When Hell Runs Cold

Chapter Seven

Alysia put a finger to her chin. "You know, I think it's too soon for you to be proposing. At least buy me some dinner first. You know, for a rich guy, you don't know anything about being a gentleman."

Alysia smirked when Nathan rolled his eyes. "No." he said. "I'm guessing you work for Gevasi with the amount of jewelry you steal. That jewelry wouldn't sell at pawn shops without raising suspicion."

She widened her eyes innocently, "Gevasi who?"

"And I also know that Gevasi has a strict no-supers policy, and since you aren't dead, you got fired." Nathan's eyes lit up when he saw Alysia's dumbstruck face. "And judging by the way you seemed shocked at the Luddington Mansion yesterday, you're a newbie to your powers."

"Wow, you really are a stalker." She grumbled, crossing her arms.

"So my proposal;" Nathan started. "You help me find the serial killer, I teach you how to access your abilities. The killer tried to kill you after you took the Luddington's car. And Lux doesn't fit their type. Which means you're a target and he knows who you are."

"So..." she trailed off, "You want me to put myself in more danger by joining your one-man team. Yeah, no. I'm a thief. Not a hero." She stood up, grabbing the cup of coffee and handing it to him. "Maybe you should team up with Blitz."

"But-"

She held up the Rolex she had snatched off his wrist as she walked away from him. "Thanks for the watch!"

***

"Miss Lockheart, you understand what this means. If your father flatlines, we will not try to resuscitate him." Dr. Greenwell said, clipboard in his hand.

Alysia had waited to make sure that Nathan had left before coming back to speak with her father's doctor.

She glanced at the doctor, nodding. "I understand." she muttered. "If my father flatlines, you won't attempt to resuscitate him and he'll die." she repeated.

Greenwell nodded solemnly, "I'll leave you alone now, Miss Lockheart."

Alysia sat down in the seat that Nathan was sitting in an hour ago, letting out a sigh. She let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair. She glanced at the form, scanning through the page.

She twirled the black ballpoint pen between her fingers, gnawing on her lip, stopping when she tasted the salty taste of blood in her mouth.

Why couldn't she just sign it?

It shouldn't have been this hard. She had spent her entire childhood being a disappointment to her father.

It should've been easy to sign the stupid form. It should've been easy to let him go. To let him die.

It's what he deserved after what he had done to their family.

***

She was running.

Running like she had never ran before.

Stella Grier felt nothing but terror coursing through her veins as she ran. The masked man had been following her since she had left the hospital after a long shift.

She gasped as she stumbled, not being able to move her feet. The brunette looked down, "No, no, no." she repeated, looking at the ice that covered her feet. "Please no."

Stella heard the thud of footsteps behind her. "Please don't hurt me." she whimpered.

The man walked in front of her, his mask covering everything but the man's eyes.

Blue. His eyes were blue.

From what Stella could tell, he was older. "Please." she repeated. "I've done nothing wrong."

When the man didn't say anything she continued, "I'm a mom! Please! I have a five year old at home. I'm a single mom, and I can't leave my baby alone!" she pleaded.

"I need you to send a message. First, tell them my name is not 'Blizzard'. It's 'Frostbite'. Tell the police that this is only the start."

Stella nodded furiously, "I promise. Please let me go home to my son. Please. He needs me. He needs his mom!" Her lower lip trembled as she still struggled to move.

Frostbite grabbed her chin, forcing her to look upwards. "You won't die, but this will hurt."

Stella felt the pain before she could see the source. She looked down to see the icicle stuck in her stomach. A whimper left her lips, even though she could tell it wouldn't kill her anytime soon.

It would only kill her if no one found her.

"A bit dramatic, don't ya think?" The voice was female, deeper than her own.

Stella watched as Frostbite looked behind her. "Azrael. You came."

"Of course I came. I can't let you have all the fun now, can I, old man? But the whole killing thing is kinda dramatic."

Stella's eyes widened as the masked woman appeared out of thin air, in front of her.

Another super.

Frostbite focused on Stella, on the massive icicle that was lodged in her abdomen. "Be sure to tell the press that Lux is next."

***

Alysia was leaving the hospital when there was frantic yelling, and she was slightly shoved out of the way. "Incoming trauma! Prep O.R. three! It's Stella!" a surgeon frantically.

Alysia's eyes widened.

Stella?

The paramedics rushed in a gurney, and Alysia pushed past a few patrons, gasping when she saw Stella with an icicle piercing through her abdomen.

"Let me through! That's my friend!" Alysia tried to shove through a group of nurses, getting pulled back by a surgeon.

"Miss, you need to wait in the waiting room while we operate. Are you a relative?"

"I'm a friend. What happened? Is she okay?" Alysia questioned frantically, ripping her arm away from the older surgeon.

"She should be fine. The icicle only pierced one internal organ, which is a simple operation. Miss, I'm going to ask you to wait here, while we operate."

Alysia felt her chest tighten up as she took a seat. Stella didn't fit the description of the murderer's victim.

Which meant it had to be personal.

She didn't want to be the reason Stella got hurt. She wouldn't be able to handle the guilt.

Thank you so much for reading my book! It means a lot to me! If you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave a comment and vote! What connection do you think Frostbite and Alysia have?

QOTD: What's your favorite book or series? Wattpad books included!

My favorite series is probably The Mortal Instruments by the one and only Cassandra Clare! On Wattpad, one of my favorite books is Queen of Thieves by Toxic_Wonderland!