Sacrifice of Mercy Read online

  When the Queen took my arm, my focus returned to her. “Mercy, you are honorable. You’ve done what I asked and brought my son back to me. I wish I could grant your request to return to the in between. But I cannot.”

  She pressed her thumb against the hourglass tattoo on my arm. It burned slightly, and she released me. Then, I noticed it was gone from my skin.

  “You are strong, and I wish you and yours success in the trials to come. And even though I can’t give you what you ask, I can give you this.”

  She blindsided me that time and took both of my wrists. A sharp pain lanced through me, and I opened my mouth to protest.

  When I met her eyes, they swirled a silvery blue, and glittery dust left her lips as she blew something in my mouth. When she released me, I coughed and swiped my hand in front of my face as plumes of the dust still circled my head.

  “We must go, son.”

  She had moved from me while I still coughed wondering how gross it was to be inhaling whatever she blew at me.

  “I’m not leaving.” He sounded very sure of his words.

  “Tristrom—”

  “No. I cannot go when you could allow an innocent girl to be hurt in a game between you and the Fey. I cannot believe that the human creator would see righting a wrong as crossing the line.”

  She stepped to him and stared him in the eye. He was only slightly taller than his mother. She kissed both of his cheeks as he stood and allowed it.

  “I will respect your choice. You will be on your own. I will dream of you and regret that we will never know each other. You are blessed with gifts I can’t teach you in the moments we have left. However, I can tell you will learn them on your own with many triumphs.”

  She stepped back. “Be well my son, Tristrom, Prince of both Fey and Elven realms.”

  She turned to me. “Be well, fair Mercy, champion of humans and demi-demons.”

  I glanced at Kathy and Jay as they gave slight head bows of acknowledgment to Tristrom and then to me. As one, they turned their backs and within a few steps, their forms began to fade without the use of a golden orb of light. Once they disappeared, I watched as the boat docked in the sky, pulled away and passed through what she called the veil and disappeared.

  Tristrom continued to stare as if shell-shocked. The light that always shined in the clearing, dimmed. Dusk was coming, and I didn’t relish being there in the dark.

  “We should go,” I said. “You are welcome to crash at our house.” It wasn’t my offer to make, but I doubted David or Mom would disagree with the suggestion considering he saved me on a number of occasions and helped bring Flynn and me home.

  He nodded silently, and I knew it would be a while before he spoke. So we turned and headed down the mountain only to be met with angry growls.

  Chapter Three

  We were toast. I was tired. Tristrom was out of juice. And we were alone. Did I expect anything less? My only hope was that Sebastian wouldn’t show.

  “We should back up slowly,” I suggested.

  Within the trees, light was slow to travel to the ground. The place was as dark as if night had fallen.

  The growls came closer, and I didn’t have a plan except to run. Run where, though? The hounds would, no doubt, catch us. The Elves were gone. We were weaponless.

  My shoulders bumped with Tristrom. He didn’t offer up a plan.

  Then I heard a sword unsheathe somewhere to my left. “Mercy, run!”

  The voice was as clear as a bell, and as familiar as the sun.

  “Run,” I whispered to Tristrom.

  And so we did, straight down the hill. Hounds howled in glee as we were ambushed by an enemy we hadn’t banked on. We ran side by side with one hound nipping at our heels. When a whimper replaced the heated breath that we’d felt on our backs, we didn’t bother looking behind us. We just ran.

  I had the keys out of my pocket when I rounded the Hummer. After popping the locks, we jumped in. I wasted no time starting the car and peeling out of my position on the side of the road. I pulled a U-turn as I slammed on the gas and headed home.

  After several minutes, Tristrom spoke. “Why did we run?”

  My hand jerked. “What? You didn’t hear the growls?” Granted, I hadn’t seen the hounds, but I knew they were there.

  “I heard something, but I ran because you seemed spooked.”

  Confusion roiled my brain. “I was.”

  I left it at that. I wasn’t crazy. At least, I didn’t think I was.

