Chapter 9: 8 - The dark side of the Valakys
In the kingdom of Mildelar, as Ayra explained, familiars not engaged in tasks like fighting or serving as food for their mistresses are locked away in what vampires call dormitories. In reality, these are prisons—at least for people like me, confined in the Lunae Novae dormitory. This dormitory houses all familiars ranked below 500, over fifteen hundred in total—basically the population of a small village! Familiars ranked 499 to 50 stay in the more comfortable Lunae Crescentis dormitory, while the top fifty live in the Lunae Plenae dormitory, which Ayra described as a luxury resort where familiars feel like they're on vacation.
The Lunae Novae
dormitory, reserved for the weakest, is a total dump. It consists of bedrooms—or more accurately, cells—each shared by two people, small and completely unfurnished. At least we're allowed to roam freely inside the massive building, which has over thirty floors, each with thirty rooms. The first three floors are dining halls—though I'd rather not imagine the "delicacies" they serve. Thankfully, there's room service, and I'm definitely choosing that option; I have zero desire to socialize today.
As if things couldn't get worse, my cellmate is... Gerard Valakys. Yes, that Gerard Valakys, Levreshka's familiar—the one I humiliated just hours ago. Judging by his expression, he's not handling the defeat very well.
I'm lying on my bunk, staring at the damp, moldy gray stone ceiling, the room faintly illuminated by pale moonlight. Outside the window—barred with strange black metal, apparently trendy in Mildelar—there's nothing but an endless expanse of sand and rocks.
I wonder what godforsaken corner of the world we've been locked away in...
«Lyon Valakys. That's your name, isn't it?» Gerard, lying on the bunk next to mine, interrupts my thoughts with his deep, cavernous voice.
«Y-Yes...» I mutter, intimidated by his tone.
«You're strong, kid!» he exclaims. I think he's trying to compliment me, but the energy in his voice makes me flinch. «My mistress claims you beat me by sheer luck, a fluke so rare it's almost a legend. But I don't buy it. In a fight, the strongest always wins, not the luckiest. I've started training even harder, and next time we fight, I'm sure I'll win!»
Despite his harsh tone, his words sound genuinely friendly to me, and I let out a sigh of relief. At least I won't have a roommate who makes this surreal situation even worse.
«Your mistress—Levreshka—is pretty hard on you, isn't she?» I ask, tilting my head slightly as my eyes settle on the fresh whip marks and scars covering his muscular body.
«No more than any other vampire...» he replies with a resigned sigh. «...she's just particularly exhibitionistic, that's all.»
«And all those marks on your body?» I ask.
«Why do you think they force us to wear these uniforms that cover our entire bodies?» Gerard retorts. «Seeing familiars fight while covered in bruises, cuts, and burns isn't elegant to those refined, bloodthirsty beasts. You've just arrived, so you can't know this yet, but it'll all become clear the moment you lose your first fight. For your sake, I hope it happens as late as possible.»
«Ayra isn't that kind of vampire,» I say firmly, insisting again.
«I used to think the same about Levreshka, believe me...» Gerard's gaze drifts into the darkness of the room. «But it was only after my first defeat that I truly understood what those bastards are capable of. Sadistic, ruthless beings who take the greatest pleasure in watching us kill each other like dogs, only to torture us into madness afterward. And the daughters of Drakhul are the worst, from the youngest to the eldest, Ayra included.»
A shiver of terror runs through my bones, locking up my muscles. My mouth stays shut, my mind too overwhelmed by all this information to form a response.
«You can't even imagine what those sadistic bastards are capable of...» Gerard continues, his tone increasingly irritated. «Old Dorje Valakys, the familiar of Sasha—the woman you met today at the training grounds—told me, before he moved to the Lunae Crescentis dormitory, that after every defeat, she would piss on him. Once his body was soaked in urine, she'd apply a brutal electric shock through the control collar... it makes me sick just thinking about it! Levreshka's whippings are nothing compared to what other familiars endure.»
The control collar... I assume it's the black, tattoo-like mark that appeared on my neck when I disobeyed Ayra's orders. I, too, have felt the agony of that terrible electric shock...
«I can't believe Ayra is that kind of person...» I insist again.
Gerard's voice becomes harsh and severe. «Kid, you need to understand they're not people; they're monsters who take pleasure in our suffering! Words like mercy or compassion don't exist in their world. The sooner you accept that, the less disappointed you'll be when you see the truth for yourself!»