Darkness Reborn (Order of the Blade #5) (8 page)

She rolled her eyes. "You can't manipulate me. I made that choice because you look like some lost puppy dog at the thought of losing me, and I felt bad for you. And because I'm too weak to move anything but an eyelash." Despite her flirting, she couldn't suppress her discomfort at having to rely on him. She hated to put herself in a position where she would be in trouble if he turned on her, but she had no choice. Not right now.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "You pitied me?"

She pressed her hand to her forehead, trying to quell the pain thudding through it. "Exactly."

"Pity?" Kane grinned, even as he set his hand over hers and pressed lightly. She was startled to feel a surge of energy from him. "Well, damn, woman. I think that's a first. I was hoping for raw, unbridled lust keeping you hopelessly begging for another kiss from me, rendering you utterly incapable of doing anything but fantasizing about me and my incredible lovemaking skills."

As his touch took away some of the throbbing pain in her head, Sarah shivered with desire, his words evoking memories of their lovemaking. Oh, the man had no idea what he did to her. She thought of the brand hidden beneath her long sleeves and stiffened, trying to pull away from his touch. Dammit. She had to remember to keep her distance, because the bond would try to pull them together. She couldn't afford to complete any more stages and tighten their connection, making it more and more difficult for her to protect herself from him when he finally turned. "You won't win me over—"

"No." He gave her a long look as he grasped her shoulder, not letting her escape from him. "I can't imagine anyone could, but right now I'll settle for not having to spend another two weeks tracking you down." He gestured to her. "I might have to get a little violent with the fountain, so I want to move you out of range. Can you walk?"

She shook her head, not even bothering to try to come across as some powerful woman. He'd seen her at her worst. She had nothing she could prove to him. "Not so much, no."

"May I?" He held out his arms, and she almost laughed at his attempt to look harmless.

How dangerous could it be for him to carry her a few yards? Surely she could manage to resist her attraction to him for a few steps, so that he could help her? Of course she could. She might be throbbing with desire for him, but she was also an emotionally stunted and damaged woman. She should have no trouble calling upon that trauma to resist the temptation of being in his arms. "Yes, sure, you can move me."

"Excellent. I've been wanting to feel you up for weeks." He slipped his arms under her and scooped her up with way too much ease, his biceps bulging as he stepped over the crumbling wall.

"Don't be crass. I'm not that kind of girl." But damn, she couldn't stop the swell of desire that cascaded through her at the sensation of being held in his arms. Suddenly, all the intensity that had erupted during their first encounter raged to the surface again. Her skin felt hot, her belly pulsed, and her whole body began to vibrate.

Kane stopped and stared at her. "Son of a bitch," he said softly, staring at her with such sensual desire that she felt like he was about to ignite every cell of her body. "What is it with you?"

She pulled her sleeves over her hands and shook her head. "We had a night of great sex, and there's a little residual stuff going on. That's it."

"No, it's not." He bent his head and pressed his face to her hair, inhaling deeply.

Sarah stilled, her heart thundering at the intimate gesture. It felt amazing to be in his arms again, to feel his body surrounding her like some great shield. She'd wondered how she could have made love with him so recklessly, and now she knew. It was abundantly clear just how thoroughly he unraveled her defenses. He stripped her of all sanity and logic, and made her burn with something she didn't even understand. Suddenly, all the weakness that had been haunting her fled, replaced with something powerful and strong. Life? Hope? Excitement? Things she hadn't felt in so long.

Kane pulled back, and something flashed in his eyes. Pain. Hunger. Lust. Tension. Slowly, without another word, without asking permission and without bothering to see how she felt about it, he hoisted her in his arms, crushed her against his chest, and kissed her.

The moment his lips touched hers, something inside Sarah came roaring to life again, just like it had before. The hunger she'd seen in his eyes filled her, sweeping through her like some great storm trying to wrench her off her feet and thrust her up into a raging inferno of desire, lust and passion.

She couldn't stop herself from kissing him back, from wrapping her arms around his neck, from breathing in the sheer force of who he was. His energy and life force streamed into her, surging past the tears and breaks in the fabric of her soul, plunging right to her heart. She clung to him, kissing him back every bit as fiercely as he was kissing her, afraid to lose the feeling he gave her. He was life, he was light, he was courage and strength, everything she didn't have on her own, everything she needed.

