by Storm Savage
Trouble is back and he’s looking really good—black hair, blue eyes, and blue jeans—they didn’t warn her about him.
Flame can’t deny her attraction to the man she’s supposed to kill and, he’s coming on strong. In a war of darkness, her soul becomes the prize when a haunting mist uses supernatural persuasion to try and mate with her. If he succeeds, her soul will belong to the Twilight Realm.
When nobody is who they appear to be, Flame must utilize her elite skills to resist the powerful incubus long enough to uncover the truth about who is who. There is only one rule in Twilight War—win.
Will two souls pitted against each other figure out how to defeat the master of darkness?
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Twilight War
Copyright © 2013 Storm Savage
ISBN: 978-1-77111-591-9
Cover art by Scott Carpenter
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by eXtasy Books
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Smashwords Edition
Twilight War
Burning Hearts Two
By
Storm Savage
For my readers, thank you for choosing my books. My wish is that you escape reality for a while and enjoy the experience I have created for you.
For Jay, thank you for helping me get back on track. Your support and patience have saved me many times. Never was there a better EIC.
For my cover artist, thank you for the awesome covers in this series, for caring about my preferences and your passion in capturing the feel of the story.
For my editor Kate, thank you for your honesty, your talent and your fast and professional editing. You are awesome!
And always for Austin, the love of my life. Never was there a braver boy, a brighter spirit or a more loyal friend. I think of you every day, miss you every minute and feel your spirit still lighting my way. Thank you, my puppy angel.
Chapter One
Flame watched intently as the Supreme Lioness hovered directly over the pond before her. She’d returned to Celestial Village as requested for a private meeting with the glorious spiritual leader of her sisterhood nation. The hazy apparition of her high ruler never ceased to enthrall her. Long golden hair cascaded over flawless skin and she stared back at Flame with warm green eyes. Flame sensed the Lioness’s apprehension over what they were about to address.
“Your prompt return was necessary. You have done well and convinced me that you are ready. Now we may discuss in depth your concerns and the upcoming war.”
“Thank you, my lady. I sense urgent matters at hand.”
“I feel your inner turmoil and I’m glad you came back to share your distress with me. Your friend Ian did not survive. I see sadness in your eyes. For this, I am sorry, but he made his choice and you are not to blame. He ignored your warning.”
“The evil side fights dirty.”
“Now that you have dealt with Twilight’s minions, war is imminent.”
“You told me that the Twilight Realm is similar to what mortals call hell.” Flame kept her voice soft and reverent. “What is Twilight War?”
“Twilight War is a battle over souls. The master of that realm initiates war if he finds a soul worth the risk.”
“And you believe this has happened?”
“Yes. He sent his favorite tool, the Satellite, to lure you into battle.”
“Seems this Twilight Master keeps a backup plan…he brought the Satellite back from the dead. Guess I’ll just have to kill him again.”
The Lioness smiled in open affection. “You show no fear as always. Yes, he is very clever and deception is one of his greatest weapons.”
“Why my soul? There are millions of souls to choose from, why does he want mine?”
“You are the only one who has what it takes to destroy him and those who serve him. And the only woman with the gifts he needs. The evil one does not seek to kill you. If he can win you to his side then his power over us will be disastrous. He would like nothing more than to own our colony and use us to breed more of his evil fiends.”
Flame sat back on her knees, aghast at the stakes of such a war. She had to win, not only for her soul but also to save an entire breed of elite females from extinction.
“Is his weakness still the same? Will my flaming daggers still be effective?”
“I believe they will. Obviously, he still sees you as a threat or he wouldn’t have risked bringing his Satellite back across the realm.”
“What risk is there to him if he is so powerful?”
“In order to increase his powers of seduction, he had to use a human body to bring his Satellite back from death.” The Lioness arched one lovely brow. “In doing so, the master of the realm has inadvertently instilled a deeper sense of humanity into the Satellite. But he probably doesn’t realize this yet. This one oversight might be the tiny window you can use against him.”
Flame pondered this for a few moments, then asked, “How does this pose a risk to him if I am the target?”
“In a war of souls, the winner takes all.”
“You mean?” Flame’s eyes widened in shock as she slowly pushed to her feet. “I can win the Satellite to our side? How?”
“You must convince him to feel his humanity again and turn back away from darkness without killing him…there within lies the risk to the evil realm.” The Lioness paused, then added, “If you win then his Satellite’s curse is broken and he belongs to you.”
“While that sounds well and good, what am I going to do with him if I do win?”
“A soul such as his could become a mighty ally to our nation.”
