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

  Jason nodded and sat on the edge of the mattress. “Yeah…yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

  “Good.” Asami sat down beside him. “So last thing I remember was seeing Elisa. Then you came up to us with the bottle…”

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to blame this on me.”

  “Let me finish!” She sighed. “You came up to us with the bottle and refilled my glass and your own. Elisa said she was going to turn in and she walked off…”

  Jason waited for her to continue. Asami struggled to think of what happened next.

  “And then it all gets pretty hazy,” she said.

  He scoffed. “Great.”

  “Well, what do you remember?”

  “I remember…dancing?” The thought seemed to come as a surprise to him. “But I hate dancing.”

  “Shocker.”

  “Okay, look. What’s done is done,” he said. “So what now?”

  “Now?” asked Asami. “Now I take a long shower and brush my teeth several times.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “No offense.” She shrugged.

  The door to the room opened and Elisa and Lucas stood just outside the small house. Asami and Jason both looked up, their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide. Elisa’s expression pretty much mirrored theirs.

  “I…umm…” She stammered trying to find the words.

  “I can explain,” said Asami.

  Lucas had a wide grin stretching across his face. “Wow, Shroud. Guess you’re not quite as lame as I thought. Bagging a kitsune? That’s a pretty impressive feat.”

  Jason glared at him. “Get out, Davalos.”

  “I am out.” Lucas gestured to his position, standing right outside the door. “See?”

  “So…you two?” asked Elisa, looking between Asami and Jason.

  “It just sort of…happened,” said Jason.

  “Tequila or rum?” asked Lucas.

  “Rum,” said Asami.

  “Ahh…” Lucas looked up wistfully in memory. “Been there.”

  “Okay, we should…” Elisa backed away from the door. “We’ve got work to do, I should go…find Tanya…”

  She walked out of sight. Lucas watched her go and then took her spot in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “Didn’t expect that reaction.” He blinked. “Hold on…” Lucas pointed at Jason. “I was only kidding when I made that boyfriend crack. But are you and Elsie really…?”

  “No!” said Jason.

  Lucas started to chuckle. “Ohhhh, this just got good.”

  Asami clicked her tongue and started pushing Jason off the bed. “Okay, out.” She threw an angry glance at Lucas. “You, too.”

  Jason nearly stumbled as he stood, taking his pants and quickly pulling them on. He looked around for the rest of his clothes. “Where’s my shirt?”

  Asami looked around and reached over on her side of the bed. She picked it up and tossed it at him. “Now go!” Keeping the sheet covering herself, she shoved Jason towards the door as he struggled to put on his shirt. Without another word, she slammed the door on both of them.

  Asami turned and pushed her back up against the door, resting her head against the wood. She sighed deeply and looked around the room. As much as she wanted to shower, first order of business was to get dressed and talk to Elisa.

  CHAPTER 13

  Elisa walked to the edge of the camp and just stood there, looking out over the rest of the island. Seeing Asami and Jason in bed together like that stirred something in her she didn’t even realize was there. Not to mention the surprise given their constant verbal sparring. Although now Elisa realized that was probably a hint of a shared attraction all along.

  She thought about going back and talking to Asami, but right now she just wanted to take a moment to stop and reflect on her life. Was there really some attraction she felt towards Jason, or was this just her feeling a tinge of envy?

  Elisa was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of a helicopter. She looked off into the distance, raising a hand to her brow to block out the sun. Rising up over the mountain, she saw several helicopters, armed with missile launchers and Gatling guns.

  “Oh my god…” She turned and ran back for the camp, shouting. “We’re under attack!”

  Rockets launched from one of the choppers, striking a house Elisa was running past. It exploded into splinters and bits of stone, the force of the blast knocking Elisa from her feet and throwing her across the camp.

  She fell, rolling a few times before coming to a stop on her back. Elisa remained there for only a minute, then got to her feet. Ropes descended from the choppers and Corbaton soldiers dropped down from them, wielding automatic rifles that they began firing on their descent.

