Touch of Death(35)

We walked back to the grave we'd been standing by before. Alex clapped his hands together. Was that an Ophi thing? Because people here sure liked clapping their hands together. "All right. You have to concentrate. This is serious stuff you're about to get into." His face was stone cold, not at all like it had been a few minutes ago. He definitely wasn't the same guy who'd tried to kiss me. "You have to learn how to control your power. Otherwise, you'll end up raising the dead by accident again. That's not exactly working out for you, is it?"

I shivered, a combination of his mood change and the truth in his words. "Definitely not."

"Good." He walked behind the headstone and placed his hands on it. "Now, when you raise the dead from a grave like this, you don't have to dig them up. You can simply call to them by dripping a little of your blood on the ground covering their grave. Our blood is powerful. If you concentrate, it will find your target. But you have to concentrate. That's the key."

"Do I picture a dead body in my head?"

"No. Unless you know what the person looked like when they were alive, that's a very bad idea." He paused for a moment, like he was trying to figure out the best way to explain it. "Okay, try this. Close your eyes and tell your blood to find the body beneath the dirt. Your blood is part of you. You'll be able to control it. And when it finds the body, you'll know it." He paused again, but this time he was making sure I was following.

"Got it," I said. "Should we try that part first and then worry about controlling the body?"

"No. You need to have a clear reason for summoning the body. It's going to want an explanation. If it doesn't have a purpose when it rises, it'll go crazy. The souls know they aren't supposed to be back. They get stir crazy."

"Like Matt did. He was so confused and out of control. He was acting without knowing what he was doing."

"Exactly. You don't want to put yourself through that again, so let's come up with an easy task for the soul." He looked around, and his eyes fell on the former servant's grave. "I've got it. You can tell the body that he will be serving the Ophi who live in the house. He'll cook, clean, and answer to the Ophi who live there. That will work, and Victoria will be happy to have a replacement for the servant she lost."

I hated making another soul become a slave to the Ophi, but Alex had a point. I was the one who'd returned the soul to wherever it was before the Ophi had shoved it back into its body, and it would give this soul a purpose. "All right. But I'm not making any more servants after that. If I have to keep practicing raising the dead, I'll release the souls after I'm finished."

Alex shrugged. "Fair enough." He smiled and tapped on the headstone. "Shall we give it a try?"

I closed my eyes and took a long, deep breath. I wasn't sure I was ready, but I had to start sometime. I opened my eyes again, and Alex was at my side with his knife in his hand. "Whoa!" I jumped. "Don't do that. You scared me."

He laughed. "Sorry, but you need a drop of your blood, and remember, I'm the trusty Scout who is always prepared."

"Yeah, well, I hate to break it to you, but the last thing a girl wants to see when she opens her eyes is a knife in the hands of the guy she-" I caught myself in time.

Alex cocked his head to the side and smirked. "Go on. The guy she … "

"She's training with." I took the knife from his hand and walked to the head of the grave. I needed to get moving before he had time to say anything else. I pricked my right middle finger and held it above the grave. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to speak anything out loud or just think the words, but I figured it couldn't hurt to say them. "Find the body that rests beneath the surface of the earth," I told my blood. A few drops fell onto the ground. I closed my eyes and almost gasped when an image popped into my head. I could see the drops of blood seep below the grass and dirt. They found a casket and penetrated the wood as if it was no more solid than water. They found their target, absorbing into the body, which was little more than bones.

In my mind, I heard shrieks and screams. I saw the soul soaring through the air and into the ground where it came to rest in its body. The soul fought against my blood, not wanting to be back, but the power of my blood was too strong. With the soul in place, flesh began to re-form over the bones. My cheeks felt wet and warm against the slight breeze in the air. Tears were the only outward sign of the agony I felt inside. I was torturing this soul. It was angry and in pain. The body moved slightly, and then its fists started pounding on the coffin. I didn't want to see anymore. I couldn't take it.                       
       
