Valley of the Broken (Sage of Sevens Book 1)

by K. F. Baugh

  Sage swallowed and stood. Elena was right. She was being a coward. And Sage wasn’t the only one who would suffer if she messed this up. “Thank you for the history lesson. I’d better get back to Tim so we can figure this out.”

  “Take my car.” Elena handed Sage her keys. “The sun’s almost up, and you won’t make it out of town on foot. Police are looking for you everywhere, and evidently, all of Oriel is too. Your house is barricaded behind a mile of sawhorses and crime scene tape. They even found your Jeep yesterday.

  The Jeep was her baby. It made her sick to think of Officer Olson crawling all over it, looking for clues. “How on earth did they find it?”

  Elena shrugged. “I don’t know. Yesterday I saw it parked in the spare lot behind the city hall. That’s why you’ve got to take mine.”

  “Thanks. But what about you?”

  “I’ve got Bob’s old Subaru in the garage. It still runs. If anyone asks, I’ll tell them I needed to change the Honda’s oil. Should keep you incognito enough, at least for a few days.”

  As Sage stood, Elena walked over and pulled her into a hesitant hug. “You’ve always held everyone in this town at arm’s length, but I’ve watched you, Sage. I know you’re brave. You couldn’t have survived the system you grew up in without grit. Use that now to protect this town and find justice for the dead, but be careful … it would kill Liddy if something happened to you.”

  “I will,” Sage choked. She grabbed the lunch Elena held, then ran to the Honda parked behind the house.

  Time to find Tim. And if her instincts were correct, he’d be one pissed off priest.

  Chapter Thirty

  Aided by one of Elena’s floppy garden hats and a large pair of sunglasses, both of which she’d found in the garage, Sage drove through town without arousing the suspicion of any of the numerous squad cars or big FBI SUVs she encountered. She’d also grabbed last week’s newspapers out of Elena’s recycle bin, so she could find out what lies were being fed to the media.

  On the outskirts of town, as she waited for a freight train to pass, Sage skimmed the papers. Most of the national ones had already moved on to new stories. If they mentioned anything at all, it was a repeat of the official soundbites: Tim was a shady ex-Episcopalian priest suspected of illegal and despicable acts in Sudan. Sage was a now-grown foster kid with an obscure background accused of stealing high-priced equipment from the Oriel Biological Research Station.

  She was pleasantly surprised, however, when she scanned through the local Black Mills Gazette. The headline read, Search Continues for Tim Burgney and Sage Smith. The journalist seemed more than a little suspicious of the police department’s and OBRS’s continuing claims. About halfway down the article, past the background information, Sage slowed her reading.

  The paper interviewed Tim’s neighbors, landlord, and friends. Across the board, all of them agreed that Tim couldn’t have committed the crimes he was accused of. The information the Gazette provided about Tim’s time in Sudan was even more illuminating.

  He’d worked in the Abyei region for just a year before the Sudan Civil war turned to outright genocide. The reporter had contacted several village officials who praised Tim’s initiatives, including an orphanage and free medical clinic, but all of them expressed disappointment that Tim never returned. The article also touched on Tim’s time with a psychiatric hospital once he returned to the United States and his continuing outpatient treatment for several years afterward.

  One quote in particular stood out for Sage. The head priest of the mission Tim had worked at, Father Malek, said, “Father Tim is a good man. It is our hope that someday he will come back to this mission and reunite with his brothers and sisters here.” She had a hunch this wasn’t news to Tim, and Sage remembered how he’d accused himself of being a coward after he’d discovered Sheriff Davis’s body. Obviously, his past still haunted him.

  The next paragraph revealed what the Gazette had uncovered about Sage, which wasn’t much. She guessed that was one of the only benefits of being a foster kid and one that had been relocated from another state. Without her real name, the reporter hadn’t been able to find any news about Sage before she arrived at Black Mills around her 15th birthday. It reiterated that she had been a foster kid and contained several effusively loyal quotes from Liddy.

  Sage wadded up the paper and threw it onto the seat next to her. Glancing up, she realized the freight train had long since gone. She gunned the engine down the dusty road and drove away from town.

