The Lost Continent (10 page)

The sounds of gears turning and metal chains rubbing against each other were unmistakable. Elisa looked over her shoulder and saw the gate slowly rising. She ran for it without hesitation but slammed into something hard that knocked her back to the ground.

Out from the darkness came a shirtless man, extremely tall and muscular. Thick leather belts crisscrossed over his bare chest and he wore a red scarf over his head that obscured his face as well as loose, black pants. He flexed his arms and in each hand he held a katara, a type of dagger with a triangular blade and a horizontal hand grip.
 

“'Hey Max, I've got a great idea. Let's see if we can make the one find my parents never could, let's find the remains of Lemuria...'” muttered Elisa. “Why does it only ever
sound
simple?”

The guard lunged forward and Elisa twisted to the side. He tried for another strike and she twisted again. For the third strike he attempted, she bent over backwards as one of the katara passed over her body. She fell back on her hands and swung her legs in a flip, kicking him in the chin and knocking him back.
 

He brought both katara towards her, crossing his arms. Elisa dove between his legs, sliding through the mud on her stomach. As she passed under him, she turned on her back, planted her hands behind her shoulders, and sprung up. Her feet drove into his back, slamming him against the wall. The guard recovered quickly and spun, one of the katara drawing blood from Elisa's midsection. She recoiled in pain and he turned and moved with another strike, this time nicking her arm.
 

Elisa prepared to move in one direction but stopped, the guard mimicking her movements. She tried the other but he did the same. A quick glance over her shoulder and Elisa then turned and ran for the wall. The guard followed and lunged towards her. She ran up the wall and flipped over his head as he drove the katara into the wall. He had just begun to pull them out as Elisa kicked him several times in the back of the head.
 

Finally he dislodged them. But when he tried for another strike, Elisa grabbed his arm and slammed it against her knee. The impact caused the guard to drop the katara. He tried to strike with the second katara and Elisa dropped to her feet, grabbing the discarded one. She coiled her arm and sprung forward, driving the katara into the guard's chest.
 

The shock caused him to drop the second katara and Elisa grabbed that one, using it to cut open his throat. The guard fell to the ground and slowly bled to death. Elisa shook the blood off both weapons, remaining in a defensive stance and breathing heavily, just in case he was still alive for any reason.
 

Once she felt confident enough in his demise, she walked through the doorway. As she entered the corridor, torches lining the walls lit up one by one, showing her the path to take. Elisa stepped carefully, her crystal eyes constantly darting from side to side and from ceiling to floor. She'd been through enough in this strange temple to know not to take anything, even the most innocuous of paths, at face value.
 

She was tired, her face and clothes were stained with a combination of dirt and blood, and she needed to get the cuts from the battle treated as soon as she could before an infection set in. But she pressed on because despite anything, Elisa could practically taste how close she was to the Churchward Tablets.

The corridor ended at two solid, wooden doors. Once she stopped in front of them, they opened away from her. Elisa entered the next room and there in the center of a giant, round chamber, a beam of light came from the ceiling, falling on a set of large, clay tablets. Looking around the room, Elisa could also see other tablets lining the walls.
 

Elisa approached the center tablets and examined them closely. She recognized the language as the same that she found on the Keystone. “Naga-Mayan...”

Although she couldn't translate them herself, she fumbled in her jacket for her camera to take photos of them, photos Max could have King analyze and translate. But before she could snap even one photo, the sound of metal scraping against stone sent a chill down her spine.

“Quite beautiful, aren't they?”

Elisa slowly turned and saw a man with silver hair dressed in a white suit with a black trench coat slowly pacing around, his katana sword dragging on the stone floor. His emerald eyes locked with her crystal ones and he offered her a devious grin.

“The Churchward Tablets, the link to the Gateway of Lemuria. Armed with this and the Lost Keystone of the Naa'cal, a person can find the remains of the so-called Motherland of Man.”

Her grip tightened on the handles of the katara. “Seth...”

“Hello Elisa, been an age,” said Seth.
 

“And it wasn't nearly long enough.”

“I've got a message from our old friend, Mr. Stubby,” said Seth. “He wanted you to know he was sorry for betraying you...
this
time, that is.”

“What did you do to him?” asked Elisa.

“Me?”
Seth appeared insulted. “Nothing. Nothing that he won't survive, that is. But really, you should
stop
confiding in him. Some people just aren't very good at keeping secrets.”

He raised the sword, the light shining off its perfect form. “You paved the way for me to get in here and for that, I thank you. And I'll even let you join in my little game.”

“What are you doing here?” asked Elisa. “We both know you'd never work for the Order.”

“When you're right, you're right,” he said. “I'm here for my own amusement, simple as that. And like I said, if you want to find Lemuria, you'll just have to play the game.”

“Dammit Seth, I don't have time for games, what do you want?”

“I want you to join me at the Gateway to Lemuria,” said Seth. “But first, you'll have to find it.”
 

