JENNIE
"It's time."
I froze mid-step as Jisoo broke off her instruction to observe a clock hanging on the wall.
"Damn it. If only …" She shook her head, cutting off the thought, and reached for my hand. "You can't be late. Come."
Nearly weak with fear, I followed her out into the empty hall. Every step I took seemed to echo tenfold, resonating in my mind like shouts.
Shadows draped the dimly lit passage but weren't dark enough to obscure the odd, dangerous beauty of it. The walls were a deep shade of blood-red and the floors were polished wood. Unlike the sleek, ultra-modern Anemia, the dark colors cast an ancient aura that made it seem even more unwelcoming than Kim Manor.
I felt like a prisoner being led through a medieval castle on her way to the dungeons.
Right on cue, Jisoo turned, bringing us before the threshold of a wide circular room that seemed no less terrifying than a torturer's pit. The archway was sheathed in gold and the gilded doors were open, revealing what waited beyond. The layout resembled that of an old-fashioned theater: a circular stage, surrounded by elevated seats rising up to the high, domed ceiling.
My heart sped once I realized that every seat was full. There were so many people—no, so many shadows—watching from swaths of darkness. In eerie contrast, a single puddle of light illuminated the center of the floor, where a scantily clad woman danced before the crowd. With a grace I could only dream of possessing, she rolled her stomach in tune to an exotic beat playing from unseen speakers.
"Damn it," Jisoo hissed from my shoulder, eyes on the performance. The woman's movements were sure and elegant—enticing.
If the amount of eyes fixed in the same direction was any indication, I knew that I could never compare.
"I can't do this." My voice broke. I felt five seconds from grabbing onto the end of Jisoo's skirt like a child. "I can't …I can't—"
I took a step back and a wall of ice met my back through the thin material of my shift.
"Get ready." The command accompanied the cold hand that descended over my shoulder, and I knew who stood behind me without even having to turn around. Her scent had been ingrained within me by now: spice, ice and all things forbidden.
"Get ready," Lis repeated. "You're on next."
Oh, God. The elegant room swam in and out of focus. Dark wood and marble blurred into one indistinguishable cage. I couldn't breathe. Her words had made it final; there was no way out. I felt like the pawn in a life-size game of chess, and Somi already had me in an inevitable checkmate.
"I—"
"Look at me."
I couldn't resist her voice. Jisoo had slipped into the shadows, muttering something about 'saving her a seat' but the funny thing was …I barely even heard her.
For the split second that I turned and made eye contact with Lisa Manoban, the world faded into the background. Those harsh shadows became muted gray, and the pulsing beat of music lowered to a hum. Nothing existed save for a pair of eyes dominated by fathomless irises.
"I can't do it," I croaked, hating the roughness in my voice. "I'll scream. Throw tantrums—whatever you want. Just don't make me do this."
"It's too late for that." Without warning, her thumb shot out to graze the bottom of my chin, unnervingly gentle and fearfully cold. "Look on the bright side," she suggested, moving that glacial touch up to my cheek. "We'll both suffer for your stubbornness."
I flinched, my entire body going stiff. She made it sound so deliberate—as if I had done all of this on purpose. Though, if she cared how her words affected me, her expression didn't show it.
"Every girl has at least three minutes," she continued, changing the subject to the task at hand. "The goal is to entice a potential buyer, though I'm sure that you could just stand there ..."
With that, she turned, disappearing through those open doors, and I was alone, seconds from having to 'perform.'
Terror filled me as the current act began to wind down. The woman had moved her arms above her head as she flexed her hip in a sensual, sure motion that I was certain had every man drooling.
My mind went blank. Everything vanished—that silly cygnet dance and Jisoo's corrections. It was all gone. All that registered was that I was now the only one standing. Minutes must have passed without me even realizing it.
There was no clapping, or any fanfare to close the last act. The other dancer was simply gone and, in her place, Somi held court with a mischievous grin.
"Well, then," she started as her eyes settled over me. "Our next selection is brought to us courtesy of none other than …Lisa Manoban."
Her voice took on a hard edge as she spoke her name—but it wasn't loud enough to drown out the scattered gasps of shock that erupted around the room.
Lisa had a reputation, it seemed. I turned like everyone else, hunting for that blond head among the crowd, but I couldn't distinguish her from the countless other pale faces.
Was it sad that I even wanted to see her? To take one last look at the face of my tormentor before I skipped into the lion's den?
I chalked the strange desire up to the fact she was pretty and just left it at that.
"Mm-hmph." Somi cleared her throat, and I glanced over to find that her amber eyes were on me, pale arm outstretched.
Her fingers fluttered. We're waiting.
Blood surged beneath my skin, playing a haunting melody in the absence of any music. I wanted to crawl into the nearest corner and never come out. Or squeeze my eyes shut and hope that, by sheer force of will, I might wake up from this nightmare.