  The rest of the ride was silent. When we pulled into the drive, I parked and hopped out of the car. There wasn’t any fanfare, not that I expected any. No one was waiting for our return. I unlocked the front door and entered the house. Tristrom followed me as I made my way into the kitchen.

  As I returned Flynn’s keys to the hook, I said, “You can use the room you slept in the last time. I’ll bring you something of Flynn’s to change into. Feel free to eat anything you like. I’m going upstairs if you need anything. I’m the last door on the left from your room.”

  Hunger made my stomach growl, but I ignored it. Weariness pulled heavy on my eyelids, and I needed sleep desperately. I headed out the room, and Tristrom followed me again like a little puppy.

  I shouldn’t have been irritated, but I was. Still I held my tongue because he wasn’t the reason for my annoyance. After climbing the stairs, I was sure I could sleep for a week.

  “This is your room. I’ll bring you a change of clothes in a few,” I said, holding my hand out towards the door on the right. “Each bedroom has an attached bath, so no worries there. See you in a minute.”

  I kept going and heard him open the door. He hadn’t closed it, yet I didn’t turn back around to face him. Instead, I entered my room and closed the door calmly despite what I saw. My golden boy sat in my window seat. His head rested on one knee with an arm around it as he gazed out into the night.

  “Are you here or not here?” I asked the room, uncertain if I was daydreaming or what.

  Slowly, his face turned to meet mine. “I’m here.”

  The voice was the same but then again, the room in Fairy seemed all too real as well. Was I still in that room? Had I lost myself? I couldn’t imagine what was happening was a part of any fantasy I’d ever had.

  “Then why can’t anyone see you?” It was an accusation.

  “Mercy—”

  “No, the Luke I knew would have helped Molly.” I couldn’t wrap my head around her real name yet.

  “There are some things I need to tell you.”

  I nodded my head in rapid succession.

  “Yeah, like what you did to Sebastian. Like why the girl is in the hospital and not healed here. Like why—”

  A knock on my door interrupted my tirade. I turned to the door and opened it. Mom stood on the other side.

  Her eyes were just as tired as mine and a frown formed on her face. “Who are you talking to?”

  “Luke,” I said and moved to open the door some more and give her a view. When her frown deepened, I glanced back to find my room empty. My mouth gaped.

  “Mercy, you are under a lot of stress. And with Luke’s funeral—”

  “He’s not dead,” I cut in with a sharp tongue. My hold on my annoyance snapped. “I don’t know why he isn’t showing himself. But he isn’t dead, and I’m not crazy.”

  I pushed passed her in the hall and headed towards Flynn’s. I needed to check on him, and I could ask him if he saw Luke. He’d been looking at the spot where I saw him. Plus I needed to get Tristrom the clothes I'd promised before I took a much-needed nap. In the meantime, if Luke revealed himself, I planned to demand he prove that I wasn't delusional.

  After a quick rap on the door to announce myself, I didn’t wait for a reply. I turned the knob and barged inside.

  Unfortunately for me, Flynn wasn’t alone. I turned back to see Mom in the hallway with an unreadable expression. Had this been what she wanted to warn me about?

  A girl with long dark hair,
a pretty face and caramel skin sat with her legs hanging off the side of the bed. She laughed at something Flynn said as they had eyes for only each other. He looked better and not as worse for wear as the last time I’d seen him. His dimple was on full display as he gazed up at her from his side position under the covers of his bed.

  It had taken a moment before they realized they weren’t alone and glanced in my direction.

  “Sorry to interrupt. Don’t mind me. I’m just borrowing some of Flynn’s clothes for Tristrom. Who’s staying with us for a while, by the way.” I moved gingerly towards his dresser.

  “Bottom drawer on the right for sweats and the one above for a shirt,” Flynn advised.

  “Thanks,” I snapped and pulled open the drawers and grabbed the first thing I saw.

  As I was headed back out, the girl said, “Is this her?”

  I wanted to say, I’m right freaking here. You can ask me yourself. But that would have been rude. I left without asking who she was because that was Flynn for you. Nothing changed. Give the boy some time and he’d find a willing girl for his bed.

