Immortal Fire - Book One

Leaving the nature reserve was quicker than I remembered the original drive-in to be… I turned in my seat to face Hayden while he stared at the road ahead.

“So, why New York...?” I asked.

“It’s close, busy, and easy to get lost in; and I have a friend there that will help us,” he answered.

“I’ve never been to New York…” I replied. My parents always stayed in small, inconsequential towns and away from busy city hubs. I had always secretly wanted to go there one day; I just wished that my first time would not be because I was running for my life…

“When all this blows over; I will take you sightseeing. You’ll love it…” he said as he squeezed my hand affectionately.

He was trying to cheer me up and it was sweet, but I doubted I would ever be able to do normal things from now on and I did not think that this was going to blow over as easily as Hayden tried to make me believe. He was smiling at me, and I returned it, not feeling the glee that I should have.

“Thanks; how far is it to New York from here?” I asked. We were exiting the main entrance to the reserve, and no one was around; not surprising considering it was now three a.m.

“About two hours, you should try to get some sleep. You haven’t slept all night…,” said Hayden.

“What about you?” He squeezed my hand reassuringly.

“I’m fine, I’ll sleep when we get there.” Suddenly realizing how exhausted I was, I made myself as comfortable as possible and fell asleep. It was a restless sleep and I often found myself waking up to the sound of the car’s engine roaring as Hayden drove.

Giving up on getting any decent rest, I sat up straight and rubbed my arms. We were entering New York City and the sun was coming up. The sunlight reflected off the buildings in rays of light as if the buildings were mirrors and cast a soft orange glow on everything it touched.

The streets were getting busier by the minute as people started their day. Stall owners were setting up and offering people goods as they went by. I was in awe. Everything was so different over here. I had never been to a big city before and I now realized what Hayden had meant by us easily hiding and getting lost in a place like this.

Taxi cabs filled the streets with yellow as they went in a disarray of directions. Seeing the Empire State Building, I was glued to the window as if a child would at the zoo.

“Wow…” I had studied it during one of my many art classes and how it was constructed in the form of art deco… Only now could I appreciate its beauty. Looking back towards Hayden, he was grinning at me.

“So, who is this friend of yours?” I asked, curious. I could not help but wonder at the thought of Hayden with a close friend… He was always so introverted.

“Jesse; we met a few years ago at a party. If we need help Jesse is the one to go to – basically runs the whole supernatural district in New York.”

Wow, that was impressive… he must have been powerful to control all of New York.

“Is Jesse an Elf too?”

“Na, a Vampire, so try to keep an open mind.” Okay, Elves I could handle, but a vampire? They were murderers. Everything I had heard about them was terrifying. Hayden noticed my unease as he drove us slowly through the early morning traffic.

“What’s wrong?” he eventually asked. I didn’t want to offend Hayden’s friend, so I came up with an excuse.

“This city is so big…” I replied.

“That’s the point; you will be fine Aria, I promise.” I watched the city as we continued to drive. We were heading along the Hudson River, and I could smell the water from inside the car through Hayden’s open window. We were heading away from the city and entering an area of warehouses. Some looked new while others were old and in disarray. We also past one that had been torn apart by fire. Streaks of soot licked at the remains of the once large building.

“This is a nice neighborhood,” I stated sarcastically. Hayden shrugged and continued to drive, now leaning forward to get a better look at the building’s numbers. Finally, he pulled to a stop in front of an old warehouse that seemed abandoned. The place was a dump. This had to have been some form of a joke. He started to unbuckle himself and opened the car door.

“Hayden, wait, this isn’t the place, right?” I asked nervously. He bent his head back into the car and smiled.

“C’mon, you’ll see…” and with that, he shut the door and headed to the building’s rust-colored metal door. Frowning at Hayden’s sudden giddiness, I forced myself away from the car and towards the door of the building. Hayden knocked and there was no answer

“I told you this is the wrong place; it’s a dump.” As the words left my mouth, I immediately regretted it, for standing in the now open doorway was a woman. She was scowling at me.

Hayden was smiling widely at the woman. She wore skin-tight leather pants, a bright red halter top, and the highest heels I had ever seen. Her hair was shoulder length and straight. She looked like a model and the way Hayden was smiling at her was pissing me off.

“Jesse,” Hayden said.

Hold the fuck up…

The woman turned her gaze to Hayden and smiled back. Jesse is this woman? I thought Jesse was a guy…

“Hayden...? What are you doing here?” she exclaimed excitedly as she was rubbing her hands over his shoulders, and he just stood there smiling like an idiot. I could feel my blood pressure and temper flare. Turning her gaze to me again, she was smirking now.

“Something upsetting you sweetie...? Your blood pressure just started reaching delicious highs…” Hayden seemed completely oblivious to everything and answered her earlier question whilst we stared each other down. I should just fry her ass…

“We need a place to stay Jess; I can explain everything to you but right now, we need to get off the street. May we come in?” Hayden said.

“Anything for you babe...” Babe? Babe?!

She smiled and rubbed a finger under his chin as she entered and gestured for us to enter. I was not comfortable with all of this, especially Jesse. Hayden followed her in, and I stood there contemplating what to do…

Giving in and chasing after Hayden, I saw Jesse leading us through the warehouse; it was not a dump. It was modern and open; from the outside, no one would know that this is what lay within. Everything was open plan and there was a spiral metal staircase that led upstairs. The smell of copper filled the air as we walked through to the makeshift living room. The warehouse reminded me of an artist’s studio.

“What brings you here Hayden; with your friend…?” she asked as she sat down seductively on the sofa and motioned for Hayden to sit. She was completely ignoring my presence. Hayden sat and looked over at me briefly.

“We need shelter. Lunzos is not safe for us, and Hunter is going for the kill.” That raised one of Jesse’s perfectly sculptured eyebrows.

“Why on earth has all of this happened? What did she do?” she asked whilst nodding in my direction.

“I have a name,” I stated annoyed. Bitch. Jesse rolled her eyes at me, and it took everything in me to not haul myself across the living room at her.

“I don’t care; and I was speaking to Hayden, not you.” I bit my tongue at the sight of Hayden tensing on the couch.

“Fine, I’ll go outside while you ‘speak’ to Hayden.”

Hayden said nothing, which aggravated me further. Spinning on my heel, I headed towards the door which we had entered. The smell of copper was still stuck in my nostrils as I pushed the door wide; hearing it slam shut behind me and went over to the car. It was colder here than it had been the entire week at home and Lunzos. The cold forced my arms around me as a shiver ran over me. I could not believe Hayden. He was a different person around Jesse; he conveniently forgot to mention that Jesse was a woman that could be a model for Victoria’s Secret with those long legs and straight auburn hair, and those cheekbones, and lips, and… Stop it Aria!

I was jealous, and it was dumb. I had no reason to worry, I tried to convince myself. My head was still spinning from the envy, and when the sound of something being knocked over caught my attention, I did not think. I just headed around the corner to where the sound originated from.

Standing in the alley, was Hunter.