“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.
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.
“First, I brought you here, because this is the only place where I know spies cannot come. If their intentions were not pure, my kraken would have killed them without hesitation. Now, the information you seek about Prime. Originally, he had an urge to change the world, make it safe for everyone while proving his worth to your mother Susanna, but like in all things, there must be a balance. I gifted him with immortality, because I believed at the time that he could, in fact, change the world. Love is a powerful tool if used right, as you have witnessed firsthand.”
Glancing at Jameson, my heart warmed. Our love had saved us, and I would never take it for granted.
“I warned him that my gift would have consequences if he was to stray from the path he had laid out for himself. He did not heed my warning. I watched as the darkness within my gift choked out the light he had once been so full of, and created the monster he is today. In an effort to restore balance, I gifted Solomon with the first hunter’s dagger, and I charged him with stopping my creation by any means necessary.”
Solomon stood taller, proud of his role. I was grateful the Sea Witch had saved him, but I also had mixed feelings about it. She had taken away my father and a lifetime of moments I would never get to experience.
“Nevertheless, for almost two decades now, he has fought a battle that he was ill-equipped to stop, and I was powerless to help. It seemed that the balance would remain in favor of the darkness that rules Prime, but then my prophecy began to come true. The child of a vampire and a human was born. I hadn’t known who you were when I first saw the possible futures that lay ahead, nor was I certain you would arrive.”
She spoke of me almost reverently, and my chest tightened. I didn’t like having so much responsibility lay solely on my decisions.
“At last, there was someone who could restore balance. Someone who had enough power to vanquish my creation and bring back order. Though, I never suspected that you would be his daughter. I can merely imagine what you felt when that truth came to light. I’ve seen the bad he has inflicted on this world, but unfortunately, there is only so much I can interfere with. Now that you have become what you needed to be, you are ready to take on this task.”
>
Her focus narrowed in on me as she slid closer, restricting my movements and causing my breaths to rapidly increase.
“Only you are strong enough to stand against him, Lavinia. The balance that I sense inside you is the purest I have felt in centuries.”
“But how are we supposed to stop Prime?” I asked before she could start talking again, ignoring the twinges inside at her previous mention of Prime being my father. “We stabbed him with hunter daggers, but that didn’t do much.”
“Prime is the one and only person I have ever bestowed my original gift on. There is no easy way to overcome that.”
“But there is a way,” Solomon interjected.
“Yes, there is,” she confirmed, turning to look at me and holding my hand—to make the truth not sting as badly, or for support, I wasn’t sure which. “You need to bite him, Lavinia.”
I recoiled and a deep, disgusted feeling rose to the surface when her words sank in. “No.”
“I know it’s not ideal, but it’s your only option,” she began, and once again she held up her hand to quiet my next words. “Your venom is just as pure as Prime’s, but yours is stronger, because it hasn’t been tainted like his. If you bite and inject him with your venom, it will overpower his and destroy him. Only you can do this, Lavinia.”
I was struggling to accept this was the solution we had been looking for all this time. She was the most powerful being in all the world. She had created Prime. I didn’t understand why it had to be my venom that would finally strike him down.
“There has to be a different way,” I pleaded, shaking my head. “I’ve never bitten anyone, or anything for that matter.” I was also afraid of the consequences to me biting him. Would it be different because he wasn’t human?
“Biting Prime will not damn your soul,” the Sea Witch answered before I could ask, seeming to catch on to my thoughts. “This is the only way to stop him. I have faith in you, Lavinia. You will overcome this and rise above, like you have done since you were a child, and even more so since you learned who you are.”
Silence descended on our group while I took a moment to think about her words. I had known all along that I was different, since no other had been born by a vampire, but I didn’t truly realize what that meant for me until now. Jameson slipped his arm around my shoulders, holding me to him tightly and keeping me grounded when all I wanted to do was fall apart.
“What will happen once Prime is killed?” Evander asked quietly, breaking the silence.
“Those who are pure will be spared, but those who have killed—drinking the blood of the innocent—and enjoyed it, will die along with him,” the Sea Witch answered truthfully.
Evander closed his eyes while a look of acceptance spread across his face. He must have suspected that would happen once we killed Prime, but having the Sea Witch confirm it was another thing altogether. Reaching out to him, I grasped his hand in mine. His cool fingers squeezed mine, and I could see deep sadness come over him.
“You have changed the path you were once headed down,” the Sea Witch said. “That will count for something when the time comes. You held on to your humanity even when you have been tempted to give it up. It takes a special kind of man to see his mistakes and change for the better. I admire you, Evander.”
“As do I,” Solomon admitted, while Jameson confessed his agreement as well.
A surge rocked the ship from side to side, but the Sea Witch smiled instead of being alarmed like the rest of us.
“My kraken is nothing to fear. He means you no harm… unless I tell him otherwise, of course. He’s here to return you to the surface. I’m sorry we could not speak for long, but I hope with my guidance you can overcome what I have unknowingly unleashed upon the world,” she conceded, climbing to her feet and returning to the upper deck with all of us trailing behind her. Turning around, her sapphire eyes met mine. “If you should need me, enter the sea at twilight and speak my name. I will hear you and answer if I am able.”
