“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.
Chapter 59
Crowley emerged from the small round hole into the lime kilns behind Lindisfarne Castle, immediately met by the cold, wet breeze. It felt good. Landvik had a head start, but the man had to get up to the secret door in the fireplace of the Ship Room, then down through the castle. And hopefully he would be slowed by whatever flesh wound Crowley had scored on him. There was a chance Crowley could catch up.
He made a dash for the small parking area where they had left their car, hoping to get there before Landvik, but the Norwegian was just ahead of him. There was a deep scarlet stain across the man’s hip. It looked like Crowley had winged him in the love handle on the right side of his body. Lots of blood, but nothing life-threatening. Though Landvik had one hand pressed hard against the wound, and the other hugged tight to his body, no doubt cradling Mjolnir inside his jacket. Crowley raised the pistol, blinked the rain from his eyes, and fired just as Landvik dived for his car. The bullet pinged off the black vehicle’s roof, the handful of tourists braving the weather screaming and scattering in horrified shock.
Landvik pointed his weapon back and squeezed off more shots without looking, making Crowley dive for cover, then the Norwegian was in the driver’s seat and the engine gunned into life.
Landvik’s car sent up a spray of mud and gravel as it carved a sharp turn and sped out onto the narrow road back across the island. Crowley ran for the Land Rover and gave chase. Flickering blue lights were heading their way and he realized the mayhem back at the priory was catching up. Three police cars were hammering along, heading directly for Landvik’s car.
Crowley smiled, thinking the man was caught now, but the smile withered as Landvik’s arm emerged from the driver’s side window and his gun kicked and flashed. The police cars braked and swerved, one windshield shattering into a crazed web of safety glass. Landvik skidded onto the grass and drove hard around them all, fishtailing as he went. Cursing, Crowley followed. As he powered past the police cars frantically trying to turn back, he reached out of his own window and fired off two quick shots, managing to shoot out Landvik’s rear screen, but the man drove on.
They sped back among the buildings of the small village, faces of shocked tourists zipping past all around as they leapt aside from the speeding vehicles. Crowley gritted his teeth and dropped the pistol into his lap. Too much chance of hitting an innocent bystander to fire from a moving car now, so he put both hands on the wheel and concentrated on sticking close to Landvik’s tail. The flickering blue lights of the three police cars, one with its shattered screen now kicked clear, filled his rearview mirror as they joined the chase. The faces of the two officers of the car without glass were pictures of pure fury, concentrated in their pursuit.
They shot through town and along the beginning of the causeway, the grassy hill to their right as they approached where the low-lying roadway crossed the mud flats. But it wasn’t mud flats any more. Crowley grinned, finally letting himself relax at the sight of the ocean on both sides, already washing hard across the road. Small white wavelets kicked up and foamed, the level of the causeway itself lost under the churning dark water.