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

Elisa looked up at her and gave a slow nod. She turned her gaze to Jason, who continued to stare at the hammer. “Think this trip was worth it?”

  Jason stammered a bit before finally finding himself able to say the word, “Definitely.”

  Tanya looked out amongst the destroyed boats that scattered the open sea. Her face wore an expression which seemed equal parts awe and horror. “You…you managed to defeat all of them…like it was nothing.”

  Elisa gave a nod. Then, exhaustion took control and she felt her legs go weak as her world faded to black.

  CHAPTER 10

  That night, the rebellion threw a party to celebrate the acquisition of what may be the most important weapon in their war against Sandoval. Rum, tequila, whiskey, and beer flowed freely from bottle to cup and from cup to mouth. Some of the rebels played guitars and drums, and all joined in with the singing.

  Elisa was the exception, somewhat lost in her thoughts. She wandered around the village, offering half-hearted smiles to the rebels and civilians who expressed their gratitude for her help. It wasn’t long before she found herself in the church where they kept the hammer.

  She walked down the short aisle and reached the dais. There on the table, resting on its head, was Mjolnir. The glow had long-since faded and now it looked like nothing more than a relic that belonged in a museum. She ascended the steps and laid her hand on its surface, running her fingers over the ancient runes in the metal.

  There was nothing. Not even a hint of the power she’d felt before. Elisa sighed and stepped back, still staring at the hammer. It seemed a little comical to her that the weapon of a pagan god would now find refuge in a Christian church.

  The door opened and Elisa turned to see Lucas and Tanya entering the church. Lucas had an unopened bottle of tequila in one hand and in the other a glass. Tanya was by his side, carrying a glass in each of her hands.

  “You’re missing a great party, Elsie.”

  “Not really in a partying mood,” she responded.

  “And I don’t take no for an answer,” said Lucas.

  “Nor do I.” Tanya passed one of the cups to Elisa, who accepted it.

  Lucas unscrewed the cap and filled Elisa’s glass with tequila. He then did the same for Tanya and finally himself. After placing the bottle on one of the pews, he raised his glass.

  “How about a toast?” he asked. “To the Norse gods and their inability to keep track of where they leave their shit lying around.”

  “How about…” Elisa stood and raised her glass. “To Tanya and Corbaton’s freedom.”

  “And to Elisa Hill, for giving us the means to claim that freedom.” Tanya offered a smile and raised her glass.

  “I prefer my toast,” said Lucas.

  The three of them laughed, clinked the sides of their glasses together, and drank.

  Lucas finished his first, throwing back the contents of the glass as if it were a simple shot. He let out a satisfied sigh and reached into his pants pocket to draw a cigarillo and his lighter.

  Elisa sat back down and Tanya moved to sit beside her. The rebel leader looked at the myth hunter with curiosity in her eyes. “Lucas tells me you have need of the hammer once we’ve gotten rid of Sandoval.”

  “We’re involved in something of a war ourselves,” said Elisa. “I’m guessing Lucas told you all about the kind of work we do?”

  Tanya nodded. “Myth hunters, I believe was the phrase?”

  “That’s right.”

  Lucas lit his cigarillo and pulled it from his mouth, gesturing at Elisa with it clamped between his index and middle fingers. “And Elsie here’s the best. No one can hold a candle to her.” He paused, took a drag, and then added, “Well…almost no one.”

  Elisa rolled her eyes. “There’s this…organization out there, called the Order. For centuries, they’ve been at war with another group, the Thule Society. We’ve pretty much taken care of the Thules but the Order is still out there.”

  Tanya furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand. If the war is between these two sides and one has been eliminated, doesn’t that mean the war is over?”

  Elisa shook her head. “If anything, it’s just getting started. You see, they both descended from ancient civilizations—pre-historical civilizations at that. And they both wanted dominion over what they believed was the lesser species.”

  “Humanity,” said Lucas.

  Elisa gestured in his direction. “Exactly.”

