Twilight War (18 page)

“I’ve been
monitoring their routine.”

“Is that why
you vanish and reappear so quickly?”

He gave her a
playful wink. “I get around.”

“I see that.”
She continued sipping water. “Not sure I could get used to
traveling like this. I think my stomach is still back on the
beach.”

“You did better
than you think. Pull it together, sugar. We have a fight ahead.
This family gathers for breakfast every morning after sending the
kids off to school. Except for Aiden, I’ve never seen him around.
Maybe we’ll get lucky today.”

“You have no
qualms about leaving orphans behind?” She thought about her
ex-sister-in-law. “Cathy has two kids.”

“Twilight can
care for its own.” He took her by the hand. “Let’s go. We’ll walk
from here. I don’t want them to hear us coming.”

She nodded and
tucked the plastic bottle into the saddlebag of his bike. Her hands
went to the daggers at her hips, automatically checking them for
battle. “Do you have the lighter fluid just in case?”

“Yeah.”

They clung to
the shadows of a breaking dawn while sauntering up the street,
which led to the
house of pain
. Her body tensed with anxiety
and adrenaline. She’d wanted this fight for a long time but had no
idea when the day would come and never expected anyone to come with
her, especially Von. It was on the back of his Harley she’d been
dragged back here the first time.

They reached
the sloped gravel drive. A strange mix of sickness and excited
anticipation crept over her as they walked up to the house. Von had
been right. Cathy and Chuck’s SUV and a car she didn’t recognize
were parked in front of the garage. She followed him up a set of
concrete steps to a sidewalk, which wound around to the side
entrance of the yellow brick ranch house.

Von halted
before they reached the door. “If they invite us in, we have one
hell of a fight on our hands.”

“Why? What are
they?” She fought back the rising panic.

“They could be
ancients.”

Suddenly she
recalled that Ian had mentioned the same possibility. “And if they
don’t invite us in?”

“If they try to
keep us out, then they’re probably common minions hiding a new
fiend in the making.”

Without
warning, she received his thoughts. “Oh my god, you suspect that
Aiden has been brought back as something else?”

“That’s the
only thing that explains his MIA status. The man has not been seen
by anyone in the biker loop since the night I took you away.”

“That’s crazy.
Aiden could never seduce me.”

Von arched a
knowing brow. “Don’t underestimate the evil realm. There are more
sinister methods of bringing you down than seduction.”

Her thoughts
flashed back to her latest encounter with the mist. “He threatened
to pluck women from my village one by one by using Raef.”

“Your mind is
much stronger now.” He framed her face between his hands and stared
into her. “Guard your thoughts against them. Use your mind to
communicate with me now that you know how.”

She grabbed his
arm before he let go. “How do we kill an ancient?”

He withdrew a
wicked knife from behind his waist. “You dagger their hearts…I’ll
take their heads. It takes the combined power of a Satellite and
Sai warrior to take them out. You won’t need flaming daggers if
they’re ancients, but don’t remove your blade until I’ve taken the
head. Our bound energy will be enough to send them back to
hell.”

“Then why did
we bring accelerant?”

“For the
unexpected.”

A wave of
realization washed over her. She understood why both sides had been
fighting for decades to win this war. If the chosen individuals
from each side ever joined forces, together they could achieve
staggering success. Twilight and the Supreme Lioness had known the
stakes all along.

Her eyes
focused on the knife in his hand. “That is an impressive weapon.”
She admired the long steel blade. Streaks of sunlight reflected off
the jagged blade. “We really were meant for each other, weren’t
we?” She lifted her gaze to meet his.

“Yeah. You’re
my destiny. I just never knew which side we’d end up on.”

“We’re about to
find out.”

He gave her a
curious look then half smiled. They stepped up to the door. Von
rapped lightly on the wood frame. Footsteps shuffled across the
floor inside, then someone peeked through the window blinds. A few
minutes later, the door opened, and Karl’s massive frame appeared
in the doorway. He was holding a pair of cooking tongs.

“What do you
want?”

“We’re looking
for Aiden,” Von replied in a firm voice.

Karl’s beady
eyes darted from her to Von and back again. “He’s not here.”

“When’s he
coming back? I see his girl’s car parked in front.”

“They went for
a ride on his bike.”

“Fine.” Von
casually lit a smoke and took a long drag. “We’ll wait.” He exhaled
slowly. “We can wait out here.” A ribbon of smoke curled upward
from his nose and mouth. “Sorry to interrupt your breakfast.”

Karl looked at
Flame again with a disconcerting stare. “You may as well come in
and have something to eat. We have plenty. Aiden shouldn’t be too
long.”

Von cast her a
quick glance.
Ancients. Wait for the right moment to
strike.

Fear gripped
her.
I was married to a family of ancients from the Twilight
Realm!
The dawning of how close she’d been to extinction was
alarming. Ten years spent right in their midst.
That is how
Twilight found me. They waited and watched for me to surface, then
they put their plan into action.
Suddenly everything began to
make sense. The evil realm had her right within reach yet she’d
slipped away before they discovered her identity. She wondered how
many families had been enlisted in the search for her.

She did a wary
visual scan as they walked inside. Everything looked the same. Rust
colored drapes, green carpet, and the same antique Victorian style
furniture as always. They hadn’t updated their décor since she’d
known them. The house still reeked of cabbage and stale air. The
rest of the family sat gathered around a large round table in the
dining room. Her gaze moved over them. Cathy, Chuck, and Aiden’s
mother Carlene looked up but didn’t offer a verbal greeting.
Clearly, Karl’s invitation had not been well received by his
family, but as head of the house, his word had always been law.

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.