Prologue
“Sold to the Monterosa family for three thousand!”
This sentence, this loud sentence that caused delighted clapping, sparked pure panic in me, because I knew exactly what awaited me in the future. My life was over. There was no going back. It scared me to look ahead. I couldn’t imagine throwing my life away like that, but it had never been my choice.
I was put into an orphanage when I was four, where they said “if you’re not adopted by eighteen, you have to pay us back the money we spent on you”. That’s why I was here. I hadn’t thrown my life away, I was just giving back what I had been given.
We lived in a world where laws were made by those who could grab power by the collar. The humans believed themselves to be in power because they had found ways to keep the creatures of the night at bay, but little did they realize that the “creatures of the night” had lived longer than they had and therefore knew the world and its rules better.
The creatures, or rather the vampires, had learned to exploit the greed and hunger for power of the humans. They let them believe that they set the rules, but in truth they were the ones pulling the strings.
And they were pulling those strings at the moment. They forced people to sell parentless children with the explanation “They don’t belong to anyone. It’s either them or someone innocent on the street.”
They presented people with the trolley problem and the human pulled the lever every time, thus killing the single human. And today I was that person.
I was dragged away, taken to a secluded room and prepped. Bathed, brushed and given new clothes. I wasn’t allowed to say a word, I could only let them dress me up like a lifeless doll. This auction was organized by the orphanage owner because many of the children had reached the appropriate age.
It was horrible to think that the people who were responsible for my safety were doing something like this. But I couldn’t defend myself. What was I supposed to do? Fight it and expect to either be reprimanded or even beaten? I didn’t want to risk anything like that, so I dutifully played the role of the puppet. Silently and obediently.
When they were finished, my hands were chained together. It seemed to be a security measure, but they didn’t need to be afraid because I had no strength to run away.
I was taken out the back exit where the bright sun and happy chirping birds mocked me. They were free and my life had just been sold as if it was worth nothing more than a piece of dirt.
No, I wasn’t allowed to think like that. They were not to blame for my suffering. They had the luck that wasn’t granted to me, that was all. I couldn’t hate them for that, especially not when they could sing so beautifully. An unexpected smile flitted across my lips as I turned my green eyes briefly to the sky.
A long car was parked in front of the door. The windows were so dark that I couldn’t see anyone inside. The passenger door opened and a lady came towards me. She had long, black hair that she had tied up in a tight ponytail. She was wearing a suit and white gloves.
Her golden eyes looked me over from head to toe, as if she had to make sure the goods weren’t damaged. I choked under those eyes, those piercing yellow eyes that searched my body for the slightest flaw.
Satisfied with what she saw, she nodded to the employees who had brought me out.
“As we discussed, the promised money will be transferred to you,” she said in her cold voice. The man behind me was overjoyed and bowed briefly.
Then she took a necklace out of her bag that was as black as night, but you could see little roses on it and a silver ring dangling from it. She tied it around my neck. I coughed slightly as she tied it tightly, but that wasn’t all. She then attached a chain to the dangling ring and dragged me roughly to the car.
Without saying a word, I got in. I wasn’t allowed to resist because I didn’t know the extent of it. I didn’t yet know what I was allowed to do and what I wasn’t, so I did nothing.
The inside of the car was dark, so dark that I thought for a moment that night had fallen. My seat was separated from the driver by a small wall of dark glass. It was impossible to see anything of the outside world through the windows on my side. So I had no choice but to sit still and wait.
I didn’t know how much time had passed when the car finally stopped. My door opened and before I could get out myself, I was dragged out by the lady on the chain. I fell down, but no whining came out of my mouth, partly because she abruptly pulled me to my feet. Her face showed irritation as she hissed through her teeth. I lowered my eyes.
“Never mess with a vampire,” was one of the first rules I was taught when I was old enough to understand what was happening around me, and I didn’t plan on breaking it for a long time.
A sigh sounded and she pulled the chain again. I looked up.
My eyes could hardly believe what was in front of me. It was a palace. Is this what the houses of wealthy people looked like? It probably had three floors, with large windows so you could get a better view of the poor people. The outside walls were painted black, as was the roof. Only the large entrance door was blood red. But despite its imposing size and the fact that several families could probably live in it, it looked abandoned.
I was dragged to the front door, where the lady entered without knocking, with me on a leash.
The interior was as breathtaking as it was oppressive. I was afraid to move in these rooms, as if the walls could swallow me up at any moment.
As soon as you opened the door, you entered a dark and long corridor. There were lamps on the walls, but the light they gave off was dim. There were many paintings on the walls, probably of the family members, but you couldn’t see a smile on any of them.
I was dragged further and taken to a room that looked like a waiting room where some vampire ladies were waiting, apparently for me. Fear overcame me when I saw them.
“Is it that time already? Are they going to suck me dry? Kill me?”
Those were my thoughts as the ladies approached me. I blinked in surprise when nothing of the sort happened. Instead, they made me take off my shirt. My freckle-covered skin was scrutinized. Sometimes they said something, but I didn’t understand their language. I was allowed to put my shirt back on, which was difficult because of the chain. We all heard the door open and when they saw who entered, everyone bowed.
It was a woman.
She was bubbling over with elegance, but unfortunately also arrogance. She had straight, dark hair that was cut short and lightly caressed her chin as she walked. Her face was seemingly flawless, pale, without a speck of imperfection. Her long black eyelashes framed white eyes that glided emotionlessly around the room.