Flame began to comprehend the bigger picture. “This war isn’t just about me defeating another one of Twilight’s evil bastards…this war involves everyone, doesn’t it?”
“That’s why they call it war, my brave one.”
“I see.” She stared into the mist as her thoughts churned. “Not only must I stop the evil realm from taking me, but I have to find a way to seize his best weapon.”
“Yes. If the Satellite is killed, he can be brought back with increased powers. Twilight cannot create a new Satellite without tapping into the energy of an existing one. If he is stolen then Twilight loses its most significant tool and the chain would be broken. They’d have very little strength against us after such a destructive blow to their realm.”
“I now understand the danger you spoke of.”
“You may still pass on this mission. There would be no shame. Our women are very good at remaining hidden and working undercover.”
Flame looked up into the Lioness’s face. “He knows of me now. Every trip I make to the village increases the risk of danger. How can I turn away? I was born and raised as a warrior. What would my mother do?”
Kindness flooded those warm green eyes. “Like you, your mother was a prodigy. She
would have fought if she was a warrior but she was not. Her purpose was of another kind.”
The sudden longing to know her mother filled her. How she wished that she had at least a visual memory of the woman who birthed her. Yet her beloved mother had crossed into the spirit world shortly after her birth, so she’d been told. The sisterhood did not save photos or keep records that could fall into enemy hands so the only thing she knew of her mother was that she was very beautiful with golden blonde hair and eyes like water, and carried the lovely name of Tahira.
“Her name means pure,” the Lioness said as if reading her mind. “Try not to feel sad over the empty space of not knowing. Feelings as these will make you vulnerable to the enemy.”
“I try. I know so very little about her.”
“There was another Twilight War, Flame.”
A peculiar sense of dread settled over her as cold shivers slid down her spine. She didn’t ask. Something inside instinctively sensed a disturbance in the spirit world.
“It’s not as bad as you’re thinking,” the Lioness added.
“What cannot be as bad as the Twilight Realm taking my mother from me?”
“They did not win.”
“No disrespect, my lady, but how can you say that if what I feel is true?”
Intense sorrow shadowed her heavenly face. “Your mother was a gifted spy. She volunteered for the assignment of exposing Twilight’s weakness, which essentially placed her in serious danger. Back then, the original Satellite was still in place. He tried to lure Tahira into the evil realm and she did her best to seduce information from him. As a result, they conceived a child.”
“My father is an evil fiend? That’s even worse!” Her muscles tightened in agony and her thoughts raced.
“I’m sorry, Flame. I did not want you to know but your intuition has become very strong. I feel you should hear it from me before you discover it on your own. I had hoped you’d be able to let go of the past, yet I see the anguish in your heart over the unknown.”
“What happened to her?”
“Tahira had just given birth when the Satellite took her into hiding. They were locked in a heated battle of wills. She was determined to win him to our side. She was on the verge of victory when the master of the evil realm uncovered their whereabouts. But he…your father…helped your mother get you into the arms of a sisterhood warrior despite the risks of incurring a worse fate.” Deep emotion swept across her face. “Sadly, Tahira did not survive. Twilight’s ruler was so enraged over her near triumph that he, himself, killed her to stop her from trying again.”
“Why didn’t she return with me when she had the chance? She would’ve survived.” Tears threatened to burst forth but she held them back.
“Your mother wanted to finish what she’d started and she knew living here would place our entire nation in harm’s way. Twilight wanted the child and was watching her every move. We were very lucky that she managed to sneak you out from under his evil eye. Once your identity is exposed, you know the risks. She could not have given you a normal life under those conditions. She made the selfless choice as any appointed woman in our sect would do…you of all people should understand this.”
Flame hung her head. “Yes…I guess so.”
“Don’t let your mind go there, child. We won a battle but not the war.”
“Won?” Flame swung away. “I lost my mother to the evil realm and just found out my father was the former Satellite.”
“The information Tahira gained helped us prepare you for the future.” Sudden heat touched her shoulder. Slowly she turned to find the Supreme Lioness extending a physical touch for the first time. “Everyone in the sisterhood grieved the loss of such an amazing and courageous woman. We still do. She was the first one to deal a significant blow to the evil realm. Now the torch has been passed from mother to daughter.”
“If the first Satellite joined with a woman of the sisterhood, why wasn’t his curse dispelled?”
“Tahira was not a warrior. She went in to try and steal him or gain information on how to destroy him. Her death was not in vain. She enabled us to be prepared.”
“Which warrior met with my mother? May I speak with her?”
“I’m sorry, child, Fiona has passed on with age. Tahira relayed everything she knew about the Satellite the night she handed you over to Fiona. We kept the information tightly guarded.”
