Sanctuary

By E. Edgar Price

It has been nearly a year since Tyler, Sarah, and Benji Rose lost their mother in a tragic accident. Unable to cope, they are sent to live with their Grandfather on a wildlife sanctuary in rural Colorado. Amidst their unresolved grief and resentment, they each have strange encounters that make them wonder exactly what kind of wildlife their Grandfather is protecting.

When a secret world of cursed men, mythical beings, and mounting stacks of magical paperwork is revealed, the Rose siblings begin a journey into the heart of magic. One sibling will risk their life for a simple wish, another will save them, and one will see the darker side of magic that threatens them all.

Comprised of family secrets, hidden legacies, and the power of the soul, Sanctuary is a truthful yet fantastical profile of one family’s quest to heal after surviving terrible loss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: E. Edgar Price
• Release date: Dec 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301388158

E. Edgar Price

Miss Price is an award winning author and burgeoning talent. As of this date, she has spent most of her career writing memoirs and short romantic fiction for contests. However, she has several novels in the works and has completed the first of many Young Adult titles in the fantasy genre.

Book preview

Sanctuary

By

E. Edgar Price

Smashwords Edition

*****

Published by:

E. Edgar Price on Smashwords

Sanctuary

Copyright 2012 E. Edgar Price

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Chapter 1: Overlook

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The mountains of Colorado looked strange and alien to Sarah. She’d never seen anything like them. They were jagged and sharp, covered sparsely with trees that only highlighted the visible stratum. Unlike the red, sandy mountains of Grand Junction, where Sarah and her family had flown into, the Rockies further south were dark: black and silver and gray. Oddly, they still had adornments of snow even though it was the end of May. Miles away, back home in Mobile, Alabama, it was already hot and humid, but here the air was thin and cool. It was like a whole other world.

Sarah was startled out of her window gazing when the SUV came to a jarring halt. She turned from the pretty view and watched with knots in her stomach as her dad got out of the vehicle without a word and marched to the edge of the overlook where they were stopped. Benji, her thirteen year old little brother, began to pound the dashboard in front of him. Looking around the seat in front of her, she watched as Benji continued to vent his anger on the rented vehicle.

Sarah pulled her headphones, which had been serving to block out the continued arguments in the front of the car, out of her ears. She looked between Benji’s scrunched up face and her father’s rapidly retreating back with wary apprehension.

What just happened? Sarah asked once her brother calmed down.

Benji’s face was splotchy with anger. He didn’t answer her. Instead, he glared out the window at the tall pacing figure of their father. They’d pulled off at a tourist’s overlook and Todd, their father, was currently ping ponging in anger between a low stone wall and a brief picnic area.

Benji and Todd had been fighting over this trip for weeks now. The problem: this wasn’t a vacation. This was a move. And Benji wasn’t bothering to hide his unhappiness about it.

Sarah looked over to her older brother, Tyler, sitting next to her. His ear-buds were in, his iPod was on, and he was indiscriminately ignoring all of them while reading a book. Sarah, sighed, patted Benji’s shoulder, and attempted to calm him as she unbuckled her seat belt and opened her door.

This isn’t helping, Benji, she said softly, Dad’s just trying to do what he thinks is best for all of us. Benji snorted and kicked the dashboard again. She hadn’t really expected him to listen to her. Hang on for a minute and we’ll get a snack and work it out, she told him diplomatically.

Sarah rudely shoved Tyler’s arm to get his attention and motioned towards the grocery bag filled with snacks between their feet and then to a picnic table she spotted nearby before getting out of the cumbersome rental car. She checked to make sure he was following through with her gestured suggestion (he was, though his headphones were still crammed in his ears) before she took a deep breath and started toward her pacing, red faced, father.

It had been like this since their father, a professor of anthropology, had announced, with no preamble, he was going to Australia for a year to study aboriginal religions. That was two months ago. It had been only nine months since their mother, Annie, died in a horrible car accident on a rain soaked bridge back in July. The one year anniversary was now looming ahead, barely a month away.

