I brushed past her, ignoring how tears formed in her eyes, and the smell of grief permeated the suddenly cramped hall. Guilt roared up quicker than before, and it took more effort to push it aside. I told myself I’d done the right thing, given the few options I’d had back then, but the innocent vampires who died under Prime’s control still ate at me.
Before I could apologize to the woman, whose name I still didn’t know, Matthew came running down the hallway at full speed, seeming like he wasn’t going to stop. So, I caught him by the shoulders before he ran head first into a wall.
“The ship is in sight,” he gasped, trying to catch his breath.
Leaving Matthew with the woman, I sped through the hallway and back to the top deck in search of Deacon.
“They are doing their best to outrun us. What’s our plan of attack?” he asked, while nodding at the other ship after I appeared at his side.
Before answering him, I gazed at the vessel, not needing to bother with the spyglass. “We will pull up beside them and I board, alone.”
“Alone? But—”
“No, Deacon,” I snapped, turning my head to face him as I let my eyes flash red for a brief moment, then focused on the vessel again. “I board alone.”
Stunned silence followed, then he muttered an agreement and stomped away. Deacon was usually more steady on his wooden leg, but after a long day, I knew he’d be struggling. I had half a mind to tell him to go get his crutches, but I knew he wouldn’t even if I told him to, so I left him be.
“What do you plan to do?” the woman’s voice asked from behind me.
“I’ll do what I was created to do,” I replied simply, watching as our ship pulled alongside the smaller one.
Hesitating, I almost turned back to her, but I couldn’t deal with the distraction she was becoming, until after I was done following through on the Sea Witch’s request.
This was the first time I wasn’t only doing something because she asked me to. I likely would have done this without her, and I wasn’t sure whether or not that was a good thing or bad.
Winning against the urge to turn back to the woman, I focused on the sun sinking into the watery horizon as I jumped from my ship, full of the human people I cared about, to one where I planned to rip everyone to shreds.
It was funny how far I had come in the eternal life I’d found myself in, yet, how easily I reverted back to my killer instincts when it was necessary. I contemplated those thoughts as I landed on the enemy’s deck, and grabbed the first man who ran at me, tossing him over the side into the waiting tentacles of the Kraken.
This action was repeated several times over, until too many of them fought back at the same time, and I was left with no choice, but to use my own hands in order to end their lives. My mind did its best to keep emotion out of it, but I knew these moments would haunt my dreams for many nights to come.
Once the eleven crew members were no longer on the ship, I raced through the vessel to make sure nobody was hiding, and no other women were stowed away. When I was satisfied that nobody else was present, I made my way back toward my ship.
Well done, Evander, a silky voice praised, full of magic and power within my head.
I sucked in a breath as I looked down at myself. I was covered in blood, its seductive scent tickling my nose. My fangs protruded from my gums while hunger twisted within my gut, but I pushed it aside, noticing that I was holding something in each of my hands.
A still warm heart, dripping with blood, was gripped in my left, and a spine covered in gore was in the other.
Glancing up, I found there was nothing but blackness spreading out before me, and the reality around me slipped away. There was only person who could do that, and I braced myself for her appearance.
The Sea Witch emerged in the darkness, her silver eyes gleaming in the gloom. The long, midnight colored dress she wore hugged her curves, while blending her into the obsidian surroundings.
I held out the heart and the spine to her in offering. With her nod, I dropped them, and they disappeared into the blackness.
She smiled, pleased.
“Are we even?” I asked her the same question I asked every other time I did her a favor.
“For now,” she answered, before the surrounding bleakness folded in on her, and she disappeared back to her dark cave beneath the sea.
Once reality returned to me, I found an oil lamp, spilled its contents over the deck and lit it on fire, jumping into the ocean. While I washed the grime off my body, I briefly wondered… If I sank to the sea bottom, would I drown, or be able to walk on the seafloor? I didn’t have long to ponder the thought, as my name was called.
Deacon was waiting for me as I climbed up the side of my ship and stepped back onto the deck, turning back to the boat set ablaze behind me. Deacon disappeared from my side, but another presence I’d been doing my best to ignore took his place.
“You killed them… all of them,” the woman said, her eyes wide as she took in my unharmed state.
“A favor owed, a favor paid,” I replied, grateful I had cleaned up in the ocean so I didn’t further frighten her.
“My name is Katie,” she stated when I turned to her lovely face.
“Katie,” I acknowledged noticing the small smile that pulled at the corners of her lips when I said her name.
“Thank you for what you did,” she offered.
My hand lifted to touch her cheek, but when I was mere inches away, she flinched, confirming my earlier thoughts that she hadn’t always had an easy life, especially as of late.
With hope that the Sea Witch wouldn’t need me anytime soon, I made a silent vow to protect this woman for as long as she would let me, because something told me I’d live to regret it if I let her walk.
I’d already lost one great woman in my lifetime, and I’d be damned if I lost another.
Nettie
Thirteen Years Later…
Growing up without my parents, and being raised by my uncle along with his various friends I called family, was interesting to say the least.
