Touch of Death(27)

       
           



       

Even if I didn't like it and Abby didn't like it, this was my home now. The thought made me miss Mom. What kind of daughter was I that I'd slept so soundly in my new bed while Mom was probably at home crying her eyes out, not getting a minute of sleep? I allowed myself to cry, to let my feelings pour down the shower drain. Then, I made myself a promise that I'd call Mom the second I was back in my room. I'd tell her I was okay. That she didn't need to worry about me because I was safe. I'd leave out any mention of Abby and the walking dead servants. I'd just say I …  I couldn't come up with a single thing to say. She hadn't believed me when I tried to tell her the truth. If I tried again, she'd only get angry. I made up my mind to call her and hang up immediately after I told her I was safe. It would break her heart, but at least she'd know I was alive.

I turned the water off, realizing I'd been in there too long and that Alex was probably waiting in my room with some food. My stomach rumbled at the thought. I dried and got dressed as quickly as I could. Gathering my hair in a ponytail, I went back to the shower for my locket. I reached between the curtain and the shower liner. Not finding it, I pulled the curtain all the way open. The ledge was empty. I looked into the tub, thinking it had fallen when I'd gotten out of the shower. It wasn't there either.

"Where is it?" I panicked. My eyes scanned the bathroom and stopped at the door leading to the hall. "Abby and her stupid key," I said through gritted teeth.





Chapter 18

Part of me wanted to storm into Abby's room and demand she give my locket back. But another part of me knew that wasn't a good idea. For one, the locket might actually belong to Abby. She could've dropped it, and one of the servants-the thought of them still made me shiver-could've picked it up and put it in my dresser drawer by mistake. Still, I had this feeling that the locket was supposed to be mine. But how could I prove it? I had to find a way. And then, I had to steal it back.

I regrouped in front of the bathroom mirror, not wanting Alex to know something was wrong. He'd thought I put the locket back where I found it, and I was hoping he'd forgotten all about it by now. I put on my best fake smile and went into my room. Just as I'd thought, Alex was sitting at the desk with a plate of food in front of him.

"I see you like it hot," he said.

"What?" I nearly jumped backward. He pointed to the steam pouring out of the open bathroom door. "Oh, yeah. It's good for relaxing your muscles." I carried my dirty clothes to a wicker hamper in the corner.

"I decided you'd probably had enough mac and cheese for one day, so I got you filet mignon. I hope that's okay."

"That's great. One of my favorites, actually." I didn't mention the reason it was one of my favorite foods was that we rarely ever had it at home. It was way too expensive.

"Good." He stood up. "Here. Sit. Eat."

"What am I, a dog? Here. Sit. Eat. I may be a little shaken up, but I can still handle full sentences."

"Technically, sit and eat are full sentences." I gave him a look, and he let it go. "Well, anyway, I convinced Victoria and Troy to give you some time to adjust. They said you could hang out here and relax until dinner. But after dinner, Victoria wants to introduce you to one of your instructors. I should warn you ‘introduce you' probably means you're going to be hearing a lecture on Ophi history."

"Sounds fun. Exactly how I like to spend my evenings."

"You know, you've become even more sarcastic since you've come into your power."

"Maybe the power of sarcasm is part of the Ophi package. Abby sure seems good at it." I took the plate of food to my bed and started eating. I couldn't remember the last meal I'd had.

Alex sighed. "What did Abigail do now? Turn off the hot water in your shower? No, wait, I saw the amount of steam coming from in there."

"Do you know she has a key to my bathroom? How weird is that?" I chewed another bite, giving Alex a chance to respond, but he didn't. "I can't imagine why she'd need a key to my bathroom."

"She shares a bathroom with another girl, Bristol. Not everyone here has their own bathroom like you do. But Abby found a key a while ago and since this room was unoccupied, she decided to make your bathroom her bathroom."

"Well, I think she should hand over the key since I'm here now."

"Why? Do you have something to hide? A reason you don't want to share a bathroom with Abby?" He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Isn't her charming demeanor enough reason?"

"There's that sarcasm again. Watch it, Jodi, or people might start mistaking you for Abby."

