Ancient Darkness (On HOLD)

Chapter Twenty Four - Fangy

The expression on Sang's face as she realised that her life had completely spiralled into chaos made something within Gabriel's chest clench as he tried to gain control of his rage.

'Have you been able to locate it?"  He asked Owen, his mind miles away with his brothers as his body hovered uncertainly before the young human female.

"No,"  Owen replied, "We chose to collect Sang's possessions and leave. There are things about this hybrid which concern me and I did not want to risk a battle in the middle of town."

There was a mutual pause between each Immortal as they contemplated the possibilities of a hybrid hunting a human woman.

"You informed Sang?"  Sean enquired, his mind trying to recall any other incidence of a similar nature.

"Yes,"  Gabriel answered, his eyes simmering as they tried to convey some comfort as she began to shake. "I believe that it would be a good idea to educate her on Hybrids when you return as I believe her lack of knowledge worries her more than anything at this moment."

"Watch yourself, brother,"  Silas cautioned, "We know that the creature is stalking her and right now you are her only protection."

"You believe her innocent now, Silas?"  Nathan interjected, "This could be nothing more than a ruse to make her seem under attack."

Gabriel watched carefully, almost taking that small step closer to comfort the distraught woman. "My age has taught me caution and I do not believe that her reaction and fear to be anything other than genuine."

"I trust your judgement, Gabriel."  Lucian added, "My time spent with the woman also leads me to think favourably of her."

Dakota's voice was taut as Gabriel received an image of them pushing faster through the night sky, "I will make no judgement against the woman at this point but I do believe that each of us needs to take sufficient time to observe and converse with her."

Everything went quiet for a moment before Owen called to both Victor and North, "You are both quiet. Have you nothing to add to the conversation?"

"There is nothing for me to say. Unless she is a creature we have never seen before or humans have perfected the ability to fool one of our species, I have already ruled her innocent."  Victor announced to the shock of his brothers.

"You would call her innocent without having even spoken to her?"  North asked.

"Would you not? Even after your time with her earlier?"  Victor enquired, his thoughts on how Sang had been captivated by his appearance. Normally when humans encountered him they saw something too otherworldly and kept their distance but it had seemed as though she had wanted to reach out and touch his face – physical contact had been something which he had not experienced in many centuries.

"If she is proved an enemy, it will be my duty to eliminate her,"  North growled, his being protesting the very thought. "I cannot discount my thoughts that she is prey and not the predator but I will also not be lured in only to have my hand forced later."

"Who has said that it will be your duty to kill her?"  Gabriel enquired, worried at the ferocious battles taking place within the majority of his brothers. The only ones who appeared settled were Owen and Victor – the others all fighting their strangely instinctive need to both pull the woman closer and banish her from sight and thought.

"She may bring dangers which we had not anticipated," Gabriel murmured quietly, his thoughts withdrawing from those of his brothers' as he sensed them coming back to ground within the front clearing.

By this time, Sang had moved to pace before the fire, her body and mind drained of energy as she tried not to start throwing things at the confusing Immortal.

She whirled at the quiet sound of him growling, "What?"

He shook his head slightly, "I did not mean to disturb you. The others will be inside shortly and will explain what they found when venturing into the town."

"What's disturbing me is the fact that I could feel you chatting away with them while leaving me to pace! You can't just announce that there is some other creature stalking me and then ignore me!" She pointed at his face, "And if that wasn't disturbing enough, you have to go all fangy."

He blinked, "Fangy?" His tongue ran carefully over his canines, satisfied that the conversation with his brothers had calmed him enough that his fangs had in fact retracted.

"Yeah, you dropped those things and hissed at me," She exclaimed, her hysteria rising even though he seemed unconcerned – an indication that trouble hadn't reached her again quite yet.

He took a small step forward and debated trying to calm her, "Perhaps you would like a beverage of some sort." Good manners among humans during his youth had dictated that refreshments be offered no matter the circumstances of one's visit.

She chuckled humourlessly, "Are you only just now remembering that I'm human and need to eat? Or are you implying that you have alcohol?" She paused to rub a hand against her forehead, "Because I could definitely go for a cider."

Following her line of thought, Gabriel was jolted by the realisation that all of them had failed to remember that she would require sustenance. The kitchen cupboards were bare and the only liquid available to her was water from the tap.

"Did any of you happen to collect Sang some food?"  He asked his brothers as he caught the sound of the front door's handle being turned.

"There were some objects in her bag that I believe are edible,"  Dakota replied.

Lucian let out a shocking snort, "We may see her dead quicker than anticipated – thousands of years old and we forgot to acquire her something to eat."

"It will be remedied on the morrow,"  Owen interrupted, his need to see the petite woman quickly becoming a painful compulsion.

They, each of them, stepped lightly up the flight of stairs until they poured through the open door of the bedroom. Their presence seemed overwhelming even though they could all stand comfortably in one spot or another.

Sang had moved to stand before the fire, its flickering flames having a calming effect even though her fingers still shook slightly.

Owen stepped as close to her as he thought acceptable and waited for some sort of acknowledgement.

Sang believed herself to be drained of self-preservation because as she watched the dancing fire place and felt the judging eyes of the Immortals all she could think to yearn for was some simple reassurance.

And before she could think it through or talk herself down, she spun, her eyes lifting to collide with Owen's grey ones, "Please don't attack me for this." She whispered, need pulsing through the words.

None of them were prepared for the mortal, who had thought of them as monsters only hours earlier, to suddenly leap forward and enclose herself into Owen's chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist as she tried to find something to anchor herself to – something solid within the sudden chaos that was her life.

Owen barely controlled his body's instinctive jolt as he tried to reconcile the clawing needs within himself – the hardened, bloodied creature within him wanted to pull back at the threat that she represented while, as her scent wrapped around him, his surprisingly vulnerable heart just wanted to pull her closer.

"What is this?" He asked her quietly, ignoring the weighted gazes of his brothers.

"I'm scared," She admitted, her voice a tiny whisper.

"Ah." Giving in, his hands rose to lightly rest against her back. "I am sorry to see you frightened but there is no other way to uncover the secrets that now surround you."

"I don't want to die here."

His heart clenched, "I do not want that either."