Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

bitch. He'd lost Thano. He'd lost him.
    He stumbled to his feet, as Ryland and Sarah hurried over. "We have to get him," he managed, barely able to stand through the pain. It felt like his skin was being torn off his body, like his flesh was being ripped from the bone. "Now!"
    Ryland was already racing toward the hole, his machete out as he bellowed his rage. Kane grabbed Sarah, and they sprinted after him. But even as they raced after him, Kane saw another black tendril spring out of the earth right at Ryland. "Ry!" he shouted. "Watch out—"
    Ryland vaulted over the tendril, hacking at it with his machete. It twisted and turned, trying to track him as he leapt over it. "Stupid bastard," he yelled. "You don't get to have me—" It grabbed at his ankle and hauled him back toward the hole, tearing through the air as Ryland shouted his rage.
    Sarah let go of Kane. "Get him," she shouted. "Go!"
    Kane didn't waste any time. He immediately dematerialized and teleported to mid-air where Ryland was being dragged down toward the hole. Ryland met Kane's gaze, and Kane saw his teammate's eyes were blood red. Pure, raw evil was pouring out of Ryland, so thick that Kane's hands burned where they touched his flesh. "Fuck that bastard, Santiago," Ryland snarled. "Get me the fuck out of here."
    Inches from the churning miasmas of smoke spewing out of the hole, Kane dematerialized again. He felt a scream of rage from the smoke, and he felt Ryland's body resist the dematerialization just like Thano's had. But then, something violent and evil ripped out of Ryland. There was a flash of crimson light, streaked with putrid brown and black slashes. It lit up the night, and the smoke that had been gripping Ryland so tightly screamed in agony and suddenly Ryland's body was released and he disintegrated with Kane.
    Kane teleported them to the hill just below Sarah, both men landing with a staggering impact. Kane braced his hands on the earth, fighting against the pain, his body vibrating with the shock of whatever Ryland had unleashed. "What the hell was that?"
    Ryland was on his stomach in the dirt, not moving, his head turned toward the side, away from Kane.
    "Ry?" Then Kane saw Sarah's expression. She was on her knees on the other side of Ryland, staring at Ryland's face. She was frozen in sheer terror, her eyes wide, her mouth open, her body trembling.
    "Sarah?" Raw dread pulsed through Kane and he saw Ryland's body twitch. Violent black, brown and red slashes appeared on his skin, as if he were being flayed with an invisible whip before their very eyes.
    "Oh, God." Sarah began to back away from Ryland, and he felt the raw coldness of terror so deep it could destroy one's very soul. "Kane," she whispered. "You need to see this."
    "What? What? " Kane lurched to his feet and vaulted over Ryland's twitching body, tackling Sarah and yanking her back from Ryland. Once he had her a safe distance from Ryland, Kane shoved her behind him as he whirled to face his teammate.
    Then he saw what Sarah had seen, and his blood ran cold. "Hell, man," he whispered. "What the fuck are you?"
    Ryland's face was gone. In its place was a smoky, turbulent facade of shifting shadows. Black, red, green, purple. Where his eyes should have been were two black abysses, bottomless pits of raging fire, of spirits screaming in agony. Thousands and thousands of spirits, trapped in the abyss, screaming to be saved, suffering agony beyond words.
    Kane held up his flail, reaching behind him to make sure Sarah was still within reach. "Ryland," he said quietly. "Come back to us. We need your help."
    The warrior didn't move, but his body was still twitching, and more and more slashes were appearing on his skin, tearing his clothes, ripping chunks out of his flesh.
    "Ryland!" Kane yelled. "Get the fuck back here! Your angel needs you!"
    Still no response, and the ground beneath Ryland began to churn, spewing bits of dirt and earth into the air. "Shit," Kane swore.
    "This isn't the pit that's doing it," Sarah said, her hand tight on Kane's back. "I've never seen that before. This is him."
    "Ryland!" Kane shouted. Shit. What would Dante do for Ryland? Dante had been their leader, the only one who'd been able to provide peace to Ryland. Thano had seemed to have a connection with Ry, but... Guilt and grief welled through Kane. Thano was gone. Kane was all Ry had left, but he had no idea how to help him. How to bring him back—
    His brands suddenly burned in his arms, and Kane