Darkness Reborn (Order of the Blade #5)

by Rowe, Stephanie

  You know that’s a lie, Kane. Didn’t you say no lies? Pain flickered in her eyes, pain and weariness. No lies between us.

  Kane caught her just as her legs gave out. He swept her out of Ryland’s arms and into his own. If there are no lies between us, then tell me why I respond to you like this. You know.

  Sarah collapsed against his chest, her body trembling. I do know.

  Something vibrated through Kane, a desperation so intense it almost shook him to his core as he stared down at her. “You know who I am?” Sweet Jesus. His heart began to pound, his blood roaring through his ears as his grip tightened on her. “Do you know who I am?” he repeated. “Do you?”

  She looked at him and nodded. “I think I might, but I’m not positive.” She touched his chest, flattening her palm over the smooth patch of skin. Her touch was like a burst of heat through him, igniting the coldness that had been trying to consume him for so long. Desire ricocheted through him like the rippling heat from the high desert sands. Her eyes jerked to his, and he saw the same sudden awareness of the heat between them. “I might be wrong.”

  “Who?” Holy shit. Was it over? Was he finally going to find out who he was? He pulled her closer, his entire being vibrating, coming alive for her. He cupped her hips, pulling her closer, needing more of her, as if she could reach inside him and release whatever had been locked up for so long. “Who am I, Sarah?” He was vaguely aware of Thano and Ryland moving closer, but he didn’t care. He could barely breathe, could barely stand, the intensity of his reaction was so strong. He was consumed by the woman in his arms, by what she knew, by what she did to him, by what she could offer him.

  She slid her hands on either side of his neck, rubbing her hands over his skin as if she needed to touch him as much as he needed to consume her. “I’m not sure you want to know, Kane.”

  Her gaze met his, and it was so full of emotion and passion that raw, heated lust tore through him. Not just lust. A roaring, living need to connect with her, kiss her, touch her, and bond with her. He pulled her closer, breathing in her air, wanting more, wanting to know every secret she had. She had the answers to everything for him, everything. He almost fell to his knees, so desperate was he for all she had to offer. He gripped the back of her hair, pulling her face close into his. “Sweet Jesus, woman. Tell me who I am—”

  “What in God’s name is going on over here?” A raspy voice bellowed out from behind Kane.

  Sarah let out a yelp of surprise as Kane turned around to see an old lady hobble out of the woods wearing a rainbow-striped tee shirt and a pair of camouflage pants, and she was carrying the largest damn set of bow and arrows he’d ever seen in his life.

  She raised the arrow and aimed it at Kane’s head, right between the eyes. “I never gave permission for my granddaughter to be involved in a four-way with three men who have more muscles than the Hulk on steroids. Is this what happens when people think I’m dead? Sex orgies? Really? Put the girl down, you over-sexed mass of testosterone, or I will shoot you in the head that actually has the brains.” Then she lowered the tip of the arrow, aiming right at his crotch. “Or maybe I’ll start with the other one.”

  Ryland and Thano went still beside him.

  “Wow,” Thano said, sounding awestruck. “That’s a real woman. If she were seventy years younger, I’d get down on my knee and propose to her right now.”

  Kane turned his body so he was blocking Sarah from the arrow. “Sarah?” Kane leaned closer to Sarah, brushing his lips over her ear. “Do you know her?”

  “Kane.” Sarah was staring past him at the old lady. Her fingers dug into Kane’s neck, and he realized she was shaking violently. Her voice was trembling. “Do you see an old woman with a bow and arrow? Or am I imagining it?” Tears were brimming in her eyes, and there was so much grief in her face that he felt something inside him crack.

  The void that had been trying to consume him vanished, and he felt a burning pain in his chest. Void and emptiness, or pain and violence. Nothing in between. He felt like he was losing his freaking mind. “Sarah. What’s wrong?”

  “I’ll give you three seconds,” the old lady yelled, “or this arrow is going right in your family jewels, big guy.”

  Thano snickered, and Kane called out his flail and held it over his crotch, not taking his attention off Sarah. “Tell me what’s going on,” Kane urged. “You want me to take her out?”

