Darkness Reborn (Order of the Blade #5)

by Rowe, Stephanie

  Standing with the team were two new additions: Drew Cartland, Dante’s son, who had more powers than any rookie should and his uncle, Vaughn McIntyre. Drew was a major concern for the team: as the son of their former leader, one of the greatest warriors ever, he should have fit in with the Order smoothly, but there was also something ominous lurking beneath the surface that had them all on alert, watching him carefully. Was it the residual contamination from the battle they’d had with one of the founders of their race, or was it something more ominous?

  Beside Drew stood Vaughn, the kid’s protector, a deadly fighter with a heritage he refused to reveal. It was a daunting crew, and Kane grinned. Good luck to the playboys from Hollywood. Everything was about to change.

  Quinn’s swords were out, his body tense with readiness for battle. His dark hair was spiked and short, and his brown eyes were blazing. “Ryland filled us in,” Quinn said. “Anything else you can add before they show up?”

  “They won’t be weakened by all the teleporting I just did,” Kane said, shifting Sarah in his arms to tuck her more securely against his chest, preparing against her brother showing up and trying to snatch her again. “They’ll have been taking turns teleporting the rest of the team, so they’ll all be fresh. The leader is the one who can track Sarah. He has to be stopped.”

  “No,” Sarah protested, lightly hitting her fist against Kane’s chest. “Don’t kill him. Jacob has to live.”

  Quinn met Kane’s gaze, and the two men exchanged silent agreement. There would be no way to hold her brother since he could teleport. They didn’t have a lot of options.

  Kane. Sarah touched his face, and he looked down, grimacing when he saw how vulnerable she looked. Her lips were almost blue from lack of circulation, and there were so many cracks on her skin it looked like a puff of wind would fragment her. I will die if he dies.

  Kane felt the truth of her words, and he swore. It was one thing to do his best to honor the fact she loved her brother and didn’t want him to die. That was admirable, as Ryland had said, but it wasn’t going to stop him from doing what he had to do to save her life. If, however, killing her brother meant she would die… “Shit, Quinn, we have to keep him alive—”

  There was a shift in the air pressure and Jacob flashed beside Kane. He started to dissolve with Sarah, and her skin flashed white as she knocked him on his ass. Kane struck instantly, cracking his flail against the side of the younger warrior’s head, trying to knock him out without actually killing him. The Calydon stumbled, and then regained his balance. His eyes burned with red fire, and Kane knew the kid had decided to engage instead of just stealing his sister.

  Excellent. That was exactly what he wanted. A fight. If the kid was fighting, he wasn’t going to be trying to disappear with Sarah, and it gave Kane more options to deal with him.

  The night filled with the crack of Calydon weapons exploding. Hell descended upon them as Calydons appeared out of thin air, attacking the Order with such intensity that four Order members were down within a second. They were back on their feet instantly, but the mere fact the newcomers had gotten the jump on them said much about the quality of their opponent.

  “Hot damn,” Thano shouted, a shit-eating grin on his face. “This is going to be fun!” He let out a Tarzan battle cry and then charged into the fray, swinging his halberd like a crazy man.

  “Take her out of here, Kane,” Quinn shouted as he cut down one of their assailants. “We’ve got them.”

  “Not yet.” Sarah was shaking violently in his arms, her life force so weak that she wasn’t even holding onto him anymore, but Kane couldn’t leave until Jacob had been shut down, or the kid would follow them.

  Jacob leapt to his feet and charged them. Kane swung his flail at the same time Ryland hurled his machete. Their weapons sandwiched Jacob’s head with a sickening crack, and the young warrior fell to the ground and didn’t get up.

  Kane and Ryland exchanged grim glances. There was only a slim chance at best that the kid could recover from that. They’d crushed his skull. Mission accomplished to keep Sarah safe, but to keep her brother alive?

  Shit.

  A roar of fury arose from Jacob’s team, and Kane covered Sarah with his arms as he blocked a dagger hurtling toward her head. “Get her out of here!” Ryland shouted as he spun to engage.

