Free The Energy Crusades by Valerie Noble

simply learned how to clear my mind and listen to what was going on around me. And maybe because I love animals so dearly, and have worked with them since I could walk, I felt more in tune with their feelings than with human feelings."
    "Somebody must have figured out what you could do," I prompted her to continue.
    "Yes," she answered, nodding her head in agreement. "My brother, Tim. He ' s my closest sibling. When he noticed I was missing night after night, he started to follow me. He watched me and saw how the animals came to me. They would sit all around me, even the dangerous ones, and I could be with them, pet them, hold the ones who would let me. Tim kept my secret, except he told my brother Tobias. Tobias is several years older, and he also trained with Professor Baal. He ' s on Danu now, with the other Crusaders who ' ve graduated." I sat up a little straighter as her story came to the part where she ended up with me at the University.
    "Tim didn ' t exactly know what was happening with me, but he knew it was special and knew I would jump at the chance to leave the Aquila Grid. I've never been outside Aquila in my life. So Tim told Tobias.”
    â€œ One night, I was sitting in the middle of the field with a bobcat at my feet. She was purring contentedly and I was drifting off myself. It was a beautiful evening and my cat was nice and warm next to me. I think I had just about fallen asleep when I felt the cat ' s body tense, and I was startled awake. Professor Baal was standing over me right in the middle of the field. She scared the heck out of me!"
    "You didn ' t sense her coming?" It was a shame she couldn ' t sense human energy. Perhaps she could learn.
    "Not at all. I only knew something was amiss because of the cat. And even the cat didn ' t sense her until she was upon us. Professor Baal walked right up to us and somehow her presence went undetected."
    Yes, I thought to myself, Professor Baal had some pretty amazing capabilities. "What did she say?" I asked.
    "First she asked if anyone besides Tim or Tobias knew about my gift. Then she asked if I would like to come to the Orion Grid and train with the Athlete, Kaia Robi."
    "She said that?" I was completely taken aback. "Why would she think you would want to do that?"
    "Are you crazy? Of course I would want to train with you! To even be considered to join the same team as an Athlete is a huge accomplishment, right? Every child waiting to start their Crusade would probably kill to be in my shoes right now."
    "Really?" My voice sounded small compared to her huge expectations.
    "C ' mon Kaia, we all grow up wanting to be Athletes. There ' s something unique about you and it shows. I ' ve always been curious about you, wondered what you ' re like. And now, here I am. And I know your eyes are purple."
    I didn ' t say anything. I sat thinking about what she said as I stared out the window. The sun still hadn ' t crested the horizon, but any minute night would fade into day. "Yes, my eyes are purple, and I can sense human emotions. You can sense animals and we ' re on the same Crusade team. We ' re the only girls. We have to stick together, Tory. I ' ll protect you and you protect me."
    "We ' ll stick together," she agreed, "We ' ll keep each other ' s secrets."
    She would be my friend and I would be hers. A friend at the University was something I could definitely use and Tory ' s sincerity made me believe she would be loyal, as would I. Our eccentricities helped us to bond and I looked forward to cultivating a new friendship.
    After our talk, her eyes began to droop and her chin fell to her chest. Once I assured her I would be fine, she settled into her bed while I dressed quickly and stepped out into the hall, leaving her to sleep.
    * * * *
    Outside, the sun peeked over the horizon. As it rose, it chased away the gray shadows, highlighting the leaves and their slow metamorphosis from green to gold, and all colors in between, before their final descent to the