Redeemer (Night War Saga Book 3)

by Leia Stone

  “Hey,” I reminded him. “We have Astrid. We’ve got this.”

  “All I’m saying is don’t be over-confident. Stick close to me, and remember that retrieving that final piece is our priority. We can’t kill Nott until Gud Morder is assembled, so no matter what she does, do not engage her. Am I clear?”

  “Tore,” I said slowly. We were a team—I didn’t like the way he was ordering me around. “You might be the guys’ commander, but you’re not mine.”

  “No,” he agreed. “But I am your protector. And more important than that, I love you. I don’t want you getting hurt. Please promise me you’ll keep yourself safe. Whatever Nott baits you with, please don’t bite.”

  “I hear what you’re saying,” I said gently. Even if I don’t love the way you’re saying it. “And I’ll stay safe if you will. I saw you trying to jump into the eternal flame after me on Muspelheim. If it had touched you before it flickered out . . .” I shuddered. “Love goes both ways, so let’s both make it home in one piece. And then, after we’ve safely killed Nott with Gud Morder, let’s finally take that vacation.” The clothing-optional one. Please, for the love of God, let me finally see Tore naked.

  A cobalt blue flame rose in Tore’s eyes as he adjusted the final strap of my armor. “Next villa in Bora Bora’s booked for two weeks from today. We’d sure as Hel better be there this time.”

  “It’s a date,” I said lightly. The thought of naked Tore was totally going to get me through the next however-many hours of what promised to be a horror show.

  I couldn’t wait until all of this was over.

  ***

  Minutes later, the Svartalfheim party assembled in the field outside of our Trondheim safe house. Tore had sent Lela on a walk into town with Killer, where she was to help my protectors’ parents gently remind Ophelia of all things Asgard, and pick up fresh supplies from Dragonry for Scarlet. We wanted to drop in on Svartalfheim under the radar, so my very large, and very conspicuous, dragon would remain on standby in Midgard, ready to realm-jump the second I summoned her on my gold dragon-horn. The Mack Pack and five of Astrid’s warriors stood in a cluster behind the tall Asgardian fighter, while Bodie, Johann, Mack, and Greta gathered with me in front of Tore. All together, we had seventeen members of our party. If we couldn’t hunt down a single measly weapon piece between us, then maybe I didn’t deserve that clothing-optional vacation after all.

  Don’t listen to that, Universe, I’m sorry. I take it back. I really need Bora Bora. Like really bad. Please and thank you. Xoxo, Allie

  “All right, listen up,” Tore barked his orders. “We’re going to split into two teams. Astrid, you command your men—and woman.” He nodded at Malena, whose arms were roughly the size of my neck. Holy mother, that chick was fierce. “Johann and Bodie, you’re going to go with Astrid as well. I want your team to scan the western region of Svartalfheim for any gatherings of dark beings. Presuming she knows where it is, Nott’s going to have the piece on her adopted realm under close watch, so dark spots would mark areas of interest. Investigate them and report in if one turns out to be Gud Morder’s location. Remember, the comms are probably tapped, so don’t communicate unless you’ve found the piece and need Allie to retrieve it, or unless you’re evacuating the realm. Mack, Allie, Greta, and the Medisjon boys are coming with me. We’ll comb the eastern region. If it’s in our area, Allie’s armor will give us a signal and we’ll track it and give you the green light to either join us or evac. Any questions?”

  “Ja.” Greta raised her hand. “I haven’t been to Svartalfheim in a long time. What active hostiles do we need to watch for?”

  “Nott, night elves, dark elves, infected dragons.” Tore broke off to raise one eyebrow at me. I must have been wearing my, oh dear God, so many nightmarish creatures face. Gulp. “Oh, and the mutant beetle babies. But those only live on the polar caps, so we shouldn’t run into them unless the piece is really remotely located,” he finished.

  “The what?” I whisper-screamed.

  “A demonic race of insects that feeds on immortal souls.” Tore shrugged. “They don’t age past a certain point, so their brain never progresses beyond the infant stage. Since their survival instincts are underdeveloped, they’re not a huge threat. Just wait until they stop flying and stomp on them. It crushes their wings, which totally debilitates them. They usually scurry away.”

