* WARNING * There's some unalive talk in this one- but don't worry too much.
Aura made him bathe first. He caught sight of Wooyoung in a corner of the tub and the smaller man tossed him a weak smile that put his heart at ease.
He looked a lot better, except for the bruising beneath his collar and the slight limp when he got out to dry off.
"Hurry up." Aura commanded, watchful as a hawk.
Minho scrubbed himself clean, breaking out in nauseating flushes as he cleaned around the new chain collar and his own lower region. There was a gross and familiar soreness inside. An ache that used to turn him on so many weeks ago.
"Clean your hole enough for use."
"What?"
Aura grumbled, wading into the water beside him and snatching the soap from his shaking hand. With a grimace, she forced his front against the edge of the tub by a firm grip on his shoulder, plunging her own hand into the cool water.
Panic shocked through his mind and body as her inked fingers entered him.
"Stop!"
"If you don't listen to me the first time I say something, then I will just have to make you do it. Because I don't ask twice. Now, stop being a bitch, and hold still."
He willed himself into a sort of paralysis, allowing his limbs to freeze where they were, wincing against the uncomfortable dig of her small fingers.
Eventually, she drew away, dragging a square of wet cloth over his back and sides. "I'll let you wash your own dick." She whispered against the outer shell of his ear.
Minho did. Quickly and efficiently, fearing her promise of not asking twice. They got out, dried off, and kept walking through the house without new clothes.
"We need to moisturize. This is for every party. And the only clothing you're allowed is a collar unless Master chooses something special for you." Aura was leading him up to the feeding rooms where more of the donors seemed to be practicing simple commands. She stopped near the back of the room and grabbed a leash. "You'll have this attached. Each order is pretty self-explanatory."
The leash was clipped to his new chain collar.
"Sit." She said.
Minho opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"Bad boy." The leash was yanked and the chain around his throat tightened to a choking smallness. Minho fell to his knees trying to get his fingers under the metal.
"I said sit."
Immediately, Minho spread his legs, seating himself on the cold floor. The chain went slack, and he drew a shuddering breath. When he looked up at her she was smiling.
"Speak."
His cheeks burned with indignation. "What... what do you want me to say?"
"Good boy. Stand." Minho got to his feet and Aura grinned. The smile changed her whole face. "That's it. Angel might ask for something else, but it'll be obvious. Bend over, show me your hole, stuff like that. I think he's only ever asked Wooyoung to sing and dance but it's always a possibility. Even if he just wants to embarrass you."
"Dance?"
"Don't overthink it. Just stare at the ground and let the night pass." She left to watch over a few other donors.
Minho stared at the end of the leash where she'd dropped it on the ground and fantasized about wrapping it around a banister and jumping off the stairs.
"Hey."
Minho jolted, turning to see Wooyoung. Without even thinking about it, he reached a hand across the scant space between them and pressed it against the darker man's face.
"Real."
"You look like you're seeing a ghost."
"... I have to tell you something."
Wooyoung tilted his head, pretty hair falling in front of one eye. "What is it?"
"If I get a chance... I'm going to kill myself."
His expression became guarded. "Hyung... wait- you are older than me, aren't you?" Minho told him his age and the younger nodded "Yeah, you've been in this a little longer than I have, but you can't talk like that."
"You don't understand-"
"Yes, I do. You know I do. Look at me. There is a life here. Maybe it's not the one you want, and maybe it comes at the cost of changing yourself just to live it, but please trust me when I tell you that doing that is not the solution."
Minho stared at a donor that was licking the floor and sighed. Wooyoung stepped in front of him, forcing the elder's attention back on himself.
"Angel would just change you."
The air got knocked from his lungs. His brain scrambled for a solution to that terrible outcome, but he didn't have time to voice one. Every donor was lining up against the back wall. They could hear voices in the hallway.
It seemed the party was already starting.
~
Chan looked behind himself a few times even though he hadn't heard anything. He'd followed the vampire with the underwater voice to a small mansion near the bar- the abnormal child vampire not far behind them.
The deal was simple. If they could take him to the friend with the new troublesome human, Chan would give them another night of free drinks. He could work them in during an extra shift.
"Are they... expecting us?" Chan whispered, silently enough for only the two vampires to hear.
"No. But they don't mind."
The silence was broken by a screech of fury and an obvious hitting sound, and he could not ignore such a horrible sequence of noises. Chan soon found himself at the door, banging desperately against it.
The two he'd followed there came up behind him, their eyebrows raised in shock.
"I'm sorry. If it's my donor-"
The door swung wide, a young man standing there with confusion all over his face. As soon as he noticed the child vampire he grinned. "Oh thank hell. Help me."