  The rebels ran for their weapons or tried to move the non-combatants to safety. Elisa reached behind her back, freeing the kukri from their sheathes. Gunshots came from behind her and she glanced over her shoulder to see Jason holding both Berettas and Lucas wielding a Serbu pump-action shotgun. Tanya was there as well, an automatic rifle in her hands.

  Elisa hurled one of the kukri with deadly accuracy, striking a soldier in his chest. She needed to get closer both to retrieve her weapon and to deal with the soldiers. She nodded to her companions and they spread out.

  Lucas remained close by, unloading shells into the soldiers and drawing their fire. Elisa stayed low to the ground, quickly moving past the gunfire. She managed to get behind one of the soldiers and sliced his throat from behind.

  Elisa jumped at another soldier, landing on him from the side and stabbing him in the head. She drew her weapon and retrieved the other kukri from her first victim. The sound of a gun cocking caused her to pause.

  She turned and saw a masked soldier holding his rifle aimed right at her head. But a growl accompanied by a reddish-orange blur took him down. Elisa barely had time to blink before a transformed Asami killed the soldier.

  “Sorry about before,” said the kitsune.

  “We’ve got more important things to worry about now,” said Elisa.

  They both ducked as the chopper above unloaded a steady stream of bullets. Asami wrapped an arm around Elisa’s waist and pulled her from harm’s way, moving the two of them into the cover of one of the rebellion’s trucks.

  Elisa peered over the hood, watching as the rebels scattered as well. The soldiers were advancing with the helicopters providing cover fire. She noted that all of them were moving in the same direction—towards the church.

  “They’re going for the hammer,” she said. “They must know where it is.”

  “Oh wonderful. So what do we do?” asked Asami.

  Elisa shook her head, unsure of that herself. “All I know is I have to get to the church. But there’s no way I can get past them with those choppers up there.”

  Asami looked up at the choppers and groaned. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?”

  Elisa glanced at her partner. “Is it too much for you to handle?”

  “Do you know how many times people shot at me before I joined up with you?”

  “Let me guess…none?” asked Elisa.

  “Well…not none,” said Asami. “But the number was a helluva lot smaller than it is now.”

  “Are you going to stand there bitching or are you going to do your job?”

  Asami took a deep breath. “Okay, get ready to rabbit.”

  Elisa nodded and watched for an opening as Asami departed.

  ***

  Asami moved like a flash, quickly scaling the wall of a home and scrambling onto the roof. Several houses formed a kind of perimeter along the edge of town while the choppers were moving towards the center. It would be tough, but she thought she could reach one of them by circling around.

  She darted across the rooftop, jumping onto the next home. Asami repeated that process until she was positioned behind the choppers. Other homes separated her from the town square, which was wide open.

  Asami charged, leaping from rooft
op to rooftop. The ropes the soldiers used to descend from were still hanging and that was her key. She leapt from the last roof, soaring over the open gap. She reached out a clawed hand and grabbed hold of the rope.

  She slid down it only a few inches, the rope burning her skin and she clenched her teeth in pain. But Asami quickly shook it off and began ascending the rope.

  A soldier appeared from the open door and aimed a pistol. He opened fire. Asami swung from side to side, trying to avoid the bullets. A guttural noise escaped her clenched jaw and she pulled herself up faster.

  With the final pull, Asami put all her strength into it and released the rope. She shot up into the air, the surprised eyes of the soldier watching her.

  Asami fell and directed her descent into the chopper. Her legs slammed into the soldier, throwing him across the cabin and he fell out the other open door, screaming as he plummeted.

  The kitsune grabbed the pilot’s head with both hands and twisted, snapping his neck. The helicopter spun out of control. Asami had to act fast, unfastening his harness and opening the door, then kicking his lifeless body out.

  She climbed into the pilot’s seat and took the stick, righting the helicopter. Now she had the means to provide some real assistance.