Todd had never been the world’s best dad, always working and traveling periodically for research, but he tried to make time for his kids and his wife. He showed up at their sports games or school plays when he could manage it and took Annie out to dinner or a the theater at least once a month. He was a good dad, Sarah thought. He just couldn’t handle being a single dad.

Their small family was stopped about an hour south of Grand Junction, Colorado at yet another scenic overlook (people in Colorado must love to look at the scenery, Sarah surmised). The rental SUV was crammed with all the stuff they could reasonably pack and they were about a half an hour away from a town called Natalie where Black Rock Wildlife Sanctuary was apparently situated. And, of course, the closer they’d gotten to their destination the more vocal Benji became and the angrier and more nervous Todd seemed. Sarah was grateful that Benji had at least waited until they were off their numerous flights and out of the airports before he’d thrown this particular tantrum.

The sun shone brightly, at odds with her family’s mood. When Sarah reached her father, Todd stopped pacing and stood with his hands in his back pockets looking over the low stone wall and down to the cliffs and valleys below. He took slow deep breaths, but Sarah thought he still looked tense and red.

Daddy? she said cautiously as she approached him. You okay?

He didn’t look at her, but said, I forgot how thin the air is up here. Funny how you forget little things like that.

How long has it been since you’ve been here? Sarah asked, not willing to push into talking about Benji just yet.

Not since your mom and me got married, he said quietly. This was new. He hadn’t talked about her mom directly since her death and Sarah was startled into listening. She stayed with us, me and your aunt and my parents, during summer holidays. She went to the university in Denver with Aunt Rachel. That was how we met. Todd’s shoulders had relaxed, his hands drooped at his sides and his voice was nearly a whisper now. With a quick shrug and rapid change in demeanor he huffed, I’m fine Sarah. Your brother just got me riled.

He hugged her to his side before looking back towards the SUV. I see you’ve got them setting out snacks, he commented. What do you say we eat before we get going again? He smiled at her and walked over to the picnic table where Tyler and Benji now sat, munching chips and cookies without enthusiasm.

Sure, Daddy, she said quietly to his retreating back. Sounds like a good plan.

As she walked away from the overlook, she watched her father with a worried frown. She could have sworn he’d looked almost frightened when he was talking about Mom. But that was stupid. He was just sad. They all were. But the thought brought on a small fear in herself, and the more she thought of it, the more she was sure he really had looked scared. Not sad, but scared.

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Chapter 2: The Middle of Nowhere

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Twenty-five minutes of hairpin turns and sheer drops later, Todd turned off the highway and into a very small town. Smaller than small, Tyler thought. Tiny even, his resentful mind asserted. After passing a Burger King and a gas station, there was a church, what looked like a little park beyond that and bunch of crushed together shops that could have come straight out of a wild-west picture book. There’d been a sign just before the church that said Welcome to Natalie in big bold letters and beneath that, in much smaller print, The biggest town in the county. Carved in relief beside these declarations was some semblance of a pioneer (maybe?) that appeared to be winking. Right back at’cha, Tyler thought and briefly considered flipping the whole town the bird just to make himself feel better.

A glance at Sarah next to him revealed that she was looking up and around instead of reading, and he really didn’t want to be the recipient of any of her patented dirty looks, so he refrained. At sixteen, Tyler was a year and two months older than Sarah, but she had the uncanny ability to make him feel like an errant two-year old when she put her mind to it. Especially in recent months.

He knew she’d taken the brunt of everything after their mom died, but Tyler really couldn’t help that. He’d just had to get out of that house and away from his suffocating family. At first he felt bad about it, but, after a few illegal beers with his buddies, he forgot about her and Benji and his dad. More importantly, he forgot his mom was dead and his life was permanently changed. He suddenly felt free to party with his friends and see how many girls he could make out with while he was at it. When he finally got home, Sarah was usually waiting, and somehow she made him feel guilty without even saying anything. As if it was all his fault. And since it wasn’t and he certainly didn’t want to feel guilty about, he went out again as soon as he could.

