Passion Ignited

Published by Evernight Publishing at
Smashwords

http://www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2012 Katalyn
Sage

ISBN:
978-1-77130-018-6

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: Marie Medina

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or
distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this
book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without
written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied
in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names,
characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual
events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

For my boys: BenLee

To Lee—a pseudo-ornery bugger who only
befriends people who are made of epic awesomeness, which is
naturally why you're friends with me.

To Ben—thank you for punching me in the face
while simultaneously extracting my contact by way of a boxing
glove. It's because of you that I know what it's like to be hit by
a girl.

One day, the Earth and the Sun will be named
after you two.

...I'll let you decide who gets what. Keep me
out of it.

PASSION IGNITED

Immortal Guardians, 2

Katalyn Sage

Copyright © 2012

Prologue

Goodrich Castle, Herefordshire,
England

Fall, 1753

Night was so beautiful when it was lit up with
fire, so much better than the boring light of day. It was her
favorite thing in the entire world. She urged her horse forward,
closing her eyes and inhaling the wonderful scent of smoke,
enjoying the fine heat that wrapped around her as she and Thadius
charged through the wild flames. Peering over her shoulder, she
couldn’t resist the laugh that escaped her. Palace guards were
tight on her heels, their ire growing each time she avoided their
arrows. And yet, even though she’d already introduced half of the
palace guards to their fiery deaths, their comrades continued to
pursue her.

The fools.

“Faster, Thadius.” She leaned low and kicked
her horse in the sides. He gladly obeyed and opened his strides,
making a mockery of the horses that the guards rode. The skirting
of her dress fanned out behind her, flowing like the waves of an
angry ocean with every jolt of her horse’s strides. She reached up
and undid the clasp binding her hair. The wind quickly took hold of
it, whipping it wildly behind her.

Thadius leapt over a fallen tree, causing her
to lean even lower against his back. They landed a second later,
and she glanced back at the dead wood. The guards were nearly
there; their horses getting ready to jump the fallen trunk when she
threw her hand out in their direction. The tree exploded, sending
the guards and their horses flying in all directions. Burning
pieces of wood littered the ground around them, catching weeds and
other plants ablaze. Laughter erupted from her yet again at the
sight of those pathetic guards, fumbling around with their horses
and weapons. Oh yes, they were the lord’s best men, but they were
no match for her. By the time she turned around, the wall of fire
that had separated her from the guards had grown to an enormous
blaze. She’d juiced the fire enough so that they wouldn’t dare
pass.

More explosions erupted ahead. Leaning low,
she and Thadius galloped through the forested land, dodging trees
and balls of fire, until she came to an opening that led to the
village. Up ahead, she could see more and more flames explode at
random. Inhaling slowly and deeply, she reveled in the scent of
burning trees and bushes. Making a beeline for the village center,
she and Thadius dodged a few blasts that were aimed right at them.
Luckily her horse was no longer leery of fire. He’d been with her
so long that he ran right through some flames and dodged others
without hesitation. It was almost as though he loved fire as much
as she did.

They passed building after building. Most were
ablaze, while others had crumbled to pieces from her brother’s
destruction. Only a few remained completely intact, but that
wouldn’t be so for long. She spotted her brother’s horse up ahead,
drinking from a fountain in the village center. He appeared to be
just as unfazed by the fire and explosions around him as Thadius.
As her horse slowed to a stop, she threw her leg over the side and
hopped down. Long ago, she might have ridden sidesaddle, but no
longer. Her skirts tumbled down with her, fanning out as she
righted herself.

She turned and patted her horse. “Go to
Achilles,” she said as she watched Thadius join the other horse for
a drink.

A sound caught her attention and she threw her
hands out Instinctively. The building exploded, and brick and
debris crashed to the ground. Heat engulfed her just before the
heat wave rose into a wondrous cloud above her head. She smiled and
brushed her hands off.

“Ash!” she yelled. “Come before me
now.”

“Nitro,” her brother replied from behind
her.

She turned and faced him as he stood at the
edge of the fountain, between the two horses.

“Oh, there you are,” she nodded. “It seems
your aim is getting worse, brother. You didn’t even get close. Must
we have more practice?”

