Damien looked up from the book and tried to think what that meant. He thought about Mark, who had always seemed to worship him from the start, and about how Teddy did now. And he thought about Buher and Neff, and how they had singled him out and made him feel special and more important than even they were. And he thought about his athletic ability, and how no one seemed able to beat him at anything.

Excitedly, he read on:

And I saw the Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army...

And he remembered how clearly he had understood Attila, and how, as he had talked, the images had become so startlingly clear that it was as if he were there, astride a horse, surrounded by a horde of warriors awaiting his evil command.

He swallowed hard. The feeling growing inside him was about to explode. He pushed himself up off the bed and began to pace around. He had to move, he had to act. Although his fear was great, his hunger to learn more was even greater. He leaned down and scooped the book up off the floor in one swift motion; with burning eyes, he lifted it up and read:

And the Beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Damien understood that the words were metaphors, and knew somehow that Attila had often been described that way. His soldiers would come back from battle and tell stories of how fierce he had been, and what he had looked like as he fought. And Damien thought about how the stories must have grown with each retelling, until they had become legend, and how Attila had become an awesome, composite beast against whom no man could hope to stand.

He wondered if people would ever tell tales like that about him. And then he read on:

And through his policy also shall he cause craft to prosper in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince of Princes.

(‘You should know all about the Thorn holdings,’ Buher had told him. 'After all, they'll be yours one day.')

But to go up against the Prince of Princes? Even in the first full rush of his power, Damien's initial thought was, But I can't! I'm just a kid!