The Fallen Vampire

77  Auction Day

Three days had gone by in the blink of an eye, and now it was time for another auction to be held at the famous Red Room Auction House.

The crowd that had shown up today was a fair bit larger than normal; as everyone had heard of the new ancient advanced grade martial art that was supposed to be put up for bid.

Since everyone had already heard tale of the last one going up for two platinum coins, they were more than willing to travel from all over to see just whose hands this one would fall into.

Excited men and women of all ages packed into the auction house and waited patiently for the show to begin.

When Theodore finally waddled onstage, he maintained his usual energetic and inviting persona as he got the bidding proceedings underway for the first item.

But while he was embroiled in making money, his mind was still focused on the one of a kind visitor he had received a few nights ago.

'Where… is he..?'

No matter how hard he searched, he hadn't been able to find the young man at all.

Though when one considered the fact that he had apparently been stalked for an entire week and he never noticed, something like this could hardly be considered surprising.

He resigned himself to simply continuing the auction as he was instructed and waiting to see the outcome later.

As the event continued, items continued to fly off the stage at a rapid pace, and Theodore made a killing in the process.

Before long, the event had started to wind down to a close and the last item was being wheeled out; causing the crowd to enter into a frenzy. Theodore had almost forgotten just how much was actually riding on today as he listened to offers fly at him from every direction. The starting bid was only fifteen gold, and yet it rose to a hundred in mere moments. As one would have expected, the cultivation manual ended up going for three platinum coins. When the auction came to an end, Theodore excitedly rubbed his hands together as he stepped backstage and prepared to deliver the item. As he delicately placed the manual into the case, he felt a gust of wind breeze past his ear and a chill run down his spine. "Good news, piggy!"

Theodore said a curse under his breath as he slowly turned around, and found six men all dressed like fallen and wearing bright silver armor. The one who always did all of the speaking was a man who asked to be addressed as Shin. He was a wiry looking man, with greasy black hair and sunken eyes like that of a skeleton. His olive skin was oily and he had a crooked nose like that of a rat-kin, which was further cemented by his comically large front teeth. Coincidentally, a pair of counterfeit rodent ears were nestled in his sea of hair as a disguise. "What? You don't look happy to see us!" Always overly friendly, Shin threw his arm around Theodore like they were the best of friends. The boar-kin removed the human's arm from around his shoulders and gave him a small shove. "Should I be? You're only here so that you can rob and harm more of my brethren!"

"Sure, sure, but look on the bright side! This'll be the last time that we do this dance, so all of you other filthy sacks of shit can keep whatever toys you might find to yourselves. Aren't you glad?"

This comment cased Theodore to raise a brow in disbelief. "You're done? I thought you said that you would be plaguing me for a year?"

"Is that disappointment I hear? I am touched that you have grown so attached to us."

"There is nothing of the sort! I simply wished to know what has changed!"

Shin laughed like an untrustworthy cockroach as he slipped past Theodore to examine the booklet inside of the glass case. "Thanks to you, we caught a really big fish a while ago, so now the boss needs us back before we move. An all hands on deck kind of thing, I'm sure you understand."

The faintest glimmer of hope began to flicker within the boarkin's heart as he clenched his fists. "Then my son... he is to be returned to me soon, yes? Unharmed??"

Shin had an imperceptible smirk beneath his curtain of oily black hair as he placed his arm around Theodore once again. "Of course you can have the tubby little bastard back! All you need to do is exactly what you've been doing for all of this time, and he will be returned to your doorstep within two mornings."

Theodore nodded his head slowly as he dispelled any lingering worries. "Alright… let's go meet the client then."

"Wonderful!"

Shin resumed as much of a professional demeanor as possible and gestured for his 'boss' to take the lead.

Resigning himself to his fate, Theodore finally exited the back stage with the humans in tow and headed directly for a lavish waiting room in the building.

Inside sitting on a couch, they found an older man with nicely gelled black hair and a thin mustache.

He wore dark robes similar to that of what a priest would wear and he had a pair of angelic brown wings behind his back.

Instead of a normal nose he had a dark yellow beak, and his fingers were tipped with powerful talons.

When Theodore saw this man's friendly smile once again, the guilt he felt from this situation returned in full force. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Theodore, my good man! Why the entourage?"

"Ah… Father Guerra, this is a special service we've started to offer here. For those of you like yourself who purchase high value items, an escort will see you back to your home personally and ensure your… safety."

"Hahaha! My, aren't we being a bit paranoid, my friend? I like to believe that our people would not turn on each other needlessly in dire times."

"It is precisely because times are dire that I emphasize the importance of this service, father. Desperation can always make one do things that they normally would not."

Father Guerra stared at Theodore carefully as if he'd noticed something strange about his behavior.

Eventually when he found nothing, he shook his head and let out a defeated sigh.

"Alright then, Theo. I'll honor your suggestion just this once."

Father Guerra pulled out a pouch with the three platinum coins inside and handed it to the boarkin standing nearby.

He exchanged brief pleasantries with the guards and showed them the same friendly smile he always wore.

As they started to leave, Theodore wanted to say something.

He and Father Guerra were close friends, and even went out together from time to time.

Like an older brother, he was always trying to correct him on his lecherous ways and persuading him to find glory in the worship of Fenris, but Theodore never listened.

And now, he was about to send the very same man who had tried to save his soul off to his death, all for the sake of his own flesh and blood.

Clenching his fists, he prayed and prayed to whoever would listen for an outcome where he got everything he wanted, and these humans plaguing his life miraculously fell over dead.