As the ship began to pull away from the caves, I had one last thought. One of importance to those who waited for us back home.
“Can you reverse the effects of venom on a turned child? Can we call on you to help Maggie?”
Her lips moved, but I couldn’t make out what she said over the torrent of rushing water, as we broke through the dome once more. I had no idea if she heard me or if she could even help, but I hoped for Maggie’s sake she could. With a parting wave, she morphed into a liquid as she dove over the side just as the tentacles from the kraken tightened themselves around the mast and deck once more.
Chapter Nine
The days following our visit to the Sea Witch were spent sailing home, with as much speed as we could coax from the sails. I spent much of that time locked in my room, thinking about everything the Sea Witch had revealed, especially how I was the only one who could end Prime, and what it would take to do just that.
On the morning of our last day at sea, Jameson found me in our chambers, lying on our bed, reading instead of interacting with the crew. Some alone time was what I was hoping for before we arrived back in Port Valor.
“The sun is out today. Why don’t you come enjoy it with me?”
He had been doing his best to distract me and keep me from overthinking about what the Sea Witch had said, and I very much appreciated his efforts.
“How long until we’re back to Port Valor?” I asked instead of answering.
“Only a couple of hours if the wind holds. Come join me on the deck. There might be a surprise out there for you.” He might have answered my question, but he wasn’t going to let his request go. I knew he thought I needed the pushing, but it wasn’t what he thought.
“I’m not avoiding anyone, I’m enjoying a good story. I’ll come out when we’re almost to the island.” Sitting up, I leaned against the wall and met Jameson’s gaze.
He wasn’t having any of it, though. Before I knew it, his hands were around my waist and he lifted me over his shoulder.
My head dangled upside-down while my feet kicked in the air. I screeched. “Jameson, put me down right now or I won’t be responsible for the harm that comes to you.”
“You wouldn’t hurt me.” His words were laced with laughter and a bit of wickedness, and before I could retort, he moved with incredible speed about the ship.
I had no idea where he was taking me. I was still hanging upside-down and ready to vomit, but I wouldn’t fault him for any of it as long as I didn’t throw up. Just as I closed my eyes to try to gather enough strength to fight back, my feet hit the deck with a thud.
Immediately, I turned and dry-heaved over the edge, my fingers digging into the wood of the rail as I searched for my equilibrium. Thankfully, none of my breakfast was lost.
“Don’t ever do that again.” I moved to retaliate, but he already had his arms wrapped around me from behind.
“Look.”
His hands gently grasped my chin as he guided my head in the direction he wanted me to see. When my eyes finally focused, I was in awe.
Before us, the sun was midway into its rise, casting red across the blue sea, making everything purple when the two colors collided. To our left, a school of brightly-colored fish jumped in and out of the water. They captured my full attention, until water shot out of the surface several yards away, causing me to glance to the right.
A black-and-white tail slammed onto the water just before the head of the most magnificent orca rose above the surface. The whale had to have been close to ten meters long, seizing my attention until Jameson tugged at me.
“Did you see the little ones?” he whispered, pointing behind the orca.
My eyes moved from the enchanting creature to find her young. Two baby whales, maybe three meters in length, swam after what I supposed to be their mother.
The pod of orcas began to move with the waves, disappearing every few seconds as they dove back under the blue sea. I waited with bated breath for the water to shoot up in the sky again, and just
when I was about to turn for Jameson, the mother whale did it again.
“Fascinating.” I was struck with admiration, and a part of me yearned to jump into the water. My mind began to wonder if my vampire speed and strength would allow me to keep up with them as they glided along the surface.
“Now you can’t hurt me for forcing you to come outside.”
My body turned in Jameson’s arms so I could face him. “I might not harm you now, but I’ll remember it when you need a bit of prodding in the future.”
His smile showcased my favorite dimples, and all my earlier stress vanished. We stood on the deck, watching the orcas until they disappeared into the depths of the ocean. The warmth of the sun soaked into my skin, and I savored the tranquil moment.
I wasn’t sure how long we stood there, just enjoying the day, but it had been just what I needed to get out of my previous sullen mood.
Solomon found us a short time later. “We are approaching the island.”
My heart tensed for a second before I shook it off. I didn’t need to be nervous about coming back and explaining what happened. Regardless of whether I liked the course of action we needed to take, we were arriving with a plan, and that was all that mattered.
Being with Jameson on the deck had given me time to think about everything else outside of my revulsion for having to bite Prime. I realized in our late morning under the sun that it wasn’t as horrid as it sounded, and I had been through worse. I would do what needed to be done to stop the tormenter Prime had become, and make sure the rest of the world didn’t have to know of his treachery.
After we disembarked from the ship, Jameson, Solomon, and Evander all came with me to the main house, while the crew finished securing the vessel and taking care of supplies.
When we entered the house, it was quiet. Too quiet. All four of us were instantly on high alert. I calmed my racing heart and listened for any sounds, but the only things I heard were coming from outside.
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