Darkness Reborn (Order of the Blade #5)

by Rowe, Stephanie

  She’d been wrong about the two men she’d known her whole life. How could she possibly see Kane’s true self when she barely knew him? The sheva bond would obscure her ability to do anything but tumble into his arms and under his spell.

  She couldn’t take the chance. She had to separate from him while she still could. Her need for him tearing at her heart, Sarah forced herself to turn away from him and grab her clothes. She had to get away from him before he sucked her in, before she made the same mistake for the third time, the fatal time.

  “I won’t die,” she said fiercely. “Not even for you, Kane.” She yanked her clothes on, grabbed her grandmother’s talisman and then took off into the forest, running for her life, running toward the one chance she had left: the village of Nashoba and a community that could save her.

  And while she was heading toward Nashoba, she was fleeing from the male that had already touched her heart, into whose safekeeping and strong arms she wanted to throw herself. She’d turned away from the first man in seven years that she’d wanted to trust.

  *

  Kane bolted upright, leaping to his feet as he sprang back to consciousness from his healing sleep. The moment he’d awoken, he’d known Sarah was missing, and panic had instantly assaulted him. The woods were bright, the sun high in the sky, as he spun around and searched the woods for Sarah. Jesus. Where the hell was she? How had he not woken up when she left? “Sarah!” he shouted.

  There was no reply. Just the chatter of chipmunks, the twitter of birds, and the sound of the breeze through the trees. Sarah. He reached out to her with his mind, and found nothing. Not even a sense of her energy.

  She was gone.

  Wrongness and loss plunged through him, so intently that his weapons appeared in his hands, ready to attack. The dark void swelled inside him, clawing at him, trying to take him. “Fuck off,” he growled.

  He didn’t know what was after him. He had no damn clue what it was, but he knew that Sarah had held it at bay. Sarah had been his anchor, his salvation. He had to find her. He would find her. Fierce commitment surged through him, a need to find the woman who had plunged through the emotional void he’d had for so long. He wanted more of her. He wanted to feel her spirit tangled with his. He needed to know who she was, what was after her.

  Kane immediately tapped into his preternatural instincts, searching his surroundings for the residual taint of violence or conflict, but there was none, which meant Sarah hadn’t been hurt or taken from him. Excellent. She’d left on her own…

  Damn.

  She’d left him on her own? He didn’t like that. He didn’t like that at all. Why hadn’t she felt the need to stay wrapped around him, breathing in the fullness of their connection until life finally forced them apart? Wasn’t she feeling what he was feeling? She had to be. There was no way it was one-sided. He’d been intimately connected to her last night, and he knew damn well that he’d rocked her world.

  So why had she left? The instinct to find her and keep her safe was urgent and compelling, and it sent life and purpose surging through Kane. She was why he was alive. He knew it in his soul. He’d spent five hundred years protecting humanity, but his mission as a member of the Order of the Blade had never coursed through him with the rightness and strength that he was feeling right now.

  Sarah was his mission. Sarah was his past, his present and his future. Sarah was his, and he was going to claim her now—

  Then he laughed softly, realizing that he had no idea which way she’d gone. Her spirit still lingered, and a faint white haze drifted through the trees. Her signature, covering her trail so he couldn’t track her. I will find you, sweetheart, and I promise you, it won’t take long.

  He inhaled deeply, breathing the white mist into his lungs. It drifted through him, loosening the grip of the darkness trying to consume him. He had a sudden memory of that white light slicing through the blackness in his chest, and he looked down at it, expecting to see a white mark on his skin.

  Then he went utterly still in shock. On the left side of his chest, just above his heart, was a two inch circle of unblemished skin.

  The scars were gone.

  Stunned, Kane ran his fingers over the skin. The skin was so hot he jerked his hand off, his fingertips instantly charred.

  But there was no doubt: the skin was smooth in that spot. Perfect. Unmarred. Five hundred years of scars and unanswered questions, and Sarah had changed it.

