Kaden winced at my shout.

"Is it really that unbelievable after everything you've seen today?"  He asked calmly.  I had to concede that he had a point.  "Look, we're not like your silly little legends.  We don't throw sand or milk in people's eyes.  But our bodies do manufacture a unique property, an anesthetic, or sedative, if you will, which we're capable of using to sedate nearly any living creature, so long as we can achieve skin to skin contact."

"Is everything ok here?"  Brie called as she brought in a tray.  "Sorry it took me so long, I wasn't sure what would be best, so I brought some soup, coffee, tea, water and sugar cookies oh and an ice pack in case you're still feeling hot.  How's your headache hun?"  She placed a hand on my forehead fussing over me.  "Oh!  You've cooled down now!  Well, I do know you forget to eat sometimes, so your blood sugar might be low, so at least eat a cookie or something and drink some water."  As Brie bustled around me, Kaden was forced to release his hold on me.  While my limbs still felt heavy, I was quickly regaining movement.  My head started to clear like an old computer booting up.  I glared at Kaden, Brie glanced at him and then back to me.

"What's going on?  What did I miss?"  She demanded angrily.  "And aren't you going to at least drink something?"

"So, basically you have a tranquilizer in your skin.  I've seen you touch plenty of people today.  Brie, that woman at the grave, heck you even touched me at the cave.  Why didn't anybody fall asleep those times?"  I responded tersely.

"Do what now?"  Brie looked puzzled.  Kaden sighed.

"It's like snake venom, or a bee sting.  We don't HAVE to use it, and I don't unless it's necessary."  He regarded me pointedly.  An unpleasant picture was forming in my mind.

"Those things are usually used for defense...or prey."  I stated hollowly.  Kaden's eyes sparkled.

"Oooh so clever!"  It looked for a moment like he was going to clap with glee.  A thousand possibilities ran through my head and I couldn't dismiss the idea that Kaden still might be somehow related to the nightmare creatures.  How do I know what their diet consisted of?  People go missing all the time...  The joy fell abruptly from Kaden's face.  Brie's head was turning back and forth between us.

"It's not like that..."  Kaden said evasively.  Alarm bells started ringing as his gaze shifted.

"Ok, enough!  What the heck is going on here?!"  Brie exclaimed.

"It turns out, our dear Kaden here is a rather unique specimen himself."  I answered, watching him carefully as I reached for a cookie and a glass of water.  I thought wryly that Brie ought to be asking for samples of HIS tissues if what he said was true.

"Oh, come on, that's a bit rude isn't it?  I'm trusting you with this aren't I?  You're completely free of influence, right?"  Kaden rolled his eyes.

"Influence?   Venom?  Skin contact?  Oh my God!  Kaden are you like Rue?!"  Brie jumped out of her chair in excitement.

"NO!"  He and I both shouted in unison.

"Rue is...absolutely human.  Her mind is very unique, and her anxiety has aided her in becoming a little more OPEN to some things.  Right Rue?  I, on the other hand...am not."  Kaden's reply was brusque.

"Not?  As in not human?!"  Brie squealed with delight.  "I'd love to get some samples, maybe some hair, saliva, blood...I think I have some swabs here, we could do cheek swabs!  Oh and would you be willing to provide a tissue sample?"  Brie gushed.  Kaden suddenly looked appalled.  "No, no, that's too forward, sorry."  Brie mumbled, though she was still eyeing him with interest.  I laughed harshly.  Looks like Kaden wasn't the only one picking up on my thoughts.

"Now you know how I feel."  I told him.

"I still think you should AT LEAST have a brain scan Rue."  Brie chirped at me.  "Ok, so if you're not human, what are you?"  Brie pounced at Kaden, then recoiled in shock  "You're not one of those THINGS, are you?"

"No, no, those creatures are very low level things.  Basically big balls of fear, nightmares, pieces of the dead, shadows.  Stuff like that.  Guard dogs in a way."  Kaden waved his hand.

"Pieces...of the...dead?!"  Brie sounded horrified.

"He says he's a sandman."  I interjected before she could go any further down that avenue.  Brie looked dubiously at him and then laughed.

"That's so silly.  A sandman?"  She giggled.  Kaden reached out and touched her hand.  She slumped sideways in her chair and issued a small snore.

"Hey!"  I yelled, jumping to my feet.

"Relax, it'll be short-lived.  She'll wake up in a few seconds feeling well rested.  She's a scientist and needs to observe things for herself to be convinced."  Kaden grumbled

"She could have fallen, you know, gotten hurt?"  I pointed out angrily.

"What do you think, I'm a novice at this?  I made sure her muscles relaxed in the correct order to keep her in her chair!  I know what I'm doing!"  Kaden yelled back and stood up to confront me.

"What do you feed on Kaden?"  I changed tact.  He blinked.  "It's people, isn't it?"  Kaden jerked like he had been slapped.

"It's not like what you're thinking!"  He barked.

"That sounds an awful lot like an admission to me!"  I retorted.

"IT IS, OK?  It is."