Hammer of the Gods (The Myth Hunter Book 5) Read online

  She went to one of the pouches on her belt. The Montenegros were prepared for more shuriken, but what Elisa threw instead was a stun grenade. She ducked, covering her eyes and ears. The grenade went off, unleashing a bright light with a loud boom.

  Isabel stumbled, blinking her eyes and trying to clear the disorientation. Elisa moved up behind her and kicked her in the back, sending her flying into her sister. The two women tumbled on the ground. Isabel was the first up, her vision still disoriented, but now beginning to see Elisa’s outline.

  She growled as she swung the whip forward. Elisa bent backwards, ducking the tail, but shot right back up, slicing the whip in two with the kukri. As the whip came back around, Elisa grabbed the leather cable and tugged on it. Out of the corner of her eye, Elisa spotted Sofia getting ready to attack again.

  Elisa pulled Isabel towards her. She grabbed Isabel’s arm, moving the mercenary in front of herself and using her as a human shield. Sofia’s throwing knives pierced Isabel’s torso and the beautiful woman let out a soundless scream before collapsing to the ground.

  “No!” screamed Sofia after seeing what she’d inadvertently done to her sister. Her angry gaze turned to Elisa. “You!”

  Sofia charged, throwing what remained of her daggers. Her anger made her sloppy, though. Elisa easily deflected the knives, but Sofia still came at her. Sofia drew a dagger from her boot and held it in a reverse-grip, screaming as she brought it down towards Elisa in a stabbing motion.

  Elisa deflected the dagger with a kukri. The second kukri, she jammed into Sofia’s side. The final Montenegro Sister gasped, the burning hatred still lingering in her eyes as she stared at Elisa.

  “D-damn you—!” Sofia sputtered.

  Elisa pulled the kukri free and Sofia collapsed beside her sister. She looked down at the twins and let out a sigh. Elisa knew she’d done wrong by those two in the past and they had good reason to want her dead.

  “So now, it is just you and me.”

  Elisa looked up at Sandoval. He’d moved from behind his desk and now held the hammer. He aimed it at her, an angry scowl on his face. His muscles tightened as he tried to focus his energy on the hammer, trying in some way to trigger its ancient power.

  But nothing happened.

  “Don’t you get it yet?” asked Elisa. “The hammer won’t work for you, Sandoval. Or me.”

  “But…you used it before!” said Sandoval. “Tell me how, damn you!”

  Elisa scoffed. “I wish I knew. I don’t know how I was able to harness the power for a brief moment. Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe there’s something I’m missing. But whatever the case, I couldn’t use its power again. And neither can you. The hammer is useless.”

  Sandoval tightened his grip around the short handle, staring at the rune-covered metal. He shook his head. “No, not useless.”

  He cried out and ran at Elisa, swinging the hammer. Elisa jumped back, barely avoiding the swing.

  “I can still use it to bash in your skull!”

  Elisa bobbed and weave, avoiding Sandoval’s swings. The hammer was heavy and that made it difficult for the dictator to wield. But if he did manage to tag her with it, all it would take was a few direct hits and she’d be done for. Magic or not, it was still a war hammer. And it still posed a risk to her.

  Though Sandoval was reckless, he was also faster with Mjolnir than Elisa might have managed. And determined. Before one swing was completed, he was already swinging the hammer again. Elisa barely had a moment to dodge, let alone counter-attack. And the battles up until now, plus the torture at the hands of the Montenegros had left her weakened. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep this up.

  That’s when the hammer connected with her abdomen. Elisa felt the wind knocked out of her as she fell to the ground, landing hard on her back. Sandoval stepped over her, his feet on either side of her torso. He knelt down and had a twisted smile on his face.

  “You have been a thorn for too long, Elisa Hill!”

  He raised the hammer, ready to bring it crashing down on Elisa’s head. Elisa closed her eyes, prepared for the end.

  A shot rang out. Elisa felt something wet and sticky on her face. Then a sudden weight on her chest and a loud thud. She opened her eyes to see Sandoval collapsed on top of her, the hammer lying on the ground beside her.

  Elisa pushed him off her and looked into his face. His eyes were fixed open and there was an exit wound in his forehead. Elisa looked towards the door and saw Tanya Acosta standing there, smoking gun in hand.

  Tanya glared at Sandoval’s corpse, then spat on it. “That was for my family, you son of a bitch.”

  EPILOGUE

  A small, propellor plane sat on the tarmac of the airfield, with Elisa and Asami staring at it. Jason and Lucas emerged from the open hatch, walking down the short staircase. Elisa looked away from the two men and over at Tanya, who was speaking to the pilot, giving him instructions.

