Absolute Zero: Soldier of Light Chronicles Book 2

by Ireland Gill

  I read the rest of the article as it went on to describe the details of each of the murders and the victims' names. The beat of my heart came to a stop as my eyes scanned over the name: Nora Stormer. The lump in my throat grew bigger, and I felt my eyes filling with tears. The tingling in my nose started, and I looked up at Elka, speechless. Her big, brown eyes gazed into mine.

  “They found him,” I declared with a whisper.

  She nodded slowly, pushing her plate away and folding her hands together on the table. “I thought you should know, even though the police will be contacting you soon.”

  “Th-thank you, Elka,” I choked out. The hurt was brewing in me all over again, an unsettled mass of pain that never went away. I looked down at the article once more, flipping to the next page showing Carter's mug shot. I felt sick to my stomach as I looked at the color photo of my mother's killer; a man in his thirties with a round, shaved head, and dark circles under his dark eyes. That brewing hurt turned to anger, as it always did, and I felt my eyes glaring at his image as my palms clutched to the edges of the paper as if he could feel my wrath. I was glad he was dead. He deserved death. I reveled in the idea that he was going to be with Alysto, tormented in his own hell.

  Just then, a distraction lured our heads to turn and look out the window. The rain was pouring down, pelting heavily against the glass. Soon there was commotion within the restaurant, and the double doors swung open as more people flooded in for shelter, some mumbling profanities and others just gazing at the rain as if it were something they'd never seen before. I looked around at the soaked citizens of Savannah, wondering why the rain that fell was regarded as such a bad thing, wondering why people sought cover from it. It was only rain.

  My attention reverted to Elka, who sat patiently with her hands still folded, looking at me with a half smile. “Kind of off-season for this, isn't it?” she questioned.

  The tubby, gray-haired man in the booth behind her turned and grunted. “Well, it sure as hell ain't supposed to come on like a hurricane,” he said in a raspy, smokers voice.

  Elka contorted her face for a moment, looking out the window, once again in thought. And I did the same. We watched the rain pour down for a few minutes in complete silence. It seemed as though Elka enjoyed it as much as I did. I found comfort in that.

  Finally, the downpour started to settle, and the low mumbles of the people started to quiet as they filed out of the restaurant, carrying on with their interrupted day. Then, as if clarity set upon her, Elka locked her eyes with mine and gave me a stunned expression.

  “Holy. Freaking. Appalachians,” she finally said. “I can't believe it.”

  I froze, looking at her worriedly. “Elka, what's wrong?”

  “We have to go. Like, now.” She grabbed all the bags, then my hand and we went up to pay the bill.

  We ran to the car hurriedly, and I questioned her all the way out to the parking lot. “Elka, please. You're scaring me. What's so urgent? What just happened in there?”

  She slid into the passenger seat and just smiled at me, which gave me a bit of relief. “Just get us home, girlie. Don't you worry about a thing. Nothing to be scared of. We just need Hayden A.S.A.P. because I think I just figured something out.”

  There was no time to turn my head at red lights to ask her more questions as I hit every one of them on the green. Although, I wouldn't have gotten in one word anyway. She kept going on and on about how she “knew she was right about this.” About what, I still had no clue.

  I pulled into the driveway and parked, following Elka into my own house. I had to laugh. It was as if she lived there. We walked briskly through the front door; she, with such urgency and determination, and me, with curiosity, just trying to keep up.

  Hayden was walking from the living room, turning down the jazz music he'd been listening to. Elka had been right; it was Coltrane playing on those speakers. “In a Sentimental Mood,” if I'm not mistaken. I'd recognized it since Joel had played it a few times while he prepped our dinners.

  Elka stopped in the foyer, placing her hands on her hips. “Jeez, Hay-bird, since when did you become such a blockhead?”

  “Huh?” Hayden spun on his heels to face us.

  “Her gift!” Elka flailed her hands in the air. “Are you blind?”

  “We've already established her gift, Elka. It's better known to Evika as her curse, by the way.”

