Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-two

With a shrug, Izabella rubbed Bram’s jaw. “I’m going to feed him. Maybe you and Gavin could still try to go after the book. It might be dangerous though, the hunters took it and are on a layover in Amsterdam. I don’t know if Eudom can get you there or not. But I’m not giving up on him.” Tears streamed down her face, as she pulled out a little dagger and laid it on Bram’s chest. “You have to go.”

Tom knocked on the door, sticking his head in. “Templar magic,” he had the dagger that did this to Bram in hand, the staff too, “is a strange thing. It gains its power from the church. It’s Gods reckoning against those who are abominations in his eyes.” Tyler’s gaze flickered to the stranger standing in the door, holding the weapon. Gavin looked anxious standing behind him in the hall. “Why would I let you save vampires Izabella?” His brow drew down as he looked at Tyler, the children crying in his lap. The way Izabella laid beside the one on the bed with such familiarity.

“Tyler, Gavin, it’s time for you to go. I’ll call you when it’s safe. Tom, please, pull up a chair.” She waived her hand at a little sofa in the corner. “We can talk while I feed him.”

“You… you’re going to what?” The color drained from his face as the kids slid out the door past him. Tyler stood, rubbing his face, as he stuffed his hands in his pocket. He wasn’t about to try to walk past a guy with that dagger in his hands. Tom stared at Tyler like he was going to pounce on him at any moment.

“Please, step aside and let Tyler out. I promise, he won’t touch you. They’re not as monstrous as you think. At least not them. Not my family and friends. This is something my father came to understand toward the end of his life, and part of the reason I believe he decided to hide everything he’d found and was protecting it all from the church as well. I’ll explain. Sit.”

Tom moved into the room as Tyler and Gavin disappeared. Devon, the last still in the room went to Izabella wrapping his arms around her. “Do you think you can still save dad?” His voice was thick with emotion, and Izabella rubbed his cheeks, leaning over to press a kiss to his forehead.

“I won’t stop trying. Not until there’s no doubt in my mind that there’s nothing left to try. Go wait with the other kids please?”

Devon turned, looking from Tom to her. “You better not hurt my mom.” Devon glared at the man as he sunk into the red chair. He looked at the boy in surprise but nodded. Devon’s glare was nearly as good as Bram’s at this point. "Or my dad."

“I need answers. That’s what I’m here for.” He frowned, staring at Bram’s body laying on the bed. He swallowed hard. “Explain to me why he’s worth saving, Izabella. I need a better reason that your love.”

Izabella stood, going to a little bookshelf on the other side of the room. Grabbing an old photo from it, she handed it to him. It was the one from World War II where Bram, Tyler and Gavin stared out with others in their group. The caption caught Tom’s eye, and he looked up to see Izabella cutting a line through her wrist. When she held her bleeding flesh to Bram’s mouth, Tom made a disgruntled and disgusted noise. “You knew that the church wants to keep vampires from taking over the world, right? That there’s a group of elites who want to capture us all and use us like cattle.” The way Tom lost his color told her straight out, he hadn’t known this. “They were trying back during the war, it’s what really prompted the camps that were created in Germany. Before that, it was the plague, and other wars too. Did you know that part of the reason they were never able to complete this mission was because of those who are on our side? Did you know that Bram has made it his life’s work not to let them do this to us? My father didn’t see Bram as a monster trying to destroy us. He saw Bram as someone who was an unsung hero of humanity.”

“If that were true, Izzy, he would have told the church. Your father was looked up to. Everyone respected him and his wishes. He never mentioned any of this to us.” Tom shook his head, his hand running through his already disheveled hair.

Izabella was trying to reign in her tears. Bram wasn’t reacting to her at all. She had to rub his throat to get the blood to even go down. Though he hadn’t spit any back up either.

“I can’t tell you what happened between dad and the church. I’m sure it’s in one of the journals I have from him, but I haven’t found that information yet. Either he tried to tell someone, and they didn’t like what he had to say, or he didn’t trust the church with this information. Either way, I think he purposefully didn’t tell you. I think he was hoping you would find out on your own, or at least would keep the church undercover while we still needed it. I believe he wanted you to be the next Matt. To know, that the church is wrong in hunting them all. He was trying to protect Bram, because he knew that the two of us would one day meet and he knew that it could change everthing. Bram already started working to change the vampire underworld.”

“Why now though, Izzy? He’s been around a long time, clearly. What makes the difference now?” Tom asked, leaning forward anxiously.

