felt it working, and Chase was right about combining powers. I could feel his blood flowing through the veins in his hand. I focused all my strength on Leticia’s soul. Sweat poured down my cheeks, and I started shaking. Still, I concentrated on bringing Leticia back. Her soul was still in her body, so I only had to wake it. “Breathe,” I commanded. There was a sudden intake of air as Leticia’s eyes and mouth opened. She was alive.

“What are you doing?” Alex yelled. I could barely see. My vision was cloudy. He rushed to me and pulled me away from Chase. “Why did you let her do that?” He buried my face in his shirt.

“Alex, calm down,” Randy said. “They brought Leticia back. They saved her.”

“And it nearly killed Jodi.” Alex’s chest heaved, and he let go of me. I pulled back and saw his shirt was covered in blood.

“What happened to you?” I asked.

“It’s not my blood.” He wiped my cheek with his thumb and showed it to me. It was covered in a deep red liquid. “It’s yours.”

I brought my hands to my eyes. Blood was pouring out of them. I’d gotten headaches and nosebleeds from using my powers, but never anything like this. At least not from raising souls. My eyes had bled after I drank Medusa’s blood, though. I turned to Chase, and he looked as horrified as I was.

“Jodi, I had no idea combining our powers would do this.”

“It didn’t do anything to you,” Alex snarled.

Chase shook his head. “You have to believe me. I didn’t know. I was only trying to help Leticia.”

Leticia sat up and gasped. “Jodi? Are you okay?”

I was burning up from the power inside me. My blood wouldn’t stop boiling. “It’s too much. It’s trying to find a way out.”

“What is?” Alex asked.

“My blood. There’s too much power in it.” My body shook, jolting with every surge of power running through my veins.

“Alex, we should take her to Arianna and Tony,” Randy said. “They might be able to help her and explain what happened.

“No,” I said. “Take me to Medusa. She’ll know.”

Alex carried me downstairs and held me up while I joined hands with Medusa. The second the connection was made, I started to feel better, and before long I was standing on my own. Medusa’s spirit appeared in my mind like usual.

“My child, what’s happened? Who did this to you?”