Dark Hunger

Unease crawled beneath his skin and he felt as if he was stuck in a broken down lift. Caleb frowned and asked, "Why?"

"I will go and stay with her for a while. I need time to think and her house is going to be the safest. Y—you can drop me there," she replied. She seemed extremely unsettled. Saying that she stared at her screen and saw missed calls of… Nessa? Her mouth opened a little at the surprise. Why would Nessa call her? Was she going to apologize for what she did at her father's funeral? The thought filled her with a sweetness she had been looking for. She clutched the phone to her heart without realizing that tears were dropping from her eyes. Her breath became uneven as her chest rose and fell. Quickly she dialed Nessa's number. The phone was picked up on the third ring. "Nessa?" Elize said. "You called me?" her voice carried hope… and love. Her family remembered her. They called her.

"Yes, I called you," came Nessa's flat voice.

Elize waited for her to say sorry, or say something… anything. "Are you all okay?" she asked, stifling the burn at the back of her throat.

"Yes, we are all fine," she replied. "But I called you to say that we have informed the community here that you have turned into an abomination, a deranged woman who thinks that she is a vampire and hence is a threat to people."

"Wh—what?" Elize rasped. "Where is Owen?"

"He no longer wishes to speak with you. Now the community people are going to hunt you down and eliminate you," she jeered.

"Nessa…" Elize couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Don't ever think of coming to this town again Elize, because if you do, I will make sure that you are put down."

Disbelief stole her breath as she stared ahead into nothing. "Why are you doing this to me, Nessa?" the words rolled involuntarily. The sweetness that she had felt earlier changed into bitterness.

"Why ard you doing dhish to me?" Nessa mocked her in a nasal voice. "Well, because I hate you, vampire! Don't call me back ever again. Don't ever try to contact us." There was a short pause. "And enjoy the hunt bitch! For they are also coming for your husband!"

Elize's gaze shot to Caleb. He was looking at her darkly.

"If you want to get us off the trail, then ask your husband to deposit ten million pounds in my bank, and we will let go of you!"

"Nessa, are you mad?" Elize scolded.

Nessa laughed. "No, dear sister-in-law. I happen to find out that your husband is one of the richest men in the world and he is going to be a great cash cow for me and for my generations to come. So, if you don't do what I have asked you to do, then you both will never be safe. And we are going to hunt you till the end of the world."

"Oh god!" Elize's body shuddered with unknown intense fear. "You will not do anything like that Nessa. You are lying. You are just trying to intimidate me. Let me talk to my brother!"

Nessa let out a short laugh. "Then it's time you test my threat." The line went dead and Elize's world turned upside down. Her hands went limp and the phone dropped in her lap. The bitterness that she was feeling earlier was replaced with repugnance.

Her insides chilled as the truth came to the surface. Nessa had called her to tell her that she was being hunted and not because she wanted to apologize. Covering her face in her hands, Elize sobbed. She sobbed hard. She couldn't even go to Denise's place now, because she would put her friend's life in danger too. So, Elize sobbed. She had to run away from her town, her community—the very people who she thought she was a part of, until now. And Nessa and Owen—when did they turn so greedy that they exposed her? They were her family… A family she valued… Owen was her blood brother—they had shared the same wombs. Her father talked about family values, was such a religious man and one thing that was close to his heart was his family. But today… the values were all shattered?

So, Elize sobbed, making ragged, broken sounds. Her emotions were turbulent, shifting from disbelief to sorrow to murky terror.

There was complete silence in the car. No one uttered a word. And Elize cried until she could no more and until only dry heaves came out of her body. She had nowhere to go, but be with this group of people. She couldn't leave them even if she wanted to. She had thought that because of Caleb, she was in huge trouble and that because of him, her family had abandoned her, but the truth was entirely different. Her family had come to know about Caleb's wealth, which he had never talked to them about. He had introduced himself as just another businessman when he first met them and they had assumed that he was a rich man. But they didn't know that he was perhaps one of the richest in the world. And now that they knew, they were coming after him. The hunt had just begun.

The sun had risen in the sky, enveloping the cold world in its warm embrace. Caleb ensured the glass on her side was up. He dug out her bag and then took a shawl out to cover her head. Without speaking, he simply covered her face with it and then took out black shades from the pocket in front and made her wear it. Elize accepted it all mutely. She had too much going on in her mind. Her dizziness and her hunger were taking over. She muttered a thank you to him and then closing her eyes, she slipped down on her seat.

"We will get into an inn or a motel as soon as soon as we hit the countryside," said Caleb to Auril. "She cannot travel during the day."

"Yes, I know," said Auril. They were on their way to the Highlands in Scotland.

Everyone had heard the conversation between Elize and Nessa—everyone including Laurel.