Darkness Reborn (Order of the Blade #5) (5 page)

"Remember those honeymooners from Hollywood?" Ryland grunted, as if he were striking hard against the assailant.

Oh, yeah, Kane remembered the rogues with the manicures. "Yeah, why? Did they come back to life or something?" He grimaced as another blade slammed into his back, and he tucked Sarah more tightly under him, trying to cover every inch of her trembling body. He needed to get up and help Ryland fight, but he couldn't move away from her. Every blade was coming for her, not him. Outrage surged through him at the realization that their assailants were trying to attack
her.
Who the hell took on an innocent woman?

"Apparently, they have a big ass family and the reunion is here," Ryland said.

Damn. More rogues? Where were they coming from?

It's my brother,
Sarah said, her face buried against Kane's chest
. He's trying to destroy me.

Your brother? And to think I always wanted to know who my family was.
Kane turned his head slightly, and saw that it was the same warrior who'd been after Sarah when Kane had first arrived on the scene. How had he found them after Kane had teleported?

But it wasn't just the one guy. He'd brought a dozen warriors with him. All of them with red glowing eyes, unfashionably long claws, and the same intensity as the two rogues that had been such a tough take-down before. Kane itched to fight them, but he knew he couldn't. His number one priority was protecting the woman in his arms. "We need to bail, Ry." There was no way they could engage and keep Sarah safe at the same time.

Ryland didn't bother to answer. He just continued to defend Sarah and Kane with his weapons as he stepped on Kane's ankle to create body contact between them. "Go!"

Kane instantly dematerialized, taking Ryland and Sarah with him. But as the woods disappeared, he met the gaze of Sarah's brother, and saw in them a glittering truth.

The bastard would be right behind him.

* * *

Tears burned in Sarah's eyes, as Kane teleported them away from her brother. "He's not going to give up," she told Kane, her heart aching at the thought.

"Your brother?"

"Yes. He's the one tracking me. The others don't have the blood connection to me, so they can't track me without him. It's Jacob." Sarah felt the strength that Kane had given her when he'd shared his emotions with her begin to fade, chased away by the visceral reminder of Jacob's betrayal.

Dammit. No! She couldn't afford to be weakened. She had to stay strong. Faith and hope were all she had to sustain her. Fighting against the nausea, she opened her eyes to focus on Kane, to let him fill her world the way he had a few minutes ago.

He was looking past her, searching the woods he'd taken them to. His jaw was whiskered, his eyes blazing with lethal determination as he rapidly assessed their situation, engaging in urgent discussion with his teammate as the two warriors evaluated their options.

Kane was pure elemental Calydon, with his huge muscles, the black brands on his arms, and the gaping emptiness inside him. She'd felt Kane's void all the way to her core. As empty as her brother was, Kane was all that, and so much more. There was nothing left of who he might have been: his humanity and warmth was so buried. All that remained was the monster, the shell, the demon that possessed good men and turned them into creatures of death, destruction and betrayal. Kane was everything that she'd feared for so long. He was the epitome of the creatures that had stolen everything from her. He was her greatest nightmare, and she was trapped in his arms.

And yet, in his embrace, tucked against his bare chest, she felt safe. As if he'd erected some tremendous shield that could keep the danger at bay. She should fear him. For heaven's sake, he knew she was an angel. Both men did. And yet neither one of them had moved to hurt her. How was it possible? Was there more to them than the deadly creatures she'd grown up defending against?

But even as she asked the question, she knew the answer was yes. The depth of Kane's pain was extraordinary, so tremendous that it had touched her heart. A man with nothing but emptiness and death in his soul wouldn't be capable of feeling such pain. She wanted to heal him, to help him, to give him relief.

Sarah's chest tightened at the realization, at the gift that he offered her by making her want to help him. It had been so long since she'd wanted to reach out. She'd been focused only on her survival and doing her duty, and she hadn't had the energy or inspiration to help or heal anyone else for so long. Until Kane.

He looked down at her, and a smile flashed across his face. "Nice to see you looking conscious."

She smiled, her heart warming at the way his face lit up when he looked at her. "I think you can put me down."

"No chance." He actually tightened his grip on her. "What's the deal with your brother and his buddies? How can they teleport? Why do they want to kill you—"

Her brother flashed beside them, grabbed her and then began to dematerialize again, snatching her right out of Kane's arms. Her skin lit up in self-defense before she could even think about it, the white light bursting over the clearing in a blinding attack. Jacob swore and dropped her, but before she'd even hit the ground, another one of Jacob's teammates grabbed her and started to disappear. She took him out, and then another, and another and another. So fast, milliseconds between each grab and attack. She had no time to regroup, no time to heal, just more death, more pain, more—

"Come on!" Kane flashed beside her, yanked her out of another male's arms and dematerialized.

She didn't even know where he took her. Didn't even know where they landed. The agony was too intense from the aftermath of using her powers to harm and the weight of her brother's betrayal. It all had hit her too soon, when she was barely recovered from the last time. The cost ate away at her, ripping through her humanity, eviscerating the very part of her that gave her life. The pain in her head was crushing her like a vise, her skin fragmenting, her blood boiling over, burning through her veins, poisoning her body.

"Hang on, Sarah," Kane ordered. "Don't die on me, sweetheart."

Even through her pain, Sarah almost laughed at his command. The man had so much to learn about angels and women if he really thought that order was going to work. Then her body began to convulse, and she forgot about everything but trying to stay alive.