  “We’re all packed up,” said Jason.

  “The hammer?” asked Elisa.

  “Secured,” said Lucas.

  The pilot walked over to them and tipped his hat, before boarding the plane. Tanya approached the group.

  “The pilot will take you to Argentina. From there I assume you have the means to get back home?” asked Tanya.

  “Yeah, I can handle it,” said Jason.

  Tanya nodded, her gaze traveling from Jason to Asami and finally lingering on Elisa. “Thank you. I cannot tell you the debt my people owe you.”

  Elisa scoffed. “All I did was get kidnapped and then rescued by you.”

  “You helped us more than words can say,” said Tanya. “You are all welcome here anytime.”

  “What happens now that Sandoval’s dead?” asked Asami.

  “It’s not over yet,” said Tanya. “Sandoval may be gone, but he still has his sympathizers. The military have given up the castle, but the war still rages on. Only now, we have the people on our side.”

  “We can stay,” said Elisa. “Help you clean up.”

  “We can?” asked Asami. Elisa elbowed her in the side and Asami grunted. She then added, “I mean yeah, of course we can.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but seems like you’ve got more important things on your docket,” said Lucas, moving beside Tanya. “Appreciate the offer, but Wade and the Order are still out there. And from what you’ve told me, seems like something big’s on the horizon.”

  “Just might be,” said Jason.

  “You really think that hammer’s gonna help?” asked Lucas.

  “Won’t know for sure until we get it to my people, have them examine it. Try and figure out what makes it tick,” said Jason.

  “You sure you don’t want in on this, Lucas?” asked Elisa. “Wade’s likely still got a price on your head. You could take the fight directly to him, finish this once and for all.”

  “Tempting offer. Few things would put a smile on my face like putting a bullet in that bastard’s fat ass.” Lucas wrapped an arm around Tanya’s shoulder and pulled her close to him. “But I’ve got more important things to take care of.”

  The smile on Elisa’s face was bittersweet. “I understand. You guys take care of yourselves, okay? We’ll always be around if you need any help.”

  “Thank you again.” Tanya pulled away from Lucas so she could give Elisa a hug. “Please come back sometime. I hope that when next we meet, Corbaton is completely free of Sandoval’s influence.”

  “Me too.” Elisa returned the hug.

  Tanya moved to hug Asami and Elisa watched as Jason and Lucas approached each other. They shook hands and each offered a half-hearted smile towards the other. Lucas moved from Jason and approached her.

  “So you two are friends now?” she asked.

  Lucas gave a shrug. “He’s not so bad, I guess. For a boy scout.”

  “And you’re not so bad for a scoundrel,” said Elisa.

  “We all owe you a debt. One we probably can’t ever repay,” said Lucas. “I know I can’t go with
you now, but if you need my help in the future…”

  Elisa held up a hand. “I’m gonna stop you right there. How about we make a deal—no more debts. You help me, I help you, then it just keeps going ’round in an endless circle.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Elisa watched as Tanya said her goodbyes to Asami and Jason. “She’s a good person.”

  “Yeah, way out of my league, right?” asked Lucas.

  “At one point, maybe.” Elisa looked up at him. “But you’ve changed. You’re not such a bad guy yourself, Davalos. I’m proud of you.”

  The two old partners embraced. Elisa wrapped her arms around him and held him tight for a moment, then pulled away.

  “Get outta here, Elsie,” said Lucas, grinning. “This is gettin’ too sappy for my tastes and I’m not about to let you ruin my reputation.”

  She smirked and turned away from him. Asami walked behind her, tossing a quick wink at Lucas and then following Elisa towards the plane. Jason nodded and was the last to board.

  The propellors started up and the plane pulled away, accelerating down the runway. The nose tilted up and the plane ascended into the morning sky, Lucas and Tanya standing together on the tarmac, watching as it flew into the distance.

  ***

  Elisa held the hammer in her hands, running her fingertips over the runes engraved into the metal surface. She felt the weight, looking up at Jason, who sat directly across from her.

  “I don’t understand,” she said. “Why did it work only that one time and then not again at all?”

  Jason shrugged. “We’ll have the Curator look at it. With any luck, he’ll be able to tell us just what this thing is all about.”

  “You think it really does have something to do with being worthy?” asked Elisa.

  “If that’s the case, why would you go from being worthy to unworthy in the span of a night?”

  Elisa shook her head. “Damned if I know.”

