Beast of the Night

The Announcer - FOUR

"You may do as you wish with your hair, I just need you to be clean," she bent down and took the damp rag from the ground, leaning her hand back to his cheek and rubbing the dirt patches off, "if you are not sold today, they will kill you."

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Continued

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The black glossed carriage pulled up to the stone slabs of where Vee's capturers stood, waiting for their money. The old man in the coach box stopped the horses with a low click in his throat. The crippled body ached as he stepped down onto the crooked cobblestone of the roads. He swiftly walked to the metal wide door, cracking the door till it swung open, revealing the black-haired man. Sir Ennard Ambrogio stepped out with grace; his crimson red feathered mask spreading across his upper face. He nodded one motion of his head to the coachman, folding his slender hands together as he stepped into the wide-open entry of the nightclub-like auction.

The security guard watched him closely, squinting his ocean like eyes to the man dressed in an expensive red velvet. He gulped, recognizing his infamous raven hair, and backing away from the door as the scowling leader entered. When Ambrogio walked into the luxurious darkened nightclub, he was quickly greeted by the servants, at once noticed by the attendees, and immediately regretting his entry. He was quickly led to an opera box, past the terrified aristocrats, and high above everyone. When he finally had the chance to sit down, he was given a silver stick, which he grimaced at and declined for a wooden one. It was only pure-blooded vampires that could be affected by the metal, as the curse had only been transferred to the first bitten. But there were only three purebloods in the world. It was rare to see someone like Ennard out in public. Keeping his masquerade shield on, he crossed his legs and leaned on his clenched fist as he perched on the rose red throne, waiting for the auction to start, and hopefully end.

As Vee gulped at her words, a man, which was referred to as only 'the announcer,' passed the golden cage. 'How disgusting' was all Vee could think as he heard the announcers stomach growl with insatiable hunger for the spotlight. His longing for the eyes of the audience was obvious.

"So, you're the hunter. Well, you better sell, I'm paying those low lives half of what I'm supposed to get," coughed the announcer, his chin rolls directed straight to Vee's vision. "Quite a young man, you should buy at a hefty price."

The announcer was clothed in a loose vibrantly colored suit, his whitened hair falling to a comical curl, his large, well fed appearance made Vee think of the typical human to rip you of your money, but of course, this man was not human. The odd-looking creature looked away from the caged human with his hammocked eyes, covered in small rolls of skin. He walked to the stage, his feet clunked against the black floor, as if each step had shook the earth. As the announcer passed through the thick velvet show curtains, he stepped up to the podium on the side of the circle show floor and closed his eyes. The man coughed deeply before he turned back to the noisy dark room, his mouth making involuntary sounds before he smiled, the dusty dim spotlight drifting to him.

"Welcome, welcome, take your seats, as we have special surprise!"

The vast darkened room gazed over to the announcer as he spoke, chattering filled the building as everyone slowly moved to their seats. Royal red curtains were everywhere, drawled curtains blocking the few rusted windows, and multiple long mini bars filled with all kinds of animals' blood. There was one half-eaten bloody pig in the corner of the bar, its lower torso missing, the meaty bones scattered in broken pieces along its ends, and hundreds of small holes throughout the foul-smelling animal.

"Now, now, as you know, our supply of human blood has become exceedingly rare to find," the announcer said with a firm greedy smile, "but today, today, we honor our guest by presenting a fangless human without a single mark on his body!" The crowd was silent, leaning forwards in their seats when Vee Elrod was brought out, his cage carried by two burly security guards. Just as everyone peered through the golden bars of the boy, he started shaking. Vee hated the stares, it scared him deeply to know he was about to be sold, his worth put on a price. Vee's knuckles turned white with his tight grip on the bars of the cage, feeling the cage being set down in the middle of the stage. He was terrified. All the hungry stares from the dim chairs all around the stage made him sick. "I will not be sold," he shouted out with a small sob, shaking the bars of the cage like a pathetically weak wild animal, "to any of you monsters!"

...