  “Jacob!” Sarah tore herself out of Kane’s arms with unexpected strength. Kane grabbed for her, missing her as she raced across the manicured lawn and fell beside her brother. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she collapsed beside him, twisting at Kane’s gut. Shit. It was his fault. He’d done that. He’d caused it. Seeing Sarah’s grief suddenly made the “sacrifice one to save many” feel like a philosophy he could no longer stand behind.

  “Jacob,” she sobbed, taking her brother’s hand and pressing it to her heart.

  Kane had to look away, his own chest tightening as her grief filled him. It made him think of Dante, of the lives he’d taken in the name of duty, of the tears that had been shed when the Order had finished doing what they had to do.

  One of the rogues saw Sarah and hurled his spear at her. “Sarah!” Kane shouted in warning as he tried to dematerialize to get to her before the weapon did.

  Sarah didn’t even look up, she was so intent on her brother’s state, and Kane’s body tingled but nothing happened. Too drained? Now? What the hell? “Come on!” He summoned every last ounce of strength he had and teleported himself. He materialized right beside Sarah a split second before the spear would have hit her. The spear plunged deep into his chest, piercing his heart, and he swore as he went down beside her.

  The pain was brutal, and he felt the last of his reserves rush to protect his heart from the injury.

  “Get out of here,” Ryland yelled again. “Now!”

  Kane rolled onto his side as Ryland blocked a steel arrow headed toward Sarah, quickly assessing the situation. Even though Jacob was down, his team hadn’t abandoned the battle. If anything, they were even more aggressive now, as if they realized this was their last chance at Sarah because they couldn’t track her without Jacob. The Order had formed a ring of protection around Kane and Sarah, but there were too many attackers, coming too fast, with the one goal of getting to Sarah. Shit. They were out of time.

  “Sarah,” he growled, as he yanked the spear out of his chest “Take my hand.”

  She looked over at him, and he was stunned by the absolute devastation in her eyes. The anguish, the loss, the betrayal. Kane. My brother…he’s dying. There was so much vulnerability and fear in her voice that he was overwhelmed with a need to protect her, to relieve her pain. Then, as he watched, her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed.

  “Sarah!” Kane lunged for her as three Calydons broke through the ring of protection and charged toward them. Three others disappeared from sight on the outside of the circle, and he knew they were going to teleport inside, directly to Sarah. His fingers closed over hers as a Calydon appeared beside her, already lowering his battle axe toward her head.

  The instant Kane felt her fingers against his, he called up all his power to teleport them again. It surged through both of them like an electrical shock, and he felt his body disintegrate as the blade came down toward Sarah’s head.

  There was a loud crack, and then they were gone.

  *

  Sarah was falling, falling, falling. It was dark. The pain was so intense. And her soul was like the blackest doom, a cavern of hopelessness welling up inside her. Tears bled from her heart, her mind filled with all the images that had tormented her for so long: her baby, her beautiful baby, taken down by the man she’d loved. Her parents, covered in blood, tossed aside by the man she’d given her heart to.

  She felt that same despair and grief that she’d felt as she crawled across the wooden floor toward the door, trying to escape from the man she’d trusted with everything that was important to her. The feel of the cool metal doorknob sliding through her fingers as he grabbed her ankle and dragged
her back toward him.

  Again, she was staring into those red eyes of death and hatred, eyes she’d known and loved since they were toddlers. The man who’d grown up as her best friend, and then become her lover, her husband, and the father of her baby. She felt that anguished betrayal as he threw her down, his blood-stained axe in his hand as he reared back to destroy her—

  Sarah. Come back to me.

  The voice was like an electric shock, blasting through the memories consuming her. Kindness. Safety. Help. The words bounced through her mind, emotions that seemed so foreign to her, and yet familiar. Like she’d once known them. Like they’d once meant something to her.

  Before all the death.

  Before her brother had tried to kill her.

  Before he’d killed Nonny… Grief surged through Sarah as she suddenly remembered what was clenched in her fist. Her grandmother’s necklace, the one she never removed. She’d found it in her brother’s hand. He’d killed Nonny. He’d really killed her.

