Twilight War

by Storm Savage

  Flame let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not going to pretend I enjoy this whole family reunion thing. What happened to Aiden?”

  “He’s fine,” Karl mumbled.

  The thought of waiting inside this wretched house made her edgy. She decided to push. “Anyone here interested in a rematch?” She feigned a yawn. “Because I’m fucking bored.”

  Chuck pushed away from the table. “Still full of yourself, aren’t ya, bitch?”

  In automatic response, she drew her Sai. “No. Just better prepared this time.”

  “Sit down, Chuck,” Karl barked. “She’s here and she has brought a friend.”

  “Oh, so this time you decided to call him off. How nice of you. Maybe someone isn’t too pleased with how I was treated the last time you welcomed me into your house.”

  Karl eyed her in open suspicion. “Things got out of hand.”

  “Ya think?” She rolled her eyes.

  Her beefy ex-brother-in-law backed down. Suddenly it hit her that they had no clue about Von’s humanity. They still assumed the Satellite was seeking to defeat her. Wait, she thought. Why is Von so calm? Has he led me into a trap? Did he fake his feelings? Panic threatened to overtake her. She blocked her thoughts to Von, too, drawing a puzzled look from him.

  Only one way to find out at last just who is who in this sordid game. She gripped her daggers. I’m sick of this dance, time to call everyone into the open.

  “I bet your evil ruler is more than pissed off over your interference in his plan,” she taunted with a smirk. “Just think, if you’d not lost control that night, you might stand a chance today.”

  “What are you babbling about?” Karl stepped toward her.

  “Karma.” She didn’t flinch. “Your lust for evil has turned against you.”

  He tilted his head and turned his eyes on Von. “She is here with you, right? You know the master is checking in on us today. That’s why you brought her, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” Von showed no emotion whatsoever.

  Flame’s stared wide-eyed, frozen in shock. “The Twilight Master is coming here? Today? You tricked me?”

  Von swaggered to her side. “Sorry, babe, but nobody seduces me. That’s my game.” He grinned at Karl. “One Sai warrior from the sisterhood fully mated and ready to be delivered for the master’s bidding.”

  “Excellent.” Karl let out an evil laugh. “We almost blew it the night you took off with her. My dumbass son-in-law can’t seem to control his rage yet, and the others, well they couldn’t resist the urge to jump in.”

  “Have they been dealt with?” Von asked.

  “That is one reason the master is coming here today, to give the kids their punishment. They lost their grip on the mission and now will pay.”

  “Good.” Von nodded. “If he wasn’t going to take care of it then I would. Their reckless actions caused me a lot of trouble. It wasn’t easy convincing her that I was the good guy after your brats beat her up. After all, I did help Aiden bring her here.”

  “I apologize for your inconvenience. They will not be spared.”

  Flame looked over the gathering. Not one person in the room exhibited a hint of feeling. Panic swallowed her whole. Tears blurred her vision. Von had duped her just as Coop had done to her mother. I’ve failed! No, no, no! I fell into his trap just like I did Ian’s. They both played on my weakness. She thought about how Ian manipulated her innate compassion toward humankind to lure her into the first battle. Now it appeared that Von had used her grief over Raef’s death to work her over. She wanted to scream, kill, do anything but just stand there and feel stupid.

  “You all worked together? You, Ian, and Aiden?” Even as the words left her mouth, she couldn’t grasp the level of malevolence at play here.

  “Don’t look so sad, angel,” Von gibed with shimmering eyes. “You did enjoy yourself and we have fulfilled destiny.”

  “Only one man calls me angel,” she snarled in a voice laced with venom.

  Von caught the tip of her dagger seconds before it reached his chest. “I keep telling you, woman, stop striking at me.”

  She could barely draw a breath. “But…we’re on the wrong side.” Tears slid down her cheeks. She brushed them away with a brisk swipe of her hand. “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance!”

  “I can see why the master assigned you to her,” Karl said. “She hasn’t changed at all. Still feisty as hell.”

  “Yeah.” Von laughed coolly. “He thinks Raef could do the job but that man is too soft for a sharp little spitfire like her. It takes a seasoned Satellite to get the job done right.”