  Sarah had the answers he’d relentlessly pursued for five hundred years.

  Anticipation rushed through Kane, and he lifted his head, searching the woods with the intense, focused resolution of a warrior on a mission.

  She had run from him, but she couldn’t hide. “I will find you, Sarah Burns,” he promised.

  And then he would have answers.

  For the first time in five hundred years, he had a lead on his past. Excitement and hope leapt through him, and he began to lope through the woods in pursuit of the woman who had given him what he’d been seeking his whole life.

  *

  When Kane finally returned to the mansion after failing to find Sarah, the scene was grim. The gardens were destroyed, and the bodies of dozens of Calydons were strewn across the lawns. Their twelve-inch claws had vanished, but the black brands on their arms remained. There was no doubt they were Calydons, though they were unlike any he’d ever seen.

  Assorted members of the Order were collecting them on the patio, a pile of assassins that really didn’t match the violets planted next to the stone bench. Lily Davenport, Gideon’s sheva, and the world renowned expert on Calydons, was kneeling beside the pile of bodies, studying the brands on one of the fallen males.

  “Did any escape?” Kane asked as he walked across the churned up grass toward his team.

  Quinn tossed another body on the pile and nodded. “Just before dawn, all the ones still standing teleported away.” He scanned the horizon, the bright blue sky of morning. “I don’t know if they’ll be back or not. Lily’s never seen them before and doesn’t know what they are.”

  “I know what they are,” Lily interrupted. “They’re Calydons. I’m trying to figure out their lineage, since they’re different than you guys. I think they’re a small enclave, which is why there isn’t much about them.”

  Kane grinned at Lily, once again thinking how much better it worked for the Order now that Lily was on their team, instead of exposing them to the world. A woman with that much information about the Order needed to be kept close, and the fact she was Gideon’s soul mate had made her a valuable asset. “Have you figured out where they’re from?” He suspected that if he found their place of origin, he would find Sarah.

  Lilly shook her head. “Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

  Kane grimaced with frustration. “Let me know when you do.”

  “You bet.” She bent over one of the dead warriors, snapping a photograph of his brand.

  “Where’s the girl?” Quinn asked, looking past Kane for Sarah, who, of course, wasn’t there.

  Kane ground his jaw, still annoyed that he’d slept right through her taking off on him. Had he really been so knocked out by the sex and intimacy that he’d passed out like that? Apparently. He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “Yeah, well, I lost her.”

  “You what?” Ryland strode up, his body streaked with blood from all the battles. His muscles were flexed and tense, and his eyes were coal-black with adrenaline. “You lost our angel? Even though she has a team of assassins hunting her? How is that going to keep her safe, you bastard?”

  Kane narrowed his eyes, his brands burning with the need to call out his weapons in response to Ryland’s possessiveness about Sarah. “She took off on me.”

  “And you let her?” Ryland swore. “I’ll find her. Jesus, Kane, an angel dropped into our lap. You don’t fucking blow that assignment.”

  Kane flexed his hand. “She’s mine,” he said quietly, barely able to contain his aggression toward Ryland. Ry was always on edge,
but usually it didn’t affect Kane. Today, it was grinding under his skin, making him want to engage. “She is my responsibility.”

  Ryland moved into Kane’s space, his eyes blazing. “Fuck that. You lost her. She’s anyone’s now.”

  “She chose me, and we both know it.” Kane met Ryland’s gaze, and let him see his commitment to Sarah.

  Ryland stared at him, and then swore. “You slept with her? You defiled an angel?” His machete flashed into his hand with a crack of black light, and Kane instantly called his out as well.

  “Hey!” Quinn moved quickly between them. “Stand down. Now.”

  “What’s going on?” Thano Savakis sauntered up to them carrying a peach latte, despite the Order’s attempts to get him to switch to a more testosterone-appropriate drink. “Don’t tell me the Order finally decided to self-destruct and no one invited the new kid on the block?” He propped his elbow on Ryland’s shoulder, completely ignoring the danger of the situation. “Just because I’m not old, cynical and bitter doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a good internal feud over a woman. So, tell me, who slept with whose chick? Was it behind the bleachers or in the back of a station wagon?”