  “Ugh!” Elka grunted. “No, no, no,” she argued in frustration. “I'm talking about an entirely different thing here. I can't believe you haven't even noticed!” She looked back and forth between the two of us. I just stood there, clueless like Hayden. I looked over at him and shrugged.

  She shook her head as if still in disbelief that Hayden wasn't catching on, and looked out the window in deep thought. “Okay. I have an idea,” she said to Hayden. “You always seem to be the one to piss her off, so do something that will piss her off,” she demanded.

  “What the hell do you want me to do?” Hayden was baffled.

  “Jeez!” she muttered in frustration. “It figures that you can rile her up any other time, but can't do it on the spot when I really need you to,” she said. I laughed at her, and Hayden did the same. Elka pursed her lips. “I guess I'll just have to handle this one myself,” she said. The tone in her voice almost indicated her words as a threat. Then she turned to me. “Evika,” she said with a sigh, before a long pause, “I'm so sorry. You'll have to forgive me for what I'm about to do, but it's absolutely necessary.”

  I looked at her curiously and had no time to even formulate a question in my mind before my bottom jaw dropped. Elka wrapped her arms around Hayden's neck and planted her luscious, pink lips on his. My angel's lips! Okay, so they weren't really mine for the taking yet, but still, the nerve! I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. I started to think it was a joke until she wouldn't let him go, then proceeded to lace her fingers through his hair and moan quite audibly.

  Hayden's body became rigid, as if the realization had finally hit him. His hands rose to Elka's arms to peel her away from his face, but she didn't relent. She squeezed his neck tighter and ignored his obvious discomfort. Omigod! Omigod! Omigod! What the hell was wrong with her? Was she out of her God-forsaken mind? What was she trying to prove?

  I felt my blood start to boil and my jaw clench, my fists tightening as I dug my nails into my palms. My eyes narrowed at Elka's perfect angel face like a pair of daggers, and my nostrils flared. All in one, abrupt movement, she pulled away from Hayden and turned to look at me. She stood casually, folding her arms while observing my hateful glare.

  “Yup,” she bobbed her head. “That worked like a charm,” she said with a smug look.

  Hayden stared straight ahead and out the window with a look of shock. What the hell was wrong with him? Did she mesmerize him so much that he was that awestruck? It figured; I'd finally found the one that I'm in love with, and my place in his life gets trumped by a blond angel bombshell.

  “What the hell did you do that for?” I squealed at her.

  Elka smirked at me, then at Hayden. “Now do you see what I'm talking about?” she asked him.

  I glared at her with such intensity, but I was filled with curiosity just the same. What did she do that for? Was she trying to get me to spill my heart out to Hayden right in front of her so she could stomp on it in victory? Or did she mean to cut me so deeply that I'd just crumble before her eyes? I looked at my angel again, starting to deflate as the shock subsided and as millions of questions continued to brew.

  “Evika,” Hayden said distantly, still staring out the window. “Look.”

  I pursed my lips and looked out the window, as I was told. I saw the rain falling hard and plentiful. I heard it hitting the wooden porch heavily, coming down so rapidly, angrily. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed the rain starting up once again, a force that came on so strongly. Then, the realization hit me like a cold stoned brick.

  “Omigod,” I whispered in disbelief.

  Ha
yden finally looked at me, still holding his awestruck expression. “Did....you do that?” he asked me.

  Elka laughed and shook her head. “Of course she did! That's what I'm trying to convey here.” Her laugh trilled throughout the foyer again. She stood shoulder to shoulder with Hayden, looking at me proudly. “She's our little rainmaker.”

  “No.” I shook my head in denial. “That's impossible.”

  “Oh, really?” She raised an eyebrow. “You fell from a nine-story building and died once already, yet you're walking around like a normal human, all in one piece.” She started ticking things off on her fingers. “You've met most all types of creatures of the dark realm and you've even gotten attacked by one. You're a millionaire because your father could predict the future, and you've been hanging out with angels for the past month who've even taken you for some flying lessons. You can also see and speak to the dead, and you're standing there, telling me that this is impossible?” I nodded, still in disbelief. Elka just giggled and shook her head again. “So stubborn, this one. Just like her father.”

