Civil Twilight: Project Exorcism Read online

  Project Exorcism IV

  Civil Twilight

  By

  Mandy M. Roth

  Civil Twilight © Copyright 2012 Mandy M. Roth

  Cover art by Natalie Winters © Copyright 2012

  First Electronic Printing, April 2012, The Raven Books

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  All books copyrighted to the author and may not be resold or given away without written permission from the author, Mandy M. Roth.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Any and all characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places is merely coincidence.

  The Raven Books

  Published by The Raven Books

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  Project Exorcism IV

  Civil Twilight

  By

  Mandy M. Roth

  Dedication

  To a few members of my Twitter/Facebook support team who are very quick to support my online craziness. Trust me, that is not an easy task. Thank you, Phyllis, Chloe Z., Angie C., Chelle and Marc M. There are so many, many others—too many to list—who are also there at all times, day or night, regardless what I'm posting, supporting my rants, my attempts at humor, my promo posts, etc. Thanks for that and for not turning me over to the internet police for being off my rocker more often than I'm "on" it. To get to know all the awesome people who share bits and pieces of my day, you can find them by visiting my website and clicking on the Facebook or Twitter links. And a special thanks to the team who cleans up my manuscripts before they reach the general public—to the Raven Books content editors, copy editors and final line editors, thank you for fixing my goofs and for not laughing in my face about them.

  Author’s Series Note

  Each book in the Project Exorcism series is written to stand alone; however, I do recommend reading them in order to maximize reading pleasure. To aid any who have not, as of yet, read the other books, or any who are simply looking for a refresher, I thought this introduction might help.

  Series background: Twenty-third century—Man has long since achieved space travel. Almost all planets in the known universe are part of the Commission, an intergalactic governing body that oversees the well-being of all within its quadrants.

  Supernatural creatures were discovered among us in the twenty-first century and witchhunts quickly began to rid Earth of them. A battle broke out and Earth’s human population dropped. In the end, humans were victorious, but only because a few select figureheads in the supernatural world agreed to the terms of a peace treaty. The terms were simple. The supernaturals were to be escorted off planet Earth and relocated on other planets, ones that were not part of the Commission’s territory. Ones that were agreed upon ahead of time, and ones on which the supernaturals would not be a threat.

  Thus began Project Exorcism. Five vessels set out on this mission. Only one arrived at its chosen destination. The others were thought lost during the meteoroid shower that occurred shortly after takeoff. Man now faces a new threat, only they are unaware of it. By shipping the supernaturals off, they unknowingly gave them access to other planets’ resources, including added magikal abilities, the ability to breed with their inhabitants, and so very much more.

  Welcome to Project Exorcism.

  Books in recommended reading order

  Paranormal Payload

  Force of Attraction

  Point of No Return

  Civil Twilight

  Prologue

  Nearing planet Sargaidia, onboard one of the Project Exorcism vessels, year 2056…

  Vessel sirens continued to blare, announcing what Stegian already knew, the ship was in trouble. It had gotten swept into what he could assume were stellar remains. The ship had been plagued with issues since its launch. Stegian knew why. Those who had forced his kind from Earth cared little about their safety, only that they left the planet. The brains behind Project Exorcism had thought as far as getting supernaturals off the planet and out of the range of Earth. They'd sworn in negotiations that the planets they'd sought out were safe havens and new starts for the supernaturals. It, like everything else, had been lies. He was sure of it. He'd been a fool to believe them—to think mankind had an ounce of decency left in it.

  Now, countless light years from home, their ship was damaged because of stellar remains. The pilot of the vessel swore the anomaly was rare and not showing on his instrument panel. Stegian believed the young vampire. He had nothing to gain by lying. He was as trapped on the ship as the rest of them were. Problem was the young vampire wasn't as trained as he should have been. None of the supposed pilots were. They'd been put through a crash course on the matter prior to their departure. As had all members of the crew.

  Stegian scanned the panels, doing his best to assess the damage to the ship. Two of the port side thrusters were completely gone and failing to respond in any way. Already the ship had begun to list to one side, something it should never do—that much he was sure of. It wasn't like space travel was totally foreign to him. He, like any other well-to-do resident of Earth, had visited other planets for vacation—though he was careful to select ones that didn't have much in the way of sunlight. Being a vampire left him unable to wake in the sun's rays. He missed it but couldn't dwell, not when the ship he was onboard was in such dire jeopardy.

  Varying people on board moved quickly from location to location, none seeming to know what to do. Pandemonium broke out. Several of the banshees onboard continued to wail, as if everyone around them wasn't smart enough to figure out people were going to die. They didn't need a supernatural alarm stating the obvious. A shifter spun quickly, knocking one of the banshees out cold. Stegian wasn't big on violence but even he'd wanted to silence her.

  People rushed around like mad as the ship pitched hard to the right and then shook violently. He had to reach out to steady himself or he too would have fallen, like so many others had. Sirens blared and alert lights beeped. The computer continued to read out different, yet equally as depressing outcomes.

  “We’re gonna die,” one of the men yelled.

