Blood of the Sea Omnibus

by Heather Renee

  Pressing my lips to his, I didn’t give him the chance to voice his “what ifs”. Life was too short to worry about those. I needed to know that if we left tomorrow and something happened to either of us, I would have no regrets, and nothing would be left unsaid or undone. We had no idea if we could fully trust the Sea Witch, or if we would be attacked in the open seas.

  He hesitated at first, not responding to my touch, but soon enough I heard the familiar rumbling in his chest as he fought for control over his actions. Our heightened emotions as vampires made everything amplified, and I knew our moment was going to be explosive. I had no doubt in my mind.

  My hands tugged his shirt from his trousers before pulling at the buttons and yanking them apart. I had no desire to remove my lips from his when I was perfectly capable of ripping off his shirt. He did the same to my undershirt and once all of our clothes were removed, hands roamed everywhere in a hungry frenzy. Whether he knew it or not, Jameson had needed this just as much as I had.

  He lifted me from the edge of the bed, then placed me in the center of it. My hair fanned out around me as I struggled to take in a solid breath.

  Jameson shifted, so he straddled me but kept his weight on his knees. His fingers traced my sides, then down to the dip in my hips. Wiggling beneath him, I begged him with my eyes for more. We had been toeing the line of this moment for weeks now, and I was done waiting.

  “Tell me what you want,” he whispered huskily.

  “You. All of you,” I answered without hesitation, and he responded just as quickly, without using a single word.

  Hard lips crashed down on mine as he repositioned himself above me. Feeling him attempt to break our kiss, I grasped his hair and kept him in place. He needed to stop thinking.

  His fingers grazed my center, and I bucked against him. No man had ever touched me that way, and my heart filled with elation that Jameson would be the first, and the only one. Gently, he eased into me, and my body tensed, but I focused on his kisses rather than the pain. I knew it would subside, and I couldn’t let him know it hurt in fear he would stop.

  Painstakingly slow, I was finally able to wrap my legs around his waist, and we found our own rhythm. It was still uncomfortable, but the pleasure overrode the lingering ache, and my healing abilities kicked in to take the worst of it away.

  We lost ourselves in each other for what seemed like an infinite amount of time, and when we were done, the light I had found within myself earlier that day, burst to life once more. Holding tightly onto Jameson, I focused on his presence, and managed to keep myself from losing consciousness like all the times before when I became overwhelmed.

  We spent the rest of the night wrapped in each other’s arms, in sated bliss.

  The following morning, Jameson and I struggled to get out of bed. The previous night had been life-changing, making it increasingly hard to leave our room and deal with reality. We ended up with a compromise, deciding to check my bond with his dagger and stay in the room just a bit longer.

  “Are you ready?” Jameson asked.

  Nodding, I reached for the dagger. I wasn’t afraid. I was ready… eager even.

  My fingers wrapped around the hilt, but nothing happened. My mouth downturned in disappointment. Focusing on the blade, I reached for my new combined energy and brought it forward. I had no intention of letting go until something happened.

  The dagger glowed, but that wasn’t abnormal. Though, typically it only happened in battle. Jameson stayed close, his hands out and ready to act at a moment’s notice.

  I continued to push my power into the blade, but still, nothing changed. Huffing in exasperation, my eyes met Jameson’s. “Any ideas?”

  “Try thinking about what you want it to do. Ruth taught me a lot about intention and communicating with the dagger. It’s more than just a blade; it’s a life force filled with a magic unknown to any man. I know it feels weird, but speak to it and see what happens.”

  It didn’t seem all that out there. I remembered having previous conversations with my vampire side. There was no surprise that the dagger would be the same.

  We need to find the Sea Witch, and I need your help. Please, guide me to the Obsidian Caves. Take me to the Sea Witch.

  Waiting with bated breath, I kept my eyes closed and repeated the words several times over in my head, until my hand began to heat. Opening my eyes, I met Jameson’s surprised face. Glancing down, I quickly learned why. The entire blade was lit in a deep purple, encasing my hand as well.

