You Will Bow Down

by Nicholas Bella

  “Are you ready?” I asked him.

  “Jesus, can I get my bearings first?” he complained as he dusted the grass and dirt from his clothes.

  “Forgive my impatience,” I said.

  “I did underestimate you, Théoden. Didn’t think you’d take a cheap shot and attack me from behind in mid-speech,” he fussed.

  “You let your guard down, that was your fault,” I told him. “I took the advantage.”

  “That you did. And you were right, I don’t know all that much about vampires. They were never allowed to take over territory where I come from, so I considered them weak. I’m man enough to know I made a mistake in misjudging you and your kind.”

  “I figured as much or you would have come for us during the day instead of waiting for nightfall,” I pointed out.

  “Hindsight is a bitch,” he sighed, and I knew he was weighing the consequences of his actions. “Listen, I don’t know how many Knights I can make. I have three already and with the power I absorbed from Evander, I can possibly make three or four more.”

  “I will be among them,” I said.

  “We should do the ceremony here, in front of all, Your Highness,” Hexon said. “It would prove you are the undisputed King and bring credence to your alliance with King Ara.”

  Kendrick looked at Hexon, then to the other dragon whose name I didn’t know. That dragon nodded, then Kendrick sighed even heavier than the first time. “Very well.” He turned to me. “Does anyone have a chalice?”

  We all looked at each other, because it wasn’t anything any of us thought to bring to this battle.

  “I do!” a voice called out from the distance.

  We all looked to see who it was. It was one of my vampires and he vanished from view only to return a few seconds later using his speed, carrying a white gold chalice with jewels encrusted in it.

  He seemed to appear right before us and I noticed Kendrick jump in reaction to the vampire’s speed.

  “Fuck, you weren’t lying about how fast you are,” he said.

  I shook my head. “That is one of our greatest advantages.” I turned to the vampire. “Why do you have this?” I asked, curious.

  “Well, my Prince, I’d just purchased it from an antique store tonight before we were all ordered to come out here. Please be gentle with it, it cost a lot. It’s supposed to be the same chalice King Louis the Fifth drank from,” the young vampire said.

  I took the chalice from him and thanked him. I couldn’t account for the validity of its historic past, but it was real gold and jewels and that would work for this dragon ceremony. I gave it to Hexon and he held it in front of Kendrick.

  “Hexon, who, other than those you mentioned, should I make a Knight if I have enough heartsblood?” Kendrick asked.

  “If another dragon can be made Knight other than Théoden, I would suggest Tylendel, Your Highness,” Hexon said. “He was the Elder Knight.”

  Kendrick nodded, trusting the advice of one so old. That was wise on his part. Making Tylendel a Knight again would only make his army stronger. “Then so be it.”

  He pulled a beautiful dagger from his side pocket and I was curious if it was the same one he had killed Evander with. He gripped the blade and handle with both hands and pulled them apart, then tossed the handle. This was my first time ever witnessing this ceremony and I was excited to see how it worked. Kendrick took the blade and thrust the pointed end inside his chest. He growled and grimaced in pain as blood began to flow down the blade of the knife into the chalice. It was a trickle of a flow, not the gush one would expect, and after a few seconds, the flow stopped. Kendrick removed the blade from his chest and he shook the last drops of blood from the blade into the chalice. He swooned a little and the nameless dragon who stood beside Kendrick steadied him. It would seem that simple act took a lot out of him. He took a few deep breaths, then nodded and the dragon released him.

  Kendrick examined the blood in the chalice and smiled. “It is a little more than before. I might be able to make five more Knights,” he said with excitement.

  Hexon took a look inside the chalice and nodded. “I believe so, Your Highness. May I suggest then, in addition to Théoden, Tylendel, and my grandsons, you also give a Knighthood to Misha.”

  “I would argue that Landriel would make a great Knight, my King,” the other dragon said. That dragon must be one from Kendrick’s original army.

  Kendrick nodded. “I don’t disagree, Giancarlo. Let us see what is left after the first four, all right?”

