Chapter 37
Abhay braked his car to screeching halt right outside her office, to see Piya get out of the car and walk inside, her shoulders slumped. Guilt nagged at him. He wanted to tell her he cared. Tell her he cared. Cared for every time her smile dropped- and didn't he know that he was the reason? He wished he could talk to someone about the crazy state of his mind- but who did he trust, really? He didn't have a single friend. And that made himself the most pathetic person he knew. He bet Piyali would have helped. Oh yeah, he'd hurt her too. Better not to think about THAT at all right now.
His mobile rang shrilly. "Mom," he answered, his tone clipped. "You need to come home," hissed Haseena. "There's something important." "What is it?" he snapped irritably. "Not on the phone!" she said, sounding scandalised. "And good work on that tone. You're starting to sound like a proper teenager finally."
He glared at the phone as the call ended. His brows furrowed, as he cut the call, then turned the car and pressed the accelerator. Suddenly, he braked. The ground beneath the car had vibrated- too small for a human to sense. Something told him it was not his imagination. He opened the door of the car and closed his eyes, focusing his senses. And then he caught a whiff of her scent. His eyes widened : what on earth was she doing here? Why had she come? was she going to come after Piya again?
"Bring it on, Maithali," he muttered. "Do your worst." He dashed forwards, into the forest.
He sprinted through the forest, following her scent, He was getting closer and closer...and suddenly, he lost her scent. He stopped abruptly, his senses alert. And then he heard a rustling sound very close to him. A few metres away actually. He whipped around to see a woman sitting on the ground, her dark hair loose and her face bruised. He hurried over to her and dropped on his knees in front of her. "Reina?" he asked. "What-"
Reina smiled, but it was strained and her lip was swollen. "She was here, wasn't she?" he said. Reina nodded and coughed. He got to his feet and extended a hand, helping her up. "I know who you really are, you know," he said quietly. "Although I'm going to pretend-for now-that I don't."
Reina turned to him, and he saw the shock flit past before she composed her face to neutral again. "Took you long enough." she said finally. "I must ask you to keep your...knowledge...to yourself. For just a while now." "I am, already," he said evenly. "And that's because I know you've been looking out for her." Reina nodded, then turned to leave, her movements tired but still graceful. "I can help," said Abhay. "I could heal you." Her watched her walk unsteadily away from him. "I can manage, Abhay," she said quietly. "But thanks for the offer." She glanced back and offered a brilliant smile.
She walked away from him, her long robe trailing over the dead leaves...and then, all at once, she was gone, with only a trail of sparks that twinkled briefly, showing her recent presence. She had gone.
And suddenly, Abhay felt tired, even though he had barely exerted himself. He had even hunted the previous night, so why was he feeling so...exhausted...as though it would be a really good idea to lie there and sleep right then. He wished he could talk to Piya. He could still see the hurt in her eyes and he was tired of fighting himself.Why couldn't he let her in? "Because you know how badly you want her," said a quiet voice within him, that sounded much like Piyali. Or was it Piya? "And because you won't be able to handle it when she leaves you."
Was he pushing Piya away because he was...afraid of getting hurt? He lay down on the cool ground and closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep. He was so tired...
Would it be so bad to give in after all? was the last thought that flashed through his head before he fell into a light doze.
It was a dark room he was standing in. He could a shadow huddled in a corner, and instinctively he knew who it was.
"Piya?" he called, his own voice echoing as though as though he was standing at the end of a very long tunnel. "I love you,Abhay," her desperate voice sounded very far away.Abhay tried to run to her, but he was rooted to the spot. "Piya!" he shouted. "Where are you?" "Don't...come..." Her voice was laboured, her breaths heavy. He called put her name again and again, but something was pulling him back, through time and space... Till his eyes flew open, his fingers already curled in a fist. He sat up, his entire body stiff as he contemplated what he had just seen. He glanced around : it was dark, with silver moonlight streaming through the gaps between trees. He unclenched his fists trying to calm himself down. He would be no use to Piya if he lost his grip on reality.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated on trying to find out where Piya was.
Alina opened the door, and frowned. Jeh was standing there, a bag slung on one shoulder. For a minute, both of them looked at each other.Perhaps it was a trick of the moonlight, but both of them looked pale. Jeh was the first one to break the silence. "May I- can we talk?"