  Please find the Obsidian Caves. I asked once more. That time, the same tugging sensation I had felt when we tracked Evander pulled at me.

  “I got it.” My lips stretched from ear to ear in a beaming smile. I couldn’t help it. Finally, things were going our way. I had no idea how long that would last, but I would take the wins whenever we had them.

  “I knew you could do it. Solomon was supposed to be getting the ship prepared this morning with a crew, so we could leave right away. Are you ready, or do you feel like we need anything else?”

  “Let’s grab some clothes and head out. The sooner we find the Sea Witch, the faster we can figure out how to stop Prime.”

  As Jameson moved about the room, packing a bag for us, I kept my eyes on the dagger. I wasn’t sure if I should let it go, but the amethyst color was beginning to fade, while the connection remained strong. Taking a chance, I set the blade on the table next to me.

  The pull coming from it didn’t let up, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I was appreciative I didn’t have to carry around a sharp object in my hand for however long it took to find the caves.

  Without delay, we headed downstairs to find Alice, Henry, and Nathan.

  “Where are the kids?” I asked, more curious about how Maggie was doing. I hadn’t been able to check in on her since the compulsion, and I felt badly.

  “They’re playing outside with some of the others,” Alice informed us with a smile. “Maggie is adjusting well, thanks to you.”

  “As much as I wish I could see it for myself, we have to go,” I admitted. “I was able to connect to Jameson’s dagger, and it’s leading us to the caves.”

  Henry clasped his hand on Jameson’s shoulder. “If we could go with you, we would, but we can’t leave the kids.”

  “We know, brother. They need you more than we do.”

  With no time to waste, we said our goodbyes and continued our search for Solomon, hoping we would find him at the port with the ship.

  Sure enough, he was walking down the makeshift bridge onto the deck, moving quickly toward us when he noticed our approach. “Did it work?”

  “It did. Is everything ready?” Jameson asked.

  “I just finished bringing in the last supplies and was going to come check on you two. Go ahead and board the ship. I’ll gather the rest of the crew.”

  Part of me cringed; everything was going too well. Over the last few months nothing had gone as planned, filling me with nervous energy. I wasn’t normally one to look for the worst in things, but it hit me hard in that moment, and I struggled to breathe as we made our way onto the ship.

  Three days later, the uneasy feeling I had experienced when we boarded the ship returned. My connection to the dagger and the supposed location to the caves was making my head ache as if it had been hit with a rock several times.

  The tracking sensation I experienced was telling me that the caves should have been right in front of where our ship drifted in the water, but there was nothing visible for miles and miles. I was beyond frustrated, and I could tell the others were, too, but they did their best to be supportive.

  “What else do you know about the blood of the sea and its connection to the Sea Witch?” I asked Evander, who had been a last-minute addition to our crew and was present in the galley with Jameson and me.

  “Not a lot. I honestly thought this would work. Maybe she has the caves concealed with her magic. They’re probably here, we just can’t see them.”

  I glanced at Ja
meson. “What do you think?”

  “Seems like a plausible explanation, but why would she call you here and then stay hidden? That doesn’t make sense.”

  He had a point. They both did and I was aggravated.

  “Maybe we should just go home. We’re wasting precious time. What if Prime attacks while we’re gone?” I hated leaving the island vulnerable for as long as we had.

  Just as I said the words out loud, shouts sounded from the deck.

  “What was that?” I asked in a panicked voice.

  “No idea, but we need to find out.” Jameson stood from the table and disappeared in a blur. I quickly followed, with Evander right behind me.

  When we arrived on the deck, chaos had descended, and terror seeped deep into my bones like never before. Massive tentacles wrapped around the edge of the ship and up both masts. Wood creaked as the beast increased its pressure, and I felt the ship being forced down.

