Bram's Hollow

It was relief mixed with trepidation as Tobias looked into the hollow eyes of his great uncle. His calm visage seemed less like a comfort to Tobias and more like the ultimate poker face, unwavering and revealing nothing. Tobias was reminded of what Isabelle’s father had said about Phantasms and how it is punishment for treason in Bram’s Hollow to be made one. It made him feel uneasy, even a little frightened.

“Vivian asked me to check up on you while she was away.” Jerome said in his usual low raspy voice. “Are you alright?”

For a minute Tobias just stood and stared at Jerome, not knowing where to begin. This was the moment Tobias had been waiting for. He was finally going to get some long awaited answers. Not knowing what to ask first Tobias opted to open his mouth and hoped the right thing would come out. “Why are you a Phantasm?” He asked shocking both Jerome and himself. “I know Phantasms are made as a punishment. Why are you one?”

Jerome grimaced slightly. “How did you come across that fact?” he asked.

“Henry, he’s my girl… my friend’s dad. It’s not important. But is it true?”

“Yes, since the very beginnings of Bram’s Hollow traitors have been punished with the curse of the shadow bound.” Jerome looked gazed at his nephew. “And now you want to know what I did to become a Phantasm?”

“Yes.” Tobias said quickly realizing that he was asking to delve into Jerome’s personal life.

Jerome floated backward toward Rotigan’s living room couch. He extended his arm motioning for Tobias to take a seat. “I suppose you have been taking quite a lot of mysteries in with very few answers to show for it.” Jerome began as Tobias sat on the couch. “This all begins a very long time ago. Back when the guilds led with a somewhat firmer fist. I was an advisor to the Arcane Chamber, specializing in rare artifacts and antiquities. For centuries I traveled the world searching for ancient reminisce of our kind. Always racing to find the next artifact before the humans did in order to preserve the secret of our existence.”

“Centuries?” A stunned Tobias asked. “How old are you?”

“Four hundred and sixty-four.” Jerome answered before continuing his story. “Back then the Arcane Chamber was far more proactive on keeping all evidence of our existence away from the humans. It wasn’t until later that they realized that there was too much for us to keep. As it turned out most humans refuse to believe we exist anyway, no matter what they might find.” Jerome hovered back and forth in the living room as he told the tail.

“Being one of the few that were allowed to mingle with humans I noticed that they no longer regarded us as anything more than a fairy tale or superstition. It made one feel comfortable among them. And for my brother, he became a little too comfortable.”

“You brother?” Tobias’s eyes widened. “Do you mean-“

“Your grandfather, yes.” Jerome did his best to smile but failed to look anything but sorrowful. “On occasion I would need an extra pair of hands and the Arcane Chamber would allow my younger brother Isaac to come with me.” Jerome saw Tobias attention become unwavering. It was the first time anyone ever mentioned his grandfather. Jerome continued. “We were in New Orleans tracking down a piece that had been eluding me since I lost track of it in Cairo. The trail let my brother and I to a museum in Louisiana. It was there that we first encountered Lana Dietrich.”

“Who was that?” Tobias asked.

“She was a woman we found in the streets of New Orleans. It dark and she was walking home alone, there were no witnesses so she was perfect.”

Tobias interrupted. “What was she perfect for?”

“For feeding on.” As soon as he said it Jerome saw the terror in Tobias’s eyes. “It is not how you are thinking.”

“I hope so because I’m thinking that you were going to eat a woman.”

“No my young Tobias, it is nothing that gruesome.” Tobias scooted back from Jerome slightly. “You see your grandfather and I were vampires.”

“Are you saying that you were going to drink that ladies’ blood?” Tobias asked wide eyed.

“Well, yes. You have to understand that the Arcane Chamber has strict rules on the matter of feeding. We are forbidden to kill a human and can only feed on one if nothing else is available.”

“So you didn’t kill her?” Tobias asked, calming down slightly.

“My boy, we didn’t even feed off of her. That was our initial intention but it was Isaac that spared her our fangs.”

“Why?”

“To this day I don’t understand it.” Jerome explained. “She was cutting thru an alley heading for home when he descended upon her. Just as he was about to strike, he caught sight of her eyes. He just looked into them gazing as if he forgot why he was there in the first place. Amazingly she didn’t scream, she didn’t panic and she didn’t run. She ignored the exposed fangs and pale complexion and she stared right back at him. It was astonishing really, to her we were fantasy. A creation of film and literature, but there she stood she accepted him as he was.”

“I realized that Isaac and Lana were two that were meant to be together. It was obvious that they loved each other immediately. And that my boy, was the real problem.”

“What do you mean?” Tobias was hanging on Jerome’s every word.

“I had located the artifact I was searching for and that night went to retrieve it. I couldn’t find Isaac until after the job was finished, and when I did he told me what he had done. Isaac told her everything about Bram’s Hollow, about the guilds, about the Arcane Chamber. He broke so many of our laws he would be cursed on the spot if anyone found out.”

