Twilight War (13 page)

“I didn’t want
you to fight his creepers at night. There are a lot of them and
they are sneaky bastards in the dark.”

She gave a nod,
wondering if he expected her thanks. She said nothing. They
continued on. A short while later a clearing came into view.
Nestled in a treeless circle of the woods were at least fifty
motorcycles. Scruffy-looking men lounged near a weak campfire. Some
appeared to be sleeping while others were passing a bottle around
and smoking what she assumed was cannabis, as they were also
passing the blunt around their tight circle. Most men she’d known
didn’t share cigarettes or cigars in this manner.

“Do your
warrior thing, sugar,” Von barely whispered. “I’ll cover your back.
Once Coop arrives on the scene, his creepers will cower.”

She cast him a
strange look. It seemed odd that he was giving her insight to the
evil realm. Nevertheless, opportunity presented itself. She wasn’t
about to pass on the chance of taking out a pack of Twilight’s
soldiers.

“Can I join the
party, boys?” Flame purred while sashaying into their camp.

Their heads
shot up. At first, they looked her over in open approval. Their
welcoming expressions quickly transformed to hate when they spotted
her daggers. Before her next breath, the creepers attacked. The
first two ran straight into her drawn blades and died in the same
manner as those she’d killed in her initial battle with the
Satellite. They howled in agony as their bodies succumbed to her
Sai daggers. Thick, foul-smelling bluish-gray smoke rose from their
disintegrating corpses until nothing remained but ash.

“Wait your
turn,” Von said from behind, then a thud sounded in the dirt.

She stole a
quick glimpse and saw him physically overpowering the creepers with
ease as they swooped in, temporarily holding them back.
Wow…he’s
tough…and fast.
The thought came and went quickly as she turned
to fight.

Strong hands
gripped her throat from the side then were ripped away. Von growled
his warnings along with indistinct profanities. She realized that
he truly was helping her.

Ruthlessly,
they battled evil fiends as wave upon wave of the minions advanced
from seemingly nowhere. Apparently, Twilight had rebuilt quite an
army since she’d last dealt with them. They seemed more determined
than the first creepers she’d killed down in southern California.
This lot possessed more stamina, and came on fast and mean.

“C’mon,” she
taunted as three huge, ugly men boxed her in. “Let me send you back
to hell!”

Von had his
hands full controlling the others.

The three to
her front pounced quickly, knocking her to the ground. She utilized
a lifetime of training to maneuver her way out of their grasp by
jabbing the knuckles of her Sai into their eyes. Though fast, they
could not match her agility in combat. When two rolled back in
pain, clutching their eyes, Flame immediately drove her dagger
through the heart of the third. With him out of the way, she turned
her attention back to the pair still struggling to see.

“Die!” She
raised both blades then without a mere second of hesitation,
plunged the pointed steel into their chests. They perished
violently, thrashing about and shrieking while fighting death. The
stench of dying creepers and horrific screams split the morning
calm.

She swung
around to face Von who had two fiends by the neck, one in each
hand.

“I’ll hold them
you dagger ‘em.”

They merged
into a violent and deadly team as Von grabbed the minions and she
drove her Sai into their hearts. Von was lightning fast and
unbelievably strong. He had no trouble catching the ghouls as they
attacked and Flame daggered each one with the same swift precision.
Her heightened reflexes astounded her. Since the blood-bond, she’d
noticed subtle changes taking place in her body. She and Von fought
relentlessly against Cooper’s aggressive pack of creepers.

“Flame!” a
familiar voice bellowed. Instantly the remaining fiends cowered and
scurried into the woods.

She swung
around to face a bear of a man who stood glaring at her with pure
and unmistakable hatred. “Hello, Coop.” She panted for breath yet
wasn’t about to let him see her fear. “How’s it going?”

His unshaven,
pocked face appeared weathered with age. He’d never looked that
great but he was even more unkempt now, staring with beady, angry
eyes. “What are you doing here, little girl? You’re way out of your
element up here and very far from home.”

“So you
do
know who I am.” She sheathed her daggers for the
time.

Coop’s fiery
gaze darted to Von. “
You
told her?”

