Dog Fights

Chapter 1; The Champion

"He's just a teenager, but look at those fangs." The woman in the back awes, stepping forward. "There's six of them! I haven't seen that many in such a long time."

Growls echo in Ezra's head, muscles throbbing and aching with fatigue and overuse. Blood drips around his wrists, showing off his nonstop struggle to break past the enchanted bonds bolted to his heavy chair.

He flashes dirty red fangs as something touches his arm, making him release a gravelly hiss into the static. It rattles his brain, the dark cloth bag over his head causing his senses to heighten and his sensitive hearing to give him a migraine.

"Witch!" Ezra barks, yanking on the restraints again. "I smell you, enchantress. Let me go!"

"The only reason you are in those restraints is because you are too violent not to be," a woman's voice throws back. "When you settle down we will release you."

"I think he fed recently," another voice says, sounding younger than the first. "I didn't think he'd be speaking already."

Ezra thrashes, feeling the tie around his neck come loose. As the bag lifts off his head dim light floods his eyes and he slams forward, spitting a hiss at the woman in front of him.

She leans down from a safe distance away and looks at his face. "Hungry, hungry vampire," she whispers, staring into narrowed red eyes. "When was the last time you drank anything?"

Ezra growls, wrists flaring with stinging pain as he pulls again.

"Probably before his last fight," the second woman says, "I don't think fruit or juice is going to work with this one."

"I noticed that." She hums. "But I don't think he'll eat out of our hands. We'll have to bring in a blood bag and let him go, which is sad. I can see it on his aura; he used to be clean."

Ezra growls again, though weaker than before. The older woman glances at him, tilting her head as he runs his tongue over his teeth.

"I think he caught that," the younger says, showing new interest. "Maybe the little one is stronger than we thought."

Ezra slams forward, clamping his teeth and rattling his head. The chair jumps, sending a shock through his body and making him yelp.

"Not a good idea." The older woman crosses her arms, furrowing her eyebrows as he pants. "Don't you want to eat anytime soon?"

Twisting his wrists again in the bloody restraints, Ezra begins to mutter. "Witch- damned enchantress." He spits. "Let me go! LET ME GO!"

"He's been starved," the second woman says. "I'm sure the urges are eating his insides. By crashing the ring after the fight we took away his meal."

"What kind of vampire can't feed after being mutilated like that?" Ezra hisses out, making both witches look over at the new words. "I'll kill you both; it's what I'm good at. I'll kill you both."

The older woman stares at the seething monster, unfazed by his threats. "You used to be clean," she says, tilting her chin down. "What happened?"

"Desperate times bring desperate actions," Ezra says through a growl. "I'm not the princess I used to be."

"But you liked that life better." She tilts her head. "Not killing in a flurry of desperate anger and thirst- you used to keep yourself satisfied blood-free; potent fruits and mixed juices."

Ezra tilts his head, fists so tight his knuckles show white. "What makes that better?" he hisses lowly, watching as the second woman slips out the door she was standing by.

"Because you had control," she whispers, making Ezra's lips curl up. "No pinning down your victim and listening to them scream, or waiting for a fight just so you could feed from a sick and starved human. You used to be clean; your eyes used to be gold."