Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

swirled beneath them, and there was the most horrific scent of rot and suffering, of death, of evil, bubbling up from the earth.
    He knew then that they would die if they went in there.
    There was no rescuing of Thano. Nothing could survive that. Nothing.
    I will. Sarah's voice was grim. That won't kill me.
    Kane realized suddenly what she was saying. She wouldn't die from that. She would live an eternity of torment and suffering, unable to die to escape from it.
    "Unleash the beast!" Ryland shouted as he raced down the hill toward them. "Let it go, Kane!"
    Kane suddenly remembered how Ryland had broken the spell. By turning into a monster. Sarah gripped Kane tighter and met his gaze. I trust you, Kane. Do it. The heat from the inferno was raging now, and Kane could feel it burning his skin. They were inches, seconds from hell.
    He kissed her hard, then he stopped fighting the darkness within him. He embraced it. He embraced the nightmare that he'd seen in the vision. He allowed the darkness that had been hunting him to simply take over.
    The pain tore through him with violent force, erupting from him. Violence, hate, death, a thousand murders, bodies strewn across the earth, the joy of seeing such destruction. Kane embraced it all, and he opened himself to it. Suddenly there was an explosion of red light from his body. He screamed from the evil spewing through him, but at the same time, he felt sudden lightness in his cells, and he knew that he'd broken free of the dark tendrils.
    Sarah gasped and gripped him tightly. Now, Kane, now!
    Kane immediately tried to teleport again, and this time, he felt both of them begin to disintegrate.
    "Wait for me!" Ryland launched himself off the edge of the pit and dove straight down toward them, narrowing his body like a spear to slice through the air. He reached for Kane as they began to dissolve. Kane lunged for him, and their fingers touched as they vanished, making contact just in time.
    Kane had a split second to revel in the triumph of their escape, when he heard Luc's laughter, and he realized that somehow, they had just played right into a trap that Luc had set for them.
    It wasn't a victory. Not for them. But what battle had they just lost?

Chapter Fourteen
    Sarah tumbled to the hardwood floor of her grandmother's house, her body aching as she landed, still wrapped in Kane's arms. Ryland crashed beside her, and Kane landed with a thud.
    For a moment, none of them moved. Her body was shaking violently from the aftermath of using her powers, and the two warriors were bloody and ragged.
    Kane rolled over, pulling her under him, his dark eyes searching hers. Sarah? You okay?
    Sarah nodded, still trying to catch her breath. Kane's body was warm and heavy on hers, filling her with a sense of safety, of respite. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, clinging desperately. She could still see that pit, bubbling with things so awful that she couldn't even imagine them. "That was so close."
    "Nah," Ryland said, his voice strained. "It was a piece of cake."
    Sarah turned her head, and she was relieved to see that Ryland's face was still human. His body was still streaked with the slashes, and his clothes were torn. But the nightmare that had consumed him was gone.
    "You okay, man?" Kane asked, still not moving from Sarah, as if he couldn't bear to separate them, which was fine with her.
    Ryland sat up and propped himself against the wall, draping his arms over his knees. "Yeah."
    "What happened to you out there?"
    Ryland's eyes glittered with something dark. "Nothing."
    "Nothing? Shit, man, you were—"
    "Nothing." Ryland interrupted again. "You imagined it."
    Kane narrowed his eyes, and then he nodded once, giving Ryland his space. "For now, I imagined it, but eventually, I'm going to realize I didn't, and I'm going to want answers."
    Ryland's eyes were haunted. "Thano," he said quietly.
    Kane's sudden grief beat at Sarah, and his body shook with the effort of containing his emotions. "I know."
    "Luc has to die," Ryland said. "He has to."
    "Damn right he does." He met his teammate's gaze. "Any ideas?"
    Ryland said nothing.
    "Sarah!" There was a clatter from the kitchen, and Nonny flung open the living room door and raced inside. She took them in with a quick sweep and then swore. "Good God, what kind of defenders are you? I thought the Order of the Blade was tough!" But there was kindness in her voice, and she immediately went to the closet and pulled out a stack of Navajo