Jameson drew in a deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing it with a heavy exhale. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. His hold was hard against my back while I gripped his other arm in an attempt to reassure both of us that everything was fine.
“We’re not alone,” Jameson whispered, and my heart began to gallop in my chest.
“You are never alone, unless you actively seek it,” a deep voice stated from behind us.
Jameson spun, tugging me behind him while drawing his dagger. It glowed faintly. The silhouette of a man stood before us, lit from behind by the light of the ship. He was blocking our path, and what was more frightening was that neither Jameson nor I had heard him approach.
Nothing happened for several intense moments, until the man was suddenly holding his own blade, and it glowed with yellow light.
“You found me, boy,” the man stated, and Jameson stiffened, becoming like stone.
“Solomon,” Jameson breathed, lowering his dagger slightly.
They fell silent again, and if it was any other time, I would think they were sizing each other up. Yet, this was a different kind of posturing that I didn’t quite understand.
“I was expecting you sooner. Did something happen?” Solomon asked, lowering his blade to his side.
“We had some trouble, but we worked it out,” Jameson answered, tucking his dagger away.
“Everyone all right?” Solomon asked, his gaze shifting toward me before returning to Jameson.
“Yeah, we’re fine. What happened here? We looked around for a while, but we didn’t find a trace of anyone around.”
Ignoring the question, Solomon nodded to our ship. “You brought a full crew and a ship loaded with cannons and powder. Why is that?”
“Vampires and pirates roam the seas freely.”
“They have always roamed the seas and will continue to do so.”
“Why are you hiding?” I asked, peeking around Jameson to address Solomon. I was tired of whatever game he was playing by asking all of his questions. He knew why we were here. “If you know that there are vampires and pirates out there, destroying lives, then why are you here hiding when you should be out there fighting the monsters?”
“You think me a coward?” he asked quietly, dangerously.
“It’s cowardly to let innocent people suffer when you can do something about it.”
“You think I haven’t?” His voice raised, growing defensive. “I’ve been fighting the gathering darkness of these creatures for decades. I’ve trained hunters and then released them out into the world to protect the innocent, but I am just one man against a horde that grows with each passing day. You know nothing of this fight.”
“Then tell us,” Jameson interjected before I could respond. “We want to help, but there is no one to answer our questions.”
“Ruth should have been able to give you answers. If you’re here, then I assume you found her first.”
“We did, but Ruth couldn’t answer all of our inquiries, and she said you were expecting us. Maybe she was wrong, and we came all the way here for no reason,” Jameson snapped.
The man stilled, and I could feel him still assessing us both. My eyesight had improved from what it had been before, and I could see Solomon’s eyes cut through the darkness, but not his facial features. His eyes were cold and calculating, making me shiver. His gaze was that of a man who had seen and done things, but, most importantly, survived all of those things. I couldn’t begin to fathom what he had been through, but it didn’t change the fact that we needed his help.
“Did Ruth tell you I would have these answers you seek?”
“She assumed you would.”
He sighed heavily, and I could just make out the slight droop to his shoulders. I imagined how frustrating it must have been for him, training hunters only to have the number of vampires still rising steadily over the years. It was like trying to swim against a current that was faster than you every step of the way, until it felt like you weren’t going anywhere.
“Please,” I whispered softly, letting my own hopeless emotions enter my voice. “We need your help. If you won’t join the fight out there, then at least answer our questions so we have a better chance of survival.”
There was another long pause while Solomon regarded me. I could feel his respect for us rising, along with equal parts amusement and frustration.
“If answers are all you seek, then let’s go to your ship. I’ll answer what I can, but I’d rather do so indoors.”
Jameson agreed, then grabbed my hand as we escorted Solomon to our ship. There was something about the way the man walked and held himself that seemed familiar. I knew that I had never met the man before, but maybe I had seen him in passing. Jameson explained that he was the man who had trained him under Pierce’s order, so maybe I had seen him in town on the many times that I had visited with my now-dead fiancé.
The night had grown chilly, so I parted from Jameson, promising to meet him in the galley. I rushed to our room, grabbed a soft shawl, and draped it around my shoulders. My stomach swooped pleasantly while I walked, and a grin tugged at my mouth. We had found him. After weeks of searching, following one dead end after another, we had finally tracked down the infamous Solomon.
He might have come off as brash, but I didn’t take it personally. My curiosity about the man who had trained Jameson and given him a hunter’s blade overpowered everything else. And I was most excited to finally get some answers about myself. I had no idea if I would like the answers, but it was better than walking around blind.
I entered the galley with a spring in my step. Jameson’s blue eyes raked over me, and I could see the excitement in his face as well. Solomon’s back was to me as he talked to Henry. He was dressed in black clothes that I noted were hunter garb when I got closer. Weapons were strapped to him, but it was his hunter’s dagger that was the easiest to palm if the need arose.
“It’s good luck we found you,” Henry exclaimed, clapping Solomon on his shoulder.
The man chuckled, and the sound seemed to ease a part of me that I didn’t realize needed it.
