Obsidian Horizon

by Heather Renee

  Where is everyone?

  There had been no bodies outside, which was the only thing keeping my emotions in check. If there had been an attack on the island, we would have seen proof as soon as we pulled into port. At least, I assumed we would have.

  “Wait, did you hear that?” Solomon whispered.

  Straining my ears once more, I finally heard a rumbling of voices. Grasping Jameson’s hand, we sped toward the voices. They were leading us to the children’s rooms, and my heart pounded in fear that something had happened to Maggie while we were gone. Maybe I had been too far away, and the compulsion had failed, or I hadn’t even done it right from the start.

  If anything happened to any of the children, I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle that kind of guilt.

  When we entered the room, Alice had tears streaming down her face, and I froze in place before I could take in the rest of the room. Jameson stepped around me and said something, but I was so focused on Alice, I hadn’t heard him clearly.

  When I didn’t respond to whatever he had said, he turned for me, his hands gently cupping my cheeks. “Lavinia?”

  “It’s all my fault,” I whispered.

  Alice’s voice sounded from behind him. “Lavinia, these are happy tears. Nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is better than it has been in weeks.”

  Lifting my head, I peeked around Jameson and stared at her, confused. “What are you talking about?”

  “Come see for yourself.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me further into the room.

  On the bed, I saw Maggie and Timothy surrounded by Henry, Nathan, Nettie, and Ruth. Maggie’s eyes beamed with joy, and the constriction around my chest eased.

  “Maggie, tell Lavinia what you told us,” Alice encouraged as she sat down next to them.

  I kneeled in front of the bed, taking the young girl’s outstretched hand.

  “An angel made the bad stuff go away. Like you did, Lavinia, but different.”

  Confused, I glanced at Alice, but a whisper reached my ear the next moment.

  “Sea Witch.” Jameson stated, having caught on before I could.

  Tears welled in my eyes. I hadn’t thought she heard my request, but seeing Maggie now, there was no denying the Sea Witch had made her human again.

  “She told me I was a special little girl, and that if I promised to be good and protect others, she would grant me a wish. I wished to be like my brother again, and she did it. I asked her to stay so that everyone would believe me, but she said she couldn’t stay long. Wishes like that made her very tired, and she had to go home to rest.”

  “That is the best news I think I have ever heard.” I struggled with more words as elation filled me.

  Jameson pulled me up, pure joy evident on his face as well. I wanted to call for the Sea Witch to thank her, but I knew what she wanted more than gratitude, and I would do everything in my power to make it happen. Seeing what she did for Maggie brought my focus back to making Prime pay for harming her in the first place.

  We stepped out of the room, and most of the others followed, but Alice and Henry remained with the children. Ruth led us to an office two doors down the hallway, and everyone took seats except Jameson and Solomon.

  “Seeing as the Sea Witch made an appearance to Maggie, I take it your trip was successful?” Ruth asked, her attention moving from Solomon to me.

  “We know what will kill Prime now, and it’s not a hunter’s blade.” Solomon spoke first. “It’s Lavinia’s venom. She’ll have to bite him as if she’s trying to turn him, but it will do the opposite for him, and he will die.”

  As Solomon said the words, my gaze moved across the room to see the reaction of the others. Ruth seemed to be the most surprised.

  “There’s no other way? She can’t lace the dagger with her venom and just stab him?” she asked, seeming to hate the idea almost as much as I did.

  She had a point and her suggestion intrigued me, but I wouldn’t leave anything to chance. If the Sea Witch said I needed to bite him, then I would figure out a way to be fine with it.

  “If there was any other way, I’m sure the Sea Witch would have told us, but you bring up a point,” Jameson agreed. “Prime is powerful and physically stronger than Lavinia. She’ll need a way to weaken him before she’s able to bite him, and if none of us are able to assist her, we need to make sure she’s capable on her own.”

  “What did you have in mind?” I asked.