  Ryland didn’t move, and Kane held his ground. A sudden, ominous burst of raw pleasure hit Kane at the thought of attacking his teammate, and he tightened his grip on his weapon. “Bring it on, Ryland.”

  Ryland stiffened, and Thano immediately whooped and shoved Ryland to the side. “Dudes, you guys are taking this way too far. Kane, what the hell’s got your panties in a twist? You should see your face right now. You look like a ghoul from a bad horror movie.”

  Kane felt the seriousness underlying Thano’s easy tone, and he became aware of the violence streaming through his muscles, of his burning need to attack Ryland. “Shit.” He took a sharp step back, immediately sheathing his weapons. He would have struck first against Ryland, and this time he’d come a hell of a lot closer than he had in the woods. What the hell was that about? Yeah, it was standard operating procedure to be ready for Ryland to come unhinged, but never Kane.

  He and Ry had an understanding. They were both fucked up, but they would never direct it against each other. Until now.

  Ryland turned his dark gaze on Kane. “Santiago,” he said quietly, still gripping his machete. “There is something seriously wrong with you.”

  Kane met his gaze. “I know, man.”

  Ryland nodded in acknowledgement, as Quinn and Thano stepped aside, giving them space to resolve it. “What is it?”

  Kane tapped the smooth patch of skin on his chest. “I’m changing.”

  Ryland’s eyes widened, and Thano and Quinn immediately came over, not even pretending that they hadn’t been listening.

  “Wow, you have nice skin,” Thano said. “I had no idea you were so delicate.”

  Kane eyed Thano. “Shut up.”

  “Never.” Thano grinned, but his eyes weren’t laughing. “What is it?”

  “Damned if I know, but Sarah has answers. I think it happened because of her.”

  “Then we find her,” Quinn said. “You’re treading an edge right now, Kane, and we can’t afford for you to go rogue. If Sarah affects that, then we need to find her.” He gestured at the pile of Calydons on the ground behind him. “These guys are serious shit, and we need to stop them. Seems like she’ll have info about them as well.”

  Kane ground his jaw as he looked past Quinn at the warriors on the ground. There were only ten, and yet most of the Order were sporting serious injuries. “What are they, the next generation of Calydons? The young bucks here to take us out?”

  “Apparently.” Gideon walked up, the body of Sarah’s brother tossed over his shoulder. “This one is still alive. He’s in a coma, but he’s alive.”

  Kane swore, immediately thinking of Sarah’s safety. “The minute he wakes up, he’ll teleport and track down Sarah. We won’t be able to hold onto him.”

  Gideon met his gaze. “It’s a chance we have to take. He’s our only lead. We don’t even know where these guys are from.”

  “No—” But even as Kane protested, he remembered Sarah’s words that if her brother died, then she would die. But if he lived, he would kill her. Son of a bitch. There was only one choice. “I’ll find Sarah before he wakes up.”

  Ryland walked up beside him. “I’m coming with you.”

  Kane stiffened. “You think that’s a good idea?”

  Ryland grinned. “I’m the only one strong enough to take you down if you go rogue. So, yeah, I think that makes it a damn good idea that I go with you because you’re not exactly roses and bunny rabbits right now.”

  “I’m not going rogue,” Kane shot back, but even as he said it, the bare spot on his chest burned, and the darkness swirled inside him.

  “Yeah.” Ryland met his gaze, and nodded once. No further exchange was needed.

  “I’m in,” Thano said, his green eyes flashing with determination. “You need a young guy along to take on these kids. You old guys will run out of stamina.”

  Gideon and Quinn nodded their agreement. “We’ll search from this end,” Gideon said. “Lily will research it, and we’ll monitor Jacob and try to get info from him.”

