Haventon Born (The Haventon Chronicles Book One)

Haventon Born Chapter Five

The sun was starting to set when Leisa realised how hungry she was. Resisting the sun did that, especially on a bright day like today. The sleepiness decreased with age but the ravening hunger brought on by the sun's kiss remained the same. When you added in the allergic bleeding from David's ward yesterday it was no wonder she was starving.

She went into the kitchen and stared at the bottles in her fridge unenthusiastically. Cow's blood was so insipid, but it was too close to her last visit to feed on David again. She didn't want to hurt him accidentally. And with his mind in such a hypersensitive state, it would be hard to make him forget again. Anyway, it was his move.

Leisa winced at the thought of hunting. Hopefully it wouldn't be necessary for much longer. Having only just moved back to Haventon, she wasn't sure who to trust yet. A few more months and she'd have gathered the network of trusted friends which would rid her of the need for it. She liked her food to be consenting - but she had to be careful. A mistake could prove fatal.

But where to hunt tonight was the problem.

It would be easy enough, if she wanted, to pick up a homeless person or prostitute. It was amazing what desperate people would do for money. But it was a last resort. Not only were they often ill or strung out on booze or drugs which marred the flavour, but it made her feel grubby. Or she could pretend to be a prostitute, but trading sex for blood - even when the client didn't know - made her nauseous.

Which left the pubs and clubs. She didn't like them either, all noise and flashing lights. Sometimes she really hated the 21st Century.

She sighed and decided to head for the Town Centre. It was a fair distance away. She could have walked it easily, but a human couldn't, so since her car was off the road she decided to catch the last bus. Maybe she'd find someone at the bus station.

***

This was not a good hunt, Leisa decided after about an hour. Not only had she failed to find a suitable meal, but she was hungry enough to be eyeing up homeless people to see if they looked healthy enough to feed on - never a good sign. Worse, she'd gotten the distinct sense that someone was following her, but no one was there when she looked backed. No human would be that good, so either hunger was making her paranoid or her stalker wasn't human. She suspected the latter.

She slipped around a corner into a dark alley, ducked into a doorway, tightened her shields to the point where her stalker wouldn't be able to sense her psychically, and waited. About five minutes later a young vampire woman, probably no more than two or three years turned by the look of her entered the alley and looked around, frowning. Leisa waited until she passed the doorway where she was hiding and then stepped out behind her.

"Are you following me?" she asked mildly.

The girl jumped and gave a strangled squeak. She turned and gave Leisa a wild-eyed look.

"You were, weren't you?" Leisa said. "You're good, but you'll need to get a lot better before you can sneak up on an elder vampire, kid." She studied the girl thoughtfully; she bore a noticeable resemblance to David. "Ah, I see. You're Emma Carter, aren't you?"

"I- yes..." The girl hesitated and then visibly steeled herself. "I don't want you to hurt David."

"Well, that's good, since I don't want to hurt him either," Leisa said. She turned and walked out of the alley, pausing at the exit. "Come on, kid. Let's go somewhere more comfortable and talk about this. Hopefully somewhere I can find something to eat."

"You're really not going to hurt him?" Emma asked as she followed her.

"If I hurt him, it'll be self-defence. And I'm good enough that I can defend myself without hurting someone."