Chapter 1 - Art Auction?

Evander

I knew I shouldn't have trusted Roland. He'd snuck on me when I was taking out my car keys and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. The fact that he'd snuck on me made me very mad. Usually, I could sense him long before he could get the jump on me, but my mind was more focused on the need to get home as quickly as possible; work had been awful.

"I will break your arm if you do not remove it," I said before he could open his mouth.

The hyena shifter laughed awkwardly, but hastily removed his arm as per my instruction. "Ev, come on, man! Let's go have some fun."

I turned to look at him. For a man in his mid-thirties, he acted too much like a child for my tastes. I always saw him hitting on the girls in our department - even if it's against company policy - and chatting loudly when he should've been working. It was a wonder he'd gotten so high up in the chain of command when he was so unfocused and immature. "I'd rather not," I replied, crossing my arms and leaning against my car.

Roland sighed, rolling his eyes. "I knew you wouldn't be up for it. It was going to be awesome, too. An art auction, super private and elite from what I heard."

His words piqued my interest for once. "Art auction?"

I'd always had a soft spot for pretty things. My home was filled with enough artwork to fill an art gallery, but I was always still on the lookout for more. Damn hyena knew exactly what to say to make me reconsider. "Is it really an art auction or are you just pulling on my leg?"

The man cracked a large grin. "Oh, it's real. I hear it's got some real beauties, and this guy right here knows how to get in."

I should've paused to consider the way he said that, but I was too distracted by the prospect of leaving that auction with more pieces for my collection. "Fine, I'll join you. When does it start?"

"Pick me up at eight."

"Why do I have to pick you up? You have your own car," I asked him.

He shrugged. "You have a cooler car. I want to ride in style."

I watched as he walked off, still a bit unsure as to why I just agreed to go out with him of all people.

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.

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I waited in front of Roland's house at seven-fifty. I didn't want to be late, especially since I didn't know anything about the catalog and I wanted to check it out before bidding started. Before I drove here, I'd tried looking into the auction. I wish Roland would've told me yesterday or earlier so I could register as a buyer, but even when I looked at local auction houses, nothing was going on that aligned with what Roland told me. That alone should have sent warning bells off in my head, but he did say it was a private affair. I hadn't been to many private auctions, so maybe they were different.

And because I was so uncertain about what to expect, I dressed up in a nice suit and made sure my hair was neat. Even if I wasn't able to buy, if any of the artists were there - you never knew - then maybe I could buy from them that way. Good impressions were important.

Roland came out a few minutes later, just before eight, with a jacket covering a button-up overtop some slack and dress shoes. Good, so I wasn't the only one dressing up, though he was a bit more casual than I was. He hopped into my car and whistled when he saw me. "I always forget how handsome you are in a suit. You rarely wear them into work."

I didn't answer to his compliment and instead asked, "Where am I going?"

He gave me the address and we started driving. Roland tried multiple times to change the music station, but I slapped his hand away. "Ev, this is old man music. And I know you're ancient, but I don't want to fall asleep before we get there."

"I'm not that old," I snapped. "Besides, classical music is timeless. I don't even like the music from my time."

"I beg to differ. One hundred and fifty years is ancient in my book," Roland argued.

"Then you obviously haven't met many immortals," I muttered.

Compared to a lot of other creatures who were technically immortal, I was a toddler. Not even two centuries old. Still, I didn't know many other immortals aside from my coven, and vampires - like myself - were usually the first to come to mind. To Roland's mortal self, I was "ancient."

The car fell silent after that, and soon we were turning onto a road surrounded by forests on either side. The road stretched on for quite some while until it led to a set of gates. A guard walked up to the car and I rolled down my window to speak to him, but Roland cut me off. "We're here for the auction," he said.

The guard looked at us for a moment before nodding his head. No identification? Nothing? He walked off to open the gate for us, and as I drove past him, an odd feeling settled into the pit of my stomach. This was the strangest auction I've ever attended.

After another few minutes of driving, I could finally see the place we were heading to. It was gigantic. An entire estate - it's architecture seemed quite old - with a sprawling garden, plenty of forestation, and even a round-a-bout driveway with a fountain in the middle. The classic rich-person mansion, except it was right before my very eyes.

I was by no means poor - having a very high position in a successful non-human company gave me plenty of spending money after decades of work - but this was something I could only dream about. The estate was lit up in the night, illuminating the pitch black that seemed to swallow everything else up. I could see plenty of people milling about in front of the main entrance, as well as a line to get in and park.