With a growl, Kane shifted her in his arms so that she was facing him, her legs on either side of his hips, her breasts crushed against his chest. His hands dug into her butt, his mouth almost violent on hers as he kissed her back. It was as if all the intensity from that night had never left, despite two weeks of absence and the fact it was broad daylight.

She fisted his hair, her heart thundering as she kissed him. God, it felt amazing to be held and kissed, like she was alive and breathing for the first time in years. Her skin was on fire, the blood racing through her, her body trembling with such desire that her stomach actually ached with need.

Jesus, Sarah.
Kane locked his arm behind her shoulder blades and plundered her mouth, his kiss so deep and so passionate it was as if he were trying to find her soul and strip it out of her body.

But as she kissed him, she felt the kiss begin to change. More passion, more darkness, more violence surging through him. His arms began to tighten around her, almost too tight, almost crushing the breath out of her. Adrenaline raced through her, along with a tremor of fear. Los Muerte. The name whispered through her mind, as the darkness of Kane's spirit began to close around her like a thick, dark cloud of violence and death—

"Hey!" A firm hand slammed down on both their shoulders. "Cut the crap, Kane. Can't you see the angel's in bad shape?"

Sarah jumped and tried to pull back, but Kane just locked his hand behind her head and cut off her retreat, claiming her with one final kiss of pure possession. It wasn't until he'd decided they were done that he finally allowed her to break the kiss, his brown eyes staring at her with fierce ownership as he pulled back. Lurking in his eyes was that darkness, a pulsing void trying to take him, to consume him. Pain flickered across his face and he grimaced, showing her that he was feeling the same agony that he'd felt when they'd been making love.

"Kane—" She started to reach for him, and then she was hit with violent weakness. It flooded back into her now that the kiss was over, and she lost her grip on his shoulders, her fingers too weak to hold on.

"Shit, Sarah." Kane cursed under his breath as he tightened his grip on her, holding her securely against him.

"I'm okay." She leaned her head against his shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut, fighting to breathe. Her lungs felt tight, and it was hard to get oxygen. Kane's kiss had flooded her with energy and life, but the moment it had ended, the weakness had come crashing back, even worse than before. "I just need the fountain." Or a kiss, apparently, though that rejuvenation had ended the moment the kiss had. Maybe she needed to kiss him relentlessly and never stop. Maybe that would save her life.

"I'm on it." Kane gently set her down, and crouched beside her, running his hand gently through her hair. "Stay here. We'll get the damn thing to work."

"We?" She leaned her head against the stone, struggling to breathe, to get air into her lungs. Okay, she was no longer amused at how weak she was. This was definitely pushing it a little bit too close. But how was she supposed to know that the water would dry up and some overly-tempting testosterone factory would show up to seduce her with his kisses?

"We. My team." Kane jerked his head to the left, and she managed to turn her head enough to see what he was pointing to. Two massive warriors were standing beside them. One of them was the dark haired one she remembered from the other night. His pitch black hair was shaggy and unkempt, and his face was dark with fury. Ryland, the one who knew she was an angel.

Fear rippled through her as Kane stood up to face them. "You remember Ryland Samuels," he said, not bothering to look away from her face. "He has a crush on you, but don't get too excited about it. He's a veritable bastard who has never once brought a woman roses."

Ryland strode over to her and crouched in front of her. "I'm here to serve you," he said intently. "You tell me what you need, and it's yours. You honor us with your presence."

Her heart tightened for the emotion on Ryland's face, for the raw, almost unbearable pain in his eyes. God, she wished she could help him. There was so much grief and anger within him, so little humanity left inside. "Thanks," she whispered, her voice so raw it hurt to say any more.

"Hey, enough with you guys trying to impress the girl," the other warrior said, his dark brown hair cut in a short style more fitting of a guy in a Polo shirt than a male with a long, hooked spear clenched in his fist. "Let her choose between you guys herself." He winked at Sarah, a cheerful flirt that she knew instantly was designed simply to annoy the other two, and she almost smiled.

Who would dare antagonize men like Kane and Ryland?

"Thano Savakis." Kane jerked his thumb toward Thano as the three of them strode across the courtyard toward the fountain.

