Valley of the Broken (Sage of Sevens Book 1)

by K. F. Baugh

  “You’re going to kill me?” Sage spat out.

  “Not quite,” Storm grinned and then turned to the small tray of instruments behind him. “I had been planning to use Sheriff Davis as my new form. Then I’d stumble back into town, saying I’d been attacked and kidnapped by you and the Priest, but things have worked out better than I could have imagined.

  “While Terrance Storm’s body was useful for infiltrating the Oriel Research Station and its arrogant little band of scientists, he has proved pathetically weak, especially after I injected him with the genetic correcting serum. This body has been on the verge of mental collapse since then. The Clozapine is barely working anymore. Besides, this research facility’s days are numbered, and I’m ready to move on.”

  “If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with,” Sage shouted, barely able to suppress the hysteria that threatened to consume her. She heard the two children’s quiet sobs in the background.

  “Kill you? That would be extremely foolish. I have not lived these many long ages by being foolish.” Storm turned and picked up something from the tray. It was a large knife, cruel and ancient looking. “As I said before, you have no idea what you are, do you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sage cried.

  “You’re not human. Your DNA is completely different from any human, ancient or modern, who has walked this earth. That’s why you can heal, communicate without words, talk to the spirit world.”

  Sage’s panicked mind struggled to accept Storm’s words. What did they mean? Was she an alien?

  Storm raised the knife high in the air. “And that is why yours is the body I will inhabit next.” Strange, sing-song words came from his mouth, and slowly, he lowered the knife toward her chest.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  “Wait! One second. I don’t understand. WAIT!” Sage screamed as she felt the knife bite into the skin at her throat.

  Storm paused and met her eyes with impatience. “What?”

  “Go ahead and kill me. That’s fine. But let those children go. And let Sheriff Davis go. They’ve all suffered enough,” Sage begged, the anguish and fear in the young boys’ eyes stamped in her mind. “Even if they told the people in Black Mills everything they saw here, no one would believe them. It’ll sound like they’ve gone crazy. And you’ll be long gone.”

  Storm shook his head. “I told you that I am not a foolish person. I have plans for their bodies. Even with your silly Navajo Singer’s reluctance to speak of me, I’m sure you know that followers of the witchery way, the Ánt’įįhnii, have many uses for the innocent after they are dead. You should know, I shot you with a bone bead from one of them.”

  “No!” Sage screamed, her grasp on sanity finally snapping as the full implication of Storm’s words rolled over her in crushing waves. He had shot her with some poor victim’s bone. And very soon Davis and the children would be used for the same purpose.

  “No more! You’ve destroyed enough! ” She sobbed as Storm resumed singing.

  It was too much. This creature had erased so many innocent, beautiful lives. Time slowed, and the tragedy of each death weighed upon her soul. She saw futures that would never be realized, dreams dissolved into ashes, and tears, enough to fill a river of agony.

  “Broken One,” a soft voice threaded through her sorrow. “It is time. Are you ready?”

  “For what?” Sage whispered.

  “You must trust now. Are you ready?”

  A feather-soft caress brushed against her cheek. Sage choked back her tears and took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

  Suddenly, every cell in her body was singing with electric energy. Her heart hammered with explosive force, and she writhed against the sharp pricks of pain in her hands and feet. A roar of thunder crashed in her ears, and white light exploded around her.

  “What’s happening?” her voice cracked sharply with terror.

  “Don’t be scared.”

  Sage felt a snap, then another and another. She looked down and realized she’d ripped the restraints from her body. Storm stood frozen next to her, knife still suspended over her heart, and she knocked it away. Her body rose up over the table in a wave of trembling energy. Suddenly she was floating in the air, flying. Below her she saw Storm cowering on the ground, beginning his transformation back into the Skinwalker. But she barely spared him a glance. Several incandescent forms occupied the room, floating protectively in front of the cages where the children and Sheriff Davis crouched in terror.