It took us nearly ten minutes before I handed my car to the valet and was walking up the steps with Roland right next to me. The moment we entered, I was taken aback by how grand everything was. Vaulted ceilings, glorious chandeliers, intricate detailing in every piece of furniture, architecture, and decoration. It seemed that Roland had been here before because he quickly guided us to a table set up against a wall. "Two blues, please," he said to the woman seated at the table.

"Ah, Mr. Palermo. Lovely to see you again."

Roland smiled before turning to look at me. "This is my colleague from work, Mr. Carlin. Thought I'd show him a good time."

The two shared a laugh while I silently stood by. The lady flashed me a dazzling smile, handing me a blue sticker. "Put it somewhere others can see it," she said, so I stuck it my suit lapel. She handed the same sticker to Roland and he put it on his jacket.

"What are these for?" I asked after we left.

"Identification. Don't you smell it?" Roland answered. "There's a mix of humans and others like us. They want to identify who's who without getting scents confused."

Now that he brought it up, it was true I smelled a mix of both human and non-human. I couldn't distinguish much else given the large crowds, but still. So then if they needed to distinguish between the two groups, was this auction being run by someone who was also not human? How interesting. I hadn't been to many auctions that weren't hosted by humans and therefore unaware of the non-humans present.

Roland then led us to another table lined with papers. When I leaned over to look at the papers, I noticed they had names on them that matched with pictures presented on the right of the names. "Oh, are these the artists?" I asked, glancing over them.

There were a lot of people and it made me kind of excited. This auction seemed like it'd be very long, but it was a Friday and I didn't have anything to do tomorrow. Roland leaned over to look with me and laughed. "Yeah, kind of."

Before I could ask what he meant, he pointed to a picture. "Hey, he's pretty hot."

I gave him a questioning look. "I thought you were straight," I pointed out.

"I am," Roland agreed. "But he's still attractive. Is he not your type then? You never agreed."

I looked at who he was pointing to. I had to say that the guy was very attractive and very clearly non-human. Perhaps a shifter. I wasn't sure seeing as I didn't meet a lot, but I thought some of them still carried animal characteristics into their humanoid appearances. Or perhaps I was mixing them up with other species that had an animal and humanoid form, like kitsunes or certain woodland fae. Roland certainly didn't look like anything but a human - an annoying human, though - but maybe that was just his particular species.

Still observing the person, I glanced over at their name. Haruki. What a beautiful name. No last name is present, though. How odd. Maybe it was just an alias. I knew a lot of artists gave themselves aliases. "Yes, he's attractive. What does it matter? I'm here for his art, not to pick him up," I commented to answer Roland's question.

He went silent after that so I looked up. He had a secretive smile on his face that I wanted to question, but he suddenly grabbed my arm. "Let's go find some seats. We've done enough looking."

"What? But what about their artwork? Is there a catalog somewhere to see that?" I asked as he guided us towards a set of double doors I hadn't noticed before.

"Kind of."

What was with his cryptic answers? I was getting extremely annoyed with them. If I really wanted to, I could've pulled away and figured it out on my own, but Roland seemed to be knowledgeable about this particular auction host, so I decided to let it slide and follow him. He led us into the room behind the double doors and I was shocked to see that it was an entire theater. A large stage was below us - we'd entered from the upper entrance apparently - with rows of seats and even a few private booths.

I noticed that a lot more people were slowly entering the theater, so I figured the auction must be starting soon. Roland led us down a bunch of stairs to the front-facing section of the theater, with our seats in the middle of the section directly facing the stage. It was the perfect height for us to get a good look at the stage and also the giant screen being lowered so people without a good view could still look. Oddly enough, I felt something prickle at the back of my neck, as if someone was staring at me, but I ignored it. It was probably because I was still on edge.

Within another ten minutes - in which Roland and I sat in uncomfortable silence - the lights dimmed and a spotlight was shone on the lady we'd met earlier. The crowds went silent when she walked to the center of the stage, that dazzling smile still on her face.

"Good evening, everyone, and welcome. I hope you all enjoy our selection for tonight. We have some very rare items."

Oh? Looks like Roland really did know what he was doing by bringing me here.

"Before we begin, may I remind everyone that any photography is strictly prohibited. Underneath your seats are your tablets. Please input your information so we can get started.

High-tech, huh? Roland and I reached under our seats to bring up small tablets that immediately flashed an information sheet we needed to fill out. I quickly filled my name in and anything else they asked before I paused at one question.

How did you hear about us if this is your first time? Please choose one answer.