Von took a step
toward him. “I didn’t tell her you’re her father. I’m not that
cruel,” Von countered with a scoff. “I simply told her the truth.
She put the pieces together on her own.”

“You think she
will take the word of the Satellite over her own father’s?”

“Payback time,
old boy, I’ve brought the only weapon that can end your
misery.”

“Flame, don’t
believe a word this prick has said. He’d do anything to save his
pathetic ass.”

“Did you forget
that I watched you stab my boyfriend?” Adrenaline that had begun to
subside rose again. “You may have sired me but you are no father of
mine. My father died when he chose the evil side.”

“Are you sure
it was me who killed Raef?” he sneered, then nodded toward Von.
“Have you forgotten everything we taught you about the Satellite?
He is the deceiver of the mind. Did you not learn anything from
Ian? Will his death be forever in vain?”

“Ian gave me no
choice.” She stood firm.

“And you’d
trust this pussy ass Python over me? Who rescued you from him the
first time? It was my pack who hauled ass across country to save
you. Then Ian trusted you with vital information on how to kill
this bastard.”

“I
did
kill him!” Her stomach tightened with tension. “But your evil realm
brought him back!”

“You can’t
possibly be so naïve as to believe this guy.” Coop’s voice
softened. “I understand that you’re going through your own personal
hell right now, but don’t let the Satellite get you, too. He
already has too much power. Look around, look what he did to these
men. Look what he made you do.”

“Wait!” She
faced her palm toward Coop and averted her eyes. “You’re lying. Why
else would you be here with a pack of creepers? I saw them die, I
know what they were.”

“I’ve been
monitoring the activity of this new breed of minions. Von brought
you straight into
his
nest, not mine.”

“No, that can’t
be true.” Her mind raced. “He wouldn’t help me kill his own
pack.”

“Von would
sacrifice anything and anyone to win.”

She turned
toward Von. “You’re pretty quiet. Why aren’t you defending
yourself?”

He feigned a
yawn. “I never get involved in family arguments.”

Without
thinking, she belted him across the face as hard as she could. His
eyes flared with fury yet he maintained self-control. They faced
off.

He grabbed her
hand and spoke in a very low steady tone of voice, almost a growl.
“Don’t. Ever. Do. That. Again.”

A shiver raced
over her, through her. She glanced at his hand wrapped around hers.
Heat radiated up her arm. For an instant, sudden fear threatened to
overtake her. She choked it back and swallowed. Her throat felt
very dry.

“Say
something,” she demanded.

“Why?” He
scowled. “Will it make a difference?”

“Maybe.”

She felt Coop’s
hand on her shoulder. “I loved your mother, Flame. I turned against
the Twilight Master to save you. I tried to save Tahira, but I
failed.”

Slowly she
turned. “Then why did you kill the only man I’ve ever loved?”

He shook his
head. “I didn’t. This new Satellite has more power. The evil realm
is determined to have you. He will do anything, say anything, and
kill anyone, even his own creepers just to accomplish his ultimate
goal. He has no heart, no soul, and no feelings.”

“But—”

“No buts, my
girl, he is not human, not anymore. If you know that I’m your
father then surely the Lioness told you about your mother,
too.”

Flame lowered
her eyes to hide the sorrow. “Yes, she told me. But she didn’t tell
me what happened to you. She said she didn’t know.”

“It’s true. I
went into hiding after I lost your mother. She was beautiful and
brave…like you. When I betrayed the evil realm, the master placed
the curse of accelerated aging upon me. He decided it would be more
agonizing for me to walk the earth as an ugly old man than burn in
the sulfur pit. He was right. No woman will have me.”

She forced
herself to look at him. “Ian told me many things. He said you were
demoted to a recruiter.” The Supreme Lioness’s words floated
through her mind.
He cannot create a new Satellite without
tapping into the energy of an existing one.
“Are you telling me
that you are no longer a Satellite?”

“Ian is dead,
darlin’. He never could get his story straight though,” Coop said
with a relenting nod. “I’m just a foolish old man sentenced to a
life of serving a power-hungry incubus. I have no special powers
anymore.”

“Then why did
you help me track down his creepers?” She recalled their night on
the hunt but also remembered that Coop hadn’t made a move to kill
the creepers that had attacked. “Were you in on the setup, too,
like Ian?”