When my parents first died, our world was under attack from villainous vampires, who took more lives than I cared to recall. I’d seen things no child should ever see, and the screams of those lost took years to get out of my head.
There hadn’t been many children who survived the attacks on the islands during the vampire wars, but I was lucky to have had Aunt Nia and Uncle Jameson on our side. I had known there was something special about Aunt Nia from the moment I met her.
She reminded me of my mother, and I was pretty sure a lot of us wouldn’t have made it through the attacks without her fighting for us.
Later, when people returned to their homes and began rebuilding, my Uncle Nathan chose a house near enough to all of the aunts and uncles I’d acquired when I was younger. Aunt Alice and Uncle Henry were the last of our family. They adopted Maggie and Timothy right after the war with the vampires, soon after having a baby, a little girl named Catherine, who was no longer little nor sweet.
She was twelve now and was very much like her namesake, or so I’d been told by Evander—stubborn, devious, and oddly loyal. I didn’t know the person she had been named after, but the woman had apparently saved her father’s life, so it was fitting.
“What are you doing out here?” Timothy asked as he wound his arms around my waist, placing a gentle kiss to my cheek.
Yes, I had fallen for the boy next door. His parents might have been like an aunt and uncle to me, but he wasn’t blood and neither were they, so we never let it bother us. Timothy had been there through the worst of it alongside me as we got older, and when he became more man than boy, he also became more than just my best friend.
“Just enjoying the view,” I finally answered. We still lived on the islands, and stayed mainly on Port Victory as that was the place most of our family chose to call home, but on occasion, we joined one of the ships and headed out to sea just to see a little more of the world.
Somethin
g we were currently doing, and I was taking full advantage.
“When do you want to head back to Port Victory?” he asked.
It was a question he had been asking every day for the last three days and I still didn’t have an answer for him. While I loved our family dearly, this was the fifth time we’d been around the islands and I was beginning to want something more.
“What if we didn’t go back?” I asked instead, turning to watch his reaction.
His icy-blue eyes sparkled with life as a smile appeared on his face. “The islands aren’t adventurous enough for you any longer, my love?”
My shoulders shrugged. “We have seen every inch of all seven main islands. Don’t you wonder what it would be like to see the rugged terrain of the mainland? To chase the rivers until they end at the ocean? To meet new people who don’t know who we are?”
On top of having already explored the local lands, everyone knew us, and if we did anything remotely out of character, word would somehow travel back to one of our aunts or uncles. As much as I loved them all, it was tiring not being able to be my own person.
Timothy didn’t answer any of my rhetorical questions, instead, he stared out into the ocean while the sun rose for another new day, casting its golden rays across the horizon and reflecting off the water in a cascade of colors.
“Maggie feels the same way, and you know it,” I continued when he didn’t say anything. “I’m not trying to force your hand, but we’re getting stir crazy.”
Timothy’s sister, Maggie, was a few years older than us and was given a second chance at life, after being turned into a vampire at the young age of ten. It hadn’t been easy for anyone who knew her.
Thankfully, the Sea Witch had taken the curse from her and Timothy got his sister back, just the way she was before she was bitten, only a little more scarred. Mostly, mentally, but regardless, the nightmares lasted longer for her than for the rest of us.
“How will we survive when we arrive on the mainland? We have little money to ourselves, and we don’t know anyone there,” Timothy finally spoke.
A grin appeared on my face because his questions gave me hope. Hope that if I could figure out the details, he wouldn’t kill me for doing this as long as we were together.
“Let’s go home today and I promise, if we can’t figure it out, then I’ll leave it alone and be content to live on the islands for the rest of our long lives,” I vowed.
Nodding, he groaned. “I’m surrounded by stubborn women with wild hearts. From the sounds of it, I’ll be lucky if I make it to my next birthday.”
I rose onto my toes and kissed his check. “We will have decades more of birthdays to celebrate as the years pass, I promise.”
Twelve days later, we arrived back at Port Victory and my mind was about to explode from excitement. I had a mental list of questions to ask, and I knew exactly who I needed to ask in order to make my plans go the way we wanted.
Our first stop was Maggie’s house. She lived alone in town, behind the bakery where she worked, keeping most people at a distance—other than Timothy and me. The smile that graced her face when we walked in made me even more sure of what I wanted.
“Where have you two been? I expected you back several days ago,” she asked as we hugged.
“Well, I couldn’t decide what I wanted, but I know now and that’s why we’re here,” I answered.
Her brow raised. “And what is it that you want?”
“To run away to the mainland.” My reply made her freeze on the spot and I could see hysteria creeping into her expression. “The three of us, Maggie,” I quickly added, realizing my mistake. “I’d never leave you behind for good.”
Her hand went to her chest. “Nettie, you almost broke me. I can handle the island visits, but nothing more.”
Hugging her again, I murmured an apology before she pulled back and stared at her brother. Timothy nodded. “I told her if she can figure out all the details, and get everyone to agree, then I’d follow her to the ends of the earth.”
Maggie grunted. “You are one of a kind, my sweet brother.”
