Chapter One Hundred and Six

Bram came to a crossroad eventually. The main corridor ended, and he was faced with three smaller openings. Pausing before each entrance, he took a deep whiff, expecting to be able to follow Tyler’s scent. He wasn’t disappointed. The smell of his friend’s fresh blood was definitely coming from the right side. Before he continued down the path, he lowered the duffle to the stone floor and pulled Mihaela’s head from it. He hoped to shock his father enough to gain the upper hand. He stuffed a large round candle in her mouth. Filling the pockets of his cloak with matching candles.

His father always wore his shadow cloak, which allowed him to transport between the dark recesses around him. Eudom hated the candles, because they were meant to dispel the shadows that he used to move around in. But if it could stop a shadow man, it could stop Vlad too. Bram knew this could be a catch twenty-two for him. He would be able to stop his father from using the shadows, but ultimately, he would be stopping Eudom too. Therefore, he would have to bide his time and use them only if completely necessary. If he could at least light up around Tyler, he might be able to keep his father from killing him once he realized Mihaela was dead.

Bram may not have come into the catacombs with the intention of killing his parents, but if they were behind this all, he didn’t see a different way out. They were trying to kill him again, after all. He and Izabella would just have to figure out where they go from here on their own. He also didn’t like leaving Gavin out there where he could come up against other elders but putting him near Vlad was far too dangerous.

Tucking his usual daggers away, he put a set of gloves on, removing a gilded short sword. It was imbued with the holy power of the church, according to Eudom. No matter where Bram sliced his father, it would slowly burn away the flesh, and the vampire it came in contact with wouldn’t be able to heal the wound. It was a weapon created to continue hurting them long after it's bite. Even if he didn’t kill his father, the wounds would continue to fester and if it didn’t eventually kill him, it would at least cause him serious pain for the rest of his days. Once the sword was used against a vampire though, it’s holy magic would start to fade. He had to choose one vampire to use it against, which was why he hadn’t pulled it out earlier. He’d chosen this weapon very specifically for Vlad.

It was a short sword, so it gave him more length than his normal daggers, but still wasn’t as cumbersome as a full-sized one. Taking a deep breath, Bram went down the hall. It slowly got darker as he moved through the corridor. Vlad would, of course, keep the area as dark as possible since his cloak only worked in the shadows. As the hall opened into a large room, Bram pulled a candle out, lighting it with a snap of his fingers, and placed it directly in the center of the entrance.

He could *smell* Tyler. At least he knew he was in the right place.

He heard Vlad hiss. “The little half human can’t stand staying in the shadows like a real vampire?”

“I have no problem with the shadows, but I’m not foolish enough to fight you on your own turf. Would you come fight me during the day?” Bram laughed as Vlad growled at him. “Yeah, didn’t think so.” The candle lit a good majority of the cul-de-sac. It was a large round room, holding at least fifty different prisons, each no more than six feet wide. Many of the iron gates were in ruins, hanging here or there, some completely broken off. None of them were fully closed.

A groan came from his left. That was helpful. At least now he knew Tyler was not only alive, but he could tell approximately where he was. A shadow slipped out from one of the prisons, and Vlad stood there, his eyes blazing at Bram. “You think you stand a chance against me?”

“I promised mother I would try not to kill you. For her sake, of course, not yours.” Bram didn’t bother to pull the sword up. He really did want to try to salvage what he could. Even Eudom had said that Scarlet had her uses, and with two new magic users in the family, it was high time he learned more about it. Bram would figure it out, he was sure, but having someone who knew already would be helpful. Starting from scratch would be hard and he’d never cared to learn more up to this point. Other than knowing he had magic and could use it, he had little to offer the kids. “But in order for me to keep that promise. You need to let him go and swear to give up on this stupid idea of taking over the world.”

“We deserve our empire. Too long have we hidden in the shadows.” Vlad growled, baring his teeth.

“No.” Bram shook his head. “You will always hide in the shadows. The sun will kill you. You don’t think humans will figure this out? Hell, some of them already have. All you’ll be doing is bringing vampires into the light, and you know that will kill us all. At least any who can’t walk in the light.”

“There are ways around that.” Vlad sneered, taking a menacing step forward. Bram’s sword hand twitched. Mihaela’s head still held in the other. “You didn’t spare my real daughter. Why should I spare your lover?”

“If you were trying to kill my lover, you chose wrong.” Bram couldn’t help but smile as Vlad frowned. They’d chased after Tyler for so long, he wondered if they even realized what they were doing anymore. How little they actually knew of their son. All the better for him. “Regardless, Mihaela stole Tyler and was as fucking close as she could get to kill another friend of mine. The fact that she did this and still threatened my family. What would you have done if someone threatened to kill Scarlet?”

“And what would you do if someone walked up to you with that filthy human son-of-yours head in his hand?” Vlad lowered himself into a fighting stance. That wasn’t a good omen.

“I’d kill him where he stands.” Bram said, dropping the head as he took his own position.

“Then it seems we finally agree on something.” Vlad pushed off, driving forward. He was always faster than Bram. As he dodged, Vlad’s teeth caught his side. But Bram’s sword sliced his thigh long and good and the older vampire stumbled. “What the fuck?” His hand went to where the sword sliced clean through his muscle. Bram could hear the skin searing and bubbling. Though he got back on his feet, Bram hoped that slice was enough to put them on even ground.

“Sorry. You and I both know I was never a true match for you. I couldn’t take the chance I would die down here. Not if it meant you would go after Izabella and the children.” Bram dropped into a defensive position. If Vlad made an attack again, Bram was ready.

“You coward!” Vlad spit. “You sold us out to the god-damned church?” His eyes were aflame with hatred.

“Not exactly. My mate has a friend who just so happened to know a priest. That priest is dead now, and the friend was the only one who knew where he’d hidden all his very fun, very powerful weapons used to hunt us. This was the one I chose to borrow. Just. For. You.” Bram held the sword up, twisting it from side to side like he was inspecting it. “And if you don’t stand down, I’m going to shove it through your withered black heart.”

“Like I’ll let you touch me with it again.” Pressing himself into the shadows, he disappeared. Bram dropped into his stance again, every one of his senses on high alert. Shadows made no noise, but there was a change around him when Eudom showed up, however slight, and his father wasn’t made of shadow. When he came back through, Bram had a split second to react to the attack before his father disappeared again. He swung his sword wide, but it was always a huge guess on where his attack was aimed. Every time he tried to go for one of the candles in his pocket, Vlad attacked, giving him no chance. He couldn't risk not blocking.

Three times with no contact left both of them frustrated, but on the fourth, Vlad was able to leave a gash on his shoulder that went clear through. Even with his ability, it would take a few minutes for it to heal, but Vlad wasn’t going to give him that. He kept moving. Attack the shoulder. Attack the leg. Fake. Fake. Side. Bram got a few lucky shots of his own in. A graze on the cheek, a hit on his side, not enough to stop him. Barely even slowing him down. All of took place within a few seconds’ time. When Vlad finally got a decent hit on Bram’s ankle, it took him down hard and the sword skittered away, clanging over the stone floor.

There wasn’t enough time for him to react. Vlad was on top of him, fangs bared. The shallow slice on his cheek boiling and opening more and more. All Bram could do was put his arms up as Vlad took a chunk of muscle from his arm, spit it out, smiling down at him.