Twilight War (16 page)

“So you
willingly used Cassie to make a return?”

He sensed this
bothered her and hoped she’d understand. “Cassie wanted in…I wanted
out. I had not yet broken the mind-control they had over me so I
used the situation to my advantage.”

“You turned the
tables on Twilight?”

Von gave a
short nod. “I made my decision before he brought me back. I didn’t
want him sending someone else after you. Then you showed me the
way. I will never betray you.”

“What about the
kiss of death?”

“My fate is in
your hands. If you choose to kill me and let the evil realm use
Raef, then you’ll have your boyfriend back, but at what cost?”

“You’re not the
easiest man to kill.” She held back a smirk he saw straining to
break through.

“True.”

With wrinkled
brows, she gave him a studious look. “So, though you realize that I
can kill you, you’re taking that risk anyway.”

He sighed with
a smile while running his fingers up and down her arms. “I believe
this is the point where I have to earn your trust.”

“And I must
believe that you won’t betray me.” A mixed expression traversed her
face. “We’ve created quite a mess. If I didn’t know better, I’d say
you planned it this way. Our souls are joined and the only way out
is together.”

“I can imagine
a worse fate.” He couldn’t withhold a grin.

“No fear in
you, is there?”

“Nope.” He
pulled her down and rolled her onto her back. “Why don’t we make
the most of this
mess
before tackling our next battle?”

“You really did
help me kill Coop for the right reasons.”

He gazed down
at her. “Yeah.”

“Thank you.”
She settled into his embrace with a sweet smile.

Her softly
spoken gratitude warmed his heart, a heart that had grown void of
feeling over the years. He desperately wanted to trust her, but
until she was put to the test, he’d have to sleep with one eye
open. He had no doubt over his ability to stay on track. However,
with Raef’s fate hanging in the bounds and Flame loving him as she
did, Von knew he’d be a fool to dismiss any chance of her losing
her grip, especially when the evil realm brought on the heat, as he
knew it would. Twilight would be hot on her tail for taking out
their oldest fool.

Chapter
Ten

Flame glanced
sadly at the real estate sign mounted beside the mailbox of Raef’s
home. Reality had set in during the long ride from Crescent City
back to Von’s campsite on the beach. She left Von in San Diego and
rode up to LA alone. Knowing her journey would soon take her far
away from here and the memories she held dear, she longed to visit
his house once more before it sold. She didn’t care about the
money. No amount of money could erase the pain from her heart.

After parking
her Softail in front of the garage, she walked around to the rear
entrance to slip in unseen. Shadows cast by a setting sun danced
across the concrete from trees bordering the winding sidewalk. The
back door led into the kitchen, which faced the beach. She loved
sitting by the window, watching the waves roll ashore. She longed
to feel his aura again and breathe in his masculine scent before it
was gone forever.

Her thoughts
shifted to Von, who had also left his imprint on her heart. His
profession of love had come as quite a shock. The entire ordeal in
Crescent City was mind-blowing. Not only was Von a fierce warrior
in battle but his skill as a lover went above and beyond her
expectations.

I sure do
complicate things. Now I have two men on my mind. One is dead and
one is immortal. How do I sort my emotions over this?
She
sighed.

While fumbling
with the key Raef had given her, hoping the locks hadn’t been
changed, an unpleasant chill crept over her. A familiar pungent
scent filled the air. Without warning, the eerie mist she’d
previously encountered descended upon her. She jiggled the key and
tugged at the door handle, but couldn’t get inside before the heavy
fog knocked her to the floor of the back porch.

With her back
against the wall, she peered upward into the heavily scented
vaporous cloud that closed in around her. The same black eyes
tinted with green flecks stared back at her. Fear seized her. She
struggled to take a breath. Her body shook as cold sweat beaded her
skin.

“You have been
a busy woman,” a daunting male voice growled. “Taking on my
original Satellite and killing him. And now by some strange
coincidence, my newly improved Satellite has gone missing. Where
are you hiding him?”