  Another snorted. “We’ve been as good as dead since the day they loaded us onto this ship like cattle,” another returned.

  Stegian staggered towards the control panels. The young vampire pilot was hurt and currently having his wounds tended to. While he would eventually heal, there was no fresh blood at the ready so the medical staff needed to try to stop the rapid rate of his blood loss. A fill-in pilot, one with limited training, was doing his best to gain control of the ship. It wasn’t working.

  “Life support systems are down,” Stegian said, remaining calm in the face of certain death.

  “I can try to land it,” Yunoc, the young male shifter who was doing his best to pilot the vessel, said. “At our excepted rate of entry and with the velocity we are traveling at, there is a good chance we could burn up in the atmosphere.”

  “Do your best,” said Stegian, bracing himself in the co-pilot chair. A planet came into view and Yunoc focused on aiming the craft in that direction. “No promises.”

  A natural leader, Stegian was often who the people aboard the spaceship turned to. He’d been instrumental in negotiations with the humans on Earth and had done his best to prevent anymore loss of lives due to ignorance and fear of supernaturals. “Try to land us.”

  He sucked in a hasty breath and prepared for rapid decent. It came with a vengeance. He was thrown free of the pilot area and slammed face first into a wall. Pain exploded throughout him, and he was
fairly certain he'd broken multiple bones, and they hadn't even impacted yet. It came with a shuddering, thundering thud and all around him went black for a moment.

  Stegian pushed off of the unforgiving inner shell of the vessel he’d been banished to one year prior. The smell of smoke and charred remains coated the area. While he didn’t quite know the extent of injuries on the ship, his senses told him they were grave and many. As if the ship’s crew hadn’t been through enough already.

  He snarled at the thought of the ignorant humans who had herded him and the other supernaturals like cattle onto the vessels, hoping to rid Earth of them for good. Their fear of what they did not understand prompted sanctions and even saw death squads coming to be. These squads had one mission, find and eliminate supernaturals. Stegian and a few select other figureheads had tried to reason with the humans. He’d tried to make them understand they did not have to live in fear of them. That supernaturals would police themselves as they had always done, but his pleas fell upon deaf ears. Soon, backlash from the death squads rippled through the supernatural community and attacks on humans began. From there, it was all downhill.

  Now, one year later, but in truth, many a light year later, thanks to the courtesy of accelerated speeds and state-of-the-art highly efficient thrust-to-weight ratios, Stegian and his people were far, far from Earth and its reaches. They were, according to his calculations, far off their original course as well.

  They’d encountered meteor showers shortly after departing Earth and had never quite been able to get their navigational maps back up and running to standard. No surprise. It wasn’t as if the people running the vessel were top notch. They’d been lucky to have anyone on board who could pilot the ship. Two of the vessels the supernaturals were herded upon had men who had to be trained on the spot to fly them. It wasn’t as if humans would risk or give up their valued human, qualified pilots.

  Yunoc neared him, helping him to his feet. Yunoc looked shaken but relatively unharmed considering what they'd gone through. “Stegian, are you hurt?”

  “No,” Stegian said, dusting himself off. Someone's blood was on him. It wasn't his. His heightened senses knew the difference instantly. The demon in him tugged, wanting to come out and play in the carnage. With ease he quelled it, refusing to permit it to be an issue for him. He had other things to worry about, such as, the safety of his traveling mates. “How many did we lose in the crash?”

  Yunoc sighed as he leaned partially on the computer screens because of the angle of the ship. The screen blipped several times before coming back on to full function. “Preliminary reports are thin, but the count is high. Higher than you would want.”

  “One loss of life is too many,” Stegian said sternly and with conviction. He valued life. It was precious and they'd come too far and had endured too much for this to be how they would end—stranded on some gods forsaken planet in the middle of nowhere. “What of the planet’s air quality? Breathable?”

  “Yes. By all accounts the planet can sustain life. In fact, before impact I could have sworn the sensors were picking up signs it was inhabited. Also, it was showing as having two suns.”

  The two suns would prove to be an issue but no more so than one on Earth. Stegian grinned. Good. Already the supernaturals on board grew tired with the company of one another. It would do well to introduce others into the mix. It could boost morale, so long as the planet’s inhabitants weren’t as ignorant as Earth’s. “Then let us free ourselves from this flying tomb and greet our new neighbors. Hopefully, they are more welcoming than our last ones.”

  Yunoc chuckled and followed as Stegian made his way to one of the many emergency release hatches. Yunoc was first out. “It is safe, the suns are down,” Yunoc called back to him. “You can exit.”

  Stegian shared his body with a demon. Humans called him a vampire but he was so much more than just that. Prior to that attack which left him sired, Stegian was a sorcerer. It gave him the edge over his demon that he needed to remain in control of himself. For centuries he’d managed just fine with what he was despite the humans’ claims he and others like him could not control their blood lust.

  Fools.