  She glared at Von. Her blood felt like fire in her veins, knowing she’d blown her once chance to win.

  Their gazes locked. Von held her in intense eye contact. Dagger him! Then Von directed his attention toward Karl. “Now you see what I was up against. Your little minions here will pay for their stupidity.” I said dagger him!

  Flame was utterly baffled. What came out of Von’s mouth and what she received from his mind was totally opposite. Either way, she had nothing to lose. She was itching to fight her way out of this hellhole anyway. Burning to kill them all, then find a way to destroy the lying bastard standing at her side.

  “You’ve done well,” Karl extolled to Von. “We are in your service and the master will be pleased.”

  Drive that fucking dagger into his heart! Von’s thoughts forced their way into her cluttered mind. As if compelled by an unseen force, she raised her blades and drove them straight into Karl’s chest in lightning fast motion. A flash of light caught her eye. Before she could gasp, the blade of Von’s knife severed Karl’s head. It plopped onto the floor with a thud.

  Horrific screams erupted from the table as the others clambered from their chairs. Trapped in the corner of the dining area, Carlene, Cathy and Chuck struggled to escape. Von reached down and touched the floor. Flame jumped back as a trail of fire snaked along the floor. He pulled her through the fire.

  Kill them all! He mentally willed her into action.

  Without hesitation, she wielded her Sai with expert precision against those who’d beaten her senseless months ago. Chuck shoved the women to his front in an attempt to save himself. Flame drove her daggers into Carlene and Cathy in one quick move, taking them both at the same time. Von followed through and took their heads with his knife.

  “Oh, I am so going to enjoy this,” Flame snarled while stalking Chuck, who’d cowered against the wall. “C’mon, you pathetic weasel, don’t you want to fight me this time?”

  He swung blindly, madly, but missed by a long shot. She stepped over the heads on the floor to stand inches from the overweight bastard who had been the instigator of their first fight. In painstakingly slow motion, Flame dragged the point of her blade from the corner of his eye down his cheek, leaving a trail of fresh blood. He cringed and howled in pain.

  “This is for what you and Aiden put me through.” She plunged her dagger into his fat thigh. He went down on his knees. “This is for the hell Karl forced upon me all those years.” She stabbed his other leg.

  “Please, Flame…stop!” Chuck gasped.

  “Did you actually say please to me?” She drove a Sai into his shoulder. “I’m touched.”

  “End it, Flame, we have company,” Von muttered close to her ear.

  “So long, Charles,” Flame growled out his birth name, then raised both daggers overhead before bringing them down and straight into his heart. He slumped to the floor in a heap.

  “Damn, woman, you barely left any of him for me.” Von dropped to one knee and lopped off Chuck’s head. “Let’s go.”

  “How’d you do the fire thing?” She pulled her Sai from his chest.

  He flashed her a grin. “A little trick I learned from a woman I know.”

  “But—”

  “You didn’t see me squirt lighter fluid on the floor. Nobody did. Remember, I have the ability to make others see as I wish and soon you’ll have it, too.” He took her by t
he arm and led her toward the door. “We should get out of here.”

  “You seem edgy. Is the Twilight Master really coming here?”

  “Yeah and we just killed an entire clan of ancients. I don’t want you in his line of fire.”

  “But you betrayed him and helped me.” She wrinkled her brows. “I have a few questions about your method of operation though.”

  “I thought as much. Until our trust is sealed, I’d rather not let him mess with your head.”

  She understood his reasoning. Everything happened so fast that her head was still reeling from the craziness of it all. Sealing her trust with Von sounded like a wise course of action before facing the evil ruler. They headed outside.

  “Leaving the party so soon?” a man’s voice called from the front entrance.

  Flame swung around with Von to see who’d arrived on the horrific scene. A petite blonde clung to the man’s arm, staring back at them with the same haughty eyes Flame had seen the first time they’d met.

  She stared in disbelief. “What are you doing here with him?” Flame shook her head and blinked to clear her mind. This morning continued to unravel in a series of mind-boggling events. “Sandra? Where’s Aiden?”