  “Take her out? Really?” Sarah grabbed his arm, bursting into tearful laughter. “She’s really there? I’m not imagining it?”

  “Shit, yeah, she’s there. Who is she?”

  But Sarah didn’t answer. She was already out of Kane’s arms and racing across the rubble. Kane swore and took off after her, knowing that she was going to make it only about ten yards before her legs gave out from weakness.

  He was wrong.

  She made it only eight.

  But he was there to catch her anyway.

  *

  Sarah gasped as Kane swept her up and carried her toward her grandmother. She tumbled out of his arms, clinging to her grandmother as tears poured down her cheeks. “Nonny!” She hugged her tightly, unable to believe she was holding her grandmother. “You’re alive.”

  “Damn straight I am.” Nonny hugged her back, her thin arms like wire wrapping around her.

  “But how?” Sarah pulled back, searching her grandmother’s wizened face, trying to understand how she was still there. “Jacob had your talisman in his hand. You never take it off.”

  “I didn’t take it off.” Nonny’s wrinkled face suddenly looked old for the first time Sarah could remember, as true sadness filled her eyes. “He ripped it off my neck. I think he couldn’t bear to see it when he killed me.”

  Sarah bit her lip, betrayal welling up inside her again. How could Jacob have been ready to kill their grandmother? She understood why he was trying to kill her, but Nonny? There was no reason for that except for the sheer, raw high of killing. “How did you stop him?”

  “I didn’t.” Irritation flashed in the old lady’s eyes. “He was just rearing back to kill me with his sickle when you called him. He dropped me and disappeared.”

  Sarah stared at her grandmother, stunned by her story. “It worked? I distracted him from killing you?”

  “Yes, it did.” Nonny glared at her. “You scared the shit out of me, girl. Never call the bad guy to your doorstep again, or I’ll have to take a switch to you.”

  Sarah started laughing, the relief was so great. She’d done it. All that she’d suffered had been worth it because she’d protected her grandmother. “Don’t ever sacrifice yourself to save an angel again. We’ll beat you every time.”

  “Hah,” Nonny scoffed. “Look at you, so weak you can’t even stand up. Why haven’t you restored yourself?”

  “The fountain’s dry. Kane and the others were just working on it—”

  Nonny barked with irritation. “They weren’t doing anything. They were just standing around.” She looked past Sarah and eyed Kane, who was still standing right behind Sarah, barely giving her any personal space at all. “Who the hell are you anyway?”

  To Sarah’s surprise, Kane bowed to her grandmother. “Kane Santiago, at your service.” He brushed his hand through the air, indicating behind him. “And these are my compatriots, Ryland Samuels and Thano Savakis.” His eyes blazed with fierceness and satisfaction as he looked at her grandmother. “We’re Order of the Blade, and we’ve come to help your village.”

  “Order of the Blade?” Nonny stared in disbelief. “Why on God’s green earth would you come here?”

  “Because we protect the earth from rogue Calydons, and you’ve got yourself a problem with them, don’t you?”

  Sarah stiffened, realizing that she’d never thought to ask Kane why he was there. She’d been so caught up in the intensity between them that she hadn’t even thought logistically about the fact that he’d appeared in her village out of the blue. Damn! Had he really come to find the Calydons? She couldn’t let
Kane find out what was going on in the woods. The Order would destroy everything. They would kill her brother. “We’ve got it covered,” Sarah said quickly, her heart pounding for the safety of the men who had gone rogue. She didn’t want them dead. She just wanted them stopped, and she wanted herself to live. That was very different than the team slaying of all the “bad guys” that the Order would do.

  “Like hell we do, Sarah. We’re in serious shit here, and there’s no point in pretending we’re not,” Nonny said. A genuine smile burst over her face, and she slapped Kane’s shoulder. “Welcome boys. We’ve been waiting two thousand years for you. It’s about damned time.”

  “Wait—” Sarah grabbed her grandmother, and pulled her to the side. “They’re Order, Nonny,” she whispered. “You know what that means—”

  Nonny ignored her and looked right at Kane. “You think you can squeeze water from stone, young man?”

  Kane glanced back at the fountain. “Yeah.”

