The Night of The Gods Book Three

By Odette C. Bell

They’re free. For now.
They flee the planet, but to win the war, they must find more artifacts. Their search lands them on a city-ship on the rim of known space. But gods wait there, and they will be hunted.
Worse. Alyssa’s injuries catch up to her. When she falls, Max must rely on nothing but a prayer to get her back and save the galaxy before all is lost.
....
The Night of the Gods follows a legendary creature and the man tasked to protect her as they bring the Scarax war home. If you love your space operas with action, heart, and a splash of romance, grab The Night of the Gods Book Three today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.
The Night of the Gods is the 12th Galactic Coalition Academy series. A sprawling, epic, and exciting sci-fi world where cadets become heroes and hearts are always won, each series can be read separately, so plunge in today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Dec 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005245580

Book preview

Chapter 1

Commander Max Farsight

As soon as his feet dropped down on the floor on the bridge of the ship with a thump, he saw Alyssa.

She was bruised and beaten all over. Blood oozed down from a deep injury in her side, and her face glistened with blood and sweat. She was barely recognizable – save for her smile. A smile he’d once thought he’d never see.

There was no call for it – no reason – but he still threw himself at her. It was hard. His armor’s chest piece had only just solidified. It couldn’t fix the damage yet, but at least it stopped being molten metal. As for his arm unit? His shoulder piece was gone on one side, and on the other, owing to the fact he’d grabbed that light blade, his gauntlet was missing, his arm visible right up to his shoulder.

Who cared about the damage? Only one thing mattered now.

Alyssa pulled her hand off the armrest, but it wasn’t to shove him away.

She opened her arms – like she expected this, like all she wanted to do was embrace him too.

As soon as he wrapped his arms around her back and nestled his face against her shoulder, his eyes closed. He didn’t choose it. It happened. He swore he was back there, back in that tunnel that led to eternity. Back there with Alyssa, his hand around hers, her company the only thing he’d ever need.

Max wanted to stay on his feet, but all of a sudden, he couldn’t. His knees cut out from underneath him.

Max? Alyssa stammered as she followed him down to the floor. She grunted, and he felt her once strong body trembling as she struggled to control the combined weight of him and his armor. She eased him down onto his knees.

He grabbed his helmet. He didn’t let her shoulder go, though – couldn’t break their embrace, not until he had his fill.

Alyssa pulled away, worry marching over her brow. She reached around and went to pluck up something from her belt, then shook her head. Computer, what’s wrong with him?

He has various conditions, the computer informed them, hardly comfortingly.

What?

Max put a hand up. He forced a chuckle through his clenched teeth. Trust me, we don’t have time for that. The only thing we have time for, he settled his gaze on her eyes and wished it was different, and they had time to embrace properly after their ordeal, is getting out of here. Ship—

Special Soldier Alyssa Night is currently in control of this vessel, the AI said plainly.

What? He spluttered. I am Commander—

Max Farsight. Special Soldier Alyssa Night is currently in charge of this ship. She has been in contact with Admiral Forest, and Admiral Forest has cleared her.

Max blanched. I’m sorry, what? He turned to Alyssa, every movement fast.

She nodded. I managed to find this ship – dug it up out of the sand. It’s a long story that involves a sand eater.

Sand eater?

A creature about as large as a heavy cruiser that eats people alive.

What happened to you? His every word shook.

What happened was the sand eater… it swallowed this ship and spat us down in some subterranean complex. There, I found that artifact. What happened, Max, she shoved in close until her emotion-filled face was right there, is I think we finally know how to win this war.

Finally know how to win this war…? Those words… they could carry any burden, lifting him up to any height.

It was kind of hard to rise right now, even though he did manage to twitch up to his feet. A warning alarm pierced through the air. He turned so quickly, he could’ve unscrewed his head. What was that?

Royal ships are on our tail, the AI informed them.

Evasive—

Evasive maneuvers. Alyssa marched up to the viewscreen.

How she could balance, he didn’t know. He wasn’t about to use his armor’s scanner – considering it was a damn prison, and it was a broken one at that – but his naked eyesight could tell him Alyssa was on the edge of death.

Yet she pushed that a way to stand properly, face the viewscreen, and tilt her head up in defiance. What are our chances of outrunning them?

We may be able to get into the atmosphere. We might be able to go to beyond-light speed, the AI conceded.

But we have no chance whatsoever of continuing to outrun the gods in their own galaxy. We need to go back to the Milky Way. She turned on Max.

