Upon a grand, elevated stage, the auctioneer gestured with a grand sweep of his arm. A tall top hat rested precariously upon his head, and his onyx tailcoat fluttered and swayed in a showy fashion every time he moved, as though the wind was dancing around him. His brilliant smile was wide and disarming, which drew in eager buyers by the dozen.

Remi Goldridge's gut wrenched for the hundredth time that evening. She didn't want to see the sad, broken eyes of any more creatures being auctioned off to serve the selfish, perverted desires of pompous dukes and duchesses. Or worse, the fearful, frantic gaze of the ones who hadn't been purchased, and as a result, would soon be slaughtered at the Meat Palace.

Her Aunt Colleen tilted her chin sharply upwards, her sharp nails digging into soft skin. "Look up, and straighten your back."

Reluctantly, Remi did as she was told.

"Our next item is beyond valuable," the auctioneer spoke persuasively, his voice silky smooth. "He hails from the skies above, but is well-accustomed to life down below. Let me introduce you to our one and only Icix!"

The crowd lets out a collective gasp, reeling in surprise. Many leaned back in their plush seats, trying to get as far away as they possibly could without actually getting up off their chairs.

Remi felt her eyes involuntarily widen in surprise. She hadn't expected an Icix to be auctioned off tonight. They were nearly impossible to capture alive, and even harder to tame.

The rich, velvety fabric of the thick, red curtain pulled apart in a sudden whoosh, revealing a terrible, frightening sight. The large, beaming spotlight illuminated a cage with thick, iron bars. Within those bars stood a dreadful creature, and suddenly Remi wished they didn't have a front row seat. She pressed her back up against her chair, wishing she could simply close her eyes and make everything disappear.

Her eyes burned with tears never to be shed as she saw the powerful Icix lounging on the floor of his cage, with his back lazily leaning against the bars. His deep, royal blue eyes didn't hold the same fear as had some of the others before him, but instead were set in resignation.

The Icix didn't bother to hide the gigantic, black wings sprouting from his back, and even flicked his thin, reptilian-esque tail in front of himself, following it with his eyes in what seemed like an attempt to amuse himself.

The eccentric auctioneer smiled at them as though he was entirely at ease while standing next to the cage. "Yes, yes, shocking! An Icix standing in our very midst! Don't be alarmed, he is perfectly placid and will do whatever it is that you ask of him. In fact, his lengthy experience as a gladiator will make him an excellent bodyguard or soldier."

Upon hearing complete and utter silence from the audience, the slightly frazzled auctioneer called out once again to try appeal to the other, more sensual interests of buyers. "After the arena, he was even sold to Madam Lementine, which only makes him more valuable!"

Remi shuddered. She could hardly bear to hear the name of that terrifying woman. And if Madam Lementine even managed to make a creature as powerful as an Icix do her bidding, then that only made her that much more intimidating.

"Ladies and gentleman, open your eyes! This creature is powerful enough to do whatever you want, and broken enough to do so without protest. Perhaps if I dropped the already-low price of this magnificent find, some of you may reconsider?"

If no one bought him, he would be killed soon after the auction, and Remi didn't know whether to feel pity on him or relief. The Icix were rare, but tales were passed down through history of the gruesome horrors they loved to indulge in. Winged men swooping down from the sky and devouring without discrimination. Devastating entire villages, and leaving a bloody trail of carnage in their wake.

She didn't believe that one could be tamed. There was simply too much evil in them.

A vague flash of moving white flashed in the corner of her eye. She could hardly believe her eyes when she turned and saw her father standing tall in his white suit that seemed to dazzle even in the darkness.

"200 revs." He spoke with an air of authority.

The richly-dressed auctioneer spun on his heel, and motioned with a finger for whoever was in the background of the above stage to find the source of the voice. A thin beam of light from an overhead spotlight, not near as bright and bold as the one shining on the Icix's cage, moved sporadically around the audience for a few seconds before coming to rest on the proud figure of her father.

"Sold, for 200 revs to the lord in the brilliant white suit!"

He seemed quite relieved to move on to the next item as a group of men with pale, terrified faces rolled the cage off the stage, into the darkness. Despite their fear, the Icix inside only regarded them coolly, never once lashing out at them.

"Splendid, is it not?" Remi's father whispered merrily in her ear. "The next time someone tries to kidnap you, they'll think again."

"But--" Remi began, shaking, but before she could get another word out, the crowd began roaring at the revealing of the next slave.

She let out a disappointed sigh. Even if her father could hear her, nothing she could say would change his mind. For as long as she could remember, nothing could change her father's mind once he'd set his heart on having something.

———

As Remi stared up into the beautiful creature's sad, wide eyes, and for a moment, she momentarily forgot about the haughty dukes and duchesses and lords and madams swarming in the Glass Museum around her. After the auction, the slaves who no one wanted were put on display here and given away for free, in an effort to entice guests to reconsider. Sometimes people liked to wait until the auction was over so that they could get slaves for nothing.

