Selene's New Moon

Chapter 11: Chalice

At Owen's words, the guys settle and become silent.  I give Owen my complete attention.

"Dwyer tells me that they have explained that we all have .... abilities that make us different from other people.  "  I nod my head in agreement.  "Normally we would not talk to others about these things. It is important that you understand,  what you hear from me today, can not be repeated to any one. "  He has made sure to catch my eyes while he said this, and his gaze is intense.  I again nod my head.  He continues to hold my gaze, waiting for more.

  " I promise that I will not tell anyone," I whisper.  He nods and finally lets the eye contact break. 

  "Understand, that it is for the safety of everyone involved.  There are specific reasons as to why we are having this discussion.  One, Dwyer and Kenji said that you can feel the earth's energy," he again waits for my nod.  "Second, Dwyer has had visions that he believes involve you and Kenji has picked up ... impressions.. from you.  They both believe that we were meant to find you." 

  Could it be true?  Were we actually meant to meet?  I look at Dwyer and he smiles at me.  I then look at Kenji.  His eyes are serious, yet gentle, as he nods his head at me.  I feel a little hope rise in me again. 

  Owen clears his throat, "We belong to an organization called The Academy.  It is made up of more people like us.  It is a secret organization and we have hubs all over the world.  Only certain members of world governments are aware of us.  We operate seperately from the government , but we sometimes require some assistance from them in order to accomplish our goals.  In return, we keep our contacts informed about situations that may impact them."  He adjusts his glasses, and in this pause, Aiden takes the ice pack off my ankle and walks into the bathroom with it.  I readjust my legs to get more comfortable.

   "As for what we do,  well we protect our world from invaders from another dimension.  We call them demons, for lack of anything better to name them.  They look human, but to those like us, they feel very wrong.  They often leave us feeling sick, and uneasy. "  As if to illustrate his meaning, the tension in the room increases.  The air feels thick- its harder to breathe. A shiver runs down my spine.

   "Why do they come here?"  I ask softly. 

   "They come here to feed off of us.  They crave our energy. It is like a drug to them.  The energy that flows through every living thing here.  They can only obtain it by sucking it out of humans.  They can not access it through the earth its self.  In fact, they can't even stay in our dimension for long periods of time.  They come here through gates, hunt and feed for a few days , and then leave. "

    Felix shifts besides me and adds, "It is as if we act as a filter for them.  There is something about the energy on our earth that makes them weak and ill.  But as it flows through our bodies, whatever it is that harms them, is filtered out."   He takes a deep breath and he turns his head to look directly at me, " They bite their victim and literally suck the energy out of them until they are dead.  Much like a vampire.  They even leave two puncture wounds, which probably helped move the rumors of blood suckers along through history.  They do not drink the blood though, and they don't have to bite the neck or wrist.    Most victims still have all of the their blood when they are found .  Once a person is bitten, a poison is released into the system to weaken the victim.  It is possible to stop a feeding and save a victim.  You have to have a special healer like myself to help the body replenish energy and purge the poison."

   I feel Aiden place his hand on my shin.  I did not even notice him come back to the bed, but his touch is a comfort.  Dwyer seems to have moved even closer to me, and I take further comfort from the feel of his arm pressing into mine.