  Giancarlo, that was his name. He nodded and took a step back.

  Kendrick took the chalice and closed his eyes. Next, he opened his mouth and a ball of fire came out, boiling the blood that was in the chalice. After a few seconds, he ceased breathing fire on it. “With this purification of my heartsblood, I now anoint my dragons into the honorary Knighthood. Through me, the bestowed are forever linked and upon death does the Knighthood end.”

  After saying those words, he handed the chalice to Vex, who took it and tipped it to his lips, taking a single sip. He quickly handed it to Lex, his twin who’d been standing beside him. Next, Lex gave the chalice to Tylendel, who did the same before handing it to me. All three had collapsed, their bodies looking as though they were rejecting the blood. They were balled up in a fetal position, their faces contorted in agony. I’d never seen Tylendel in such a weakened state, let alone in such torment. My mouth dropped open before I could stop it.

  “Is that normal?” I asked, having never seen this before.

  Kendrick huffed. “For my Knights it is. Because of my wolf’s blood, there’s a chance they won’t survive. Still want that Knighthood?” he asked, cocking one eyebrow.

  “I don’t understand? We as vampires and even dragons can drink werewolf blood without incident,” I said.

  He nodded. “I’m aware. However, even to my surprise initially, this ceremony does something to my blood, which is why if you survive, you will also be immune to werewolf venom. That doesn’t happen when you just drink werewolf blood, now, does it?” Kendrick asked.

  Okay, that was true. I’d fed off many werewolves and not once had I gained any immunity. This was a certain kind of magic working here and I had to be prepared. “I see,” I said, then squared my shoulders because there was no backing down. I took a deep breath and swallowed my sip before giving the chalice back to Kendrick. Immediately, I felt the pain that had crippled Lex, Vex and Tylendel. I dropped to my knees, my body railing against the invasion of wolf’s blood. My sons all crowded around me, Marco cradling my head in his lap. I could hardly see straight, and a fever overcame me with such ferociousness, it left me reeling. Everything around me began to fade into blackness and the last thing I remembered seeing was the worried expressions on my sons’ faces.

  Was this my end?

  ~*~

  I woke up in the same bed I’d been sleeping in at Josef and Dante’s home. My sons were all sitting in chairs surrounding my bed. Tylendel was also there and I was relieved to see he had survived the Knighthood. Or had he?

  “Am I alive?” I asked, just for clarification. My voice was as dry as my throat felt.

  “Yes, you crazy asshole,” Tylendel said as he approached the bed and kissed me. “What were you thinking?”

  “That I could be immune to everything and be a Knight if I survived,” I said. My entire body still ached, which was remarkable considering I had never felt lingering pain like that.

  Tylendel nodded. “Are you sure Ara will approve?”

  I nodded. “I wouldn’t have gone through with it if I didn’t think he would.” I struggled to sit up and Tylendel helped me. He propped up two pillows and rested my back against them.

  “Well, you got your wish. We are now immune to wolf venom,” he said.

  “But am I immune?” I asked.

  Tylendel nodded. “While you were sleeping, I injected you with wolf venom per our King’s command. It had no effect… well, it made your cock rise a little, but th
at was it.”

  I sighed in relief because finally, I had achieved a status in life I didn’t think was possible.

  “How many took the Knighthood?” I asked, since I’d passed out before the ceremony was over.

  “Kendrick, your new King,” Ty said as if he needed to remind me. “Now has nine Knights. Something he was quite proud of. After thinking about it, I believe he’s happy you’re one of his Knights as you command an army yourself. He’s one who thinks about the benefits and not just the sacrifice. Lex, Vex, you, Landriel, Gabriel and I are his new Knights in addition to Giancarlo, Olian and Rian. Nine.”

  “Misha and the others can’t be happy about it,” I said.

  Tylendel nodded, then shrugged. “No, they aren’t. Losing a Knighthood fucking sucks. For one thing, they can’t do any more Rites of Passage and you know how much I love those. You lose power, strength, and position in the army. But it is what it is. The longer Kendrick lives, the stronger he’ll grow. He’ll be able to make more. And who knows, after he mates with Elliot, this wolf from Deacon’s pack… he might be able to make more Knights.”