[] A referral

[] Initiate potential

[] Other - please specify

Initiate? What did they mean by that? I glanced over at Roland and he looked up. I showed him my screen and he nodded, picking the first option. So I was his referral. It made sense... sort of.

At the end of the information sheet was a terms of agreement section. However, as I skimmed through it - it was fairly short anyway - I couldn't help but feel a bit wary again.

By agreeing to these terms, you understand that any mentions of this auction must be in confidence. All sales by the end of the night are hereby in your care and must remain so until the time period agreed upon is completed. Any injuries or issues are not at the fault of the auctioneer, but the bidder.

Injuries? All sales are in my care until a time period is completed? It was just art, wasn't it? What was so dangerous about art? The unease in my stomach continued to grow, but I signed nonetheless. It had to be fine, right? Why would Roland invite me to an art auction if it wasn't something I'd be interested in? But then again...

Since when was Roland even into art?

It was only after I signed that I realized something was seriously not right. I was suddenly very uncomfortable in my seat. I felt like I just signed my soul away to the devil. Finally, the alarm bells in my head were ringing loud and clear. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I glanced over at Roland. "Roland," I whispered.

He looked over, unaware of the panic slowly creeping up my spine. But despite my alarm, I kept my composure cool and my face neutral. If a vampire was anything, it was collected. I wouldn't let my face betray me right now. "Why did you bring me here?"

He gave me an odd look but coupled it with a smile. "What do you mean? I know you like art, so I figured you'd enjoy it."

"No, you don't like art. I know that, so why would you know about this? Why are we really here?"

I watched the smile melt away from his face to reveal a much darker look. "I told you, already. I don't get what you are asking, Evander."

"If this is an art auction then why have I not seen a single piece of art?" I challenged.

"But you did! We were staring right at it not too long ago," he countered.

We were keeping our voices quiet, but it still felt like eyes were watching me. "What are you talking about? The only art pieces I've seen are the ones already decorating the estate. They weren't up for sale or indicated as being in the auction."

Something told me that now was the time to stand up, so I started to rise, but Roland reached out and grabbed my arm. He gripped it so hard that a small hiss escaped my lips. I could've probably ripped my arm away from him, but the menacing look in his eyes told me that wouldn't be wise. That, and I definitely felt eyes on the back of my head. I was being watched. I couldn't leave now, not when Roland might make a scene.

"Sit," he growled. "It took me this long to bring you here and you're not screwing it up for me. You'll see what I mean in a moment. Just calm down and watch. You'll enjoy it."

I remained seated but he kept his hand firmly gripping my arm. It started to hurt, but I ignore it as I stared straight ahead. The crowd had begun to murmur until they were silenced by the sound of wheels rolling across the wooden floor of the stage.

If I had blood, my heart would no doubt be pounding excessively in my chest. Instead, all I could feel was the rising pressure in my chest as the sound of the wheels echoed hauntingly in my ears.

And what was rolled onto the stage made horror grip my entire body and made me freeze in my seat.

"Starting off the bidding tonight will be one of our rarer items," the lady began, her smile wide, but now it looked more demonic than dazzling. "We figured we might as well start on a high note to get you all excited."

The crowd laughed as if what was in front of them wasn't utterly horrifying. Even Roland chuckled. The lady began circling the stand the wheels were under, her smile ever-present. "This one has been cultivated for quite some time now. We're so excited to present Aubrey, our only anthousai for the night. We all know how rare they are."

Yet another joke, as if what was before my eyes were all some funny prank.

My entire body flinched when I actually met eyes with... with the art piece. The boy's eyes were wide with horror, and I could see the tears streaming down his face even from here. Around his neck was a thick metal collar that matched the chains wrapped around his ankles and wrists. He was stood on the wheeled platform, surrounded by a cage despite already being chained. His petite body was trembling quite visibly, as anyone's would be. His would've-been beautiful brown skin was marred with bruises and scars that made bile rise in my throat.

"The bidding begins at one-million!"

The lady's voice brought me out of my stupor, only for me to watch the big screen in horror, which showed the boy - Aubrey - side by side with a number that steadily went up as people input their bids.

Good God, what have I been brought to?

~~~

Soo... yeah XD

What an intense way to start this off huh?

When the idea came to me I knew it'd make for a very interesting setup. I kind of struggled with how to fit all three of the boys into one scene so they could all meet, but I figured it out lol.

Any guesses as to what's going to happen next? Maybe who Evander - who you just met- and Aaron will be paired with?

Stay tuned for more insanity and thank you so much for reading!

Please vote, share, and comment if you like it :)