  Jason noticed Asami watching them out of the corner of his eye. He cleared his throat and stood. “I think I’ll go keep the pilot company.” Jason moved from the cabin into the cockpit, closing the door behind him.

  Once he was gone, Asami moved from her seat and took the one Jason just vacated. She slid into it and fixed her eyes on her partner, who was still concentrating on Mjolnir.

  “You think this has anything to do with what you saw in Hokkaido?” asked Elisa.

  “Would stand to reason, wouldn’t it?” asked Asami. “Run into Papa Odin and then his son’s hammer falls in our laps.”

  “Yeah, I wonder…” Elisa hefted the hammer, testing its weight.

  Asami looked down, biting her lower lip. Elisa glanced at her and could tell her partner was struggling with something.

  “You okay?”

  “Do you wanna talk?” Asami said the words rapidly and in almost a whisper.

  Elisa blinked. “About what?”

  “The other night. You know…” Asami tilted her head in the direction of the cockpit. “Me and Shroud.”

  Elisa sighed and gently set the hammer down on the table between them. “Look, Jason and I never really had anything between us. Maybe an attraction. But at best, that’s all it was. So don’t worry about it. If you really want him, it’s totally fine with me.”

  Asami made a face and leaned back in her chair. “I don’t want him.”

  “Oh?” Elisa felt the beginnings of a smile tugging at the edge of her lip.

  Asami crossed her legs, looking away. “We were drunk, we had sex, that’s it. I just wanna make sure you and me are cool.”

  “And you’re sure that’s all it was?”

  Asami scoffed. “Absolutely. I’ve got no need for romantic entanglements. It’s strictly get some, get gone. There’s nothing at all between me and Shroud.”

  Elisa gave a knowing smile. “Right, of course.”

  “Me and a human.” Asami gave a chortle. “That’s a laugh.”

  “You ever read Hamlet?” asked Elisa.

  Asami shrugged. “Saw the movie with Mel Gibson.”

  “‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks.’”

  “Shut up.”

  Elisa laughed and looked out the window. Soon they’d reach Argentina and from there, Jason had arranged a flight for them back to the Freemason base. She found her eyes drawn back to the hammer, staring intently at the runes on the surface.

  And she wondered—just what was coming next on the horizon?

  ***

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  CONTINUE THE ADVENTURE!

  Thank you for reading Hammer of the Gods! There will be a sixth book, coming out at the end of 2016!

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  ALSO BY PERCIVAL CONSTANTINE

  THE MYTH HUNTER

  All the legends of the world have some element of truth to them. And to track down those legends, there are the myth hunters. Some, like Elisa Hill, are explorers, trying to learn more about the world. And some are soldiers of fortune, whose only goal is pro t and exploitation, no matter the risk.

  INFERNUM

  A shadowy, globe-spanning network of operatives run by the mysterious power broker known as Dante. They hold allegiance to no one, existing as rogues on the fringes of society. No matter the job, Infernum has an operative to execute it—provided you have the means to pay for it!

  VANGUARD

  The world has changed. A mysterious event altered the genetic structure of humanity, granting a small percentage of the population superhuman powers. A small team of these specials has been formed to deal with potential threats. Paragon—telekinetic powerhouse; Zenith—hyper-intelligent automaton; Shift—shape-changing teenager; Wraith—teleporting shadow warrior; Sharkskin—human/shark hybrid. Led by the armored Gunsmith, they are Vanguard!

  LUTHER CROSS

  Luther Cross has been through Hell—literally. Born of a mother he watched die, conceived as part of a demonic ritual, and raised by monks after being saved by a mysterious, murderous individual, Cross now makes a living through confidence schemes...and the death of demons.

  Visit PercivalConstantine.com/books/ for an up-to-date list of all titles!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, Percival Constantine grew up on a fairly consistent diet of superhero comics, action movies, video games, and TV shows. At the age of ten, he first began writing and has never really stopped.

  Percival has been working in publishing since 2005 in various capacities—author, editor, formatter, letterer—and has written books, short stories, comics, and more. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Mass Media from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master of Arts in English and Screenwriting from Southern New Hampshire University. Currently, Percival lives in Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture, where he works as a literature and writing instructor at the Minami Academy.

  If you’d like to know more about Percival, you can find links to his social media accounts, his blog, and other works at his website, PercivalConstantine.com.

  COPYRIGHT

  HAMMER OF THE GODS

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.


  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 events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 Percival Constantine

  The Myth Hunter logo created by Shayne Ruthersford

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Published by Percival Constantine