Charles Hammer’s spell book, if I could find it, and let a peer in the society figure out what to do about the wheel. Someone needed to destroy it, but that someone wasn’t going to be me.
I climbed over the rocks toward the wooden walkway.
Charles Hammer was gone.
I cursed and turned toward the hoop. He wasn’t there, either. I’d already broken the connection between the hoop and the wheel of fire.
I scanned the entire cave. He wasn’t anywhere nearby.
I hopped to the walkway, trying to pretend the wheel of fire was not looming above me, watching my every move, and sprinted toward the outer cavern. I didn’t know how long ago Hammer had come to and fled, but I expected him to leave by the same long tunnel. I climbed up the stone stairs. I was going for the shortcut again.
The trip back seemed surprisingly quick. Maybe it was because I was so focused on chasing Hammer, or maybe it was because I knew what lay ahead, but in no time at all I was climbing back into daylight.
There was a tiny drop of blood on the top step. I didn’t need to look for a second. I didn’t need a blood trail to track him. He would be at the house or at the cars. Either he was collecting his things or he’d had gotten them already and was running.
I leaped over the rocks toward the house, angling for the asphalt parking lot and garage on the eastern side. I didn’t see any lights or movement through the house windows. That was bad. If he was already gone, I was never going to catch him. I didn’t know anyone willing to hand me leads on him, I didn’t have any idea what other properties he owned, and I didn’t have any damn money. Once the tank of gas in the van ran out, I was stranded.
If Hammer managed to get to an airport, I was never going to catch him later. Maybe someone in the society could, but I had no way of contacting them. It was on me or no one.
I finally reached the asphalt parking lot and climbed up onto the flat ground.
There was a tiny drop of blood on the ground beside the garage. The van was still parked in the mouth of the driveway. Hammer hadn’t driven out. I went past the garage and raced to the house.
The smell of burned flesh hit me hard. I held the ghost knife close to my chest as I crept through the house. Nothing seemed to be changed as far as I could tell. I moved through the rooms, past the piles of bones, up the stairs, and across the causeway.
I heard nothing. I didn’t see any movement.
I stepped onto the landing. The wooden stairs spiraled above me. There was another drop of blood on the first step.
He’d come this way, obviously. Unless the blood was mine. Was he still up there with Annalise’s corpse?
I heard soft fabric rustling. It was my only warning. I threw myself sideways.
Bullets streamed through the doorway. Hammer had come up behind me and fired a good long volley at me. I crouched on the stairs, hearing the shots ricochet inside the cylindrical tower. I covered my face with my tattooed forearms and waited. A ricochet tugged at the sleeve of my shirt, but that was as close as he got.
Finally, the shots finished. I knew he had more guns out there if he had the stomach to rummage through the bodies for them. If he had the nerve, he could charge in here and put a nasty end to me.
“You bastard!” he shouted, his voice high and desperate. “You can’t kill me, and if I see you again, I’m going to burn you alive. I can still feel the power of the Great Wheel inside me. It’s still inside me and you can’t take it away!”
I moaned. “Call an ambulance,” I said, trying to sound wounded and helpless. I held the ghost knife ready. “Please.” Maybe, if I could lure him closer…
“Hah! Fuck you!”
I heard his footsteps as he ran away. I heard bones clacking. Then he was gone.
I peeked into the causeway. Nothing. I ran into the house. Bones had been scattered around the hall. The front door was standing open. I ran toward it.
Hammer was sprinting across the asphalt, holding a book in his left hand and a set of keys in his right. An Uzi hung on his back, bouncing around near his kidneys. In a just world, the gun would have gone off, blowing out his midsection and the family jewels, ending the line. It didn’t happen. He ran around the van, leaping onto the rocks to go around it.
Keys. Dammit, that’s why the bones were spread around the hall. He must have taken a set of keys from one of the guards.
That’s when I remembered the three Crown Victorias parked on the street.
I ran back into the house, kicked the bones aside, and grabbed two of the Uzis. What ever Hammer had, I wanted double. I looped both of their straps around my neck. Offering a silent apology to the unburied dead, I ran out of the house, climbed into the van, and started it up.
It took a moment to turn the van around in the parking lot, then I raced up the driveway and fishtailed across the gravel road, wishing I had more acceleration. A vehicle that didn’t handle like a refrigerator box would have been nice, too.
I swerved out onto the street just as one of the Crown Vics screeched out of its parking space and took off down the main road. I stomped on the accelerator, hoping to T-bone it and trap Hammer inside, but it had already passed me. I caught a quick glimpse of him behind the wheel, his eyes wild and his neck covered with gleaming red blood.
My heart sank as I watched the vehicle accelerate down the block. There was no way I could keep up with him. Still, I pulled the shoulder harness over me and clicked it into place. I was going to ram him, if I got the chance.