  Unable to make out their features, Sage blinked, but it was like she was viewing the beings through a shimmer of tears. She reached up to wipe her face, but instead of a hand, feathers brushed her cheek.

  “Broken One,” a voice interrupted. “You have done well.” The presence before the children’s cage was suddenly in front of her. For a brief second, its features tried to arrange themselves into a face, but then disappeared back into a iridescent, ethereal mass. “It is time to finish this dark evil once and for all.”

  Sage looked down at the slathering Skinwalker that leapt beneath her, shocked at how pitiful and weak it now seemed.

  The presence seemed to read her thoughts. “Yes, this one has been very clever in disguising himself in terror, but he truly is as you see him now.”

  Sage shuddered in disgust. The Skinwalker looked like a deformed dog or coyote.

  “For the sake of those who live here, you must destroy him. Now. Otherwise he will continue to bring destruction. This valley has suffered enough.”

  “How do I …” Sage tried to ask, but her voice came out as an inarticulate series of high pitched cries.

  “You must consume him.”

  The presence retreated back to the children, and Sage willed herself downward. The Skinwalker shied away, but then feinted back toward her with its claws outstretched. Sage leapt away from their reach, still unsure of how to fight back. The creature lunged toward her again, and this time Sage knocked it away. She watched in awe as the Skinwalker flew across the room, screaming in pain. The smell of burnt flesh and fur filled the air.

  Sage looked down at her hands. But they weren’t hands, they were wings. Black, white and azure feathers glowed with silver brilliance. Small flames leapt from the shimmering barbs and hissed as they hit the scattered papers on the floor. Sage leapt back in shock, awed by the transformation that had occurred.

  A sharp, searing pain tore across her back, and she turned to find the Skinwalker, now behind her, attacking her once more, its claws covered with smoking, bloodied feathers.

  Rage replaced confusion, and Sage stretched out her arms. She rose into the air then leapt upon the Skinwalker with vicious, glowing talons. Howls of fury and pain echoed about her, but Sage could not tell if they were hers or the creature’s. She pulled the writhing, wild mass closer and closer; then, suddenly, blinding light engulfed both of them.

  An earsplitting clap of thunder reverberated through the room and drowned out the creature’s cries. Then, in an explosion of white energy so powerful it seemed it must destroy them both, Sage felt the Skinwalker disintegrate into nothingness as she clutched it against her breast. Pain seared through her, and she fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

  The patter of gentle rain bathed her face, and Sage forced her eyes open into exhausted slits. Ash and feathers danced along the line of her vision. One smoldering feather landed on her cheek and rested there, like a comforting kiss.

  “Sage?” she heard Sheriff Davis call. “Sage, are you alive?”

  Then everything went black.

  Chapter Forty

  The next sound she heard was the gentle beep of a heart monitor. Sage tried to move, but her limbs felt desperately heavy.

  “I thought I saw her eyelids flutter,” said a voice.

  “I’ll just check her vitals,” came another.

  Sage’s stomach clenched. Not again! No! The thing was finally dead. And she was too. Sage tried to groan but something was stuck in her throat, ch
oking her.

  “I think she’s coming to,” the first voice sounded again.

  Sage felt as though she needed to vomit and struggled against the pressure against her throat.

  “Let’s go ahead and remove her breathing tube.”

  There was a strange tugging sensation at her throat and suddenly she was gasping, gagging, and breathing on her own as the thing pulled free. Focusing all her concentration on her eyes, she forced them open.

  Bright light and blurry images danced in her vision. Was it the beings again? She blinked, trying to clear the fog, but it stubbornly remained. A body leaned in close and shined something into her eyes. She flinched.

  “Shhh, it’s okay, Sage.” She felt the gentle pressure of another hand squeezing hers. “You’re safe now. The doctor’s just checking to make sure you’re all right.

  “Doctor ... who?” Sage rasped.

  “One of my favorite TV shows, but you can call me Dr. Chase. Now tell me, Sage, how’s your vision?”

