Ancient Darkness (On HOLD)

Chapter Sixteen - The Fearful Lost

Light - it was what finally penetrated the blank darkness of her mind as she slowly surfaced from a place that was usually reserved for those who slept at the deepest levels but she somehow knew that it hadn't been a natural thing. The last thing that Sang remembered were her eyes growing heavy as she waited in the corner of the bedroom before exhaustion descended and she began to hear Owen's seductive voice as he commanded her to sleep until he called for her return.

She panicked, sure that she had left herself vulnerable, but as she flung away the covers it was only to find that she was comfortably situated in the bed with the sun intensely beating down upon her shaking body.

She pushed a hand to her forehead and groaned as the reality of sleeping without movement for hours on end caught up with her. She was stiff and sore as she lowered her feet to the floor and curled her uncovered toes in the plush rug.

The fire still smouldered but it seemed that most of the warmth in her body was from laying within the path of the uninterrupted sunlight.

Her eyes moved around the room and she sobbed with relief when she realised that she was totally alone. Everything, every moment of the night before was crisp and clear as she stretched to her usual diminutive height.

She had been warned not to but the prospect of waiting as an offering until the Immortals arose made her heart pound - surely there was nothing out there more dangerous than the creatures planning to keep her as their prisoner.

The sky seemed clear and she could safely pack enough supplies to ensure that her second attempt at escape met with more success; she was less likely to freeze and if Owen and his companions were holed down until twilight, she had a better chance of making it to help.

It only took moments to use the bathroom and relace the shoes that had been stored next to the fireplace.

She slowly made her way through the corridors of the house until she made it to the front door, there had been no sound other than the normal creaks and groans that came from any structure.

The sun glinted off the fallen snow, making her raise a hand to cover her eyes as she opened the door. Time seemed to be moving even quicker than what she expected as she noticed that the sun had managed to dip even lower.

"Ok," She took a deep breath and took that first step out, trying not to feel as though she was doing something wrong. They were monsters and had already plainly admitted that if she couldn't prove her innocence to their liking, they would hold her indefinitely or kill her.

Those first few steps should have been the hardest as she almost ran across the clearing but it seemed as though the further she got, the more her heart ached. It almost felt as though every molecule of her being was screaming at her to return.

Even though she had started out refreshed and clear headed, she was quickly becoming sluggish in her steps and a weight had settled upon her mind. There was no pain but the constant tug had her lifting a hand to press it firmly across her eyes as she weaved her way through trees and large jutting rocks.

Her feet were growing ever hesitant and she paused momentarily to look at the nearly gone sun; she had probably been walking for more than a few hours as she tried to find something familiar. It had been her assumption that the house would sit somewhat close to civilization since the Immortals would need ready access to their food source.

"Shit," She wiped an unsteady hand across her stiffened thighs, "Could this get any worse?"

She froze for a moment as she thought a voice on the wind whispering, "Oh yes, sweet one..." but when it drifted out she shook it off, blaming her tired and confused mind.

The air had picked up an even deeper chill and she began to shiver slightly underneath her layers of stolen clothing - although she could've sworn that only moments ago the horizon was clear, there were almost black clouds rolling in at an alarming rate, threatening to drench her with more snow and even deadlier conditions.

Her eyes squinted heavily into the distance as her teeth began to chatter from an overwhelming sense of doom. Just like the night before, she wasn't going to survive long if she couldn't find some sort of shelter and even then there were no guarantees since she had idea where she was.

Tears were streaming down her face as the first flakes of snow began to fall; in the time that it had taken for the storm to blank the earth, Sang had only managed to trudge a short way. There was a small cliff face in the distance and she had hoped to reach it. There was a high chance that there would be a useful cave or crevice somewhere along its length but as the screaming of the wind peaked and the painful burn within her heart widened, she began to lose that hope.

It was with an ironic sense of déjà vu that she dropped to her knees in the cushioning snow, sobbing as she lifted her face into the maelstrom.

"Why?" She screamed, huddling in on herself.

"Because you are human and blandly predictable," An unfamiliar male voice whipped through the noise of the storm and she used what was left of her strength to push to her feet and face him.

His face was darkly beautiful and Sang knew without having to ask that this was another Immortal, another of those who had joined with Owen to keep her prisoner.

She looked wildly around, trying to locate Owen himself but as the sky began to rumble with the sound of an impending explosion, she noted that this one appeared to be on his own.

His head cocked to the side and she blithely noted the way his broad jaw tightened as his nostrils expanded.

"You belong to Owen, yes?" She forced out, her eyes threatening to roll back.

His expression didn't change, "That is one way to put it. Why did you run again?"

She snorted, shaking, "Because you're all blood-sucking monsters and I don't want to spend the rest of my life trying to convince you that I'm innocent."

His already dark eyes lost a touch more of their life, "If that is what you think, I believe I must play that role for you."

Sang's mouth trembled with terror as his mouth opened to reveal sharpened canines, "Wh-why are you doing this? I did nothing wrong."

"I will be the one to determine that, child," He grinned sharply before he appeared to literally blur forward, moving at an incomprehensible speed before she felt herself lifted, lifted much higher into the air than humanly possible.

The ground dropped quickly below her as she began to comprehend that her sudden roiling stomach was caused by her unwanted companion's flight. They were flying...as though Superman himself were clutching her in his arms.

She cried out in terror, curling her clawed fingers into whatever part of him she could reach.

"I would close your eyes for this next part,"  The creature's voice suggested blankly within her panicked mind. A growl ripped through his chest, "I would not call me a monster when all I have done so far is remove you from the path of a storm that is very much your fault."

She gasped, "What does that mean?"

"We are not human and our abilities are far-reaching - your actions have accomplished something that I have never before seen in my lifetime."

"What?"

His arms tightened, "Owen is angry."