Immortal Fire - Book One

“Hello, Aria.” He was smirking at me, and I looked him up and down in disgust.

I was being stupid, I should be running and finding Hayden, but my anger at him was still simmering; so there I stood with my arms folded.

“What do you want Hunter?” I snapped.

“You…” He was circling me now, casually, as if he had not a care in the world.

“You know, you keep saying that, but you never actually do anything; like right now…” I provoked him. He laughed at that.

“All a part of the bigger plan, also, I just like messing you around. It makes things so much more entertaining… Where is my darling brother Hayden by the way? You two seemed quite… close, last night.” I knew I was not imagining things.

The little jab Hunter had made about Hayden worsened my temper and I found myself clenching my fists at my sides. Hunter noticed and stopped circling. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest. It gave me the creeps how much he and Hayden looked alike when they stood like that.

“Ah, I see…” he said, keeping a watchful eye on my fists.

“See what?” I forced between clenched teeth. My marked hand had startled to tingle with the crackling of the fire, building within.

“Jesse stays here…” he said gleefully. I forced a breath out as my temper flared once more. I was barely holding on to the Angel Fire as it was.

“And so, what if she does…? Hayden says that she is a friend.” Hunter was circling me again as he laughed at me. I remembered what I had learned from training and never let him get behind my back. He was extremely close now that I could smell him. The smell of burnt leaves and the smell of thunderstorms was just a hint.

“A friend...? I doubt that. Hayden and Jesse dated; Hayden always thought that he would run away from Lunzos to be with her… I guess that he somehow managed to do just that; by using you, little angel.”

That was it. I could not control myself and released the Angel Fire at Hunter. He had already disappeared. The Angel Fire hit the building before me and blasted right through the wall. Debris littered the alley and the water from the Hudson came over the barriers in a violent wave. I was breathing hard and in shock, from the effect, I had had on the water. Maybe my power over the elements had started to come in. Hayden came rushing out of Jesse’s warehouse. He was heading right toward me.

“Stay away from me!” I screamed. I was still mad at him, and I was fighting for control over my emotions and power. My hand was burning as if begging me to release the Angel Fire on Hayden. He stopped dead in his tracks and was looking at me wide-eyed.

“Aria, your eyes…”

I looked away from Hayden, concealing my face. I had no idea what he meant, but I did not want to know. I was still fighting the power within that wanted to rip into him.

“Just leave me alone… please. I can’t control it much longer…” I was doubling over in pain and the water was splashing over the barrier near where Hayden stood, covering his car with the murky Hudson water.

“Aria…” he pleaded.

“I said fucking go!” I screamed the last part and a small amount of energy escaped me, shattering Hayden’s car windows as well as water rising gradually behind him.

He said nothing and ventured back to the building, watching me intently. Once he was inside, I finally released the power into the nearby water. A shock wave erupted with a boom as the water absorbed all of it and steam raised. The water wall that had been forming, fell back to its original state; and it was as if nothing had happened.

Falling to the ground in the alley, the concrete tore my jeans, and my hands were scraped open with new wounds, as well as opening my previous ones. I was struggling to catch my breath for quite some time when a pair of black boots formed in my line of sight. Lifting my head weakly, the sight of Hunter blurred in and out of my vision. He knelt next to me and stroked my cheek softly. A stark contradiction to his motives. I was too weak to stop him.

“You did well angel. If you want to find out more, you can find me at central park…” He stood and turned.

“Don’t tell Hayden or you will know nothing.” And with that, he disappeared.

My head fell back to the concrete with a crack, and I couldn’t move. The overwhelming need to sleep was covering my being like a cocoon. I tried to fight it; wiping at my face, I saw that there was blood. My vision was still coming in and out of focus. Giving in to the need to sleep, my vision went black.