He knew what she wanted immediately. It flickered in her eyes and pulsed in her strong stance. And you know what? It throbbed in her heart. He momentarily felt connected to it. He could sense the pressure, knew all she wanted was for him to release his Hendari crystal so they could end this extreme leg of their journey.

There was a problem.

He shoved his hands up. He closed his eyes, disappointment rushing through him. I still don’t know where my crystal is. I might’ve accessed it a couple of times, but it only comes when it wants to.

Try to access it now.

She could say that, but it wouldn’t work. Maybe after using the Hendari crystal, it needed to recharge. Something had to account for the fact that it felt further from his grip than it had in a long damn time. He stood there, his hands still out wide in a surrendering position, his eyes closed, his teeth clenched. No matter how much he pushed his mind into the task, his mind just pushed back.

He heard Alyssa sigh long before he opened his eyes and conceded this was impossible. We should concentrate on leaving this planet first. It should be in disarray. We’ll have a chance of getting out of here, even if we can’t transport.

I don’t know. You might’ve gotten rid of the Observer— Max began.

This might just be an assumption, but I imagine by destroying that artifact, it had an effect on the Light of the Gods, too.

What are you talking about?

Her gaze unfocused. She looked sad, though in control. Whenever she’d spoken of the Light in the past, hate had filled every word, right? It had swamped her eyes like toxic waste breaking out of a dam. Now….

There was no difference between now and then – just that Max could see the truth. Given time, Alyssa could soften anyone’s heart. And yeah, he was long, long gone questioning whether she had one thumping in her chest.

You couldn’t question what you could feel.

I fought the Light of the Gods back at that artifact. But it was destroyed when the artifact was destroyed, Alyssa continued.

But it’s a big assumption to guess that it will affect all the Light in this sector. I thought you said that artifact only allowed Observers to beam their minds onto the planet?

Correct. But I believe we have also reduced the capacity of anything to interact with the Light, too – however briefly. Hopefully it will stop them from tracking us. If we can get into orbit and go to beyond-light speed, we should have a chance.

They’ll come after us.

This ship possesses advanced stealth technology. It also possesses information on how Scarax scanners function, the AI interrupted. They do utilize the Light of the Gods. By reducing its power, we should be able to evade them if we can escape this world.

Though it wasn’t the time, Max had to admit Alyssa sure had found a nice ship. It was even nicer than the one they’d taken to the embattled mining cruiser. Still. He knew the odds. He’d read the reports on the Scarax Galaxy, dammit, and all of this was nothing more than wishful thinking.

… So what exactly was the alternative? To turn around, put their hands up, and surrender to the lord commander? Like hell that would happen.

There’s gotta be something we can do to mask our engine signatures from the ships behind us, Max said.

There are many things we can do. They are dependent on outmaneuvering the ships following us, however, the AI pointed out.

Why aren’t we already in orbit? It’s been over a minute, Max said.

The ships behind are utilizing inertial dampening fields to slow us down. It is my assumption that they’re waiting for a much larger ship to arrive in orbit. We will not have a chance if that occurs.

Max clutched his brow. There was blood there. Sweat, dust, and some kind of gunk left over from that time pool, too. He wanted a shower – preferably one that lasted for several years. He really wasn’t going to get the opportunity to indulge in one unless he got everybody off their tail.

He sighed, closed his eyes, and desperately thought.

But there was one thing he forgot to realize.

He wasn’t on his own right now.

Contact Admiral Forest, Alyssa said. She’s likely expecting our call. Inform her that I destroyed that artifact and broke Max out, and ask her for a way out of here. She’s got secret communications gear all through this galaxy, and I assume she knows how to outmaneuver their ships as well.

It was a good idea to contact Admiral Forest – the rest, however, was simply wishful thinking.

Alyssa was correct, and Admiral Forest clearly expected a call because it took no time at all for her to appear on the screen.

Max wasn’t ready for it. He still stood with his back to her. He snapped around quickly. There wasn’t a lot he could do to hide the damage to his armor. He went to wince but reminded himself though he’d stuffed up, this wasn’t the equivalent of taking out the admiral’s personal cruiser and crashing it. This was much, much worse.

Then again, screw this armor. It was a freaking coffin.

Forest’s eyes widened. Max? What—

It’s a long story. We don’t have time for it now, Admiral. We’ve escaped the Royal Palace. However, there are a number of Royal cruisers on our tail. They are attempting to buy time until they get reinforcements. We have to make it to the atmosphere and into beyond-light speed as soon as we can. We don’t know how. Alyssa delivered all of that efficiently. She didn’t pause, and while Max knew she felt emotion, it didn’t affect her words once.