Things had been getting better, he thought as he stared out the window at a low brick building with peeling blue paint. Valley Time Video, professed the plain black and white sign. A small hand lettered piece of poster board claimed they also had tanning beds in bold red letters. What a wonderful place, Tyler mused sarcastically.

He could see that Sarah was having a hard time. She never went out anymore and, even he noticed she put on weight. To his chagrin his friends used to ask him if she’d go out with them, they’d thought she was pretty and smart, which she was. Not that Tyler ever admitted that, of course. But not long after Mom died, his friends stopped asking about her. Maybe at first they were just unsure of what to say even if they could get a date with her, but Tyler slowly realized that his sister had taken on the appearance of the walking dead. And who would want to date that?

He was also aware that Benji was going nuts. Benji would be fourteen this summer and a freshman in high school this fall. But now the little kid was constantly yelling and punching at the nearest thing at hand. Tyler was home once when Benji’d started screaming and punched a hole in the wall because Sarah wouldn’t get him take-out or something. Sarah just stood there, blankly staring at her little brother. Tyler guessed she simply didn’t know what to do. He didn’t either, but he tried to be around more after that.

Sometimes he couldn’t help shutting himself up in his room with his music. His siblings still made him feel irrationally overwhelmed sometimes, but he thought he was coping. He even started talking to the goofy guidance counselor at school like he was supposed to. But, of course, Dad had to go and ruin it.

The change will be good for us, Dad said. You’ll make new friends, Dad said. You can play basketball again, Dad said. And with every word Dad uttered Tyler wanted to run further and further away. Since he couldn’t, he shut himself up in his room and drowned out the world with music. Tyler didn’t think this move would be good for any of them, and he certainly wasn’t going to help Dad run away to Australia. Especially since that was exactly the kind of thing Tyler himself wanted to do. But he still felt guilty about Sarah and Benji.

Tyler figured they both needed somebody, probably Benji more than anyone else. So he didn’t fight the move, either. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and his music on and did whatever was needed to get this all over with. Maybe once Benji and Sarah were in a place where they could be taken care of, he’d finally stop feeling guilty. And maybe his Dad would start, he added meanly.

After the video/tanning place they turned onto a road lined with a few crappy apartments and some log cabin-like houses. There was a sign to his right that said This way to Uphill Lake 6 Miles, All Uphill. Tyler guessed it was supposed to be funny.

Uphill Lake? Sarah wondered.

It’s a big lake further into the valley, Dad told her. It’s good fishing, but the edge of the lake is really steep, kind of like the edge of a crater. It’s quite a climb, hence the name.

Sounds interesting, huh Benji? She tried to get a response from the morose little guy in the front seat.

Maybe, Benji said with a shrug.

They passed a road that went off to the right labeled Uphill Rd. with what looked like an abandoned gas pump and garage on the far corner. Instead of a sign, the white painted cinder block structure was covered with black spray paint declaring it Seymour’s Service Station. More to break the stifling silence that was descending than out of curiosity, Tyler asked, Is that place still in operation?

Probably, Dad answered. It’s looked that way since I was a kid, but old Mr. Seymour keeps it going.

If he’s still alive, Tyler pointed out.

He’s probably still kicking. He was a tough old man and pays kids in free soda if they haul around some of his junk.

I think I saw some guys in the garage part, Sarah added.

Then it’s probably still running. If a car’s broke down, Seymour’s is pretty much it if you want it fixed around here. At least it was the last time I was here, Dad amended.

How come we’ve never been here before? Benji asked abruptly.

Dad was quiet for a moment. It’s ten miles from the service station to the main gate, he said instead of answering Benji’s question.

Apparently, Tyler thought, he can’t even answer the kid’s simple question. He glared at the back of his dad’s head and began to put his ear-buds back in, resuming his music, but Sarah put a hand over his. She shook her head with a pleading look. Did she have to look so sad all the time? Tyler grunted and put his iPod in a backpack on the floor. So, what is there to do around here? he asked with a look at his sister that asked, Happy now?

Yeah, what did you do as a kid, Daddy? she asked in a too-bright voice. Tyler rolled his eyes at her.

