Frostbite (#4 Destroyers Series) Read online

  FROSTBITE

  Book 4 of the Destroyers Series

  By

  Holly A. Hook

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Holly A. Hook

  NOOK EDITION

  Frostbite

  Copyright 2012 Holly A. Hook

  Cover design by Robin Ludwig Design Inc., http://www.gobookcoverdesign.com

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  FROSTBITE

  * * * * *

  Chapter One

  "No."

  This was the evidence Sophia had been dreading for weeks, finally played into her hands.

  Her hands tightened around the edges of Shane's laptop as his video played in front of her. A sad, blue glow filled the space under the bleachers as shadows grew long around her. Rain beat down on the ceiling above, followed by a crack of thunder. There was no other sound. The janitor had long since left the gym, leaving the backpacks of the Film and Media Club forgotten in here.

  Seagulls cackled out of the laptop's speakers as waves ate away at the beach onscreen. It seemed innocent enough, but Shane's footage told another story, one she had been hoping was only her imagination.

  Her boyfriend had been spending his time stalking someone else.

  Onscreen, the ocean grabbed for the feet of a girl in a pink hoodie and a middle-aged man. Both of them stood, their backs turned, facing down the expanse of water. The guy wore a baseball cap, hiding his hair from view. The girl--his daughter?--kept all of her hair tucked inside her hood. It was a pair of people who didn't want to be noticed, oblivious that Shane's camera was focused on them both.

  The camera trembled, catching the green blur of a leaf for a few seconds as it struggled to focus on the girl.

  Sophia paused the video and glanced at the basketball court to make sure the Film and Media Club hadn’t returned from outside. They hadn't. The gym outside the bleachers was barren, stale, lonely. Desolate. The soccer game wouldn't finish until six, and the coach wouldn't want them to miss catching any important plays even in this terrible weather. Sophia wanted to put the laptop back on top of Shane's pack and leave. It just wasn't cool to snoop in other peoples' stuff. This made her feel about as clean as a locker room floor.

  But Shane hadn’t even called her much in the past few weeks. He'd even stood her up at the bowling alley yesterday, something he'd never done before. Something was up, and it was this.

  The two white pause lines on the monitor grew brighter and brighter in her vision until she could close her eyes and see their afterimages.

  If she didn't look now, there wouldn't be another opportunity until the basketball game next Friday. The video might be gone by then or transferred into another folder. This had to happen now. Sophia could always feel slimy about this later if she was wrong.

  Maybe this is just for his club. She turned the volume most of the way down on the laptop in case the janitor came back through and heard her under here. Maybe. Possibly. Her inner voice sounded like a hopeful kid asking to get a motorcycle for Christmas.

  A chill swept through her body, covering her skin and filling her veins. It soaked down to Sophia's bones, filling her marrow with the Arctic.

  No, she pleaded. It was coming again. The cold was always the signal for the other voice inside of her. The one she couldn't control. The one that wasn't hers.

  The words of a much older woman reverberated through her from somewhere deep inside a frigid void. On his personal computer, Sophia? You know where this is leading.

  She hated that old, wise voice, but it was right. Shane transferred all his Club videos to the computer lab upstairs as soon as he'd finished filming. She'd dated him long enough to know. This definitely wasn't for school.

  The cold retreated a bit, leaving her toes and fingers warm, but it lingered on the edge of her senses, ready to come rushing back at any second. Sophia couldn't wait for it. She needed to see this on her own, without the Other interfering.

  With a hammering heart and a shaking hand, she set the video to Play again.

  Green focused in and out in front of the lens. Shane was hiding in the bushes. His victim continued to stare at the ocean. The girl turned and said something to the man, but Sophia couldn't hear it. The camera zoomed in closer, blurring and focusing again on the other girl.

  The other girl.

  Pain rose in Sophia's chest, squeezing her heart and making a lump form in her windpipe. She gripped the gold chain Shane had given her last September, for their one-year anniversary. It felt thinner than usual, almost nonexistent in her hand as the scene continued to unfold on the screen.

  The mystery girl held up her hand, palm facing the ocean.

  Something else was happening onscreen. Something she had never expected. The tightness fled from Sophia's chest as she watched, transfixed, wanting more than anything to shut the laptop and run away, but her legs refused to rise from the floor.

  The ocean, calm a second ago, turned into a frothing mess.

  Waves lapped up and down in front of the two figures, rising, churning, almost as if they were responding to the girl's command. A freak wind, it had to be. Just a freak wind. Maybe.

  Another cold rush filled her being and the wise old voice returned. No. Look.

  The water toiled up and down with more energy as if a sea monster were trying to rise from its depths. It was impossible. The girl's clothes weren't ruffling and neither were the man's, so there couldn't be any wind. And yet the water churned higher and higher as the girl raised her palm towards the sky. It was the most surreal scene Sophia had seen.

  The girl dropped her hand to her side, and the ocean fell back into place, flattening at her feet and reflecting the clouds again. Sophia let her breath rush out. This had to be an edited video of some sort. A hoax that Shane was planning. Maybe be really hadn't been stalking some other girl. The thought didn't do much to slow Sophia's heartbeat. Her eyes stayed locked on the screen.

