Redeemer (Night War Saga Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Redeemer

  Night War Saga: Book Three

  by

  S.T. Bende and Leia Stone

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  BACK COVER COPY

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  MANGE TAKK

  ALSO BY S.T. BENDE

  ALSO BY LEIA STONE

  Night War Saga

  Redeemer

  Copyright © 2017, Leia Stone and S.T. Bende

  Cover Art by: Alerim

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage system without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  First publication: 2017, Leia Stone and S.T. Bende

  Stone, Leia

  Bende, S.T.

  Redeemer

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For information on reproducing sections of this book or sales of this book go to www.stbende.com or www.leiastone.com .

  BACK COVER COPY

  Hunt down the weapon pieces, destroy the night goddess, protect Midgard (Earth). That was always the mission . . .

  When an unexpected sacrifice turns Allie’s world on its head, she discovers her true function within the Asgardian world. Her new purpose has much higher stakes—and significantly bigger dangers—than she ever could have imagined. And as the Goddess of Night unleashes an unparalleled wave of fury across the realms, Allie’s dream of a peaceful future with her favorite protector all but disappears. Nott is determined to control Midgard. But Allie has more to fight for than ever before, and she’s determined to end the Night War . . . no matter what it costs her.

  Also by S.T. Bende

  Meet the God of War and his Norse crew in THE ÆRE SAGA:

  PERFEKT ORDER

  PERFEKT CONTROL

  PERFEKT BALANCE

  Meet the God of Winter and his Norse crew in THE ELSKER SAGA:

  ELSKER

  ENDRE

  TRO

  TUR (a novella)

  THE ELSKER SAGA: COMPLETE BOXED SET

  See the crews together in the bonus Ære/Elsker crossover novella:

  THE ASGARDIANS

  And introduce your Padawans to STAR WARS:

  Complete list of S.T.’s Star Wars children’s titles at http://www.stbende.com/star-wars .

  Stay in touch with S.T. at www.stbende.com. And get a free copy of TUR and stay up to date with the latest news from S.T. by signing up for her NEWSLETTER at http://smarturl.it/BendeNewsletter .

  Also by Leia Stone

  MATEFINDER TRILOGY (Optioned for film)

  Matefinder: Book 1

  Devi: Book 2

  Balance: Book 3

  HIVE TRILOGY

  Ash: Book 1

  Anarchy: Book 2

  Annihilate: Book 3

  NYC MECCA SERIES

  Queen Heir: Book 1

  Queen Alpha: Book 2

  Queen Fae: Book 3

  MATEFINDER NEXT GENERATION

  Keeper: Book 1

  Water Blessed

  Stay in touch with Leia: www.amazon.com/author/leiastone

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/leia.stone/

  DEDICATION

  For Midgard.

  CHAPTER ONE

  “SHE DOESN’T REMEMBER ME. How is that possible?” Tore slumped in the porch swing of our new little farmhouse, his palms obscuring his face. Long blond hair spilled on either side of massive hands, and his shoulders folded forward in abject defeat. He was the picture of frustration . . . and heartbreak.

  “It isn’t just you—she doesn’t remember anything,” I offered gently. From my place at his side I ran my fingernails across Tore’s blue Henley, raking the corded muscles that tensed beneath the fabric. A deep inhale of the crisp, country air did little to relieve my unease. “Someone did a number on your mom’s brain—completely wiped her memories. She doesn’t even know who she is.”

  “That is some seriously messed up skit,” Johann swore. He and Bodie paced on opposite sides of the veranda, their combat boots making heavy steps atop the wooden planks. Mack rested his folded arms along the porch railing, while Greta wrung her fingertips together in front of her waist. Both the bearded light elf and the strawberry-haired healer emitted vibes that were uncharacteristically uneasy.

  “What we need to figure out is whether your mom’s memories were removed to protect her, or . . .” Greta swept her gaze to the horizon.

  “Or?” I prompted.

  “Or whether someone removed those memories to protect themselves,” Greta finished.

  “My gut says the latter.” Mack’s voice was void of emotion.

  “Allie?” Tore asked.

  “Mine too,” I whispered. Tore tilted his head up to look at me, and the desolation in his icy blue eyes nearly shattered my heart. Oh, Tore.

  It had been thirty minutes since we’d discovered Tore’s supposedly-dead mom happily farming a field of lingonberries in the gods-protected city of Trondheim, Norway. Following that revelation, we’d walked the short distance to our new safe house—a roomy farmhouse with an adjacent training complex, barn, and guest cottage. None of our brains were exactly firing on all cylinders, which was understandable, considering the day we’d just had. When Nott had threatened the safety of our Canadian sanctuary with an epic earthquake, my four protectors, Greta, and I had grabbed Tore’s dog, Killer, and hopped the first charter plane to the Norwegian safe house . . . only to discover that we weren’t the only light realm escapees. Tore’s mom had somehow managed to evade her alleged arson-induced death. But in the process, she’d forgotten who she was, where she was from, and the fact that she had a son.

