Immortal Fire - Book One

Feeling the warmth of sunshine on my face, I stretched. I could have sworn I heard knocking. I must have been imagining it…

knock, knock, knock.

Sitting up straight now, my eyes squinted at the door, maybe I was not imagining it. Climbing off the couch, I headed for the door, rubbing my eyes. Opening the front door, it was Hayden standing there. Looking me up and down, a mischievous grin formed on his mouth.

“Good morning, sunshine.”

God, I hated morning people… Ewww. Groaning, I walked back into the room with him following close behind.

“So, I take it that you aren’t a morning person then?” he said, sounding far too chipper for this ungodly hour.

“Mmm….” was all that he got out of me. It took me forever to wake up properly in the mornings.

“Why are you here?” I asked around a yawn.

“We have training today, remember?” Oh crap. I had almost forgotten everything that had happened. Sneaking a glance in the mirror hung in the lounge, I almost died of horror. Realizing that I had not showered made me blush.

“Um, is it ok if I have a shower before we go?”

“Yeah sure, just hurry up. Oh, and I brought you something to wear for training.”

Holding out a duffel bag as he sat on the couch, I grabbed it and hurried to the bathroom. Closing the door behind me, I let out an anxious breath. How did Hayden always make me feel so antsy all the time? Pushing away from the door, I got undressed, climbed into the shower, and washed my hair twice. The past few days had made me feel like a walking train wreck.

Whilst climbing out of the shower, there was a knock at the door. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. Please don’t come in…

“Aria...? Are you almost done?” Hayden asked from beyond the door.

“Yeah, I just need to get dressed…” I answered quickly. Silence.

“Okay.” I could hear in his voice that he was smiling.

Deciding to ignore him, I dug out the clothes that Hayden had brought with me.

“What the hell is this?” I said aloud to myself. It was some form of black catsuit that zipped up at the back and had long sleeves as well as a slight v-neck. There were black, flat-soled leather boots like the guards had worn. Looking at it now, I could see it was the female version of the guards’ uniforms.

There was nothing grotesque about it at all. It was designed to provide the best flexibility as well as protect your skin from any injuries. I liked it, and if it made a woman look great in it, then the entirely better it was. It was just something I would never wear. Putting it on, I could not believe how good I looked. Deciding to not leave my hair loose for training, I braided it from high, atop my head.

Finally exiting the bathroom, I saw that Hayden was lounging on the couch staring at the ceiling. It was the first time that I had noticed that he was wearing a uniform too – and he looked damn good in it. Stop it, Aria.

Stepping around the couch, I stood with my hands on my hips. Hayden finally looked at me and blinked. He raked his eyes up and down my body and I felt a certain sense of pride. Oh yeah, I owned this outfit. Maybe I should decide to keep it, I joked with myself.

“Are we going to go, or are you just going to lie on my couch and stare at me all day?” I asked, feeling unusually confident.

“Maybe, it does sound like a better idea than training…” he said, very blatantly looking me up and down. I blushed. He looked me over once more than sprung from the couch and was headed to the front door.

I followed him out and we headed down the street. Everyone that we passed was staring at me and turning away in groups to whisper to one another.

“Why are they all doing that?” I asked Hayden, tilting my head in the latest crowd’s direction.

“News has traveled fast that the Angelis Mortis has arrived; it could also be the outfit…” he said whilst flashing me a devilish smile. Yeah, I was keeping the outfit.

“Isn’t Marcus supposed to be escorting me everywhere?” I had just realized that I had not seen him anywhere. We were now crossing the bridge that led to the main road in town.

“Yeah, he is... I convinced him to let me walk you to your first training session. After this, he will be the one to bring you.” he said.

“Oh okay.” I could not help but feel disappointed.

Marcus was a great guy from what I had seen so far but I wished that I could see Hayden outside of training. We were heading out of town now and walking through a field with statues of Elves and Angels.

“How do Angels and Elves go together? Don’t get me wrong but, I always thought that Angels were a Christian thing…” I asked.

“They are, but each religion and culture have their form of Angels or guardians if you will… Elves are no different, even though we are a completely different species from humans.”

“So, your Angels aren’t the same as the Angels that I am thinking of?”

“Well, yes and no. No, in the sense that they have no relation to Christian Angels and their history, but yes that they serve the same purpose. Put it this way, there are many pantheons of Gods and Goddesses in the world, and they have similar beliefs and commodities…”

I thought about that, and it made sense. We were now walking up a pathway to a large building that was white with glass double doors in the front.

“Is this where we are going to do training?” I asked. I was getting excited now that I was going to be doing something constructive. Hayden opened the glass door and held it open smiling.

“Yeah, so are you ready to get your ass beaten?” he asked mischievously. I raised an eyebrow at that.

“Listen here Elf boy, I might be a beginner, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to go easy on you…” He laughed as I walked past him, into the building.

“I have a feeling I am either going to regret this or enjoy it way too fucking much…” he said and followed me inside.