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

  Elisa and Sofia still struggled while Tanya shouted for them to stop. Neither followed the rebel leader’s advice. Elisa had Sofia’s arms pinned to her sides, but Sofia threw her body around, to make it as hard as possible for Elisa to maintain her grip.

  Another crack of the whip. Elisa felt the sting of the tails slice into her back and she relented. Sofia pulled away and closed her hand into a fist, then punched Elisa in the face. Elisa’s head rocked to the side. Sofia delivered another punch and Elisa spat blood onto the dirt-covered floor.

  “I think we’ve had about enough of this,” said Sofia, drawing a fresh dagger from her bandolier.

  “Stop!” shouted Tanya.

  Sofia didn’t care what Tanya had to say, but her sister held out an arm to block her path. Isabel looked at the rebel leader.

  “Go on. Talk.”

  Tanya sighed. “This is all too much. Sandoval wants to crush the rebellion. So, if he agrees to finish this, then I will tell him everything he wants to know.”

  “Shut up, Tanya!” said Elisa.

  “And what exactly do you know?” asked Sofia.

  “The location of other rebel cells,” said Tanya. “Provided Sandoval grants my friends and I safe passage to the mainland.”

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

  “You’ve been relentless in the pursuit of your cause,” said Isabel. “Why would you give up now?”

  “Look at them.” Tanya gestured in the direction of Elisa and Asami. “They’ve faced gods and walked away. And yet here we are, in Sandoval’s grasp. This is the only way we can survive.”

  “Don’t be an idiot,” said Asami. “You can’t let them win.”

  “Please,” said Tanya, looking into Isabel’s eyes. “Just tell Sandoval what I’ve told you. Tell him I wish to speak to him.”

  Isabel eyed Tanya with suspicion. But she still coiled her whip and hung it from her belt. Sofia watched her sister with surprise.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “We’re here to do a job, Sofia,” said Isabel. “We’ll go have a word with Sandoval and then we’ll return with his response. But just know that if he orders us to kill you, then that is exactly what we will do.”

  The Montenegro Sisters left the room once more. Once the door closed, Asami looked at Elisa, who hung limply from the chains. “Please don’t tell me that was all for nothing.”

  The myth hunter slowly looked up at her partner and offered a smile. She shuffled her feet around in the dirt and uncovered one of Sofia’s throwing knives, dropped when she attacked Elisa.

  Asami smiled as well. “Now we’re talking.”

  “It’s not over yet…” Elisa gripped the knife between her feet, turning it so the blade pointed outward. She took a deep breath and grabbed the chains suspending her from the ceiling to keep her hands steady.

  Slowly, Elisa raised her legs up, moving carefully so as to not drop the knife. She moved the tip towards the large lock that fastened her shackles to the chains. Just as the knife got close to the lock, her grip slackened just a little. But that was all it took for the knife to fall back to the ground.

  “Shit.” Elisa sighed and lowered her legs.

  “Are you sure you can do this?” asked Tanya.

  Elisa took a deep breath and kicked her legs out a little to stretch them. “Don’t really have a choice, do we? Probably won’t be long before the Montenegros return with word from Sandoval.”

  She took the dagger between her boots once more. And again, she slowly raised her legs up.

  “Easy now,” said Asami.

  “Please stop talking…” Elisa grit her teeth and raised her legs as high as she could. Her abdomen muscles fought against her, but she pushed on. She released the chains and grabbed the dagger between her fingers.

  With a sudden release of breath, she let her legs fall back down. Elisa took another breath and looked up, trying to see as best she could. She slid the tip of the knife into the lock and began working it around. This certainly wasn’t the best way to pick a lock, but she didn’t have a whole lot of options.

  After several minutes of effort, there was a click. A broad smile formed on Elisa’s face as she lifted the open lock from the shackles and chains. She dropped to the ground and the lock fell to her feet. Elisa took a few seconds to stretch out a little. Having her arms suspended above her for hours was a strain and she was glad to have the relief.