None of them were able to ask what he needed help with- because he'd already smoke stepped to the darkness past the foyer, their incredible hearing leading them along his path.
The room they entered had the smell of blood and disease, a few humans cuddled into a mass in one corner, their bodies smudged with dirt.
Chan felt his hackles rising at the state of them, but when he saw the human on the surgical table, he nearly fell over- because the man was carved open- shackled to the metal with most of his organs lying beside him in a bowl.
"He still won't listen-" the stranger started, and Chan had the violent urge to kill him.
"This is an unfortunate outcome." The one with the underwater voice gurgled. "I do hope this isn't the donor you were looking for."
"No. It... he isn't." Chan grimaced, running a hand over his face. "Please allow me to help you heal him, I'm a professional human doctor."
The stranger glanced at the child vampire- who nodded only once- and then he agreed.
It took an hour to get every organ back in the correct position and then he still had to carefully guide the stranger as he healed up the gruesome wound.
"We still get the free drink, right?" The child vampire ensured before Chan could leave.
"Yes, I'll pen you in for next Thursday, just... don't tell anyone about this."
"We won't."
On the drive back, he stopped at another house he was passing.
Suho answered the door within moments and immediately crossed his arms. "What is it?"
"I'm not having any luck... finding him."
Pity softened his guarded expression- but it didn't erase it. "I'm sorry about that."
"You know a lot of the owners... don't you? The ones that might've been there that night?"
"Oh Chan... I wouldn't be able to help you with that-"
"Why not?!"
Suho sighed and stepped completely out, closing the door behind him. "Because it's a betrayal? To the other owners? They're kept in secret for a reason."
"Because the Red Castle does so many fucked up things, right?"
"Well... mostly because it is the preference of very old vampires."
"Please." Chan got to his knees. Dropped to his hands. Stared at the ground. "Please help me. There is no one else I can turn to, and you... you know how sick that makes me. I have no other way of finding him. My reach is not vast, like yours. My connections are not threaded through time."
"You want my help that badly?"
"I will do anything."
"There is only one thing I want."
Chan lifted his head, heart beating faster. "Anything."
"You must forgive Chanyeol-"
He couldn't even let him finish saying it. "Never."
"That is all I desire-"
"I could never forgive him. Even if I wanted to, even if I swore that I did- it would be a lie. He is a monster, Suho."
"He's changed-"
"Not enough!" Chan shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "If he'd changed enough to make a difference- I'm sorry Suho- but he would've already killed himself. There is no way any normal, functioning person, could live with what he did to him. He has no trace of humanity. No understanding of the damage that was done. Minho was warped because of Chanyeol. Forever changed... and I couldn't stomach the idea of letting that bastard off the hook."
"I understand your anger-"
"No, you don't!" He forced himself to his feet, giving in to the tears that had been a constant pressure behind his eyes all week. "Because if you knew, you wouldn't have asked for such an impossible thing."
There was silence between them. Only the wind and the rustle of their clothing. Chan tried to catch his breath, sobbing openly.
"Come in. I want to show you something."
"No, it's nearing day."
"I have extra coffins. You can stay here."
"But my coven will worry."
"You need to see this before you make your decision. No harm will befall you. Come, please."
The door hung open, Suho within. Chan took one last look back at his car and headed inside.
Walking through Exo coven's home was like being inside a funhouse at a carnival. He'd already seen enough of it through the memories that Chanyeol had forced upon Felix, and so it was weirdly familiar.
Suho took them to a section of the wall that slid out on the second floor, and when Chan hesitated about slipping in after him, he urged "It will close behind us, but it will open at the push of a finger. I just want to show you something without being seen."
Chan tested it, letting the wall slide closed and then easily opening it. With his mind more at ease, he followed the elder vampire until they came to a screen with light pouring through it. It seemed to be the back of a painting that looked out into another room filled with oak bookcases, marble statues, and leather couches.
Chanyeol was reclined on a chaise lounge, looking as carefree and smug as usual.
"What are-"
"Shh. Watch."
There must've been some high-quality soundproofing in the screen because the vampire didn't even look up when they whispered, his feet twitching as he speed-read a book.
Suddenly, an abomination walked into view from behind a bookcase, its head starkly bald, eyes deeply sunken. The points of its sharp, buck teeth were unmistakable. A Nosferatu.
The creature approached with a book of its own held up in one long, skeletal hand.
"Master!" It called, joyful and childlike.
Because it was so excited, it didn't look where it was going and slammed brutally into a statue, knocking the expensive thing over and shattering the marble to a million pieces.