  My eyes reverted to Hayden as I watched him approach me slowly. It seemed he was in a bit of a state of shock as well. “Evika,” he raised his hands to my shoulders cautiously and looked into my eyes intensely. “Do you think you can make it stop? Do you feel as if you can control it, the rain?”

  “I.....I don't know. I don't even know how I did it in the first place,” I admitted.

  “Can you try? Just,” he paused for a moment, “clear your mind of everything and concentrate on whatever you are feeling. See if that works.”

  I looked down. What I was feeling was exhaustion from how angry I'd felt just moments before. I then looked at Elka, who was still smiling proudly at her victory. She laughed as she took in my expression. “Trust me, babe. He is not my type,” she assured me. “I swear it was only for the purpose of getting you to do what I thought you could do. Cross my heart,” she said as she drew an X over her chest. “You can stop hating me now, I promise.”

  I half-smiled at her, then glanced back at Hayden, who was biting his bottom lip trying desperately not to smile.

  “What?” I asked defensively.

  “That really bothered you, didn't it?” he whispered to me with a smug look.

  “It only shocked me,” I lied.

  “Yeah, you and me both.” His expression turned serious. “Will you please just concentrate? It's still pouring out there. Do you want me to help you calm down by---”

  “No!” I cut him off immediately. I knew what he was asking. He was offering to use his gift, to sedate me; the drug in his touch that he'd used on me before. I didn't want that. “I mean, I need to try this on my own,” I explained.

  Hayden nodded with understanding.

  I sighed and kept my eyes on his, getting lost in those deep, emerald pools, thinking about how his lips would feel against mine and wishing that I could have been Elka for just those few seconds of bliss. I understood what she'd done and I trusted that it was only to prove a point, to make me see. I saw much more than what was planned though. I realized the passion I had for Hayden was much stronger than what I already knew I felt for him. I felt a fire within me that would rise to any occasion just to claim him as my own. It made me see that I really had more than just love for him, but a yearning to be only his, and him only for me.

  He never took his eyes from mine as his half smile slowly grew into his five-hundred watter. I listened to the sounds around me and heard the rain was already quieter and lighter, coming to a stop. The sun shone through the bay windows, shining its warming rays upon us. The soft skin of my angel's face brightened along with his expression.

  “So this is why it rained so much in Cleveland since you've Crossed,” he declared with a light laugh.

  “A little work, and she can get this down to a science!” Elka said excitedly.

  “But I don't even know how I did that,” I said, gesturing to the window.

  “Well, we sure know what triggers it to start!” Elka guffawed. My face flushed instantly. She flitted over to me and grabbed my hands, lightly bumping Hayden out of the way with her hip. He obliged and moved aside with a laugh under his breath. “Evika, this is fantabulous!” She jumped up and down a few times. “I mean, okay, it completely defies the laws of nature, but still!”

  I looked at her inquisitively. I didn't really see the excitement in it at all. “What's so great about making it rain? If this is my gift, then what's the point? What good is this?” Clearly, I wasn't struck with the same thrill that Elka possessed.

  “What good is it?” she repeated in shock. “Are you kidding me? Rain is an element of nature. And besides, whatever gift is bestowed upon you always has a reas---”

  “A reason,” I cut her off, nodding and rolling my eyes. “Right. There's always a reason.”

  “You seem disappointed,” Hayden chimed in.

  I looked over at him. “Well, it's not like I can see the future or anything cool like that,” I answered, recalling my father's gift.

  “True,” he agreed, “but no other Soldier of Light has ever been granted two gifts, either. That's a huge deal.”

  Two gifts. I was appalled that Hayden was still even considering my ability to see dead peoples' worst sins as a gift.

  Elka sucked air in excitement. “Oh, this is so great!” she squeezed my hands once more before finally letting them go. “Now, we'll just have to practice.”