  Stegian climbed out of the hatch and stared out at the strange land. Not far off was a body of water that looked to be blood red. Its beaches, illuminated by the pale light of the moon, were pink. If that wasn’t enough of a departure from Earth, the backdrop of trees had ink black trunks and bright yellow, long banana leaf-like leaves. It was surreal, like looking out upon a dream painting of some sort. All the same, it was breathtakingly beautiful and serene.

  Finally, we have found peace.

  With a grin, he hopped down from the vessel. The second his feet hit the ground his magik flared, as did the demon within. Where normally he could easily push the demon back down, the demon seemed invigorated, more powerful than it had ever been on Earth. It thrust up and past his control, seizing hold of him. One second he was staring at the landscape seeing its beauty and the next, he was looking through preternatural eyes, gazing out, looking for prey.

  Yunoc approached, seeming rattled as well. Part shifter, Yunoc could change forms at will and had amazing control over it. The closer he came to Stegian, the more Stegian realized Yunoc’s eyes were shifted to another color, the color of his beast’s. Yunoc sniffed the air near Stegian and lowered his head, already sensing who the dominant male was.

  “Master,” Yunoc said, his voice sounding strained. “Your wish is my command.”

  Stegian struggled, wanting free of his demon’s hold. Instead, he found himself smiling, showing fang, something he never did. “Find me a snack. I find I am famished and could use a good long fuck. It’s been far too long since I’ve been allowed out to play. This planet will do nicely.”

  Yunoc nodded. “Yes, Master.”

  Chapter One

  The Others’ compound on the planet Sargaidia, year 2208…

  Stegian stared out into the darkness and wondered how much longer before one of his men sensed it in him—sensed that his desire to rid the planet of Janelles no longer held the same drive it once did. It lacked the same invigorating pull. The yearning to wipe out an entire line of people, where it had been all-consuming, had waned. So had his desire to maintain such a tight hold over the ones the natives to the planet called the others—supernaturals like him, outsiders, men who fell from the sky bringing with them god-like abilities. Of course, Stegian had also masterfully merged various species, creating something altogether new and terrifying. All obedient to him, or at least to his demon.

  He had been their leader from the word go. Even when they'd first been herded onto the vessel on Earth, they'd gravitated towards him, as if already sensing his leadership skills were rivaled by no other.

  If his men knew his desires were no longer as dark as they’d been since he’d set foot upon the planet, they would surely turn against him, assuming him weak. He ruled by fear and he ruled well. It had been his reign for over a hundred and fifty years that had gotten his kind to the point they were—rulers and leaders. They survived because of him.

  His balcony, modeled closely to the one he’d had while on Earth, overlooked a section of the forest he found tranquil and inviting. Just beyond the horizon, on nights of the full moon, he could see the lagoons and they reminded him of home. The demon disliked his need to make things similar to how they’d once been for him, but it conceded enough to allow him to have his castle built to his liking. It picked its battles and how he chose to reside wasn’t worth the fight.

  He ran his hands over the railing made of a stone native to the planet. It was as close to Earth’s resources as he could get, while still having something sturdy enough to build his fortress from. He inhaled the night air, taking in the scents of all around him. The demon had already fed for the night and was content, so it afforded the man a brief moment of control—something it did on occasion.

  His thoughts drifted to Earth, to the last masquerade ball he'd attended before being
sired. He'd been a powerful, proud young male sorcerer and had thought the world was his oyster. He had no way of knowing everything would change later that night. It was the best and worst night of his life.

  He lost himself in deep reflection of the past. Thoughts of the beauty who had tempted him that night returned. He could still remember the bright royal blue of her eyes, the alluring, deep sable of her hair and her glorious curves. He'd not been able to see her face fully because of the mask she wore, but deep down he'd known she was the woman for him—his chosen mate. His fingers flexed around nothing as he remembered what it had been like to dance with her, to know the feel of her lush body against him. He longed for that moment again but it would never be. She was no more and he was not the man she'd danced with. Now, he was a monster. Not to mention he was light years away from Earth. He had sensed something about her, something supernatural, yet he couldn't pinpoint what it had been. Odds were, even with supernatural blood in her veins, she was long since dead. Even if she had any immortality in her, she would have been hunted by the remaining humans. She'd not been on a vessel. He'd searched them all before departure. That meant she'd been left behind. Left to the mercy of unforgiving mobs.

  It had been over a hundred years since he'd thought of that night, and he wasn't sure what had prompted him to do so now. He focused on the serenity of the woods surrounding his castle and laughed at the idea he'd once thought this planet would provide the peace he'd once so desperately sought.

  A rustle in the nearby brush caught his attention. His supernatural senses didn’t detect anything. Still, he knew he’d heard something. He neared the edge of the railed section of balcony and descended the stairwell to the ground level. Moving closer to the edge of the tree line, he stopped when he spotted a pair of royal blue eyes staring back at him—eyes identical to the ones he'd just been thinking about. But that couldn't be. The face the eyes were attached to was breathtakingly beautiful. Long waves of silky black hair hung to the young woman’s slender waist. Her skin, while pale, wasn’t as light as his. She was tall for a woman, around five nine or so. The planet was rich with tempting beauties, but this one was different—even more alluring than the others.