  Kane nodded. A three-pronged attack was good. One way or another, they would find Sarah.

  “Stay in touch,” Quinn said. “I have a bad feeling about this deal.”

  “Yeah, me too.” But as Kane thought about what it had been like last night to connect with Sarah, to bury himself inside her and open himself to her so completely, he knew that wasn’t the whole truth. He had a bad feeling about the mutated Calydons, but as for Sarah? All good…except for the fact she’d taken off on him.

  That still bugged him. It was hell on a man’s ego to give a woman the best loving he could, and then have her bail without a word. But her actions also intrigued him. She might be fighting for her life, but she had the courage to do what she felt was right, and he liked that. A lot.

  He was fired up as hell to find her again. What answers did she have? Would she be his salvation, or bring him to the doom that had been stalking him for so long? He rubbed his hand over the smooth spot on his chest, wondering whether the missing scars were a good sign, or a bad one.

  He needed to know, and he was going to look forward to getting the information from her. He grinned, adrenaline racing through him at the challenge Sarah had presented to him by bailing on him. What would she say when she saw him walking up to her? Would that same passion and desire still be there?

  Or would it be even stronger?

  He had a feeling he knew the answer. What had ignited between him and Sarah was only the beginning.

  Thano raised his eyebrows. “What’s that shit-eating grin for?”

  “You’ll never know, rookie,” Kane said as he raised his arm for his teammates to grasp. “Let’s go. I know where to start the search.” Thano and Ryland set their hands on his arm, and he dematerialized, taking them right to the truck that Sarah had been driving when he’d found her.

  Unless the truck was unregistered, he would know everything he needed to know about her within about five minutes.

  Two minutes later, as he stared at the spots where a license plate should have been on the back of her truck, Kane had his answer about how hard it was going to be to track her down.

  The game of cat and mouse had begun.

  Chapter Six

  She was almost there.

  Almost there.

  She could make it.

  Come on, Sarah.

  Fighting for consciousness, Sarah maneuvered her rented Jeep onto the well-hidden, dirt road to her village. The trees blurred in and out of focus, and the sounds of buzzing filled her ears. Dammit. She’d waited too long to come back.

  She needed to come back at least once a week to restore her powers, but she’d waited almost two weeks since the night of Jacob’s attack and Kane’s rescue before coming home. She’d refused to abandon the hope that she could find help outside the v
illage, and she’d been avoiding coming back to a town that didn’t have her brother or her grandmother anymore.

  She’d been so devastated when she’d finally made it to Nashoba and found a burned out village that had been long abandoned. There was no sign of a fountain of water to restore her, and the houses were boarded up. She’d visited three other sites where earth angels were rumored to live, and they were all burned out, stripped of the magic that could keep her alive.

  Her powers dwindling fast, she’d had to return to Akara to recharge. Her drive home had been burdened with the grim possibility that her village might be the last functioning enclave left. She didn’t know of anywhere else to find resources. Her trip had been a bust. She’d failed in her quest, and now it was almost too late to save herself.

  The vehicle bounced over a rut, and the Jeep careened toward a tree. She yelped and yanked the wheel back to the left, barely avoiding a head-on collision with a massive pine. “Concentrate, Sarah.”

  She gripped the steering wheel and leaned forward, trying to concentrate on the winding road. The pavement seemed to blur in and out of focus, and she fought for control, straining to see the white marker for the turn-off…

  There! She hauled the Jeep to the right, bouncing over the rocks as the vehicle shot down the road, relief cascading through her. She was almost to the village, almost to the fountain, almost home. See? She’d timed it perfectly and had everything under perfect control. The fact she was dizzy, weak and hallucinating because she needed to restore her powers so badly? It was merely an indication of how she had efficiently maximized her resources to get the most out of her trip, not an indication that she was desperate and spiraling out of control. Not at all.

  Yes, so she might have utterly failed to come up with a secondary source of support while she was trekking around the countryside, but she was an efficiency goddess in knowing exactly how long she could push it. Go her.