  “Damn,” muttered Asami. “I can’t believe that actually worked.”

  Elisa walked over to a bench at the far side of the room. Her kukri daggers were there. She took each in her hand and slid them into the sheathes attached to the back of her belt.

  “We have to hurry,” said Tanya.

  Elisa examined the bench and she found what she was looking for. She picked up an old, iron key and held it up for Asami and Tanya to see.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here,” said Elisa.

  CHAPTER 21

  Jason and Lucas moved through the tunnels beneath Sandoval’s castle. Despite the ruckus they’d made at the entrance, they’d done their best to move quietly through the area following that. If they could find their friends without raising the alarm, it would save them a lot of trouble.

  Fortunately, the catacombs didn’t seem to be very well patrolled. It was likely the guards were focused on the entrances and that not many people were ever even held down here. Elisa, Tanya, and Asami were special exceptions.

  Jason and Lucas pushed up against the wall and moved towards a corner. Light fixtures on the ceiling provided some illumination, but it was very dim and they were spaced far apart.

  The Freemason holstered one of his guns and took a smartphone from his pocket. He activated the camera on the front of the display and held it out into the tunnel. Looking down on the screen, he could see the coast was clear. Jason turned off the phone and placed it back in his jacket, returning the Beretta to his hand. He nodded at Lucas and the two men moved quickly around the corner.

  The corridor they were now in ended in a large foyer with stairs running down the center. Lucas muttered a curse under his breath when he got a quick glance into the area.

  “Wide open,” he whispered to Jason.

  “Don’t have much choice though, do we?”

  Lucas cursed again. He checked the Serbu and moved into the clearing, with Jason behind him. In this open foyer, there were four different ways to go—up the stairs, back the way they came, and also a corridor leading left and another going right.

  “Should we split up?” asked Jason.

  Before any decision could be made, a throwing knife streaked through the air, striking the back of Jason’s right hand. He grunted and dropped his Beretta. Turning to raise his other gun, he saw Lucas do the same.

  At the top of the stairs stood the Montenegro Sisters. Sofia had thrown the first knife and she had three more waiting in her hands, held by the tip. Isabel unfurled her whip, cracking it once on the stone steps.

  Jason and Lucas both pulled the triggers. Sofia and Isabel leapt off each side of the staircase and dropped to the ground. The two moved in closer to try and see them.

  Isabel lashed out with her whip, striking the barrel of Lucas’ shotgun and throwing off his aim. Her whip lashed through the air, the tails grazing his weapons every time he tried to take a shot and forcing him to miss.

  Jason barely had a chance to get a shot off. He had to stay on the defensive, dodging Sofia’s throwing knives. She seemed to have an endless supply of them and she was good at keeping him on his toes. Whenever he could take a shot, it was only to defend himself by blowing the knifes off their deadly trajectory.

  Isabel wrapped her whip around the Serbu’s barrel and yanked it from Lucas’ grasp. He let it go and fired the Zastava. Isabel turned, the round catching her in her arm and cringed. Lucas was about to squeeze off another shot when Isabel lashed out with her whip, the tails slicing Lucas across his face and throwing him off-balance.

/>   She picked up the discarded Serbu and aimed it at Lucas. As soon as she did, he spun around, still on the ground and trained the Zastava on her.

  “Looks like we got us a standoff,” he said.

  “Do you think you can pull the trigger before I blow a hole in your chest?” she asked.

  A shot rang out, knocking the gun from Isabel’s hand. She looked up and saw their prisoners—Elisa had a single kukri drawn, Asami’s transformation into her kitsune form began, and Tanya held a smoking gun aimed at Isabel.

  “How the hell did you get out?” asked Isabel.

  While smirking, Elisa held up Sofia’s throwing knife in her free hand. Without another word, she hurled the knife at Isabel, tagging her in the shoulder. Isabel screamed in response and charged at her enemies.

  Elisa drew the second kukri and charged at her as well. Isabel’s whip flew furiously, and Elisa moved quickly and lithely to avoid the lashes, a few times getting hit by the leather tails.

