True: An Elixir Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

soul transfer,” I say. “Why do you think Sage was so sick?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because Nico’s stomach was cut open. Or maybe it’s just something that can happen, like the bends.”
    “But does it mean anything? Is Sage okay?”
    “Clea, I don’t know. I’m not an expert on soul transfers.”
    “You knew it healed Nico’s body.”
    “I checked out some things in your dad’s books, after we came back from Japan.” My father and Ben had been close, and shared a love of all things paranormal. Ben was the one person who knew about most of my dad’s research in that area, theonly one who knew his way around it all. “There wasn’t a lot, and I didn’t go looking for more.”
    Because you hoped it wouldn’t happen, I think but don’t say. You hoped Sage would just stay away.
    I really need to stop. From getting involved with a serious girlfriend, to pushing me away when I threw myself at him, to saving Sage’s life, Ben has proven that he’s not pining for me or fighting with Sage to win me over. He didn’t go looking for more information on soul transfers back then because Sage was gone and it wasn’t relevant. I need to give him more credit. He may have come between Sage and me in the past, both in this life and lives before, but maybe what Sage said goes for Ben, too: The past is gone forever. All we have is now.
    “I can go through his studio when we get back,” Ben says. “Look around and see if there’s anything I missed.”
    “Thanks. That’d be great.”
    He yawns and runs his hands over his face. He looks rumpled, and I realize he hasn’t slept since before we left for Vermont yesterday.
    “My God, Ben, you need to sleep. You look like the walking dead.”
    Ben nods to the other room. “Actually, I thinkeven the walking dead looks better than me right now.”
    We both wince. “Not funny,” Ben admits. “Maybe I should sleep. You should too.”
    He staggers into the other room, and I watch the rest of The Daily Show before I turn off the TV and curl under the covers. Even with the curtains drawn, the midmorning sun glows inside, but it doesn’t stop me from drifting off.

    I wake to a dead man standing over me and have to stifle a scream before I remember it’s Sage.
    “Can I stay here? I just want to be close to you,” he says, his voice soft and low.
    I nod and pull back the covers so he can crawl in beside me. He spoons against my back, and I stiffen against the unfamiliar shape, the too-thick arms with their too-tight squeeze. But the longer I’m curled inside his grasp, the more sheltered I feel. I dreamily imagine that this was how it was always meant to be, that Sage’s soul needed a new home to be truly human, and this home will protect us both for the rest of our lives. I cuddle in closer to him, and my final thought before I drift off is that I hope this time our happiness can last.

    I wake to darkness and the smell of coffee. I’m alone in bed, and without Sage I feel tiny on a huge island of covers. I hear muffled voices from the next room, so I slip to the floor, pad across, and push open the adjoining door.
    Ben and Sage sit back on the double beds, their faces and colorful sweats bathed in the light from the TV they stare at intently.
    “Breadfruit . . . ? Broadfist . . . ?” Sage murmurs.
    “Brownfish!” Ben whisper-shouts. “Brownfish in Bay!”
    “What’s ‘Brownfish in Bay’?”
    “I’d like to solve the puzzle, Pat,” comes a voice from the TV. “It’s ‘Breakfast in Bed.’ ”
    “That’s correct!” lilts Pat Sajak, and a blast of music confirms the triumph.
    “ ‘Breakfast in Bed’?” Ben gapes.
    “Like that’s less common than ‘Brownfish in Bay’?” Sage asks.
    “ ‘Brownfish in Bay’ was a perfectly reasonable guess.”
    “Oh my God, you’re an old married couple,” I say, and both guys’ faces share a look of surprise as they wheel to face me.
    “It’s true,” Ben sighs playfully. “He