She tried to
sit up but could not. “Go to hell,” she snarled in a strained
voice. “You’ll never have me.”

“You will pay
for your rebellion.” The mist swirled about furiously. “What have
you done to my new tool? Von has been out of touch.”

“Fuck you.” She
moaned against the heavy persuasion threatening to steal her
thoughts. Even if she did understand the mystery surrounding Von,
she’d never give it up or break his trust.

Invisible hands
groped her. She curled away. Drawing her knees to her chest, she
wrapped her arms around them and summoned all her strength to
resist the lust coursing through her. This thing wanted to mate
with her. She sensed its intentions clearly.

“Somehow you
managed to thwart my plans and resist my new Satellite. For this,
you will be punished but not killed. I won’t destroy you as I did
your mother. She was useless to us after your birth. You are born
of both worlds—the only woman able to spawn a perfect hybrid.”

“No,” she
cried, writhing on the porch in agony. Never had she experienced
this level of wanton lust. At that moment, she wanted nothing more
than to relieve the throbbing ache in her core. Had Von been near,
she’d have jumped him without reservation simply to end the
unbearable sexual urge raging in her soul.
Is this what Von has
felt all these years?
The thought came and went in a flash. She
began to understand the curse of Twilight.

“If my current
Satellite doesn’t reveal himself to me by sunrise, you will meet my
next masterpiece. I have already begun the preparation process with
your pretty boy lover.” An evil laugh echoed around her. “No woman
alive will be able to resist Raef when I’m done with him.”

Panic tightened
her stomach. Tears flooded her eyes.
No, no, not Raef. I can’t
let this happen. I didn’t kill Cooper in time. I must break the
chain with Von.
The heavy mist continued its assault on her
senses. She rolled over in utter misery, burning for relief from
the arousal mounting inside. “I’ll kill him, too,” she managed to
mutter. “Bring on your best Satellite…I’ll kill each one.” A
pleading cry escaped her as the powerful presence intensified its
efforts. “I will never let Raef suffer this fate…never.”

“Do you realize
I could take you right here and forego the use of my Satellite?”
His voice carried an ominous air.

Coop’s words
whipped through her mind, as if another unseen power had come to
lend assistance.
The master can only mate with her via his
Satellite.
She realized that her blood-bond with Von was giving
her strength.

Flame forced
herself to stare into those terrifying eyes. “No…you can’t.”

In his fury,
the evil fiend lifted her off the porch and pinned her to the wall.
Absolute rage shone in those black depths. “You
are
powerful.” The mist thickened around her, closing her in. “Soon,
Flame, very soon, I will have you in my realm. If Von fails then
his soul will burn for eternity. Raef will not fail. Your love for
him will be your weakness.”

“You
overestimate yourself,” she dared to say. “I’ll kill him if I must.
I will never bow to you.”

He slammed her
back to the floor. “And you underestimate me. Maybe you need a
little reminder.” Another wicked laugh followed. “My next Satellite
will be infallible—the power of three souls if Von fails, too. No
flaming daggers—or
kiss of death
—will prevail against my new
creation.”

She glared at
the mist in utter horror, stunned that the Twilight Master managed
to invade her mind despite her effort to guard her thoughts. She
focused harder to protect Von’s secrets.

“Yesss…” the
voice hissed. “I see you’ve been told about the lethal kiss. What I
want to know is who betrayed me?”

“Try asking
your original fool,” she groaned in agony.

An animalistic
growl rolled from within the mist, indicating his rising fury. “You
will
belong to me or I will command Raef to mate every woman
of your breed until you surrender to my Satellite.”

“No!” she
screamed. “Leave them out of it. This war is between you and
me!”

“Haven’t you
been told?” he sneered. “There are no rules in Twilight War. Until
you mate with one of my Satellites, I will pluck women from your
village one by one.”

She trembled
with a mix of rage and horror. This beast pulled out all the stops.
She kept her thoughts sealed.
He cannot create a new Satellite
without tapping into the energy of an existing one.
Coop had
lied about what he was just in case Von failed again—another backup
plan by the evil realm to preserve their favorite tool. And at the
moment, Von was the only Satellite in existence.