In the small, crystal clear glass tank in front of her swam a mermaid, her tail slicing through the translucent water as easily as a knife cutting through butter. She swayed lightly back and forth with grace and elegance, and the light from a nearby chandelier caught on her golden scales, which shimmered like polished glass. Honey-colored hair fanned around her pretty face.

Mesmerized, Remi took a step forward and pressed her hand up against the glass. The mermaid stopped moving for a moment and stared. Then, almost hesitantly, she swam up, and put her hand up against Remi's, with only the glass separating them.

Her deep, green eyes told of a broken soul, and a longing for freedom.

Freedom that would never come.

Remi tore her eyes away, full of regret. There was nothing she could do. Their house wasn't built to accommodate aquatic life. Even if she were to buy the mermaid just to set her free, there was no chance she could get past the water patrols.

"A fish has caught your attention, Remi?" the condescending voice of her older sister taunted, clawing her fingers into Remi's arm and yanking her away from the small tank. "No one wants fish anymore--they're entirely too common. I prefer my slaves exotic."

"Yes Faye, I've seen your collection, and the horrific way you treat them in order to make money."

Faye dismissed her comment with a quick wave of her hand. "Horrific? More like resourceful. Come now, father wants you for the bonding."

Remi stifled back a groan. She'd been wandering around, putting up with tedious conversations of dukes and duchesses trying to come into favour with her family, in an effort to escape the bonding.

As she followed Faye through the crowd, she saw creatures of all kinds barred in cages or tanks or behind glass, and it made her eyes water. The spark of life had long disappeared from their eyes, leaving empty shells behind. Before anyone could see her tears, Remi quickly dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief and steeled her gaze.

As they walked, people turned and stared. Some only seemed curious, but others had greed and desire rolling off of them in waves. Still others remained fearful.

Her father was an easy man to find in a crowd. Not only was he wearing a white suit worth more than a house, his strawberry blonde hair and tiny horns were quite unique. Remi had been told that she looked a lot like him, and she couldn't help but see the resemblance. It was uncanny.

"Remi, darling," her father shouted above the loud buzzing of voices, a wide grin lighting up his face. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her into a much quieter room. "Come, come!"

Upon walking through the door-frame and seeing what was inside the room, Remi immediately froze in fright. She felt like turning around and running back out, but her fear kept her rooted in place, unable to move.

There he was. The Icix.

Watching her through half-lidded eyes from behind the bars of his cage, wings folded in behind him.

A short man wearing a shiny black suit and dark blue tie in an elaborate twist walked up to her and held out the glimmering device.

She took it in her hand. It was small and square, and supposed to go on her forehead. An identical one was already on the forehead of the Icix, and Remi didn't want to know who might have died for it to get on there.

Remi tried to hand the chip back to the man, but her father stopped him from taking it back. "No, Remi. This is a gift, from me to you. With an Icix under your control, no one will be able to hurt you again. Understand?"

"I don't want a slave, father," she growled quietly, turning her head away. The Icix was now watching her with something reminiscent of curiosity in his gaze.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Really, that's too bad. I haven't seen any more than two or three of these beasts in all my life," her father sighed loudly, shaking his head in disappointment. "Perhaps we'll send it to the slaughterhouse. I'll just have to find you a new slave more to your liking."

The slaughterhouse?

She knew he was trying to manipulate her, and that it was working.

Remi glanced back at the Icix. He'd closed his eyes, almost in resignation to his fate. As terrified of him as she was, she couldn't let him die.

Especially when his death would mean nothing, after her father got her a new slave.

Without hesitating further, Remi stuck the tiny device on the center of her forehead. Immediately, she felt it sink in deeper, sending its tendrils through her mind. The pain was minor, but the intrusive feeling was less than comfortable.

After a few moments, the chips both simultaneously fell off their foreheads to the ground below, no longer glowing.

The small, suited man smiled politely. "The bonding is complete, Mr. Goldridge. The slave will not be able to hurt or kill your daughter, or run too far away."

"Good, good!" he exclaimed with a bright smile. As the little man unlocked the cage and unbound the creature's shackles, her father turned to her. "You're free to go now, little one. Look around, eat whatever delicacy that catches your eye, and enjoy yourself."

The Icix slowly stood up and walked out of his cage, glancing around himself and taking in his surroundings.

Remi flinched as he walked towards her, but he didn't try to hurt her. She slowly allowed her eyes to open, only to see that he towered over her. He looked straight ahead, all emotion gone from his face.

He was frighteningly beautiful.

"What's his name?" she asked the small man by her father. Remi took deep breaths and tried to stop her body from trembling.

The man gave her a funny look. "Name? He doesn't have one. However, you could give him one. Some folks like to give their pets names."

Pet? This was not a pet. This was a person--albeit a very scary one--with very real and intelligent thoughts.

Unable to stop the disgust from showing on her face, Remi spun around and walked out of the room, Icix trailing behind her.