(Northern Region- New Atlantic City)
(Inner District- Unovan Auction House)
"When will the auction begin?" a low raspy voice ca from the elderly man currently sitting down in a private box.
Below him was a large open hall with enough seats for over three hundred people.
There was a stage in front of the room that was separated from the rest of the hall by a large transparent barrier.
The plastic barrier was put in place in case of any accidents.
Its purpose was to prevent the scent of blood from arousing the crowd if one of the livestock got injured on the stage.
The room was completely packed, and one could hear excited voices echoing through the large open space.
"Should be only a few more minutes..." a voice lazily replied to the elderly man's question.
An attractive young woman raised up her palm to cover her lips and then yawned sleepily.
The elderly man grunted once and then stayed silent.
Both the elderly man and the young woman were high level vampires and yet they wore the clothes of servants.
The symbol of a wilted rose was printed on the front of their suits. It used to be a symbol that commanded great respect and fear but now...
It was rely a relic of the past.
Count Pearce crossed his arms and waited patiently for the auction to begin. Perhaps what he was doing was a useless effort, but he had been left with no other choice.
If his mistress was awake... would that bastard even dare to proclaim himself as the next vampire 'king'?
No... he would have been forced to crawl back out of whatever crypt he had been slumbering in.
The elderly vampire's crimson eyes darkened as his body responded to his violent mood.
House Volantis was the na of the clan that he served.
His mistress had been the one to convert him all those centuries ago and he had been forever loyal and grateful for her gift.
The younger mbers of the clan knew that their head was a mysterious figure, but Count Pearce was the one who had always been her right-hand man.
He had known her better than most and even then, he was still unable to understand why she willingly hibernated in a dark dungeon beneath the castle.
A long ti had passed since her inexplicable decision, and it was getting harder and harder to keep the clan together.
The relationships or blood ties between vampires in a clan were not a strong as humans rumored them to be.
Vampires were fully capable of betraying or killing the one who converted them, and many such cases had happened throughout history.
Count Pearce let out a heavy sigh and glanced at the young woman sitting down next to him.
She was a new mber of the clan, and he could tell that she did not respect the current head.
Lydia thought that buying humans as blood slaves and then tossing them in the dungeon where the mistress slumbered was a trendous waste of resources.
Maybe she was right...
But what other choice did he have?
The only thing that could possibly draw the attention of a sleeping vampire was the fresh scent of human blood.
And yet... his mistress had not stirred even though he had already bought half a dozen human slaves.
They simply died of starvation in those cells or took their own lives with the rusty pieces of iron scattered about.
"This will be the last ti..." Count Pearce finally admitted.
His voice echoed through the private box and Lydia turned to look at him with an expression of disbelief.
"What? But why now?" the young vampire asked with confusion evident on her face.
"You are right... we cannot afford to continue throwing resources away... not when those hungry wolves are just waiting for us to fall," Count Pearce reluctantly whispered.
"I know that several mbers of our clan have secretly been in contact with outside forces, so we need to rout out the traitors and send a ssage."
"House Volantis is still a powerful faction that should not be ignored."
Lydia listened to the elderly vampire's words and her lips gradually curved upwards. She had been waiting for the foolish old man to finally co to his senses.
It was a pity that they would have to waste a perfectly good blood slave in order to complete this charade but at least it would be over soon.
The mistress of House Volantis... Lydia had only heard stories about how great and powerful she was, and she didn't believe those exaggerated tales.
Of course, the head of the clan should have been strong but after going decades without feeding... she was nothing more than a useless drag on the organisation.
A cancerous tumor that needed to be removed at all costs...
Lydia's sinister thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice that ca from the front of the large hall.
A sharply dressed vampire wearing a long black overcoat and pointy shoes stepped onto the stage and grabbed the microphone in the center.
"Ladies and gentlen... welco to tonight's auction," the speaker cheerfully spoke as he gestured behind him.
A long line of human slaves walked out from behind a nearby curtain with heavy iron manacles locked around their arms and legs.
Cheers and thrilled shouts ca from the excited crowd of vampires as so stared at the humans with their mouths wide open.
The humans shivered and trembled in fear as they stood in front of a crowd of bloodthirsty predators eager to rip them apart and feast on the crimson liquid in their bodies.
"The bidding process will now begin if you see a human that you would like to claim as your own then please raise your hand and state your offer," the speaker explained calmly.
"Now... let us begin!"
The speaker snapped his fingers and a group of masked vampires walked up to the barricade and stood nacingly.
They were the security team employed by the auction house in order to prevent mbers of the crowd from reaching the stage.
A handso young vampire with dirty blonde hair gripped the arm of a middle-aged woman and roughly dragged her to the front of the stage.
The woman had bloodshot eyes and there were tears running down the sides of her cheek. Lydia clicked her tongue as she saw her unsightly appearance.
"So, you want to bid on that one?" Lydia casually spoke as she prepared to raise her hand.
"No... I am waiting until the end when they send out the high-class livestock," Count Pearson bluntly replied.
Lydia opened her mouth to complain but stopped herself when she felt a warning glance shot in her direction.
The count was willing to end this experint but that did not an that he would spare any expenses.
"One hundred thousand!"
"Two hundred thousand!"
"Five hundred thousand!"
The speaker clapped his hands together in glee as the bidding raised the price higher and higher.
Only the lesser vampires were currently bidding which ant that the truly wealthy were yet to show their hands.
"Five hundred thousand going once... five hundred thousand going twice... and..." the speaker's voice trailed off as he raised up his arms.
"SOLD!"
The middle-aged woman sobbed as a dirty piece of cloth was tied around her mouth and she was dragged off stage to et her new master.
"Bring on the next item!" the speaker shouted as he masterfully raised the level of excitent in the auction hall.
This ti the human that was chosen was a slender young man with a nasty scar running across the side of his cheek.
He did not sob or cry like the middle-aged woman, but his fingers were trembling so badly that his entire arms shook.
"The bidding process will now begin once more!"
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