Blue Sacrifice (Blue Davison) (30 page)

My heart hurt so badly I thought I was dying, but
I knew death was still my choice. Watching the still arguing men, I couldn’t
see the right answer. If I died, I made Hans happy. If I lived, I gave Flynn
what he wanted. I was still a pawn and I didn’t know how to break free.

Then I snapped alert as Penny climbed onto the
railing. Running to her side, I felt Hans grab one of my forearms.

“Let her do this,” Hans said. “Next time I’ll get
Rory to come back. One of her daughters is older than you. They can both go
first and you’ll have decades before it’ll be your turn.”

“I’ll be honest,” Flynn said, yanking on my other
arm so that I was pulled between the two men. “I’m fairly cool with Penny dying.”

“Penny, don’t jump,” I cried. “Wait and we’ll go
home and figure things out.”

“You have nowhere to go,” Hans said, still pulling
at me.

Flynn yanked fiercely at my arm, nearly stealing
me from Hans’s grip. “That’s not true. They’re welcome at my house.”

“Penny, please don’t make me watch you die like I
watched my mom die!” I screamed and my aunt stopped staring into the dark
waters.

Turning to me, she blinked a few times and began
to cry. “I think she made you watch so you wouldn’t be able to do it when your
time came. I think she hoped to save you.”

“No,” Hans said, pulling me back from Flynn. “She
wanted you to understand what needed to be done.”

“Like you’d know,” Flynn snorted. “You ditched the
broad the minute you knocked her up.”

“That’s not what happened.”

“Why didn’t you tell her who you were?” Flynn asked,
the humor gone from his face. “Would it have interfered with your plans to have
her die?”

“That’s not important right now. What matters is
that Blue won’t have to die because it’s Penny’s turn. Right, Penny?”

“Let go of her,” Penny said as she balanced on the
railing. “You’ll hurt her.”

“They don’t care,” I yelled, trying to break free
of both men and failing. “Get down and we can run.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Hans told me.

Flynn sighed loudly. “Yeah, I’m going to have to
agree with Daddy on that one.”

The first gunshot didn’t register. Not until Hans
and Flynn let go of me and staggered backwards did I realize the shots were
real and they were coming from nearby.

Standing at the bridge entrance, Lacey emptied her
gun then quickly reloaded and fired again into the two men who still stood,
even with their chests bloody and gaping.

“Penny!” Lacey yelled as my aunt disappeared over
the railing.

Whether Penny jumped or was startled by the
gunshots, she soon splashed into the cold waters below. Without thinking, I
hurled myself over the railing and followed after her into the icy waters. If
Penny died, Hans and the darkness won. They might win anyway, but not like
this.

After the initial shock of hitting the cold water,
I saw well even while submerged in the dark river. Penny was a few feet in
front of me, panicking as she ran out of air. The terror in her eyes told me
she hadn’t jumped and was now unsure how to fight the tide pulling her under.

Struggling against the currents, I was overwhelmed
by memories of Flynn, Hans, and my mother. The urge to give into the darkness
was so tempting. Everything had been lies for so long. Even Lacey with her gun
could be another trick. Was she in on it too? Had she just played the role of
my best friend for the last ten years? Could I trust anyone?

Penny.

A Davison woman deceived for her whole life, Penny
was like me and I reached out for her flailing hands. Seizing hold of her, I
kicked hard again and again, finally pulling us both towards the surface.

My lungs gasped for air, but I didn’t dare
hesitate. Once Penny reached the surface, panting and fighting to stay afloat,
we swam frantically for the river’s edge. When the chill from the breeze mingled
with the iciness of the water, our momentum slowed. Every movement hurt, but I
could still hear gunshots on the bridge. I also heard someone calling my name from
the water’s edge.

“Tyson,” Penny said while spitting out the water
splashing wildly against us.

Waist deep in the water, Tyson kept moving forward
until he reached Penny and me. Helping us to shore, he said nothing and his embrace
was steady. Once we were out of the water though, I pushed him away.

“Are you like them?” I cried, pointing at the
bridge. “Are you a lie too? Was my birthday dinner, the opera, and all of the
family stuff at your house a lie?”

Crying, I pushed away Tyson when he first touched
me, but he persisted. Finally I sobbed against him, my body cold and my mind slipping
away under the enormity of so much betrayal. Were any of the people I loved
really my friends? Did anyone love me? Did my mom only let me live because she
wanted me to die? Who could I truly trust?”

While Tyson helped me walk to the road, a man I’d
never seen before aided Penny.

“Who is he? Is this another trick?” I asked, pulling
away again.

“He’s one of the men my dad hired,” Tyson said,
his voice strong and soothing. “He’s here to help us, Bluebell.”

Bluebell. My Blue. Mermaid.
All those pet names. Had these men laughed at me
behind my back and joked at how silly I was to believe their lies?

Fighting against Tyson again, I wanted to take
Penny and run until we left Lily Falls behind.

“Why did you push me towards Flynn?” I demanded,
even as my exhaustion drained away much of the rage. “Why would you do that
unless you and he were working together?”

Tyson turned to me and I saw sorrow in his eyes.
“I love you and I want you to live. For so long, it was all I wanted even if it
meant I lost you to someone else.”

No longer struggling, I stared into his beautiful dark
eyes. So desperate to believe in someone, I chose to trust Tyson. Even if his
love was merely another lie, I was too defeated not to grab for it.

“Blue!” Lacey cried as she ran to where we reached
the road. “What the hell are they?”

On the bridge, I saw Flynn and Hans, bloodied yet
still standing. No amount of darkness or distance could hide Flynn’s smile. Leaning
against the railing again, Flynn winked at me as I made my way to the waiting SUVs.
Even wishing he was happy I’d survived, I knew I was lying to myself again
about my beautiful faux savior.

Suddenly the clock on Main Street chimed so loudly
the whole town could hear it. Last time I heard it announce the rising
darkness, my terrified mother held me for hours, whispering about how blood needed
to be spilt and praying it wouldn’t be hers.

After Assad though, she gave into the darkness and
I watched her bleed out in our bathtub. A sacrifice was made and the darkness
receded. Soon the violence quieted along with the Main Street clock.

As Flynn and Hans watched us, Tyson and Lacey
pushed for me to get inside the SUV so we could leave. Hearing the panic in
their voices, I knew they also remembered the last time the clock chimed so
loudly.

In the backseat of the SUV, I sat between Lacey
and Tyson while Penny caught her breath in the seat in front of us. Staring out
of the back window at the man who was my father and the man who convinced me to
love him, I saw how the liars made no effort to stop us. While Hans did storm off
into the darkness, Flynn continued to lean against the railing like he didn’t
have a care in the world. As the SUV sped off, our eyes met and Flynn never
stopped smiling.