  “Practice?” I asked in disgust.

  “Of course. I mean, you need to learn how to control this before it gets out of hand,” Elka said matter-of-factly. “Who knows the hysteria you may cause in this town if you're making it rain all of the time. These people would think it's the Apocalypse or something. Just imagine some of the nutjobs out there who are already preparing for a dooms-day.” Hayden laughed at her. “What, Hay-bird?” She turned and snarled. “You think I'm kidding?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I just find this rather entertaining. Usually your incessant bubbliness is infectious to others, but Evika seems to be immune to it at the moment.”

  I turned to Hayden again. “I'm sorry,” I said, “I just don't see the purpose of this. It's like God hates me or something. I see all the crap that put the souls in the dark realm and now I cause it to rain. Yippee,” I said sardonically, throwing my hands into the air. “Rain is the thing that keeps kids from going outside to play, the reason people buy umbrellas to shield themselves from getting wet, the reason---”

  “The reason the earth is cleansed wherever it falls,” Elka interrupted me with a smile.

  I glanced at her, opening my mouth and ready to retort something about mud, but I was stunned that she came up with something to say to me that was so simple, yet so profound. And enough to make me shut up. Rain cleansed. It was as simple as that.

  “She's right, you know?” Hayden said to me. “And this is so....you. You love rain. You have all of your life,” he reminded me.

  “Just wait till the Council hears about this!” Elka said excitedly.

  I walked over to the bay window and pressed my nose and hands against the glass. My angel was right, I loved the rain. Always have for as long as I can remember. The wooden porch was soaked, along with the grass, the flowers, my Mustang. But as my eyes followed the cemented driveway toward the street, I saw where the line had been drawn, where the rain had stopped. It was about six feet from the street; six feet of dry cement remaining. I started to wonder about the parameters; how far I could make it rain, how long I could make it last, and how hard I could make it fall. Maybe I could find some good in this after all. Just maybe.

  3

  A Little Bit of Past

  “Pink?” I asked Hayden as I walked back into the house after saying goodbye to Elka. He looked up at me with a curious expression. He was sitting at the dining table making out a grocery list. “I mean, really, Hayden. How could you possibly forget to tell me angels can have pink wings?”

  After the whole rai
n discovery, Elka had to head back home. But before she left, she dragged me outside, as promised, to show me her wings. It was something of a thing with her to show them to me rather than just tell me. We went to the back yard as it was a bit more secluded and she sprung those feathery things out in the open, shocking me out of breath. Pink! It was the first thing I saw; a soft, cotton candy pink, almost the same color of her sun dress. All I could do was smile and breathe out a long-winded “wow.” She curtsied and giggled, coming up to give me a massive squeeze. “I knew you'd like them.” Then she was off, shimmering into the air and disappearing before my eyes.

  “Oh,” Hayden chuckled, “sorry about that. She's the only one that I know of. That color must have slipped my mind.”

  “Hmm.” I raised an eyebrow and gave him a playful glare. “Elka slipped your mind? How could that angel slip your mind?” I sat down next to him.

  “It was my subconscious' way of keeping it a surprise, I guess.” He laughed. “Don't worry. No more surprise colors.”

  I looked at him incredulously. I imagined an angel springing tie-dye wings. “Are you sure?”

  He looked up, as if in thought, and concentrated for a moment. Then he met my eyes again. “Yup. Covered 'em all.” He grinned. “But, isn't the element of suspense so much fun?” he teased, pinching my cheek gingerly.

  “A blast,” I said sardonically.

  I watched him while he continued with the grocery list. I admired that he was taking over the responsibility of so many things, taking care of me. It always seemed that once one person in my life was gone, another would step in and keep my head on straight for me. It was as if that role was always filled, so I never officially had to grow up.

  I thought about telling Hayden about the article that Elka gave me. I wondered if he'd known about Anton Carter yet. I wondered if Elka told him she was going to give it to me. And I wondered if he was waiting for me to say something first.