Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

"Don't you dare do this! I'll find a way. I always do."
    Nonny's footsteps crunched on the gravel as she walked down the driveway. "You survive tonight, do you understand? You're the only hope, Sarah. The only one, by God."
    "I don't have hope or faith anymore," she retorted. "It's gone, and if you die, then I've really got nothing left." Her brother and his crew had taken the final shreds of hope from her last night when Jacob had walked up to her and jammed his claws into her throat. Having her beloved brother turn on her had shredded her faith in life, in humanity, in goodness. Without faith and hope, she would die, because those elements were what gave her soul life.
    The beatings last night hadn't been about killing her with violence. It had been about breaking her soul by having those she loved beating her, and by forcing her to use her powers to hurt others. The way to destroy her was to strip her of all hope and faith, because those emotions were what sustained her. Without it, she could not exist, and if she didn't exist...
    God, no, she couldn't think like that.
    She rubbed her neck, bile churning at the feeling of those five puncture wounds, at the reminder that the brother she loved more than anything had led the assault on her last night. One of the best ways to destroy her was to force her to use her powers to hurt others, especially those she loved. It was devastating to watch men she'd once known and loved suffer and die at her hands, and each time she'd done it, another part of her heart had died.
    She had so little hope and faith left after what had happened seven years ago, and last night had almost destroyed her completely. Another night like that? She knew she didn't have the resources to survive it. "If you die, I have nothing left, Nonny. You're the only thing left in my life I can believe in. I can't do it without you."
    Her grandmother swore. "You'll die if they get you tonight, and you'll die if I get killed? What kind of crap is that? Toughen up, Sarah. I won't sacrifice myself if you're just going to roll over and give up just because the night gets a little rough!"
    "I'm not going to roll over! Don't sacrifice yourself!" Sarah jammed her foot on the gas, ignoring the sweat streaming down her temples, the nausea roiling in her belly, and the aching of her body. "I'll survive tonight. I'll find a way. Just go back inside. Please, you're all I have left, Nonny." Her voice broke, and she had to fight to hold back the tears.
    Seven years ago, everything she believed in had been destroyed when the man she had loved with all her soul, who she'd known since childhood, had turned on her after becoming a Calydon. He'd murdered her parents. He'd slaughtered their baby girl, tearing her from Sarah's arms as she fought to protect her. And then he'd come after Sarah, his eyes blazing red as the demon consumed him.
    Grief filled Sarah at the memory of her husband sprawled on the ground, crawling toward her to get in the final killing blow before he died, his life bleeding from him, spilling into the earth like black poison into dust.
    To stop him, she'd killed him. She'd murdered the man she'd loved, and he'd killed almost everyone she cared about. The old anguish flared deep and agonizing again, brought to life by her brother's turning on her. If she couldn't trust those she loved, who could she trust?
    The debilitating emotions she'd fought so hard to suppress for so long swelled inside her: the despair, the hopelessness, the doom, all the feelings that would finally destroy the soul that had been dying for the last seven years.
    She rubbed her hand over the scar on her stomach, from the blow that had nearly killed her. The eleven months in the hospital with nothing to do but obsess about Mason's betrayal, her unforgivable failure to protect her daughter, and the loss of so many who she loved so dearly. The loneliness and guilt had been overwhelming, and Sarah knew her spirit would have broken if it hadn't been for her grandmother sitting by her bed, haranguing her relentlessly to survive for one more day.
    To lose her grandmother now? Her only rock? Sarah knew it would be more than she could take. "Nonny. You can't sacrifice yourself for me. You can't!"
    "Bullshit, Sarah. Of course I can. It's your time to step up, and it's my job to help you. Your life is worth more than mine. Godspeed, child."
    "Nonny!" Sarah gripped the phone frantically as the line went dead. Her hand shaking, she frantically