  This was it. The awful feeling that had assaulted me proved to be right. The reason why I hadn’t left anything to chance before we left. There was no way we could beat the monster taking down our ship. It was another beast from the scary tales I had been told as a young girl, to keep children out of the ocean and close to home.

  A kraken.

  Chapter 8

  Jameson grabbed my face with both hands, making sure he had my full attention. “As soon as the water engulfs the boat, that’s when we swim for the surface. If we jump now, we risk being hit by one of the tentacles. Whatever you do, don’t let go of me.”

  Attempting to swallow the lump that was lodged in my throat, I nodded. I wasn’t the best swimmer on any given day, and being attacked by a monstrous water creature now, my faith in my swimming abilities was lacking. I clung to Jameson’s arm and watched as a massive tentacle stretched across the deck like the creature was wrapping as much of itself around the ship as possible.

  Crew members yelled to each other, but with so many orders being barked at the same time, no one knew what to do, causing pure chaos. A loud crack rang through the air as the main mast was split in half.

  Solomon wasn’t far from us, and he took in the vast creature with a look of horror and fascination clearly written on his face. I glanced around Jameson but couldn’t spot Evander anywhere. My chest constricted when I thought of him being crushed by a tentacle. I didn’t think even a vampire could survive that. Though Evander and I had had our differences in the past, I had come to care for him as he continued to help us.

  Another tentacle made its way across the deck, the suction cups clinging to whatever surface they could find. The sucking sound grated on my sensitive ears, making me cringe and fight to keep what was in my stomach there.

  Suddenly, everything became still, as if the creature had paused so the terror of its victims would heighten, but I could see the tentacles quivering. It was preparing, gathering strength to pull our ship under the salty waves.

  I managed to suck in a deep breath before the creature gave a mighty tug and then water rushed over the sides of the vessel. Jameson covered me with his body, and I bit back a scream as the ship continued to be pulled downward and we prepared to swim.

  I expected to feel the water rush over us, but after several moments, I realized I was still dry. Jameson must have come to the same conclusion, because he drew away from me slightly to look around, though he kept me close.

  Water surrounded the ship where there used to be sky and air. Peering around Jameson, I noticed the tentacles of the kraken were still wrapped around the boat as we moved deeper into the ocean. The sea water seemed to part around the ship, like we were in some sort of air bubble.

  “What’s happening?” Jameson called quietly to Solomon, who was the closest person to us.

  “I… I think we are being taken somewhere,” he admitted, gazing at everything in wonder. “Lavinia, do you still sense we’re near the Sea Witch?”

  I shook my head, the connection had been broken during the chaos, but once I focused on it, it didn’t take long before the tracking sensation returned. I gasped, my hands gripping Jameson’s shoulder’s. “I feel it again. I didn’t realize it before, but it was pointing downward.”

  “That’s what I suspected when the kraken showed up,” Solomon mused as he came over to us. “The Obsidian Caves are underwater.”

  The blue water around us started to darken, a sure sign that we were getting closer to the bottom. On the surface, it had been early afternoon, but this far down, the light was quickly fading to black. The tentacle closest to us readjusted its hold on the edge of the deck, making me jump as the ship was angled steeply. Darkness surrounded us, but I could see a faint glow coming from wherever we were headed.

  Water surged around us as we broke some sort of surface. The air bubble we had been in popped with an audible sound, but it didn’t need to return when we entered the cave area. The Sea Witch must have manifested some sort of dome around her home, because everything within was dry except the small area of water where we stopped. The ship rocked from side to side, as the water we had disturbed with our entrance attempted to calm once again.

  Once the ship was steady, the tentacles loosened their firm grip from around the vessel before slipping into the dark water below the dome. What I had taken to be the darkness of night was actually the cave’s blackness, interrupted only by glowing spots of light that clung to the cavernous walls, looking very much like stars blanketing the sky at night. It was breathtakingly beautiful, but the underlying fear of being trapped there overshadowed my awe.