  There were two additional choppers, one armed with missiles and the other with mini-guns. Asami targeted the missile-launching vehicle and pulled the trigger. Her mini-guns exploded with a stream of bullets that tore through the helicopter’s body.

  It plummeted rapidly, smoke rising from the vehicle as it spun out of control and crashed into the side of the mountain. One down.

  Asami’s actions caused the remaining chopper to take notice of her. The pilot spun around to face her. Asami pulled the trigger again, but this pilot was on alert and able to avoid the bullets.

  She tried to keep pace with his movements, just as he opened fire on her with his own mini-gun. The helicopter screamed warning sirens at her, but Asami ignored them. Her ride was going down and she’d be damned if she was going down alone.

  Asami pushed the chopper forward. She ducked as bullets punched through the windshield. She got back up and kicked open the door and climbed onto the landing skid.

  The helicopter slammed into her attacker and as it did, Asami jumped. She turned in the air and opened her mouth, unleashing a massive fireball at her chopper. The vehicle exploded upon impact with the flaming orb and the explosion quickly took the final helicopter with it.

  But now Asami had another problem—she was in free fall. “Guess I didn’t think this through…” she muttered as she plummeted to the ground below.

  She tried to direct her descent, grabbing hold of a power line and swinging from it. Asami released the cable and hit the ground, landing on her shoulder. She rolled onto her back and looked up to see the barrels of several rifles pointed down at her.

  CHAPTER 14

  Elisa ran between the homes in town, throwing occasional glances to the sky to watch the choppers. She hoped Asami could get rid of them, soon. As long as those things were up there, she had no hope of crossing the open courtyard to the church’s entrance.

  She pinned herself to the side of a house, pressing her back up against the wall and slowly moving to the intersection of two alleys. The sounds of gunfire filled the air. Lucas, Jason, and Tanya would fight to the last, but the number of guards Sandoval sent after them made Elisa wonder if they could prevail.

  Right now, their only hope of success was for Elisa to get her hands on Mjolnir. Then, she could use its power to take out the troops, just as she had on the water. She only prayed that her friends could last out long enough for her to reach it.

  Elisa peered around the corner and saw it was clear. She quickly darted across the intersection and back into the cover provided by the homes. The sounds of battle made it hard to focus her hearing, but she tried anyway. As she moved closer to the intersection, she did hear footsteps.

  The kukri was held in a reverse-grip, ideal for a downward stab. Elisa waited by the corner and when the guard came close enough, she lunged out, jamming the kukri into his masked face. His gun went off as he was stabbed and Elisa quickly pulled the knife free. She broke into a run towards the end of the intersection.

  Two more troops reacted to the sound of the gunfire and now came to block the end of the alley. They raised their rifles and prepared to fire.

  “Alto!” they shouted, ordering her to stop.

  Before the triggers could be pulled, the sound of an explosion from above drew their gazes. Elisa looked as well, but only briefly enough to see a fiery explosion in the sky—obviously Asami’s doing.

  Elisa wasted no more time in watching, focusing instead on the task at hand. The soldiers were still distracted and she used that distraction to her advantage. She threw both kukri with deadly accuracy and the Nepalese daggers hit their intended targets square in their chests.

  They both collapsed and Elisa ran up to them, taking the hilts of both weapons in hand and yanking them free from the chests. She looked from left to right and saw that now, there was nothing to stop her from reaching the church.

  She darted across the courtyard and made it to the front entrance of the church. A quick look down the side showed her that her friends and the rebels were still doing their best to keep back the invaders. But she heard the sound of rotor blades and looked to see more helicopters flying to their location.

  Elisa pushed open the door and ran inside. She dashed down the center aisle towards the dais and the mythological hammer resting there upon the table. Elisa slowed and sheathed her kukri. She climbed the few steps and approached the table, her hands reaching for the weapon. Her fingers wrapped around the handle and she hefted it off the table. And she felt…

  Nothing.

