Ancient Darkness (On HOLD)

Chapter Eight - Escape

At first it was only strange whispers of sound that filtered through the darkness lingering within Sang's mind, strange words in harsh tones that had her tossing in place to escape them.

Memories waited to be seen once more but she fought against their hold, not wanting to face whatever it was that had forced her into this twilight.

"What have you done, Owen?" One of the voices asked, filled with a mixture of astonishment and amusement.

Sang looked around but she still couldn't see anything besides endless black filled with nothing but the suddenly louder and clearer voices. There was a sense of knowing within her - the realisation that there was more than just Owen and this other out there.

If she could trust her own senses, she could believe that there were...nine of them? Nine what? She thought, still confused over what was going on outside of her own mind. Her last visions were those of horrors best left to movies and ancient memories. They were not something that she wanted to have lurking in the recesses of her brain.

"There was no other choice, Sean. She is something that I have never encountered before and I couldn't leave her if she is an enemy to us, not when she has wandered so close to our home." Owen Blackbourne's voice gave off authority as well as exhaustion, making her wonder even more about what was happening.

"So you, thinking that she may be a threat to us, bring her into our home without giving us any warning first and then you go on to inform us that she has enough psychic ability to be able to get into even your thoughts?"

There was absolute silence for a moment and she thought the darkness may have sucked her away once more but then another voice, this one commanding, filled the limitless area, "It seems that there may be more to this tale, Sean. Perhaps it would be best if one of us were to speak to her when she awakens?"

A growl sounded and a fourth male spoke up, his voice belonging to the most dark dreams, "Why wait till then? She's obviously not an innocent in all of this. We should just go in and tear her mind apart looking for the information that we need. It will resolve everything nicely - she's no longer a threat and we won't have to waste time speaking to one of her kind."

The roar that followed this statement had her shaking in fear and confusion even though nothing in the dream scope should have affected her to the degree that she became aware of the movements of her body, both physical and imagined.

The roaring didn't stop even though it sounded as if words punctuated the levelled noise. Different tones, accents and inflections reverberated insensibly with rage.

"Stop," She began to whisper, fighting to make sure that her mouth stopped its strange trembling, "Please...stop...please."

It was like a song on repeat; the painful vibration of their voices playing the back drop for her quietly hurtful please. It swelled and bounced until finally the darkness seemed to release its hold on her. Wind began to whip through her hair and she was cognizant of her physical self, the place where her body rested vulnerable and surrounded by creatures that should have no place in the world.

Pain was the next thing to penetrate as well as an overwhelming sense of panic, she was not where she should have been, where she wanted to be, and that was with people she understood.

The darkness flickered for one second more before she slammed upward and into full consciousness.

Sang's eyes blinked open to reveal a plain wooden roof with flickering lights playing across the empty surface. She wasn't sure where she was but with utmost certainty, she knew that she wasn't bedded down in the room she had hired out within the inn.

Her last clear memories were that of meeting the mysteriously compelling man who had invaded her mind in more ways than one over the past days.

Owen Blackbourne - the name rolled off her tongue and caused her mouth to flood with moisture as she remembered the perfection of his face and the cruel possessiveness stamped across his mouth as his reflective eyes had travelled across her features.

She had touched him and been pushed into darkness by visions of things she didn't understand, things that she didn't want to have to face.

She didn't remember moving from the dining room. Instead, her mind filled with flickers of darkness and voices of ice as they argued her fate.

She knew that he was near, a wave of heat and ice scaled down her spine as she lifted a hand to her forehead and began to take stock of her surroundings. The flickers of light came from a fireplace on her right as she pushed herself into a seated position on what she discovered was an extremely comfortable leather lounge.

The room was sparse but the rustic feel of the lonely office minutely calmed her, there was something so peaceful about the exposed wooden walls and the smell of pine.

Looking down at herself, she saw that nothing was out of place and that no marks lined the skin that she could see, even her face felt untouched.

A deep silence filled the rooms beyond and she first thought that she was alone, but then, a subtle creak overhead warned her against remaining comfortable.

A buzzing started at the base of her neck and she rubbed against it, trying to figure out what was going on.

"She is to remain safe with me until I assess what kind of danger she poses to our kind..."

Owen's voice floated in softly, disrupting her musings and making her wish that she didn't feel so out of her depth.

It was obvious from his tone and the way that the message felt detached, that it wasn't meant for her ears. There were others close by and they were discussing what to do with her now that she had been exposed.

They thought that there was another reason to her visit, and their plans indicated that they had intentions on uncovering them in any way that they must.

Only, there were no plans...she was on holiday and...they weren't human if she was to trust all that had come to light through her rummaging of Owen's mind.

She looked around until she spotted a set of doors covered with curtains, obviously they led to the outside, or so she convinced herself as she quietly moved towards them.

What was any sensible girl to do when she discovered that vampires really did exist and she had fallen into the arms of one, allowing him to whisk her away.

Sang threw open the doors without a care for the cold that stole her breath and battered against her insufficient clothing. A balcony railing faced her as she spotted a snow-covered clearing ringed by dense trees.

The once clear night sky was now filled with thick, white and roiling clouds that appeared ready to once again spew snow upon to already dusted earth.

It was a terrible idea, to run through unknown territory in the freezing cold but she wasn't feeling all that optimistic about hanging around either.

Sang vaulted the railing and ran with another thought trailing her, the voice seductive and, this time, meant for her, "Don't you dare..."