Aegis: Catalyst Grove (12 page)

“You will have plenty of time to mingle later.
 
For now, we need to get started.
 
Alex is ready to see the four of you now.
 

“Who is Alex?” Damien asked Graham.

“I have no idea.”
 
Looking at the girls, Graham asked, “Do you two know?”
 

“No, nobody has mentioned an Alex yet,” said Kel.
 

Ailey stood beside Kel with her eyebrows arched as she shook her head side to side.
 

Graham shrugged.
 
“Well, I guess we’re about to find out.”

The next room looked to be about the size of the Parlor back at Greenwood.
 
As they entered, they found it completely bare, except for two sets of rectangular tables.
 
One was narrow, placed near the back wall, and the other was set out in the middle of the room with four chairs facing the opposite table.
 

The narrow table was fairly simple.
 
It stood about four feet tall with a slight hourglass figure and was made of solid mahogany wood.
 
On the front side of the table, in the middle of the vertical trim, was the sun emblem again.
 
Four chairs were placed behind the table.

Chase led the kids over to the table in the middle of the room and asked them to take a seat.
 
The two men previously talking with Cavaness entered the room and took a seat at the chairs against the back wall, along with Chase.
 
Cavaness walked over to the middle of the small table, and placed his hands on top.

“I want to be the first to welcome you to Portfield Manor.
 
No doubt you have many questions floating around in your minds.
 
I do not believe anyone has given you a full explanation of exactly why you are here tonight.
 
You all have agreed to come here because you all have unanswered questions.
 
Each of you have been experiencing unexplained events, and you have come here in a faith and hope that you will be given answers to these questions.
 
In a moment you will be introduced to a man named Alex.
 
He will be the one to begin tonight’s affairs.
 
When he comes in, it would be in your best interest to give him your highest respect.
 
He is not only the owner of this house and estate, but he is also the founder of our organization.”

At that, Cavaness turned around and took the final seat beside Chase.
 
The four kids sat there wondering what they had gotten themselves into.
 
Graham looked over at Chase with a look of concern.
 
Chase returned Graham’s worrisome expression with a wink and a slight grin.
 
For some unknown reason, Graham felt peaceful when he was around Chase, which was very strange considering that he never trusted anyone.
 

It took a while to even warm up to Damien.
 
He never had any siblings, blood siblings anyway, but Graham imagined this must be what it was like to have an older brother.
 
One who always had your back.
 
One who always had a protective eye over you.
 
Though this trip had been an exciting adventure so far, Graham really did not like the unknown.
 
He disliked surprises.
 
He liked knowing what was ahead, but there was no way of knowing what was about to come and it was grating on his nerves.
 
Despite the nerves, however, this one wink and smile from Chase poured over him like warm bath water.
 
He was soothed and comforted, like Chase had telepathically told him that everything was going to be just fine.
 

Graham smiled back and looked over to Damien, who was spewing his whole life story to this ‘Kel’ girl.
 
She looked like she would rather be in solitary confinement than endure one of Damien’s long rants.
 
Ailey sat beside Kel with her chin on the table, picking at a stray string hanging from the cuff of her green coat until her head shot up off the table as a man carrying a silver tray walked into the room.
 
All at once, the four grown men quickly stood up with straight backs and their arms stiff and pinned at their sides.
 
The best he could guess, this was a type of salute or show of respect like you would see in the army.
 
The four kids followed suit.

Alex walked over to the small table and set the silver tray on top.
 
The tray held eight small golden cylinders about five inches tall, the bottoms a little wider than the tops.
 
The cylinders looked more like wire frames with a golden ring at the top, one at the bottom, and small rods connecting the two.
 
On one side, two of the rods bend outwards forming a half-circle so that together, they formed one complete circle.
 
The same on the adjacent side, though one side held the sun emblem within the circle.
 
The other circle was empty.

Alex let the four of them look at the golden objects for a moment or two before putting his fist to his mouth, clearing his throat.
 
Looking into the eyes of each of the four, he smiled and said,
 
“Welcome.
 
My name is Alex.
 
I know you all went to great lengths to be here tonight.
 
Though I could have spoken to your superiors, requesting your presence here, it means much more to me that you have come of your own free will.”
 

Such authority emanated from this man.
 
He could not have been more than in his mid-thirties, yet he spoke with the authority of ten kings.
 
Even Cavaness paled in comparison.
 
It was very difficult to explain.
 
There was a balance of force and compassion in his voice as he spoke.
 

“You have come for answers.
 
I am not sure if they can all be answered immediately, but perhaps with time, you will find what you are looking for.
 
I know that some of you have come here in hopes that you will be able to perform magic.
 
Most do.”
 

Damien’s eyes lit up at the mention of magic.
 
His mind went back to seeing Chase move in streaks of light, as fast as a bullet from the barrel of a gun.
 

“Many have experienced things that they cannot explain.
 
Others are running away from their past in hopes of making a better future.
 
Some just want to be more than what they have become.
 
Whatever your motivation is for being here tonight, the point is that you are searching for truth.
 
The truth that will explain the unexplainable.”

Taking the silver tray from the small table, Alex walked over to the table and set it down between Damien and Kel.
 