  The camera zoomed closer to the back of the girl's head, and a twig snapped somewhere nearby.

  The girl whirled around to face the noise, to where Shane was hiding.

  Sophia held down a yell. She hadn't expected this.

  The girl squeaked, gaze locked on the camera. The color of her eyes spun around her pupils, gray and deep like the core of an angry tornado.

  Shane leapt back. The camera tilted as he turned. Leaves whipped against the lens as the view bobbed. The screen rippled with static for a second, leaving black in its place. The recording had ended.

  Sophia sat there on the floor of the gym. Seemingly minutes went past before she could breathe again. She wasn't sure what shocked her more: the eyes filled with swirling storm clouds or the fact that the girl in Shane's video was her best friend, Callie.

  * * * * *

  She found him by the corner of the Science wing and the Math wing, hanging with his Club buddies by the drink machines. Shane laughed at someone's joke and shoved his glasses farther up on his nose.

  "Shane
."

  Sophia hoped that her voice wasn't shaking. Unfortunately, it was. What was bothering her more? That Shane had been spending his time stalking Callie or that Callie could seemingly command ocean waves and sometimes had raging storm clouds in her eyes?

  That her best friend just might be a freak, too, like her?

  She really wished Callie hadn't skipped band practice today. Even after that footage, talking to her would be better than confronting Shane. Was she onto the fact that Shane was practically stalking her?

  Maybe.

  "Shane," she repeated.

  Shane turned away from the huddle and faced her. He seemed to have detected that something was off. His smile crinkled a bit at the corners, forced. His eyes shined with tension behind his glasses. For a second, she felt that there was a line of nerves linking them both, growing shorter and shorter, pulling them together for the explosion that was sure to follow.

  Outside, the rain beat down harder. Maybe this confrontation wasn't a good idea. Things could happen…

  But Sophia backed away, waving him around the corner and away from the protective huddle of his friends. There was no stopping the argument now. It had to happen sooner or later, and she couldn't have Callie do this one for her. It was time to hope for the best.

  Shane leaned down, planting a quick kiss on her lips. It was plastic. False. Nervous, the way she felt inside. Sophia pulled away, shaking her head. The hurt welled up again, along with a new wave of chills inside of her.

  Let me take over, the voice said.

  "No," she managed, at the presence and Shane both.

  Maybe confronting him without Callie had been a mistake after all.

  "Huh?" Shane stared down at her, his eyes softening at first. Then, they narrowed as he got it.

  "You know what." Sophia could barely get out the words. "Just admit it, Shane."

  "Admit what?" There was a faint tremor in his voice now. He looked back to his friends, but she'd dragged him away far enough for them to be hidden on the other side of the corner. One of them laughed, a careless sound that was in another dimension.

  She didn't want Shane to realize she'd been snooping around in his laptop, even if she had had a legitimate reason. It was back in its leather case, under the first row of bleachers where he thought no one knew about it.

  "Why you haven't been returning my texts." The hurt squeezed itself up through her chest as she spoke, and she had to push her words through it like the last toothpaste in a tube. "Why I haven't seen you as much after school. You've been busy congregating near the band room all that time." Where Callie practices, but she didn't let that slip.

  Shane paled. "Sophia, it's not what you think." He said nothing about the video. So he was still hoping to keep her in the dark about his new hobby.

  But was he pale because he was caught, or because Callie really did have eyes that turned to storm clouds? Even if Callie had been keeping some kind of secret, she didn't deserve to be stalked. If her best friend needed to hide something weird about herself, Sophia understood.

  Understood all too well.

  Sophia stared hard at him, unable to move. The cold inside her was creeping through her veins again, in rivulets at first, then in streams. The voice of the Other filled her being, so strong now that it seemed to shake her bones.

  Let me.

  No. She couldn't let it happen again. Not here. Not in front of Shane or anyone else.

  But it was coming. The wave of slush made its advance inside, ready to explode from the borders of her body. There was no going back now. Control had already slipped away. The air around her dropped at least ten degrees, sending a cool rush over her skin that Shane would feel in seconds if she didn't move.

  "I…I…" Shane continued, fumbling for an excuse.

  Sophia turned and ran.

  He called her name and gave chase, unable to hide the desperation in his voice. His footfalls sounded deafening in her ears as they crashed on the floor behind her. However he felt, she was worse. If she didn't at least get out of the building--

  "Sophia! Why are you jumping to weird conclusions?" There was anger now, but she barely heard. "Just think about this, okay?"

  "Go back!" she shouted without a glance behind. There was no time for that. The frigid wave was exploding over her skin as the exit doors drew nearer. She would have to be outside when it released. Otherwise--

  "Sophia!" he called again.

  --Shane could freeze to death if it happened in closed quarters like this.

  She pumped her legs, glad that these attacks never slowed her down. Shane's footfalls quickened as he used his six foot frame to catch up with her. And he would. Sophia was no athlete. The chances of her outrunning him were as slim as salvaging their relationship.