  Every time I thought our lives couldn’t get any more complicated, somebody went and turned up the crazy.

  Killer whimpered from his spot at Tore’s feet, and I bent down to scratch the big, black dog’s ears. “We’ll figure this out, Tore,” I vowed. “Together.”

  Bodie stopped pacing long enough to chime in with a solemn, “We’re here for you, man.” Johann, Mack and Greta murmured their consent.

  “I know you are.” Tore straightened up and placed his hand on my knee. “And I appreciate it.”

 
; Mack turned around to lean his back against the railing. “Somebody needs to report Ophelia’s survival to the Alfödr so he can look into her disappearance. And somebody needs to alert Vidar. If there was an outstanding revenge mission associated with her death, it can be called off now.”

  “A revenge mission?” I glanced at my friend. With his flannel shirt and unruly mane, he looked more like a lumberjack than a light elf.

  Mack gave a curt nod. His beard had grown while we’d been hunting weapon pieces and moving house; it was long enough now that the bushy strands brushed against his chest with the movement. “Vidar would have sent a team to avenge his wife’s murder. Tore, I don’t recall ever hearing that mission was completed. Did you?”

  “I—uh . . .” A glazed look came over Tore’s eyes. “Uh . . .”

  Did he really not know, or was he avoiding the question? Either way, we didn’t need to stress him out even more. “We can talk about it later,” I offered. “Mack, you took the luggage inside, so I know you’ve already scouted and feng shui-ed this place. Let us know where you want us bunking down, then a few of us can go find the market and get some food before—”

  “There was no revenge mission.” Tore spoke so quietly, I wasn’t sure I’d heard correctly.

  “What did you say?” Johann asked.

  “There was no mission,” Tore ground out. Air whistled through gritted teeth as he drew a sharp breath. “My father never sent a team to avenge my mother. I always thought it was because he wanted me to move on, or because he just didn’t care. But maybe it was because he knew there was no vengeance to be fulfilled.”

  “Tore.” Mack held up a hand. “That’s a serious accusation.”

  Tore pushed to his feet, and took Bodie’s place pacing across the porch. “Think about it. He never gave her a funeral. He never ordered a revenge strike. He must have known she wasn’t dead. He probably did this to her himself—to get her out of the way so he could screw even more of his mistresses.”

  I stood too, not sure whether to comfort Tore or let his anger run its course. “You think he’s the one who wiped her memories?” It was a struggle, but I culled the incredulity from my voice. Tore was my boyfriend, and I wanted him to know I had his back, no matter how crazy his theory sounded.

  “Only one way to find out.” Streams of fiery rage shot from Tore’s eyes as he stormed down the porch steps, and across the little garden that made up the front yard of our new home. He wrenched open the gate of the white picket fence that framed the property, and stormed into the adjacent field. “I’m going to Asgard to sort this out myself.”

  “Wait.” I took the stairs two at a time and raced after Tore. “I’m going with you.”

  “Forget it, Allie. You won’t want to see this.” Tore whirled around, his hair whipping with the movement. His hands were balled in fists, his shoulders pulled back, and for the first time I saw a hint of his father’s darkness in his eyes.

  Oh, hell to the no. Vidar had taken Tore’s light once. No way was I letting that happen again.

  “It’s not a question. I’m going with you. We’ll get our answers, I’ll make sure you can live with whatever you do in Asgard, then we’ll get back to work. Because we have skit to do. Got it?”

  Tore let out a growl that I chose to interpret as consent.

  “Mack, hurry up. We’re leaving,” I called up to the porch. If I was going to have to stop Tore from killing his dad, I would need my gentle giant.

  Mack thundered down the steps and took his place beside me without a word.

  “I didn’t say Mack could come,” Tore objected.

  “Well, I did,” I said. “He’s going to make sure we all keep level heads. Greta, Bodie, and Johann can get things squared away here. God only knows what Nott’s going to do next, so we’d better be ready.”

  “Fine.” Tore turned on one heel and stormed across the open field in record time. The glance Mack shot me communicated a thousand concerns in zero words. You and me both, lumberjack. A silent understanding passed between my bearded protector and me as we hurried after the angry Asgardian. We wouldn’t let Tore do anything he’d regret. But if we failed, well, we’d help him hide the bodies. Because, friendship.

  By the time we caught up to Tore, he was already summoning the Bifrost. “Heimdall!” he screamed into the sky. “Open the—”

  The rainbow bridge was down before Tore had finished his request. Heimdall must have been watching. Looked like he was on Team Tore, too.

  Tore stepped into the multi-colored light, and held out his hands. “Let’s go,” he barked, before swearing under his breath. I knew enough about energy to know that anger was always a mask for another more vulnerable emotion. Behind Tore’s anger was a very hurt, and extremely heartbroken son.

