by S. T. Bende
Silent Shield
Shieldmaiden Squadron: Book Three
S.T. Bende
Contents
Back Cover Copy
Also By S.T. Bende
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Read Viking Academy
Read Perfect Order
Also By S.T. Bende
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Silent Shield
Shieldmaiden Squadron: Book Three
Copyright © 2021, S.T. Bende
Edited by: CREATING ink
Cover Art by: Melissa Stevens of The Illustrated Author Design Services
* * *
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: 2021, S.T. Bende
* * *
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.
To my little Vikings.
And to everyone with the heart of a shieldmaiden.
Back Cover Copy
Shieldmaiden Ingrid Tirsdatter is in the final leg of her very first mission. After chasing a dark mage one thousand years into the future, she and her team have spent the past two months trying to stop him from doing the unthinkable—enacting a magical spell that’s certain to destroy their world. But when a collection of crystals goes missing, it’s clear their enemy is making his final play. And when Axel starts acting peculiar, Ingrid realizes that more than just their home is on the line. If she and her team can’t stop the dark mage, her past—and her future—may disappear forever.
Also By S.T. Bende
Follow the Valkyris crew in
VIKING ACADEMY
VIKING CONSPIRACY
VIKING VOW
-and-
SHIELDMAIDEN SQUADRON
SORORITY SUBTERFUGE
SILENT SHIELD
* * *
Meet the Norse gods, including Axel’s not-so-mythical Asgardian relations in:
THE ÆRE SAGA
PERFEKT ORDER
PERFEKT CONTROL
PERFEKT BALANCE
PERFEKT MATCH
-and-
THE ELSKER SAGA
ELSKER
ENDRE
TRO
TUR (a novella)
THE ELSKER SAGA: COMPLETE BOXED SET
* * *
Meet the faeries in
ALFHEIM ACADEMY
DARK FAERIE
ROYAL REBEL
* * *
Meet the demigods in NIGHT WAR SAGA.
PROTECTOR
DEFENDER
REDEEMER
* * *
And introduce your Padawans to Star Wars and Disney!
Complete list of S.T.’s licensed children’s titles
at https://www.stbende.com/kids-books/
* * *
Stay in touch with S.T. at www.stbende.com
or
Sign up for S.T.’s newsletter
Chapter 1
“WE ARE GOING TO be in so much trouble,” I hissed at my captain while hurriedly lacing my boots. Since discretion was of the essence at this ungodly hour, we’d kept the lights off—which meant our room was illuminated only by moonlight. This, coupled with my sheer exhaustion, had caused me to bump into the furniture more times than was becoming of a shieldmaiden. My eyes drifted to the digital clock on my nightstand, and I let out a soft groan. “We are well past curfew.”
“Tell that to Torstein.” Janna slid her sword into its sheath. “He’s the one who asked for an assist.”
“I’d help him with anything,” Brigga said breathlessly.
Janna chuckled. “We know you would.”
“Harumph.” Brigga tied her blond hair back in a messy braid and pulled a few strands loose so they framed her face. After slicking on a coat of her new favorite lip gloss—the shiny pink one that smelled distinctly of strawberries—she pouted her lips and slipped her dagger into her belt. “I’m ready.”
“Me too.” Janna picked up her shield. She peered out the window of the sorority house. “Looks like Axel and Raynor are getting in the car. And Torstein’s pacing on the sidewalk. We’d better hurry.”
“How are we going to get out of here?” I slipped my own shield over my shoulder. “The second we open the front door we’ll trigger the alarm and Lexi will be all over us. Again.”
“That’s why we’re not going out that way.” Janna unlatched the window. It gave off a delicate creak as she pulled it open with both hands. She stepped back, and motioned for me to come closer. “We’ll take the alternate exit. Ingrid first, then Brigga. I’ll bring up the rear.”
Brigga arched one perfectly groomed brow. “You want us to climb down the side of Kappa Mu?”
“We’ve done worse.”
Janna wasn’t wrong. The cliffs we’d trained on back at the shieldmaiden compound on Valkyris were no joke. But a multimillion-dollar sorority house would be sorely lacking in crevices. And there was no ocean here to catch us if we fell.
I adjusted my sword and assessed my route. “Okay. The trellis to my right is covered in ivy, but I should be able to get a decent foothold. Brigga, wait for me to climb down. Then follow my path.”
“Got it,” Brigga said.
I slung one leg over the sill and slipped silently from the second-story window. My boots inched slowly along the narrow, white ledge as I shuffled carefully to the right. The trellis began two rooms over, which meant I’d have two solid chances of getting caught. But my team was counting on me . . . and I had no intention of letting anyone down.