           



       

"No!" I dropped to my knees and started to claw at the ground, ripping handfuls of grass and dirt.

"Jodi!" Alex wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me up. He stepped back, away from the grave. "Stop! Calm down. Tell me what's wrong."

I doubled over, hysterical. "I saw everything. That poor soul was ripped out of the afterlife. It was crying out in pain, and it was terrified when it realized it was back in its body. Back in its grave." I squeezed his arms for comfort. "Oh, God, Alex, it's punching its way through the casket. I can see it all."

"Open your eyes, Jodi." He turned me around to face him and put both hands on the sides of my face. "Look at me. Jodi, look at me!"

I opened my eyes, but I saw double. I could see Alex in front of me, but I could also see the body. Its knuckles were cut up, skin dangling from the bones. It was halfway through the casket and starting to push through the dirt. "I still see it. Please, make it go away. Make it stop. Please!"

He pulled me into his chest and rubbed the back of my head. "Shhh, it's okay. It's okay."

"How do you deal with this? How can you all raise the dead after seeing what the soul has to go through?" I cried into his chest.

"We don't see it."

I pulled away enough to look at him. "What?"

"We don't see it. We know when our blood reaches the body. We get this feeling, but we don't see any of it happening. It must be another one of your powers we don't have." By the way his forehead wrinkled, I knew he was confused by what was happening. This was new territory for the Ophi. They'd never met anyone like me before. I was the one and only Chosen One.

"You're lucky. Believe me, you wouldn't do this if you saw what I'm seeing now." I turned around to face the grave. "He's here," I said a split second before his fingers pierced the surface. I rushed over to him and reached out my hand. I had to help him. He was suffering so much. I'd never felt such fear and anger at one time.

"Jodi, no! What are you doing?"

"I have to help him. He's in pain, Alex. This is so hard on him."

"You can actually feel what he feels?"

"Yes, and it's killing both of us. Please, help me."

Alex grabbed the other hand and helped me pull the body out of the ground. We had to be careful not to damage him. The second he was free-from the ground, anyway, because he had no will of his own anymore-his eyes found me. The hatred in his expression was more than I could take.

"You need to tell him what to do, Jodi. Quickly!"

I shook my head. "I can't."

"You'll make this harder on him if you don't. The other servants-the ones in our house-they aren't suffering. Don't let him suffer."

I pulled myself together the best I could and looked the man in the eyes. "You're going to come back to the house with us. You'll live there and help the people there." I wanted to make it sound pleasant for him. Like he'd be part of a family. Maybe if I could make him think that, this all wouldn't be so bad. "You'll cook and help with the chores. Do you understand?"

"You don't have to ask him, Jodi. He'll obey you."

Alex didn't get it. "I don't care. I want him to understand. He's a soul, not an empty body or plaything. He has a right to know what's going on and to feel like he's part of this world."

Alex put his hands up defensively. "He's your soul. You call the shots."

"Don't call him that. He's his own soul."

Alex stepped closer to me and whispered, "Watch what you say. If you go putting ideas in his head, like saying he's his own soul, he may not obey anyone. A rogue living dead person could be very dangerous for all of us."

Okay, I'd try to avoid giving him too much freedom. I'd find a happy medium. "Please, follow us into the house, and we'll introduce you to the others like you. You'll feel at home with them." He stood there, staring at me, completely expressionless. At least the hatred was gone.

"He's waiting for you," Alex said. "You told him to follow you. The living dead are very literal. Whatever you tell them to do, they will do exactly that, so choose your words carefully."

"Got it." I turned and started toward the house. Every few feet I glanced behind me to make sure he was still following.

Alex smiled and shook his head. "You don't need to do that. He has his orders."

"I don't like giving orders." I turned back to the guy again. "This way, please." The least I could do was be polite. The other Ophi tended to bark orders at the servants. I didn't want to be like that. There was no reason to be like that.