She could feel the determination from all three men to get the fountain working, and the faintest flicker of hope drifted through her. Was there really a chance? Could they do it?

"Thano thinks he's smarter and funnier than he is," Kane said as he vaulted over the wall to the fountain. "Don't get too attached because we're likely to take him out at any time."

"You'll never be able to take me out," Thano retorted cheerfully. "You're way too old for a hot youngblood like me."

"Fuck that," Ryland snapped. "You're not smart enough to stay alive. You'll never make it to a hundred."

Sarah's heart tightened with longing at the easy camaraderie between the men as they circled the fountain, talking in low voices as they inspected it. The affection had been evident in Kane's voice even when he'd been giving them grief, and she could sense the commitment they had to each other.

What would it be like to have strength like that at her back? It reminded her of too long ago, before the people she'd cared about had all died.

Kane turned his head suddenly and looked right at her.
Sarah.

His voice was like a warm strength curling through her mind, and she couldn't stop the sudden burn of tears.
What?

You're not alone anymore. I have your back. Even Ryland does, though I'll have to kill him if he makes a move on you.

She stared at Kane, at the massive, deadly warrior who dwarfed the fountain that had once been so big, and she felt the honesty of his words and she wanted to cry with relief. She wasn't alone. Regardless of who he once was, or who he might become, right now, in this moment, she could count on him, and that was an unbelievable gift.

But even as she began to relax and feel good about trusting him, she felt the slither of something dark inside him, beneath that rugged commitment. It was the kind of evil, tainted darkness that had destroyed so many, so brutally, for so long.

Kane's eyes narrowed, and she felt a sudden surge of the violence inside him.
What do you know about me?

Dear God, what could she say? Was he really Los Muerte?
I—

"Got it." Ryland shouted from the back side of the statue. "This is the spot."

Kane turned away then, sparing her answers she wasn't ready to give…for now. But she'd seen from the look on his face that he wasn't going to let it go. He was going to demand answers, and as she rubbed her hand over the brand on her arm, she knew there were things she simply couldn't afford for him to know.

The darkness inside Kane was getting worse with each passing moment. It had been getting exponentially stronger since he'd first walked into the village of Akara two hours ago, waiting for Sarah's return. He rubbed the back of his neck restlessly as he knelt at the base of the crumbling fountain, studying the crack in the rocks that Ryland had pointed out. He felt like his skin was peeling off his body, like the scars were made of acid, burning through his skin.

What the fuck was going on?

Ryland set his hand over the crack at the base of the statue. "The air is damp here. There's water beneath the ground."

Kane tested the air, and a cold blast of damp air hit him. It sizzled against his palm and he pulled his hand back. Across his palm was a blood-red streak, as if he'd been lashed by a burning whip. "Shit."

Ryland's dark eyes met his, and he flipped over his hand, showing Kane that his skin was clear. Not a mark.

"Thano."

The third warrior placed his hand over the crack. "It feels damp," he agreed. "Definitely water under there." He pulled his hand back and showed both of them. Again, not a mark.

The three warriors exchanged grim looks, and again, that cold, threatening energy seemed to swell inside Kane, like a chisel trying to crack his soul. Astronomical pain slashed through him.

Worse now. Getting worse. Why was he different from Ryland and Thano? What the hell was going on? He closed his fist, refusing to get dragged down into fixating on it. His mission was to get Sarah water, and then he could deal with everything else. "Let's get this damned fountain out of the way then."

"Wait." Sarah's desperate voice interrupted.

"What's up?" Kane turned to look at her, and the moment he saw her again, he felt like he'd just been sucker-punched by his first sighting of her in over two weeks. She was leaning against the crumbling wall, her face pale and weary, but her eyes were brimming with fire and passion.

Jesus.
She was real.
Ever since the night he'd met her, he'd had her only in his mind, trying to piece together what she really looked like, trying to figure out exactly what that whirlwind night had been about. He'd seen her only in the dim light, so his memories were of how she felt beneath him and what her voice sounded like. He could still remember the white light fading in her soul, and the beauty of her spirit as she'd flooded him when the darkness had tried to take him.

She'd become almost a fantasy, a phantasm who'd blown into his life in the night and vanished by morning. With each day that had passed, it had been more and more difficult to hold onto the details of who she was, and with each day, the void in his soul had become stronger and stronger, until it felt like there were a thousand pounds of weight crushing his lungs, making it almost impossible to breathe.

