Page 45 of Theoden
Tylendel reached down, gripping my chin painfully. “Watch your tone with me, boy. I do not fear your Father, nor any vampire. Had it not been for the favor my father owed yours, I would have been sent to kill you, not give you theRite of Passage.”
I realized I had been rude in my response to him, but I had almost died, my anger was understandable in my eyes. Still, I didn’t want to anger him or my Father, so I apologized.
His grip tightened and I groaned in agony, because it felt like he was going to shatter the bones of my jaw and I really didn’t want to experience that pain again.
“Never step out of line with me again, for I am your Knight as you are half dragon. The next time you do, even your Sire will not be able to save you from my wrath. In this room, during my training, you belong to me, do you understand?” Tylendel asked.
I nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
“Good.” With that, he released me with a little shove and I fell back hard onto the marble floor.
“This is excellent news, one your Father will be pleased to learn. His son is invulnerable to the death of silver. Though your heart can be pierced by it when ours cannot, it will not destroy you. That means that only a blade made from dragon bones might be the only thing that could kill you, and those are weapons not easy to come by,” Tylendel said.
I looked down at my chest and saw the bloody hole in my tunic, but my flesh had completely healed. Although I didn’t enjoy the knife going inside my body, I was thrilled to learn that it couldn’t kill me.
“So, you are immune to the sun and silver, to a point. I am starting to understand why most half-breeds are hunted down and killed. Though, they are extremely rare these days. I have only known of three before you in all my years, one dragon and the other two half werewolf. You may become one of the most powerful beings in existence,” Tylendel said.
“You believe so, Sir?” I asked. I didn’t know why that knowledge gave me a sense of pride. To be the most powerful. Was that what I really wanted? I was taught to be humble in the Church, but I knew that I wasn’t. I took glory in all of my victorious missions in secret. Perhaps it was that arrogance that led me to believe I was a match for Ara.
“I do believe that, not that I feel threatened by it. Get up,” Tylendel commanded, and I rose to my feet once again. “Silver does make you vulnerable. Can it penetrate your bones?”
“I have been training with my brother, Titus, and he has yet to break my bones, no matter the weapon,” I said.
Tylendel nodded, with his finger to his bottom lip in a thoughtful ponder. “I see.”
“Can it break your bones?” I asked.
Tylendel shook his head. “No, but it can pierce our flesh.”
“I se—ah!” I gasped as Tylendel attacked me once again, this time thrusting his clawed hand through the flesh of my chest, I felt and heard one of my rib bones snap. I growled in agony and held on to his shoulders with both hands. I knew he was only testing my weaknesses and not trying to actually kill me, so I didn’t panic.
He pulled his hand free and smiled. “Your bones are extremely strong, I had difficulty snapping one, and this is good. As you can see, punching through a being’s body is an easy task for our kind. It will be harder for someone to rip your heart from your chest, which is an easy way to kill werewolves. Like I said before, you will grow stronger as you age and indulge in dragon venom and cock.”
I could feel my bone snapping back into place, which was painful. Again, I applied pressure to the wound until it healed as I took in the information Tylendel generously gave me. “Thank… thank you, sir,” I panted. His lessons were far harsher than Titus’, maybe even Ara’s. Neither had bothered to test if I would survive certain attacks. When Titus ran me through with the sword, it was steel, so he knew it wouldn’t kill me. When Tylendel pierced me with his silver knife, he didn’t have such knowledge. Honestly, I would be lucky to survive his lessons.
“You have most of the strength of both a vampire and dragon, I see.” He was saying this as if in contemplation. Perhaps thinking of what he wanted to do to me or with me next. “Let us start training you on how to properly use it. I want you to ascend now. Use your will power to levitate from the floor,” Tylendel instructed, then he took a step back.
I heard the words, but had no real grasp on their meaning. “How do I do that?”
He huffed. “The same way you read minds and control humans. You have to want to do it. Will power.”
That, I did understand. I closed my eyes and focused hard on lifting my body into the air. Unfortunately, my feet remained planted to the floor.
“You are trying too hard, let it come to you naturally,” Tylendel said.
Again, I tried. It took several attempts and much tutoring from the dragon Knight, but finally, I felt myself floating. It was such an odd sensation to be as light as a feather, yet still have weighted mass. I was high above Tylendel’s head now and he looked up at me with satisfaction.
“Oh! Oh my god! I am flying!” I shouted in my excitement, right before I lost control of myself. I felt gravity take effect and I began to fall, arms and legs flailing until I crashed hard to the unforgiving marble below. My body felt shattered and I groaned from the painful impact.
Tylendel burst into a fit of laughter as he watched me pick myself up from the floor. “Youwereflying,” he taunted.
“I lost my concentration,” I said in my embarrassment as I dusted myself off.
“Flying is easy, but it does take concentration, especially for when you come back to earth. Try again,” Tylendel said, still chuckling. “Ahh, I wish you could have seen your fall from my view, your arms flapping as if that was going to help you.”
“I am sure it was spectacular, Sir,” I grumbled.
Tylendel nodded. “Spectacularly hilarious, yes. Now, on with it.”
