Lux (The Nocte Trilogy 3)

SAVE ME AND I’LL SAVE YOU.

SAVE ME.

SAVE ME,

SAVE ME, CALLA.

AND I’LL SAVE YOU.

There are stick figures and symbols, and some of the faces are scratched out, and I don’t remember his journal being so morbid or nonsensical when I found it so long ago. If it had been, I would’ve taken it straight to our parents because this, this, this is crazy.

I stare at a picture, and it’s of two boys and a girl. One of the boys is scratched completely out, but I can still see his eyes and his eyes are black and I know the boy is Dare. Finn scratched out Dare.

ONE FOR ONE FOR ONE.

THE DIE HAS BEEN CAST, IT’S BEEN CAST.

ONE FOR ONE FOR ONE,

AND IT WON’T BE ME.

IT WON’T BE CALLA.

ONE

FOR

ONE

FOR

ONE.

I’m frozen as an ominous feeling builds in my belly, spreading to my chest where it threatens to stop my heart. Dark fingers seem to grab my shoulders and shake hard, harder, harder until my teeth chatter.

DEATH IS THE BEGINNING.

The beginning.

The beginning.

I need to start.

I drop the journal and take off running, back through the trees. The branches whip at my face and I slip around in the dew, but it doesn’t matter.

I know why Finn wouldn’t come with me.

He knew I’d find his journal, and he knew I’d stop him from whatever stupid thing he’s going to try and do. I can tell from his writing… he believes what Sabine told me. A sacrifice must be made, and he’s not going to let it be me.

DEATH IS THE BEGINNING. I NEED TO START.

A sacrifice.

A sacrifice.

The sacrifice is me.

We pay for the sins of our fathers.