Trafficking in Pleasure

A/N: Apologies for a slightly shorter chapter than usual (at least it feels shorter to me...). And please check out my other stories! If you like this one, you might like a one-shot I just posted entitled "Doodlerella" (although it lacks any sexy times; my apologies).

It had been a while since the mansion's ballroom had been so ornately decorated. The vast room was filled to the brim with well-dressed people, adults and children alike. It was the bi-annual gala that Kyriliah threw for patrons of his work to introduce others to his “products” and make further purchases themselves. For the children, it was the biggest event all year as they stood the best chance of getting adopted this night above all others. Well-dressed themselves, the children were on the best behavior while still trying to stand out from everyone else; they were all eager to find a new home.

A few of the more capable of Kyriliah's children, or just the ones he wasn't ready to sell, were working amongst the maids and butlers as servers; Andy was one of these. Incubi were not for sale, Kyriliah had decided barely a week ago when his experiment with the incubus venom injection proved a success. The venom proved to be a very potent aphrodisiac even when it was removed from the incubus and injected by a syringe. The effects were a bit slower, but still just as voracious. So Andy was off the market, as was Epitome—but he was locked in the bedroom upstairs, anyways, as Kyriliah didn't trust him to behave himself in such company. Epitome didn't want to hang around a bunch of pretentious adults, anyways, so it suited him just fine.

Andy wished he were there, though. All of his friends were busily talking to men and women and trying to sell themselves. New people had always made him nervous, but now he wished he were in that same old familiar position. Change made him uncomfortable. He didn't like carrying around a tray of hors d'oeuvres, even if it meant he didn't have to talk to anyone. He was so terrified he was going to mess up. Why did Epitome get it so good and get to just stay back in the bedroom doing whatever? It was like he was being rewarded for his misbehavior.

“Andy, over here!” Kyriliah called from across the room, motioning the boy to join him. He was standing with a man Andy recognized from galas in the past—his name was Sir Wonka. He was a strange man with a strange head of curly hair and a childish gleam in his eyes. He always brought the sweetest treats with him—the children were each allowed one candy each and Andy had to admit he had a fondness for the chocolate. If Sir Wonka wanted to buy him, he'd happily go along if he could have chocolate more often.

“Yes, Master?” Andy stood at Kyriliah side, holding up the tray of bite size cakes speared with toothpicks.

“This is Sir Wonka, I should hope you remember, and his friend, Sir Jayden Pentecost.”

Andy bowed politely, looking up at the men. “Nice to meet you.” Beside Sir Wonka was a man barely a hair shorter than him, with wavy brown hair and dark hazel eyes. He didn't seem to stand out amongst the others, dressed just as well and stylishly as the rest of them, but still there was something about him that made Andy's heart throb. He was so attractive and he didn't have any sort of air about him that unsettled the boy. What was such a man doing here?

“If you're interested in anything in particular, Pentecost, then Andy here knows the children like the back of his hand. Just say what you want and he'll have several suggestions up his sleeve,” Kyriliah explained, smiling at the man.

“No, I'm really not interested in... buying any children,” Pentecost said and he sounded a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing. Butlers and maids were one thing, but child slavery? It just didn't sit well with him, especially knowing what he did about what became of most of these children. Even his friend Wonka was using them for labor! They were cheaper than hiring proper workers, he argued, and no one was allowed in the workshops so his secret wasn't likely to be found out... Pentecost felt he really needed to meet a better crowd, but it seemed everyone was taking part in some sort of shady business nowadays. At least Wonka treated the children well and they didn't seem unhappy.

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me, he's sure,” Wonka laughed, shaking his head. “Do you have any new children for me, however?”

“Oh, of course.” Wonka had a taste for only certain children, ones with skin and hair so dark you'd think they came straight from the earth. They looked inhuman in an entirely different way from how Andy and Epitome did—they weren't exactly attractive, but they weren't unattractive, either. They seemed almost as if a tree had simply opened up and they had been born from it, their bodies the roots with a head full of green foliage for hair. They always made Andy nervous and he was glad for Wonka to take them away.

“What are you?” Jayden asked of Andy as Kyriliah led Wonka off to where he was keeping the two new arrivals for the candy man.

Andy jumped, looking up at the man in surprise. “Me? I'm an incubus, sir,” he answered shyly.

“Oh. Like from the old legends? You can enter dreams and everything?”

“Um, I suppose so...” Andy answered hesitantly. He had never done it himself, but he just didn't have any idea how to do so. No one had ever taught him and it didn't seem to be an innate knowledge sort of thing. “I can't, though.”

“Why's that?”

“No one ever taught me. My parents, um... they abandoned me. Sir.”

Jayden frowned, looking honestly apologetic for bringing the topic up. “My apologies. Is that why you're with Favelli?”

Andy shook his head. “I was with the constable. I was arrested for stealing food. He rescued me from there.” Although he did wonder sometimes it “rescue” was the right word to use.

“So you like it here?”

“It's better than the streets, sir,” Andy answered honestly. And Kyriliah treated him well, even when he was in his worse moods. Epitome had sort of become his pet for everything other than pampering, for which Andy was thankful. He enjoyed the affection Kyriliah showed him; he didn't need his attention all the time as long as what attention he did get was positive.

Jayden nodded, falling silent as the end to the conversation when Kyriliah and Wonka returned, two of Wonka's favorite breed of children trailing along behind him happily, chocolate smudged around their mouths. “Is Andy for sale?” he asked when the two joined him; Wonka looked surprised enough for both of them, though Kyriliah looked taken aback as well.

“I'm afraid not...” he said uncertainly. Andy had always had too high of a price in the past, so no one had been willing to buy him, though many had been interested. He supposed he shouldn't be too surprised that of all the children, Sir Pentecost would take an interest in Andy, but the boy wasn't for sale now. Kyriliah needed all the incubi and succubi he could get his hands on for his new venture.

“Whyever not? I'll pay any price.”

“Andy is priceless,” Kyriliah replied with a hint of a snarl, annoyed by the man's insistence. No was no.

“I see,” Jayden murmured, eyebrows raised.

“Taken a favorite, finally?” laughed Wonka. Kyriliah had never denied a sale in the past!

“He's vital to a new enterprise I'm starting,” Kyriliah answered with a laugh and all hope in Andy's heart that maybe he did mean something to the man melted away. He had actually been happy to hear the defense in the demon's voice when Sir Pentecost insisted on asking his price. Of course it didn't mean anything.

“Do tell.”

Kyriliah motioned Pentecost and Wonka in closer to let them in on his plan for the aphrodisiac venom, shooing Andy away. With a quiet sigh, Andy returned to wandering through the crowds and offering the cakes to guests. He had no hope left now; even in the slight chance that someone wanted to buy him, he wasn't for sale now.

But then, he had no way of knowing that a certain man had taken an interest in him despite that.