  “What do we do now?” I whispered, flinching as my words echoed loudly around us.

  “I’m not sure,” Solomon murmured back, drawing closer to Jameson and me.

  “There is nothing to be done, for you have found what you seek,” a female voice announced from the obscure depths.

  Squinting, I tried to see, but even with my advanced eyesight, the blackness was absolute.

  “Who are you?” Jameson asked, pressing me closer to his chest.

  The glowing lights around the cave suddenly brightened, and I had to cover my eyes from the initial intensity. Once my vision adjusted, I glanced around to find the ship as whole as it had been before we were pulled under. There was no evidence that the kraken had caused any damage while dragging us to the caves. I could also make out more of the cave, but I didn’t get a chance to marvel at its beauty, because something dropped from the rocks above us.

  It splashed on the deck right in front of us, before it rose and morphed into a woman. My jaw dropped as I took in the apparition that now stood before me. Her hair was long and ebony, blending into the surrounding cave walls. She wore a dress that was slim and form-fitting, and just as dark as her hair.

  Her skin was the color of cream, contrasting with the dark elements that surrounded her, and the purest blue eyes I had ever seen—like the ocean on a bright sunny day—focused on me. I swore I must have stared at her for hours, but in reality, it was only seconds. Every time my attention wandered to a different part of her, I lost myself in her otherworldly beauty.

  “Welcome to my home, Lavinia,” the woman said, gesturing around with her glowing hands.

  “Are you… are you the Sea Witch?” I asked, trying to meet her eyes, but getting distracted along the way by everything else about her.

  “I am.” Her lips pulled up in a smile, and what I saw broke the trance I seemed to be in. She had fangs like a vampire. “I’m pleased that you found a way to find me. I knew you would.” She held out her hand to me then, expecting me to take it. “Come, we have much to discuss.”

  For a brief moment, I hesitated and stared at the hand she held out to me. What did it mean if I took it? Would she whisk me away into her dark cave never to be seen again? I shook my head slightly, ridding it of the thought. This was the Sea Witch who had been a neutral entity in this war, and judging by the carefully-contained power that I sensed coming from her, if she wanted me dead, I would have been a long time ago.

&n
bsp; I stepped away from Jameson and placed my hand in hers, surprised to find that it was warm and inviting. The heat seeped below my skin and into my bones. I had felt it one other time, when my mother had wrapped her arms around me as I sat in her lap. This was remarkably similar, and I realized I likely felt that way because the Sea Witch was essentially the mother of all vampires.

  Drawing me closer to her, she then led me to the stairs and down to the lower deck. Gathering her skirts, she sat on a step, and I managed to sit beside her, despite my surprise at her choosing to sit there. Her movements were elegant, as though she was sitting on a throne. My actions were decidedly less graceful.

  “Solomon, Jameson, and Evander, please join us,” the Sea Witch urged, and after a moment, the footsteps on the deck could be heard as all three men made their way to us.

  The crew all stared wide-eyed, scattered around the deck, but didn’t make a move to come closer. After thinking we were about to be killed by a sea monster, followed by a face-to-face meeting with the mother of all things magical, I couldn’t blame them for not moving a muscle.

  “Thank you for allowing us this audience with you,” Solomon offered, bowing slightly.

  “It has been a long time coming, dear Solomon. You have kept to the path I set you on, and I appreciate your loyalty,” she assured before turning back to me. “I’m afraid I cannot hold this ship here for very long. Though I am powerful, there are limitations that all must abide by.”

  Taking a deep breath, I nodded, trying to gather my thoughts so I could ask the questions that we most needed answers to, but before I could open my mouth, the Sea Witch held up her hand to stop me.

  “I know you have questions, and I will answer as many as I can, but first, I must explain why you had to come here, and why it’s essential that you stop Prime. You need to understand that he used to be very different than the man he is now.”

  I scoffed at that. He was no man. He was more of a monster than the beast who pulled us under.