Chapter One Hundred and Five

“We are the superior species! We deserve this, Bram! Why can’t you see that?” Scarlet screamed at him.

“And you refuse to acknowledge the damage it will do.” Bram hollered back, stuffing Mihaela’s head into the duffle bag, pulling out his signature daggers.

Jen was just finishing up with the last group of vampires that had attacked them, frying them with her magic. “Come on.” Gavin called, searching the room. “We need to press forward.”

“Where are they holding Tyler?” Bram grabbed Scarlet’s arm, pulling her with him. Her magic still bound from when Gavin had used the dart on her before.

She tried to fight against Bram’s grip, but he was too strong for her. “I don’t know where the elders are keeping him.” Digging her heels in only caused Bram to pull her more roughly along with him. “This is all your fault, you little shit! You told him everything didn’t you?” She was screaming at Gavin, but he acted like he didn’t hear her.

“This way.” Chisisi waved a hand and the others followed along. “I can’t say for certain, but this is where we’d would normally hold captives.” Chisisi pressed against an old oak door which opened into another dark corridor. They traveled through it quickly, opening up to another stairwell in a large room. Along the walls there were coffins pressed into empty spaces, and more coffins along the floor. Bram would never understand why some vampires still insisted on sleeping in coffins. The idea of it had always made him uneasy. It was like some of them thought of it as a right of passage, sleeping where the dead would lay.

They followed Chisisi through the room. A few coffins opened, and eyes followed them through the candlelight of the candelabras lit throughout. No one here questioned their elder though. Since Chisisi was leading them. This continued on, as they moved through the maze of the catacombs. The deeper they went, the more vampires they passed. That none of them were trying to bother them left Bram feeling anxious. It meant that when the time came, there was a chance they would have to fight their way through them once they were trying to leave.

Some time later, Chisisi opened a door and waved for the others to go through. Gavin and Jen did so, but Bram stopped. “After you.” He was still holding on tightly to Scarlet’s arm. When Chisisi slammed Bram’s chest, who wasn’t expecting it, and the elder pulled Scarlet from his grasp. Gavin jumped at the door, stopping the elder from slamming them in.

Chisisi grunted, giving up on the door as a whip snapped wrapping around Jen’s neck, he pulled her back through and Scarlet stuffed something in the girl’s mouth. Jen slumped to the ground after a moment of fighting and Scarlet turned on her heels, running away. Bram lunged at Chisisi, and all those vampires they’d past came down to fight beside him. This had been a mistake. Bram went fist to cuff with Chisisi as Gavin did his best to keep the others off them while he could.

“I’m going to fucking kill you.” Bram went blow for blow, but Chisisi was no new blood.

Snapping his whip at Bram, he snarled. “What were you expecting? No one wants to keep doing this over and over. No one wants you to gain the upper hand. Now that you’re breeding, you must be stopped, otherwise, none of us will ever have a choice again.” Bram let the leather wrap around his forearm, trying to yank the weapon away from Chisisi, but instead, it ripped at his skin tearing bits off his arm.

“Instead, you’ll let them destroy the world? I never wanted to rule any of this.” Bram lifted his hand, flames dancing in his palm. When he threw the fireball at Chisisi, the elder only laughed. The flames petering out in a small puff of black smoke. Bram glared. He hadn’t expected his mother to help them negate their magic. It meant she couldn’t attack them either.

“Too bad. We’re prepared to fight you this time. It’s just a matter of time before we get rid of them too.” Swinging his daggers, Bram went on the offensive, pushing Chisisi back as Gavin grabbed one of the other vampires and tossed him into Chisisi. Bram got a good swing, but he just wasn’t fast enough. The attack ripped open his opponent’s arm, but it wasn’t a good enough blow to slow him down.

The move had opened Gavin up long enough that two other vampires were on his back in a moment. Bram had to make a split decision and chose to rescue Gavin, leaving Chisisi to heal himself. Bram quickly got rid of the other two, but Chisisi’s whip snagged Gavin’s foot, and he was dragged over the stone toward the elder. As the elder moved in for the kill, Gavin grabbed a vile from his pocket, tossing it at the elder’s feet. Bram snagged Gavin and Jen, pulling them away from the black smoke that erupted around the elder. Snagging others who tried to attack, Bram and Gavin both pushed or threw them toward where the smoke curled up lethally. Chisisi’s screams echoing through the catacombs as his body melted into a pile of mush. Soon, it was impossible to tell which vampire was which. The other vampires retreated once they saw what was happening to their comrades, disappearing down the numerous exits around them. Bram didn’t blame them, he wouldn’t want to see an ending like this either. It was horrific.

