Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

need to know."
    "No, they don't."
    "Hey!" Sarah grabbed her grandmother's arm. "Nonny. What do you know?" She didn't want to hear it. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be true.
    Nonny sighed and looked at her, and in those eyes Sarah saw a thousand years of burden. "Sarah, you're pregnant."
    Sarah felt the blood drain from her face, and her legs started to shake. She was vaguely aware of Kane grabbing her and holding her up, but her body was so numb she couldn't feel it. "But that's impossible," she whispered. "It was just last night. It couldn't happen that fast—"
    "It didn't," Nonny said gently. "Sarah, sweetheart, when you showed up here, it was already done."
    The night in the woods. When Jacob had been trying to kill her. "Oh, my God." Sarah couldn't breathe. The room was spinning. Her hands were shaking violently. She was cold. So cold. She didn't doubt Nonny for an instant. Her grandmother had always known things like that. It was her gift. Sarah was pregnant. Again. By Los Muerte. "I can't—"
    Nonny raised her eyebrows. "You obviously can, my dear."
    "But—" Sarah clutched her belly, fighting against the sudden pain in her stomach. "Mason tore me open. He made it impossible. It can't happen—"
    "Sarah!" Nonny's voice was sharp. "Pull yourself together! You have to cope with this! There can be no mistakes this time."
    No mistakes. No mistakes. No mistakes. No mistakes that would wind up with her baby killed. Again. "Oh, God."
    "No mistakes from either of you," Nonny said. "Hell, Kane, you look like you're going to be sick."
    Sarah jerked her gaze to Kane, who was on his knees beside her. His face was stricken, absolute terror in his expression. He looked up at her, and she saw visceral fear on his face. "Sarah," he said hoarsely. "I killed my own child before." He stumbled to his feet, staggering back from her as if she were a monster. "I can't risk you. I can't risk it. The talismans are gone. There's nothing to stop me. Jesus, Sarah." His gaze went to her belly, and suddenly she felt so exposed and raw.
    "My baby," he whispered, and there was so much agony and grief in his words that tears filled Sarah's eyes.
    "Stop." Javier rose to his feet in a swift movement. "There is no time for this. Luc must be stopped. Sarah is at tremendous risk now that she is pregnant."
    "From me," Kane said. "She's at risk from me."
    Sarah was shaking so violently she couldn't stop, and Kane was staring at her with a gaunt face.
    Ryland called out his machete suddenly and charged Kane. Kane whirled around and called out his weapons. They clashed hard, Ryland's eyes blazing with fire. "You don't get to kill the angels," he snarled. "Let me kill you, Santiago. You're the monster now. Let me end it before you destroy it all."
    "No!" Sarah shouted as Nonny yanked her back from the men. "Stop it! Don't kill him!"
    The weapons clashed and Kane fought back. It wasn't a spar. It was a battle, a battle to the death. Ryland was raging with focus, with his need to protect Sarah, and Kane was fighting back. The warriors were violent and powerful, slashing at each other. "Stand down, Ry!" Kane shouted. "This isn't about you and your damned hero complex about angels!"
    "You don't get to kill her!" Ryland shouted back, and he lunged at Kane. The machete sank deep into his shoulder, and Kane roared with fury. Then, suddenly, she saw Kane's skin begin to glow deep red, as if he had become hell itself. He lunged at Ryland, moving with twice the speed he'd been moving before. His strikes were violent and fast, cutting Ryland as the warriors battled. But the more they fought, the greater the glow emanating from Kane's skin.
    "Stop it!" Sarah shouted, desperate to make them stop. "We need to fight Luc, not each other!"
    But they simply roared with fury, unleashing the full extent of their battle skills upon each other. It was as if they saw no other solution. Killing each other was the only answer... "Oh, God!" She grabbed Nonny. "They have no hope or faith that they can make it work! Without hope, there's nothing to fight for. Crap!" It was the same as what had happened to Kane the night before. "Why are they losing faith like that? Why is it so bad?"
    Javier looked over at Sarah, then back at the men. "Sarah," he said sharply. "Come over here."
    She rushed toward Javier just as Kane threw Ryland into the wall. Javier grabbed Sarah's wrist and dragged her over to him as Ryland crashed through the plaster and onto the grass outside.
    Sadness