The Next Death

Chapter 10

"Shouldn't I finish mastering telekinesis first?" I ask between breaths.

Neal doesn't so much as glance back at me. "You've got the hang of it. The fine-tuned smoothness comes from experience."

I'm about to object when Neal spins around, throwing something without warning. I don't even flinch as it slams to a halt. Now that it hangs still in the air, I can see it's a dagger. I'm suddenly glad my brain is still in fight mode from the combat lesson.

Neal smiles. "See? It's now a natural reflex. Telekinesis is a skill to use in a fight. It keeps you from having to move, conserving energy. It's not a party trick to use for fun."

I toss the dagger to the side, crossing my arms. "Fine. Next lesson."

Neal motions to the mat. "Astral projection."

My eyes flick to the mat and back to Neal. "Astral projection? You can't be serious."

"As you still have a human form, you can't travel like a Reaper normally would. So, until you're a full-fledged Reaper, you get to astral project."

"How does a Reaper normally travel?"

"By shadow."

Neal doesn't say anything else. He just stands there, waiting for me to head to the mat. "Are you going to elaborate?" I ask.

Neal sighs. "No. There's no point in explaining right now but trust me; knowing how to astral project will help you when you need to learn how to travel by shadow."

I stand there for a second before dropping my arms. "Fine." I walk over to the mat. "What first?"

"Lay down?"

"Do I have to?"

"It will be easier for you to fully relax if you're laying down. I don't think you'll get it on the first try, but if you do and you're standing, you're gonna hit the mat."

"That's a comforting thought," I say, lowering myself to the mat.

"As you get more control over your astral projection, you'll be able to. . . split, for better lack of words, your conscious. On that note, don't astral project where anyone might find you. They'll think you're dead."

I sit up on the mat. "Say what now?"

Before Neal can respond the door of the training room slams open. I look to find Agatha standing there. "Today's session is over," she states. "Boss is still out dealing with that one situation, but another has come up. He wants me to deal with it." Turning on her heel, she calls over her shoulder, "There is to be no training until one of us returns."

"What?" I push off the mat. "Why?"

Agatha doesn't so much as turn back. She just vanishes. I look back at Neal. He stands with a solemn look on his face. As if feeling my eyes on him, the solemn look melts into his usual easy smile as his eyes met mine. Neal shrugs, "Guess we get the place to ourselves."

xXxXx

My eyes jump back to the top of the page. How many times was I going to have to read this page before I finally took something in? Slowly, my eyes drift from my textbook to the journal. It peaks out at me from my backpack.

Turning around, I slide down to the floor against the counter, pulling the journal from my backpack. I study it for a second before I open it, one thought in my mind: astral projection. Flipping to the first blank page at the end of the writings, I can see the scrawling text etching itself across the page. Settling in I begin to read.

Astral projection: the separation of one's metaphysical form (the soul and/or spirit) from one's physical form, sometimes referred to as an out-of-body experience. One's connection to the Flow has a direct impact on how strong one's metaphysical form is. The stronger the connection, the longer and further one can keep one's metaphysical form separated from one's physical form. When in this metaphysical form one can travel to places far away in a matter of seconds, depending on one's control over their metaphysical form. A word of caution: astral projection is not something to be done lightly. When learning, be sure to do so in the presence of someone with experience and knowledge of the flow and the dangers of astral projection.

As previously noted, one's metaphysical form is made of two parts: the soul and the spirit. These two parts can be split during an astral projection, and this split is highly recommended. When both halves make up one's metaphysical form, the body is left empty, hence the cases of a person being presumed dead while astral projecting. Note: once the metaphysical form separates from the body, if made of both soul and spirit, one has no influence or control over one's body, so for all intents and purposes, when one astral projects with a metaphysical form made of both soul and spirit, one is dead. This dead, empty state leaves the body open for possession or corruption. If the projector is not capable of splitting the soul and spirit, it is advised that their watcher be someone they trust. Learning to split one's soul and spirit is necessary for one's safety during astral projection.

"I thought you were going to do homework?"

I jump at Neal's voice. "I did!" I object as I turn my head up to look at him. Neal looks questioningly at the open textbook on the counter. "I tried."

Neal laughs, shaking his head. "It's your spare time, spend it as you will. To be fair though, you did spend most of it doing homework, so props." Neal's head turns to the door as the bell jingles. He smiles and waves to whoever just walked in. "Speaking of time," Neal looks down at me, "You've reached the end of it here for the day. Have a nice evening and see ya tomorrow."