“So that is why the council hired Sai masters to train me?”
The Lioness gave a slight nod. “Once we knew how to kill the evil fiends, we employed ordained masters to school you.”
“Why only me?”
“We tried training a few select others. They couldn’t seem to catch on. But you…you took to the Sai as if you’d been born with them in your hands. We knew that you were the prodigy—the one to carry on in your mother’s place.”
Flame thought back to the days of her youth and how easily wielding the daggers had come to her. Even now, they felt perfectly natural. “I’ll finish what my mother started. The Twilight Master will pay for taking her. He’ll regret sending his favorite tool after me.”
“Be careful, Flame. Fight with your heart not for revenge.”
“I will.” She reached for her daggers. “Whatever happened to my ghoul of a father?”
“Nobody knows. He simply vanished without a trace, most likely from humiliation over losing his power of seduction.”
“Hm.” Flame lifted a blade and watched light from a haunting October moon glint off the gold metal. “Maybe we’ll cross paths.”
“He may not be as evil as you think. We do not know which side he chose, if any. He may be hanging in the bounds. According to your mother, he did risk damnation to save you.”
Flame gazed into the distance. “How noble of him. I’ll be sure to thank him if we meet.”
“Flame…don’t let fury be your guide. We don’t want to lose you, too.”
She bowed her head in respect. “You won’t lose me.” Her grip tightened on her daggers as she turned to go.
“Don’t forget,” the Lioness cautioned. “The Twilight Realm becomes more powerful each time he mates, especially when one of those matings result in offspring. He has shown us now, that two conceptions have occurred.”
“Cassie’s infant.” Flame spun around. “That’s why my mother placed me into hiding. She knew the evil side would use me as its catalyst like it did to Cassie. The incubus wants me for breeding, to spawn more if its fiends.”
“Yes.”
“The first Satellite failed by losing track of me, so he lost his power?”
The Lioness nodded. “His power of seduction, yes, but your mother did not choose to reveal what manner of punishment the Twilight delivered to its failed tool.”
“Failed fool is more the word. What could possibly make anyone bow to evil?”
“Sometimes, mortals find themselves in over their heads and they make rash decisions in the heat of a moment. Do not judge the actions of others. You will face challenges in this war that will push you into places you’ve never been. When you find yourself staring evil in the face, you won’t want anyone using your own measuring stick against you.”
“You think I’ll slip up as my mother did?”
“Do I think you’ll falter? Yes. Do I think you will fail? No, Flame Tahira Rennie…I believe you will win this war for us.” She paused with open affection in her eyes. “I say these things so that when it’s all said and done, you can still like what you see in the mirror.”
Flame stared back in silence. The seriousness of her mission had just smacked her in the face full force. Suddenly she realized that anger and overconfidence would not serve her well. “I understand. I’m sorry for my snippy attitude.”
“I gave you a lot to process. Don’t stress over the conflict in your soul, as there will be more. Much more.”
“My mother got in over her head, didn’t she?”
“Yes. And now you have come forward of your own free will to pursu
e the same path. Surely, you see the parallels and why I am concerned.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Trust no one. Lean on your intuition. Be prepared for the unexpected. The Satellite must not prevail.” An unsettling expression flickered in her beautiful eyes. “It’s you…or him.”
She watched her supreme ruler fade into the enchanting mist over the pond then disappear. Night had fallen during the course of their meeting. She decided to pass on stopping by the main house to visit Naami, their queen, as the hour had grown late. Her visit with the Lioness had taken much longer than anticipated yet Flame felt grateful that her ruler had taken the time to fill in the blanks of her past. She’d always wondered about her parents—now she knew.
The serenity of her native village embraced her as she strolled along the outer edges of the dwelling area. Dome-shaped golden brick huts shimmered in the light of a rising silvery moon. Dew glistened on the lush grass far into the distance of their large hidden colony. She loved this place, a little slice of heaven tucked away in the midst of a commercial world. They had become self sufficient by growing their own crops, tapping into the clean springs and taking in women with many talents. Doctors, lawyers, and females with various skills offered their services in exchange for asylum.
She plucked some sugar cubes from a nearby bush and smiled. They had everything they needed to independently thrive and only native sisterhood members left the village to visit the outside world. Women given sanctuary from abuse and other dangerous situations remained within the safety of the grounds.
The pride of their colony was their genetics lab where gifted women created the rare hybrid foods, plants, and promoted the breeding of their mystical horses. Everything in their village was still pure—the water, the crops, the trees, and most of all the hearts of all who resided here.