  “Usually?” I squeaked.

  “Well, sometimes their wings survive, and then you’ve got a really ticked off demon insect on your hands. Just don’t let them fly near your face. If they can get to an orifice, they go straight for the brain and . . . just stomp really hard if you see one, okay Pepper?”

  Yup. I was definitely stomping really hard on the demon insects. Ew.

  “Anything else?” Tore looked around. “No? Okay, then make sure you’re weaponed up, and head for the Bifrost drop spot. We’ll go in two parties; Astrid’s team first.” Tore marched forward, and we followed close behind. I stuck by Mack, who’d brought both his crossbow and his mace on our little pleasure cruise. Nothing should get past my big, bearded protector. For that matter, nothing would get past any of us. I hoped.

  “Heimdall!” Tore stopped to shout at the sky. “Send down the Bifrost!”

  With a flash, a rainbow of colors parted the clouds and dropped into the field outside our farm. Astrid and her team stepped into the light, followed by Johann and Bodie. The rainbow sucked them up, through the clouds, and out of sight.

  Greta, Mack, and the Mack Pack took their place inside the rainbow, but I lingered where I was, taking one last look at our safe house, the complex, and the beauty that was Trondheim. On the off chance that I died that day, I wanted to enjoy my last moment on Midgard.

  But you’re not dying today, Allie. You’re going to be just fine. The whole team is.

  With a determined nod, I took a step closer to Tore.

  “You ready?” He glanced down at me. “No heroics, remember?”

  “Same to you,” I countered. But I laced my fingers through his and squeezed his hand. “I love you, Protector.”

  “I love you too, Pepper.” He pulled me into the light, wrapped a possessive arm around me, and called up to the sky, “Heimdall, take us to Svartalfheim!”

  And with a bone-sucking whoosh, the Bifrost pulled us upward.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “GOOD LORD, IT’S FREEZING. Is it always this cold here?” My teeth chattered as I huddled with my team behind a mountain. A cool blast of wind hit us, and I wrapped my arms tighter around myself. I shot occasional glances over my shoulder, checking for a flock of psychopathic black birds, but so far, our time in Svartalfheim had been avian-free.

  Thank God.

  “During the winter this region gets quite a chill, ja,” Greta said.

  Tore scanned the horizon, the agitated shift of his eyes conveying an even more heightened state of protector than usual. “Allie, you getting any feelings?”

  “Yup. Feeling like we should have brought a helicopter with us. And possibly a tank. And definitely more jackets.” Tension prickled at the back of my head, and I scanned the blackened landscape for hostiles. We had to be a nanosecond away from an ambush. Sure, we’d kept this leg of our mission on the down low. But Nott had her minions waiting for us in every other realm we’d dropped in on. No way were we lucky enough to get a pass on this one.

  “I’m serious,” Tore pressed. “Do you get any hits on the location of the weapon piece? Sense any darkness?”

  This whole place was a study in darkness, from its black lava rocks, to its ashy ground cover, to the charred cactus stumps that seemed to be Svartalfheim’s sole claim to vegetation. Even the sun filtered through thin, purple-ish clouds to cast a creepy, shadow-laden light along the mountain range. A shiver consumed my spine, but I pushed my fear away. Freak out later, Allie. Hunt for the weapon now.

  “Give me a minute,” I said. I closed my eyes and sent my energy outward, moving from the left side of the horizon to the ri
ght. I lingered over a patch of light directly ahead and a cluster of darkness to the right before reporting my findings to my team. “Darkness is over there.” I pointed. “But I don’t sense any kind of protection, so I don’t think that’s where the piece is. If it’s nearby, my money’s on the light burst just over that knoll.” My armor vibrated at my words, and I opened my eyes. “My armor thinks it’s over there, too.”

  “Protective formation,” Tore ordered without missing a beat.

  The Macks and Tore spread out around me and Greta. Original Mack took the rear, while Tore stood fiercely at my side. He typed hurriedly on his comm, presumably letting Astrid’s team know we had a suspected location on the piece, before barking another command. “Move out,” he demanded, and we made our way from behind the small land mass concealing us, and toward the light-laden knoll.