Alina considered him for a few seconds. "All right," she said finally, standing back to let him enter the house, locking the door behind him, gesturing him to sit on the couch while she took the chair. "Please keep your voice down," she said formally. "My friend is probably sleeping right now." "Yeah- I will," said Jeh. He had a strange look on his face. "I-uh- nice place. " "Thank you," said Alina coolly. "Anything else?" Jeh glanced down, then said abruptly, "I'm leaving this place. Forever."
Alina's cool facade slipped, and she stared at him in unconcealed shock. "Are you serious?" she choked out. "You're leaving the clan?" "To hell with the clan," snapped Jeh, most uncharacteristically. I'm bloody tired of this ping pong game." In a calmer tone, he said, "Anyway, I -uh- just wanted to let you know ...and I apologize. "
Alina let herself smile tightly. "What brought this on?" Jeh didn't answer immediately, his gaze on the floor. Finally, he raised his eyes to hers. "Mom asked me to kill Piya. To- to weaken him." Alina shot up. "What?" she yelped. "I can't do it," he said, swallowing. "I see," said Alina quietly. "You're running away because you don't want to make another choice."
"I'm not like you!" he said defensively. "You-you always had guts- even when you were thirteen and-" Alina's eyes darkened with fury at the memory. "Anything else?" she bit out. "No...not really," said Jeh. He looked uncomfortable. "I should get going, I suppose. I have a flight to catch." He got up from the couch and Alina followed him to the door.
"Goodbye, then, brother," she said with awful finality, pushing away the sadness inside. "You're doing the best you can." She should be kind, she supposed.
Jeh nodded, pulling out shades and putting them on. "Do you think-could you check on Piya?" he asked. "Because I got the feeling that Mom really wanted her-"
Alina's eyes widened. "Safe journey, Jeh," she said softly. "Leave it all to me."
Jeh nodded, his throat moving. "Mom could die today," he said quietly. "If Abhay doesn't kill her...you are going to, aren't you?"
Alina gave a tense nod. "If it comes to that, maybe."
"Please...try not to kill her ," said Jeh quietly. "You aren't her, you know..."
"I'll try," said Alina, but her face was blank. Jeh looked as if he wanted to say something more, but words failed him, and he simply nodded and got into a waiting car. Alina watched him go, her mind in overdrive as she worked out what she had to do. She turned around to see a shadow watching her.
"You're going to go, aren't you?"
Alina bit her lip. "Look- I'm sorry, Dishu. Piya could be in serious danger-"
"And what about you? You'll be safe?" Dishu came forward. "Absolutely not. You're weak. You fainted in office today-"
"Dishu, this is important!" said Alina. "I have to go-"
"Alone, at night, with possible threat of death?" asked Dishu. "Do you even realise the amount of risks you are taking, Alina?Sid had to carry you here! Do you know what you looked like? Silent in my bed..."
"Piya could get hurt!" hissed Alina- why didn't Dishu understand? "Don't you care for her, Dishu? Don't you?"
There was a silence. "I'm coming with you," said Dishu finally. "Yes, I care about her, but I care about you more. I can't have anything happening to you. One night you come here bloodied, another day you faint in your office- after all the times I've told you to be careful and NOT to-"
"You're not coming with me," interrupted Alina. "No way. I'm not letting you come."
Dishu narrowed her eyes and glared.
"Look, why can't you trust me?" said Alina, helplessly. "Look- I promise to call if I need anything. Please Dishu. Let me do this. I have to."
"Fine," said Dishu finally. "Good luck."
She watched Alina walk out of the door.
Once out, Alina whipped out her phone and dialled Abhay's number. "There's a problem," he said as soon as he answered the phone. "I know, Piya," replied Alina quickly. "DO you know where she is?"
"No, damn it," Abhay sounded as though he was fighting to keep his cool. "It's too difficult. Whoever's hurting her has used silver to cloak her locations-"
"It's Dipannita Khurana," said Alina. "She's going to try to kill Piya to break you."
"What?" Abhay's voice came as an explosion. "She- I'm going to kill her. You take care."