  “Mercy,” Mom said, with pity so apparent a blind person could have seen.

  I held up a hand. “Don’t bother. I’m dropping this off to Tristrom. He’s saying here a while. I hope that’s not an issue.”

  Her words were kind. “That’s fine.”

  “Good, because you would have had to tell him he wasn’t welcome.”

  I passed her and strode to Tristrom’s door. I opened the room and heard water coming from the bathroom. I left the clothes on the bed and went directly to my room.

  Mom was waiting. “We should talk.”

  “Now isn’t a good time. I just need some time and a little space if you don’t mind.”

  She nodded and walked away slowly. I should have totally asked what was going on with her, but I didn’t think I was ready for any more bad news. If it were dire, she would have forced me to listen. So I closed the door to my room alone.

  So much for sleep, I thought as I plugged in my phone and headed for my closet. After I'd found what I was looking for, I set it on the bed. I glanced over at my phone and found it had turned itself on with about 1% of power. I sent a quick text and began to prepare.

  It wasn’t long before I heard another knock.

  “Mom, I’ll come and talk to you in a minute.” Apparently, it was important.

  Then I turned. Maybe Luke had finally decided not to play the disappearing game. But it was Flynn who entered.

  “It’s rude to leave your company,” I sneered. I was feeling overly bitchy and wondered if I should be preparing for something else like my period.

  “Mercy.” But he stopped. “Where are you going?” he asked instead.

  “Unlike you, I have a friend who asked for my help. Now seems as good of time as any to leave. Everyone’s safe, and we should put distance between us for you know…” I waved my hand in the air unable to finish the sentence.

  He got in my face towering over me as if I could cower. “Don’t act like this isn’t what you want. I saw you.”

  “You saw what?” I spat.

  “I saw you and Luke.”

  Chapter Four

  There were times in life you didn’t get a second chance. And at that moment, I clamped my mouth shut unable to breathe a word without thinking it through. It was about time I started acting like a grown up. My life had been on a whirlwind in a kaleidoscope of emotions.

  “What do you think you saw? Maybe we both just want too badly to see him again.”

  Flynn didn’t waste time revealing his theory. “Sebastian didn’t just vanish even though he can. It was Luke’s sword that sent him away. And I saw how you looked at him, and it’s not how you look at me.”

  He knew nothing. Yet, if I told Flynn that I loved him more than my own life, what would that accomplish?

  “It doesn’t matter what I want anymore. No matter what I do, someone will be hurt, including me.”

  In the end, I loved them both and couldn’t have either. I turned my back and continued to shove clothes in my bag. Stinging tears burned the back of my eyes, but they would have to wait. I wiped at my dry face ensuring no moisture had leaked out.

  His heat radiated at my back when he stepped closer. I waited for him to touch me, a hand on my back, shoulder, or an arm around me. I waited in vain.

  “You’re not in this alone.”

  His words fanned across my neck.

  I whispered, “I ought to be.”

  Silence spoke all our words, and the little distance between us cursed our feelings. Even though I had no right to be, I was too afraid to turn around. Would his hand be extended? Would he be as confused by everything as I was? Or would he wear a mask of pity for my lateness to reveal truths I should have said long ago.

  “You need to go,” I breathed.

  “Mercy.” He sounded befuddled as he choked out my name.

  Light fingertips swept my hair over my shoulder. I lowered my head towards the ground, embarrassed that I needed his touch far more than I was ready to admit. Gently, he urged me to face him. When I complied, it was his fingers at the base of my chin that forced me to meet his glacier eyes. Pools of blue ice melted me as much as global warming did to the polar ice caps.

  I swallowed reflexively when I found myself focusing on his lips. There was a force as strong as gravity that wanted to draw me closer. When he leaned in as if he felt it too, I nearly broke my back arching in the opposite direction. In a last-ditch defense before I went tumbling down on the bed, I shoved him away.

  “I do have pride you know. You have some girl in your room, and you’re trying to kiss me.”

