Chapter One

Step one of being immortal. Fit in. If you live forever, you can't get noticed. What better place to fit in than New York City?

     I wove through the bustling streets of New York, my right hand gripping my bag tightly. The city was so much bigger than I remembered. Although, it had been about a hundred and fifty years since I had left my hometown. I stared up at the towering buildings, all modern and sleek. I fit in perfectly, which was exactly what I needed to do. Standing out was dangerous for an immortal and even in a city as big as New York, one wrong move could get you noticed. Of course, my steel-gray eyes weren’t helping my situation. Luckily, with today’s trends, I could pass them off as contacts. I stopped when I reached the towering apartment building. The Cortez’s were my new family. Until they were gone, I would be Nikki Cortez. I had to admit, the name had some class. Of course, neither was my real name. I thought back to my sixteenth birthday, my last birthday. It had been June of 1785. The day that both ended and started my life.

     Mother placed my birthday cake in front of me, the candles flickering slightly. She, Father and Nicholas were gathered around the table, waiting for me to make a wish. Grandmother said she would be here. She said that she wouldn’t miss my sixteenth birthday for the world. But she wasn’t here. I shrugged and blew out the candles. I could feel some sort of energy fly from them, pulsing out into the room and gravitating towards me. No one else seemed to notice. In that instant, Grandmother burst through the door, near tears when she spotted my cake.

“Oh, Nicola. You have a terrible fate in store for you.” She whispered, so quiet I could barely hear it. No one else did, it seemed.

“Mother, come join us!” Father told her, waving her over. “Our little girl is a grown woman now!” Later that evening, Grandmother explained everything. I had a job. A job that, in the far future, I would have to accomplish.

“But how will I do it if it’s in the future?” I asked.

“When I learned of this, I asked the very same thing. They told me that once you blew out your sixteenth birthday candles, you would be immortal. Nicola, you are going to live forever.” She explained. I laughed, not believing her. But her expression told me otherwise.

“Wait, I really will be immortal?” I asked. Grandmother nodded grimly and I smiled. “This is amazing! Think of all the things I’ll see; all the things I’ll learn!” I said excitedly.

“Darling, this is not a joking matter. Immortality will not be easy. You will have to hide the truth from everyone you know.” Grandmother warned, but I was tuning her out. Immortality? Would the future be filled with fancy wagons and gigantic buildings? “No one can know the truth.”

Author's Note

Again, sorry about picking this up in the middle of Dragon Spirits, but this idea is one I came up with years ago. As always, questions, comments and constructive criticism are welcome.