That stung. I dropped my fork on the plate, suddenly not very hungry. Of course, I'd almost devoured the entire filet already. "I'm sorry. It's just that she got under my skin today. I know I shouldn't stoop to her level."

"Did she do something to you?"

"Like what?" He was starting to make me wonder if Abby really was a threat to me.

"Never mind. Forget I asked. Try not to let her get to you. She's mad at the world because her family sent her here. Apparently she wasn't living up to their standards, and they shipped her off. They don't even write or call."

I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her, but I wasn't about to let her get away with stealing my locket when I hadn't done anything to deserve it.

"You want me to show you around? I think I could skip out on training this afternoon to play tour guide to the new girl."

I did want to look around, but I wasn't sure having Alex with me was a good idea. "Does everyone train in the afternoon? And what exactly is training?"

"Yes, we all train. All the kids anyway. Most of the adults are here to help us learn to control our powers better. It's kind of hard to explain what the training actually is without showing you, though. You'll see tomorrow at your first lesson."

"Okay. Well, I think I'll skip the tour for now. Rain check, though. I want to finish unpacking and check in with my mom."

"Whoa, what are you going to say to your mom? You already-"

"Yeah, I know the truth isn't a good idea. Don't worry. I've decided to tell her I'm okay. That's all. Not where I am or who I'm with. Only that I'm okay."

"And what about when she starts throwing questions at you?"

I exhaled long and hard. "I'm going to hang up."

"I don't know, Jodi. I think you should talk to Victoria first. She can help you figure out something to say so you don't have to slam the phone down on your mom. I mean, do you really think you'll be able to hang up on her if she's crying and begging you to come home?"

This was so not what I wanted to hear. I twisted the bedspread in my fingers, and then I remembered how I'd left my bed before going to lunch. "Ugh, those servants made my bed." I was definitely going to have nightmares. That is, if I could even sleep knowing there were a bunch of dead people wandering around the house.

"If you don't mind cleaning up after yourself, I'll tell them they can skip your room from now on."                       
       
           



       

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that."

"It's really not that bad though. They're great at their jobs."

"Believe me, it's nothing personal against them. I just don't think it's right. They shouldn't be here anymore. After you die, your soul's supposed to rest in peace."

"Not all souls." He walked toward the door. "Don't try to figure everything out all at once. There's a learning curve here."

"Hey." There was something I needed to know before he left. "How are you able to control the servants?"

"Eventually I'll be able to control any soul. It's an adult Ophi power. But the servants are under Victoria and Troy's control, and they make them obey us, too." He gave a small wave before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

I waited about thirty seconds before going to the door and peeking into the hallway. It was quiet. I tiptoed to Abby's door and pressed my ear against it. Nothing. I tried the knob, but of course it was locked. She was key girl-I should've assumed she'd use a key on her own door. I went back to my room and grabbed my plate off the bed. Returning my dishes to the kitchen would give me a little bit of a cover if anyone caught me sneaking around downstairs. If Abby's room was off-limits right now, then I wanted to find out more about the "dead today, alive tomorrow" servants. I wondered if there was a way to do it without actually having to see them.

At the bottom of the stairs, I got this weird feeling. Something was pulling me, like my blood was flowing against the right side of my body. I turned to see what it was that my body was trying to tell me. The statue of Medusa stood in the foyer, its back to me. I put my plate down on the stairs and walked over to Medusa. I faced her, taking in her form. In books, Medusa always looked hideous, scary. But other than the wriggly snakes on her head, this Medusa was beautiful.

I smiled at her. If I'd ever doubted that I was Ophi, the connection I felt to Medusa erased that doubt completely. I was drawn to her. The urge to touch her took over again. I reached both my hands out to hers. A surge of power bubbled through my blood. I inhaled, welcoming the boost of energy Medusa was giving me. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to be consumed by the experience. Like last time, Medusa entered my mind. I saw her standing before me. This time she didn't look like my mom. She was beautiful, more beautiful than anyone I'd ever seen. I remembered the myth about Medusa being so beautiful that Athena cursed her.