Well, their Dad began, There’s some cool stuff up at the main house. A pool, for instance, and a croquet field. And a life size chess board.

Really? Benji asked doubtfully. Like in Harry Potter?

Tyler had to hand it to his sister. She sure knew how to defuse the tension in their family. Not for the first time he thought she should go into diplomacy or something. Benji now looked grudgingly interested and was gazing out the window instead of staring down at his feet (his handheld video game died hours ago). Even Tyler was a little bit intrigued. What kind of place had a life-size chess board?

Yup, Dad replied with a little laugh. One of your ancestors built it after he made it big in the gold rush. He liked chess and used to play the game with his wife. The pieces don’t move on their own or anything, but it can still be pretty fun. You’ll have to get your Grandpa to teach you, he added.

What else? Benji asked.

Umm . . . let’s see, Dad started hesitatingly. There’s lots of animals and a fish pond; a big old barn with a wooden swing inside the hayloft, Dad started listing things off. There’s a garden that has a big hedge maze. It was another showy contribution by our gold rush ancestor. He gestured behind them towards the town. The town has a park with a few duck ponds and it used to have a mini-golf course. The teenagers generally hang out at Uphill Lake, he said glancing back at Tyler and Sarah. There isn’t much in the town square, just offices and a diner, but on the other side of town are a movie theater and an old restaurant. The high school art club used to show old movies in the gym, classic black and whites.

Sarah interrupted his list with a laugh, Gee Dad, I thought all you guys had back then were black and whites!

Dad laughed a little too before defending his age by saying he wasn’t that old and continuing to name off a few things, like the video store they’d passed. You’re Aunt told me they built a community center near the elementary school a few years ago. They do little league teams and exercise classes and bingo and stuff. Probably not too interesting for you guys, he said, but maybe worth checking out. Dad paused to navigate a sharp curve that ended in a bridge over a river.

This is the Springy River, he informed them. Too shallow for swimming, but sometimes kids get together and float down it in inner tubes. It widens out to a little lagoon further downstream where you can get out have a party or a picnic. It’s pretty cold, though.

What if you get really, really bored? Benji prodded. I mean that’s really not much stuff when you think about it.

True, Dad agreed. I suppose if you got really bored you could go south for the day. Durango is about an hour south of here and it’s a pretty touristy-type place with lots of shops. There’s river where they do white water rafting there too. And between here and there are a few other ‘tourist traps’ you might say: Ouray is a town famous for having a singer from the seventies as mayor, Silverton has little shops and skiers and a train that goes to Durango, and to the West is a place called Telluride which has a film festival and some celebrities have cabins or ranches up there. That enough stuff to do? Dad inquired.

Maybe, Benji hedged, but Tyler could tell he was satisfied. Then he let out a quickly smothered gasp and pointed ahead. Is that where we’re going?

Dad only nodded as Tyler and Sarah leaned forward to get a better look. Ahead of them was a massive carved wooden gate set in a thick stone wall twice as tall as Tyler; at least twelve feet, maybe more. As they approached the gate, the road turned to gravel and Tyler could see the stone part of the wall ended about six feet away on each side to be replaced by a wooden fence.

Does that fence go all the way around? Tyler asked. How big is this place?

Yeah, Dad answered. I think it encloses the whole sanctuary, but it becomes mostly barbed wire later on. And I honestly have no idea how much land is here. Dad sounded oddly nervous.

Black Rock Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarah read off of an engraved bronze plaque bolted to the right stone wall.

Tyler read a similar plaque on the left. Trespassers Will Face Punishment. That was weird. Nope, that’s not ominous at all, he commented sarcastically. Tyler shared a look with Sarah.

Isn’t this a farm, too? Sarah asked.

Part of the land here is used for farming, Dad said slowly, but most of it is for the animals and plants that live here. Your grandfather keeps track of the animals in the sanctuary and the government pays him in grants for the upkeep, but that’s not always enough. So he also runs a farm and sells milk, eggs, and produce for extra income.

