Chapter Ten: The Kneeling God
1304 Words
The creature rose from the darkness.
Slowly.
Massive iron chains dragged behind it, scraping against the stone walls of the cavern beneath the castle. Each movement echoed through the courtyard like thunder rolling beneath the earth.
For a moment, no one breathed.
Because Davies had been right.
It did not look like a monster.
It looked like something ancient.
Something powerful enough to have been worshipped.
Moonlight spilled into the fissure, illuminating the creature as it climbed upward. Its form was enormous—easily twice the height of the courtyard gates. Its skin shimmered like polished obsidian threaded with faint silver veins that glowed softly beneath the surface.
But what froze everyone in place were its eyes.
They were not wild.
Not feral.
They were calm.
Watching.
Thinking.
The creature lifted its head as it finally rose high enough for the moonlight to reveal its full form.
Ancient runes burned faintly across the chains binding its arms and chest.
Seals.
Powerful ones.
Yet even those were cracking.
Another link shattered with a sharp metallic snap.
Adrian swore.
“Lucien, this is completely out of control.”
Lucien did not look worried.
If anything, his fascination had deepened.
He stepped closer to the edge of the fissure, his crimson eyes gleaming as he studied the rising creature.
“Remarkable,” he murmured.
The creature’s gaze shifted.
Not to Lucien.
To me.
The moment its glowing eyes locked onto mine, something inside my chest twisted violently.
The silver energy beneath my skin flared again.
Brighter than ever.
The creature stilled.
Then slowly—very slowly—it lowered its massive head.
The movement was deliberate.
Controlled.
Respectful.
And then it knelt.
The entire courtyard erupted into shocked murmurs.
Even the vampires who had lived centuries stared in disbelief.
Because a creature powerful enough to shake the castle itself had just dropped to one knee.
For me.
Lucien’s smile widened.
“Well,” he said softly, “that confirms it.”
My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
“I didn’t ask it to do that.”
The creature’s deep voice rolled across the courtyard.
“You never needed to.”
Adrian looked like he had just witnessed the end of the world.
“Lucien… this is insane.”
Davies looked worse.
He stared at the kneeling creature with growing dread.
“No,” he whispered. “This is wrong.”
Lucien glanced at him.
“Wrong?”
Davies’ voice sharpened.
“Creatures like that don’t kneel.”
The creature’s glowing eyes flicked briefly toward Davies.
“Most do not.”
Davies swallowed.
Lucien tilted his head.
“But this one does.”
The creature spoke again.
“I serve my creator.”
Every word made the silver light in my veins pulse harder.
“I’m not your creator,” I said.
“You were.”
The answer came instantly.
A wave of dizziness washed over me again.
Fragments of memory flickered behind my eyes.
The same cavern.
The same chains.
But this time—
I wasn’t standing across from the creature.
I was standing in front of it.
My hands glowing silver.
Carving symbols into the chains.
Sealing them.
My breath caught.
“I locked you away.”
The creature’s voice softened slightly.
“Yes.”
Lucien noticed the shift immediately.
His eyes sharpened.
“You remember.”
“Just pieces.”
Lucien’s gaze turned thoughtful.
“That’s enough.”
Another chain snapped.
This time the creature did not move.
It remained kneeling.
Waiting.
Watching me.
Adrian stepped closer to Lucien again.
“This thing is barely contained.”
Lucien nodded slightly.
“I can see that.”
“Then why are you still standing there?”
Lucien’s smile returned slowly.
“Because I’m curious.”
Davies’ patience snapped.
“Curiosity is going to get everyone here killed.”
Lucien finally turned to face him.
“And fear is going to keep us ignorant.”
Davies gestured angrily toward the creature.
“That thing was sealed away for a reason.”
Lucien’s eyes flickered.
“Yes.”
His gaze returned to the creature.
“And I would very much like to know what that reason was.”
The creature spoke again.
“You feared what I would become.”
Lucien crossed his arms.
“Did she?”
The creature’s glowing eyes dimmed slightly.
“No.”
The answer surprised everyone.
Even me.
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
“Then why imprison you?”
The creature looked at me again.
“She feared what would come for me.”
The courtyard went still.
Lucien’s smile faded slightly.
“That’s… different.”
Davies frowned.
“What do you mean?”
The creature’s chains rattled softly as it shifted.
“There are things older than vampires.”
A chill ran through the courtyard.
Lucien’s expression sharpened.
“Go on.”
The creature’s voice lowered.
“Things that hunt power like mine.”
Davies looked uneasy now.
“You’re talking about legends.”
The creature’s eyes flicked toward him.
“You call them legends because you survived.”
Silence followed that statement.
Lucien’s gaze darkened.
“What exactly are these things?”
The creature answered calmly.
“My predators.”
Another long tremor rolled through the castle.
This time the creature reacted.
Its head snapped upward suddenly.
The chains rattled violently.
The silver runes along them flared brighter.
Lucien noticed immediately.
“You feel something.”
The creature’s glowing eyes narrowed.
“They are closer.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who is closer?”
The creature did not answer immediately.
Instead, it looked at me again.
And for the first time since emerging from the prison—
Its expression showed fear.
“They have found you again.”
The courtyard fell silent.
Davies looked confused.
“Found her?”
Lucien’s voice dropped.
“You’ve been hunted before.”
The creature nodded slowly.
“For centuries.”
My head spun.
“That’s impossible.”
But the creature’s gaze remained steady.
“They will come.”
Lucien’s eyes gleamed again.
“Let them.”
Adrian looked at him like he had lost his mind.
“You cannot be serious.”
Lucien’s smile returned.
“I’ve spent centuries searching for answers.”
He gestured toward the kneeling creature.
“And now answers are finally standing in my courtyard.”
Another chain snapped behind the creature.
The sound echoed loudly.
Davies noticed it immediately.
“That prison is still breaking.”
Lucien waved a hand dismissively.
“It’s kneeling.”
Davies shook his head.
“That doesn’t mean it’s harmless.”
The creature spoke quietly.
“I am not harmless.”
Lucien chuckled softly.
“I assumed as much.”
The creature’s glowing eyes shifted toward the sky.
Then suddenly—
They widened.
Its massive body stiffened.
The chains rattled violently again.
Adrian noticed immediately.
“What is it?”
The creature did not look away from the sky.
“They’re already here.”
Lucien frowned slightly.
“Who?”
The creature’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“The ones she created to destroy me.”
Cold dread crawled down my spine.
“I didn’t create anything.”
But even as the words left my mouth—
A sudden flash of silver light burst across the sky above the castle.
The vampires looked up instantly.
So did Lucien.
A massive tear split open in the clouds.
Like reality itself had been cut apart.
Something enormous moved within the glowing rift.
Davies’ voice came out barely above a whisper.
“Oh no…”
Lucien’s eyes burned with dangerous excitement.
“Well,” he said quietly.
“It seems the past has finally come to visit.”
The creature beside the fissure bowed its head lower.
Not in submission this time.
In preparation.
Because whatever was descending from the sky—
Even it was ready to fight.
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