In other words, Alyssa… Alyssa sounded like an actual soldier.

If he closed his eyes, he’d assume she’d gone through the exact training as him.

There might be a way, the admiral said, thinking quickly. She settled her fingers on the data panel in front of her just as quickly. There were a few pressured seconds when she said nothing. Max knew those Royal cruisers were getting closer. They might not have the weapons to shoot the ship right out of the sky – nor the desire, considering Max and Alyssa were on it – but he suddenly felt a jolt as something struck the hull.

He cast his gaze to the side quickly and saw a damage report scrolling on the left side of the screen. Nothing much yet. Just a few percentage drops on their shields. He knew it was a taste of what was to come, though.

He didn’t want to pressure the admiral, but his lips cracked open.

Alyssa just took a step in front of him. What have you got, Admiral?

It was right when Lara looked up. I think I know an exploit to your propulsion drives that will be able to momentarily slow down the ships behind you. It’s a single-use maneuver, though. When you use it, they’ll figure out our ships are capable of it, and next time, they will reprogram their shields to rebuff it. Do you understand?

Send it through. Alyssa nodded.

I already have.

There was a beep.

The ship didn’t need to ask Alyssa to enact the admiral’s plans. Max heard this strange sound. It was hard to tell what it was. A whir vibrated up from underneath the floor.

Max hated not being in control. He’d told you that before, hadn’t he? Yeah, a thousand times. It was worse now. This situation was breakneck. Plus, the viewscreen mostly showed Admiral Forest, but up on the right-hand corner, it showed the ships out there. They gathered together and gained speed.

For them to do that – to be so confident – meant that they were seconds from backup.

A cold, hard lump formed in Max’s chest. He knew he’d never be able to swallow it. It’d remain for the rest of his damn life – a reminder of this terrifying situation that would never die.

Another jolt hammered through the ship. This one was significant enough that he had to crouch down, lean to the side, and lock a hand on the console for support.

He quickly jerked his gaze over to Alyssa, but she didn’t fall. She looked like a swaying sapling in a hell of a storm, but this sapling knew how to hold herself against even the harshest winds.

It should be initiating now, Forest spat.

Sure enough, another beep echoed across the bridge.

Max kept his full attention on that small section of the screen dealing with the outside view.

Just when the ships looked like they were going to slice around this vessel and bring it down like lions to prey, they dropped back suddenly as if they were bikes with busted tires.

Max made a fist. It might’ve looked immature – who cared? Yes, he muttered.

Alyssa, always the consummate soldier, simply nodded at the admiral. It’s worked.

We will achieve orbit within two seconds, the AI informed her.

Immediately jump to beyond-light speed, Alyssa spat.

Lara remained tense until she heard the beep that suggested the vessel had finally jumped to speed.

She sighed, her shoulders dropping a little, and she looked right at Max. Commander, you have a lot of explaining to do. It turns out you have a Hendari crystal.

Max turned slowly, his body rigid, every muscle tightening like someone chaining him up.

He’d forgotten about everything. Forgotten about the fact he’d convinced himself Forest knew about the Hendari crystal from the beginning. His eyes narrowed.

Immediately Alyssa took a step up to his side and shook her head. I believe the admiral knew nothing.

Why did you pick me for this mission, then? Why did you keep insisting I was the only person who could… he took a breath, shifted away from Alyssa so he didn’t have to see the look in her eyes, and finally continued, control her?

It was Forest’s turn to shift away. She briefly stared down at her hands. It was Admiral Ninev – he recommended you for this mission. As for your ability to control Alyssa, I guess I saw in you something I didn’t see in other people.

He narrowed his gaze.

He wanted to believe Admiral Forest, especially considering she’d just got them out of that hell. But Max now only trusted one person implicitly, and she stood right by his side.

I understand your suspicion, Commander. But in this case, it is misplaced.

Are you telling me you didn’t know that I could control Alyssa? So why did you ask me to recommend the holographic armor? He couldn’t speak that with working lips. They stiffened like little steel sheets.

He expected Alyssa to stiffen up, too. She’d turn away, right? She’d get angry? Maybe she’d even finally walk away from him.

She did nothing. She stood there by his side, never moving once.

He was keenly aware of the fact he didn’t deserve loyalty like that. He had a heck of a lot to make up for. The first way to do that was to not make another mistake.

