Where You Go ― Jason Grace

xviii. ghost girl vs. ghost goddess

"Melinoe," Hazel whispered. 

Maren's face flickered into Ophelia's mother's. "Yes," the goddess said in her mother's voice. Ophelia choked back a sob at the sound—it had been so long since she'd heard her mother's voice, she'd forgotten how it sounded. "Hello, little sister." 

"Why are you blocking our way?" Hazel demanded. "We're here to close the Doors of Death. You have to let us through!" 

"Why would I ever want the Doors to close?" Melinoe asked mockingly. "Without Thanatos to patrol the borders between life and death, my children can wander the earth freely, terrifying everything in their sights. Gaea has promised that my spirits will enjoy the bounty of the earth when she destroys the Olympians—they will replace the pathetic mortals after she kills you all." 

"But she'll kill Pluto and Prosperina—your parents! How can you be okay with that?" Hazel demanded.

Melinoe laughed. "Oh, you mortals are so adorable with your loyalties. My father stands by as Hecate claims the world of ghosts for herself. My mother doesn't lift a finger to stop her old friend. When the old gods are gone, I will be the queen of the Underworld. The dead will be mine to command—not just my pretty little spirits. All of the dead will call me mistress." 

Ophelia drew her Stygian Iron sword. "Not if I can help it," she growled. 

"Such bravado!" Melinoe's face flickered back into Maren's. "I will enjoy watching my children tear you apart." 

"Leo, Hazel, stay behind me," Ophelia ordered. "This is my fight." 

"But Phee—" Leo protested. 

"I mean it, Leo," she said. "I've got this." 

Melinoe laughed with delight. "Let us see how your words stand against my soldiers!" 

Two spirits surged forward, weapons as translucent as they were appearing in their hands. Ophelia almost thought the blades would just pass through her, but she should have known better—her curse allowed ghosts to touch her, even when they weren't manifested. 

The same logic applied to their weapons. 

The first strike sliced her bicep. She spun out of the way of the second one, raising her sword and parrying a third strike from the first spirit. With practiced ease, she disarmed the ghost and passed her sword through the shimmering form. The ghost evaporated, wisps of something like fog seeping into the metal of her new blade. 

"Stygian iron," Melinoe hissed. "Cute. It doesn't matter—these ghosts are the spirits of some of Greece's greatest warriors. You cannot beat them." 

Ophelia parried another blow, kicking the spirit back and swinging at another as it advanced. She saw Leo and Hazel in her peripheral, Leo's hand lit up in flames and Hazel's sword out, but neither weapon would be any use against the spirits. Fortunately, the ghosts paid Ophelia's friends no mind. 

Unfortunately, that meant all their focus was on killing Ophelia. 

She'd fought multiple opponents before. During War Games at Camp Jupiter, and even during training at Camp Half-Blood, she liked to challenge herself. She could hold her own against a few opponents, but there were over three dozen ghosts around her, and they had as much experience fighting as she did, if not more. 

Melinoe was right. Ophelia couldn't beat all of them. Melinoe's presence gave them strength, more than Ophelia's could. Melinoe was a goddess—her spirit was stronger than Ophelia's, and so was her control over the ghosts that followed her orders. 

Ophelia narrowly missed a sword slicing at her throat, managing to regain her balance and stab through her opponent's chest. But in her momentary distraction, she missed the ghost to her left.