  Nonny met his gaze. “You do that, and you can stay. Sarah needs a man like you.”

  A conspiratorial grin flashed across Kane’s face. “It doesn’t appear she agrees with you, but I do.” He grinned at both of them, then turned away, gesturing at his teammates to meet him at the fountain.

  “Nonny,” Sarah hissed at her as Kane headed toward the fountain. “Didn’t you see his scars?”

  Her grandmother raised a well-plucked eyebrow at her. “You think I’m blind? Of course I saw them. The man’s covered with them. Why? Do you find them abhorrent? Because personally, I think the man’s obvious sex appeal is enhanced by his badges of suffering.” She smiled fondly at Kane and the others. “I always liked a man who’d seen the grittier side of life, and I think it’s awfully judgmental that you are repulsed by them.”

  “No! God, no. Of course I’m not repulsed by him!” Sarah grimaced when she saw Kane grin, and her grandmother chuckled. Damn Nonny for making her say that. Sarah lowered her voice and leaned closer to her grandmother. “It’s the shapes of the scars. Didn’t you see them?”

  “Of course I saw them.” Nonny rolled her eyes again. “Again with the questions about my eyesight? Do I suddenly look old to you or something?”

  “No.” Sarah wanted to strangle her grandmother. “It’s just that, what if they mean—”

  “Mean what?” Kane turned back to them, his brown eyes boring into both of them. “You know what my scars are? Both of you?”

  Sarah saw the anguish in his eyes, and suddenly she wasn’t certain anymore. How could this man be Los Muerte? He’d averted his weapon instinctively when she’d moved in front of his blade. Los Muerte’s instincts would be to kill her. But then again, there was no mistaking the darkness within him… Dammit! “I don’t know—”

  “Yes, you do, Sarah,” Nonny said. “You know exactly what those scars are.”

  Kane met her gaze, waiting. He wasn’t waiting for her grandmother. He wanted to hear it from her. But what was she supposed to do? Tell the man who’d given his life to protecting innocents that he could be the biggest assassin of them all?

  Nonny broke the silence. “Save my granddaughter, and we’ll talk,” Nonny said, her eyes blazing fiercely. “We’ve been waiting for you, young man. Even Sarah.”

  Satisfaction gleamed in Kane’s eyes, and he nodded once, accepting Nonny’s promise. “Not as long as I’ve been waiting for you.” He settled his gaze on Sarah, his voice so heavy with meaning that her body ached in response, and Nonny let out a low whistle and muttered something about the legal levels of testosterone in a man.

  Sarah collapsed back against a rock as Kane turned away, her skin flush with heat that had nothing to do with the morning sunshine. Damn him. How could he affect her that way?

  Kane caught up with Thano and Ryland, and the three men got to work. Nonny eased Sarah to the ground while Kane and the others began tearing apart the rocks beside the fountain with their hands. The rock seemed to crumble beneath their iron grip, and as Sarah watched the thousand-year-old structure succumb to their strength, she began to fully understand the power of these men.

  Of the male whose mark was still on her arm.

  The warrior who, despite the intensity of how he made her feel, seemed likely to be the demon who had come back to the village for the singular purpose of being her ultimate destruction. A shiver rippled over her, and she hugged herself, leaning against her grandmother for support. And as she watched his muscles bunching with the effort of unearthing water for her, she couldn’t keep herself from wanting even more of him, like a lamb rushing straight into the lion’s gaping jaws.

  “Dear God,” she whispered. “What have I done?”

  *

  Luc Acostos whipped his head up as the breeze carried to him the scent he hadn’t smelled in over six hundred years. He froze, his claws buried in the animal he’d just slaughtered, claws that had long since stopped retracting during the day. His muscles tensed and he swung around, frantically scenting the air as he tried to track it. Was he imagining it?

  He breathed deeply, then caught it again. That same scent of earth and humanity, of the sulfuric taint of demon and the lily-of-the-valley blessing of purity beyond words. “Jesus!” He leapt to his feet and bolted through the woods, moving so silently and so quickly that even the animals didn’t notice him pass by. He brushed a deer with his hip, and the animal hadn’t even managed to lift its head to look around before he was past.

