Blood Codex

Chapter 58

Crowley closed his eyes and swallowed. This was a bad place to be, with Landvik in complete control. He slipped the pistol into the back of his belt, and pulled his jacket over it. The man wouldn’t see it, but no way was Crowley leaving it behind. The one bargaining chip he had was the hammer, and he would have to try to leverage that.

“I’m coming out. I do have a weapon, but I think you might be quite interested to see this one. Just stay cool, okay?”

He crawled out of the low tunnel, careful to hold Mjolnir ahead of himself in plain sight. He heard Rose’s sharp intake of breath and Landvik’s sigh of pleasure. He stood slowly, holding the hammer in front like a shield.

Landvik stood behind Rose, one arm around her neck, holding her tightly to his chest. That hand held a flashlight, blindingly bright as it swept across Crowley’s face, making him blink rapidly. Landvik’s other hand held an automatic pistol, the barrel pressed to Rose’s temple. Rose had both hands on the arm around her throat, like she would pull it away any moment, though Crowley doubted she would have the strength to do so in that compromised position. He saw blood on Landvik’s hand, a slash in the flesh of his wrist. Rose had not been captured without a fight and had cut him, but he had subdued her nonetheless. Her lower lip was bruised and swollen, her left eye blackening, the same side as the grubby Band-Aid on her cheek. And both her eyes were wide with fear.

Landvik’s eyes were wide too, though avaricious. There was no fear in him. “You found it!”

Crowley lifted Mjolnir, an unnecessary confirmation of Landvik’s words. “Let Rose go and I’ll give it to you.”

Landvik grinned, shook his head. “Hammer first.”

“Don’t believe him!” Rose said. “He’ll kill us both once he has it. You know he will.”

Crowley nodded. He knew she spoke the truth. Landvik would gladly shoot them and leave them down here to probably never be found. Their bones would remain as mute testimony to their failure. But he couldn’t see any other possibility. He measured up the odds, tried to play through the possibilities in his mind. No way he could draw and fire the pistol before Landvik killed Rose. Even if Crowley also killed Landvik, Rose would be just as dead and that was the worst failure, something he simply couldn’t allow. Besides, the way Rose was being used as a shield made it a hell of a risky shot, even though Crowley’s marksmanship was pretty top notch. In the weird low torchlight as well, he couldn’t guarantee a hit, let alone a kill. And still, Landvik would pull the trigger in reflex.

“Fine, the hammer is yours.” He took a step forward and Landvik dragged Rose back a step.

“Stop there. Slide the hammer over to me.”

Crowley smiled, though he tried to continue conveying disappointment. Holding Landvik’s gaze, he slowly crouched and laid the hammer on the ground. Still keeping Landvik’s gaze fixed with his own, he let the handkerchief fall to the floor, and flicked it back into the shadows of the cramped tunnel behind him. He stood, placed one booted toe against the hammer head, and shoved it hard. It slid across the rough stone, sending up a shower of flickering bright blue sparks and chips of rock as it went. Landvik and Rose gasped in unison, blinking against the sudden strobing brightness.

Landvik pushed Rose to her knees. “Stay there!”

He put his flashlight between his teeth, still directed to watch Crowley, switched his pistol to the now free hand and reached down for Mjolnir with the other. Crowley braced as Landvik’s fingers closed around the haft of the hammer. The man yelped in pain and surprise as the electric shock shuddered up his arm. His flashlight dropped from his mouth as he cried out, smashing on the rocks, plunging the cavern in utter blackness. Then quick sparks and flickers as Landvik grabbed the hammer again, but Crowley had already whipped the pistol from his back. He fired slightly up and to the left of the flickering hammer, but the shot ricocheted off a wall. Knowing he was at risk, he dodged aside just as Landvik’s gun barrel boomed light and sound, the bullet tearing past Crowley’s ear with a hot whine.

Crowley drew a bead on Landvik’s muzzle flash and fired again, but once more the bullet hit rock, not flesh. The man was fast. He only had one shot left. He hit the ground and rolled, yelling, “Stay down!” to Rose, as Landvik fired again, three rapid shots that all buzzed over him into the rock walls.

Ears ringing, eyes stained with after-images from the muzzle of Landvik’s gun, Crowley spotted the spark and flash of the hammer as it was lifted and carried away, back toward the tunnel leading up to the Ship Room in the castle. Crowley aimed and fired his last bullet. He heard a satisfying grunt of pain, had a tiny moment of elation, but the flickering hammer kept going as Landvik ran with it, obviously not wounded enough to be stopped. The Norwegian fired another couple of random shots back as he disappeared up the passage.

Crowley cursed eloquently, knowing full well he’d be a sitting duck if he followed the man up the narrow tunnel. Light flared as Rose turned on her torch app and Crowley’s attention turned entirely to her. He looked her up and down, desperately hoping there was no blood.

“I’m okay.” She rubbed a hand at her throat where Landvik had held her vicelike in the crook of his elbow. “I’m a little beat up, but I’m okay.”

“The hell is happening down there?” Cameron’s voice was weak, but held an edge of anger, coming from the tunnel he had first gone down when they split up. “Come this way and fight, you mongrels!”

Crowley laughed, relieved his friend was still breathing. Since the first gunshot he had heard, he had been doing his best not to consider the worst. He and Rose hurried into the dark passage, Rose’s light dancing and skipping ahead of them. Not far down, they came across Cameron on the cold floor, his left leg covered in blood. He pointed a pistol at them, face set in determined fury.

“It’s us!” Crowley said, “Don’t shoot!”

Rose angled the light so Cameron could see them clearly. He slumped, lowered the gun. “I thought you were both dead.”

“I thought the same about you!” Crowley shined his own light around. One of Landvik’s thugs lay on his back in a pool of blood, dead from numerous stab wounds.

“He got me in the leg, but then I got close enough to use my knife.” Cameron’s face was split in a satisfied grin.

“How bad is it?” Crowley shined the light on Cameron’s leg. There was a lot of blood, but he’d bandaged the wound using strips from the dead thug’s shirt.

“It’ll be okay if I can get to a doc fairly soon. Hurts like a son of a bitch, but I’m all right. Had worse.”

“And that’s his gun?” Crowley gestured to the weapon in Cameron’s hand.

Cameron handed it over. “Yep.”

Crowley took the weapon, checked the chamber.

“There’s a dozen left in there,” Cameron said.

Crowley nodded, drew in a deep breath. “Okay, sit tight until I get back.”

“Where are you going?” Rose asked. “We should carry Cameron out to get help.”

“I’m not lugging his great carcass around. I’ll get help and bring it here.”

Rose shook her head, eyes narrow. “You’re going after him, aren’t you?”

Cameron grinned, threw over the keys to their car which Crowley caught one handed and dropped into his jacket pocket.

“Sit tight,” Crowley repeated, and ran back up the passage, gun in hand.