Free Blue Sacrifice (Blue Davison) by Angela Horn Page A

highway as we headed
to the mall, I remembered how hopeful my mother looked during those weekend outings.
We were so close to embracing our humanity, instead of simply existing as sacrifices
waiting to happen.
    Arriving at the mall, I saw how Amira Zandi had
parked her white Rolls-Royce Phantom next to Alyssa’s black Mercedes Maybach.
Lacey chose a spot close by for Tyson’s silver Bentley Mulsanne. Shutting the
door, I wondered if was safe to have all of these expensive cars out there on
display. Yet the mall wasn’t really inside Lily Falls, so the recent spike in
crime shouldn’t affect the Zandi cha-ching exhibit in the parking lot.
    “Mama,” Lacey said as we entered the mall and
found Amira and Alyssa wandering around a jewelry store. “Buying something?”
    “Just choosing what your father will give me for
my birthday. Don’t want any mistakes.”
    While the three dark haired beauties laughed, I
tried to feel like part of the family. Yet I wasn’t like them and Amira knew
it.
    “Visiting your aunt must be difficult,” Amira
said, hugging me to my surprise.
    “Yes, but she’s doing well.”
    “Good,” Amira said, but her dark eyes hinted at
something else. “It’s too bad they won’t release her.”
    Glancing at Lacey, I saw her lift an eyebrow.
Mother and daughter figured if a sacrifice needed to be made, why not volunteer
Penny? I didn’t blame them, but it wasn’t my call.
    “They say she’s a threat to herself,” I explained.
    Amira nodded knowingly. “Of course they do.”
    When I glanced at Lacey to alleviate the awkward
moment, she came to my rescue.
    “Blue has huge monkey feet so I’m buying her shoes
to go with the dress she’ll wear to the opera.”
    “With Tyson,” Amira said with a smile.
    “Yes, he was nice enough to invite me.”
    Amira and Alyssa shared smiles while Lacey grabbed
me by the arm and started walking. The Zandis were an affectionate bunch so it
was common to see them walking arm and arm, even hand in hand, with each other
in public places. No one braved to mock them, not with the amount of money and
power the Zandis wielded. The Affleck sisters were the same way, living above
the simple locals, oblivious to criticism. Except from the Zandi family who
didn’t care for the reclusive clan.
    “Scurrying around the mall like a mouse with an
itch,” Amira said from the shoe store.
    Lacey and I turned to look at the mall pathway
where one of the Affleck sisters darted through the crowds, careful not to
touch anyone.
    “Which one is that?” Alyssa asked while admiring
her reflection.
    “Vesta, I believe,” Amira said. “She’s the pretty
one, they say.”
    “Who are they that say that?” Lacey asked.
    “The powers that be,” her mother answered with a
grin. “They say the Affleck girls were quite the sight back in the day, but
they all look like a redheaded Miss Havisham to me.”
    Still watching Vesta dodge the commoners, I found
myself slightly fascinated by her. The Afflecks were the only redheads in Lily Falls besides the Davisons. While I would never reach the age of testy Vesta, I didn’t
envy her. Nothing reeked of a lonely life more than the Affleck sisters. Hiding
away in their big house by the river, they loved no one more than themselves. I
might be dead in a week, but I would bet I had more fun in my sixteen years
than they had in sixty.
    Feeling all superior, I returned to Earth when I
saw the price tag on the shoes Lacey wanted for me.
    “The dress is red?” I asked Lacey who shoved my
giant monkey/elf feet into the strappy shoe.
    “You’ll see, my Sasquatch friend.”
    “My feet aren’t that big. Yours are just tiny.”
    “Yes, like Cinderella’s feet. You’re her evil step
sisters. Tisk, tisk for treating Cindy so poorly when she did so much for you.”
    Rolling my eyes, I admired the sparkly red shoes
and was glad to have a rich friend to splurge on me occasionally.
    “They’re beautiful.”
    “Yeah, I know.”
    “Be nice,