Chapter Ninety-eight

Gavin stood in the hall, holding two large bags. “I think I got everything you requested.” He tossed the bags to the side of the door as entered the hotel room. “Hopefully you got me a spare room? I’m freaking—ooof.” Izabella ran at him, throwing her arms around his shoulders.

“I thought you were gone! Bram why didn’t you tell me Gavin was okay?” Gavin pat her back awkwardly.

“Sorry, I guess we were caught up with everything else going on. You still haven’t told me where you got that ring or the box.” He cocked a brow at her, and she looked away, feeling terrible again. She didn’t want to have that conversation with him. “Anyway, yes, Gavin. You take any of the rooms the kids haven’t grabbed. I mean, half the children chose to sleep on the couch.”

Gavin smiled. “Makes me feel bad for that poor girl. I made sure she was fed, and also brought her some clothes and her phone.” He handed Gabe another device. “She wants you to call her. I told her I’d let you know when I got here.”

“Awesome, thanks!” Gabe turned, walking into one of the untaken rooms holding the phone in front of him.

Gavin gave Bram a look. “You really aren’t going to say anything before he makes that call?”

“Why? Where is Jen, you did tell us you’d let us know when we got back today.” Izabella curled herself into his side and Bram held her close, biting his lip.

“Well, good news is that.” He pointed to Gavin. “We’re going to find a safe place to keep you guys, then we’re going to go get Tyler. Bad news is, I may now want to bring Jen on that adventure, because, hey, she’s a vampire-witch just like me.”

Izabella stared at him, and about that same time a cry came from Gabe’s room and the door slammed open. “Is she serious?” He stormed out of the room. “You changed her and not me? When the hell?”

*“It wasn’t them.”* They heard Jen yelling at him from the other side of the phone. *”But, because it was that ugly bitch, I have magic too!”*

Gabe’s red face bellowed at her. “Ugh! You too!? Even Devon has magic too.”

Gavin looked at Bram in shock, “Wait? What? Devon was turned too?” He looked around the room, not seeing the boy.

“No, I don’t know what happened with him. He just has magic. Got stressed out when one of the hunters at the church threatened to hurt the girls and set the church ablaze.” Bram looked at him and shrugged. “I mean, the elders are seriously going to kill me when they find out, and I didn’t even have anything to do with either one. At least I don’t think I did. Devon doesn’t show any signs of being a vampire.”

“But how could Devon have magic and not be a vampire.” Gavin crossed his arms, shaking his head. “It doesn’t even make sense. Even if his parents were regular witches.”

“Right.” Bram nodded, pouring himself another drink and handing one to Gavin who kicked his back quickly. “Anyway, the only other thing I can think of is that my mother may have done something she has yet to tell me. I mean, she created me. Maybe turning Devon was the reason she’d brought us to the castle in the first place? I have no idea.” The two of them chatted at the bar. Izabella pressed Gabe into his room, complaining that he was going to wake the kids. And she doled out clothing for Devon and Sarah, bringing them to their respective rooms. She laid out the clothes for the others for the morning, and grabbed her own pajamas, one of which was the BITE ME shirt and she had to shake her head as she caught Bram smiling at her.

“Wait, before you run off. Come sit with us a minute.” He said, pushing a glass of wine toward her. “Mom said that I should ask you about the shadow user and the shadow room. I had already noticed the new ring on your finger. Was she right, does it have magic imbued in it?”

Izabella chewed her lip a bit, grabbing the wine glass and taking a quick sip. Barging into the story, she explained everything. From how Eudom showed up, to how he knew her dad, and at the very least who Bram was. As she talked about the shadow room and how she’s supposed to be the only one who knew how to get in it. That she had been tasked with taking care of her father’s hoard of magical items. A piece of her had been nervous that he would be like his mother, wanting to know more and to go into the room to take items out to help him. The thought that she might have to try to protect the room from even him had her anxiety high the entire time she talked about it, but once she was done, he hadn’t even blinked an eye.

He had caught on to what Eudom meant though with their agreement to let him have any seedling in her room when they were done. “What seedling did he take, Izabella?” His features were dark, his blue eyes narrowed on her. The glass in his hand cracked as tears sprang to her eyes.

“I’m s-so sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Izabella sniffled, “He kept saying he was doing it to protect me and that I would see him again soon.” That was all true. “But I didn’t understand what he was talking about. If I had I never would have—”

“Can you call him?” Gavin asked, his hazel eyes were locked on her the entire time she’d been talking about Eudom. He was making her more nervous than Bram was, but she guessed that was more because she didn’t know him as well. Bram wouldn’t have let him be a part of this conversation if he didn’t trust him.

“I haven’t tried. He showed up earlier, and then again when I almost forgot the rules to the shadow room. Honestly, I don’t think he means to hurt us.” Bram’s hand snatched the wine from where it sat mostly untouched on the counter, drinking it down. “I think he really truly is doing what he believes is best.”

Bram paced the kitchen for a few minutes. “It’s strange though, isn’t it? This thing shows up and mysteriously, Devon has magical powers. After this creature shows you a secret room where your father, a known vampire hunter no less, has stashed powerful relics that he’s been hiding not only from us, but from the church as well?” He stopped in front of the table, his hand running along the lid of the box that held the darts that could steal away magic from them. “If this power can go one way, it would make sense that it could go the other way also. Did the shadow man, this Eudom, take anything out of the room himself? Would we know if he went and saw Devon?”

“Devon didn’t mention him. But that doesn’t have to mean anything. We walked through a room with other people in it and they had no idea we were there. He even stood near Pastor Tom while he was talking and made fun of him.” Bram’s eyes wandered around the room. “Do you think he could be here now? Eudom? Are you watching us?” The all waited with bated breath for him to come out, but the room stayed still. Izabella twisted the ring on her finger, pulling it off and handing it to Bram.

He looked at it, twirling it under the light. “Nuummite.”

Gavin shrugged, leaning over to look at the ring also. “Does that mean something?” He asked. “I mean, it’s pretty anyway. The stone itself looks like a little universe.”

“The stone is easy enough to replicate these days, but true nuummite is extremely rare and can only be found in a few mines throughout the world. All of which are incredibly dangerous to visit most of the time.”

“You know an awful lot about this stone.” Gavin wondered.

“I would. My mother was obsessed with it for the longest time. Another name for it is the ‘sorcerers stone’. With mom being a witch, alchemy was a curiosity and mixed well with her craft. With this stone being one of the oldest known elements in the world, it’s rumored to have a lot of mythical power. The very idea that elementals can and do exist, and that they felt compelled at this point to insert themselves into our lives is concerning at best. You’ll need to keep Eudom away from my mother at all costs. If he is real, and is what she thinks he is, she could be a great a danger to him.”

“Yeah, he already said that. That she would try to catch him, and he would have to kill her. He also said she still has her uses, unfortunately.” Izabella yawned, stretching.

Bram smiled at her, “I mean, I have been saying the same thing about her for years. So, he’s definitely not wrong.” Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close. “I think it’s time we go to bed anyway. Good night, Gavin.” Bram nodded, lifting Izabella into his arms he carried her off to bed with him.

Gavin drank down the last of his whiskey, the ring on the counter caught his eye. Grabbing it, he examined the ring more closely. Smirking at the door Bram kicked closed behind him. “This might just be exactly what we need.”