“Luck walks a fine line between disaster and survival. People try to balance that line, but one or the other will get them in the end.”
Everything in me locked up tight while the breath was wrung from my lungs. I had only heard one man use that saying in my whole life, and I knew for a fact that man had died long ago.
Hadn’t he?
Jameson grabbed Solomon’s shoulder, gesturing to me behind him. He said something about introducing me, but I didn’t hear it. My eyes narrowed as the man turned. I watched the color drain from his face as he looked at me fully in the light. He looked the same as the memories I had of him. While his face morphed into shock, my rage rose like a volcano inside me.
I was going to kill him.
The world around me froze. I couldn’t believe he was alive. I couldn’t believe he had abandoned me when I needed him the most. He had promised that he would always be there to love and protect me. I would never be alone, because he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.
Alice’s loud gasp sounded in my ears, and I knew that my eyes had turned red. It only happened when my emotions were heightened to such a level that they spiraled out of my control, and I was barely hanging on right now. My lips curled up in a snarl. Though I had no fangs to threaten him with, I wanted him to have little doubt about what I had become.
“Lavinia,” he whispered in disbelief, and something snapped in me.
Faster than anyone’s ability to react, I moved, suddenly standing in front of him. My hand slapped his cheek with such force that he flew backward, crashing into a table. He rose to his feet much faster than a human should and was suddenly standing in front of me again.
“Lavinia, I…”
“Don’t you Lavinia me, Tobias.” His name rolled off my lips with fury.
“Tobias?” Henry asked from Alice’s side.
“That
was my father’s name, or at least the man I thought was my father. Turns out that role belongs to the creator of all vampires. While the man whom I grew up knowing as my father, who promised to always be there for me and I thought had died in a shipwreck with my mother, is still alive.”
“Lavinia, I can explain.” Solomon held up his hands pleadingly, which just stoked the fire inside me.
“You left me to be raised by my aunt and uncle who never even wanted me. You’ve been alive this entire time and never came to get me, to take me away from that awful place.” Tears gathered unbidden in my eyes as I glared at him, daring him to deny it.
“I couldn’t come for you, Lavinia. You were safer away from me.”
“I was almost sold to a man in order to save my uncle’s failing farm. I grew up knowing I was unwanted in that house. I was there purely for obligation’s sake. If it wasn’t for that, I would have been sent to an orphanage. I know it, because my uncle threatened to send me there often during my childhood. You better have a good explanation as to why I had to endure that.”
“I couldn’t come for you, Lavinia. I wanted to. I wanted to come and get you so many times, but I couldn’t.”
“Why?” I yelled, tears coursing down my face.
“Because I would have killed you.”
Chapter 9
Jameson snarled, moving to stand in front of me as he so often did when he felt the need to protect me. I appreciated the gesture, but I was done being protected. I wasn’t the same person I had been two months ago when all this started, and I wanted to deal with this particular conflict on my own.
Placing my hand on Jameson’s back, I stepped around him. His eyes roamed my face before he nodded and offered me a small smile. He took a seat next to Alice and Henry while my father stood before me.
Thinking of him that way was too hard to do when I had believed him to be dead. I quickly decided I couldn’t refer to him as “Father” for the time being, maybe not ever, depending on how willingly he answered our questions. This man was supposed to be Solomon, trainer to the hunters, someone who would have all the answers we needed, not bring more questions. Conflicting emotions swirled in a furious storm within me. It took every bit of strength I had not to break down in front of everyone. There would be time for that later.
Taking a seat at the table, I sat stiffly while Jameson claimed the spot beside me and Tobias sat across from us. Alice handed me a cup of tea, which I gladly accepted in hopes of calming my raging emotions.
The cup shook in my hands from the aftereffects of what had transpired. We were all sitting at a table in awkward silence. Jameson’s arm wrapped around my back, holding me against his side as I sipped the hot tea, and my shawl suddenly settled onto my shoulders once more.
Glancing up, my eyes met Alice’s concerned face. “You dropped it in the commotion.”
“Thank you.”
She settled back into her seat next to Henry while I cast my gaze back to Tobias, more than ready for answers now that everyone was situated.
“Tobias? Or should I call you Solomon?” I managed to keep the emotion from my voice, as if I was talking to a complete stranger instead of a long lost relative.
“I understand. I think Solomon would make things easier for everyone else. It’s all I’ve gone by for the last fifteen years.”
“Fine, then. Solomon, did you know what I am when you left me?”
He shook his head. “I knew who your blood father was, but you never showed any signs of abilities. Your mother and I assumed you were human as you grew up normally. It’s the only reason I never came back for you. The life I was about to lead was not one for an innocent child. I remained secluded from people for almost a year until I got a handle on what I had become after your mother died. I have yet to kill a human and have trained others like Jameson to live the same way over the years.”
“So, you thought leaving me with Uncle David and Aunt May was better?”
“Did Aunt May not care for you?” he asked in surprise. “When I checked in on you, the two of you seemed happy together. I did not realize David would be so resentful. I truly am sorry you felt unwelcome in their home. If I had known, I would have come for you. I never wanted this life for you, but it seems it was inevitable.”