The sound made Suho and Chan jolt, and Chanyeol swept angrily to his feet, throwing his book down. "Handle! How many times have I asked you to WATCH where you are GOING?!"
'Handle' was already weeping in a heap on the ground, grinding fragments of the marble into its knees and spilling its dark, poisonous blood on the floor.
"Sorry, Master! Handle remembers late! Handle forgets! Sorry, sorry, sorry!"
Chanyeol looked for a moment like he might hit the thing, but then he deflated, rubbing at his temples. "No, I'm sorry. Master forgets too, sometimes."
"No, Master is perfect!"
"I assure you, Handle. Master is far from perfect." He'd knelt to his own knees, injuring himself and spilling his blood right next to the abomination's.
"Did you... create that?" Chan asked.
"No. We have been atoning for Chanyeol's unmendable crimes. The higher called us to take care of Handle as a part of that."
"And you think that caring for this... thing... has changed him?"
"Does he not seem changed to you?" Suho turned towards him in the half-dark. "Gentler? Kinder?"
Chanyeol was picking the sharp pieces of marble out of Handle's knees and promising that he was not angry. He was lifting the thing in his arms like a baby, kissing at its pointed ear, its textured cheek.
"Master is sorry, Handle. You did nothing wrong."
"Nuh-nothing wro-wrong." It wept, sniveling against Chanyeol's chest.
"Why?" Chan asked, watching them walk out.
"What?"
"Why do you want me to forgive him?"
"Come, let us speak more candidly, in my personal quarters."
They exited the secret hallway and went around a few corners and up another set of smaller stairs until they reached a large, heavy door.
Suho opened it, gesturing to one of the overstuffed, high-backed armchairs facing a gilded desk. He didn't speak until Chan was seated. "I come from a long line-"
"We all do." He hissed, cutting him off.
Suho appraised him gently, letting a small smile quirk up the corner of his mouth. "Yes, well. Not all of us. There are family trees that branch out no more than a hundred years from start to finish. And then there are those that are ancient, but lowly. I knew a vampire that would loan his coven out like donors. To drink from. To use."
Chills up his spine. An impossible idea. Like loaning out Felix or Hyunjin. "That's terrible."
"And I know you feel greatly for Minho, as if he were one of us."
"He's better than us."
"He's still human, Chan."
It felt like pale fire filled his chest. Determination and rage all mixed into a ghostly burning he would never be empty of. "And yet that human, showed more compassion and forgiveness than any vampire could comprehend."
"Forgiveness?"
"He was tormented with hate. For our kind. Because of what a member of your coven did to him. Did you even know that he Brined him?"
Finally, Suho's expression changed. Became closed off. Hidden. "What?"
"He poisoned him. Changed his blood."
"I heard them saying that at the auction but... I assumed it was a lie."
Chan scoffed. "The Red Castle lies often?"
"They..." he eyed him, thinking through a response "They tweak the truth. Exaggerate."
"Well, not this time. This time, they told my donor's darkest secret to a stadium of old monsters and then reaped the profit."
"Chanyeol... Brined him?"
"So, you see how difficult it would be for me to even think of forgiving him?"
"Perhaps you could learn from your human?" Suho sighed, leaning back into his own chair. "Change is possible."
"Why won't you just be honest? This is about your reputation. Isn't it?"
Suho nodded. "In part. But I was hoping to gain something too."
They stared at each other a long minute before Chan understood, and then he just chuckled meanly and shook his head. "You want his sentenced lessened. That's what this is."
"I will help you search the covens that were there that night they sold Minho."
"And in exchange you want me to tell the higher that Chanyeol has changed? That he's different now, and worthy of being alone with a human?"
"No. I want him to prove it to you. Let him show you how different he's become."
"Being lenient to a mindless corpse means nothing. His problem lies in how he treats humans."
"And that's what I want to prove."
"You don't mean-"
"Yes. I want to give Chanyeol a chance to apologize to Minho in person. I want them to talk. Clear the air."
"There's no fucking way-"
"You need me, Chan. Remember? I can find your lost donor. And when I do, all I want, is his and your forgiveness."
"I can't give you that, I can't promise something that's out of my hands-"
"Let them meet at least. Let Minho decide if things are different. If Chanyeol's different."
Chan fought the urge to storm out. Daylight was probably filling the sky. He'd be forced to camp out at their house regardless of whether they came to an agreement or not.
"You want me to force a traumatized human into a room with his abuser, in an attempt to show him that the monster who tortured, raped, and brutalized him, MIGHT be different? Do you hear how awful that sounds?"