  After a while, Sage pulled up to a crossroads. If she turned right, the dusty two-tire track road would lead her back to Liddy’s cabin. The engine puttered while she leaned against the headrest and closed her eyes. Everything in her longed to turn left instead. To escape these mountains and the dangerous mysteries they held. Why was she even here? It would be so much easier to fade away and create a new identity somewhere else. Somewhere without the chaos.

  Sage shook her head. Even as she fantasized about escaping, she knew she couldn’t do that to Tim and Gus. Nor could she ignore the Wind.

  It had been with her for so long, guiding her, healing her, teaching her secrets, letting her help suffering creatures. Sage had enjoyed this existence and been able to lose herself in it. But this time everything was different. This mystery lay heavy on her shoulders, and Sage felt helpless against its oppression.

  She cut the car’s engine and opened the window to breathe in the sharp, fresh air. Trees sighed in the gentle morning breeze. The rush of a mountain stream played harmony with the cries of a lonely hawk soaring above.

  “Why have you kept me here in this valley? And why is this battle mine to fight? I have no idea what’s going on or how to solve it. I got Tim involved too, and it’s drug up all his past demons for the whole town to see.” Resignation overwhelmed her. “We’re both probably going to die before this whole thing is over. Not that you care.”

  “Broken One,” the Wind brushed her cheek and flooded the car with its presence. “Do you really think me so cold-hearted that I would lead you to a hopeless battle? And awaken pain in you and the priest for no reason? Do you not trust me at all?”

  Sage considered its words. Did she trust the Wind?

  A vivid memory charged through the layers of her confusion and hopelessness. She’d run away from Uncle Brian again. He’d come home drunk and ready to lash out at something. First he tried to hurt Gus, and when Sage shoved him away from the whimpering dog, Brian turned his anger on her, striking her again and again. Without their healing abilities, Sage knew, she and Gus would never have survived the first month of living with him, let alone the two years they’d suffered under his roof.

  That night he’d been more drunk than usual. Once he passed out, Sage was able to escape his fists and groping hands. The ever loyal Gus trailed after her, but lonely desperation flooded her small, broken heart. A dog, even one as extraordinary as Gus, could not replace the loss that tore through her, fresh every day.

  Although it was July, nights ran cold in the high New Mexican desert. Sage barely noticed as she wove her way through the arroyos, away from Brian’s trailer and deeper into vast emptiness. With all her heart, she wished that some predator of the night would come and send her off to wherever her parents and Daniel had gone.

  With bloodied, bare feet she pushed on, even as the sharp sobs left her breathless. But Sage didn’t care; she longed for this suffering to end.

  She stumbled to the lip of a cliff. The starry heavens lit dark, jagged rocks and a small stream hundreds of feet below. Sage stopped short, then inched closer and closer to the edge. She closed her eyes. “Here I come,” she whispered, but her voice was consumed in a fierce gale of wind that shoved her away from the ledge and knocked her against the tall sandstone boulder behind her.

  “Do not do this,” a voice commanded into her ear in the midst of the roaring wind. “Do not throw away what has been so dearly rescued.”

  “You again?” Sage had cried. “You can’t te
ll me what to do.” Since that terrible, memory-shadowed night she’d lost her family, this mysterious voice had come to her in the moments of her deepest despair. But right now she resented its intrusion and wanted only to stop the pain that raged inside her.

  As rapidly as the mighty Wind had assaulted her, it disappeared. Then a gentle sigh sounded next to her. “I know you are broken, little one, but you are also strong. And there is much to do before you begin that next journey on another road. You must gather up your courage and hold it close around you.”

  Sage crumpled into a ball. “No! I won’t. I can’t be alone. It’s breaking my heart.”

  “You shall not be alone. You have me. Always.” The Wind coaxed her chin up from her clenched body. Brushing her tangled hair off her face, Sage gasped in amazement. A shimmery presence, like stardust, glowed all around her. “And there is an old friend that would miss you very much.”