The phone went dead.
Siddharth paced in his room. He was thinking about the events earlier in the day. He couldn't stop thinking about the strange coincidence that Alina knew about Piyali. And how did she work spells, anyway? He was fairly certain that only the head of a werewolf clan could work magic, and Alina was obviously not a head. Yet he had seen her cast a spell once that, in retrospect, was not even absolutely necessary...almost as though she was used to casting spells on a regular basis. He'd never heard of a werewolf who could do that.
And then he remembered the way he had seen her, slumped over her desk, her body still.
*flashback*
Sid opened the door of Alina's cabin. "Alina, can you please-" He stopped short. Alina was slumped over her desk, quite motionless. He hurried over and shook her shoulder. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open. Sid stared at her.He pulled out his phone. "Hi. Atul?" he said tersely. "Please cancel the meeting at 4. Some work's come up."
Hooking an arm under her knees and another around her waist, he lifted her up easily and carried her to his car outside the office, ignoring the many people who stared. Adjusting her in the passenger seat, he pushed away a lock of hair from her face. It wasn't right, the way she looked...her eyes closed. Should he take her to a hospital? No-she was a werewolf. He should take her to his home- but she would definitely give him a tongue-lashing when she awoke. He finally decided to take her where she lived.
Her friend-the teacher- opened the door, wearing a beige dressing gown. "Sid?" she asked, her tone less hostile than usual. "It's Alina," he said. "She fainted. I brought her here-" The effect of those words was immediate. Colour drained out of her face : she gasped and her fingers clutched the door for support.
"Bring her in please," she said finally, and Sid saw a terrible worry in her eyes.
As he lay Alina on the bed, he was aware of Ms Gupta hovering nearby, putting a coverlet over Alina's still form. When he looked up at her, Ms Gupta's face was turned towards him,her eyebrows lifted slightly. She seemed to be studying him. And then her face cleared, going blank. "Thank you for bringing Alina here," said Ms Gupta finally. "Perhaps you should leave now."
*end flashback*
Sid's brow furrowed. He closed his eyes , trying to see if he could get a glimpse of Alina. And then he saw her, hurrying into the forest, her expression grim.
Piya did not know how long she had been unconscious, but when she awoke, her first sensation was that of coldness, followed by pain. It was dark around her, but once her eyes adjusted , she was able to make out many moving shapes around her, with glowing eyes. Her wrists hurt.
She looked down to see that they were trussed with some horribly scratchy rope that was already making her skin feel raw. She realised she was also tied from the waist upwards, and she could feel her back pressed against a tree. She would have screamed, but she was gagged too.
"Oh, look!" said a female voice. "She's stirring. Light the torches!" Piya started in shock. She would have expected Maithali, but not...
Dipannita Khurana walked forwards, her face shining in the light from the many torches that flared to life around her, her face blank as she stared at Piya, who stared back at her, her horror mounting. She fought the urge to be sick. "Don't worry, dear," said Mrs Khurana, her eyes glinting with malice. "We won't hurt you...not yet, anyway." She stepped upto Piya and yanked off the gag from her mouth. Piya gasped at the shock of it.
Dipannita smiled almost benignly at her. "Scream, dear. Scream as loud as you can so that Abhay can come here." There were murmurs around them : soft chuckles from the ring of people that surrounded them- werewolves, probably, Piya realised. It was a trap...a trap to kill Abhay.And she was the bait. No, she pleaded in her head. Don't come, Abhay. I'm not worth it.
"Well?" said Dipannita. "Let's hear your voice, girl."
Piya lifted her head and looked at Dipannita. Pent up hatred and anger rose up in her , and then she lost her head, and spat in Dipannita's face.
Dipannita stumbled a step back in shock. Her eyes reflected shock for a split second, followed by fury. Then she raised her hand slapped Piya across her face.
"You are going to die, girl!" she hissed. Her hands wrapped around Piya's neck, nails digging into her skin. And Piya, oddly, felt brave, or perhaps simply reckless. "I know that," she snapped. Fine, she was going to die, but she was damn well not going to call for Abhay. "I know you'll kill me," she hissed. "But you won't get him. I won't let you!"