“If I had known it would be such a terrible death, I don’t think I would have chosen to carry that on me.” Gavin watched in horror. Bram was leaning over Jen, pulling what looked like various different leaves from Jen’s mouth. He wasn’t sure what they did, but Jen was still alive. Her breathing was shallow and her skin pale.

“Effective though.” Bram frowned, looking over. If that had busted in Gavin’s pocket, it would have been awful. The two of them exchanged a glace. “Did Eudom say anything about those when you took them?”

“That I needed to be extremely careful with them, and that I should only use it if I absolutely had to.” Gavin deadpanned. At least he’d warned them. He could have explained a little better, but that was the way of the shadow man. They were slowly getting used to it. They had known that all the items they took from the room were made to kill vampires, of course. So, no matter how you looked at it, all those were a danger to them.

“I wonder how long we have to wait until that area clears out?” Bram was looking at the door. It did look like the dungeons were beyond, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Tyler really was back there.

Gavin frowned. “Do you really think he would have tried to lock us in there if that’s where we wanted to be?”

“Perhaps,” a voice said from a shadowy corner behind them, “he was trying to lock you inside with something else?” They both turned to see red eyes watching them from the darkness. Eudom twittered, his fingers tapping out the clicking sound which always made Bram want to scream. Clickety-clickety-click.

Taking a deep breath, Bram closed his eyes. “And what would they want to lock us inside with?”

“The one who truly wants to kill you more than any other.” Eudom didn’t laugh or twitter at them with this answer, the seriousness of his tone made Bram’s blood run cold. The only person he could mean was his dear old dad. “What will you do?”

Bram finished fishing the last of what Scarlet put in Jen’s mouth out. “I suppose I’ll have to give him what he’s been looking for. If he really wants me dead, he’ll have his chance. But if that’s what it’s going to come down to, I’ll kill him first.” The clicking continued behind him. “What did Scarlet do to Jen?”

“She’s just sleeping soundly. The herbs are not good for witches. Or you.” The clicking finally stopped. Bram nodded. It didn’t really matter. If Scarlet had taken the steps needed to make sure Bram’s magic couldn’t hurt the others anyway, it wouldn’t really make much of a difference.

Bram looked up at Eudom’s red eyes, “Can you take her somewhere safe?” Slowly, the shadow elongated toward them. It gradually consumed by it. Eudom’s shadow condensed around Jen, and a moment later, she was gone, and so was the darkness.

“Does it ever make you nervous to trust him?” Gavin frowned. “Sometimes I have to wonder what he’s really trying to do.”

“Like any immortal, I think he finds us amusing. Something you can get true enjoyment from or those who act differently than what you’re used to are interesting and start to make you feel alive again. I think it started with Izabella’s father, continued with her, and now that he’s in the thick of a vampire war, he’s just enjoying himself.” Bram stood, wiping the dust from himself. Not that it mattered. His clothes were covered in blood and grime anyway.

Gavin nodded, looking over to where the other vampires had melted into an unsightly puddle. “I understand that. I’ve gotten bored with life before.”

Taking a deep breath, Bram clapped Gavin on the shoulder. “I hate to say this, but I think this is where you and I should part ways.” Gavin’s hand went to his shoulder, cover’s Bram’s. “You should stay here. Keep anyone else from entering this way.” His gaze went to the door. “I think it’s time for a father-son talk, and I think it’s best if you aren’t anywhere near when it happens. I’ll have my hands full if Tyler’s in there already. I can’t be worried about anyone being taken hostage. I hope you understand.”

Gavin frowned, nodding. “If you need me…” he sighed, patting Bram’s hand before it fell from his shoulder. Bram nodded, heading toward the entrance to the dungeons.

Before going through the door, he turned back. “You take care of yourself.” Taking a deep breath, he stepped over the muck on the floor and into the dimness of the dungeons. If he thought the catacombs smelled of death, it was nothing compared to the rotting stench that turned his stomach as he walked through the silent corridors. At first, there were only bones lining the walls. With numerous paths that broke off from the main hall, he just kept moving forward. Every now and again, he got a whiff of fresh blood. The scent of it left no question of whom it belonged to, which told him he was at least getting closer.