That’s smart, Sarah observed as they passed through the gate. This is a long drive way, she observed a few minutes later.

Tyler had to agree. Dad had slowed because of the gravel, but they were at least a mile into a dense forest that started just beyond the gate. As the minutes passed, the SUV eked along what must have been nearly three miles before there was a break in the trees. This time it was Sarah who gasped and Tyler let out his own gurgle of amazement. His objections to the move were momentarily forgotten as he stared at the weirdest house he’d ever seen.

A long, thin oval drive, at least half a mile itself, fronted the obnoxious building. Tyler saw gardens to the right (and maybe the hedge maze?) before a huge, round, stone tower rose up. The tower was attached to the right side of the house, also stone, which had a flat roof like a castle’s. The stone then gave way to a wood and plaster-type wall that made up the front of the house. Tyler wouldn’t have been surprised if it had a thatched roof, but a glace up revealed normal shingling. The left side of the house was more modern looking, if anyone could call gothic Victorian modern, that is. The roof jutted up like a high cathedral complete with a round stained glass window at the top.

Of course the weirdest part of the house, Tyler realized, wasn’t actually part of the house. Four white Doric columns stood on a (marble?) platform to the far left of the house. There was a long stone beam across the top of them with some kind of carvings in it. Behind the columns was a blue swimming pool flanked by an identical set of columns on the other side. To left of the pool was another small building made from smooth, white stone. It was like a roman bath or something, Tyler thought.

The whole place looked like Sleeping Beauty’s castle meets the Seven Dwarf’s cottage meets Frankenstein’s manor meets the Parthenon. It was . . . weird, Tyler decided. There just weren’t a lot of other words coming to mind. He suddenly realized that Dad had stopped the car and was staring silently just like Tyler, Sarah and Benji, minus the open mouth. So this is it? Tyler prompted, struggling to put a shrugging nonchalance into his voice. Doesn’t look like much of a farm.

No, Dad said, starting to ease the car into the circular drive. I guess not.

Tyler confirmed the north side of the house with the tower was where the garden and the hedges began as they drove past it. Ahead, the double front doors opened and two men and a woman stepped out. The front steps were wide, almost like a porch, and shallow.

When the SUV came to a stop, Dad waved a hand towards the building. Welcome to Black Rock Manor, he said nervously.

Nope, Tyler thought, not ominous at all.

*****

Chapter 3: Rooms of Their Own

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Benji’s Aunt Rachel looked a lot like his father. She was shorter and softer, but she had the same dark brown hair, the same blue eyes, and even the same freckles scattered across her nose. She was slovenly dressed in an oversized white button up shirt that had seen better days and denim cutoffs. There were splotches of dirt and maybe paint all over her and her hair was fixed in an untidy braid over her shoulder. She smiled as she opened the passenger door.

Hello, Benji, Aunt Rachel said cheerfully. You’ve grown nearly a foot since last I saw you. Benji frowned, thinking that every relative always said that after not seeing you for a while, whether it was true or not. She gave him a brief hug and then opened Sarah’s door and ushered her out of the back seat. Goodness, it’s wonderful to see you all! I’m so glad you made it safe and sound.

Why wouldn’t we have? Benji asked in a surly voice. Everyone ignored him.

The older man behind Aunt Rachel went around to Dad’s side and shook his hand. His hair was thick, white, and long. It fanned out around his head, like an aging lion, Benji thought. He wasn’t bent or hunched and didn’t wear glasses like Benji’s other grandfather. Grandpa Lee was tall and stout and still muscular. And he always looked vaguely threatening to Benji.

You remember your Uncle Matt? Aunt Rachel said, bringing Benji’s attention to the other man now helping Tyler at the back of the car. Benji nodded, though, he hadn’t actually seen Uncle Matt since he was around six or so and didn’t really remember him (Uncle Matt had not come to Mom’s funeral the previous summer). The man had curly carrot colored hair that was long enough to put in a ponytail which, with all the curls, Benji thought looked like an orange bunny tail. He was tall and lanky, taller than Dad and Tyler, so over six feet. He wore black wire framed glasses almost too small for his face and had wide smile, which he aimed in Benji’s direction. Benji did not smile back.