  Faster and faster he ran, his legs pistoning as he vaulted over underbrush and dead trees, ducking past branches, leaping over boulders. His heart was pounding, his mouth dry, adrenaline screaming through him as he sprinted straight toward the scent he’d locked onto, desperate to get there before it dissipated—

  There!

  Luc slammed to a stop, his body becoming as still as death as he waited in the shadows, frantically searching the cluster of people around the fountain that he’d finally succeeded in drying up.

  His gaze went right toward the tallest male, the one cleaving at the earth beside the fountain with his spiked flail. “By hell’s angels,” Luc whispered, staring in disbelief at the warrior who was covered in scars.

  It had to be him.

  Every cell in Luc’s body was screaming in response, fire burning through him so intensely that black smudges crept over his arms. It was the black taint of the hell he’d been tormented by for the last six hundred years, the one that made his skin scream with agony every minute of every day. The poison that bled through his veins, eating away at his insides like the slow onslaught of death that would never give him the mercy of actually coming for him. The agonizing thud of his heart, like a dagger being ripped through the tissue each time his heart beat. But the emptiness in his soul was a thousand times worse than the most brutal physical pain it was possible to suffer.

  Was it all over now? Was it finally going to end?

  Luc watched the warrior, his heart thudding with agonizing anticipation as he waited for the warrior to turn around. To see his face. To know.

  The warrior stopped suddenly, going utterly still. Slowly, he turned his head, scanning the woods near where Luc was hiding.

  No shit? He’d sensed him? Luc stilled his heart, going into complete stealth mode.

  Still gripping a massive chunk of rock, the warrior slowly straightened up. With a flick of his fingers, he got the attention of the other two, and all three men began vigilantly scanning the woods. The air began to hum as they reached out with their preternatural senses. The women on the ground near them went still, and suddenly they were looking around as well.

  Luc smiled, knowing that they would never find him. No one could. Not unless he wanted them to. Turn around. Show me your face.

  The warrior dropped the rock and spun around.

  Luc froze in stunned disbelief as recognition ripped through him. It was Kane Santiago. The prodigal son had returned.Raw, dark elation tore through Luc, and he dug his claws into his own palm, drawing blood.

  Kane turn
ed his head sharply, staring directly at Luc’s hiding place.

  Luc swore as the warrior seemed to stare right at him. Could he really see him? If he could, that could mean only one thing: their connection was already rebuilding itself. Kane was coming back to him. A slow, satisfied grin spread across Luc’s face as he looked into the male’s dark eyes. Eyes so dark they could be from only one place: hell.

  Luc’s hell.

  The hell he hadn’t been able to escape for six hundred years. The one that would never release him, until he found his replacement. Luc grinned, knowing that he’d found him. Welcome to hell, Kane. You owe me a lifetime, and I’m going to take it from you.

  Kane shouted sharply, and sprinted straight toward him.

  Luc swore and whirled around, bolting into the woods. He let the forest swallow him up, running hard until there was no sound from behind him. Slowly, he eased down and turned to face the direction of the old village, where Kane Santiago had come back to him.

  Luc held up his hand, and watched his flesh disintegrate into wisps of black smoke. The spirals of smoke circled in the air, twisting around, gaining power. “Tonight,” he said aloud. “I will come for you tonight.”

  Then the rest of him dissolved into smoke, and he tore through the woods, a lightning-fast streak of pure evil that left behind a trail of death before he slithered through a crack in the earth and disappeared.

  Chapter Eight

  Gideon scowled when he walked into the dungeon in the basement of Dante’s mansion and saw the only person on earth who mattered to him sitting too damn close to the bastard who had almost killed one woman already. It didn’t matter that Quinn and Elijah were also in there, armed and within about two inches of Lily. He’d seen Jacob try to kill his own sister, and Gideon wanted him nowhere near his woman. “Lily,” he said, unable to keep the edge out of his voice. “What are you doing with Jacob?”

  His soul mate looked up at him, her face glowing with that same intensity that she always had when she was acquiring information. As the world’s leading expert on Calydons, Dr. Lily Davenport was in sheer heaven living at the mansion and becoming the Order’s most important intellectual resource.