Maybe you could just stand there? Lisa's harsh suggestion echoed in my mind. Even Jisoo had seemed doubtful that I could ever live up to whatever high standards this 'feeding den' seemed to set.
For once, we all were in agreement. I was doomed, doomed, doomed.
"Any day now, darling …"
At Somi's insistence, I forced a dry swallow and took a step forward. Then another, painfully aware of the fact that at least a hundred sets of eyes were focused solely on me. As I approached the center, hushed murmurs of conversation swelled into a deafening hum. Who is she? Lisa's?
After three more steps, Somi finally allowed her beckoning hand to fall.
"Bids will be placed after the show," she reminded the crowd. "Let's begin, then." After clapping her hands together twice she eased back into the shadows, abandoning me in that enormous puddle of light.
Think, Jennie! I told myself as I stood there, petrified. Do something!
But my body wouldn't obey my commands. Air stubbornly clung to the inside of my lungs. I couldn't move.
Helpless, I glanced up, hoping that, by some miracle, a reprieve might materialize from thin air—but the unsteady rasp of my breathing was the only sound in the entire room. A million body-less specters stared, waiting to gobble me up. And I could only stand there, in a pathetic white gown, with no clue of what to do.
I felt compelled to take Lisa's advice and curl into a ball. Wait it out. Hide. But then …
A flash of golden hair caught the light. My eyes latched onto the owner's features: ivory skin, eyes like silver, stern, inflexible jaw. She sat in the third row, in between Jisoo and a man I didn't recognize. Raphael?
Regardless, Lisa was the only figure I could seem to focus on. Those infamous eyes honed in on my own with a spark of recognition. Just get it over with. I could imagine her growling—and she was right. I should have just stood there and suffered the confused looks of the audience, wondering why their sexy dance had been capped off by some fool in white.
There was no way in hell that I could ever prove them wrong. Just as shw had insisted only a few days ago, my only redeeming attribute was my wallet. But at the thought, a confusing emotion flared before I could help it; that pathetic urge to prove her wrong. Pinch her, poke her—anything to push her off that high horse and get a reaction.
After all, this whole mess was her fault for ever pretending that I could have been 'valuable' in the first place.
My heel twitched against the floor. Suddenly, I could feel sensation in my limbs again.
This is your game, Jisoo had insisted, as she made me run that dance a final time. You are not a duckling but an angel with a broken wing—lost—and your dance is the only thing that can keep the monsters from gobbling you up, for a little while at least. You know that it's inevitable; they will get you eventually. But for now, you can keep them at bay with a dance ...
The words gave me the strength I needed to shakily enter the first step; my right foot struck the floor, as I rose up on one leg ...
And I had to suppress a gasp at Lisa's reaction.
She lurched forward, eyes narrowing to slits. What the hell is she doing?
I should have left it off there. I had gotten a rise out of her and it should have been enough …but, it wasn't. I found that once I started, it was much harder to stop.
My arm swung up into an arch, and I strived to make the movement slow and deliberate like Jisoo had insisted. God, I felt utterly ridiculous. I wasn't graceful. The motion seemed more jerky and disjointed than anything else, but I staggered into the next step, heart pounding, without giving myself the chance to give up.
I could see Lisa curtly shake her head once. No. Stop.
Why? I wondered, as a prickle of irritation cut through a wave of fear. Can the Devil not handle humiliation?
Defiantly, I attempted to spin ...and tripped as my foot caught on a slick patch of flooring.
I went down hard. One of my knees struck the floor, sending a burst of pain shooting up my spine. Both hands flew out to brace my trembling body over the marble—polished to the point where I could clearly see my own reflection: wild curls, dark eyes and an expression that I rarely saw on my face these days.
Was that …determination?
A hush fell over the crowd. There wasn't a single sound, not a laugh nor a gasp.
I glanced up warily and saw why; Lisa was standing.
Shw towered over the seated figures in the third row, eyes honed in on me with such ferocity that for a moment I couldn't breathe.
Those blazing, silver irises spoke for her. Get up.
Slowly, I crawled forward, almost to the edge of the stage, my eyes seeing only her. Fear kept me attuned to my body in a way I had never been before. I could feel each roll of my shoulders, every harsh intake of air, every sway of my hips as I came close enough to touch the faceless spectators in the first row.
Then, inch by painstaking inch, I rolled onto my knees, every cell pulsing in rhythm to the beat of my heart, in the absence of music.
My knee throbbed. Somewhere in the flurry of motion, one of my sleeves had fallen down my shoulder. Only God knew how much skin was revealed—how much of me that she could see. My fingers fluttered uselessly at my sides, aching to adjust it, but I didn't dare.
Instead, I met her gaze and waited.
Would she march down to me and haul me from the room? Command me to leave?
I waited.
