Sword & Fire

Chapter 2

I look lost. Like actually lost.

Students zip by me as if I were nothing but empty space. But that didn't stop people from taking a second glance. I guess much doesn't happen at this school; the hottest gossip is a new girl. I just need to find the damn library.

Last night, I took a few sleeping pills and tried to get some sleep. It didn't help much because I woke up a few hours later with the need to put pencil to paper. I stayed up most the night drawing a really creepy castle that I had dreamed about.

I finally find the library down one of the corridors. It was beautiful as everything else was in this school, just adding to the overall illusion to hide the real evil. The library was wall to wall covered with bookcases. A spiral staircase leads up to a second floor, with a banister around the edge to look down upon the readers and writers. The dark wood adds to the overall academic aesthetic. On the ceiling is a grand window that looks to the universe. Little swirl designs are sketched onto the crystal material creating a whimsy after glow.

A gorgeous get away from society to escape to a magical world. I walk around to each subject to find my books, along with some other ones in case I get bored, which I probably will. As I turn the corner, I bump right into a wall. The books in my hands fall to the floor, right near the shoes. Shoes?

I grab my books from the ground and scan the person in front of me from head to toe. I finally meet the person's eyes; he stands above me, towering over me. He's gorgeous. Definitely could be crafted by the gods themselves. Black hair that battles the midnight sky for dominance. A jawline for days that is sharp as a blade. The little crook in his nose or the faint scar that ran from his forehead down through his eyebrow, even the little white scar on his bottom lip; I couldn't pick which I loved more. But it wasn't the beauty of his face that really caught my attention; it was his eyes. God those eyes.

The lightest blue you will ever see.

It feels like an eternity looking into his eyes. Like it could go on forever; as if I could fall into them. He didn't say anything nor did I. We just looked at each other. And there's something else; a pull. A strength. A bond? A connection?

It made my skin crawl. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad one. But I have my own shit to deal with; this is not one of them. Even if he is the most handsome man I have ever seen in my life. Artists should be lining up to sketch him.

"Can you watch where you're going?" I snap at him, eager to get out of this situation, yet he didn't say anything. He just stared.

I don't have time for this so I walk around him and carry on my business. I finish grabbing my books before heading to my therapist office for a quick hello. But when I turn around to see if the man is still there, he's staring at me; it feels like if he were to look away even for a second, I would vanish. Who is this guy? And why do I wish to know everything about him and more?

                                                                                       * * *

"You must be Eve Mallory?" An older woman says as I enter the small room.

"Yeah. Hi." She puts out her hand for me to shake it, but I just stare at her.

"My name is Doctor Nyx, but feel free to call me Emma."

"Well it was nice to meet you and all, but I have to get to class. First day, you know."

"Oh right. But first I wanted to give you something." She opens a drawer in her desk and she pulls out a tiny box before passing it to me.