She wore a tight black dress that made her look taller. Her high-heeled shoes were the first thing you heard before she entered.
She stopped in front of me.
Without uttering a word, she grabbed me by the chin. I could feel her long nails on my skin. She turned my head first to the left, nodded, then to the right and nodded again.
“Carino,” she said. I didn’t know what the word meant, but I hoped it would be something good. Then she pressed the nail of her thumb to my lip. I winced slightly as it started to bleed. She licked the drop off her nail. Her eyes widened slightly as she began to nod.
“Buono,” she said. My lip tingled, but I didn’t move from the spot. She then took the chain between her long fingers, looked me in the eye and smiled. My whole body shuddered, my breath almost stopped. I had never felt so afraid as when I saw her fangs.
I was taken away by her. We walked quietly down some stairs that brought us to an iron door. She opened it and we entered a huge cellar. There were many beds in this cellar, some of which were bunk beds. The sun shone in through a window that was so high up that you couldn’t even reach it if you were standing on a ladder. In one corner you could see another door, which most likely led to the bathroom. A lamp hung from the ceiling, desperately trying to illuminate the cold room with its puny light.
That was all that was to be found in this cellar, except for the dozen people who had stood up abruptly when they saw us entering.
The woman barely paid any attention to them and took the chain off me. Without saying a word, she pushed me inside and then turned away. The door closed behind me and everyone exhaled. They all wore the same rose necklace as me, probably the trademark of this family. They all seemed to be my age, or just a little over. I saw both women and men of all kinds.
I stood there, not knowing what to do or if I should say anything. All looked depressed, some even lifeless. The women wore sleeveless white dresses, while the men wore sleeveless white shirts with dark pants.
One of them approached me with a serious look on his face. He was taller than me, muscular with short dark hair and a three-day beard. His eyes were just as dark, but somehow kind, so I relaxed.He put a hand on my shoulder and asked, “How are you?”The question puzzled me, so I looked at him wordlessly.
“You’ve just been sold, haven’t you,” he continued. I nodded slightly. “Are you all right? It must have been awful, I know how that feels.” he tried to comfort me.
“It’s okay, I knew it would happen,” I said to him. He looked at me in horror, as if my words had struck him like a bolt of lightning.
“You...” he started, but somehow he couldn’t finish the sentence. I decided to explain it to him: “I grew up in an orphanage. As soon as you turn eighteen and you’re not adopted, you’re sold.” He was stunned. Suddenly he hugged me tightly while he stroked my red hair. “That must have been terrible...,” he whispered. Then he released his embrace and placed both hands on my cheeks: “You must have been through a lot, but you don’t have to worry anymore, I’ll look after you from now on.”
I looked at him in amazement. A female voice suddenly rang out: “Stop coddling the newbie, you should take care of yourself like everyone else in here.”
The man in front of me moved a little to the side to turn around, so I could see the lady. Her blonde hair was shoulder length. She was sitting on one of the beds, looking at me with reproachful blue eyes.
“Lily, show a little understanding. The poor boy has just been sold, you remember how you felt then,” said the man who was still holding my face in his hands.
Lily snorted and rolled her eyes. “I’m over it, he should be too quickly,” she added. “Lily,” he called her sternly, "Where’s your compassion?" he said, turning back to me. “I’m going to explain some things you need to know to survive here.”
I didn’t even know that such a thing was necessary, so I let the nice man guide me. He made me sit next to him on a bed. Somehow I felt a lot of eyes on me. They were watching me.
“Before I start explaining, I should first introduce myself. I’m Robert, I’m the oldest and the one who’s been here the longest. I have a few years behind me so don’t hesitate to come to me.” he said to me with a lovely smile.
“I am Leroy. Nice to meet you, Robert,” I replied. A cold laugh rang out. We watched as Lily slowly walked towards us, scowling. Everyone else seemed to be avoiding her.
“Shall I get you some tea? Maybe some cookies?” she said in a pointed tone. I didn’t understand her anger. Robert was just trying to be nice, why did it bother her?
“Lily, that’s really not necessary,” he said to her, but Lily didn’t back down. “While you’re at it, why don’t you exchange little secrets, tell each other your favorite color or braid your hair.”
Robert stood up and tried to put her in her place by standing so close that she had to look up, which she did, but she wasn’t intimidated, “What, am I wrong? You should explain to him where he’s ended up, what kind of hell he’s in.”
She turned to me abruptly.
“You’re worth no more than a piece of trash here. This household is filled with vampires who come down here at will to have a snack or vent their frustrations.”
She grabbed Robert’s shirt and pulled it up. My heart almost stopped when I saw all the bruises and scars on his upper body. Robert pulled her hand away again, but she didn’t give in.
“This is what happens here. This is your home now until you die. This is not where friendships are made, this is where you pray that the devils up there are in a happy mood.”
I saw tears slowly forming in her eyes as she continued, “But maybe you’ll get lucky and be chosen as a lapdog by one of those ladies. Then you’ll just get sucked off by a monster, every day.”
She rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand while Robert gave her a caring hug.
I sat on the bed completely breathless. As Lily’s tears flowed, a realization came over me that I had held in the darkest corner of my mind until now: This is going to be my life from now on.