* * *

Kane swore as Sarah's body spasmed in his arms. With her brother tracking them so closely, he had no time to stop and help her. He had to keep them moving until he could get far enough ahead to stop. "Don't let go of me," he shouted at Ryland. "We need to keep going."

Ryland's face was grim, and his fingers dug into his arm as Kane flashed them to another spot. They'd barely materialized when he teleported them again. And then again. And again. A dozen times, in a myriad of directions, until his senses were screaming from overload and strain.

He didn't dare wait or delay, knowing he needed to create a tangled web long enough to give them breathing room. Again and again he took the three of them, his body bowed under the strain. He felt Sarah weaken in his arms, drained by the effort of dematerializing and then rebuilding.

Kane finally stopped by a stream, a hundred miles from where he'd begun, a place in southern Oregon he knew well from years of training as an Order member. The woods belonged to Quinn Masters, one of the most deadly Order members alive, and it was his acreage that they used to train. In these woods, they were on Order turf, even if the rest of the team wasn't actually present.

Kane gently lowered Sarah to the damp earth, and Ryland dropped beside him, his head bowed as he fought for breath.

"Damn," Ryland gasped, his hands braced on the ground. "You should hire yourself out for kids' parties. You'd make millions. That was impressive, Santiago. I had no idea you could do that."

"I'm a talented guy. What can I say?" Kane set Sarah down and scooped water out of the pure stream, ignoring the trembling of his own muscles. He'd never attempted anything like he'd just done, and quite frankly, he was damned pleased he'd managed to do it without leaving body parts strewn all over Oregon. "Drink, Sarah." He propped her up and eased water into her mouth, relieved when he saw her swallow.
Sarah. Concentrate on me. Just hang in there a little longer.

He felt a flicker of a response from her, but no words. Shit. She was too far gone. Urgency thrummed through him. He had to get her alone, get the space and time to heal her. "Here's the plan," he said as Ryland shoveled the cold water over his own head. "I'll drop you at the mansion, and you alert the team. I'll give you ten minutes to assemble them, and then I'll come back there and stay. Our pursuers will land at the mansion and keep going if I'm not there, so let them go through the first time. When I'm back and the bastards show up, we'll be ready."

Ryland nodded grimly. "Good. I hate running. Let's take these fuckers down." His eyes flickered toward Sarah. "How's the angel?"

"Not good."

Ryland met his gaze, flecks of green in his dark eyes. "I can't believe you're the one who can help her. Lucky bastard."

Kane grinned. "It's because I always go to church on Sundays."

Ryland snorted. "Hah. You've shed more blood on hallowed ground than any of the rest of us. You should burn in hell for even touching her."

"You can take that up with her when this shit is done."

"I will." Ryland's eyes darkened, and he set his hand on Kane's shoulder. "I don't like bullies who try to hurt angels. Let's bring these bastards down."

"You got it."

Kane.

His heart jumped at the soft voice, and he looked down at her, hoping to see her looking at him, but her eyes were still closed, her body limp in his arms.
Sarah?

Don't kill my brother. He has to live.

Kane grimaced.
Sweetheart, he's the one who's bringing those assassins to you. He has to be stopped.

Her agony filled him, slicing through him like a great wall of pain.
No, he has to live. Promise me.

The intensity of her voice was so strong, Kane knew he couldn't say no.
I'll try, but if I have to choose between you and him, it's going to be you.
He wanted to offer her the world, but he wouldn't lie to her. If he had to make a choice, there was only one decision he would make.

You're my only hope, Kane. You're all I have.
Her eyes flickered open, and he felt his soul stop at the anguish in those blue depths.
Please.

He swore, and looked at Ryland. "She says her brother has to live."

Ryland grinned, respect flashing in his eyes instead of the aggravation Kane had expected. "That's just like an angel, isn't it? Wanting to save the man who's trying to kill her?" He slapped Kane's shoulder, his amusement fading. "This chick is so going to get fucked up hanging out with us, Santiago. We need to get her away from us as soon as possible. I won't destroy an angel."

"Yeah, me either." Kane tucked Sarah more closely against his chest. Tremors were wracking her body, and he knew that they were almost out of time. Could she even survive the next fifteen minutes that he had planned for her?

She had to. He would make sure of it.

Kane stumbled as he materialized for the second time in the courtyard of Dante's mansion, the former abode of their deceased leader that had become the working headquarters of the Order of the Blade. Ryland caught him as he almost went down, his black eyes blazing. "We're ready."

His head still spinning from the magnitude of energy he'd had to expend to keep teleporting himself and Sarah, while ensuring their safe recovery each time, Kane looked around and felt intense relief fill him at the sight of the Order of the Blade surrounding him. His boys had his back, as they always did for each other.

Almost the entire team was assembled, weapons out, battle stances engaged. Ryland. Quinn Masters, their acting leader until Dante's replacement could be identified. Gideon Roarke. Thano Savakis, with his damned arrogant grin that hid a lethal talent that far surpassed the thirty-five years he'd been alive. Elijah Ross, who had finally begun to put on weight since his ordeal. Zach Roderick and Gabe Watson rounded it out. All accounted for except Ian Fitzgerald, who had vanished several weeks ago, carrying the body of the woman who looked like his dead
sheva
. No one had been able to find him since, and that wasn't good. Ian was a dedicated team member, and to have him disappear without a trace was an indication of something being seriously wrong.

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.