He ignored everyone and, instead, took the opportunity to look at the house. This is an ugly house, he said loudly. He heard his sister’s voiced objection from behind him, but Aunt Rachel just laughed. She was far too happy to be normal.

Yes, it’s very ugly, Rachel agreed. This is what happens when too many opposing ideas come together. It’s even stranger on the inside, she continued, but there’s lots of room. She put her arm out as if to hug him, but Benji skirted the attempted embrace and bent to pick up some of the bags Sarah was emptying out of the SUV.

Don’t worry about the luggage, Aunt Rachel said, gesturing to all three teenagers. Why don’t you just grab what you can carry for now and I’ll show you to your rooms.

Tyler shrugged in apathy and Benji ignored her, but Sarah said she’d love to and followed Aunt Rachel into the manor. Benji stared after them into the strange confines of the house. It looked dark inside, like a smelly and dank cave or something. He looked around for his dad, but found him talking intently with Grandpa Lee. Tyler had grabbed a suitcase and was walking toward the yawning front doors with Uncle Matt.

You coming? Tyler asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer and disappeared into the house.

Benji spared another glance at his dad. He and Grandpa Lee looked like they were in the middle of a heated argument. They were both stiff and red-faced, talking to each other through their teeth, but Benji couldn’t hear what was being said. Maybe Grandpa would make Dad stay. Benji hoped so. This was one creepy place to be abandoned in, he thought before grabbing his backpack and a duffle bag and following his brother inside.

The interior was gloomy and smelled of antiques. The front doors opened onto a hall with a large staircase on one side and doorless archways on the other. A hall that ran underneath the staircase vanished to the right and a woman with a red-headed girl came out of it.

This is my daughter, Jessie, Aunt Rachel said. I think you’ve only met once or twice.

Benji couldn’t actually remember ever meeting his cousin. Jessie was an obvious tomboy in athletic shorts and a pink t-shirt. She looked a lot like her mother, but had her dad’s red hair and lighter eyes.

The woman with Jessie stopped to introduce herself as Sylvie Landy. Her voice rose and fell in a pronounced British lilt.

Sylvie and her husband, David, are the sanctuary caretakers, Aunt Rachel explained. They help us run things around here.

Nice to meet you, Sarah said politely. Tyler sent a brief wave in their direction, but Benji put them on his list of people to ignore. Everyone here was too nice. It was already starting to get on his nerves. Aunt Rachel herded the teenagers upstairs to see their rooms, and Benji followed in glum dissatisfaction

All of your rooms are on the third floor, Aunt Rachel began, as they ascended the big staircase. At the first landing she pointed to the left. Your Uncle and I are down that hall on the second floor and Jessie’s room is the farthest room in the other direction. Tyler snorted at this, and Benji wondered at his sense of humor. Aunt Rachel continued as if she hadn’t heard him and they went up the next flight of stairs. At the top here and down the left hall are your grandfather’s rooms and your rooms are down the right.

The stairs continued up another flight into what Benji assumed was the attic, but Aunt Rachel guided them all towards their new rooms and Benji didn’t get a chance to investigate. His Aunt pointed out guest rooms, closets and bathrooms along the way until they reached a curved wall marking the end of the hallway.

To Benji’s right was a short staircase that led up about three feet to a door about four feet tall. To his left was a big white door with a silver handle instead of a knob. Directly in front of him, the hallway actually curved around a bit and ended at another white door. Although, that one had a porcelain doorknob.

Aunt Rachel directed Tyler to the silver handled door on the left. She opened the door and waved him inside. Tyler carried his bags inside before letting out a subdued whistle. Benji shoved past his Aunt and sister so that he could see what had surprised his brother. If Benji could have whistled, he might have done the same thing, he thought looking around.

The room was huge; twice as big as their living room in Mobile. The vaguely nautical navy blue room had a wall of windows looking out over the back year. A pair of white doors were positioned along the left which their