  “Okay.” I stepped forward and rested my fingers in Tore’s palms. Another surge of heartbreak shot through me at the contact, so I withdrew my hands and threw my arms around Tore’s shoulders. I stretched onto my tiptoes to whisper into Tore’s ear. “I’m sorry. We’ll figure this out.”

  “Ja,” he murmured. He wrapped his arms around my waist as Mack jumped in behind us. I took one last look at the red, two-story farmhouse that would be our home in Trondheim, before burying my face in Tore’s chest and preparing for the stomach flu-level motion-sickness I always contracted from Asgard’s transport system. Tore held on tight as the Bifrost sucked us up, shot us across the sky, and deposited us at the edge of the long walkway. The path led to the glass house owned by the god who’d betrayed my boyfriend on unimaginable levels, and if the look in Tore’s eyes was any indication, Vidar had betrayed his son for the very last time.

  I hoped Mack was handy with a shovel.

  The vertigo passed more quickly than it usually did, and before long I’d raised my head from its post-Bifrost spot between my knees, and regained my equilibrium enough to catch the murderous look Tore shot at the glass house. If we didn’t play our cards right, we’d definitely be hiding a body by the end of this trip. Two, if Vidar’s mistress Tiri was home. Oh, God.

  Tore ran his hands through his hair before confirming my assessment. “If he admits to doing this, I’m killing him,” he said calmly. Then he stalked across the bridge to the house, his hands balled in fists at his sides.

  My eyes widened and my palms framed my temples. My god-brother may not have been able to read my mind, but he must have picked up on my panic. “Wait!” Mack bellowed, the warning clear in his voice as we took off after Tore. We had to reason with him before he did something he’d regret.

  My legs pumped beneath me as my mind searched for an out. “Tore. Let’s just get all the facts and—oh!”

  Tore kicked the heel of his boot through the house’s glass door, scattering a sea of shards across the entry. The sound was deafening, but Tore didn’t pause before storming over the threshold and crunching his way into his father’s house. Zero skits given.

  We were beyond reason. It was time for Plan B: grab Tore and run like hell.

  A furious roar stopped me in my tracks.

  “What the Hel?” Vidar thundered around the corner. His eyes settled on Tore’s drawn shoulders and balled fists, and his rage softened into a mighty annoyance. “Tore? What in Odin’s name are you thinking?”

  It was clear Tore wasn’t thinking. That was the problem. My boyfriend fumed with such unbridled fury that his voice trembled when he spoke. “Choose your next words carefully, Father. Because if you lie to me, I will destroy everything you care about.”

  Revenge’s jaw dropped. “What insolence is th—”

  “Did you fake my mother’s death and wipe her memories?” Tore ground out.

  Vidar’s face fell. His eyes widened and his lips thinned, as guilt mixed with fear to form a silent confession.

  Oh. Crap. He did do it.

  “It was for her own good. You must understand, the alternative was death. Boy, no!” Vidar raised his hands as the blond blur of rage catapulted himself at his father’s face. Mac
k yanked me to his side as Tore slammed into Vidar with the force of a truck. Both father and son hit the glass-covered ground hard, the impact sending a resonant boom throughout the entry. By the time I’d regained my footing Tore straddled his father, landing blow after blow to the older god’s angular jaw. Shards of broken glass flew off Tore’s sleeve with each punch.

  “Shouldn’t we stop him?” I asked Mack.

  Mack leaned down to speak quietly in my ear. “Anger that festers turns to disease. Let him release it all now. Vidar’s healing abilities will prevent Tore from killing him with his fists. If he goes for a weapon, we’ll step in.”

  The sickening crunch of bones left me even more nauseous than the Bifrost, and I seriously considered jumping in. Tore showed no sign of letting up, and even with Asgardian healing abilities, this had to be hurting Vidar. Wouldn’t Tore regret lashing out at his dad? But a part of me knew that Mack was right; Tore needed to work through this in his own way. And it wasn’t like Vidar was making a move to stop the beating. He just lay there, allowing Tore to release his frustrations in the only way he could in that moment. Was this his sick way of apologizing?

  “You. Let me think. She was dead,” Tore shouted between punches. “You watched me. Mourn her. The only being. I’d ever loved.”

  His words sparked something in Vidar. The older god reached up, wrapping his fingers around Tore’s shoulders and throwing him to the ground. Tore landed with a crack, his body splayed out onto the tile. Blood seeped from a fresh gash in his cheek, where a thick piece of glass took root. Ouch. Before Tore could stand, Vidar pushed himself up and hauled Tore off the ground. He slammed the side of Tore’s face into the wall, forcing Tore’s wrists behind his back with one hand, and raising the second in a fist that lined up way too closely with the back of his son’s head for my liking.