“I’m sorry,” he
said, raking a hand through his short, gray hair. “Twilight’s fools
are also Twilight’s tools.”

“You put your
own daughter in harm’s way.” She fought back the internal struggle.
Here stood her father, the one tangible connection to the mother
she’d never known. She had a million questions but wasn’t sure if
she had the time or if she should indulge her curiosity instead of
pursuing her goal.

“For what it’s
worth, I was hoping all along that you’d win and you did.” He gave
a heavy sigh. “But now the fiend is back and clouding your thoughts
just like he did to Ian. He used Cassie to drive poor Ian mad until
my buddy went over the edge. Then that whore took him down.”

“You know about
Cassie?” Flame wrenched her hand free of Von’s and stepped toward
Coop. “Where did she get her power? What is her connection?”

“I don’t know.
She just showed up to ride with Ian one day.”

Confusion
inundated Flame. Everything Coop said made sense just as what Ian
and Von had told her also seemed to fit. Still, she knew that they
all couldn’t be telling the truth because one of them killed Raef.
She decided to fish for info on her mother while struggling to sort
her mental and emotional dilemma.

“Tell me about
my mother. If you loved her, why didn’t you make the right
choice?”

“Tahira was
strong and pure. I had just begun to feel my humanity when the
Twilight Master discovered our hiding place. When you set out to
betray an evil ruler, you better have an ironclad plan. I let my
guard down for but a minute and he stole into my thoughts to find
us. He told me to finish it. I couldn’t deny her plea to save our
child. After my betrayal, the master killed her and cursed me.”

“Because you
lost track of me?”

“You are the
prodigy both sides need. Whoever owns your heart holds the
key.”

Flame shifted
her weight in frustration. “What is this key that everyone is
talking about?”

“Nobody knows
except the high rulers. They won’t reveal its significance but it
must be one hell of a prize because neither side will back down.
Look at the man beside you. He’s not about to give up.”

She glanced at
Von. “Why are you silent? Don’t you want to defend yourself?”

“What’s wrong,
Calder? Afraid she’ll see the truth in your lying eyes?” Coop
taunted. “Why don’t you tell her who really masterminded everything
and manipulated the players? Tell Flame how you used a very willing
Cassie to work poor Ian over. While you’re at it, tell her that the
master can only mate with her via his Satellite, and that you
struck a deal in order to receive a second chance to do the job.”
Coop didn’t let up. “Does she know that you and Ian have teamed up
this time to ensure success? I bet you failed to mention Aiden’s
role. Did you let her in on the big secret?”

“What’s he
talking about?” Flame stared up at Von. Every nerve in her body
felt like it was on fire. “What have you done?”

Coop laughed
outright. “Your ex-husband is the biggest secret of all, darlin’.”
His eyes darted to Von then back to her. “Von knew all about
Aiden’s involvement with Twilight. Who do you think enlisted his
family? People don’t fall out of the sky and sign up with the evil
realm. They usually have a helping hand along the way.” His hard
stare sent chills down her back. “Your ex-husband is not who you
think he is, Flame. But I can see that Calder, here, left out a few
crucial details in his story.”

“Von…is this
true?” She gripped the handles of her Sai.

Coop’s hand
shot out and clutched Von around the neck. “Tell her you
motherfucker! Tell my daughter who the real Satellite is! Be a man
and confess that the Twilight Master ordered you to get her pretty
boy lover out of the way, so you can win this war. For once in your
pathetic miserable existence speak the truth and tell her who
really killed Raef!”

Rage flashed in
Von’s eyes. He reached up with one hand and yanked Coop’s hand from
his throat. His left hand remained tightly fisted at his side,
which scared her. The moment of truth was at hand.

“You,” Von
growled through clenched teeth. “You’re the original Satellite and
Raef’s blood is on your hands.”

“He’s lying,
Flame. He’ll say anything to trick you.”

She looked from
one man to the other then down at the ground and drew a deep
breath.
Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic
, she told
herself.
Clear your head…breathe.
With another cleansing
breath, she slowly lifted her head. While blocking Cooper’s furious
eyes from her mind, she turned toward Von.