  Sophia struck the double doors, praying that Shane wouldn't see the frost forming on the glass. She let them swing shut behind as the downpour embraced her. The nearby intersection sounded louder than usual as rush-hour traffic crowded to get through.

  The doors crashed open again as Shane burst through.

  At the same time, the North Pole itself roared out of her.

  Sophia stood, paralyzed, as her breath swirled through the air and the cold bit at the outsides of her ears. The grass in the schoolyard stiffened and glistened in a circular shockwave of frost that raced out, covering the ground in all directions. It was a scene that didn't belong here in coastal North Carolina. A scene she could never explain away.

  Behind her, Shane cursed. “Sophia? What are you doing?” In a split second, she could imagine his look: wide-eyed, jaw falling open like it must have when he'd seen Callie's swirling eyes and the ocean bobbing at her command.

  But she didn't turn to watch him. The last of the frigid cold inside her drained as the circle of frost zipped outwards, covering the grass in a thin layer of silvery gray.

  It was racing for the intersection as the rain continued to pour down.

  No.

  She didn't dare scream it out loud. Couldn't. Sophia sucked in a breath, trying to will the frost back inside of her and back into that other presence, whatever it was. But it never worked. Once the frost had been released, there was no pulling it back.

  The wave of winter reached the edge of the school's lawn. It bounced over the curb and raced straight into the intersection of Grounds and Main as the downpour continued to beat down on the puddles that had already formed there.

  An invisible boa constrictor wrapped around Sophia's throat.

  “Sophia?” Shane had reached her, wrapping his arms around himself in the cold. He stared at her with a new expression, bottom lip trembling, eyes trying to pry inside and see the shocking truth that had been sitting in front of him for a whole year.

  "Um, Sophia? Are you listening to me?"

  The signal on the Grounds side of the intersection went red.

  Cars slowed. A green SUV was first to the red light. It tried to stop, but its tires locked still as it continued to slide past the stop line and straight under the signal. Its horn blasted right before a loud screech and a crash marked the first accident of the icy roads.

  No! she thought again.

  It was only the start. More horns sounded as drivers struggled to stop on the ice. A car spun and hit the stop sign with a thump, bending it out of place. Another crashed into the side of a truck. Glass shattered. Metal buckled. The entire street seemed to have turned into a bumper car ride, with thump after thump after thump. Sophia turned away, barely aware that her stomach was threatening to heave up the macaroni and mashed potatoes she'd had for lunch.

  But Shane was still there, staring at the mess on the street. He turned to face her as she started to run back inside.

  Sophia didn't get away fast enough to miss seeing his face this time.

  He was seeing her for what she really was for the first time--and he didn't like what he'd found at all.

  Chapter Two

  Leslie tried to ignore the nervous rumbling in her stomach as t
he rental car rode over a huge pothole that she'd forgotten to warn Mel about. Flint was filled with them, as their driver was finding out.

  Mel swore as he rose and fell back into his seat. She got a glimpse of his wrinkles, tight as he tried to glance back at the crater they'd run over. "Don't they fix the roads around here?"

  "Only where they don't need it," Janelle said. Next to her, her best friend forced a smile. She couldn't hide the nerves, though. For one thing, Janelle was clawing at her pant legs, a sure sign that she was less than calm. "I forgot how bad it was here since my dad and I moved."

  "You're not missing much," Leslie said. But her mind was elsewhere: on the fact that they had only three more streets until they reached her house--and her mother. Already, they were passing the corner market, Hal's, where her mother usually made her pick up groceries on Saturday mornings. In less than fifteen minutes, she and Janelle would have to break the truth to her.

  Mel turned, trying to dodge an area where the road had been patched with ugly spots of black and gray. The car bounced again, making Leslie jump in her seat this time. Janelle shot her a reassuring glance, and it helped calm her stomach a little.

  At least they were going to reveal the truth together.

  Leslie couldn't do it alone. She knew it. It had actually been Janelle's idea to come along for moral support and to help convince Leslie's mom that all of this was real. Her best friend might still be feeling guilty for not having much contact with her for the past several months, but regardless of the reason, Leslie was glad to have her here.

  The car started to crawl down her street as Janelle pointed out to Mel where to go. Leslie vanished farther inside herself as she wished Paul had come along, but everyone, including him, knew it wasn't a good idea. Yes, Mom, this is my new boyfriend, Paul. He's an Outbreaker, which means he leaves his body during thunderstorms and turns into a tornado. He can't control it, though, and he doesn't want to hurt people. Oh, yeah--and he would have killed thousands of people in Oklahoma City by mistake if I hadn't made him give me his breath and turn me into an Outbreaker, too. It was the only way to drain his powers enough to stop his Outbreaks for a few months. Please don't be too hard on him. She'd rehearsed the speech in her head millions of times since they'd left Mobley, and millions times more since they'd moved to the campground a few miles outside of Flint. It wasn't going to go well, no matter how she said it.