  Tanya went to check on Lucas and Asami transformed fully, charging at Sofia. She moved past Jason and leapt at the Montenegro. Sofia threw a volley of daggers as she ran for cover and the next sound Jason heard was Asami’s screech of pain.

  Asami lay on the ground, a few knives sticking out of her body. Jason went to her side and Asami cringed, pulling the daggers out one by one.

  “That bitch…” she muttered.

  “Got me, too,” said Jason, holding up his injured hand.

  Sofia and Isabel were on the ropes—outnumbered and outgunned. And they knew it. Although Isabel was able to keep Elisa’s kukri at bay, Sofia would run out of knives soon. She only hoped that she could take as many of them out before it came down to that.

  Jason helped Asami up to her feet and the Freemason looked over to see Tanya doing the same with Lucas. Isabel had relented in her attacks on Elisa, now backing off. It was five against two, not the best odds in their favor.

  Sofia jumped, flipping onto the staircase and throwing something at the ground. But not daggers—this time, she hurled tiny smoke pellets that briefly served to distract.

  Elisa waved her hands through the smoke and saw the twins retreating up the steps. She ran after with her friends following behind. They proceeded up the stone stairwell, leading up to a pair of large, wooden doors.

  Asami charged ahead, barreling through the doors and bursting through them with her superhuman strength. The others joined her at the top and they found themselves inside the castle foyer. A large chandelier hung above them and there were busts, statues, and paintings lining the walls.

  They could see up to a balcony on the second floor where the Montenegro Sisters stood. But every entrance was filled with Corbaton soldiers, holding their rifles trained on the quintet.

  “Thought we’d even the odds a little,” said Isabel with a smirk. The smirk turned into a sneer as she barked to the guards in Spanish, “Kill them!”

  Asami raised up her jaw and roared. The pearls on the bracelet she wore hummed with the power of her life force and her eyes burned like hot coals. Fiery orbs flew from her mouth, quickly zipping around and landing in the midst of the soldiers, exploding like tiny grenades.

  It was an opening that the group needed to quickly avoid being crushed. They scattered to better distribute themselves. Tanya, Lucas, and Jason used their guns to return the soldiers’ fire. Asami launched into the air and dropped into the midst of a group of soldiers.

  Her claws and fangs enabled her to easily tear into them. She moved too fast for any of the soldiers to get a clean shot. When some of them tried, they inadvertently missed or instead hit one of their compatriots. Asami remained an orange blur streaking between them.

  Elisa moved into another group. She held one kukri in a reverse grip and used it to stab, the other held in a normal grip and slashing. Soldiers came at her one after another and she twisted in the group.

  She slashed the throat of one and then grabbed him and used him as a shield as another soldier fired at her. When she was done with him, she kicked the corpse into the gunman then spun and ducked a swing from a dagger-wielding soldier. Elisa rose back up, slicing open his stomach with her blades and quickly moving past him.

  Asami slashed upwards, opening the chest of a guard. She spun and kicked another approaching from behind, then jumped to avoid gunfire from another’s rifle, pouncing on him and tearing out his throat with her powerful jaws. She retrieved his gun and briefly used it to mow down a group of enemies charging at her, then tossed it aside once the magazine was empty.

  Lucas fired a shell, blowing a hole into one of the soldiers. He pumped the shotgun and shot another in the head. He was back-to-back with Tanya, whose rifle screamed as it tore into the soldiers.

  Jason stayed mobile throughout the fight. Armed with only Berettas against the automatic rifles meant he had to make each shot count. He used guards as shields, scoring headshots whenever he could, but settling for bodily wounds if he couldn’t. The important thing was to clear the deck of as many of these soldiers as possible so they could move on and finish this job.

  Just as she was about to get overwhelmed, Elisa jumped. She sprung off a soldier’s shoulders towards the wall, then kicked off that and landed on one of the statues. As it started to topple, she jumped again. She landed on a soldier, driving both kukri into his shoulders. As he was stabbed, his finger tightened on the trigger and a stream of bullets flew wildly, taking out a few more guards.

