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Aunt Rachel accompanied Sarah up to her room. They left Grandpa muttering at Marvin and Benji in the study. Strange, but a blue genie in horn rims was hardly the most alarming thing Sarah learned about this evening.
Her parents knew about this place. Todd left his three children in the middle of a dangerous preserve of strange beings. He and Mom were trying to keep them safe by keeping them away from the sanctuary. Safe from what, though? Sarah was afraid, but she wasn’t sure why.
Aunt Rachel tucked her in like a baby and Sarah let her. She looked worried, but Sarah couldn’t muster up any reassurances. Tyler and Benji would both be drawn to the dangerous side of things. They didn’t see it as a negative. Of course, she didn’t think anyone had ... . What had San done? Put her to sleep? Or something more?
He might have really been trying to help her. But it felt so strange. That whole interlude became disturbing under daylight’s lens. It was so disquieting, Sarah leapt at the idea it was just a bad dream. She wished she could will it to be unreal. She’d rather be crazy than face …what? San treated her respectfully for the most part, almost like a treasure. But a treasure he couldn’t decide if he wanted to save or to steal. She certainly didn’t want to be stolen, but did she need to be saved either?
Aunt Rachel turned out the lights and left the room. She must have said good night, but Sarah wasn’t paying attention. She coiled her legs up beneath the covers and rested her head on her hand. Outside her window the moon was unhindered and bright. It made her wonder, though. How had she gotten back to her room? If San was real and he really did put her to sleep, then why did she wake up in her bed and not out under the pavilion? The obvious answer was that San brought her back to the house and into her room. This idea unsettled her even more.
Her gaze trailed to the window and the faint nighttime illumination shining through the panes. Sarah’s attention was held by the handle on her balcony door. What if anything could get in? Quickly and quietly, Sarah got out of bed and turned locked the glass doors. She jiggled the handle to make sure it wouldn’t open before getting back in bed. Still, it took a long time for her fear to subside enough for sleep to take over.
*****
Chapter 19: Fieldtrip
Sanctuary Page 29