Maybe this was mutiny right now, but he stared at Admiral Forest as if she was as corrupt as Ninev.

Forest sighed, shoved back, and rapped her knuckles on her desk. I’m glad you’re like this. If you accepted my words easily, I would’ve been suspicious. And I guess that’s why I never fought Ninev on this.

Admiral?

You’re a good soldier, Max. You are one of the most tenacious I’ve ever met. And trust me, I’ve certainly met many in my time.

He had to concede her point. Admiral Forest had dealt with some of the most extraordinary soldiers in the Coalition’s history. Soldiers who would make Max look like nothing more than a kid.

He did not, however, concede her overall point. I’m gonna need more than this, Admiral.

Yes, you are. Ares Tech is currently uncontactable. We can’t get anyone inside, and no one from inside has said a thing. As for Admiral Ninev? He’s gone completely off the grid. And as for your ex-wife… we haven’t heard anything. I’m sorry, Max.

Max had a moment. He closed his eyes. Terror built in him, but he shoved it away. John wouldn’t have done anything to Suzanne, right? She was far too useful. She was the greatest scientist the Coalition had. Threatening to kill her had just been a damn ploy….

He opened his eyes and saw Alyssa staring at him. There was an odd look on her face.

He couldn’t place it.

I take it your Hendari crystal is safe? Forest asked, her words quick.

I’m still the one asking questions here, Admiral. I need to know exactly what happened – how something like this, he clenched his teeth, could go down in the Coalition in a time of war. We were lured to Ares Tech. They knew from the beginning what I was and what I could do.

He might’ve just told the admiral that he was the one asking questions here, but she still leaned back. And what is it that you are, Commander Max Farsight?

Her tone, the way she stared – it all disarmed him.

He certainly wasn’t in control anymore – evidenced by the fact his heartbeat quickened and a prickling sweat swept down the back of his neck.

What was he? There’d been no time to think about that. But two cold, hard facts John had let slip started hammering around in Max’s head like wild woodpeckers.

John had said that Max had been frustrating their plans for millennia. Not for a couple of weeks or days. For actual millennia. The other thing he’d said? The other thing that made Max feel like he wanted to back off and keep falling until he fell into his own grave? John had called Max one of them.

Was Max… was Max an Observer?

He would know, right? They were energy beings. He would’ve been picked up.

Max had a body.… But John had a body too.

Max….

Alyssa moved beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, even in front of Admiral Forest. She just looked into his eyes. No words, no comfort – just her presence.

And at the end of the day, what were words? Nothing but concentrated little parcels of understanding and emotion. But you could get there far more directly with a stare. One look, one touch, and one presence.

Things became silent – or at least they did to Max. Forest might’ve said something. The ship might’ve blared an alarm that they had other vessels on their tail again. It wouldn’t have mattered.

Alyssa nodded once, clearly recognizing Max was back in control of his emotions, and shifted back.

To answer your question, Forest, Alyssa said, calling Forest by her last name – something a soldier would never do unless they were on personal terms with her, Max does not know what he is. Not yet. But he is not a risk, Alyssa said flatly.

We still need to know. Whenever you find out, you will tell me, Lara commanded.

I still don’t trust you, Max tried.

I trust her, Alyssa said evenly. She’s on our side. And we need help. We have to formulate a plan to get out of here, Admiral. Could we use a light path?

I’ve been thinking about that, the admiral began. It might not be as easy as we wish, though.

Why not? I thought Vivian Bond was capable of creating a light path anywhere?

Yes and no. She has to lock onto her target first.

Then send her our location.

We’re having trouble identifying your location from your communication. I assumed something happened to your ship’s navigations system.

What? Max straightened. It’d been approximately one minute since he’d felt overburdening stress. Now it came flooding back in. He stared at Alyssa, then over at the viewscreen. What’s happening, computer?

Unknown. It is unlikely to be occurring from this location, however.

All Max could think of was the fact he hadn’t gotten rid of the Observer. He’d just stopped the Observer from directly communicating with him.

A rush of fear – a tidal wave of total damn horror – smashed into him. Admiral, it’s probably the Observer. It’s Ares Tech. Who did you say developed this ship?

I didn’t, she had a chance to stammer, but it was Ares Tech.

Dammit. We need to get out of here right now. Admiral—

I will do what I can. She shoved to her feet. I will find a way to break Alyssa’s armor. Whatever happens—

We’re going to get rid of those artifacts, Alyssa snarled, taking