Dark Hunger

Elize's face split into a grin when she saw Byrd in the demon's lair creating havoc. Along with his men, he was holding no bars to the magic. 

Byrd looked at his queen as he stabbed a demon with his sword after thrusting magic at his chest. He bowed to her and then spun around to slice the stomach of the demon who had come after him. 

The demons were like a nest of wasps that had been irritated. They came in numbers. But Byrd and his men were slaughtering them like the wasps they were. There was metal clanging against metal, noise of bodies getting slashed, pined screams, limbs and heads rolling on the floor, blood spraying in all directions and coppery smell of magic as it burst in every direction. The demons were using their horns and massive bodies and swords to combat the sorcerer soldiers, but they were falling like dominos in front of them. 

Elize looked at Auril who was with Caleb, and then rushed to him. "Come to this side!" she said, and led them to the exit. "Take him as far as possible from this place, Auril," she instructed as she ran ahead of them. A demon jumped right in front of her. He lowered his head and then charged at her to pierce his horns in her, but she blasted him with her magic. The demon ran away from there as his body started melting and skin started peeling. 

"Gods, woman!" Auril breathed. "What has become of you?" 

She shrugged. "What do you think I did for the past five days when you both weren't there?" She hurried to the exit. When she reached the mouth of the cave, she found that there were debris of stones and snow clogging it. She blasted that with her magic and the entrance opened. It was still dark on the outside and she breathed a sigh of relief. She stopped and then turned to Auril. "Just run down the slope and don't look back!" 

"What about you?" he said, completely worried. 

"I will be fine. I have something to work upon." 

"But Elize—" 

"Auril, please," she said. "This is the least I am asking from you. Take him to the Whiteclaw pack. He needs to be healed." 

"I don't know anyone in the Whiteclaw pack!" Auril replied exasperatedly. "I can only use my magic, but his wounds are too deep. He needs the help of a proper healer." 

"I know!" she said as she snapped her head in the direction of the cave from where she heard a loud snarl. He was coming for her, to kill her, to avenge her. She pursed her lips. Auril had to leave this place now. She exhaled and said, "Auril, I have called Daryn for help. I am extremely sure that he must be there already and waiting for you and Caleb. Go to Ixoviya with him. Take Caleb there, please. Hurry up. I will catch you soon."

"Caleb is going to kill me when he will come to know that I have left you alone, Elize. He came all the way to save you from Edyrm!" Auril protested. 

Another snarl ripped inside the cave and she heard screams of men. And now she was scared that she heard the screams of her men. "We don't have time, Auril. And stop arguing with me. I need you to save Caleb for me. Do you understand?" she snapped. "You are only delaying his treatment! Besides I can't leave Byrd and all other soldiers alone, can I?

Auril gave her a worried look. He adjusted Caleb on his shoulders and then took a deep breath. His throat bobbed and he said, "I am proud of you, Elize. Go, fight him and then meet me soon!" The girl talked like a queen.

Elize jerked her head in complete surprise. She grinned as her confidence boosted. "Yeah!" she replied. "I'll be right there!" 

Giving her a wide smile, Auril left and he used his magic to get down the slope as soon as possible. The pines around him started stretching and intertwining to form a ladder for him to move fast. The moment he moved ahead the branches went back to their places. 

Elize darted inside the cave. She saw the familiar field where demons were fighting against her dozen soldiers. But she was finding the person who had snarled and who was challenging her. She didn't know why but it was as if her magic was getting attracted to that man, that demon. She ran deep inside the cave until she reached a large cavern where she found Byrd and one other soldier fighting five demons, while the man she was looking for was fighting another one of her soldiers. The moment he saw her, he pierced the magic of the soldier, picked him up in the air with a roar and threw him against the wall. The impact was so huge that the soldier fell to the ground, unconscious. He turned to look at Elize, his horns straight and pointed. His eyes were as if someone had spilled all the darkness of the world in the white. "The vampire queen," he hissed. 

Elize felt as if her whole body was getting attracted to him. Every drop of her blood acted like a magnet to the man in front of her. She shivered as pain cruised through her for not going near him. It was his magic that called her. And she knew that the blood in her was governed by the magic flowing in her veins. The magic wanted to go back to its owner. 

"You," he called her. "You stole my magic!" he hissed and took a step closer. "I need to drink your blood." Another step closer. "The way I fed on your husband's flesh." Another step. He clenched his fist and lifted it up near his mouth as he peeled his lips from his teeth, baring his fangs. "Caleb made you drink his blood as much as you could take from him because he wanted my magic to be transferred to you!" He came closer, his massive body showing signs of great health. "He thought that I would never be able to regain my strength and magic." He snarled and came closer, his features sanguine. "But fate would not go any other way. My magic belongs to me and no one can take it from me. You had to come to me to give it back to me." 

As and as Edrym came closer to Elize, she could feel the tension in her body. Her heart beat accelerated as the blood in her veins pumped fast. It was as if any time her body would explode and the blood would come out of it. She clenched her teeth and gave him a wrathful look. "You have so much self-confidence, demon?" She took a step closer to him, closing her fists tightly. Edyrm blinked once and she thought that he was surprised but she scoffed. "Then come and take it from me." She challenged sardonically. 

Furious as hell, Edyrm bellowed and then charged at her with his horns rolling on his head and getting wet with his venom.. "I will kill youuuuu!" he shouted.