A few weeks back, Brigga, Janna, Axel, Raynor, and I were sent one thousand years into the future to stop a dark mage from destroying our world. We were in a race to recover the ingredients he needed to enact a spell—one that, if successful, would enable Sverrir to control mankind and all the realms. Our mission wasn’t going well. Sverrir currently had possession of three of the pieces he needed to control us all—illy bloom, meteor rock, and moonstone. Balboa bark was up for grabs, while we had a magical dagger, and eight of the world’s twelve existing quanta crystals. Our light mage, Torstein, had just called in a trace on the ninth. Hence, our late-night sneak-out . . . and my precarious perch atop a sorority house drainpipe.
Just. Don’t. Fall.
I swung around the pipe and reached over my shoulder to tug the hood of my sweater over my massive mane of crimson curls. Then I adjusted my fingerless gloves, lowered my head, and crept quietly along the ledge. I paused outside the first window, where soft snores slipped through the cracks. The evidence of my housemates’ slumber unfurled the knot in my stomach. My fingernails dug into the windowsill as I placed one hand over the other. I was so close to the next ledge.
I pointed my toe as I stretched outward, ignoring the burn in my thighs from my afternoon workout. My foot sought purchase on the wood. It slid into place and I clung like a starfish to the side of the structure.
Muffled guffaws rang up from the street. I turned my head with a growl. “Shut up, Axel!”
“Valkyris’ finest,” he called from the car.
“I am working!”
My boyfriend’s quiet laughter echoed up the silent street.
“He is the worst,” I muttered as I cleared the second window and latched onto the trellis. The boards were thin, but I kept my weight evenly distributed as I quickly climbed down the vine-laden wood. I’d just started to relax when my boot caught on a twisted branch and my toe slipped off the ledge. With a sharp inhale, I dug my fingers into the wood as I dangled outside the first-floor window. I tucked my knees to my chest, holding the tension in my arms while I struggled to steady myself. Axel’s laughter triggered my last nerve. I cleared the final few feet with a stealthy jump.
When my boots hit the ground, I called quietly up to Brigga. “It’s clear!”
Then I turned on one heel to give Axel a piece of my mind. “You are not helpful,” I whispered as I stormed across the grass.
“And you are not graceful at two-thirty in the morning.” He opened the door of the black-windowed car—an SUV, as Torstein called it. “I thought I taught you better than that.”
I lifted my chin. “I didn’t wake anyone up, did I?”
“No,” Axel admitted. “Though Brigga sure might.”
I turned to find Brigga dangling from the trellis. She squeaked delicately as she scrambled for a foothold. When she kicked the downstairs window, she earned a soft gasp from Janna.
“Careful,” our captain called.
“I’m going to fall!” Brigga yelped.
And then she did. Her bird-like arms flailed as she plummeted to the ground.
“Brigga!” Raynor opened the other door and rushed from the car. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” She untangled herself from the now-torn vines. “Let’s just get out of here already.”
“Please.” Beside me, Torstein shook his head.
“Hey, guru.” I greeted the light mage.
“Ingrid.” Torstein nodded at me. “You will be on your game by the time we reach the beach, ja?”
“No promises.” I shrugged. When he arched one brow, I caved. “Of course we will. We know what’s on the line.”
“Good.” Torstein held the door as Brigga, Raynor, and I climbed in the back with Axel. Janna slipped into the front, while Torstein took his place in the driver’s seat. “Because I’ve got a fairly strong read on another quanta crystal. And if we hurry”—he shot us a disdainful look in the mirror—“we can get it before Sverrir realizes it’s there.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” I fastened my seat belt. “Shieldmaiden Squadron—and guests. Move out.”
The nearby village of Manhattan Beach was cloaked in darkness when Torstein parked along the deserted pier. Only the streetlamps illuminated its worn boards, red-roofed roundhouse, and sprinkling of empty benches. A handful of couples walked the vast expanse of sand, their silhouettes barely visible in the cloud-covered moonlight. We’d be able to slip in, claim the crystal, and return to campus before anyone was the wiser.
I hope.
“We’re starting on the pier, right?” Axel pulled two broadswords from the back of the vehicle. He passed one to Raynor and gripped the other in his right hand.
“That was my original plan. But . . .” Torstein stepped out of the SUV. He held up his palms and turned slowly in a circle. Janna shot me a bemused look as we exited the vehicle, but neither of us spoke as the guru scanned the area for . . . whatever it was that told him when a bounty was nearby.
“The crystal is to the south,” Torstein announced. He opened his eyes and pointed to his left. “I’m getting a pulse not too far from here—possibly on the sand, or a little way offshore.”
“Anybody pack a swimsuit?” Raynor grinned.
“Let’s go.” Axel closed the door. He jogged for the stairs leading down to the beach. I held tight to the strap of my shield as I ran after him. It was late enough that we shouldn’t encounter any trouble. But preparation was nine-tenths of success.
