Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

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