of sweat, and her throat felt parched, as though she hadn’t had a drink in days. She sat up and held his hand, watched as his chest rose and fell in soft bellows. No longer afraid, she moved her hand up to his wrist and felt the silver bracelet. It vibrated beneath her fingertips.
The legend was true, deep down she knew, though she didn’t know why Mitch had kept it from her. Becky’s search for Sage. Liberty inhaled sharply and turned toward the door as she remembered. Becky already stood there, a paper in her hands.
“What is it?”
Becky shook her head. “Mitch told you the truth. Sage lives here—”
“I know.” Liberty looked at him, whispered, “He showed me, helped me to understand.” Liberty filled Becky in, finished with, “I think you may have been right about your parents.”
“My parents?” Becky looked perplexed.
“Yes. You have the white light, but no band. Your parents must have worn them.
Liberty watched her expression, a mind search visible on her face as she tried to absorb and recall. Becky narrowed her eyes and nodded slowly.
“Yeah. I guess they did. Truthfully, I’d really never paid attention. I’d totally forgotten until now.”
Liberty understood Becky’s expression, confused, slammed with new information that changed your life. Changed the meaning of your life. It looked all too familiar.
Becky thought for a moment, and then said, “I can’t believe it. I just up and left them. I don’t know what to do, I feel so bad.”
She could relate. “I know.” Though he was sleeping, Liberty lowered her voice to just above a whisper and gestured toward Mitch. “He gave Sage a gift so great…how could I possibly have measured him so poorly?”
Becky leaned against the doorway, stared across at the wall like Mitch had. Seemed to be watching everything she knew unravel.
“She wasn’t up there, was she?” Liberty couldn’t wait any longer.
Becky looked down for a moment, then shook her head to clear the clutter. “No. And I’m sorry to say this, but I think Sage might be in trouble.”
Becky motioned for Liberty to follow her out. They went to the kitchen area in the basement and Becky flipped on the light above the table.
“You don’t think she could be hiding, not knowing you know the secret?”
“No. But it’s just like Mitch said, he did make up a really pretty room for her. Painted a soft purple.”
Sage’s favorite color. Liberty nodded. “Tell me why she’s in trouble.”
“This.” Becky laid a picture on the table.
She picked up the photo and her heart skipped a beat. It was Sage, dressed in a satiny red gown that clung to her body and sparkled in the sunlight, “Look, Becky,” she touched the picture, “it’s all true. She’s outside in this picture.”
She nodded. “Looks like it’s from Prom.”
“Prom?” Such a beautiful dream come true. “Wow.”
“This here.” Becky pointed to the boy in the photo. “Is what I meant by trouble.”
Liberty’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the boy. The hair stood up on the back of her neck. “Why?”
Becky flipped the picture over. ‘Me & Victor’ was written on the back of it, inside the shape of a heart.
Liberty quickly made the connection. “The Victor? From the Adrian photo?”
Becky nodded. “Gotta be the same one.”
Liberty looked toward the steps, hoping there was still a chance. “She’s not upstairs?”
“No.”
“I need to get Mitch to talk to me.” Liberty picked up the photo and hurried back into the room. His eyes were still closed, but he was also still breathing. She leaned close to his ear. “Please open your eyes. If you can.”
He made little kissing sounds as he opened and shut his mouth. She tamped down a shriek when she pictured gills on his cheeks. She couldn’t erase it, he looked like a trout that had managed to flip itself onto the bank and was trying to breathe. She closed her eyes for a few seconds to compose herself.
Liberty leaned close to his ear, “Mitch.”
He opened his eyes, no more than a slit, and she held the picture up close to his face. “Mitch, look. It’s a picture of Sage and her boyfriend. His name is Victor. I think she’s in trouble.”
“Sage?” he rasped, though it came out sounding like “Say”.
“Becky and I went to Victor’s house tonight, and we nearly got ourselves killed. When we were there I heard a Sasquatch wail and now Adrian is gone.”
Becky stepped in the space between her and Mitch. “Mitch, honey. It’s me. I need you to tell me if