  Explosions rang out from beyond the palace walls. Everyone—soldiers included—looked towards the large, bay windows to see what was happening. They could see explosions rising in the distance. Gunfire rang out and the screams and shouts were loud enough to reach their ears. Radios worn by the soldiers barked to life, with commands in Spanish being issued immediately.

  “What’s going on?” asked Asami.

  Lucas smiled. “Jorge came through.” He looked at Tanya, who stared through the glass and saw the civilians and rebel soldiers waging a war on the palace.

  “The revolution has begun…” muttered Tanya, her lips curling into a smile. Almost instantly, she snapped back to reality. “The hammer!”

  She raised her rifle and took out a soldier who was just about to ambush Elisa. The myth hunter glanced behind her and then offered a nod of thanks to Tanya.

  “You have to go after the hammer,” said Tanya.

  Elisa shook her head. “I’m not leaving you guys here.”

  “Not much choice, Elsie,” said Lucas, turning the Zastava on a few other soldiers who were getting ready to rejoin the fight. “We’ll clean up here, you finish the job.”

  Elisa nodded. Her friends continued the battle, with Asami launching another fireball as a distraction. While they tore through the soldiers, Elisa made a beeline for the staircase, quickly bounding up it and heading in the direction of her enemies.

  CHAPTER 22

  Elisa reached the top floor of the castle relatively unencumbered. All the soldiers had either gone to take on her friends or to deal with the threat of the uprising happening outside. It meant these floors in the castle were more or less deserted.

  The side staircase leading up to the top floor opened up on one side of Sandoval’s office. There were two guards posted outside the large double doors. Elisa held one kukri by the hilt and hurled it. It flew through the air, spinning like a boomerang and sliced into the throat of the guard furthest from her.

  The other guard reacted almost instantly, raising his rifle. But before he could shoot, Elisa threw the second kukri and it struck him dead-center in the face. He collapsed to the ground beside his fallen comrade.

  Elisa approached the doors and retrieved her weapons. She kicked them open and stepped inside. Sandoval’s office was large, filled with furniture and giant paintings of the dictator. And then she saw Sandoval himself, standing at the window behind his desk and looking out over the uprising. On the desk, resting on its head, was Mjolnir.

  “It’s all falling apart,” she said. “Y
ou’ve lost control of the people. And soon, they’ll take down your military. Then you.”

  “Not yet,” said Sandoval, turning and glaring at Elisa. “The hammer can still show me the way. Can provide me with the means to restore order to this place.”

  “Order?” Elisa scoffed. “Please. This isn’t about order, it’s about control.”

  Sandoval moved for the hammer. Elisa held up a kukri, ready to throw it at him.

  “You try and pick that up, you lose a hand,” she said.

  Sandoval backed towards the window and clasped his hands in front of him. A dark smile appeared on his face and he even gave a tiny snicker.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Elisa.

  “You have bigger things to worry about, Ms. Hill.”

  Elisa could sense they weren’t alone in the office. She slowly turned and saw both Isabel and Sofia standing in the doorway, each of them with their weapons brought to bear. She readied her kukri, twirling the daggers in her hands.

  “Thought you two ran off,” she said.

  “Job’s not done yet,” said Sofia. “Not until we tear out your lying tongue!”

  Elisa tilted her head and glanced in Isabel’s direction. “She always this intense?”

  A long exhale of breath preceded Isabel’s statement. “You have no idea.”

  Sofia threw the daggers in her grasp and Elisa twisted and dodged. She swung an arm forward with the kukri, but before her arm could finish the attack, leather slapped her skin. Isabel’s whip wrapped around her forearm and pulled her away.

  Elisa was thrown, the kukri slipping from her grasp. She tried to cut the whip with her second kukri, but Isabel retracted her weapon before she could. Elisa jumped to her feet, and a few knives flew at her. She raised her arm just in time to defend herself, two blades sinking into her flesh. Elisa cringed, but fought on.