  A familiar bark sounded from the trail, and Gus jumped onto her lap, licking her face frantically.

  Sage nodded pulling the dog into a tight hug. “At least I have Gus.”

  “And someone else. A man is coming who will teach you how to hear me better. He will be a grandfather to you.” It stroked her forehead gently until Sage’s breathing returned to normal, interrupted only by the occasional sob. “Do you have the courage to live, Broken One? Or will you throw away a life that was saved?”

  Sage gulped. “If Gus … and if you, whatever you are, stay with me. I think ... I think I might have the courage.”

  “Well done. The world has much need of you,” the Wind whispered. It tossed her hair over her shoulder and away from her tear stained face. “Look, a new friend approaches.”

  Sage’s eyes strained in the darkness. Lit by the starlight, a slightly bent form appeared, walking toward her from the vast emptiness of the west. A peace, heavy and warm as a down blanket, fell over Sage’s shoulders. Somehow she knew this person would bring back that feeling she had so desperately missed since her parent’s death: belonging.

  A dusting of pebbles and grit plinked across Sage’s windshield and brought her back to the present.

  “You were very brave then, Broken One, but it becomes harder. Do you still trust me?”

  “Yes,” Sage said with finality, realizing it was true. Despite all the pain of what had conspired in the last few weeks, despite her confusion over Tim, her horror over the deaths of the innocent people of Black Mills, she knew the Wind would guide her. Just as it had guided her since that day on the cliff.

  “Tell me what I need to do,” Sage whispered. “I’m ready.”

  “I led the grandfather to you when you needed him most, so that he could hide and protect you. He also taught you listen to both me and the many hidden voices of this world. Once again, it is time for you to meet someone who will reveal what is hidden. You cannot go forward until you understand what happened before.”

  Sage nodded. Emotions wrestled in a fierce tug-of-war at her next question, but finally she forced the words out. “And Tim?”

  “You must find the priest. Without him, you will fail at what is to come.”

  A deep sigh of release shook her frame, and Sage listened as the Wind gave her directions. Lightness enveloped her as she turned the key in the ignition. Despite her best efforts, the Wind wasn’t going to let her do this alone.

  The mountain peaks’ shadows were just beginning to creep eastward through the valley when Sage spotted Tim and Gus walking along the dirt road. Even from a distance, she saw Tim’s anger in his rigid shoulders and stalking gait. Gus, on the other hand, still seemed to be his good-natured, doggy self.

  Overcome with a dizzying sense of elation, Sage slowly pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Despite Tim’s obvious irritation, she pulsed with the desire to jump from the car and fling herself against him. Instead, she rolled down her window and tensed for what was to come.

  “Hey guys,” she called, and Tim’s head snapped up.

  He stopped mid-stride and stared at her with a stony gaze, but Gus raced across the road and leapt against the car door, begging to be let inside. She stepped out of the car and dropped down to receive Gus’s adoring kisses.

  “I know, I know, you were a good boy,” she praised, which only increased Gus’s happy whines and frantic tail wagging. “You stayed with Tim, just like I told you. Good job, buddy.” When he finally calmed, Sage opened the back door and let the dusty dog hop in. Then she turned to Tim.

  “How’s it going?”

  He stared at her.

  “Get in a nice walk?” She saw the muscles in Tim’s jaw clench as he fought for control.

  “Yeah, wonderful, thanks,” he finally ground out. “I love being stranded in the middle of nowhere, no idea where I am, ditched by my partner.” He shook his head and walked past her. “Now that the two of you are united, I’ll be on my way.”

  Sage chased after him and grabbed his arm. “Come on, Tim. Be serious.”

  “I am serious.” He jerked away and continued walking. “I’ve had enough of you, your werewolf creature, your stupid dog, all of this. I’m sick of it.”

  Sage jogged to stay in step with him. “I told you, not a werewolf. Werewolves are like the G-rated version of a Skinwalker. And besides. Gus isn’t stupid.”

  Tim stopped and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Fine. Your dog’s not stupid.”

