Page 59 of Theoden
I had been training for this night since Ara hadembracedme. This was my moment to take my own destiny in my hands and make my own reputation. One that would strike fear in the hearts of vampires, dragons, werewolves, and humans alike. I would not fail.
I climbed out of the bed, my cock beginning to harden with my excitement. “Do you want me to bring back any trophies, Father?”
Ara laughed. “You returning to me is the only victory I require, Théoden. Now, go.”
I bowed and began to quickly dress. I was going to have to feed in the villages along the way, because it would take me at least two days to reach the church by flight. I opened the window and took to the skies, flying at top speed toward my old home. I was young, so I had to land several times to restore my energy and feed before I finally reached the church three days and four nights later.
I landed on the balcony of Father Quintus’ bedroom chamber and opened the doors by breaking the lock. No lock could keep me from any room I wanted to enter. I saw him lying peacefully on his bed, one hand on his stomach, the other at his side. I had never been in his room, or any of the priests’ rooms. I supposed it was because none of them fully trusted me. Ara trusted me.
Still, it left me saddened, unfulfilled. I had always coveted what the other boys were allowed to have. Toys, musical instruments, crafts, all things denied to me. I was only given lessons of war to study. Parchments of commandments to memorize and the bible to read. I had been so lonely as a child, I had once made a rat my friend. He kept me company until Father Lucinius discovered the rodent and had me kill it.
I remembered crying because I didn’t want to kill my only friend. But the lesson had to be taught so I could recognize a foe for a foe. The rat was not a friend, but a disgusting beast that needed to be destroyed. I was given the knife and the order, which I carried out. Perhaps it was a good lesson to learn. It had made me stronger, even as a child.
How curious that I had been given a similar command tonight from my Father. One where I was to eliminate an enemy that had once been considered a friend. I walked over to Father Quintus’ bed and looked down at him slumbering.
He didn’t look so powerful anymore. The authoritarian I’d made him out to be was no longer present. He looked like a weak human whose only strength was what he could make others believe to be true. This was the priest who had trained me to kill vampires and werewolves. And like the others, he had made me believe that it was my destiny.
I placed my hand over his mouth and his eyes shot opened, startled by my presence. His arms flailed about as he registered that something was amiss. I didn’t care about his struggles, as he could do nothing to me now.
“Father Quintus, tell me, did you think I had died?” I asked. I removed my hand so he could answer me.
“Theodosius, we were worried about you,” he said.
“So worried, in fact, that you never sought out if I had lived or died?”
When I said that, I saw his eyes narrow and his mouth grow hard. “Why seek out a monster of the night?”
“So, you know that I am no longer human?”
He nodded. “Sightings of you only at night in the villages close to the blood drinker king’s palace have gotten back to the Church. We know your soul is lost to the demons. Why are you here, monster?”
“I have been sent to kill you,” I said, then smiled, revealing my fangs.
His eyes grew wide and he tried to scream, but I covered his mouth again before he could. He would be my first kill of the night. I sank my fangs so deeply and brutally, I chipped the bones of his spinal cord. His screams of pain were drowned out as I fed. I was grateful to Tylendel for teaching me how to withhold my venom when feeding. I didn’t want them to feel any pleasure.
I ripped his throat open, spraying blood from his ravaged arteries all over the pillows and covers. His gown was soaked in his blood as he lay in the bed twitching while the last of his life drained away. The gaping wound in his neck, still pumping blood, was vicious enough for my taste. He was suffering as he died, and that pleased me.
“Before you die, Father Quintus, I want you to know that I am going to kill everyone here. Everyone. This is your penance for denying me my birthright. You all made me believe I was not worthy of the greatness I was meant for. And for that, I hope you burn in hell,” I said before turning and leaving his bedroom.
The next room I came upon belonged to Father Lucius, and I entered quietly. I had no words for this man as he would avoid me at all cost. The other boys were his favorites. He had always looked at me as though I were filth, and had left my care in the hands of Fathers Quintus and Lucinius. His death would be most satisfying.
I walked over to his bed and grabbed his cock. The same cock he had used to pleasure himself while denying me the same. His blue eyes opened in surprise and he tried to scream, but I closed my hand around his throat, cutting him off.
“I am the darkness you warned everyone about,” I gloated. With wicked glee, I ripped his cock and balls from his body, then smashed them in his face, forcing what I could into his mouth and down his throat. The bed linens were covered in his blood as he thrashed on the bed in agony. His face was coated in blood as well. I continued to force his own organs into his mouth and down his throat until they were lodged so deeply, you could see them bulging in his neck.
I laughed as his eyes bugged and snot poured from his nose as easily as the tears poured from his eyes. I stepped back and watched as he choked on his own manhood. I hadn’t even gotten it all the way down his throat, you could still see the bloody tip of his cockhead protruding from his stuffed mouth.
Bloody drool spilled down his chin as he gagged but could not bring up the flesh distended in his throat. I watched in satisfaction as his face turned purple while the rest of his body paled from the blood loss. He clawed frantically at his throat, leaving bloody scratches in his skin in his desperation to clear his airway, but it was all in vain.
It didn’t take Father Lucius long to leave this earth, and in a fashion most deserving. Eventually, he fell back onto the bed, the vessels in his eyes bursting as they stared back at me in horror. His body twitched once, twice, and then lay still. This was another form of ecstasy for me, to see my enemies die at my hands. I looked at my bloody hands and licked my tongue along my palm, savoring the taste of his blood. Still, there were more to kill.
I walked downstairs to the children’s room. They were always allowed to sleep together, while I had been cast aside to sleep alone. Always alone. I came to their door and opened it. There were four boys slumbering in their beds. Two had toys in their tiny hands for comfort. Such a luxury I was never allowed.
I would make this quick. I ran across the room, my claws extended as I sliced through the necks of each boy, leaving them gasping for air in their beds. One of the boys held onto his toy tighter as blood bubbled up from his wound, spilling over his gown.
I had never tasted the blood of a child before and I looked at my hand now covered in it and the priests’ blood. I licked one of my claws and moaned in pleasure at the robust taste of their delicious elixir. I walked over to the nearest one, whose eyes slowly focused on me as tears streamed down the sides of his face. His death would not be in vain as I sank my fangs into his flesh and fed. This time, I didn’t hold back my venom.
Once the blood flow ceased, I pulled back and licked my lips. I was a vampire and humans, regardless of age, were my food. I believed this was one of the lessons Ara wanted to teach me. I looked around the room and the other children were all dead. Only one was lying on the floor where he had managed to crawl out of his bed. A puddle of blood pooled around his tiny corpse, and all I could think about was how it was a waste. After having fed from one of the boys, I would have liked to taste another. Besides, humans feasted on the infants of chickens, pigs, and other animals all of the time and shed not one tear of regret. Why should I?