  “We can still do as Ruth suggested. You’ll need to practice releasing your venom to make sure you only have to bite him once, and when you’re practicing, we can store your venom and lace all of our daggers with it. So those without hunter’s daggers will still be able to defend themselves without having to behead the vampires.”

  “That is brilliant,” Evander marveled. “Prime won’t see it coming. While they might have more numbers than us, this just gave us a considerable edge in the battle.”

  Listening to Evander sound so excited about the prospect of us winning made me question his loyalty. I hated that I did, but I couldn’t help it. He had been so angry a moment ago, and I didn’t know where his excitement originated.

  “Will you be able to kill those who used to fight at your side?” I asked. “Are you positive that you are willing to die in order to stop Prime? I know you’ve changed, the Sea Witch said as much, but death is still a possibility, and we wouldn’t begrudge you if you had any doubts. I just can’t risk you changing your mind at the last minute and putting the people I care about at risk.”

  His forest-green eyes met mine, swirling with tints of red. I had hit a nerve by questioning him, but his feelings were the least of my worries if my family was in danger.

  “While I may be disappointed, I understand your questions and the need for answers. The pirates and vampires who used to fight by my side were not special to me. They would have sooner killed me than defended me if Prime had asked. I will have no problem striking them down if they get in the way of you ending Prime. As for dying, yes, I am ready. I have done many evil deeds in my life, but I have tried to do good as well, and if this is the last thing I get to do, then maybe my life will have meant more than that of a man who killed and pillaged.”

  My eyes softened, and I offered him a smile. “Thank you.”

  The passion emanating from him told me his words were true, and I wouldn’t question him again.

  “Where are all of the hunters?” Solomon asked, easing some of the tension in the room.

  “A new ship arrived with an additional twenty-two of them from various islands,” Ruth answered. “A few of our hunters are giving them a tour of this island. When they return, I plan to show them their quarters and give them the training schedule.”

  “How many fighters do we have now?” I asked.

  “Almost two-hundred,” she replied.

  Evander shook his head, catching Jameson’s attention.

  “Is that not enough?” he asked.

  “With the laced blades, it will help, but if we have to face Prime on the island where he keeps most of them, then the odds will still be stacked against us. Though, if we wait much longer, he will gather them all and return here. There is no doubt about that. Prime’s plan before I left had been to kill Solomon, keep Jameson as his new pet since he believed Lavinia to be dead, and take the islands one-by-one with his army, until he amassed enough power to move inland.”

  “He already has control of some of the smaller islands,” I confirmed. “Why don’t we do as Prime has planned, but before he can? We can take our islands back. Fight his smaller groups one at a time. Yes, we risk losing some of our own along the way, but we could gain more people as well. We have no idea how many humans and hunters might be trapped on those islands we haven’t been able to get to yet.”

  The stretch of islands we lived on spanned many miles, although there were only five main ones: Baldaire, Langford, Valor, Victory, and Defiance. Those key ports were all surrounded by smaller ones, like the one Jameson sw
am us to after we had escaped Prime’s ship, but many of them still had inhabitants—people who might need saving, or who might be able to help us. It was our best shot at growing our numbers and lessening Prime’s at the same time.

  Solomon nodded. “It’s not a bad idea, but we need to ready the new arrivals, and you need to produce the venom before we leave. Three days should be enough time if everyone agrees.”

  Sounds of approval came from everyone in the room, and then we finished catching up on all that we had missed while at sea. The most exciting thing had been Maggie’s visit from the Sea Witch, and I had felt relieved nothing extreme had happened in our absence.

  After we left the room, we had a plan and a date to execute it. I just needed to figure out how to produce enough venom to give our warriors the best chance at survival, and I only had a few days to master something I had never done.

  No pressure at all.