All she had to
do was pull Von over to break the chain and defeat this prick.
Raef’s soul would be released from Twilight’s grasp if she
succeeded in stealing the only remaining Satellite. The evil realm
would not be able to complete whatever process they’d started on
poor Raef. Just as the Supreme Lioness had revealed, this war
involved more than just her. Not only was her entire nation at risk
for extinction, but the evil realm was on the verge of creating an
even more powerful weapon against them. Her heart tumbled over
Raef’s imminent fate, yet she couldn’t allow her love for him to
throw her off course.

I must steal
Von and win this war to save us all.

She chose not
to respond again for fear of unveiling the knowledge she’d obtained
and thus far successfully concealed. It had come at a high price
and she couldn’t risk opening her mind for one split second as
Cooper had. This incubus was exceedingly cunning and unbelievably
powerful.

“No more venom
from your pretty mouth?” he taunted.

She shook her
head with both arms wrapped around her knees. The need for sexual
penetration tormented every nerve in her body. She was surprised
that she’d managed a moment of clear thought during this
predicament. Right now, she prayed that no men would arrive on the
scene. Even a pizza deliveryman was not safe from her right now. In
full heat, she’d eat him alive.

A long time had
passed since she’d felt the intense desire to mate. However,
tonight would be a different story.

If this fiend
would only leave, she could lock herself inside Raef’s house for
the night until her body came back under control.

“Very well,” he
growled. “You have until dawn to lure my Satellite from hiding and
mate with him. Your choice…Von or Raef.”

Tears streamed
down her hot cheeks as she lay in a helpless ball on the porch.
Time had run out. She had one night to successfully turn Von or
face unfathomable consequences. The choice no longer belonged to
her.

She sobbed in
half agony and half sorrow over the situation at hand. Letting go
of Raef felt as heart wrenching as watching her precious village
plucked to pieces by this evil bastard. Even worse, the compelling
desire to mate was literally driving her mad. She wondered how Von
and Coop dealt with it all those years.

Seemingly
satisfied with his sadistic visit, the pungent mist dissipated and
finally left her. She wiped tears from her face with one hand and
pushed to a sitting position, dazed from the ghostly encounter. By
the time she’d regained enough composure to stand and try the door
again the moon had climbed into a clear night sky. The weather was
pleasantly warm for an October night. She keyed the lock and
reached for the door handle.

“Don’t go in
there.” Von’s sensual voice came from behind.

She jumped and
swung around. “Why do you keep doing that?” Her heart raced. “Can’t
you give me a heads up before appearing right behind me?”

He braced a
strong hand on the door above her head. “You can’t go in there.”
His alluring scent wafted over her. Sandalwood, patchouli, and
leather—her stimulated senses honed in on each sensual note.

“Why not? It’s
the only safe place I have right now.”

“Ian is trapped
in the house.”

“What?”

“Remember when
Coop told you that Ian and I teamed up?”

“Yes, but Coop
lied about everything.”

“Not
everything, sugar.” A look of remorse shadowed his face. “Twilight
sent Ian back with me to make sure I didn’t weaken again. Once we
realized that Raef’s house was sacred, we came up with a plan to
keep the master distracted while I went after you.”

“Are you
insane?”

He shrugged
with an easy smile. “Maybe. Five decades of torment drives one to
try crazy shit to break free.”

She now
understood some of his suffering. “Ian has been hiding here the
whole time?”

“Yeah. If you
go inside, he’ll haunt you. He’s beginning to get restless because
the evil realm is searching for his soul. He’s doing his best to
hold out until the end of this war.”

“Why would Ian
join forces with you? You’re enemies.”

“Not anymore.
He’s cursed, too. We both want out. Ian wants to avenge Raef’s
death and save his soul, and well…you
know
what I want.”

The tone of his
voice on the latter comment fueled the already blazing inferno in
her body. She tried to appear unfazed yet her hormones were going
crazy. “How do we set them free?”