  Despair flooded Sarah, consuming her, yanking her down. All she’d fought for, all she’d worked for, gone. Taken by those she’d trusted the most. The ones she’d given her life to protect—

  Sarah. It’s Kane. Come on, sweetheart. Come back to me.

  Again, his voice broke through the despair sucking her down. This time, she felt his urgency, his pain, his stress. For her? Was he hurt? Sudden emotion leapt through her, a connection to his soul. Desperately, she reached for it, trying to hold onto him as an anchor, but it slithered out of her grasp, an elusive wisp of hope. She struggled to focus on him, but images of her brother kept floating into her mind. Kane? Help me. I can’t find you. She tried to reach for him, but she couldn’t move her arms, couldn’t seem to connect with him.

  She felt cold. So cold. Her skin hurt. Hard to breathe. Hard to think. Her mind was getting fuzzy. The light…fading…the flame inside her…the white light…getting smaller…Kane! She screamed his name, terrified of what was happening. The light couldn’t go out. It couldn’t go out!

  The minute I heard your voice when I was in the woods, my entire soul came to life.

  She struggled to understand his words, to grasp what he was saying, but her white light grew fainter. Kane!

  Something warm settled on top of her. A heavy weight. Comforting, strong heat trying to penetrate the deep coldness settling in her body. Kane’s body. On top of hers. Surrounding her with his strength. With his power. Don’t you understand, Sarah? My soul has always been this empty void. I can barely feel. I can barely connect with people. I feel so little.

  His aching emptiness touched her, drawing tears to her eyes.

  My only mission has been to protect humanity. To make a difference. To save another life. And another. It was all that kept me going.

  Sarah felt the truth of his words, the emptiness inside him that had been filled only by his knowledge that he was saving innocents. There was nothing else in him, no heart, no soul, no passion. Just the emptiness of honor and duty.

  Until I heard your voice, Sarah. She felt his hands frame her face, and she tried to touch him, but she couldn’t move her hands. Couldn’t act. Her body felt too heavy, her limbs like dead weights. When I heard your voice, it was as if something plunged straight past the emptiness inside me and brought it to life. It hurt, and the pain felt so unbelievably amazing. The raw, unbearable emotion of being alive…it’s incredible, Sarah. What kind of incredible gift is that? You need hope and faith? You’re the one who already has it. You gave it to me the minute you reached out and found me. I won’t let you die, because you are the one damn thing in my life that has ever made my heart beat. Do you hear me? His hands tightened on her face. You are my salvation, Sarah. You are the first breath of hope I’ve had in five hundred years.

  Sarah felt his pain in every fiber of her being, and she felt his disbelief, his awe, his raw, untamed, desperate hope that she could save him. His emotions plunged deep inside her, awakening that part of her that had lost faith, that had given up, that had abandoned that which gave her life.

  The white light inside her stopped fading, hovering in the balance, trying to decide which way to go.

  Kane. She reached for him, and this time she felt his face beneath her hands. The moment her fingers touched his skin, electricity leapt through her. Life. Passion. Fire. Hope. It was as if he were the very source of life she’d been searching for. He was her chance. He was the hope for humanity.

  He was so close, but still out of reach. She needed more of him. She needed all of him. She needed all he had to give her. The white light flickered, and she screamed in protest, unable to pull herself out of the chasm she’d fallen into so deeply. Kane!

  You are mine, Sarah. The words were almost violent, thrusting past her shields and assaulting her fading light. Then his fingers tightened in her hair, his body tensed against her, and he kissed her, a kiss that claimed her very soul and offered her his. It plunged deep inside her, past the darkness, past the despair, past the approaching death, right to the light that burned in her very core.

  A tiny spark flickered. One spark. One spark of life, of renewal, of hope.

  Yes. The word burned deep in her soul, calling to Kane, asking him for all that he had.

  Yes. His answer was fierce in her mind, and then he clasped her face and deepened the kiss, an almost violent assault that demanded her response, that allowed no room to ignore him. It was a kiss of ownership and connection, a forced merging of their spirits. It was so full of intensity and strength that it stripped away all her despair, hopelessness, and abandoned faith. Instead, the kiss ignited such passion, yearning and fire within her that it almost hurt.