“Hardly.” He laughed. “You know more than
anyone that we clearly have enough practice. Did you ever stop to
think that maybe I just never meant to hit you?”

Nitro couldn’t help but laugh herself. Fire.
Explosions. Mayhem. She and Ash were in their element right now.
Nothing could upset either of them when they were in the midst of
all this chaos.

“Ahh, quite the noblewoman in that gown,
aren’t you, sister?” Ash teased.

She smiled at her brother and inclined her
head. “You’d have loved to see the hat that I wore earlier. Pity it
fell into the fire.” She’d worn a royal blue hat that had matched
her satin dress. The courtier she’d stolen it from would likely
miss it within a fortnight. Not that she cared. In fact, the
courtier’s family had been so wealthy, that Ash had pilfered his
clothing from them as well.

Her brother stood before her now in his
oversized jacket with lace collar; his modern breeches with shiny
boots tying together his ensemble in a regal, elegant way. The
large feathered hat he’d looted had been a bonus, making him appear
as a wealthy nobleman. No one would dare question either one of
them with as much detail as they’d put into their costumes this
night.

“Yes, pity,” Ash replied, his smirk betraying
he was well aware of her sarcasm.

From within the shadows, the sounds of
footsteps alerted them to a newcomer. They turned, lifting their
hands in that direction, only stopping when they recognized the man
who approached.

“Do I need to remind you to get back to work?”
he asked. “You know, good help really is hard to come by these
days.”

“Sloka.” Nitro inclined her head. “We were
just reconvening after I completed the mission.”

“You’ve accomplished it already?” Sloka asked,
shocked.

“I have. It was nothing really.” She shrugged.
“Quite simple, if you ask me. Lord Ekhart was all too easy to
entice.” She fanned herself with her hand, and changed the tone of
her voice to the same one that she’d used in the castle. “I do say,
my lord, I am extremely grateful that a fine, upstanding gentleman
such as yourself is willing to take me in for the night. I daresay
that my dear cousin has left me here, carriageless. I’m willing to
do
anything
to repay you for your kindness.” Facing her
brother, she laughed. “He led me straight into his quarters, alone,
without anyone there to protect him. The rest is history. Although,
I must say, he was quite upset when he lost that
finger.”

The truth was, Goodrich Castle had been far
too easy to infiltrate. The newly appointed Lord Ekhart had moved
in a matter of weeks ago, and the celebration had been tonight. A
perfectly planned diversion here, a tight bodice there, and she was
in.

“Give me the ring,” Sloka demanded, clearly
uncaring about her tale.

Both Nitro and Ash faced him, crossing their
arms as they stared.

“Why do you cherish it so?” Nitro
asked.

“None of your business,” Sloka replied. “Your
job was to acquire it. Now, hand it to me.”

“Payment first,” Ash said.

“Greedy mercenaries,” he chuckled under his
breath as he pulled a satchel from his belt. “Here is your reward.
Now give me the ring.”

Nitro strode forward, her skirts swishing with
each step. She opened her hand, revealing the object Sloka had
hired them to procure. The ring was still around the finger she’d
severed. The skin itself had paled significantly and was now
swelling. She placed it in Sloka’s outstretched hand as she took
the coins from the other.

Ash stepped up quickly behind her and took
their reward money as Sloka looked down at the bloody appendage in
disgust.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you,”
Ash said. A small laugh escaped him as the other man’s face turned
a faint shade of green.

Sloka removed the ring from the finger and
threw the appendage on the ground. “Oh, the pleasure was all mine.
I do hope we will be doing business again.”

From the corner of her eye, Nitro caught
movement in the shadows. She quickly faced it, tensing to throw a
flame in that direction. Just as she turned, Ash and Sloka did as
well. There was a woman and two small children sticking to the
shadows, sneaking along the walls that actually remained of the
buildings. All three of them were dirty, their hair matted, and
their clothes in tatters. The mother was hardly able to move, and
she was carrying a toddler in her arms. The other child stayed by
her mother’s side, holding onto her dress as they tried to silently
work their way to where the local healer lived.