  “Blurry,” Sage croaked.

  “That’s to be expected with coming out of a coma. We’re fairly confident it will clear up, with time.”

  “You hear that, honey? You just keep resting up and everything’s going to be fine.”

  “Liddy? Is that you?” Sage turned her head in the direction of the speaker.

  “Yes, of course it’s me. Where else would I be but next to the bed of my girl? And the town’s hero.”

  “Hero?”

  “Don’t you remember what happened?” Liddy’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Is it amnesia, doctor?”

  “I’m not sure,” Dr. Chase answered. “Let’s give her a moment. Take your time, Sage, and let your mind relax. What’s the last thing you remember?”

  “There was a lot of white…” Sage cleared her throat and tried again. “A searing heat. But I had to protect the children. I had to crush …” The Skinwalker, Tim, Gus. She gasped and pressed herself back against the bed striking out at the doctor and Liddy.

  “It’s all right, honey. It’s all right.” Liddy’s voice cracked, and Sage felt her sit down on the bed. “You’re safe here. You know you can trust your old Liddy, don’t you?”

  “I’ll give you two a few minutes.” Sage felt a gentle squeeze on her shoulder and then heard the door open and shut.

  “Honey, I promise you’re safe now. Can you believe that?”

  Sage nodded reluctantly. “What happened?” she croaked out.

  “Now, they’re not releasing all the details of what went on up there in Oriel,” Liddy continued. “So, I can’t answer everything, but from what they have told us, you saved the entire town from being some sort of cockamamy medical experiment.”

  “The Sk— and Dr. Storm?” She corrected herself. “Is he…?”

  “He’s dead. Don’t you worry about him. Sheriff Davis said he got burnt up, along with most of the lab. But they’re still up there looking for more clues.”

  “Who’s they?”

  “The FBI, I think. I’m not exactly sure. They all drive big, black SUVs so I figure they’re part of some government agency. They were already here in town with everyone thinking Sheriff Davis was killed, but now they seem to be running the entire Black Mills Police Department. Got Officer Olson under arrest too. That was the first thing Tim and Sheriff Davis saw to after they got back into town and before we knew it—”

  “Tim’s alive?” Sage cried. “But he was … I thought he was dead.” She let out a choked sob. Liddy bustled around the room, tucking the blankets more tightly around Sage and gently wiping her face with tissue until she calmed down.

  “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t realize you thought he was dead. Aside from you, he’s been the talk of the town. Sheriff Davis made him the head honcho of the mopping up operations over at Oriel. Doing a good job too, leaving no stone unturned and all that.”

  “The serum? No one got injected?” Sage gasped.

  “No one, sweetie. You saved us all.”

  “But there were other things going on there.” Sage pulled her hand from Liddy’s. “It wasn’t just the serum.”

  “Now, don’t go getting all riled up, Sage. Tim’ll make sure that everything is done properly. He’s already pretty much dismantled the entire operation up there and has helped the city bring a class action suit against the muckety mucks who ran the joint.”

  “What are you talking about? How long have I been here, unconscious?”

  “Nearly two weeks now.”

  “Two weeks!” Sage shouted. Her voice dissolved into a dry, hacking cough. It tasted of blood and ash.

  The door opened and closed again, and Sage felt Liddy move away from her bed.

  “I think we’d better make sure our patient doesn’t overexert herself,” Dr. Chase said and she saw his dark form move toward her.

  “But I have so many more questions!” Sage protested and tried to pull away when she felt a pressure at her wrist. “I want to talk to Tim.”

  “I’m sure you do,” Dr. Chase answered. “But I want you to get better. And even though your progress has been almost miraculous these last few days, you gave us a pretty good scare at the beginning. I want you to make a complete recovery. Rest is the best thing for that.”

  “But—”

  “Quiet now, honey,” Liddy’s voice came as if from far away, and Sage felt the woman brush the hair off her forehead.

