A Small Town

Chapter Twenty-nine\ Broken Promises

Bax had turned his back on the Sarahs stinging accusation. After a moment he felt a cool hand on his neck.

"I'm sorry Bax, I shouldn't have said that... it's just..."

He turned and she fell against him as if all of the strength had left her body. She had removed her coat and now his arms were around her and his hands found the cool, smooth curve of her back. The urge to kiss her came again and as if she could read his mind she turned her face up to his. There were tears in her eyes and her soft mouth met his eagerly.

As they kissed his imagined he could feel Lisa's eyes boring into his back from where he had laid her out on the long wooden table in the centre of the room. Guilt raked him but he could not seem to stop himself.

With a Herculean effort, he broke contact and held Sarah out at arm's length.

"Sarah... this is wrong..."

"I know... but I can't help it... I love you, Bax..."

"But Lisa..."

"Bax, she's gone... she belongs to him now. If he gets ahold of her.. of the baby... he'll be free to leave Primacy and who knows what he'll do. We can't let that happen..."

Bax stared at her in horror. "You're not suggesting we... kill her?"

"What else can we do? It's only a matter of time before..."

Suddenly a scream ripped through the maze of tunnels echoing madly. Bax turned to see Lisa's eyes snap open in terror. Her hand flew up over her face and she threw herself away from the sound almost falling from the table. Bax dove and caught her by the shoulders.

"Lis'!"

She peered at him between claw-like fingers, her eyes were dazed but after a moment they filled with recognition.

"Bax... where are we?"

"We're safe... Sarah's here, we're in the old LeTourneau house... in the wine cellar..." Bax pulled his coat tighter around her shaking shoulders as he helped her to a sitting position. What in the Hell had he been doing? His mind raced, he loved Lisa, why would he kiss Sarah? Sarah who wanted to kill his barn owl... to kill their baby...

Lisa stared across the room at Sarah and the two woman locked eyes and something seemed to pass between them before Sarah turned away.

"We can't stay here," Lisa whispered looking back a Bax. "He's coming..."

"And just where do you suggest we go!" Snapped Sarah from her place across the room.

Bax put a protective arm around Lisa and tried to preclude an argument. "Sarah says its safe here... Teddy can't get to his place..."

"That's not true and she knows it! He's all around us – I can feel him! We have to get out of here, out of Primacy!"

Sarah lunged towards Lisa.

"And just where the Hell can we go?"

Bax stepped between them as Lisa leapt down from the table and back away.

"This is all your fault, you little slut," Sarah screamed, trying to push past Bax. "Why did you have to come here? We had everything under control!"

"We?" echoed Bax softly. "What do you mean... we?"

Sarah looked at him pleadingly. "Bax... I..."

Bax backed slowly away from her keeping Lisa behind him.

"It was supposed to be you wasn't it? You and Teddy planned it... That's why you were acted the way you did when we met. You wanted to seduce me... so that you could be the one to free Teddy."

"No... you don't understand..." she took a step towards them.

"That's why you were out there in the forest, not to save Lisa from Teddy but to stop her from taking your place. Then what... were you going to kill her... get rid of the competition?"

Sarah smiled wickedly and took another step towards them.

"I was supposed to be me... that's the way we planned it... She's plain and ugly. She's not fit to bring him into the world. He promised me I would be the one and then when you finally came here, you chose her!"

"You're insane," Bax said softly. They had backed all the way up to the far wall, Lisa's spine pressed against the wine racks, and Bax put his arms out to protect her.

Sarah still held the wine bottle she had shown to Bax and now she grasped it by the neck and smashed it nonchalantly against the corner of the table as she passed. She thrust the broken shards towards them as she continued forward.

"Get out the way Bax. I don't want to hurt you."

Bax dodged away from the razor sharp splinters of glass as Sarah jabbed it towards him and then quick lunged forward in a vain attempt to grab her wrist. Sarah easily sidestepped him and swung the bottle wickedly, slicing a long deep cut into the back of his left forearm.

Bax screamed and rolled away holding his arm with his right hand as blood gushed out over his fingers. Sarah took another step towards Lisa as she cowered against the wine rack with her hands over her head protectively. Sarah raised the broken bottle over her head and tensed her arms for the killing blow.

"No!"