Chapter 1
The loud bang echoes through the room and shuffling footstep slide across the concrete floor. The girl adjacent to me crawls from her small sleeping space to watch the commotion, with hollow eyes she peer thought the bars watching as they shuffle around with the clank, clank sound that follows all the people hear. I take no notice, it is not like I haven’t seen it all before. A cold familiar slap sound suddenly interrupts the sliding feet and clanking. Many have moved to the bars now watch the newcomers. A whip crack strikes the air and those many jump away in fright.
‘Get up you useless shit!’ A familiar voice barks and the whip cracks again, a loud wailing cuts through the air and a deadly silence to follow the cry. I role over into my other side in the thing they call a bed, all this is too familiar to me. Eventually the shuffling and clanking begin again as screaking of unoiled hinges echoes through the cramped space, makes my teeth grit. Several dozen iron doors open and closes but never mine, sometimes I wonder if it has rusted shut. The loud bang from before echoes again through the room encouraging small mumbles to break out between the newcomers. Some are in tears, other chat in a nervous exchange, while a few just sit in a broken silence, their distress and intrusion has concerned many of the old girls but I can’t be motivated to care. Newcomers are brought in every weekend so there is enough stock for the week, I have no reason to care about this lot when they will all be gone in three weeks. A while passes and I begin to fade into an oblivious sleep but that familiar loud bang echoes through the room once again disturbing me. I hear three pairs of footsteps all light and lacking a familiar clank. Buyers I think to myself as I begin to fade away again.
‘Here you are sir’s our females.’ That familiar voice grumbles in his best professional tone.
‘There is quite a lot of them aren’t there,’ something responds.
‘Yes, sir we just had a new batch of them in before lunch.’ Says the familiar voice.
‘These cages are very small aren’t they?’ The same unfamiliar voice notices.
‘Yes, well the stock doesn’t need much space to live, plus most of them will be sold before long.’
‘Hmm, alright,’ the voice seems to growl.
A small prick of surprise pinches me as I realises that growling voice belong to a werewolf, it was very uncommon for them to visit such places. Werewolves had no need for human slave only blood sucking vampires wanted such pleasures and the occasional witch for those sacrifices they seem to love. Though I am now curious I can’t really be bothered to open my eyes to glance at the creatures face even though it been such a long time since I saw one. Finding the motivation to care about anything these days was always a struggle. Their footsteps get closer to my cell and I hear the whimpers of those beside me.
‘What about this one,’ the werewolf asks, he’s very close now, ‘why is she along?’
I am not shocked that he stopped in front of me, they always do. No matter who, they all loved their stupid questions that always has the same answer.
‘Ah yes, our resident trouble maker. She tends to cause unrest among the females it easier to keep her along.’
‘Really,’ a hint of interest and surprise rings in his voice.
‘Yes unfortunately, I’ve been trying to get rid of her of ages but no one seems to want her, she got this intoxicating smelling blood but it tastes like a rotting corpse. It types is extremely rare too so I can’t just throw her away that would be wasteful,’ that familiar voice sneers at me.
Their undivided attention makes me unconformable and I’d rather the whip then being subjected to their hungry gazes and roaming hands. In this establishment what I fear is not being sold to a thirsty vampire or experimental witch but instead the special attention some of the employers like to give the girls. So far I’d been lucky but as my body grows my luck has begun to run out in this concrete room filled with metal and flesh.
The werewolf has remained quiet of the last several seconds as if he is contemplating what was said, slowly I become more curious about this unknown wolf but still found no point to move.
‘I want to see her face,’ the werewolf suddenly says. His words cause a shred of dread to course through me, on instinct me muscle coil ready to spring into action at the slightest bit of a threat. But I still do not dare move an inch as I lie on my hay pile bed. A fist hits the metal bars of my door causing a loud bang to ring out startling me, somehow I manage to remain perfectly still.
‘Get up human I know you heard him,’ that familiar voice yells.
I’m almost tempted to stay where I am and pretend to be asleep but that will only lead to pain so I instead very slowly shift myself from within the hay. It takes one step to cross the space between my hay bed tucked against the concrete wall and cage door. As I stand before them I let my grime covered hair hand over my face, demonstrating my submission to the slave master Orpheus and his two buyers.
The werewolf and Orpheus continue on talking, discussing me while the other unidentified one just stands there observing my bits of exposed skin that are not covered by my tarnished once cream coloured dress. When all new slave enters into this shop to be sold they are stripped of all their old possessions including clothing and are given this baggy dresses along with a lovey shackle and metal ball chained to their ankle instead. Any words the werewolf and Orpheus mutter are lost to me as I focus on the ground trying to keep my eyes open, I’m still drowsy from my missed nap. I wish to yawn but stifle the temptation, I may not care about what their discussing but I do not wish for pain. My head slowly bobs downward a little as my sleepiness makes my eyes drop.
Suddenly in the midst of my second head bob a hand seizes my chin forcing it upward and I am met with eyes of black. This action completely surprises me, but I dare not show it as those black irises’ boor onto my own, reacting only excites these creatures. After what feels like forever I break away from his gaze and look to Orpheus and one I assure is the werewolf, they both stands watching with a cold glaze. Pain along my jaw snaps my attention back to the one still holding me within his grasp as he slowly pulls his razor-sharp fingernails along my dirty skin leaving a trail of red. As droplets of blood fall he inhales deeply taking in the scent of my sweet-smelling blood and I realise this man before me is a vampire.
As if in slow motion his thin lips open and he grins, his deep voice rumble.
‘We’ll take this one,’ he sneers.
‘What!’ Orpheus blabbers out, ‘really?’
The man removes his hand from its clasp on my cheeks and instead moves it to my neck and give it a little squeeze, ‘positive,’ he replies before full focusing his attention on me. ‘Congratulations little worm you have the pleasure of being our master’s new pet.’
His words send a chill crawling up my spin as an understanding hits me, there is only on monster in this world who has command over both vampires and werewolves. The master they speak can only be the world’s most powerful ruler the tyrannical king of monsters Collin the Cruel.