Watching his face and body movements while listening to his words caused me mixed feelings. He seemed sincere in his words, and his tense cold stare was no longer present. In its place were the warm hazel eyes I used to stare into when he tucked me into bed. His face was free of wrinkles, as if he hadn’t aged a day since I last saw him. His dark hair was shorter but still the same deep chestnut I remembered.
Shaking off the memories, I continued with my questions. I couldn’t let the past cloud what needed to be done in the present.
“What did you think would happen to me when you realized Pierce was working with the vampires? Didn’t you think it would be a good idea to come for me then? Didn’t you want to protect your daughter?” My voice rose on the last question. I couldn’t help it. I would never understand why he didn’t come for me, no matter the explanation, but my curiosity made it so I couldn’t help but ask.
“Pierce never disclosed his full plans to me, and by the time I realized what was happening, I thought you were dead.” He paused, his eyes darkening at whatever he was remembering. “I did come for you, Lavinia. Your home was my last stop on the island. When I arrived, it was engulfed in flames, and I didn’t think there was any way for you to have survived. Now, I understand.”
Damn, I hadn’t expected that answer. It didn’t justify him being gone all those years after he got his thirst under control, but after hearing him say he tried to come for me softened my rage a bit. Though, I was nowhere near done with my questions, and he didn’t need to know how much it meant to me that he had tried.
“What do you understand? What do you know about me?”
I glanced at Jameson before Solomon answered. His face glowed with pride as he watched me control the conversation. I was beginning to feel like his equal, instead of a damsel needing to be rescued. Squeezing his hand, I also searched out Alice and Henry. They kept their eyes on Solomon, which I appreciated. No matter who he was to me or what he said, we didn’t know if we could fully trust him.
As my eyes landed back on Solomon, his face pinched in frustration. “I didn’t know until now. The Sea Witch spoke in riddles every time she found me. Even now, I can’t be certain, but if I am right, you could potentially become the most lethal vampire in all of existence.”
“What do you mean by ‘lethal’?” Jameson asked, tension filling his body once more.
“The Sea Witch told me of a child who would one day grow to be our salvation or our greatest enemy. The child’s venom would be the purest man had ever known. Though, how it would be used wasn’t certain. The witch never told me the child’s name, nor if it was a boy or girl. I had never suspected it could be you, but with what I am piecing together now, I believe you’re that child.”
My lips moved, but no words came out as I tried to process his words. I couldn’t understand how I could be their enemy. Was it possible for me to one day choose Prime over Jameson? I didn’t think it was, but I also had no idea what the future held, and Solomon’s explanation caused doubt to seep into me.
“Where is the Sea Witch now?” I asked, ignoring his other words. I wasn’t ready to dissect what they truly meant for me.
“I don’t know. I have only met her three times in the last fifteen years. The first time being when I was thrown off the ship by Prime, believing I would die. I had just been turned, and she had mercy on me. She told me I had the option to be pure, and not like the monster who had killed my wife and left me for dead. She said if I chose the right path, she would find me again. A year later, she presented herself to me in a different form and gifted me with the hunter’s daggers. That was also when she told me of the prophecy.”
“When was the third time?” Henry asked.
“A year a
go. She mentioned the tides were changing, and we needed more pure vampires to fight the darkness that was headed for our islands. I was able to sway some to be like myself, but Jameson is the only true success I have had. It’s why I began focusing on the hunters again, and I haven’t been easy to locate. I needed an army of my own, and pure vampires weren’t easy to come by.”
“So, what does it mean that I am a ‘pure vampire’?” Jameson asked.
We had already speculated about Jameson’s differences when he didn’t die after he killed Pierce, his maker, but the other vampires around us did. It couldn’t hurt to hear what Solomon thought on the matter. The more he spoke, though, the more I wanted to find this Sea Witch. I wondered what exactly she was capable of and how she could help us defeat Prime, or if she even would. I refused to consider me going to his side and helping him with whatever sinister plan he had come up with.
“It means you can keep your immortality without negative repercussions. Other vampires are tied to their maker. A maker can draw power from their offspring. The more they have, the stronger they are. It is why Prime has been such a formidable opponent. He has an army far greater than any of us truly know.”
“What do you know about Prime?” I asked.
Solomon reached for the teapot and filled his cup. I didn’t press him. He had been forthcoming, and I hadn’t expected that with the arrogant way he treated us when we first found him. Though, the more he spoke about what he had been through, the more I began to understand. He had no way to know what Jameson had been up to over the last couple of months. Each of us was right to be suspicious of the other.
After taking a long drink and setting the tea back down, Solomon leaned back in his chair. “Prime wasn’t always evil. In fact, he was the first pure vampire. It’s how he was able to conceive with Susanna, and another reason why we thought you were a normal human baby. Prime didn’t showcase the normal vampire traits back then that he does now. Your mother cared for him deeply, but he let greed lead his heart instead of love. She begged him to stay, but he wanted to prove his worth, and left her.
Blood of the Sea Omnibus Page 23