  A familiar heaviness covered her, and Sage struggled against it for only a few brief moments before succumbing to the soft, warm quiet.

  Chapter Forty-One

  When Sage awakened again, the room was dark and deserted. She blinked and realized her vision was practically clear, only blurry around the edges. She stretched this way and that, testing her body. Although she was stiff and parts of her, especially her ribs, felt tender, Sage knew she was close to normal.

  Quietly, Sage eased herself from the hospital bed and steadied herself against the bed before taking several tentative steps. In a threadbare visitor’s chair, she found a bag full of her clothes. Sage bit her lip. Liddy must have brought them in anticipation of her release.

  “Sweet Liddy. I’m sorry,” Sage whispered before quickly dressing. Peering through the door’s window, she waited until the late nurse left her desk. Sage slipped through the night-darkened halls of the small mountain hospital until she found a back service entrance and escaped.

  She trotted cautiously to the impound lot behind the city hall and scaled the chain link fence. Her heart leapt at the site of her Jeep, the lone offender in dusty parking lot. She climbed up over the roll bar into the driver’s seat and found her spare key in the glove compartment.

  The night was warm, and Sage drove down Main Street breathing in the fragrant, familiar scents of the sleeping town. When she stopped at a red light on the deserted main street, she let her eyes linger over the coffee shop, grocery store, and the library. The Wind danced through her car, ruffled her hair, and whispered that it was time to go.

  Sage contemplated stopping by her house, but decided against it. Everything she really needed, all her camping supplies, most of her clothes, and some food and water were still in her Jeep. Even though Grandfather Benally’s rug was precious to her, Sage would write Liddy apologizing, explaining what happened, and ask her to keep the rug safe. Sage couldn’t face entering her old home without the familiar jingle of Gus’s dog tags by her side. She swallowed. The loss of the dog had haunted her dreams and thoughts since she’d awakened. She couldn’t imagine life without her best friend.

  Driving up the deserted road to Oriel, Sage marveled at how different the journey felt compared to her prior sojourns between the two valleys. The soft, peaceful quietness of the mountain forests was now unmarred by boundaries, bloody deeds, or sinister machinations. The eight miles went by quickly, and before she knew it, she was in Oriel.

  She pulled her Jeep into the empty guest center parking lot and climbed out. The town was deserted. Crime scene tape floated around several of th
e buildings, but it seemed old, like it had served its purpose and was now merely a reminder of yesterday’s news.

  Sage walked slowly between the buildings, peeking in several windows only to find deserted interiors. The occasional mouse scurried across her path and several bats flapped through the darkness, but other than that she saw no one.

  At last she ended up in front of the Rand Building. Shivering in the moonlight, she stared at the cabin then turned to survey the valley that surrounded it. Although the evil had not completely dissipated, it had lessened considerably. Probably no one besides the Wind would ever know the complete depths of darkness that had been committed here, and for that she was grateful.

  She heard a crunch on the trail behind her, but didn’t turn around.

  “I thought I’d find you here,” Tim’s voice came from the darkness.

  “Had to give it one last look.”

  He came and stood close beside her. “The doctors are going to have a fit when they realize you’ve left the hospital.”

  “It’s all right.” Sage smiled up at him, his face illuminated in the moonlight. “I know someone with a first aid kit.”

  “The Feds and the people of Black Mills aren’t going to be too happy either. You’re a pretty popular lady around here.”

  Sage looked down. “They’ll forget about me before too long.”

  “I won’t.” Tim’s fingers gently found hers, and they gazed at the building, both caught up in memories that already seemed too implausible to be real.

  After a while, his voice, now a gentle whisper broke the silence. “Sage, you don’t have to go. We could figure this out together.”

  “All the questions, Tim, all the follow up interviews. And I’m not even sure exactly what happened. You know I … can’t do that.”

  “That’s what I thought you’d say,” his voice rasped with emotion, and tears welled in Sage’s eyes. Tim released her hand and pulled her into his strong arms.