  Elisa stared at Mjolnir in disbelief. For some reason, the power she felt from the hammer yesterday was no longer there. And without the hammer’s ability to command the weather, she had no hope of helping her friends.

  “I’d put that down if I were you.”

  That voice. Sultry and colored with a Mexican accent. Elisa turned to the door and saw Isabel and Sofia Montenegro standing between her and the door. Isabel cracked her bullwhip and Sofia had three throwing knives in her hand, holding them as if they were playing cards.

  “You know what this is?” asked Elisa. “You know I can destroy you with a thought so long as I have this.”

  “Fine,” said Sofia with a smirk. “So do it.”

  Elisa’s face remained stoic as she silently cursed her luck. She knew there was little chance of the Montenegros falling her bluff, but she had to try anyway. The hammer itself was too heavy for her to properly use in battle, so Elisa let it drop to the floor.

  “What brought the two of you to Corbaton?” asked Elisa.

  “We heard about your little chat with Rufus,” said Isabel.

  Elisa’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

  “Oh relax, we didn’t hurt the old bastard. Believe it or not, Sofia here has a soft spot for him.”

  Sofia shrugged. “He makes a good margarita.”

  “So you came after me and hooked up with Sandoval,” said Elisa. “How’d you know where to find us?”

  “Hill, you talk too damn much!” Sofia hurled the knives in her hand down the length of the aisle.

  Elisa ducked and jumped, rolling on the ground in front of the pews. She reached for the pouch on her belt and drew a handful of shuriken. When she rose, she threw them at the twins.

  Sofia deflected the shuriken with a few more knives. Her hand went to the bandolier around her thigh and her fingers pulled the knives by the small loops at the end of their hilts. Her arms moved fast and the knives cut through the air.

  Elisa drew the kukri, managing to quickly strike away two of the knives, but the third cut into her forearm. She cringed and shook it off, ignoring the pain from the wound.

  But she noticed that Isabel had vanished. Elisa realized Sofia was just the distraction and
in the commotion, Elisa lost track of the other sister.

  Crack!

  Pain radiated across Elisa’s back. She could feel the warm, trickle of blood escaping her flesh, her shirt quickly growing sticky from it. Elisa glanced over her shoulder and saw Isabel had managed to get behind her—probably using the pews as cover and taking advantage of Sofia’s distraction.

  Elisa moved into a fighting stance, but she felt a sting of pain flow through her left arm. Looking down at it, she saw two throwing knives stuck in her flesh. She raised the kukri in her right hand and there was another crack.

  Isabel’s whip wrapped around the blade and yanked it from Elisa’s grasp in a swift motion. The sister released the kukri and her whip flew out again, this time wrapping around Elisa’s arm.

  With a strong tug, Isabel pulled Elisa towards her. The myth hunter stumbled, falling on the ground at her enemy’s feet. Elisa tried to get up, but Isabel stomped on her back, the pain even worse thanks to the whip-inflicted wounds.

  “You don’t know what you’re doing…” muttered Elisa.

  “Enough talk from you,” said Isabel. “The President would like a word.”

  Elisa’s head was struck and the world went black.

  CHAPTER 15

  Elisa’s eyes slowly opened. Her vision was blurry and her memory fuzzy, trying to recall the last thing that happened. She blinked a few times and finally, focus started to come. She found herself staring into the face of an older man in a general’s uniform, his silver hair slicked back and a grin forming beneath his mustache.

  “Ah finally, you wake,” he said in accented English. “Do you know who I am?”

  “Carlos Sandoval. The terror of Corbaton.”

  A familiar voice. Elisa turned her head to the side and saw Tanya next to her. She looked to be in better shape than Elisa. Her hands were suspended above her head, wrists bound in shackles that were chained to the ceiling.

  Elisa looked at her own arms and realized she was similarly shackled. Then she turned her head to the right and saw Asami beside her. The kitsune looked at Elisa out of the corner of her eye but said nothing.