“Is the place I’m going bad? Did I do something wrong to end up here?”

I stopped walking and hugged her tightly. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re a good person. I’m going to make this right.” I still wasn’t sure how, but I wasn’t going to stop until she was out of this place. Maybe Amber’s time really had come, but Melodie’s hadn’t. I’d find a way to fix this.

Her tears wet my shoulder, but I let her cry. She had every right to be upset, and I wasn’t going to rush her off to the Fields of Asphodel where she’d forget who she was. When she finally pulled away and wiped her eyes, she gave me a questioning look.

“Why did you steal my car that day at the park? You were acting so strange. Not at all like yourself.”

“I know. A lot’s happened. I’ve changed. I’m not the same person anymore. I didn’t mean to steal your car, but you wouldn’t keep away from me, and I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“You don’t think stealing my car and abandoning me in the park without a cell phone hurt me?”

“I know it did, and I’m so sorry. But believe me, Mel, I saved your life that day. I can’t explain how, so I need you to just take my word for it. I love you. You’re my best friend, and I did what I needed to do to protect you.” I look down at my shoes. “I’d do it again if I had to.”

“Was I supposed to die sooner or something? Did you take my car so I couldn’t get into a car accident? Are you psychic?” She wasn’t going to stop questioning me.

“Remember I said I found my dad?”

She nodded.

“Well, I found out he’s not quite…” I took a deep breath, and on the exhale, I blurted out, “…human.”

Her head jerked back like someone punched her in the jaw. “Is this a joke?”

“Look where we are. Do you really think I’d joke at a time like this?”

She sighed. “Okay, explain.”

“My dad is something called an Ophi. It’s a type of necromancer descended from Medusa and born under the thirteenth sign of the zodiac.”

Her eyes widened. “Do you mean what Mr. Quimby was teaching us about?”

“Yes! Tony—I mean, Mr. Quimby is an Ophi, too. And so am I.”

“Whoa.” She raised her hands between us. “You’re telling me you’re a necromancer?”

I nodded. “Remember Mr. Quimby taught us about the blood on the left side of Medusa’s body being poisonous? Well, my blood is poisonous to humans. That’s why I left you in the park. I was afraid I’d hurt you.” My body shook as I breathed. I had to tell Melodie the truth about Matt. I had to tell her I killed the guy she was in love with when he kissed me.

“This is crazy, you know that.” She said it as a statement, not a question.

“There’s more. When I found out what I am, I was planning to break up with Matt. I didn’t want to risk hurting him. Only when we went outside—”

“The day he died?” Her face contorted, twisting in an expression of sheer horror. “You? You killed Matt?”

“Mel, I’m so sorry. He kissed me, and before I could stop him…it was too late. I tried to use the part of my powers that can raise the dead, but I didn’t know what I was doing. Please, believe me. I never meant to hurt him.” I reached for her, but she backed away.

“Don’t touch me.” She looked at my hands like they were radioactive waste.

“I can’t hurt you here.”

“Apparently, you can.” She was right. I’d broken her heart…again. First, I’d stolen the guy she was in love with, and then I’d killed him.

“Mel—”

“Is he here? Will I see him?”

“No.” The word was barely a whisper. “I raised his soul. He deserved another chance at life.”

“How? If you couldn’t do it before, how did you do it now?”

“I’m more powerful now. I can do a lot of things. I even raised half of my own soul. The human half.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re with him now, aren’t you? The human you, I mean. My God! You killed him, and he still wants to be with you! Unbelievable!”

“It’s not like that. I’m with Alex.” Only I’d been making out with Matt when my consciousness was pulled back into my Ophi soul.

“Alex? Is he that guy you ran off with?”

“Yes. He’s here. We’re being punished by Hades.”

“Good.” That word, and her look of pure hatred, barreled into me.

“Mel.”

“I’m sorry, Jodi, but look what you’ve done. You killed Matt. You killed me.”

“I didn’t kill you. Hades did.”

“To get back at you. That’s what you told those freaky hooded guys. Same difference.” She crossed her arms. “I can’t believe I was ever friends with you.”

Hades knew this would happen. He knew Melodie would hate me for everything I’d done. For what I’d become. Deep down, she must have always resented me, even when we were friends. She’d wanted Matt, but he turned her down because he was into me. Even though it wasn’t my fault, she held it against me, and I couldn’t really blame her. I hadn’t even noticed she had feelings for Matt until I was about to break up with him. What kind of friend was I?

“I don’t know what to say to make you understand. I didn’t ask for any of this to happen. I was happy with you and Matt and my mom. Things were just about perfect. This got sprung on me.”

“Am I supposed to hug you and tell you it’s okay?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Because it’s not okay. Even if you don’t mean to kill someone, they’re still dead. You can’t undo it.”

“Yes, I can. I’m a necromancer. I brought Matt back. He looks different now because he’s in a different body. But he’s okay. He saw his mom.”

“His sister is dead. Do you know that? Does he?”

“Yes.” I lowered my eyes.

“Are you responsible for her death, too?”

“No!” My God, she thought I was a monster.

“Sorry, but I can’t believe that. Everyone around you is dead or some freaky undead creation of yours.” Her face went stone cold. “You deserve whatever punishment Hades is giving you. You deserve to rot in Hell!”

Chapter 24

My throat constricted, squeezing the air out of me. My best friend hated me. Thought I was some killer or psycho necromancer. Nothing I said was going to change her mind. Maybe she was right. Maybe I did deserve what I was getting.

“I’ll take you to the Fields of Asphodel.” I didn’t look at her. I just started walking again, hoping she’d follow. If she didn’t, Chase or even Hades might show up, and they’d make her pay for being disobedient. Even if she hated me, Melodie didn’t deserve any of this. She wasn’t supposed to die yet. This was my fault. I glanced behind me to make sure she was following. She kept her eyes glued to the ground, and I thought I saw a tear drip down her cheek. Was she crying because she knew she wasn’t supposed to be here? Was she scared? Or did she feel bad about the way things between us were ending?

Alex’s figure came into view, and his face lit up when he saw me. I wondered if he always reacted to me this way. When I was focused on my human soul, I couldn’t tell what was happening here. How many times had I disappointed Alex by coming up to him without really being here? It seemed like I was disappointing everyone these days.

Arianna reached for Melodie’s hand, not paying much attention to me, probably because she didn’t know I was fully here. “Thanks, Ari.”

She did a double take before throwing her arms around me. “It’s so good to see you. Are you okay? Is everything going all right up there?” She looked up, not that we could see anything but black sky.

“I’m fine. Things are going slowly, but I’m meeting Mason again soon.” How soon? How long had I been down here? “I need to get back there so I don’t miss our appointment.”

“Can you stay for a minute?” Alex asked.

Arianna released her grip on me and put her arm around Melodie. “Come, dear. I’ll show you where you’re supposed to be.”

“That’s just it, Ari. She shouldn’t be here.” I turned to Alex. “Do you remember Melodie?”

He nodded. “Hades.” The word said it all. Alex knew he’d taken Melodie.