He didn't sleep anymore, unwilling to relax his safeguards against the onslaught inside him. His only mission had been to find Sarah. He'd been consumed by the need to locate the woman who had wiped out some of the scars on his chest and made him feel alive for the first time in five hundred years. He'd felt pain when he was with her, yeah, and darkness, but she'd also made his soul come screaming to life, and that was worth all the pain and torture in the world.

And now, after two weeks of frustration and dead ends, he'd found her. She was real.
Real.

Her hair was ash blond, like the color of sunshine breaking through a storm cloud. Her eyes were an even more radiant shade of blue than he'd remembered. But she looked delicate and fragile, so pale she seemed almost translucent. Her hands were trembling, and dirt was caked under her fingernails. He swore under his breath as the need to protect her raged to the surface, but he forced himself not to move toward her, afraid to spook her before he'd gotten her settled.

She'd taken off on him once, and he could not allow that to happen again. He needed to handle the situation better this time. Right now, she needed his help, and he was going to give it to her. He needed to save her ass quickly, and then get her alone where he could solidify his position in her life so she didn't leave him.

"Don't destroy the fountain," she said. "It has special properties."

Kane grimaced at the several thousand pound tower of stone. Not move it? "You like to make things difficult, don't you, sweetheart?"

She managed a small smile. "You wouldn't adore me so much if I made life easy for you."

"Yeah." Kane eyed the fountain, trying to figure out a solution that didn't involve decimation. "True, but you're a serious impediment to my need to be violent and destructive."

Her smile faded, and he felt a surge of fear from her. "Do you really feel that way? Violent and destructive?"

At her sudden tension, Kane swung around to look at her, dropping the pretense. "It's part of who we are, Sarah," he said honestly. "It's what makes us able to save the damn world on a daily basis. I'm no angel, not by a longshot." He wouldn't lie to her about what he was, about the violence that was pulsing inside him, about the life he'd been leading for so long.

She bit her lip, and he felt her sudden withdrawal. The moment she pulled back, the void inside him roared back to life, fighting to consume him. He almost staggered from the force of it. There was no pain this time, just a sense of utter blankness. Death? Son of a bitch. What the fuck was going on? One minute he was consumed with a void that felt like the steady approach of death, and the next minute, there was such violence and pain tearing through him that he wanted to rip off his skin and let the demon loose into the world. Death versus life? Life was a demon, and death was death? Was that what was going on inside him? Because if so, he opted for door number three, whatever that might be—

Another wave of vast emptiness hit him, and it felt like his spirit was getting sucked into an arid dust bath, draining the life from his cells one by one by one.

"God, I love that angel perspective," Ryland said reverently, pausing with his machete in his fist. "She wants to save every damned thing, doesn't she? Even an old fountain. Can you imagine living that way? Fucking beautiful."

Thano raised his brows. "Dude, we need to get you some therapy. There's no beauty in your world. There's only violence and bad attitude. You don't even know how to notice beauty."

Ryland glared at him. "Fuck off, rookie."

Thano just grinned and held out his arms. "You can stop pretending you don't want to hug me. I can do the man-hug thing without losing my raw, manly sex appeal. Everything is beautiful, and all that, right?"

"Thano," Kane muttered, bracing himself against the pain trying to tear him apart. "Stop fucking around."

Thano and Ryland both turned toward Kane, and Thano's grin dropped off. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"I don't know." Kane's head was spinning, and he felt like he was losing his equilibrium. He braced his hands on the ground and bowed his head, straining to keep his balance and his focus. His skin felt cold, and his muscles felt like they were sluggish and heavy, like he was lodged in a pit of quicksand—

Kane.
Sarah's hand landed on his bare back, and a shock of energy ripped through him.

Don't move, Sarah. Stay with me.
He went utterly still, centering all his attention on the feel of her hand against his bare skin. The softness of her touch. The heat of her hand. The life beating within her. Slowly, ever so slowly, he felt the grip that the void had on him begin to lessen. The world stopped spinning, and his muscles began to fire again. The pain began to start again, but he didn't give a shit about that. He'd take the pain over what had just happened. Was that death? Was he a sliver away from dying? Because that's what it felt like.