  My stomach churned as we traveled, the heaviness of Svartalfheim’s dark energy pressing against me. “This place is awful,” I said.

  Elo gave me a half smile. “This realm is Alfheim’s energetic opposite. They’re dual sides of one planetary spirit, so while Alfheim got all things light . . .” He shrugged.

  “Svartalfheim got all the dark,” I finished. “Awesome.”

  “Get down. Dragon.” Tore’s hand on my back shoved me to the ground. I pressed my cheek to the icy ash as an enormous black creature appeared from behind a mountain and made its way across sky. I was in no position to check its eye color as it passed overhead, but the energy it put off left no doubt as to its origin. This was one of the dark dragons, the kind bred in Helheim who were born of darkness and had no chance of redemption. If that thing had spotted us, we were so royally screwed. It would be death by dragon for sure, or possibly death by night goddess, if it eschewed flambéing us for reporting to its mistress. What were we going to do?

  Footsteps thundered behind me, and a spray of black ash dusted my face as Mack leapt over me. I pushed myself up just in time to see him launch a series of arrows at the winged reptile.

  So much for staying under the radar.

  “We can’t let it report to Nott,” Mack called over his shoulder. He loaded his crossbow again and fired. This arrow pierced the dragon behind its scaly wing, eliciting a high-pitched roar accompanied by a stream of fire. The creature swung around, turning its still-smoking mouth to us and opening wide. Crappers. We were so about to get charred.

  “Take it down!” Elo shouted, sending an arrow of his own high into the air. The tip landed in the soft spot behind the dragon’s ear, and it flung its head to the side, clearly discombobulated.

  “Again!” Elo cried, and his brothers let loose with a series of arrows that felled the massive beast. It spiraled to the ground, its body striking the earth with a thunderous boom. An enormous cloud of black ash puffed around the dragon’s body as it landed, and before it could stand, Tore launched himself at the beast. He climbed onto the reptile’s chest and drove his sword through its ribcage. Blood gushed from what I could only assume was the dragon’s heart, coating Tore’s shirt in a thick, dark liquid. Two of Mack’s brothers joined in the slaughter, and in no time the creature was still, no longer a threat to our mission. Thank God.

  My relief ended the minute the black orb rose from the beast’s torso. Tore was still hunched over, panting, so he didn’t see the orb move toward him. Without thinking, I flared my light whip to life and sent it flying at the orb. I slashed at the energy until it dissipated, and when Tore finally looked up again he shot me a grateful glance.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “Any time,” I replied. I let my whip die down, but kept the Liv live in my chest. A girl could never be too careful when traveling in a dark realm.

  “We should move out in case anyone heard the dragon fall,” Greta advised. She pushed herself to her feet, dusting her soot-covered hands on her pants.

  “Yeah, good call,” Tore agreed. “Nott probably sent that dragon as a scout when the Bifrost dropped in. She’ll send another when he doesn’t return, or possibly come looking for him herself.”

  Awesome.

  Tore wiped the blood from his sword by swiping it against one of the cactus stubs, then raised an eyebrow at me. “You up for a jog?”

  If by jogging, he meant run away from imminent death by night goddess and/or secondary dragon, I was all over that. “Sure,” I agreed. The Mack Pack took off, and I followed them at a clipped run, careful to keep pace with Tore and Greta. My satchel bounced against my hip with each step, and I repeated an impromptu mantra as we moved forward. Find weapon, assemble weapon, kill Nott. Find weapon, assemble weapon, kill Nott. I was so focused on getting to the source of light, that I failed to see the flash of metal before it soared through the air to pierce my thigh. Searing pain shot down my leg, ricocheting back upward before it settled just below my hip.

  Holy. Freaking. Lord. This. Hurts.

  A garbled cry escaped my lips, and I stumbled as the pain overtook my stride. “Tore,” I rasped before dropping to the ground. Tore’s hand snaked out, grasping my arm and dragging me backward as chaos exploded on all sides. Arrows pierced the air, launching from beyond the knoll and the top of the mountain we’d dropped in by, and I had zero doubt Nott’s minions had tracked us down.