And waited …
I couldn't put a name to the emotion that flooded my body as the seconds passed without a reaction from her. Shock? Foreboding? Smug satisfaction?
Soon the room blurred into impenetrable darkness, and I was alone in the spotlight, watched by a single pair of frightening silver eyes.
Nothing else.
No one else.
But it couldn't last forever. My time was ticking after all.
The next step required that I stand and turn, fluttering my arms like wings, and rise up on one leg again. Aware of Lisa tracking every motion, I stumbled through it, the rare moment of gracefulness gone. I couldn't stop myself from glancing back. A muscle in her jaw twitched and I faltered again, foot wobbling in the air.
Every nuance in her body language urged me to stop and let her suffer her humiliation in peace. Give up. While the shadows shielded me from the reactions of the audience, only God knew what they were thinking ...
But, driven by some impulse I couldn't understand, I kept going.
Two minutes felt like a lifetime. Ironically, I wanted it to last, extending the uncertainty of what would happen when I finally stopped. As long as I kept moving, being 'auctioned,' or sold, or whatever didn't matter.
I'm an angel, I chanted in my head as I struggled to follow Jisoo's instructions: turning my body slightly left, rolling my hips right, fluttering my arms up as my belly slowly undulated.
Only one thought kept racing through my head; keep going ...don't stop. Don't stop.
Until, at last, Jisoo's instructions dwindled to one last motion.
I was panting by the time I completed the final step, head bowed, arm outstretched.
There was no clapping.
No booing or hissing.
Not even a sniff.
I had no idea what to expect as I lifted my head, eyes seeking out my captor one more time …
But she was gone. The chair between Jisoo and the stranger was empty, and Lisa wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Hmph." I turned to find Somi slowly making her way onto the middle of the floor, eyes sparkling with amusement. The train of her red dress swished against the marble, reminding me of the hiss of an attacking serpent.
"That was …interesting," she sniffed. "And now, next will be another one of my selections …"
Taking her blunt change of the subject as my cue to leave, I backed away, blindly searching for a doorway, or a hall to disappear down. Everywhere I looked, I only saw the theater seats and pale faces. There was no way out …
"Jennie—" I flinched, fighting down a shriek, as a hand clinched my forearm. The next instant, I found myself dragged through an unseen corridor and into the shadows. I turned and nearly collapsed with relief when I made out Jisoo's emerald eyes through the dark. Before my knees could even begin to wobble, she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed.
"That was beautiful," she breathed against my ear.
A beautiful mess, I thought, still trembling with exertion. But it was over now. I was ready to curl up into a ball and accept my fate …though strangely, before I did, I found myself wishing for one last glimpse of those watchful gray eyes. I turned, eyes straining through the shadows, but the doors of the theater closed, sealing me off from that haunting crowd.
"What happens now?" My voice caught. I was shaking from head to toe. Jisoo had to place her hand on my shoulder just to keep me steady.
"Now …" She glanced furtively over her shoulder and then steered me in the opposite direction. "Now, you wait. Bidding should start soon and then …"
My subconscious fears were more than able to fill in what she wouldn't say: then we would see if my little flailing duckling act had attracted any hungry wolves.
I felt sick and exhausted. Judging from the way my skin prickled, I guessed that I was beet-red with mortification as well. My head slumped on my shoulders and I didn't look up from my bare, sore feet, as I followed Jisoo into another room.
This one was furnished with only a chair placed before a window that overlooked a hillside kissed by moonlight.
"You'll stay here," Jisoo said, forcing me inside with a gentle shove. "When it's your turn, you'll be called back into the theater and …"
"Sold off," I finished for her.
If anyone had bothered to buy me at all.
I shuffled forward, heart in my throat. I hardly noticed when Jisoo left and the door closed behind her.
All I could picture was silver eyes, watching me through shadow.
"Well, Jennie," I told myself as I stumbled over to the chair and collapsed onto it. "If years of safe, comfortable living have pushed you to be a thrill seeker in your final days, you've gotten your wish ..."
Vampires apparently had no concept of time.
It felt like I waited for ages, stuck in that room alone. A morbid part of me wondered if this little bidding session could last an eternity—perhaps the spectators forgot that their 'commodities' had an expiration date?
Thinking of Lisa, and her disdain for all things pertaining to my welfare, the idea wasn't all that funny.
Calm down, I told myself. Try not to panic.
Of course, as the seconds ticked by, I failed miserably in that aspect.
I had to sit on my hands just to keep from wringing them together. When that didn't work, I stood. Paced. Tore at my hair and tried not to relive what I'd just done.
My feet throbbed with the memory of that stupid dance. A thin layer of sweat glued my shift to my body, and my white hair ribbon had come loose—only when I tried to adjust it, the whole damn thing slid free to float to the floor.
How many girls were next? I wondered, too distracted to care that my curls fell into my eyes. How many half-naked beauties had already sashayed for the buyers, putting my poor, juvenile ballet to shame?