  “What about the dragons guarding his territories in India and Japan?” I asked.

  “They aren’t Knights. They lost that ability long ago, but they are Princes, which is a far greater status. They are old enough to be more powerful than Knights. Our duty is to command the army at the King’s behest. Bring young dragons into their powers and protect the King and his territory. That is now your duty as well, my friend,” Tylendel said. “Those of the Council are beyond such status.”

  I nodded. “I understand.”

  “Aren’t you a Prince?” Noel asked Tylendel.

  Ty turned to him. “Yes, I am, but one who prefers the simple life, if you will.”

  “Oh, okay,” Noel said, getting the meaning.

  I was silently thinking about what he had said when something dawned on me. “So, I can perform Rites of Passage?”

  Tylendel turned back to me and nodded. “Excited about that, I see. Yes. You’ll also be expected to serve at his side in ceremonies, in battle, and discipline disobedient dragons. If ever there comes a time that he appoints you to his Council, you will no longer have to do the regular duties of a Knight, but you’ll have to attend his meetings, check in on his territory, things of that nature. You’ll also have to fight if he calls on you.”

  “I can work with that. So, we all survived the ceremony?” Truth be told, I was looking forward to giving dragons a Rite of Passage.

  Tylendel shook his head. “He would have had ten. A dragon from his other army didn’t make it.”

  “I see.” Well, then it was very fortunate that those I cared about had survived. A testament to our strength, it would seem. My mouth tasted of blood, but not Kendrick’s. “Did anyone feed me?”

  “No, you vomited quite a bit. Your sons took care of you. By the way, I’m hogging all of your attention. I just wanted to check in on you, make sure you pulled through. I’ll leave you to your sons now. They’ve been quite worried for you,” Tylendel said, then he kissed me once more before leaving.

  Once he was out of the way, my sons crowded around me, crawling onto the bed. “Are you sure you’re okay, Father?” Bruce asked.

  I nodded. “I’m feeling stronger with every breath I take.”

  “I was so scared,” Derek said, hugging me.

  I kissed his forehead and hugged him back. Once I let him go, my two youngest both came in for dual hugs. I kissed Noel and Dante. Then Donovan and Bruce wanted hugs, I thought more so not to be left out, as they were feeling uncharacteristically sentimental. Not to say that they weren’t as worried as my other sons, they just didn’t display that much affection… well, Donovan maybe, but not Bruce. Marco sat on the edge of the bed, smiling.

  “I’m glad you’re okay, Father. Scared the fuck out of me when you did that. But I understand,” Marco said.

  “My hope is that any brother I give you will be immune. I will make another son, one worthy of my House, and soon. I need to prove to Ara that what I did was worth the risk and my subservience to Kendrick,” I said.

  “Are you really going to follow him, Father?” Marco asked.

  “For now, I must. However, I don’t think he’ll ask for my help for the time being. Odin Colony now belongs to Ara, Kendrick, Deacon, and me. With such a drastic change in leadership, I don’t foresee a challenger stepping up anytime soon,” I said.

  “Let’s hope so,” Noel added.

  “What happened after I…” I had a hard time admitting I’d passed out.

  “Kendrick made the other dragons Knights,” Marco said, saving me from having to say the words. My eldest would pick up on that. “They were taken back to wherever he is staying to go through their change. He left with his army and Josef made sure everyone got home safely. We brought you here because it was the closest bed, then I ordered the New Haven vampires to return to their homes and posts.”

  I nodded. “Good, good. I need to feed.”

  “Sex or blood or both?” Derek asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

  “Go, return to your own sons. Take this night off, you all have earned it. But do bring me a human to feed on and Tylendel,” I said.

  “I’ll see to it, Father,” Marco said, taking his role as eldest seriously as always.

  I nodded and settled back into the bed. I watched as Marco ushered my sons out of the room. I leaned back, closing my eyes and relishing the success of my Knighthood.

