Blood Codex

Chapter 57

Crowley stood in shock, checking himself all over. The bloody idiot had fired so many bullets, surely he was struck somewhere. His calf still burned from the flesh wound he had caught back in that warehouse. He really didn’t want any more injuries. He had used the hammer to strike out a handhold above the tunnel and hung there one handed waiting for the thug to emerge, so he had avoided the man’s first attempts to shoot either side of the opening. But the fool had taken so long thinking about his plan that Crowley had nearly fallen from numb fingertips.

Thankfully the man emerged just before Crowley’s grip gave way and he had managed to fall onto the thug’s back. More wild gunshots started pinging around until Crowley had caved the man’s head in with Mjolnir. He wondered how long it had been since the hammer had been used in battle. It seemed to sing in his hand, thrumming with renewed energy, almost pulling at his grip like it wanted more skulls to crush.

Crowley’s jacket had a couple of fresh holes and a hot line burned along his right outer thigh where a bullet had grazed him, but it barely bled. Almost more a burn than a wound. He had been lucky once again.

He took the man’s gun from his limp hand and ejected the magazine to check the remaining ammo. Three bullets left. Better than nothing, and better than a knife. He crawled quickly from the secret chamber and hurried back along the passageway, fearing for his friends. The single shot he had heard before was concerning enough, but now the multiple shots fired by his victim would have taken away any element of surprise he might have had. But he had to get to them, try to help them. He hefted the hammer, somewhat comforted by the bargaining power it ought to buy him. Though he was reluctant to let it go, this amazing thing that surely would set the historical and scientific worlds on fire once it was revealed.

He put out his phone light and pocketed it, clipped Mjolnir against the wall periodically as he hurried back up toward the cavern. Its sparks and flashes helped to light his way while he kept the pistol in his right hand. He felt the thing humming, storing up energy every time it struck a surface, charging itself, aching for battle.

He slowed as the tunnel began to narrow again, knowing he would have to crawl the last couple of hundred meters on hands and knees again. He was mightily sick of cramped, cold stony places. He kept the pistol in one hand, crawling on his knees and the elbow of his gun hand, careful to keep Mjolnir clear of the rock with his left hand. He didn’t want sparks and flashes to give him away now in case anyone was waiting in the cavern ahead. He might have a chance to squeeze off a couple of shots if he was quiet enough.

Finally nearing the end of his crawl, he paused near the mouth of the passageway. In the light of a slowly moving flashlight he saw two sets of feet.

“Come out very slowly, Mr. Crowley,” Landvik said, his voice tight. “And if I see a weapon, Miss Black dies.”