The Life Beyond You

Chapter 5

This time, instead of a loud Dining Hall, I was in a poorly lit room. A dark wooden desk stood at the center. No windows were around the room, only a board hanging behind the desk, full of images and papers. The hardwood floor creaked with my every step. Knox walked in, sitting down behind the desk. Across from it against the chipped black wall was a worn red couch. I slipped onto it, watching Knox ruffle though a few papers.

"This is the third time I've been dragged through a room, It's getting old." I pull my legs up, hugging them to my chest. I was used to the cold now, I let myself become engulfed in goosebumps. I heard him say something but I was too focused on everything around me to notice.

"Hello? Are you there?" He raises his hands.

"Physically, Yes. Mentally is debatable."

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you!" He yells at me.

"I'm trying to avoid it!" I yell back, sounding like I was twelve.

"Do you naturally bother people this much?" He says sarcastically.

I look up at him, his lips holding back a smile.

"Don't have alot of friends to unleash this bottled up sarcastic remarks too."

"hmm. Well people don't really see you for you..Anyway not why I brought you here. We can have a heart to heart later."

"What no-"

"Shut up," He cut me off, "Come here and look at this."

I follow his command like a child obeys there father. I walk over to the desk, leaning over an image of a large clear stone. Knox tucked his hands into the pockets of his tight black jeans. His veins tense on his pale arms.

"The Cinamanti Stone. Every clan has been searching for it since the beginning really. We even had wars over the bloody thing." He ruffled his hair, thinking.

"What makes it so special..Does it talk to you and tell you the secrets of the multiverses." I gasp dramatically.

"No one knows. It holds untold powers. The only person who found it..Well they died. We all may seem like one big happy family, but the truth is were killing ourselves from the inside out. No one here is capable of controlling that much power, they could make it so we all cease to exsist."

"So you want to find it first." I question.

"Everyone wants to find it first, not everyone has you. Guess Esteria was right about you. Something links you with this stone."

I give him a crazy look and he pulls out a drawer, digging around until he finds what he's looking for. A mirror. He holds it close to my face.

"Your eyes. Notice they may have..Changed."

"Oh just slightly of course." I push the mirror away and rub my eyes.

"Sure rub em away that'll work. Anyway, means you do have something in there. We have to test and find out what it is. It honestly could be anything, let's hope your not a Shadow Warrior though." He said it with disgust. Apprently everyone has an issue with them.

"How do we test it?"

"Tomorrow, you will come to training with me. All four clans have different battle grounds, while your here you might as well have a bit of...fun."

"Fun, right. That's a word in your vocabulary?"

"Shut up. Unless your stay is over and you want to leave then you do what I need you to do."

"It's over when I say it's over." I stand back up and he holds his hand out. I look at it for a moment.

"I don't bite..Yet." He grabbed my hand and shook it firmly.

"If I'm staying here though..I need to go back to my place and grab a few things."

"Okay. I'm coming to this..New Yark."

"Its York. And I know you've never been, So I'll be your personal tour guide." I walk to the door.

"York. Okay. Fine." He tenses again, following me through the door. Before we walked out the front he grabbed two coats from the bedroom, tossing an oversized one to me. I wrap myself up, it smelt strong of cologne. When we are out the front door, my boots crunched against the snow that had freshly fallen last night.

"WHAT IS THIS?!?!" He yelled, stepping back on the porch. He looked genuinely frightened. His eyes were bright, reflecting the snow. He was staring at it like a puppy seeing snow for the first time, contemplating whether or not he should touch it. I shake my head and grab his cold hand, pulling him down the steps.

"It's so..white."

"It's snow." I bend down and pick up a hand full, forming a snow ball.

"I grew in an isolated home in the woods far from this world, I don't know what weather is, let alone snow." He watched my hands forming the ball, amazed. I smiled and threw at him. He flinched like I hurt him, then realized the snow turned into water.

"This is bloody amazing magic!" He laughed, throwing snow around. I let him have his fun, then I found the path leading down the hill we were on. It was covered in thin ice.

"Okay, we could do this the fun way." I turn around looking for something like a sled. Behind the shrine was a wooden crate, I picked it up and carried it back to Knox.

"A crate...What do you plan on using that for?" He studied it.

"To kill you of course, come on now sit down in it." I set it down. He followed my demand and sat in the crate, his long legs taking up most of the space. I sit between his legs, avoiding crushing his waist.

"Ow. Shift that way-Ow." He moved my waist over.

"Sorry sorry. Okay, now push off the ground." I started moving the crate, and he gave one big push, sending us flying down the hill. My scream was high pitched, the cold taking the opportunity to pierce my lungs. My hair whipped back, and my eyes were watering. Knox was gripping my arms, his low scream turned into laughter. When we got to the bottom of the hill we slid onto some sort of road and ran into a fence. Knox stood up, pumping his fists into the air.

"THAT WAS BLOODY AMAZING!" He yelled, causing a couple walking by to turn and look at us like we were clinically insane. I stood up and brushed some snow off, turning towards them.

"Ever seen two people slide down a hill? Move along now." They looked at me, shocked. I forgot my eyes...Our eyes..Weren't normal. I grabbed Knox's arm and turn him around.

"Anyway we can hide our supernatural eye colors?"

"Yes of course." He said, closing his eyes. Once they opened, they were a clear hazel.

"How do I do that." I close my eyes.

"Okay. Just think about what your trying to change." I felt two of his fingers pressing gently on my eyelids, once I opened them he nodded.

"There. Back to that mysterious dark brown." His cheeks were bright pink, and his breath visable in the crisp air.

"Ready for some more fun?" I turn and start walking.

"Oh god, were gonna die aren't we?" He says, following behind.