2 by 2, he removed the golden cylinders and placed them in front of each person.
 
Once the tray was empty, he took it and set it back on the small table.

Turning back again, Alex picked up one of the cylinders in front of Damien.
 
With all five fingers spread out along the bottom ring, Alex held the object up at eye level.
 

“These are wristbands.
 
They are the key to understanding what you are striving so hard to comprehend, but I am afraid that I must disappoint you when I say that there is no such thing as magic.
 
Magic is an illusion.
 
It is a falsehood.
 
What I am offering you tonight is much more than cheap parlor tricks.
 
I am offering you an invitation to not only get answers to your questions, but to also be a part of something much bigger than any one individual in this room.
 
If you accept my invitation, please pick up your armbands now and place them onto your forearms with the sun facing up towards the ceiling.”

They all looked at each other, wondering if anyone was actually going to put them on.
 
Graham picked it up and looked them over.
 
“What exactly do they do?”
 

“First the bands, Graham.
 
Then you will get your answers.
 
I know trust is a rare thing for you, but I am asking you to trust me.”
 

Graham nodded his hand and slid one band on his left hand, then his right.
 
Watching the scene between Alex and Graham, the others followed suit.
 
One by one, they all slid the bands onto their forearms and twisted them so that the sun emblem was facing up.

With a wide smile, Alex took a few steps back and raised both hands in a welcoming gesture.
 
“Welcome to Aegis.”
 
Putting his left hand back at this side, Alex kept his right hand up and waved it slowly from right to left.
 
As his hand hovered past each person, the sun in each band began to glow like burning embers.
 
Brighter and brighter, the sun illuminated as the rest of the bands began to glow.
 
For a split second each of the kids winced in the pain of searing heat, squeezing their eyes shut and gritting their teeth.
 
Kel opened her mouth as if to scream, but just as soon as the pain hit, it was gone, and a soothing cooling sensation followed.
 
As the light faded, the gold of the bands melted into their skin and with a final flash of light, they disappeared, leaving a glowing stain in their skin in place of where the bands rested.
 

 
The kids sat staring at their forearms unable to process what just happened.
 
Extending his fingers, then balling them up into a fist Graham flexed and relaxed his forearms.
 
Damien traced the outline of the sun with his index finger and Ailey turned her arms over to see the vacant circle on the underside of her forearm.
 
After a thorough inspection of their new decor, they looked at each other just to be sure they were not going crazy.
 
Looking over at one another, they each held their arms up to show their new marks.
 

Damien’s expression was pure excitement.
 
He grabbed Kel’s hand and twisted it back and forth to get a good look at her bands.
 
Kel, however was not as enthusiastic as Damien.
 
She had come here more for Ailey than anything else.
 
She never put herself in odd circumstances, but she knew how much finding Cavaness meant to Ailey, and now look where it got her.
 
How can something glow and just melt down into your skin like that?
 
She started to get nervous.
 
She did not like this.
 
Not at all.

While they were preoccupied with their arms, Alex looked over his shoulder to the four men standing behind him.
 
With a single nod, they got up from their chairs and walked over to the kids.
 
They passed Alex, walked around the table and stood at attention behind each one.
 
Ailey twisted around to look at the person now behind her.
 
Without a word, she gave a big grin, revealing a few gaps in her teeth where the new ones have not yet grown in.
 
The man behind her remained expressionless.
 
Damien completely ignored them, still enamored with his arms.
 
Graham and Kel looked at each other with questioning expressions.

Once the men were in place, Alex spoke to the new recruits.
 

“Splendid.
 
The catalysts have been applied successfully.
 
It can begin.”
 

Looking now to the men behind them, Alex signaled with his hand and said:
 

“Hood them.”

As the words were still being spoken, the men pulled black hoods over their heads.
 
Everything went dark and a heavy brew of panic and confusion hit them all.
 
All four of them began to shake their heads to remove the hoods.
 
They struggled to get their arms free, but their arms were pinned down to their sides by the men.
 

“LET GO OF ME!” screamed Kel.
 

Damien reverted back to his native language and spat out a long Spanish rant as he too struggled to get free from this captor’s grasp.
 
Ailey silently struggled, but her small frame was no match.
 

Graham began slamming the back of his head against Chase’s chest.
 

“LET GO CHASE!
 
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!”
 

The pain coming from the tight grip of Chase’s hands paled in comparison to the shock of electricity that came next.
 
Grunting as every muscle in his body tensed up, Graham became very light-headed and his knees buckled.
 
As he crumbled to the ground like a rag doll, he could hear the thuds of the other three hitting the ground.
 
He lay there on his side.
 
He could hardly see anything, just a few shadowy outlines of the others lying motionless on the floor.
 

His body jerked as surges of electricity continued jolting through his body.
 
What is happening?
 
Why?
 
He clenched his fists in the feeling of betrayal, but before he could react, he felt something press against his back.
 
Another wave of electricity surged through his body.
 
His body went rigid as he his throat groaned in the shock.
 
The faint outline of Damien’s unconscious form grew darker and darker.
 
His body went limp and the wave of panic gave way to an odd sense of calmness as his eyes shut, unconscious.