Dipannita threw back her head and laughed. "Let me? This weak human here-" she glanced around at the others, who stood in a circle around them- "she says she won't let me hurt her lover. Tut tut. So touching!"
Blind hatred boiled over in Piya. "You think you'll be able to hurt him?" she said scornfully."Are you really so delusional?After last time, when your own daughter thwarted you?" She wanted to rattle Dipannita, and it seemed as though she succeeded in her aim. Dipannita snarled, her eyes turning amber and her nails lengthening to claws. Piya glanced at the ground near her. Her bag had fallen by her foot. If only she could get to it...perhaps she could, if she kept her talking...
"What about Jeh?" said Piya suddenly. "Where is he? I don't see him here. Tell me, Auntie, did he desert you too?"
She knew she had crossed a line by the look on Dipannita's face. A second later, she gasped as Dipannita backhanded her again. "Enough." Dipannita's voice was shaking in fury. "Attack her. Kill the human- now!"
Piya watched in horrified fascination as the men around them started to transform. Dipannita herself was changing, her eyes rolling backwards, her bones cracking, her body becoming covered by fur.
"Piya!" she heard a shout. Her head snapped in horror and shock as she saw Abhay. "NO!" she screamed. She had not missed the silver chains that formed an enclosure around her. And if Abhay touched it, he would be in unbearable pain...
The werewolves had all halted, their heads turned on him. Piya couldn't recognize Dipannita at all now. Abhay stared only at her, and she struggled against the bonds that held her in place."Abhay- No! Don't touch -" But Abhay was already pulling at one of the chains, his face grim.
Piya heard someone screaming, screaming loud enough to deafen her, and it was only when her throat started to hurt that she realised it was her own voice.There were several layers of those chains, and Abhay had broken just two...
And then suddenly there was a huge bang.The chains suddenly exploded all at once and the wolves, who had been poised to attack Abhay, glanced at each other, pawing the ground. And then Piya saw Alina, walking serenely through the forest, her eyes golden and glowing. "Hello, everyone," she said cheerfully. "Did I gatecrash the party?"
Cold dread trickled down Piya's spine. What was Alina upto?Had she betrayed them? Her panicked eyes shot to Abhay, but he was staring at a spot two feet to her left. She twisted her head, following his gaze, and her eyes widened as she saw Sid standing behind her, eyes violet, his fangs bared as he grinned at Abhay.
The werewolves stood frozen as Alina and Sid advanced. And then one of them howled, and several things happened at once. It was all too quick for Piya to see anything more than a blur. What she knew though, was that a werewolf was going for her throat. She closed her eyes, praying it would be quick and waited for the impact to hit her...but it didn't come. She opened her eyes.
Abhay was standing in front of her, facing almost half a dozen werewolves, his body tensed and poised, ready to strike. She felt a strange thrill go through her- she had only ever seen him fight once- no, twice, she amended herself. Once as a human and once as a vampire. And he'd acquitted himself well in both of them.
The werewolves were forming a ring around him, Piya realized with horror. They would attack him together, she thought...and they did, four of them at once.
Piya couldn't quite see what had happened next, but seconds later, she saw Abhay flip in the air and land easily outside the ring. Behind him, she could see Sid fighting too, all languid ease even as he staked werewolves.
She shifted focus to Abhay, just in time to see him leap into the air and somehow and seat himself on the branch of a tree, one of his feet dangling in the air. The wolves howled in fury and frustration- and Piya noticed they were far fewer now.
"Hello there," taunted Abhay. "How's the weather down there? How does it feel knowing that I'm going to kill every last one of you for harming her?"
"Stand still," hissed a voice close to her. Piya turned to her right : Alina was standing near her. "Where's your bag?" she asked. Piya glanced down at the bag near her foot. "No, can't risk it," Alina muttered, almost to herself. "Could cut her by mistake...cause her serious injury...right. There's no other way...man, this is going to be tiring..."
Before Piya could ask what she meant, Alina placed one finger on one of the knots of the rope, and Piya watched in mute shock as the rope began to melt - into water. In a matter of seconds, her hands were free, although wet, and the fabric near her waist was damp where the rope had been. Her fingers felt numb : she flexed them to get some feeling back into them.As she had suspected , the skin of her wrists had become raw to the continuous friction she had given it, although there was no serious damage. She looked up at Alina gratefully, wanting to say thanks, but Alina was holding on to the tree she had been tied to a few seconds earlier. Her eyes were closed, and her face was scrunched up as though she was in pain.
