Page 14 of Theoden
He nodded. “Unfortunately, that is true. But that is of no consequence as I will not be meeting the sun any time soon, young one. Now, lay on the bed,” he directed.
I looked at the bed, then back at him. “No.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Impressive!” He smiled widely, then clapped his hands. “I see now why the Church has labeled you their ‘Blessed Son.’ I can read your mind, but I cannot compel you. I must say, that has never happened before. No matter.”
He vanished and, before I knew it, I was tossed into the air, my arms and legs flailing as I screamed. I landed hard on his bed and before I could gather my wits, he was on me again, flipping me over onto my back and tying my limbs to the corners of the posts. Panic started rising to new heights within me, as I had no idea what he was going to do to me. I was not afraid of dying, for I would be dying for the Church and a higher purpose of serving God. But what if he wanted to do something worse than kill me?
“Oh, I do plan on doing something to you, Theodosius,” he said, then smiled as he leaned over me. I pulled at my restraints, but was unable to free myself from them. “Such a fighter, even when you have already lost. I like that fire in you, young one.”
“Ara-”
“KingAra, but soon you will call meSire.”
I growled at him. “Never!”
“After this day is over, I will have you, my beautiful, beautiful boy,” he purred, reaching out to stroke my hair from my eyes. “You are destined for something far greater than the Church’s paltry little crusades. If you believe that God will win his war against my kind, you are wrong. We will continue to thrive and you will be there every step of the way, making sure that happens.”
“I will kill you, monster, the first chance I get!” I yelled. I could feel my rage burning inside of me like a volcano threatening to erupt. I wanted to be free of my bindings so I could punch a hole inside his chest and rip his heart from his body.
“Do you know how old I am?” Ara asked me, which threw me off guard.
“I do not care, beast!” I spat.
“I am over a millennium, young one. Can you possibly fathom how many years I have walked this world? How powerful I am? How little you and the religion you represent are to me? I was born before your Christ, and his teachings mean nothing to me. I am a God, boy. I can grant life everlasting and give mere mortals powers they can only dream about. I am more powerful than your God and after I am done training you, you will see that I am the only being you ever need to worship.”
I was trapped in my own emotions after what he had said. I wanted to scream and rage that I would never succumb to him, but at the same time, I was mesmerized by him. I had never met a blood drinker that literally had no fear when they were in my presence. It was like the other blood drinkers—vampires—knew I had been blessed by God and therefore, I was their greatest enemy. However, with Ara, he was not doubting his own power. He reveled in it. Ara was a mystery to me.
“Yeesss, look upon me, lovely one.” Ara’s voice was as smooth as silk as he ran a finger along my jawline. “Your future path I will put you on will lead you to greater pastures than that of your namesake.”
I frowned. “What do you mean, my ‘namesake’?”
He chuckled. “Oh, oooh, has the Church taught you nothing about yourself, Theodosius?”
I stared at him and he sighed as he shook his head.
“I suppose not. Keeping you truly ignorant of who and what you really are is their way of keeping you under their control.”
“I’m not under their control,” I snapped. “I am a servant of the Lord!”
“You were a servant of men with their own agendas. Men who filled your head with tall tales of a benevolent being in the sky who will bless you if you behave yourself. Men wrote that book you believe in, men interpret it how they want. Yes, young one, you were theirs, under their control, but now you will be under mine. However, unlike those pious hypocrites, I will not lie to you, Theodosius. I will not deny you the simple pleasures you are entitled to. I will not punish you without just cause. I will not leave you unprotected, as they have. I will give you power and freedom, my beautiful boy.”
“I am not your boy, I am far from it. I am my own man!” I growled.
Ara laughed. “You are a child who has yet to experience life and all that it has to offer. I will make sure you become the man you think you are. I will give you this world, Theodosius.”
“I do not want anything from you, monster!” Again, I struggled to break free, but to no avail.
“Yes, you do. You just do not know that you do. Getting back to your namesake, Theodosius was a king, an emperor, if you will, many centuries before you were born. Also known as Theodosius the Great and the last emperor to ever rule over both the western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire.” He laughed to himself. “Mortals always add titles to their names as if they have truly accomplished something. They fight for pieces of land… land which I already own. I am not just king of my vampiric line, I am the silent ruler of this entire country. I take what I want and destroy what I do not like.”
“You are no king,” I sneered.
“Oh, believe me, boy, I am. If I wanted, I could boldly take the throne of the mortal king, making his crown my own, if only to prove my power. However, that is unnecessary… I already have what I desire. And if I see something that I want, like you, I take it. As you see, there is no one here to stop me from doing so.” He smirked in his arrogance and I wanted to smash his face in with my fist.
“I swear on my life, I will eliminate you,” I promised.
All of a sudden, his expression changed and Ara stared down at me with his fearsome, gray gaze. “I am counting on that spirit you have to lead by my side.”
“I will never work beside you,” I protested.
