Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

word to his team. "Run."
    The three of them broke into a dead sprint, racing down the hill at a speed very few living creatures could match. They leapt over rocks and crevices, tore past boulders, and raced deeper and deeper into the crevasse. Silent, the three massive warriors were like streaks in the night, in high conceal mode as they sprinted down the hill. Sarah was secure on his back, holding tight, giving them the freedom to cover ground at a pace she could never match.
    They ran for eleven minutes. Eleven minutes straight down into the earth at breakneck speed, until Kane felt a lessening of the sensation of being watched. "We're losing them," he told the team. "Keep going."
    Barely breathing hard, they upped their speed, their muscles contracting with fierce intensity, their legs churning so fast that most eyes would not be able to track them. But even as he ran, Kane felt his muscles stabbing with pain, as if the black sludge on his skin was eating away at his body. Swearing, he dug harder, fighting to keep up with his team—
    Suddenly there was a loud-pitched scream, and a black shadow sprang out of the earth directly in front of Thano. Thano shouted and swung his halberd as it swooped around him. It jerked him off his feet and began dragging him along the earth.
    "Shit! Thano!" Ryland and Kane sprinted after him, as Thano hacked at the shadow with his weapon, but the blade was going right through the black smoke, as if it wasn't even there.
    "Fuck!" Thano's muscles were bulging as he fought, as his body tore a furrow through the rocky terrain. "Let me go you bastard!"
    Ryland and Kane ran harder, but Thano was moving faster than either of them could go. "Teleport," Ryland shouted. "Get the bastard!"
    Kane swore, and tore Sarah off him. "Keep her safe!" He tossed Sarah at Ryland, not breaking stride. He started to teleport even as she flew out of his arms—
    The moment he wasn't touching her, agony ripped through him. He bellowed with anguish even as he dematerialized. He reformed ten feet in front of Thano, his body screaming with agony as he spread his feet to block the path of his teammate. Kane reared back with his flail as the tentacle neared and brought down his flail with tremendous strength just as the black streak moved between his feet.
    But it simply parted around his weapon, streaking past him, still dragging Thano. "Thano!" Kane dove on Thano as the warrior was ripped past him. He locked onto his teammate, and instantly dematerialized, taking Thano with him. But as he faded, he felt Thano's body resisting the teleportation, his cells refusing to disintegrate. "Shit!" Kane rematerialized, still holding onto Thano as they were yanked and dragged, tumbling across the earth as they were sucked along.
    "Get out of there!" Ryland shouted, pointing past him.
    Kane turned and saw a gaping black hole in the earth. The air above it was murky, roiling with violent green, purple and black. "Son of a bitch." He concentrated his energy on Thano, who was still relentlessly hacking at the thing wrapped around him. "Thano! Don't shut me out!"
    "I'm not," he yelled back. "It's not me. Get us the fuck out of here, Kane!"
    Swearing, Kane gripped Thano tighter and opened his mental connection to his teammate. They weren't blood bonded, but when they were close, they could talk mind-to-mind like any Calydons. Thano's mind met his, and he sensed the warrior's grim desperation. They locked onto each other, and Kane made sure they were tightly connected.
    "Now!" Ryland shouted. "Now!"
    "Kane!" Sarah yelled, her voice frantic. "You're almost there!"
    With a furious burst of power, Kane poured all his energy into Thano, tearing apart his cells and yanking him ruthlessly into the dematerialization. They began to fade, and Kane felt a surge of triumph—
    Then Thano was torn out of his grasp, and both warriors bellowed in fury as they were ripped apart. Kane lunged for Thano as the younger warrior plunged over the edge of the hole. "Go," Thano shouted as he was yanked over the edge. "This isn't about me! I'm not your mission!" Then he was gone, and Kane was hurtling over the edge after him—
    Kane! Sarah's voice ripped through his mind. You can't save him that way! Don't go in there!
    With a roar of agony, Kane dematerialized, and he landed beside Ryland and Sarah, his body screaming from the effort. He landed hard on the earth, his body shaking as the black taint rushed over him, eating away at his skin. Son of a