After a few bad experiences with some sailors, I knew exactly why Maggie kept everyone at a distance, and I also knew how lucky I was to have had Timothy by my side all these years.
“So, what do you think?” I asked Maggie.
“I think if you can get the rest of the family on board, then I’ll have my bags packed tonight.”
Glancing at Timothy, he seemed relieved and so was I. If Maggie hadn’t wanted to come along, I think my heart would have broken a little.
“We’ll be back. Next stop is Aunt Alice and Uncle Henry’s house. Might as well go in order of whoever is closest,” I explained, before taking a few steps toward the door.
My Uncle Nathan was the furthest house, and I was okay with leaving him for last. He would be the hardest person to gain approval from, so I wanted to get a few agreements in place before I faced him.
“Should I come with the two of you, to help?” Maggie asked.
Timothy shook his head. “Nettie is on a mission. She’s been planning this for over a week, she doesn’t need any help, but the others might when Nettie is done with them.”
Maggie grimaced and I knew why. My heart hurt a little as well. Leaving our family would be hard, but they had all raised us to be strong adults who would follow their hearts. If I didn’t do this, then I would be doing a disservice to the people who loved us most.
Grabbing Timothy’s hand, I pulled him out the door as we waved goodbye to Maggie. It was a ten-minute walk to our first stop, and when we arrived any tiny doubts I might have had disappeared, because the only weak link to my plan stood in the front room of Aunt Alice and Uncle Henry’s house.
“Evander, good to see you on land. I thought we’d have to catch you at the docks,” Timothy greeted when we entered the house.
If Evander had been out to sea, I wouldn’t have been able to ask him about his connections on the mainland, and that would be crucial in convincing everyone we wouldn’t be completely on our own.
“Decided to take the week off. Katie said her sea legs were becoming permanent, and she needed to feel steady ground for a while.”
Katie had been his other half for nearly a decade. We never learned exactly how they met, but my instincts told me it hadn’t been in the most conventional of ways. Nothing with Evander was ever normal.
When Aunt Alice walked in, her face lit up at the sight of us, and she gathered both of us into her arms. “Henry, get out here. The kids are back!”
Henry came too, and more hugs were shared before we all settled around the table. “How was your trip?” Uncle Henry asked us.
“It was good. Nothing out of the ordinary happening out there, that we could see,” I replied, meaning no vampire sightings had been made. Even after all these years, we still worried there would be more, but there was nothing we could do about it until the day arrived.
“We were just about to head out with Evander, would the two of you like to join us?” Aunt Alice invited.
“Actually, we came here to ask you something, and then we were going to search for Evander, so if you’re not in a hurry, could we talk for a little longer?” I asked in return.
Before Alice could answer, the back door opened and Aunt Nia and Uncle Jameson entered the house. Nia’s eyes went straight to my face and I immediately knew she was somehow already aware I was up to something.
“Timothy, Nettie, glad to see you’re back safe and sound,” she offered without removing her gaze from mine.
“Easy, Lavinia. You don’t want to scare them away,” Jameson teased next to her.
“Where is Olivia?” I asked, hoping for a sudden change in subject. Olivia was the daughter they had adopted when her father never returned home from the sea, and the mother fell ill, dying a few years ago.
The little girl was only seven and had no idea what her new parents were, but nobody else had been willing to take her. With both of them being
vampires, their bodies didn’t allow for them to have their own children, so, it worked out for all involved. Though, they’d have to deal with revealing their true selves at some point, when she aged faster than either of them.
“She’s with Maggie. Apparently, we had just missed you at the bakery,” Aunt Nia replied, and I knew then that Maggie had been unable to keep my plans to herself.
I didn’t blame her. Nia wasn’t someone you could lie to very easily. Her vampire abilities guaranteed that.
“Well, take a seat, since you seem to already know what is going on,” Timothy suggested as I saw my possibility of success getting smaller and smaller by the second.
I hadn’t intended on facing them all at once. It would have been so much easier to wear them down individually, and make them see we were more than capable of going on this adventure on our own.
“What’s going on?” Alice asked with a panicked voice.
“Nothing is wrong. Maggie must have already told Aunt Nia what I was just about to tell the three of you, and she’s making a bigger deal out of it than it needs to be,” I replied.
Lavinia snorted. “You think moving to the mainland isn’t a big deal?”
Alice’s eyes grew wide and Henry sucked in a sharp breath, while Evander just smirked. He was always up for anything that ruffled feathers, so I tried to pay him little attention. His part in all of this was the least of my worries.
“Listen, let us explain before you completely fall apart,” I urged.
Uncle Henry placed his hand on Aunt Alice’s shoulder. “She’s right. If we did our jobs right as parents, then this may not be so bad.”
Aunt Nia murmured something, but I ignored her. She’d see reason, or so I hoped. I knew the thought of us leaving was frightening, yet Uncle Henry was right, and I was going to remind them all of that. Since most everyone was there, I might as well do this all at once.
“Where is Uncle Nathan?” I asked, knowing he would be livid if I told everyone, but him. My original plan to do this individually had completely fallen apart.
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