  “Look, I’m really sorry, okay? It’s going to take me longer than a week to get used to this partner thing.” His clenched jaw twitched. “You’re just going to have to forgive me and get over it.”

  A grudging smile briefly cracked Tim’s lips before his scowl returned. “Oh, nice. Throw down the forgiveness card. That’s a low blow.”

  Sage shrugged.

  “Where have you been, Sage? Do you have any idea how worried--”

  “Listen, we can talk about it later. Right now we need to meet with someone at the top of Dula Mountain. We’ll barely make it on time if we leave now.”

  Emotions raced across Tim’s face. Sage wondered what she’d do if he refused to come.

  Finally he sighed and turned back towards the car. “Who are we meeting?”

  The knot in her stomach unfurled, and she matched her stride to his. “With someone who will reveal what is hidden.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I’m not sure. The Wind says we can’t go forward until we understand what happened before.”

  They were back at the car now, and Tim threw his backpack in the trunk before jerking open the passenger door. “That’s unhelpfully cryptic.”

  “As always,” Sage gently pushed Gus back as he tried to wiggle his way in between Tim and her. The dog ignored Sage and deliriously licked Tim’s ear and cheek.

  “Calm down, Gus,” he murmured, running his hand through the dog’s fur. “I’m not going to leave, I promise.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The tree shadows stretched impossibly long down the hillside when Sage, Tim, and Gus finally neared the summit of Dula Mountain.

  “So why are we meeting someone all the way up here?” Tim said as they made the final steps of the ascent.

  “I’m not sure. I guess it’s pretty remote, which makes it safe.”

  “It is safe for the time being,” a voice came from behind them, and the two whirled around. “But for how much longer, who knows?”

  An elderly woman in dusty blue jeans and a dark sweater approached. “Shall we sit?” She pointed at an outcropping of several wind-smoothed rocks. “These legs aren’t as young as they once were.”

  “Of course,” Sage answered. “Thank you for meeting with us.”

  The woman nodded and sat down with grace that belied her years. The gentle evening breeze teased jet black and silvery strands of hair from the long braid hanging over her shoulder. Deep wrinkles at her mouth and eyes hinted at years of both joy and pain.

  “Why are we here?” Tim demanded, and the woman turned a stern gaze in his direction.

&
nbsp; “Tim,” Sage whispered, “don’t be rude. She’ll tell us when she’s ready.” Sage turned to the woman. “You are kind to have come all this way, ma’am.”

  “My name is Naomi Notah. You may call me Naomi.”

  “Thank you, Naomi. My name is Sage, and this is Tim Burgney.”

  Her gaze still on Tim, Naomi studied him for a moment before speaking. “You are a holy man.”

  Tim hesitated. “Yes, I was a priest at one time. But not any more.” He looked down. “I’m sorry for being rude. The events of the last few days have been … hard.”

  “Your humility speaks well for you.” She turned to Sage. “And I was told that you lived for a time with the Diné?

  Sage nodded. “With a man named Charles Benally. He was a Hatałii, a Singer.”

  Naomi eyed her silently for several moments. “But you are not Diné.”

  “No,” Sage shook her head. “I don’t know what I am. Just a mutt, I guess. My parents didn’t get a chance to make me anything.”

  Naomi took a deep breath. “You have visions that keep stealing your dreams?”

  Sage nodded.

  “Please tell me about them.”

  Sage closed her eyes and tried to quiet her exhausted mind. Finally she collected her thoughts enough to speak. “When I’m in the middle of the dream, it feels so real. Like it’s actually happening in the present. It’s always close to nighttime in a forest, so a lot of the details are hard to see, but I think it’s at the old mine behind Shelton Reservoir, at the mouth of the Oriel Valley. Do you know the place?”

  Naomi nodded, “Go on.”

  “I’m running through the woods with this group of people, mostly women and children. In one version, a child falls down. I pick her up, and we keep running. I can feel something dangerous behind us. The mothers keep whispering a phrase. Tsxį́įłgo, I think is how it’s pronounced.” Sage looked up and saw Naomi nod impatiently. “Then suddenly we’re at the mine, only it’s a cave in my dream.