Love & War Book 1 in the Arcadia Falls Chronicles by Jennifer Malone Wright Page B

that
would never change. Until the end of his existence, each time he
looked in the mirror, he would see a twenty-eight-year-old man. His
harsh Russian features would forever remain without wrinkles, and
his coal black hair would never gray. His eyes, though, told the
story of his age, and even he could see the stories in them.
    His bare arms and chest still held the large
muscles of the hardworking man he had been as a mortal. Although,
his chest now bore the one mark he had allowed himself to get. He
ran his fingers over the red longevity symbol. He had chosen
longevity as a marker for being immortal. Like it was yesterday he
remembered China and the tattoo shop where he had received the
tattoo. As a last minute decision he asked the artist to add the
three koi fish in a circle around the longevity symbol because the
koi fish were associated with life-long good luck. And he felt like
he sure need some of that.
    Alex continued to think about China and its
rare beauty while he carefully applied a dark, skin-colored
foundation to his face and hands to cover his paleness. It was
worth the effort to prevent mortals from questioning his light
skin. After checking himself in the mirror again, Alex donned his
black leather overcoat, a long flowing garment that swept the
floor.
    He allowed himself one last approving glance
in the mirror, grabbed his briefcase off his dresser, and left the
room.
    He opened the garage door and sighed with
pride. The room glimmered with glossy paint and shiny chrome from
the many vehicles. He chose his orange ’69 Mustang, because he
wanted to stop at the church before the meeting, but he didn’t have
much time to spare. He slipped into the driver’s seat, set his
briefcase on the seat beside him, and then, with the turn of the
key, the car came to life. After he backed out of the garage, he
shut the doors with a remote and roared his way out of the long
driveway.
    At that hour of night, the pine-tree-lined
streets were deserted. Alex liked that. Living outside the city,
between Reno and Lake Tahoe, gave him more privacy. Although it was
raining, he opened his window halfway to let in the fresh scent of
the rain-washed earth.
    When he approached the city, he took in the
view of the lights. For Alex, each time was like the first time.
The lights were like beacons, calling to him, enticing him. For
that matter, he thought the lights were like vampires, deceivingly
beautiful, alluring, and full of promise.
    Until you’re bitten, he thought.
    Unable to help himself, he chuckled and
continued the drive into the city. Traffic there was crazy compared
to the lonely streets near his home. Among the multitude of hotels
and casinos dominating the city, he kept his focus on the Lucas
Hotels and Casinos—the massive towers stood tall and proud—while he
drew closer to them.
    He passed the exit and kept going for a few
miles until he came to a stop in front of a large brick church. He
parked the car, ran through the rain, and ascended the cement
stairway. Alex found the church deserted and locked, as it always
was that time of night.
    Taking out his set of lock picks, he thought
about the old days when churches were never locked. They were
always open for the public whenever someone needed to be close to
God.
    Upon entering, he felt a presence; not God,
but something else.
    Danielle.
    She had always had a habit of following him
when she was invisible. Although he knew she was there, he rarely
let on. He couldn’t think of any reason why she would want to keep
herself secret from him, since she knew he would tell her anything
she wanted to know. Besides, she could read minds.
    Although the bricks muffled the sound of the
rain, its presence was evident. It drizzled down the outside of the
multicolored stained glass windows.
    It’s like they are melting, Alex
thought as he stared at them.
    An aisle separated two sets of pews, and at
the far end of the church, behind the podium and the large choir
section, was