And the dark mage was not to be underestimated.
“This way.” Torstein hung a right. He ran closer to the water, using his hands to illuminate our path. His palms glowed, faint beams of light shooting from their surface. I had no doubt he was engaged in some magey sort of tracking, but if anyone caught sight of us, we’d be locked up for sure.
“Uh, Torstein?” I called. “Any chance you can put us in one of your magic bubbles? We look kind of suspicious.”
“Of course.” The mage directed one of his hand-beams overhead. A burst of light shot into the sky, splitting directly above Torstein before arcing into a dome. The shimmering surface glittered all around us—a transparent cage that added another degree of safety. We could see through it clearly, but it concealed us from curious eyes. And hopefully dark mage ones, too. “That better?”
“Much.” I scanned the beach, looking for any sign of an enchanted crystal. “Are we close?”
“Feels like it.” Torstein slowed to a brisk walk. I matched his pace as he trained his hand-beams on the line where the sea met the shore in a flutter of foamy waves. “I’m getting something this way—maybe thirty feet out?”
“I’ll go in.” Axel handed me his sword. He pulled his shirt over his head, and threw it onto the sand. I tried not to stare at the twin rows of impressive abdominal muscles as he ran his hands over his man-bun and asked, “Is it a straight shot from here?”
“Yes,” Torstein confirmed. “I don’t know how deep the water gets, and you may have to search the ocean floor. Are you a strong swimmer?”
Axel smirked. “There’s very little I’m not strong at.”
There it was. The old Axel Andersson ego.
“Don’t get caught in an undertow,” I warned.
“Or eaten by a shark,” Brigga added. “I read that those are common here.”
“I’ll be fine.” Axel unlaced his boots. He kicked them off before marching across the sand. When he was waist deep in the water, he turned to face us. “If I’m not back in five minutes, send Raynor after me.”
“Maybe I’d better go with him.” Raynor was already untying his boots.
“Give him a chance.” I staked the tip of Axel’s sword in the sand. “He’ll be impossible to deal with if he thinks we—oh! Axel, watch out!”
A massive wave crashed into my boyfriend. It dragged him under, pulling him from my view. Good gods, was he being sucked out to sea? My pulse spiked as I waited for him to surface. When he didn’t immediately emerge, I threw down my weapons and ran for the water. “I’m going after him.”
“Ingrid, stop! If the current isn’t safe, there’s nothing you’ll be able to—”
I didn’t hear the rest of Janna’s warning. I charged into the surf, the icy water chilling my flesh, and forcing a sharp inhale. The Pacific Ocean was even colder than I’d expected—nearly as cold as the North Sea in winter. But I didn’t stop to dwell on the seemingly probable chance of losing a limb to frostbite. Axel still hadn’t surfaced . . . and that wasn’t good.
“Ingrid! Wait for me!” Raynor’s hoarse cry hit me a second before I dove. The water nearly froze my eyelids shut, but I forced them open and scanned the murky sea.
No sign of Axel.
The saltwater stung my eyes but I ignored the burn as waves buffeted me from side to side. The motion left me nauseous, my gut churning like a barrel of butter. If this kept up, I was going to empty my stomach into the sea. But I couldn’t give up—Axel was down there somewhere. And he needed my help.
I swam to the surface and filled my lungs with air. Then I brought my arms together, angled my body downward, and kicked. Axel was a strong swimmer. The fact that he hadn’t surfaced mean
t something was seriously wrong. Maybe he’d hit his head, or a predator had struck. Anything was possible in unfamiliar waters. I swam as far as I could, stretching my arms in exaggerated strokes on the off chance I might catch an errant limb . . . or a tightly tied man-bun. The ocean was so vast, and the water so unsteady, my odds of finding him were slim to nonexistent. But they were even less with my eyes closed. Fighting against the pain, I forced my lids open and swept my head from side to side. All the while, I continued swimming downward, kicking as hard as I could and hoping I might catch Axel before he sank too deep. Because if he got swept out . . .
Stop it, Ingrid. Just find him.
But what if I can’t?
I shook the thought from my head. Underwater panicking had never helped anyone. The only thing I could do was keep swimming . . . and keep searching. My eyes swept the area, scanning for any sign of Axel. But the effort was futile. Not only was the ocean too choppy, the moon must have fallen behind another cloud. Everything was pitch black. Everything . . . except a glowing, blue orb.
What the actual Helheim?
I clawed my way to the surface, and drew a deep breath. A quick scan of the waves revealed that Axel still hadn’t emerged. But the orb seemed to be getting closer. It crept to the surface, floating upward like a slow-moving anglerfish. The creepy sea-creatures had been on the cover of my housemate Morgan’s nature magazine, and I quickly scanned my memory, trying to remember whether the beast was poisonous . . . or carnivorous.