  Tanya’s eyes traveled from Elisa to Mjolnir on the table. She nodded in the hammer’s direction. “And you believe that can help?”

  “It’s a powerful weapon,” said Elisa. “At the very least, we’ll be able to keep it away from the Order. But at most, maybe we can use it against them.”

  The sounds of music from outside grew even louder. Elisa stood, looking at the door in curiosity. Tanya rose beside her and said, “Maybe we should return to the party?”

  Elisa sighed. “I don’t know. I’m kind of tired, think I’ll just—”

  “Oh, knock it off,” said Lucas. “We’re going out there to have some fun and you are comin’ with us.”

  Elisa grudgingly followed the couple out the doors. What she saw nearly caused her mouth to hit the ground. Standing in the center of a circle and dancing wildly was none other than Asami. There were many times the kitsune had surprised Elisa, but never quite like this.

  Asami’s spastic dance routine drew applause and shouts of encouragement from the revelers. When the song ended, she accepted a drink from someone and downed it quickly. She looked up again and spotted Elisa, then pushed her way through the crowd to come up to her partner.

  As soon as she came within range, Asami threw her arms around Elisa and embraced her. Another surprise from the kitsune.

  “Are you okay?” asked Elisa.

  Asami pulled away and laughed. “I. Am. Drunk.”

  Elisa eyed her friend and snickered, her eyes bulging. “Can you even get drunk?”

  “Apparently.” Asami put her arm around Elisa’s shoulders and stood by her side. “Are you drinking, too?”

  “Just a little—”

  “There she is!”

  Elisa and Asami looked at the new voice and saw Jason walking—or rather, staggering—over to them, a drink in one hand and a bottle in the other. Asami raised her glass and Jason eagerly refilled it, spilling most of the rum onto the ground.

  “You two are definitely in a celebratory mood,” said Elisa, moving away from them.

  Jason turned to her and held the bottle up. “’Lisa! Gotta drink with us!”

  Elisa chuckled. “I’m okay, thanks. You guys have fun.”

  “Oh…” Asami hiccuped. “We will.”

  Elisa excused herself and walked away from the party. She walked to the edge of the village, the mountain they were on overlooking the rest of the country. Off in the far distance, she could see Sandoval’s palace, brightly lit.

  “That’s the target.”

  Elisa didn’t have to turn to recognize Lucas’ voice as he sidled up beside her. She just continued to stare off into the distance. “You really think you can stop him with Mjolnir?”

  “Getting rid of Sandoval’s just the first step. After that’s when the real work begins,” said Lucas.

  “And you’re going to stick around for that?”

  Lucas scoffed. But there was a hint of nervousness in his action. Elisa looked at him.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Oh, come on, Elsie. I’m just in this for the kicks.”

  Elisa studied his face. “I know you, Lucas. I can tell when you’re lying.”

  He sighed and took a drag on his cigarillo, offering no response but refusing to look at her.

  “I saw you and Tanya together on the boat,” she said. “Something’s there, right?”

  Lucas exhaled the smoke through his nostrils. “I don’t know. When I hooked up with the rebels, it was just so I could have some help getting to the hammer. But…things change. Tanya and I…”


  Elisa smiled and placed a hand on his arm. “It’s good. Seeing you not being a scoundrel for once.”

  Lucas looked down at her and this time he smiled. “As I recall, you used to like that about me.”

  “Yeah, when I was young and stupid,” she said. “But we’ve all gotta grow up sometime. Just took you a little longer than most. You’re stubborn that way.”

  Lucas took a breath. “I prefer to think of myself as young at heart.”

  The two old friends began laughing.

  CHAPTER 11

  Carlos Sandoval angrily slammed his fist on his desk. Corbaton’s authoritarian leader wore a military uniform signifying his rank as general and his silver hair was slicked back, his teeth gritted beneath a mustache.

  “Would you care to repeat that?” he asked in a guttural tone.

  One of his advisors, a general, cleared his throat. “The weapon…whatever it is…it’s gone. In the hands of the rebellion.”