  My child, what has happened? I sensed a ripple in our connection.

  I opened my eyes immediately upon hearing Ara’s voice in my head, his silky Persian accent flowed through my mind like silk ribbons. It was comforting. We were under siege, Father. An enemy we’ve never faced before managed to kill Laurent, Akio, and Evander before attempting to kill me. He was both a dragon and wolf with a dual army. I outsmarted him, Father, and in doing so, solidified a strong alliance with him for you, I said.

  Why not just kill him?

  Because he now commands Evander’s army. I paused because this was going to be the hard part.

  And?

  Which I am now a part of.

  I did sense something had changed in you. Explain yourself.

  I held his heart in my hand, Father. I could easily have killed him. But where would this leave your alliance with the dragons? They would have been forced to seek out a King. One who might not have been so open to forming an alliance with you. Because of my decision and one that I did not make lightly, I am now a Knight within his army.

  So, you would serve him as you serve me, my son?

  I could tell he wasn’t pleased by that. The Odin Colony is commanded by you, Deacon, Kendrick and myself.

  Did my territory increase?

  Only with the territory I’ve already gained by taking over Josef’s pack

  So, he commands the majority of Odin Colony and an army of thousands of dragons and wolves. How should this news please me, Théoden?

  Because, Father… I am now immune to wolf venom. I believe any child I make will also be immune.

  Ahh, I see now the method to your madness. You took a great risk, my son.

  To see you elevated to greatness, Father, no risk is ever too steep.

  He chuckled. Such a gamble and it paid off. It is true, what makes one powerful isn’t the size of his own army, but those of his alliances. You have done well keeping all of yours and mine intact. Will this new King honor it?

  He must, he vowed to in front of all and I am his Knight, one of nine including Tylendel, Lex, Vex and five others. Hexon acts as his Council, I suppose, perhaps even reclaiming his old position as Chancellor.

  This is good news.

  Furthermore, Father, this dragon King has found his werewolf mate. Once they have completed the ritual, it is our hope that he will become even more powerful. That his immunity will extend to his wolf army. It is my hope that it will extend to my sons through my link with them. As I stated, I didn�
�t make the decision lightly and now only you know the true depth of my reasoning.

  Wise as always. Let us hope you are right. I would be very pleased if your own sons were to become immune to wolf venom as they are to dragon.

  Yes, Father.

  I am proud of you, my son. For now, I must rest, but do keep me abreast of your future plans and not wait until after you have carried them out.

  I will, Father. Honestly, it was something I had planned, but was still spur of the moment once I realized I had overpowered Kendrick. Up until that point, I had thought a full out war would be our fate. That I might not have survived the night.

  I see. The fact that you have only proves how resourceful, clever, and powerful you are. You are my greatest creation.

  Hearing my Father say those words gave me a sense of pride no one could take away from me. Thank you, Father. To your glory.

  Until we chat again. Stay safe, my child.

  With that, he ended our connection. It felt good to hear my Father’s voice again. I still missed him deeply and my other… well, two sons. Never got a chance to get too attached to Johan, Marshall, and Wyatt. Still, I would feel a loss if they’d died when he took over the Greece territory.

  Just when I was starting to feel my hunger more keenly, Ty returned, and he had a human with him.

  “Marco said you were peckish,” he said, smiling.

  “Famished,” I corrected.

  “Well, we’re here to take care of that appetite of yours,” Ty said as he began to undress. “You can fill up on him while I fill you up with my cock.”

  I watched the human undress as well and licked my lips in anticipation of the delicious meal that was coming my way. All in all, I couldn’t complain.

  EPILOGUE

  ALEXANDER

  “Do you know how beautiful you are?” I asked Lydia, the lover and very delicate flower standing before me as we both stood in front of an ornate floor-length mirror. I raised her arms out to her sides and ran my fingertips along her limbs, then down her torso and back up to her chest, where I cupped her plump breast in one hand. “Such perfection there is in you.” My other hand slid down her flat stomach to grab ahold of her erection.