He took a breath, then turned to look at Sarah. Her face was still streaked with the hairline fractures, and she was so pale that she looked like death itself. Ryland and Thano were each supporting one of her arms, and Ryland's arm was around her waist, holding her up.

For a split second, the ancient male instinct roared through Kane at the sight of the other two males touching his woman, but then Ryland shook his head once. "Don't do it, Santiago. We're saving your ass, so back the fuck off. Control yourself."

His heart thudding with the need to attack his friends, Kane looked at Sarah instead, focusing on the intensity of her blue eyes. Ryland was right. They were holding Sarah in position so she could touch Kane and bring him back. Why did her touch make the void disappear and bring the pain and the darkness to life?
What are you doing to me, Sarah? Why do I react like this around you?"

Uncertainty flickered in her eyes, and she shook her head. "I don't know."

She was lying. He knew she was, and that realization burned through him like acid. "No lies, Sarah. No damn lies."

She stiffened at his tone, and Kane saw Ryland move closer, trying to put his body between Kane and Sarah to protect her. Thano touched Ryland's arm in warning when Kane tensed, and Ryland froze, partially blocking Kane's access to Sarah.

No one moved, the tension so thick that it felt like one wrong breath would make everything snap. Violence rolled through Kane, a raw need to rip Ryland apart and make him pay for being too close to his woman. Kane felt his upper lip curl into a snarl, and Ryland tightened his fist on the machete. Kane immediately called out his flail, and Ryland raised his blade.

Thano swore and slid his arm over Sarah to pull her away, and Kane instantly pressed his flail to Thano's throat. "Don't fucking take her away from me," he growled. His voice was harsh and raspy, almost unrecognizable, and he felt Sarah suck in her breath.

Black spots began to dance through his vision, and Kane called out his other weapon. Ryland and Thano instantly did the same, and then all three men were armed, with Sarah in the middle.

"I think you should go, Sarah," Thano said, his voice grim. "There's something seriously fucked up happening right now."

But Sarah didn't move. She just looked up at Kane, searching his face desperately as if trying to understand. Then suddenly, more quickly than any of the men expected, she darted in front of Thano, putting her throat right in front of Kane's flail.

Kane swore and sheathed his flail instantly, jerking his hand back as Ryland and Thano grabbed for her—too late, because Kane would have already killed her by then if he'd wanted to.

"Jesus!" Thano grabbed Kane's arm and shoved him back, while Ryland grabbed Sarah and spun her away, shielding her with his body.

Darkness rolled through Kane at the sight of Ryland yanking Sarah away from him, and he lowered his head, glowering silently at his teammate as Thano set his hands on Kane's shoulders and shoved at him, ordering him to stand down.

Kane ignored him, his gaze riveted on Sarah as she turned in Ryland's arms. She raised her chin and met his gaze, her blue eyes blazing with audacity and...something else. No longer fear. Smug satisfaction. Relief.

"I knew you wouldn't hurt me," she said, her voice full of such relief it went right to his core and peeled away at some of the darkness inside him. "I knew I could trust you." Then she smiled, her face so radiant that it felt like he'd just been blinded by heaven's rays.

"Jesus," Ryland muttered. "That's why you did that? To test him?" Ryland looked almost ashen, which was astounding for him. "Sarah, he's a bastard on the edge. We all are. He was right when he said he's not an angel. Don't believe in us, and sure as hell don't test us by jumping in front of our weapons to see if we'll pull the blow."

"Speak for yourself," Thano said. "I'm completely angelic. It's the new wave of the Order."

Kane didn't reply to the banter, stunned by what had just happened. He was still shocked by that sight of Sarah on the other side of his flail when so much violence had been streaming through him. He stared at Sarah, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
Why did you do that?

I had to know.

He still didn't get it.
Know what?

Her smile faded.
Whether you were going to try to kill me now, or whether we have time.
Grim reality darkened her eyes, and she began to sag against Ryland, as if it had become too much in her weakened state.
You can't fake instinct, so now I know.

I would never hurt you, Sarah. Never.
The words burned inside him, a raging ferocity that tore him out of Thano's arms. He strode across the rubble toward Sarah, ignoring Thano's attempt to restrain him and Ryland's warning to back off.

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.