Though the even bigger question was; why the hell did I care in the first place?
Why hadn't I just done what Lisa had mockingly suggested and just stood there? Made myself invisible? Hid.
Why try at all? Because I did try.
I had done my best to perform in that sick sideshow of the damned. Those three, pathetic minutes were some of the few in my whole life where I could say that I had actually worked at something—even a task as mundane as trying not to fall while flapping my wings.
And what good had it done me? For all I knew the consequence of not being bought was a public beheading. Even so, I couldn't blame anyone for not wanting me.
"Jennie—"
I flinched as the door finally opened, though I wasn't nearly as relieved to see Jisoo standing there as I thought I would be. In fact, I wished more than anything else that my wait really had lasted an eternity.
"Jennie," she repeated. "It's time."
"A-All right."
I felt like a certain French queen on her way to the guillotine. As I crept into the hall, I half-expected to find Lisa lurking in the shadows, ready to gloat over my humiliation—the icing on the mortification cake—but there was no one else around.
"Come." Jisoo's face was drawn tight, revealing nothing. "You're the last one," she explained as she led me through the twisting corridors. "I know Somi ensured that purposefully, the bitch. But the bidding's over now."
"D-did anyone …" I trailed off, unable to say it.
"I don't know." Jisoo glanced at me from over her shoulder. "I wasn't allowed in," she admitted. "Formalities according to Somi, but if anyone did buy you …" She trailed off as we approached the doorway of the theater. It seemed even more intimidating than before; a giant monster waiting to swallow me whole.
"If anyone bought you," Jisoo repeated, "they will claim you here." The next second I found myself gently shoved forward. "Good luck."
Jisoo's voice was the last comforting sound I heard before the door closed behind me, and I was trapped.
"Ah, finally." Somi stood in the center of the floor, basking in the spotlight.
Her expression revealed nothing as to whether or not I had been bought. Instead, she merely cleared her throat like an auctioneer at a farm, readying to present the next prize cow.
"The last selection," she announced to the crowd, wiping her hands on the side of her dress. A slight slip in her fake smile was the only clue as to her true hostility toward me. "Would the buyer please come forward to claim your …prize?"
My breath caught as I scanned the rows of pale faces.
I waited …
But, no one stood up, or moved, or even coughed.
"Any time, now," Somi murmured, but her tone was smug. I got the sense that this whole show had been some sick joke on her part just to rub it in.
I hadn't been bought.
I didn't know why the fact made me feel so small and insignificant. Or why a tell-tale burning sensation prickled behind my eyes.
Focus, Jennie, I insisted. My skin was on fire. It was a struggle just to breathe. In and out …you can do it.
I couldn't, and the seconds passed without a single attempt to claim me. It was only when I was afraid that I might actually wither and die beneath the shame, that I finally saw her.
She stood in the shadow of the doorway, mouth flat in a firm line. When she noticed me staring, all she did was incline her head once; come.
I had already taken two steps toward her without even realizing it. My heart pounded as I rushed the rest of the way, while the interior of the room twisted into shadow.
There was complete and total silence. Only the frantic sound of my own heartbeat ushered me out of that blinding puddle of light. The moment I came close enough, Lisa snatched my wrist and dragged me into the hall without a word. Not even a single, nasty insult. Still, I felt the need to say something—anything at all.
"I'm sorry …I'm sorry."
It was pathetic. If anyone should have been sorry, it was her for goading me into signing that all-important contract in the first place; for ruining my simple, sheltered life with her talk of blood and 'deals.'
I should have been glad to spoil her plans by not being bought. As it was, all I felt was this wrenching, churning guilt …
What the hell had gotten into me? I should have just lain there.
"I'm sorry—"
"For what?" She never looked back, but I had no trouble picturing her expression, anyway; stormy eyes and emotionless frown.
Was she trying to get me to say it? Admit it out loud?
I failed, now commence with the barrage of insults, please?
Instead, I could only manage a pathetic sentence spoken against the hard expanse of her back. "I didn't get a buyer."
My throat felt tight. Painful.
And it shouldn't have. I shouldn't have felt so damned ashamed.
"I'm sorry—"
"You did." My first thought was that my desperate brain had imagined the words to ease the shame. But, then she spoke again, clearly enough so that I could make no mistake. "You did secure a buyer."
She turned suddenly, shoving me into an empty room. Confused, I glanced around the unfamiliar interior, taking in the only furniture; a velvet chaise, a bed ...
But there was no one there holding a receipt for one Jennie Kim. Even stranger was that Lisa had followed me inside. From behind me, the door closed and I heard the lock twist.
"W-who?" I asked, voice shaking as I eyed the bed's black, silk sheets. "Who bought me?"
I figured a part of me already knew the answer before she even said it out loud.
"I did."