  Chapter Ten

  My head bobbed, bringing with it a sharp pain to my neck. Jerking, I blinked my eyes open and tried to make sense of where I was. I was on a ship, and it was vaguely familiar. With stunted movements, I turned my head, trying to remember how I had gotten there. A stiff sea breeze tossed my hair about my shoulders, and I tried to lift my arm to tame the wayward strands, but my arms wouldn’t move. Looking down, I discovered a rope was tied around my upper body, holding me against something hard and unyielding.

  Straining, I finally recognized that I was somehow tied to the mast. My attention shifted upward to find giant white sails above my head. They were fully extended and filled with the breeze I had felt previously. I shook my head, trying to get a clear mind and drive away the fog that was making my thoughts sluggish.

  How did I get here?

  Attempting to lift my arms, I tested the tightness of the rope and found it to be absolute, making sure I couldn’t move at all.

  Once again, I looked down and was relieved to find that I had a purple dress on instead of the nightgown I remembered wearing before I had gone to bed.

  Jameson.

  I called on his image and it helped to clear the fog from my mind, but not by much. I still couldn’t recall how I had gotten on the ship, or why it looked so familiar.

  The sky above me was dark, and clouds blotted out the stars and moon. I didn’t need the light they provided to see, but I missed their presence. I felt lost at the moment. My eyes wandered around again, yet still couldn’t find anything that would help me figure out where I was or why I was tied against the mast all alone.

  The sails flapped above, startling me. Sluggishly, I glanced toward the sound, and then continued my perusal of the ship to discover I was no longer isolated.

  A seemingly familiar man stood several feet away from me, but I couldn’t recall his name. He looked disheveled and tired, which gave a deeper part of me some amusement, though the foggy part of me was appalled for thinking that way about a stranger. His red eyes gleamed in the darkness, contrasting with his pale skin that seemed to glow in the absence of light. His once pristine clothing was rumpled and stained, and I swallowed hard, trying not to think of what the blemishes actually were.

  As I took him in, he studied me, too, not moving or saying a word. A distant part of me was horrified that I had somehow found my way back into his presence, though I didn’t understand why or when I had ever been around him. There had to be some explanation, but thinking was proving to be increasingly difficult and I couldn’t seem to muster the effort to care, which made the distant part of me fight harder against the oppressive fog.

  “You came back to me, my Lavinia. You were always meant to be by my side, and deep down you know it to be true,” the man announced.

  The corner of my lips pulled down into a frown. I had no idea what he was talking about. I still had no recollection of meeting him before.

  “You need to stop fighting. I thought you dead once, but by some miracle you are still alive, and becoming more and more like me as the days pass. We should stand together, rewriting the world. You have felt the oppression from others. You’ve felt the same despair of knowing that there is nothing you can do to change your path. But we can. With you by my side, we can rise above the way things are. Don’t you want to see your mother again?”

  My mother… my mother’s name was Susanna and she was dead. Long dead if my limited memories could be trusted. Tears pricked at my eyes as I saw her face in my mind. Her smile was full of warmth and love. I missed it so much that my chest ached.

  “Who are you?” I asked as tears ran in rivulets down my cheeks.

  “I’m your father.” The man took measured steps toward me.

  “My father is dead, along with my mother,” I sniffled.

  “I am your father, Lavinia, and I’m very much alive. I need your help, so we can bring your mother back.”

  “We… we can?” I whimpered, not daring to hope, or even believe, that it was possible to bring someone back once they were so permanently gone.

  “There’s a way, but I can’t do it on my own,” he confessed, drawing nearer. “Your mother is the only woman I have ever loved. She’s worth more to me than all the gold and jewels I have ever pillaged. I should have stayed with her when I was younger, and then we would have been a family, but I let greed lead me astray. I need you to help me bring her back to me. I need Susanna back in my life.” He was begging, almost hysterical, and my heart held sympathy for him until he took several steps forward. The closer he got, the more of his face I could see, and another feeling awoke.