  Sandoval took a paperweight from his desk and shouted as he threw it at the general, striking him square in the chest and forcing him to gasp for breath. Sandoval huffed angrily, staring down the rest of his gathered advisors.

  “Our informant provided us with everything we needed to know.” Sandoval held up a single finger. “There was only one boat. We knew their location, we knew what they were after, and we sent a veritable army after them. So tell me, how does one, goddamn boat not only escape, but also destroy all those we sent after them?”

  The advisors grew silent for a few moments. Sandoval stared them all down, his eyes burning with righteous anger. Most of the advisors kept their gaze on the floor, staring intently at their own shoelaces. But a few nervously eyed the loaded Magnum Sandoval kept on his desk. The one his hand was disturbingly close to.

  Carlos Sandoval was not a man who took bad news lightly. He’d developed a reputation for shooting the messenger—literally. Many of the men in this room only obtained promotions as a result of his infamous anger eliminating their predecessors.

  Sandoval grunted and turned away from the desk. He walked over to a liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of rum. No one dared offer any further words and just allowed the dictator to drink in peace.

  “You are aware of what we are dealing with, yes?” he asked. “This rebel bitch and her insurgents, they risk to throw Corbaton into chaos. It is up to us to maintain order. But if they have this weapon, then that is something we cannot permit. So I want answers, goddammit! I want solutions and I want them now!”

  “We…don’t have any, sir,” said one of the advisors. “This weapon, whatever it was, it managed to destroy all the ships we sent out. The survivors said the woman who held it, it was as if she could command the weather itself.”

  “I want that weapon,” said Sandoval. “It will allow us to destroy the rebellion once and for all.”

  A knock came at the door and the advisors all watched Sandoval with curiosity. The dictator shouted at the door, clearly agitated by the interruption.

  “Who the hell is it?”

  The door opened and another advisor stepped in. “I beg your pardon, El Presidente. But these two…they insisted—”

  The advisor was shoved to the side as two women entered. Both were dressed from head to toe in leather and had beautiful, tan skin with long, dark hair spilling down their backs. One of them had bandoliers of throwing knives strapped around her thighs and stretching over her chest. The other wore a bullwhip coiled and hanging from a belt.

  Sandoval cocked his head to the side and approached the newcomers. “Who dares? What makes you think you can just waltz into my office?”

  In a flash, the woman with the whip had unholstered her weapon and cracked it, the tail striking the ground right in front of Sandoval. Some of the guards reached for their weapons, but the woman with the knives produced a few of them and held them up in a menacing manner.

  “We are not here to fight you, El Presidente—but to help,” said the woman with the whip. “I am Isabel Montenegro and this is my sister, Sofia.”

  “Pleasure to meet you,” said Sofia.

  “Las Hermanas Montenegro…” whispered one of the advisors.

  “You are here to help. How?” asked Sandoval. “And why?”

  “This weapon you are after? We’ve heard of it,” said Isabel. “A hammer, yes?”

  Sandoval turned and looked at his advisors. They gave cautious nods. He looked back at Isabel. “How do you know this?”

  “Word travels fast, particularly in the circles we frequent,” said Sofia.

  “We’ve also heard of the woman who has joined this rebellion—the one who wielded the hammer,” said Isabel. “We will help you crush the rebellion. In fact, we’ll even let you keep the hammer for yourself, to cement your power.”

  Sandoval chuckled. “My dears, one thing I have learned in my life is nothing comes without a price. Why would you willingly offer to face off against a threat like this? What is it you want?”

  “The woman,” said Sofia. “We have a history.”

  “Is that so?”

  “It’s a…personal matter,” said Sofia.

  “This is a good deal.” Isabel looked at the advisor who mentioned their name earlier. “You. You’ve heard of us, yes?”

  He gave a cautious nod.

  Isabel nodded her head in Sandoval’s direction. “Tell your Presidente about us.”

  “The Montenegro Sisters,” he began, clearing his throat. “They have been known to acquire…rare artifacts. They have taken down battalions of soldiers in their travels.”