  Unable to see his face, I gave him my back again and remained steadfast.

  “She—”

  “Honestly, I don’t want to hear about your latest conquest. It’s good to see you’re you again.”

  My words were as sharp as a slap, and I hoped it sent him away. It was too much having him alone with me in my room.

  “That’s great.” I felt the fluttering air as he must have raised his hands in exasperation. “We’re back to this. I should have stayed in fairy where I was wanted.”

  “You should have,” I bit out. A stray tear, I was unable to contain, fell. I used my shoulder to wipe it away and choke down the bitter taste of loss as I zipped my bag shut.

  A figure appeared out of the corner of my eye. Stilling my hands on the bed, I closed my eyes willing my brain not to tease me anymore with visions of dead people.

  “Flynn.”

  I flinched at the word. There was no mistaking that voice. A thousand years could pass without me hearing it, and I would still remember it. I wanted to be brave and look as my heart began to thud in my chest like the bass drum in a marching band.

  “Luke,” Flynn replied.

  All of my doubts were washed away. Nearly losing my balance, I spun and sat on the bed in one fluid motion.

  “I’m not crazy.” I wanted to leap into his arms. But there were two chains to my heart, and I couldn’t move trapped between them like a frightened animal. “You are really here.”

  For a long second, no one said anything else. I stared, willing myself to hold it together. I couldn’t afford for this to be a figment of my imagination. I died a little everyday since Luke’s father carried his lifeless body away from me. The waiting, the wanting, the hoping, all for me to be back where I started, in an impossible situation.

  Luke’s eyes lingered on me for a starved moment. I swore I saw longing in them.

  Then he turned to Flynn. “We have a problem.”

  I was unprepared for Flynn’s response.

  “Where have you been? Do you know what Mercy’s been going through without you? She practically fell apart after. She was in her room nearly comatose.”

  Okay, comatose was taking it too far. I’d been messed up, true. No longer. The thought though had McKayla stirring inside me. Things, however, had changed. I wasn’t sure if I
still owed the demon inside me all that I bargained for because I no longer needed her to keep the sadness at bay. And she hadn’t exactly helped me find Luke. He’d found me.

  I felt her push against the barrier for control. Not now, I thought. All the ice that kept me still began to thaw from the pulsing heat at my back. Flynn was pissed, and it exuded out of him from where he stood behind me.

  Luke, on the other hand, was calm, a little too calm. I’d seen Luke angry, and I’d seen the peacemaker in him. This was entirely different. There wasn’t a churning storm in the summer blue eyes I’d loved. There wasn’t a hint of mirth either. Instead, he stared hard and emotionless at Flynn before he finally spoke.

  “I’m here.”

  I could only imagine Flynn gaping behind me because I knew I did. I absently twisted the pearl ring on my finger. The movement caught Luke’s attention. He glanced at it and then at me. For a second, I waited. Only Flynn wasn’t done. His word stole the focus from the many questions I had.

  “Dude, that’s all you have to say. Your funeral is today, and all you can come up with is I’m here.”

  Anything Luke might have said was lost as the door to my bedroom banged opened... and Maggie’s red corkscrew curls filled the room where her head didn’t.

  “Oh. My. God. And I mean that literally,” she began before she launched herself at Luke like a heat-seeking missile. She practically had the guy in a stranglehold. He indulged her with an awkward pat on her back.

  She finally let him go and stepped back. “You’re here,” she added with wide eyes.

  What did he do? He smirked. “I am.”

  His eyes found mine before he glanced up and over my shoulder.

  Then Flynn’s new friend waltzed in. I wasn’t sure if she’d been with Maggie or not because Maggie’s dramatic entrance was enough to steal anyone’s thunder.

  As I watched her, I felt the jealousy percolate in me. She gave Luke a causal wave before stepping right behind me. Which meant she was standing next to Flynn.

  “I’m Mia. I’m with him.”

  I only guessed how she pointed at Flynn. Uncomfortable, I took two steps to the side as Luke stared at me waiting for me to explain.