Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

lunging for her, but his hands met only earth. Her body began to shake, and others rushed into the room, people shouting and holding her. Some staggering and gagging from the taint in the room. The vileness of the atmosphere was palpable, and some ran out, shouting for help.
    People surrounded her, cutting off his view of her, and Kane bellowed his rage, trying to get to see her—
    Then someone stood up, carrying a baby. A boy. Him? The crowd parted, and he saw the outline of his mother's body beneath a tattered black blanket. Seeping from the edges of the blanket, inching its way through the crevices in the wood was a thick, black stain, eating away at the very fabric of the home.
    Kane stared in horror at his mother, bile rising in his throat. "What happened to her?"
    "You did," Luc's voice was dripping with disgust, with disdain, with hatred so thick that it tore through Kane's memories and jerked him out of the past.
    Kane looked up in shock. "What?"
    "You killed her." Luc spat on Kane, his lip curled in disgust. "You destroyed her, you bastard cretin. I was coming back for her. We had a plan. And you fucking killed her."
    The truth of Luc's words reverberated through Kane, and pain stabbed through him, tearing through his flesh and his soul. "Son of a bitch." He bent over and braced his hands on his quads, fighting for breath. How could he have killed his own mother? But he felt the truth of it. He knew that taint was his. He'd poisoned her before he had even been born.
    Kane, Sarah said. Don't listen to him. He's trying to torment you—
    "No!" He gasped. "I can feel it. It's true."
    "And now you pay for it." Luc lashed out suddenly, and Kane felt his heart stutter. He looked down and saw a black shadow had pierced his chest and was trying to rip his heart out of his body.
    "Stop it!" Sarah called out Kane's flail and hurled it at Luc. He glanced over at her too late, and it slammed right into his chest, hurling him backward and ripping his shadowy arm out of Kane's chest.
    Kane gasped for breath, his mind reeling as he fought for clarity. He had to focus. Had to concentrate—
    Luc was on his knees now, glowering at Kane, but he didn't attack again. "In due time," he snarled. "But first you suffer."
    More visions flashed into Kane's mind, thundering through his consciousness. He was in a small cabin in the woods. The night was beating at the doors, the windows rattling, but there was a fire in the hearth. He was restless, pacing the room, his skin on fire. He reached for the door, and then a soft voice called his name.
    He turned as a woman walked out of the bedroom. She had white blond hair, blue eyes, and a smile so tender that Kane nearly choked. She was young, shit, so young, barely eighteen. She smiled at him, and he saw brands on her arms. His brands. His soul mate. "Son of a bitch." He didn't know her name. He had no clue who she was, but those were his brands. She belonged to him. "Jesus." His chest hurt, his lungs hurt, he couldn't breathe. This was who he was. His past. His family.
    Kane. Sarah's hands were on his shoulders, and he gripped them tightly, trying to pull himself back from the images. But he couldn't. He didn't want to. He wanted to find out about his past. To know the people who had been important to him.
    Another scene now. The same woman. Working outside in the garden. She turned toward him, and a smile lit up her face. Not just a smile. Love. Son of a bitch. She'd loved him. He'd been loved. He reached for her, and then there was a shout from around the corner of the house.
    His sheva turned and held out her arms, laughing as a young boy toddled toward her. The boy Kane had seen before in his dreams. Tousled curly hair. A muddy red shirt. The woman swept the boy up in her arms, their laughter echoing through the yard. God, they were happy. Then the boy looked toward Kane, and his heart almost stopped. The boy had his eyes. Sweet Jesus. "Is he my son?"
    "He is," Luc said, violent disgust making his voice vibrate. "Do you feel their love? Do you feel their innocence?"
    "God, yes." Kane tried to reach for them to touch them, but his hands just passed through air—
    Then suddenly, his sheva whirled around, facing the woods. Her smile vanished, fear flickered across her face. She began to back toward the house, clutching the boy to her chest. She had her hand out, as if she was trying to ward off something.
    Slowly with great dread, as if he knew what was coming, Kane turned his head to