“Me. And our children.” She asked, rubbing at Bram’s throat again. She wasn’t sure if it was just reaction, or her forcing his throat to almost work, but she could have sworn there was a small swallow this time. She sobbed, the hope of it too much to bear. Clearing her throat, she continued, “Since we’ve come into his life, things have gotten a bit out of control. The vampires were starting to move again, planning to take over the humans. Bram found out and they were trying to stop him by hunting those closest to him. That’s why we ended up at the church with you. They nearly killed Gavin, the smaller guy with dark hair, and took Tyler, the blond, hostage. The enemy of your enemy is here, in this room. And we have the ability to finally make amends and work together for the greater good of all humanity, Tom.”

“What is that thing upstairs? It’s not some new breed of monster, is it?” He looked around, as if the walls had ears. She supposed these ones kinda did, since Eudom could be listening and noone would never know it.

Izabella looked at him sideways. “They’re what Bram calls an entity. They’ve been around longer than vampires. Eudom is a shadow entity. Vampires and witches hunt him for his magic abilities. He trusted my father, and has sworn to protect me. Bram chose to make friends with him instead of trying to steal his magic. I won’t tell you that Bram is perfect or innocent. He still needs to feed like any vampire. But like any other hunter with respect, he doesn’t take more than he needs, and tries to make sure he pays it back in some way.” Her heart fluttered in pain, and she grasped at her chest, shaking.

“Izabella?” Tom said, half jumping from the chair, “What’s wrong?”

“I can tell Bram’s not completely gone, but he’s dying. I can feel it. His pain.” Clutching her arm, she tried to force more blood into him. Getting him to swallow this time was nearly impossible. “I’m telling you all this because you asked me why you would help him. I’m hoping that this will help you see, he has been silently helping us longer than either of us has been alive.” She could see Tom working through her words as he held the picture she’d given him up.

“It might not work. I don’t know if the knowledge I have will actually do anything to help him.” He said, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. “Heh, I mean, it’s from the church. For all I know, it could make it worse. But when we were training, we were taught a prayer to protect against templar magic.” He placed the dagger on the chair, and walked over to the side of the bed so that he could lean over and inspect the gash. “They weren’t lying. It’s like it’s eating away at his insides. I mean, it looks similar to the cut we had to pray over, but this might be to too bad now. I don’t know how quickly it will heal or if you need to do anything else. Also, it’s a blessing. Can I bless a vampire?”

Izabella turned toward the other side of the room where there was a darkened corner. “Eudom? Should we try the templar blessing?”

“Eudom brought Gavin and Tyler to the book. Once they find it, I will bring them home. Nothing can hurt right now.” Eudom shrugged, his red eyes suddenly watching them from the shadows.

Izabella nodded, “You swear on your vows as a priest that you won’t try to hurt him?” Tom swallowed hard, nodding. “Do you need me to do anything?”

“I need chalk.” Izabella started to get up, but Eudom clicked behind her, and she held out her hand. His extended, through the empty space of the room, like a snake slowly trying to uncoil from a high branch in a tree. A piece of white chalk fell into her palm, as he slowly slinked back into the darkness. Tom laughed nervously as she held it out to him. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get mixed up in all this again? And how on earth are you okay with it?”

Izabella blushed, looking away. “That’s a story for another day. If you think you can help, I need you to do it now.”

“I need something big enough for me to draw a circle on, so that my feet are in the center of it. The harder the better.” Once again, Eudom was there, handing her what Tom needed. This time, it was a piece of thin wood. It was a square, and took two hands for Izabella to lift it away from Eudom, walking it around the bed so that she could hand it to him without lifting it over Bram. Placing it on the carpet, he leaned down, slowly drawing one of the runes she’d seen in the shadow room on the board. That was a good sign, at least she thought it was.

When he was done, he stood up, taking the staff and placing in on the board so that it was in one of the inner circles of the rune. “Stand back, please. I don’t know what will happen.” Izabella stood back, watching closely. Knocking the staff against the board, he started speaking in Latin. She knew some of his words, but not all of them. It was definitely some sort of blessing. Crossing her arms under her breasts, worrying her lip between her teeth. After he was done, he closed his eyes, waving the staff over the entire bed, then touching the top of it lightly to the cut in his side. “Hand me the dagger, please.” He said reaching out without looking at her.

Izabella did as he said, staying close. If he tried anything, she hoped to be ready to step in. Placing the staff over Bram’s sternum, and letting lay there so that it ended between his knees. Holding the dagger up, he repeated the prayer again, twisting the end of the dagger in his hands every couple of lines. When he was done, he looked at her sideways, “Don’t. Panic.” He lifted the dagger, holding it over Bram’s still body, running the tip of the dagger from the top to where the wound was, then from the bottom up, stopping in the same place.

Tom raised the dagger up again, and before Izabella could move, slammed it down.


****

**Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating today! Just wanted to give you a heads up, we're nearing the end of our story with Last Kiss. Hope you're looking foward to it as much as as I am. Happy Reading!**