  We were surrounded. But if my god-brothers’ determined faces were any indication, we weren’t going down without a good fight.

  The Mack Pack jammed their swords into the ground, raising their epic glowing shield so the arrows bounced off its protective dome. Thank you, god-brothers. Tore deposited me inside the safe space before running off to retrieve Greta. He used his broadsword to bat away oncoming arrows like baseballs, covering Greta until she reached my side.

  “Stay in here and heal Allie’s leg,” he ordered. Then he grunted a hasty, “please,” before running back out to help the Medisjons. I chanced a look down at my leg, dizziness overcoming me as I noticed the pool of blood forming on the blackened ground.

  “Is that all mine?” I croaked. Who knew one little arrow could draw so much blood? Knock it off, Allie. Just don’t look.

  Greta placed a light hand atop my thigh, and I tried not to weep as the awareness of what was about to happen overtook me.

  “Think of something else,” she advised me. “Think about the first time Tore kissed you and—”

  “Arugh!” I screamed as Greta ripped the arrow from my leg. I felt like I was being sliced open from the inside, but after an endless moment of agony the pain gave way to a deep throbbing. Blood flowed freely before slowing to a trickle, and I watched as Greta ripped a piece of fabric from the hem of her shirt and tied it around my leg like a tourniquet. I knew Bodie would love his girlfriend’s new crop top, but at the moment, my primary thought about Greta was that she deserved a good punch in the face.

  No, she doesn’t, she just saved your leg.

  Shut up, brain. Let me have this.

  Luckily for Greta, my brain won out, and I curbed my desire to hit my sweet friend. Instead, I settled for a dignified, “That freaking hurts!” before allowing myself a singular moment of tears.

  “Sorry Allie,” Greta apologized.

  “Don’t be.” I gasped as a fresh wave of pain overtook me. “But we have to get out of here—the darkness is getting closer, and this time it feels like . . . oh, no.”

  “What is it?” Greta leaned closer.

  “More dragons,” I whispered. “Look.”

  I pointed to the horizon, where two large, black creatures soared across the sky.

  “Oh. My. Gods,” Greta whispered.

  “Tore, it’s time to move out!” I shouted over the roar of whooshing arrows.

  Tore glanced back at me. “Why?” He batted an arrow away from Mack, while Elo and Han fired at the mountain.

  “The dragons are coming.” I pointed to the sky, and Tore wasted no time in rounding up the light elf members of our team.

  “Everybody regroup. Incoming airborne hostiles. Charge the knoll and take out as many ground attackers
as you can along the way. Allie, sit tight. I’ll carry you.”

  “No need.” I let Greta help me to my feet, where I swayed unsteadily before drawing a determined breath. “I can run on my own.”

  “You sure?” Tore batted away another arrow, and I nodded.

  “Just stay safe,” I pleaded.

  “Always.” Tore held my gaze with steady eyes before shouting to our team. “Go!”

  The Mack Pack drew back, retrieving their shield-wielding swords from the ground and removing the awesome protective dome. Tore kept pace at my side, batting arrows away from me and Greta as we charged after my god-brothers. We pounded across the ashy earth, and after a hundred yards we’d escaped the range of the mountain-shooters, but drawn dangerously close to the knoll attackers.

  “What’s the plan?” Mack yelled at Tore.

  “Take them all out, then take cover before the dragons can—”

  “Arugh!” A deep female voice shouted from our right. I turned my head to where Malena emerged from behind a low hill. She charged toward the light source, the team of warriors hot on her heels. She let out a fierce cry as she threw herself over the knoll, and I heard the sickening slice of sword against flesh as she fought off whatever hid on the other side. Her team charged after her, clanging swords filling the heavy, shadowed air. But where were my other two protectors? And where was Astrid? Please, let them be okay.

  After a gut-wrenching moment, the missing members of our team emerged from behind the hill. They battled an advancing battalion of night elves as they moved, their swords a silvery blur as they struck down night elf after night elf. They were making headway in taking out our assailants, but it wouldn’t be long before the dragons were upon us and . . .