Ancient Darkness (On HOLD)

Chapter Twenty Seven - Wolf At The Door

This time when she awoke it was with complete clarity, "I'm in a house with Immortals. Immortals who drink blood and turn into Dracula when they go insane."

She blew out a breath, "Ok then – that's not completely fucked up."

The blankets were thrown to the side before Sang slipped out and onto her feet, the sun still peeking around the edges of the thick curtains.

She sighed and tugged at the mess of hair running down her back, "Ok, Sang. You can deal with this – you have absolutely nothing to worry about really. They've been nice, mostly, and it's not like you are their enemy."

She groaned, "I should be leaving next week! What am I going to do about work?!"

Rummaging through the luggage which had been carefully deposited at the end of the bed, she quickly grabbed up a change of clothes and headed off for a bath – the only thing that seemed to work when she needed to de-stress.

The light pouring into the room allowed her to take a calming breath – everything seemed as normal as can be expected and she thought that if she could just take a moment, she could fortify her strength and straighten her shoulders.

She slipped out of her clothes and slipped into the clawed tub with a heartfelt sigh, the room was now filled with steam and she tilted her head back, her eyes closed.

There was nothing to take her attention, no male voices invading her mind and no overwhelming panic clouding her emotions. She didn't really understand but for the moment, she was happy just allow her skin to warm and her thoughts to wander to things of a lesser urgency.

Half an hour later and her stomach suddenly grumbled, "Damn." She muttered quickly, flicking her eyes to the window. Except for that small granola bar hours earlier, how long had it been? How many days had she gone without a full meal?

"I hope that one of them organised something," She sighed, slowly rising to her feet as she enjoyed the intimate sensation of water slowly trickling over her limbs.

The mat which cushioned her feet was soft and plush as she made quick work of drying and pulling on the clean clothes – there was rarely an opportunity to indulge her preference for walking around in a towel for hours on end.

The shadow of the mountain range was a cold place and she figured that it would be best not to be caught mostly naked by the ancient creatures which now imprisoned her.

"Ok," She muttered, "I'm not naked and I need food." She smiled, "To the non-vampiric kitchen!!!"

She laughed, surprised that she could find her sense of humour even as her future remained bleak and unsure.

The air in the hallway was surprisingly warm as she carried her bundle of dirty clothing down the stairs.

She was entirely sure that there was no washing machine in the house but figured that if the designer had put in a kitchen then they must have also assumed that the owners would want and need a laundry.

The sun streaming through the windows made her sigh with happiness – it seemed that even though the men were nocturnal, they had wanted to make her comfortable during the day by leaving the curtains wide open so that she could gaze out over the different landscapes which surrounded the developed area.

Stepping from the bottom of the staircase, she peeked into the rooms either side before turning down the hall which to led to rooms undiscovered.

Although she had been in the house for two days, most of that had been spent within the downstairs den and her bedroom.

As she walked past the doorways, her heart felt saddened that each of these rooms remained completely empty, only dust occupying the space. It was as though they had furnished the spaces which might be possibly used or seen by someone not of their circle while the rest of the house was left untouched and forgotten.

Quickly realising that there appeared to be no internal access to a laundry, Sang bit her lip and looked around quickly, hoping that walking along the back veranda would not be considered 'leaving the house'.

The handle turned easily after she flicked the simple lock, the cool breeze bracing as it suddenly rushed in through the screen door.

"Wow," She breathed, her eyes on the way that the trees still appeared lush even as they stood empty of greenery. The back of the property seemed to give off a different feel than that of the woods which ringed the front entrance. This landscape made her feel almost...safe.

Stepping out, she was relieved when she noticed the open door of the laundry to the left, her eyes tracking the few shadows to ensure that she was truly alone.

The only thing that she could hope was that the hybrid was as nocturnal as the Immortals.

"Ok, Sang," She whispered, encouragingly. "The boogie man is not going to get you and there is a pressing need for clean underwear."

She hurried into the small room and dropped her bundle into the sink.

I wonder how they manage to keep their own clothes clean.

She let out a sigh and quickly checked the pantry, thankful that they at least had a plug and bar of soap.

The water was almost stingingly warm against her fingers as she began to scrub at the fabric. The menial task relaxed the remainder of stress throughout her shoulders, it was calming to watch the motion of her fingers as they lathered and rinsed her underwear.She lost herself, the knowledge that time was passing did not intrude.

Although there was no sound, a prickling sensation across the back of her neck had her eyes turning slowly towards the doorway.

There, its head tilted to the side, was the largest black wolf she had ever seen.