Ancient Darkness (On HOLD)

Chapter Thirty Four - Glamour

A/N: Victor's Eyes

"You may let go whenever you wish," Owen informed Sang, his hands resting gently in the centre of her back as she continued to clutch at his shirt.

All she could do was swallow back the bile which had crept up her throat as they had skimmed through the clouds. Having flown with North should have prepared her for the sensation but when Owen had hauled her into his arms and risen into the air with Gabriel, Nathan and Victor, she had felt her stomach slowly start to creep upwards.

"Sang?" Gabriel asked, his voice sounding almost quizzical as she felt the shifting of the others as they surrounded her in the dark corner of the bustling shopping complex.

With the speed that they had travelled, Sang wasn't even sure if they were in the same country.

"Just give me a moment please," She begged, refusing to open her eyes until the vertigo had passed enough that she didn't feel as though the ground was bucking beneath her feet.

"Owen," Nathan murmured.

"I know, Nathan, but we can afford to give her a few moments to collect herself. She is not used to our form of transportation after all," Owen replied, his chest moving comfortingly against her cheek.

Sang drew in a deep breath through her nose and sighed as she carefully opened her eyes. "Sorry," She whispered with embarrassment, pulling from his hold while trying to ignore the way that she missed the warmth of his embrace. "I just felt a little sick."

"It is fine," Owen assured her, smoothing down the front of his casual dress shirt. "Shall we get on with the evening?"

The four men turned away from her but as she looked them over, her eyes widened, "Stop."

The sound of her voice was loud enough that people walking by as they headed to their car stopped and began to peer through the heavy shadows. Their thoughts were clear and sharp as they both questioned whether there was anything dangerous lurking close by.

Move along. You heard nothing, Owen pushed at them, ensuring that they followed his directive by lacing his voice with a compulsion.

"Oops," Sang muttered quietly as they turned back to her, their features sharp even though her weak human eyes should never have been able to see so clearly at night. "You can't go in there looking like that. You'll either start a riot or have everyone calling 1800-Van Helsing."

They all looked one another over for a long moment before staring back at her with blank expressions on their faces.

"I am not sure what you mean," Victor commented, his voice so smooth that she shuddered.

"That's..." She had to clear her throat, "That's exactly why. You all look and sound like something that shouldn't exist. None of you can just walk in there unless you want to be attacked by hordes of women."

There seemed to be a silent conversation before Owen nodded, "We should have considered it, especially since witnessing Sang's reaction to Victor."

She wanted to defend herself but there was no denying that she could quite happily spend the rest of her life staring into his otherworldly eyes and listening to him speak. It was pure hypnotism and the fact that it was simply his natural appearance...it scared her.

"Trust me," She chuckled. "All of you are going to need ugly makeovers or something."

"I believe we can do something much more sophisticated than that," Gabriel's body shimmered unevenly for a moment before his face simply...changed. Gone was the Immortal beauty, replaced by what would deemed acceptable and quite within the norm although she couldn't quite understand why he now sported two thick streaks of blonde on either sides of his face.

"Wow," She whispered in awe.

Another small confirmation that these men were nothing close to average if she needed it.

The others all closed their eyes as they too used some aspect of their abilities to alter their physical appearance.

Their features were essentially the same but they now seemed more touchable and less likely to cause a complete standstill, although Sang sighed over the fact that she still found them all irresistibly lovely.

Victor's eyes had dimmed to an amberish hue while his face had filled out, giving him a more youthful look.

Nathan's skin had darkened to a magnificent golden brown and his hair had lost its electric undertones.

Owen...well, Owen made her want to jump from the closest building to see if he ripped his clothes off, claiming to be Superman.

And, he could actually fly already!

Black rimmed glasses had mysteriously formed on his face, highlighting the fact that his winter storm eyes had shifted to grey chrome.

"How is this?" Victor asked, his voice now lacking its layered melody.

She bit her lip, "It's fine...better. Shall we go then?" She pushed through them and determinedly walked away, scared that another moment alone would see her crossing the clear boundaries between them.

What would they taste like if she kissed one of them? Blood?

Stupid Sang!  She scolded, shielding harder than ever before so that none of them could easily read the suddenly mature thoughts flickering to life in her mind.

As she reached the main centre doors, a strong arm looped around her waist, "There is no need to hurry. We have all night." Gabriel murmured, his warm breath tickling her ear. "I have to admit that I am uncharacteristically fascinated with the prospect of exploring modern human shopping."

"Do you guys have any money?" The wave of unfiltered thought slamming into her as she fought to stay steady. Fought to ignore all of those private one-sided conversations from the people shuffling around her.

Owen appeared on her other side and handed her a credit card with the name Owen Blackbourne printed on it. A black credit card...something that you could only receive if you possessed an ungodly amount of money.

She choked as she stared at it.

He'd just handed it over.

"Would you like mine as well?" Victor asked, moving to flank Gabriel as Nathan did the same to Owen.

"Nathan and I also have one if it is needed," Gabriel stated as though it was a normal occurance to need four Black Amex Cards on one small shopping trip. "Let's get started shall we?"