  The kiss was everything she needed. Kane was everything she needed. This kiss was their future, their hope that something good still existed in this life. She flung her arms around him and kissed him back, opening herself completely to him, entrusting him with her very soul…exactly as she’d sworn never to do again.

  After her soul mate had murdered her family, Sarah shut herself down to save herself, and now her only chance to survive was to throw her entire being into the safekeeping of the man meant to destroy her.

  Sarah didn’t hesitate. She just pulled him down and kissed him back with everything she had.

  This man, this moment, was worth the risk.

  *

  When Sarah’s body softened beneath his, Kane realized she’d accepted his kiss. Passion instantly rushed over him so intensely he could barely breathe. He tangled his fingers in her hair, plunging into the kiss, into the connection, desperate for the relief she gave him.

  The void inside him, the one that had been threatening to consume him for so long, raged in fury, refusing to relinquish its grip on him, refusing to lose him to Sarah. It swelled in intensity, trying to suck him down, battling against the emotions that Sarah had brought to life.

  It was like a battle between two demons inside him. The dark. The light. The pain. The salvation. Death. Life. Hell. Sarah. Every cell in Kane’s body burned like acid had been bled into his veins, plunging through him and incinerating every tissue in his body. The more he kissed her and the more he immersed himself in her, the greater the pain. Sweat streamed over his brow, and his body shook from the force of the internal battle being waged within him. “Son of a bitch.” He broke the kiss, gasping at the surge of agony ripping through him. Bracing himself above Sarah, he threw his head back, bellowing in fury at the darkness eviscerating him. “What the fuck do you want?” he shouted at the blackness trying to take him. “What the hell is it?”

  Kane.

  Sarah’s desperate voice broke through the darkness trying to consume Kane, and he jerked his gaze down to the woman beneath him. Her dark hair was tangled across the forest floor, her skin ashen, tears squeezing out beneath her thick lashes. His gut tore as he saw the marks on her throat from her brother, the bruises covering her arms. Her body was trembling beneath his, so vulnerable, so fragile, so desperate.

 
Her eyes flickered open, and he saw anguish in those blue depths. There was so much pain and betrayal in them. Fear. Hopelessness. The extent of her suffering tore right through his gut. “No more, Sarah,” he growled. “No fucking more.”

  Then he lowered himself on top of her and offered every single breath of life he had to give. It wasn’t much. Hell, it wasn’t much at all, but it had been enough to keep him alive after five hundred years of battle and life-threatening injury. It had to be enough to save her. He was going to make damn sure it was.

  He fisted her hair and kissed her again, and this time, he gave her everything. The kiss was intense and ravaging, and he unleashed every last bit of fury, anger, hope, life and passion he had into their connection.

  Yes, Sarah whispered. More.

  You can have it all. Kane deepened the kiss, thrusting everything he had into it. But the moment he opened himself to her, the darkness inside him roared to life, trying to hold him back, trying to stop him from connecting with the beauty of her spirit. The physical pain was brutal, like knives carving off his skin, but the depths of torment to his soul was a thousand times worse. It felt like something was trying to vacuum his spirit right out of his chest. His breath stuck in his lungs, and he fought for air, even as he deepened his kiss, reaching for Sarah with the very soul that the darkness was trying to tear away from him.

  Come to my light, Kane. Connect us. I can help you.

  A primal scream began to hammer at his mind, the wail of death and darkness trying to overtake him. He knew this was what had been coming for him for so long, and it was trying to take him now. He fought for breath, he fought for sanity, and he fought for his soul, even as he continued to offer himself to Sarah, trying to give her spirit an anchor to hold onto. Their connection wasn’t just for her now. It was for him. He felt like her kiss, her touch, her skin were all that was keeping him from being sucked into the void clawing at his ankles, trying to drag him down further and further…

  Sarah flattened her palm across his chest, and white heat leapt from her, knifing right into his chest, splitting the blackness away from his lungs. He sucked in his breath frantically, his heart pounding with the violence trying to take it.