"Alina?" said Piya nervously, touching her shoulder. "Are you all right?" Alina turned to smile weakly at her, and suddenly, her eyes widened She stretched out a hand and pushed Piya, hard, to her right, sending her sprawling on the ground, scraping her forearms as she fell. Piya raised her head in shocked, only to see a huge werewolf lunge for Alina's throat. She heard herself scream in terror as Alina went down , the werewolf at her throat. Piya's knees brushed against soft, and Piya saw her bag. As she reached for it, Alina somehow freed herself from the unknown werewolf, and got to her feet , swaying slightly. Piya raised herself into a sitting position. Taking her bag, she searched frantically within it's depths, and exhaled as her hand closed around the hilt of the dagger.
Meanwhile, Alina was holding off her attacker fairly well. If she had seemed weak earlier, she certainly wasn't now. She stood tall and proud, almost as though she was a queen. A strange light seemed to emanate from her and she raised a hand and threw something which looked like a fireball at the wolf : it howled with pain, retreating and snarling. Piya heaved a sigh of relief, but the very next minute, she was grabbed from behind, and she felt herself slammed into a tree, something cold pressed at her neck. "Retreat, bloodsucker, or she dies," hissed a voice right behind her. She could smell the werewolf's sweat, and she almost gagged.
Her head shot up to see Abhay, who had been running to her, come to an abrupt halt. His eyes were indigo, and she thought she caught a glimpse of his fangs before he retracted them. "Let go of her, mongrel," said Abhay, his voice low and dangerous. "Take a step closer and she dies," hissed the werewolf- who was in human form now. "Leave," choked out Piya. "I'm not worth it, Abhay- leave-" She gasped and broke off as the blade pressed harder, breaking skin. Abhay snarled in fury, baring his fangs. He started walking towards her, every step full of deadly intent. "Drop that now," he said, his voice very soft and dangerous. "NOW!"
"I-I'll kill her!" blustered the werewolf, but Piya could feel the knife shaking against her skin.Abhay opened his mouth to speak, but closed it suddenly. He stopped dead. Piya stared at him in surprise. Abhay tilted his head slightly, and then smirked.
Piya stared at him in surprise.A second later, then a sickening slick, and the werewolf's hold on her ceased. She turned, and saw him fall to the ground as if in slow motion, a stake through his heart.
She looked up to see Sid, his eyes violet, blood dribbling down his chin, fangs extended. But he was grinning.
"Why, Piya," said Sid, casually, as though they were talking at a cafe. "Are you a magnet for trouble, or this is the way you two make up after a fight? Should I leave now?"
Piya hardly heard him. She held on to the tree for support. "You-you saved-you helped-?" she stammered. "Th-thank you. So much-" she moved forwards, but Sid held up a hand. "Sorry, Piya. I don't think I'm that strong yet." He made a significant gesture over his throat.
"Oh- right-" Piya had completely forgotten about the cut. She turned back to Abhay, who had come closer to her, but he was staring at her with an odd expression on his face. Behind him, she could see the dead bodies of the werewolves-who had turned back into their human forms- on the ground.
"Piya- I-"he started to speak.
But Piya had noticed a movement behind him. The wolf which had attacked Alina earlier was a few metres behind Abhay. Her eyes widened in horror.
"Piya-please listen-I can explain-"
But Piya was hardly listening to him. She could see Alina to her far left, half kneeling,trying to get up. So the werewolf had overpowered Alina too...and now it would attack Abhay. Strange, boiling fury seemed to course through her veins like poison and she could hear a voice in her head.
Her fingers curled tighter around the dagger she was still holding. "You must practice more, Piyali. Sometimes, knowing how to use a knife is more useful than having an extensive knowledge of swordplay." It had been Abhay...
Her eyes locked with the wolf's and the wolf lunged for Abhay, who was still unaware. And acting more on instinct than anything else, she raised her hand and threw the dagger.