  “What say you, Carlos?” asked Sofia. “The hammer and the rebellion for the woman who has given you so much trouble.”

  “How would you stop them?” asked Sandoval. “The hammer’s power is godlike.”

  “You knew where they were,” said Sofia. “You have someone on the inside, yes?”

  Sandoval nodded.

  “That is how,” said Isabel. “We attack their base, throw everything we have at them. You take the hammer and the woman. Leave her to us and we will tell you how she makes it work.”

  “And you’re certain you can capture her?” asked Sandoval.

  “We almost had her recently, but she had help,” said Sofia. “We can help each other, eliminate both our enemies.”

  Sandoval watched the two, rubbing his chin in thought.

  “El Presidente, you cannot seriously be consi—”

  “Silence!” barked Sandoval. The advisor kept his mouth shut. Sandoval walked over to the liquor cabinet and produced two additional glasses. “How would you two like a drink?”

  The Montenegro Sisters smiled.

  CHAPTER 12

  Asami groaned as she opened her eyes. The hangover she suffered from caused her head to pound mercilessly and she felt like her skull had been struck with a sledgehammer. Her mouth was dry and her eyes struggled against what little light leaked in through the curtain-covered window.

  She moaned as she struggled to pull herself to a sitting position. A noise came from beside her and Asami’s eyes widened in horror at what it came from. Next to her in the bed was a man under the sheets, his head covered by the pillow and his back to her.

  “Oh shit…”

  Asami looked down at herself and for the first time realized she was naked. She raised the sheet a little more and saw her bunkmate also didn’t have any clothes. Asami blinked a few times, trying to remember the events of the previous night, but it was all a bit hazy.

  Another moan from the man. Asami watched his movements carefully as he rolled onto his back. He pulled the pillow off his face and Asami was shocked at the man who lay there.

  “Shroud?” Asami instantly covered her mouth after she spoke his name—her voice was far louder than she intended.

  Jason’s eyes fluttered open and once he caught sight of Asami, he spasmed and rolled from the bed. He fell off and hit the ground. Asami peered over the edge of the mattress and Jason sprung to his feet, poi
nting at her with shock on his face.

  “Okay…what the hell happened?” he asked. “And why are you…?”

  Asami’s eyes widened and she gestured for him to continue speaking with her hand. “Why am I…?”

  “N-naked!” He turned and closed his eyes.

  In the shock of seeing Jason in her bed, Asami briefly forgot her nudity. She pulled the sheet up to her neck to cover her breasts, clutching it tightly to make sure as little of her skin was visible as possible.

  “And hey, not to be all prudish, but I’m not the only one in my birthday suit,” she added.

  Jason turned and looked down. He gasped and grabbed the pillow, holding it over his groin. He threw his head back, casting his eyes up to the ceiling.

  Silence passed for a few moments before finally, Jason was the first to open his mouth again. “Did we…?”

  Asami gave a deliberate nod. “I’d say the evidence is there.” She looked up at him, for the first time noticing the red scratches on his chest. Asami pointed at them. “And…there.”

  Jason looked down and his mouth opened wide in surprise. He touched the scratches, which were still a bit sensitive and it made him cringe.

  “What the hell, Asami?”

  She shrugged. “So…maybe I sometimes get carried away…”

  “Oh, you think?”

  Asami stood, pointing at him. “You were the one who kept feeding me rum all night!”

  “I—!” Jason stammered. “You! You’re the crazy one! I just had a few drinks with you and then…!”

  She cocked her head to the side. “Oh please. Like you weren’t begging for it last night.”

  “How do you know that?” asked Jason. “You said you don’t remember.”

  “Well, I assume this was me taking pity on you,” said Asami.

  He scoffed. “Oh, right. Because you’re just so perfect, huh?”

  She gave a nod. “I’m glad we’re in agreement.”

  Jason grunted and clenched his teeth. “Ugh, you’re crazy!”

  Asami took a breath. “Okay, how about we both just calm down and try and retrace our steps?”