  Warning bells had been ringing in my mind since he first spoke, and now they were getting louder. My fists clenched as I tried to make sense of the strange feeling that told me I shouldn’t be on this ship. I was in danger.

  “Why am I tied up?” I managed to ask, while the bells grew louder inside my head.

  “This worked better than I planned.”

  His words seemed muffled, so I wasn’t sure I had heard him right. I was even more confused than when I awoke.

  “My name is Prime. You really don’t remember me?”

  Recognition flooded through me at the mention of his name. I did know him. The part of me that was growing stronger by the moment knew him even better—I didn’t just know him, I hated him.

  My arms trembled as a memory surfaced. It was of me, holding a glowing dagger and plunging it into the chest of the man who stood across from me now. I sucked in a sharp breath as I remembered withdrawing the dagger and thrusting it into his chest once more.

  With a sudden pop that felt like a bubble bursting, the fog cleared from my mind, and all of my memories returned. I had no idea how I had ended up face-to-face with Prime, but the setting around me was as real as could be, and I needed to be careful with my next moves until I figured out how to get away.

  My lips pulled up into a sneer, and a sound I had only ever heard from Jameson emanated from my chest. I jerked my arms, and the ropes broke away from my body. My hands curled into claws as I stared at the man who haunted my nightmares and was also the man who had murdered my mother.

  “You don’t deserve my mother,” I seethed angrily, feeling a sharp pain pierce my upper jaw, but ignoring it as I advanced on Prime. “She’s better off wherever she is, far away from you.”

  “You will help me return her to this world,” he demanded, his own lips peeling back away from his fangs.

  “I would rather die,” I shot back, feeling power course through my limbs while I prepared to fight the abomination he was with every last drop of strength I had.

  “So be it.” He lunged toward me, clawed hands grabbing my arms.

  “Lavinia!”

  I snarled as invisible hands shook my shoulders. Thrusting my arms out, I pushed what I presumed to be another person away from me even though I couldn’t see them. A thud sounded from somewhere in the darkness, but all I could see was Prime coming toward me, his red eyes promising swift pain.

  Just as his claws swiped for my arms, my body was yanked back and my
vision blurred as I seemed to be pulled from the ship into an abyss, transported through a nothingness back to where I had been when I fell asleep.

  Something sparked in the shadows, quickly illuminating a room. A man was standing beside a table where a lantern had been lit. His eyes were the purest color of blue I had ever seen—completely opposite to the red ones I had stared into only moments ago. I blinked as realization of who he was entered my mind, rapidly suppressing the violence.

  “Jameson?” I asked, my words slurring as I tried to talk around two sharp objects protruding from my mouth.

  I raised my hands to touch my face, but my eyes caught sight of my fingers. My fingernails had turned to black, short but sharp claws. My eyes focused on them, and it took a moment for my brain to catch up with what my eyes were seeing. If I had claws, then I assumed the pointed objects in my mouth were fangs.

  A scream of frustration ripped from my chest, and I scrambled to free my legs from the sheets that wrapped around me.

  “Lavinia,” Jameson called, taking a step toward me.

  Once my legs were freed, I swung them over the side of the bed and dashed into the nearest corner. I pressed my back against the wall, my eyes scanning the room, and tried to regain my composure.

  What the hell happened?

  “Don’t!” I shouted at Jameson when he tried to step toward me again.

  Fists began pounding on the door, the sound grating painfully on my sensitive ears. I covered them with my hands and wanted desperately to close my eyes, but I was afraid Prime would be there, so I forced them to remain open.

  The pounding persistently echoed in my ears, either from my racing heartbeat or from the fists still knocking. I wasn’t sure which, but it was driving me crazy, and I needed it to stop. I would do anything for it to cease.

  Another snarl escaped me, and I realized it helped push the other sounds away. Closing my mouth, I began to hum the first melody that entered my mind. I kept at it until the tune was the only thing I could hear, and even then, I continued until the tension capturing my shoulders eased.