Suho had winced at every accusation, but he pressed on. "I swear to you, Chanyeol will be kind. He'll be gentle and understanding. Minho is practically the poster child of second chances. If you explain it well enough, he'll-"
Chan cut him off. "You said you have a place I can sleep?"
"Yes."
"Perfect. Please show it to me. I'll have an answer for you in the evening."
Suho nodded. "Right this way."
~
Seungmin couldn't sleep. Chan never came home, and his text was horribly suspicious. By the time night fell again, he'd ordered that Seungmin cover for him at the bar while he 'dealt with something'.
Changbin was entirely too untrusting, insisting that the vampire was trying to leave him behind to find the bookkeeper by himself, and nothing he said convinced him otherwise.
"Then let me come with you!"
"To the bar? There's no way in hell."
"I'll follow you regardless, so you might as well watch over me."
Seungmin snarled, throwing a crisp, button-up shirt down onto the floor and pushing the human against the wall with one strong finger. "I said no."
"I can't believe you would be so mean to me the day after you took my virginity." Changbin pouted.
Seungmin puffed up to full height and then immediately deflated. "Hmph, you're good. Fine. But you must wear a turtleneck sweater and stay behind me the entire night. I mean right under my feet. Understand?"
"Loud and clear."
When they arrived, there were already vampires milling about in the parking lot, talking amongst themselves.
Seungmin held Changbin's hand while they walked up to the front door, unlocking it, and flicking all the lights on.
"Aprons are here, I want you to put one on and stare at the ground. You keep one hand on the back of my shirt, and you do not speak, or breathe in a weird way, or call attention to yourself at all."
"Yes, sir."
Seungmin went rigid. "And never call me sir again."
"Yes, Master."
This time, the vampire turned, forcing him to back up with the aggressive way he stepped towards him. Before he could think of anything to say to that, the first customer called out.
"Can I get it hot?"
Seungmin growled, whipping out the clipboard. "Name?"
They went the evening without incident. At one point a vampire became a little too interested in Changbin, and Seungmin ordered she finish her drink and leave before he was forced to ban her from the establishment.
They closed early, heading to the car in tense silence that was broken as soon as they sat inside.
"Are you trying to upset me?" Seungmin asked, speeding.
"I was trying to blend in. It would be noticeable to have a human that doesn't know his place."
He slowed a little, calmed by the information. "Where did you learn this?"
"Innie. He's been a pretty good vampire-donor dictionary for Jisung and I."
"Hmph."
"Are we going to search for the bookkeeper now?"
"No leads."
"What about something in the background of the picture?"
"No. Leads."
"Well... Carlos said he'd tell us where they were if I fought this weekend-"
"That's not happening, and you know that so stop talking about it!"
"Seungmin- you have got to stop blowing up at me. I'm just trying to help."
Suddenly, the vampire slammed the car to a stop, whipping it off the road and into the nearby grass.
"Hey!"
"You want to help?!"
"What? Yes, what in the hell is wrong with-"
"Then let me... let me use you."
"What?"
"To make myself feel better. Can I... heal you?"
"I'm not hurt."
Seungmin sighed, pulling at his own hair. "That thing I did with Minho all the time. It made me- I don't know why, but it made me... calm."
"So... you want to lick me?"
"Please."
"Uh... sure." Changbin blushed, looking down at both hands before sliding his shirt and jacket over one shoulder. "Would this-?"
But Seungmin had already launched himself across the center console, dragging the fabric halfway down his arm and licking eagerly up the skin of his chest and throat.
Changbin moaned when his tongue grazed a nipple, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. That opened his neck up for even more licking, and he gasped as the vampire took advantage of the new angle, nearly in his lap now from his own excitement.
"Wait-"
"You're hard." Seungmin growled, voice like thick, dark chocolate.
"I am?" Was he? Changbin wriggled, felt his own erection rub against this inside of his pants and whined with arousal. "Oh. Sorry."
"Why would you be sorry? The way you sound. The way you smell. I could kiss you for eternity."
"Seung-ah!-min-" The vampire's hands were everywhere.
"Do you think I could-"
"Are you serious?"
"No. Yes. Fuck!" Seungmin wrenched the seat-adjusting lever up, slamming the passenger chair flat. "It won't hurt."
"Is this all you think about?"
"No. Death. Murder. Minho." He began to undress both of them, keeping their lips so close together they couldn't help but kiss. "It only stops when I'm thinking about this."
"What did I tell you yesterday, about being horny to win arguments?"
"I'm sorry. Sorry, last time."
"Uh! Liar."