Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

hunted by them. There's too much out of alignment right now that we can't get a handle on. It can't all be coincidence."
    "No, it can't." Gideon glanced over at the metal cot Jacob was sleeping on, shackles holding him down. "We've got no choice. We've got to wake him up and get some answers."
    Quinn swore. "We can't wake him up. We'll never hold him long enough to get anything from him."
    Gideon scowled. "We're going to have to try soon, because I'm not going to sit around on my ass waiting for hell to hunt us down. We need to be ready."
    Ready for what, he didn't know.
    But they needed to find out.

Chapter Nine
    What had been hunting him?
    Kane stood at the edge of the woods, his senses straining to track the creature he'd sensed in the woods. Whatever he'd sensed had been the vilest of evil, and it swept through Kane like acid ripping through his tissue. Adrenaline roared over him as he searched the woods with his preternatural senses, trying to get a read on what he'd just seen. It felt familiar, like he'd recognized it, like his soul knew what it had been. But what the hell was it?
    "Hey." Ryland jogged up beside him, his machetes clenched in his fists. "What'd you pick up?"
    "I don't know—" Suddenly, Kane was hit with a brutal stab of pain, as if a dagger had just been plunged into his ribs and ripped through his skin. "Jesus!" He grabbed his chest, staggering from the sudden pain. The pain spread through him, right through his gut and down his legs, as if it were tearing through his muscles, ripping them from his very bone. Violence spewed through him, and his head was suddenly filled with images of bodies being ripped to shreds, covered in blood, strewn across the barren earth. He shook his head, trying to clear the vision, but it became worse. He could hear screams, the agonizing screams of people being torn from life by hell—
    "Shit!" Ryland grabbed his shoulders, holding him as Kane twisted in pain. "What the hell's going on with you?"
    "I don't know," Kane gasped—
    "Down on your knees, boy!" Nonny was suddenly in front of him, her wizened face blazing with intensity. "Sarah, get your ass over here. Thano, get some water from the fountain. Destroy the damned thing if you have to. Get it now!"
    Kane's knees dug into the rocky terrain, and he felt blood trickling down his temple as Thano took off. The visions were arcing though his brain now, the worst carnage and slaughter, horror beyond the imaginable. Violence and outrage spewed through him, along with the need to leap up and kill. He needed to destroy, just like the visions in his mind.
    He looked up and saw Ryland crouched beside him. A snarl curled Kane's lip and his flail erupted into his hand. "You need to die, you bastard—"
    "Back off, Santiago," Ryland snapped. "What the fuck is your deal?"
    "Sarah!" Nonny barked. "Get over here!"
    Sarah crawled over to him. "Kane?" Her voice was worried, but the mere sound of it was like an infusion of peace and serenity, ripping through the pain like a white light through blackness.
    "Sarah," he gasped, reaching for her. He caught her hand, and yanked her into him. She tumbled against him so hard that their bodies smacked together. The moment Kane held her in his arms, he felt his whole body react in shock to her warmth. "Jesus, Sarah." He tangled his fingers in her hair and buried his face in her neck, trying to concentrate only on the feel of her body against his.
    To his disbelieving relief, Sarah slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, resting her face against his cheek. Her skin was warm and soft, like this great gift of peace and freedom. But the visions in his head were still there, the violence, the—
    No, Kane. Focus on me. Sarah's warmth wrapped through his mind, and he could almost feel her prying his mind from the grip of the visions. Come back to me.
    Kane honed in on her voice, using the sound of her soft whisperings as an anchor, pulling him back from the edge. Slowly, the visions began to fade, and he became aware of desire pulsing within him, an awareness of the way her body was crushed against his. Her breasts were flush against his chest, her arms holding him tightly, her heart beating rapidly against his ribs. The darkness fled, the violence vanished, and all that was left was Sarah. He gripped her hair and pulled her head back so he could look at her.
    Her blue eyes were flushed with worry and desire, sensual attraction that went right to his core. But there was