  Sandra gave her wispy bangs a snooty flip and smiled coyly. “Aiden is dead and you can’t touch me, Flame.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Flame staggered backward and straight into Von. He caught her and pulled her close. They faced off with the couple, who in some uncanny way, made a perfect match.

  “Aiden had one job to do and the man couldn’t even get that right,” Sandra snipped in her characteristically annoying manner. “He was supposed to make you see Von as the good guy.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know more than you think, dear Flame.” Her green eyes carried a devious glimmer. “Your ex was nothing more than a tool to get you and the Satellite together. Von was supposed to take it from there. Then stupid shit started happening. Aiden decided to betray the realm. He was going to try and use you as a way out.”

  “Aiden wanted out? He really was trying to help me.”

  “Sadly so, but that plan didn’t go well for him. His family lost control and made matters worse.” She sighed in open frustration. “And of course Mister Casanova here tried running off with you. I had to do something.”

  “So you’re the one who called Hatch?”

  “Don’t look so surprised. I couldn’t let you slip away with our renegade Satellite. Aiden wasn’t the only one with an agenda.”

  “You’re still into leftovers, I see.” Flame scowled.

  “Don’t be a poor sport, dearie. I’m sure you and the Satellite have plenty in common. He’s definitely more your type than the other two. I, on the other hand, use my head when choosing a man. I live in a civilized world where women aren’t driven by their need to mate.”

  Flame inwardly fumed over the digs, yet kept her cool. “If taking my trash out gives you a rush, then by all means, knock yourself out.”

  “Newsflash…not everyone’s universe revolves around you. Aiden was only using you to help himself and his foolishness got him killed. Twilight does not tolerate traitors. Why anyone would want out of the most powerful realm in the universe is beyond me.”

  Flame ignored her attempted sting. “You signed yourself into the evil realm?”

  “Someone had to be around in case Cassie failed, which she did. It seems the only woman immune to Von’s obvious charm is me.”

  Von tightened one arm around her waist. “Don’t break an arm there, missy, I’d never let a woman like you near my bed.”

  “Beast,” Sandra spat, then shrugged. “Whatever. I went over your head, Von Calder. Now you will bow to me.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? You think that because you struck a deal with the devil, anyone will bow to you?” Flame snapped. “Just because you found a rich boyfriend and a new life doesn’t give you magical powers. You’re nothing but a narcissistic slut!”

  Sandra appeared completely undaunted. “Not just any rich boyfriend, Flame. My man has more power in his little finger than your Satellite has in his entire, worthless soul.”

  Flame laughed outright and pointed to the man at Sandra’s side who had so far let his woman do all the talking. “Him? You think Hatch is more powerful than the evil realm?” She glanced at Hatch. “And you thought I was delusional!”

  “No…I don’t think he’s more powerful.” Sandra laughed in her face. “I know he is. Hatch is the evil realm.”

  “What?”

  “Wow, Flame actually didn’t know something.” Sandra snickered. “Guess what, prodigy child, you now bow to me!”

  “You’re insane.”

  Finally, Hatch joined the unpleasant conversation. “I’m afraid Sandra is right. I see that you’ve killed a family of my ancients and brought Von out of hiding. Someone has been schooling you, Flame. Have you defeated my new Satellite again?”

  “If you think for one minute that I believe all this bullshit, you can go to hell.” Flame scoffed.

  “Allow me to elaborate,” he said with a cocky grin. “My original Satellite, who you killed by the way, had a job to do. However, he needed a bit of…supernatural help to pull it off. You are very sharp, Flame, you almost had me cornered when I came to see you. But your feelings toward Raef made it very easy for me to get inside your head.” He paused with an ominous glare. “You’d have hit the nail straight on the head if you’d used the right hammer.” He laughed. “It was me, not Coop, who employed necessary persuasion to cover up the crime and make everyone—the police, the doctors, the medics—see what I wanted them to see.” He thought for a minute. “Except you, I almost had you convinced, but your mind is strong. I confused you but I see that you cannot be compelled like the average mortal. Then again, you have never been the average mortal. Twilight blood runs in your veins.”