“Couldn’t he bring her here?” Tobias asked. “Isabelle’s mom is a human, there had to be a way.”

“It doesn’t work in that way.” Jerome uttered sternly. “A human can only come to Bram’s Hollow if there is something needed that no one here can do. Then the Arcane Chamber finds someone who had can fill the role and has no ties to the outside world. It is a rare and complex process. Besides Isaac broke the law the instant he divulged who he was to her. There was no easy way out of this for him.”

“You helped him.” Tobias woefully said. “Didn’t you?”

“I did what I could. I kept the secret and made excuses for why Isaac was not seen at guild meetings and the like. But it was only a matter of time before it was noticed that he was gone. The chamber insisted Isaac be brought before them, but when want back to fetch him for the meeting he and Lana had gotten married and Lana was with child.”

“So a human and a vampire.” Tobias strained to say it delicately. “They are able to, have children?”

“Not normally no.” Years later and Jerome still sounded surprised by the occurrence. “But they did it nonetheless. It was a terrible burden to place on a human mother to be. The child came to term quickly and Lana was in tremendous danger. Isaac begged me to take them back and plead their case to the leader of the undead guild. I agreed but Count Orlok was furious.”

“Orlok?” Tobias blurted out without thinking.

“He was head of the guild at the time, before he showed his true self to be a tyrant. He told me to bring Isaac to him for his decision. I stayed with Lana not knowing that I would never see my brother again.”

“What happened?”

“Sunlight. Orlok had him nailed down in an open meadow and waited for the sun to destroy him.” Jerome turned away from Tobias briefly. Tobias wondered if a spirit was able to shed tears. Jerome continued. “Lana had the child soon after but she could not survive the birth. Defeated I took the child before the Arcane Chamber and begged for its life to be spared. Orlok demanded its death but was outvoted. The child, who his mother named Lance, was a Dhampir and was sent to live in the Monster’s guild. For my part I was cursed as a shadow bound but spared the torment of the Den of Souls.”

Tobias now felt guilty for thinking his uncle was anything but an honorable man. He risked so much to let his brother be happy with the person he loved. The story had indeed given him some of the answers he was desperately craving. But he needed to know more. “Jerome, what is a Dhampir?” He asked.

“A half Vampire, not as strong as their full blood counterpart but they can walk in the sunlight and do not require the blood of the living to survive.”

“Did,” Tobias paused as he tried to find the proper words. “Did you know my father later? I mean when he was grown.”

Jerome’s face softened, he gave a small nod and as he answered the question. “Indeed I did.”

“What kind of person was he?” Tobias asked.

“Adventurous, he was always looking for some way to get into trouble. He did pretty well for a child that practically lived on his own.” Jerome floated across the room. “Devoted, both to the Monster’s guild and later to your mother. Everyone thought he would be on his own when he was exiled but Vivian stayed true to him. Even with a newborn she was ready to pick up and go wherever they had to so they could be together.”

“Why was he exiled?” Tobias said clamoring to hear the answer.

“He was accused of plotting against the Arcane Chamber. Your father was implicated in making an attempt on Lycos’s life. There wasn’t enough evidence to justify his execution so he was exiled. Your father always maintained his innocence and your mother stood by him.”

“Why did they think my dad would kill Lycos?”

“The two had bad blood between them. On the day of the assassination attempt they had a very verbal argument.”

“Do you think he did it?” Tobias hung on every word Jerome was saying.

“I think you father was always kind and fair to others.” Jerome answered cryptically.

Tobias tried to arrange all this new information in his head. It was a lot to take in at once.

“I don’t understand though. Why did he leave my mother and me?” Tobias was struggling with the thought.

“I guess you would have to ask him Tobias. I don’t have all the answers unfortunately.” Slowly turning into the candlelight between him and his nephew, Jerome spoke softly and decisively. “But what I can tell you is this. You are the son of a Wolfkin and a Dhampir. Two of the finest people I have ever met. That makes you unique. There had never been one like you before. But more importantly you are Tobias Gates and you are my nephew and you are your mother’s son. That is something you should never forget.”

Jerome’s words hung in the air as the candle on the table flickered close to the base and close to being extinguished. Jerome excused himself for the evening and left Tobias to think about the story and more importantly about who he really was. He was a mixed breed essentially. He felt no different, as a matter of fact he felt like he did the day before he even knew about Bram’s Hollow. If there was Wolfkin and Dhampir in him, why doesn’t he have any of their abilities? After all Isabelle was half human and she can still shape shift, it didn’t quite seem fair to him.

It was almost impossible for Tobias to sleep after hearing Jerome’s story. He felt tremendous relief in knowing more about his lineage but he didn’t quite know what to do with the information. Tobias’s mother was supposed to be back sometime the next day; there will be more to learn then. In the meantime he decided to share his newly learned Dhampir heritage with Isabelle. Until then he tried his hardest to fall asleep. And as he closed his eyes Tobias heard the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance.