what to do!" He couldn't keep the fierceness out of his voice, couldn't suppress his frustration with his inability to help her.
She closed her eyes, and said nothing. She was shutting him out. Seriously? She was going to risk death instead of accepting his help? What the hell? "What's your name?" he said urgently, trying to connect with her, to get her to trust him in time.
Sarah Burns.
Her voice was the faintest whisper in his mind, and rightness filled him at the intimacy of it. He leapt on the chance to connect with her, wrapping his spirit around hers and trying to warm her coldness. My name is Kane Santiago. I won't hurt you. I swear it. He took her hand and set it on his chest. Can't you feel it?
Her fingers curled into his chest, and electricity shot through him. He sucked in his breath, shocked by the intensity of her touch, by the current rippling through him. His entire being leapt in response, and the dark void trying to consume him roared in rebellion as his spirit turned toward Sarah, as if she were a great light that could hold off the darkness.
He knew in that moment that he needed her, on levels he couldn't even comprehend. She was his salvation, his hope, his only chance to defeat the monster trying to chase him. "Sarah!" He hugged her more tightly against him, demanding her response. "Tell me how to save you!"
I need your faith.
My faith? What the hell was that all about? How was that going to save her? Where are your people? Do you have a healer I can take you to? He didn't bother to ask about a regular doctor. He'd sensed that she wasn't completely human. The richness of her spirit was too intense, too compelling. The air was lush and rich around her, as if she filled the atmosphere with life. As if she filled him with life.
Her voice grew fainter in his mind. Tell me something worth living for, Kane. Make me feel it.
Something worth living for? Son of a bitch. That was the one thing he had no answers for. He knew only death. He knew only loss. He lived with a void, violence and an empty past.
Why do you get up every morning? Why do you decide to breathe another breath? She arched in his arms as another convulsion took her. What do you live for?
Kane swore. I don't know. Answers. I want answers. I refuse to die until I find out who I was.
She gasped in pain, and more cracks appeared in her skin.
Okay, so clearly not what she'd been looking for. Son of a bitch! What the hell did she want from him? All he did every day was protect the world from monsters, save innocents from a hell worse than death. That was his job, and now, here he was with one woman dying in his arms and he couldn't stop it?
Her relief cascaded through him, and he felt the warmth of their connection in his mind. You save innocents, Kane . That's what matters to you.
Fuck, yeah, I do, but that's not what I live for.
Tell me about someone you saved. A child. A woman. An innocent. Let me feel it. Show me something good to believe in. Her body started to shake more violently, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Now, she gasped. Now, Kane, now!
He didn't get it. How would a story help her? But he didn't care. He tried to think back to all the times he'd gone to battle, all the deaths he'd caused, trying to remember one of the innocents he had saved. All he could recall was the death, the destruction, the carnage he'd left behind. The blood on his hands—
Seriously, Kane? Sarah's voice was weaker now, barely audible. That's what you give me when I ask for faith? That's all you have? I thought you had more... Her energy grew fainter, colder, and he felt her distance herself from him. You gave me hope. You were my last chance. Hope dies...
He was losing her! Kane swore, searching his mind for something worth remembering in his damned life. A child flashed through his mind. A small child. A baby boy.
Anguish arced through her, and she gripped his arm. A boy? Tell me. Tell me.
He couldn't remember. He just had an image in
She closed her eyes, and said nothing. She was shutting him out. Seriously? She was going to risk death instead of accepting his help? What the hell? "What's your name?" he said urgently, trying to connect with her, to get her to trust him in time.
Sarah Burns.
Her voice was the faintest whisper in his mind, and rightness filled him at the intimacy of it. He leapt on the chance to connect with her, wrapping his spirit around hers and trying to warm her coldness. My name is Kane Santiago. I won't hurt you. I swear it. He took her hand and set it on his chest. Can't you feel it?
Her fingers curled into his chest, and electricity shot through him. He sucked in his breath, shocked by the intensity of her touch, by the current rippling through him. His entire being leapt in response, and the dark void trying to consume him roared in rebellion as his spirit turned toward Sarah, as if she were a great light that could hold off the darkness.
He knew in that moment that he needed her, on levels he couldn't even comprehend. She was his salvation, his hope, his only chance to defeat the monster trying to chase him. "Sarah!" He hugged her more tightly against him, demanding her response. "Tell me how to save you!"
I need your faith.
My faith? What the hell was that all about? How was that going to save her? Where are your people? Do you have a healer I can take you to? He didn't bother to ask about a regular doctor. He'd sensed that she wasn't completely human. The richness of her spirit was too intense, too compelling. The air was lush and rich around her, as if she filled the atmosphere with life. As if she filled him with life.
Her voice grew fainter in his mind. Tell me something worth living for, Kane. Make me feel it.
Something worth living for? Son of a bitch. That was the one thing he had no answers for. He knew only death. He knew only loss. He lived with a void, violence and an empty past.
Why do you get up every morning? Why do you decide to breathe another breath? She arched in his arms as another convulsion took her. What do you live for?
Kane swore. I don't know. Answers. I want answers. I refuse to die until I find out who I was.
She gasped in pain, and more cracks appeared in her skin.
Okay, so clearly not what she'd been looking for. Son of a bitch! What the hell did she want from him? All he did every day was protect the world from monsters, save innocents from a hell worse than death. That was his job, and now, here he was with one woman dying in his arms and he couldn't stop it?
Her relief cascaded through him, and he felt the warmth of their connection in his mind. You save innocents, Kane . That's what matters to you.
Fuck, yeah, I do, but that's not what I live for.
Tell me about someone you saved. A child. A woman. An innocent. Let me feel it. Show me something good to believe in. Her body started to shake more violently, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Now, she gasped. Now, Kane, now!
He didn't get it. How would a story help her? But he didn't care. He tried to think back to all the times he'd gone to battle, all the deaths he'd caused, trying to remember one of the innocents he had saved. All he could recall was the death, the destruction, the carnage he'd left behind. The blood on his hands—
Seriously, Kane? Sarah's voice was weaker now, barely audible. That's what you give me when I ask for faith? That's all you have? I thought you had more... Her energy grew fainter, colder, and he felt her distance herself from him. You gave me hope. You were my last chance. Hope dies...
He was losing her! Kane swore, searching his mind for something worth remembering in his damned life. A child flashed through his mind. A small child. A baby boy.
Anguish arced through her, and she gripped his arm. A boy? Tell me. Tell me.
He couldn't remember. He just had an image in
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