  She cringed at the stark reminder. “You called me delusional? You really are an arrogant bastard. Now you think you’re the master of an evil realm?” She let out a short, sardonic laugh. “I have no doubt that you serve the fiends somehow, but really, Hatch, this is over the top even for you.”

  Hatch pulled a small brown package from inside his trench coat. “Then why would Coop, my original Satellite, give this to anyone but his master?”

  She remembered that package. The recollection of Hatch secretly meeting with Coop in a bad part of town sprang to mind. She hadn’t given it another thought after that night. Her eyes became fixed on the brown wrapper as he began to open it. The few seconds it took for him to reveal the contents were agonizing. When he unfolded the last of the brown paper bag, she clutched a hand over her chest.

  “No!” Her panicked gaze shot to Von. “Did you know?”

  “No, I swear.” He held her steady. “Don’t let him fuck with your head, not now.”

  Flame’s eyes burned on the bloody knife in Hatch’s hands—the very weapon Coop had used to kill Raef. Her body began to shake uncontrollably with a mix of rage and buried sorrow. “You killed Raef?”

  Hatch shook his head and grinned sadistically. “Not actually. My soldiers are more than willing to do my dirty work. You saw what you saw.”

  She watched in horror as Hatch gripped the knife with both hands and incinerated it with the sheer will of his mind. His icy green eyes turned black and suddenly she recognized those black eyes flecked with green. No! Oh my god, we were engaged…I slept with the Twilight Master! She shuddered and forced herself to look away.

  The master can only mate with her via his Satellite. The words echoed in her head.

  “You will never have me. If it’s the last thing I do, I will destroy you and your realm for taking such a pure life.” Fury inundated her. “You came to his house, lied to me, and tried using your head games to make me believe Von had killed Raef. What did you do with his body?”

  “Took it. We needed his flesh in order to trap his soul.”

  “You evil son-of-a-b
itch! You’ll pay for all of this!”

  Hatch glowered at her. “Raef was holding up my Satellite. The only way I can take your soul is by mating with you via my Satellite. Otherwise, you’d already be mine. We were engaged if you recall.”

  “I’ve erased you. I will make it my life’s mission to ruin you for killing Raef.”

  “An eye for an eye, babe!” he bellowed. “You killed Coop’s daughter so I took the only person you loved!”

  Flame’s mind raced. The only woman I’ve ever killed in my entire life was…oh my god! She grabbed Von’s arm to steady herself. “Cassie? Cooper sired another child?” Ian’s reply sprung to mind. The crescent moon will answer your question. “That’s what Ian was trying to tell me.”

  “Unlike you, Cassie gratefully accepted her calling. Though she was born of an ordinary bitch, she inherited mystical allure from her father.”

  “You sent Cassie after Ian?”

  “Ian was already in by his first marriage but like your ex, he wanted out and thought Cassie was the key,” Hatch growled with open rage. “Cassie was my best kept secret. She could turn any man and you killed her…your own sister!”

  “She was no sister of mine, nor was Coop my father.” Flame paused in disbelief. “Cassie was the vital link…born of a Satellite and able to carry Twilight’s seed to term.”

  “Now you will take her place at my side, in the Twilight Realm where you belong as my queen. I see that you and Von have grown quite close.”

  “I guess all my questions about the players really don’t matter now. You saw me fight. You staged everything.”

  “It was so easy once I found you. You fell for it all…” He let out an evil laugh. “Even Ian’s sad story, which actually is quite sad,” he added with another sadistic laugh. “I hid my thoughts from you, played my part. I knew you’d rebel against me and take on the Satellite. I felt your doubts about us, felt you slipping away into the arms of pretty boy Raef. After I saw you fight backstage, I ordered my Citizen Soldiers into action. They all fell into place quite nicely…all but one.” He turned angry eyes on Von. “The loss of Coop was a worthwhile sacrifice if it pushed the two of you even closer. Your rebellion against me fell to my favor because you’ve joined yourself to the warrior woman—the chosen daughter of Twilight and my strongest Satellite.”