Abhay couldn't believe what was happening. Piya had betrayed no hint of fear on seeing Sid in his vampire form- but he had seen the terrible fear in her eyes when she turned to look at him. And he saw her raise a knife as though in slow motion...the movement seemed almost similar. Like an echo...
When she threw it at him, he couldn't believe that she wanted to attack him. He dodged it easily- and the next instant, he realised that it had never been meant for him in the first place.The knife was almost dead centre ...in Dipannita Khurana's heart. It had been a tremendously lucky throw...but the implications of what she had done shocked him beyond belief.
She had killed someone for him.
And then he felt her hurl herself against him. "You-you- stupid-idiot-" she began.
Before he could even react, she stepped away from him and scowled at him. "God,Abhay!" she said. "When are you going to stop doing this? How could you be so careless? You could have been in serious danger-"
Abhay mentally sighed in relief. Perhaps Piya had written off what she had seen. "You're talking about me at a time like this?" he demanded. "What about you?"
"I didn't ask to be kidnapped!" she said. "And you- they wanted to kill you-"
He cut her off by pressing a finger to her mouth. "Shh... Calm down, will you?" Piya trembled. She could not tear her gaze away from his. She stared at him, drinking him in. She had been so afraid she would never see him again...
His eyes darted downwards, then back to meet her gaze again.
"May I?" he asked quietly. "What?" she asked, dazed. Without replying, he dipped his head, his lips touching her neck. Her hand clenched involuntarily- and then she felt the sting of something sharp grazing her neck. Almost at once, Abhay drew away. He was gazing at her in horror, and she could see her own blood on his fangs before he retracted them. "Piya-" he sounded shaken. "Please . I can explain- I didn't mean- I would never-" Piya stared at him in confusion. What was he talking about? Her brain had become jammed. "What-"
A hand touched her shoulder and she turned to see Alina, looking pale and a bit bloodied, but otherwise unruffled. "Listen, Piya-Abhay," she said urgently. "Look- if Jeh- or anyone of us asks-I killed her to save you.Do you understand? You cannot tell anyone the truth- the consequences-" "Her?" repeated Piya. "Who's 'she'?"
"What do you mean, who's she?" said a visibly irritated Sid behind her. "You know that's Dipannita Khurana, right? The clan leader?"
The world seemed to spin. Piya whirled around and stared at him. "Dipannita-Khurana?"
"You didn't know?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "Of course."
Piya looked at where the dead body of the wolf had lain. It had transformed into it's human form upon it's death, and Mrs Khurana's vacant eyes stared into space.The full weight of what she had done pressed itself upon her for the first time- she had killed someone she had known. Personally.
She swayed, and would have fallen if Alina hadn't gripped her arm. "Steady," she said softly. "I'll take you home. Come on-" she put her arm around Piya and steered her away, "Let's go," she said soothingly. "Try to relax."
"Here- take my car keys," said Sid, throwing them to Alina, who caught it deftly. Piya seemed unaware of what was going on around her. "I-your mother-"
"Shh." Alina pulled her away, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to steady her. "Come on."
Sid watched Alina help Piya to walk away. He glanced at his brother, who was staring at them as though struck by lightning. Sid walked up to him. "She's just in shock, little brother," he said easily. "Humans get like that a lot."
Abhay turned to him, a strange expression on his face. "She knew." His voice was strangled. "She knew- everything. That's why-"
Sid raised an eyebrow. "I don't think she knew it was Dipannita."
"She knows what we are," said Abhay, speaking fast. "She knows..."
Sid raised an eyebrow. "You honestly didn't know that till now? Wow, she's tougher than I gave her credit for."
"You knew, didn't you?" said Abhay, his voice tinged with anger. "When- when did you find out?"
"Find out what, that she knows you're a vampire?" said Sid irritably.
"No," said Abhay quietly. "That her memories came back."
PS. If you've reached the end of this , congratulations😆I had a horrible time writing this chapter because it has everything I consider my weak points😆and I know many people wanted Jeh dead but I didn't hate him so much in my FF, and I don't kill needlessly😛Please leave your comments and feedback and YAY I AM ON MY THIRD BOOK.
Sorry too much excitement 😆🤣
Edited by bookworm-ALS-- - 10 years ago
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