Secrets Beneath The Sea

PrologueThey tore their gaze away from each other, looking out towards the pounding surf. A tiny figure stood there, frozen in time as the waves crashed a few yards away from her planted feet. She looked so fragile, so inconsequential against the raging sea. Yet they both knew she had an inner strength, borne out of the darkness that lurked hidden from view. Well, hidden for most. The woman rose to her feet above him, walking away towards the shore, her straw hat and summer dress buffeted by the warm winds from the Atlantic. He watched as she shrank further away until the woman was standing next to the girl, her white bikini and bonnet clearly visible across the expanse of sand. The man squinted, raising a tanned hand to shield his eyes from the overhead sun. He watched, fixated as both the woman and the girl both turned to their left, staring along the coast, towards the south. On any other day, the man would have followed, snapping several shots of the precious moment, captured forever. Not this time though. He grew uneasy as the sky to the south gradually darkened, thick clouds roiling up on the horizon, heading in their direction. A flash of lightning struck the sea, the two figures unmoved by its immense power. They looked entranced, seemingly hypnotised by an unseen force that beckoned to them. The wind picked up, blowing across his face as he shielded his eyes. Looking back to the surf, the two figures were accompanied by two more. Tall and willowy, with pale skin and dark clothing. He flinched, an urge to charge headlong down the beach towards them. “She will never give you what you crave,” a voice carried towards him. “Their kind can bear no fruit.” He looked around himself, seeing holidaymakers carrying on with their fun, the words lost to the stiffening breeze. His eyes returned to the sea as the beach became shrouded in darkness. The woman and girl no longer stood there. In their place, a shuffling group of figures, yellow eyes piercing the oncoming gloom. Bearing down on Jake's position. Jake shot up in bed, the sheets damp with sweat, his body peppered with perspiration. Tears ran down his cheeks, his breathing elevated and ragged. He turned to his left, seeing the unmade side of the bed, two pillows plumped up like they'd been for the last six years. He looked out of the bedroom window, bright morning sun radiating in gently as the Atlantic breeze ruffled the curtains. Climbing out of bed stiffly, Jake kneaded his lower back as footsteps along the landing made him turn. The door flew open, an auburn-haired girl leaning against the jamb. “Hey, Dad,” she said confidently. “Hey, poppet,” Jake replied. “What time is it?” She smiled, her face transforming instantly. For a split-second, Katherine was stood in front of him. The moment passed, a dark shadow almost forming between them as Jake's loss tried to resurface. “Breakfast time,” Alicia proclaimed jovially. The dark clouds blew past, Jake returning the smile to his only living daughter as she turned and headed downstairs. “Put the kettle on, please. I'll be down in a minute.” “Okay, Dad,” Alicia chirped as she skipped along the landing before she headed downstairs. Two minutes later, Jake entered the kitchen, pulling on a dark blue T-shirt that matched his blue shorts. “What's on the menu?” “Do you fancy a bacon sandwich?” his daughter replied as she poured boiling water into a teapot. “Perfect. Just what the doctor ordered,” he said, ruffling her long hair as he padded towards the fridge. “Dad,” Alicia began. “Were you having another bad dream?” Jake sighed as the fridge door closed to. He placed milk, bacon and eggs on the counter next to the stove before dropping onto a wooden chair. “Yes, love. They come and go.” “Was it about Mummy, or Alana?” “Alana,” Jake muttered, the attractive face of the white witch appearing before him. She walked over, wrapping her arms around him. He closed his eyes, inhaling her scent, the world melting away for a moment. “You'll be okay, Dad.” “Thanks. You've got an old head on young shoulders. You're wise beyond your years, like your mother.” “I wish she were still here, Dad. I have no memory of her at all? Even Alana, I hardly remember her either?” Jake's eyes became unfocused, images appearing before him. First was his wife, Katie. She'd been killed several years before, along with his daughter Megan. God. It's almost fifteen years, he thought. A tall auburn-haired woman appeared next, dark eyes boring into his. He'd met Katherine years after his wife had died, in another world. A world that lay next to his own, but far removed in every other sense. Vampires and dark beings had lurked there, Jake stumbling across an age-old secret after his brother-in-law had sent him on a wild goose chase following a double murder. A goose chase that had started a chain of events that Jake had been helpless to resist against. He'd visited two other worlds. Two parallel dimensions that had almost cost him his life. Jake had barely survived, his mother, father and brother all perishing at the hands of the creatures that had inhabited the forsaken lands beyond his own. “I know, poppet,” he replied sombrely. “The painful thing is, is that I remember them all.” Alana appeared before him, her milky-white complexion flawless, dark hair cascading around her face. “Who did you love the most?” Alicia asked inquisitively. Jake chuckled, relieved by the change in mood that was threatening to engulf the kitchen. “You can't ask a question like that. I loved them all, for different reasons,” he responded evenly. “I only thought I'd be with Katie. We were married and had Megan,” he said, his chest constricting. “But then Katherine came along, and I also loved her dearly. When she died, I thought that was it. But life tends to throw you curveballs. Alana and I probably came together through grief and suffering. I'd lost Kath, she'd lost her kin. And it kinda went from there.” He was suddenly cast back six years, remembering with aching clarity the look on the witch's face when she knew that she was dying. He remembered the blood, the screams and tears that had echoed through the house as the woman's pregnancy had come to an abrupt end, extinguishing the life of the mother and unborn son in a heartbeat. “Well, I love you, Dad,” Alicia confirmed, lightening the mood. “I'll give you all the love and cuddles that you'll ever need.” He opened his arms, welcoming his daughter's embrace as tears stung his eyes. “Thanks, poppet. I don't know what I'd do without you?” “You too, Dad. You're my world.”