“And how do you propose I do that?” asked Elisa.

Seth gestured to the tablets. “I've already gotten what I need from them, you're free to follow me once you've deciphered the meaning. Although, I think it'll be a bit more difficult
this
time around.”

“What are you talking about?”

Seth's free hand went into his breast pocket and he tossed something at Elisa's feet, like a slip of paper. She bent down, keeping her eyes locked on him as she picked it up. No, not paper.

A photograph.
 

A photograph of a man bound and beaten.
 

“King...”

“Jackson King has been aiding me in my efforts, although as you can see, he took some...convincing.”

“Seth?”

“Yes, my dear?”

“You're a bastard.”

He smiled. “My secret's out then.”

Elisa dropped the photograph and swung the katara blades to the ready. She charged towards Seth, but he proved faster than her, deflecting each strike with incredible grace and finesse. Within seconds, the katara were knocked from Elisa's grip and Seth's sword drove right into her gut. Her body keeled over and when he pulled the blade free, he kicked her in the chest, knocking her onto her back.
 

Seth knelt over her and offered a mock salute.
 

“Take care, my dear. I'll see you at the gateway.”

Elisa struggled to climb back to her feet, but her vision shook and grew blurry as she watched Seth disappear into the darkness. And then, the darkness took her as well.
 

Cold water splashed on Elisa's face. She coughed from the shock, spitting out the water before opening her eyes and shaking her head to throw the wet strands of dark hair out of her face. Before her stood a man dressed from head to toe in black, any distinguishing features of his body completely disguised, and holding an empty bucket.

She sat in a simple wooden chair, with her hands tied behind her and her jacket was missing. Her ankles were tied to each leg. She struggled against the bonds, but found they were pretty strongly done.
 

The masked man stepped to the side and a portly man dressed in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt sitting in a chair came into view. The fat man picked up his chair and brought it in front of Elisa's. He turned it with the back facing her and sat down, folding his arms around the frame and resting his chins on his forearms.
 

“Hi Elisa.”

“Who are you?” she asked.

“My name is Wade. I represent the Order in this matter.”

“The Order.” She glanced down at her body and saw all her wounds had been treated and dressed. “I take it you're the ones who cleaned me up?”

Wade nodded.

“Why? How does it possibly benefit you?”

“Up until now, we've been somewhat at odds,” said Wade. “I say somewhat because in reality,
you've
been our employee the entire time. Lucas was just following the trail you left.”

“I know.”

“Oh?” asked Wade. “And how would you know that?”

“A little fox told me.”

Wade sighed. “Yes, your new companion. We've encountered her before. She can be...a handful.”

“Before now, I would've said the same thing,” said Elisa. “But now that I know she's been a pain in your ass, she's my new best friend.”

Wade stood and began to circle Elisa. “I'd be careful of the company you keep. Asami is a dangerous little critter.”

“'Critter?' Didn't know there were still people who talked like that.”

Wade chuckled. “I get that.”

“You said we've been at odds
until
now,” said Elisa. “What's changed?”

“The man who stabbed you.”

“Seth.”

“Precisely,” said Wade. “He's also been a thorn in our sides for quite some time. And now, he's seen fit to involve himself in our affairs. We just can't have that, now can we?”

“What do you want with Lemuria?”

“In a word: progress.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Do you know the story of Genesis?” asked Wade.

“You're talking about Eden.”

“That's right,” said Wade. “Our historians believe that there's a connection between Eden and Lemuria. That they were one and the same. Most creation myths speak of a paradise and Lemuria could very well be that paradise. Although it's very difficult to separate fact from fiction, legend from history, as you're no doubt aware.”

“So what? The Order wants to get back in the Garden?”

“Not quite. But if Lemuria
was
paradise, that makes the Naa'cal the most advanced civilization to ever walk this Earth,” said Wade. “I'm sure you know about the various connections between ancient civilizations—the Mayans, the Egyptians, the Aztecs, and so forth. What we believe is that these connections aren't the result of divine intervention, a collective unconsciousness or even dumb luck. Rather they're the result of the Naa'cal migrating to different parts of the world and spreading their legends among the different civilizations.”

“You're talking about after the destruction of Lemuria.”

“No, before.”

“Before?” asked Elisa. “How does that work?”

“Colonization. Remember, the Naa'cal were the most advanced civilization but they weren't the only one. They also weren't the most powerful.” Wade came behind Elisa's chair and rested his hands on her shoulders. “The ancient gods couldn't have this new race growing too powerful, now could they? They knew that in time, the Naa'cal would threaten their power. It's an old story, really. God creates man...”

“...and man destroys God,” said Elisa.
 

Wade moved back into Elisa's field of vision and clicked his tongue. “Bingo.”

“So you want to destroy the gods, is that what you're saying?”

“No, we simply want mankind to reach its full potential, and the secrets of the Lost Tribe of Naa'cal are the key.”

“Asami told me about this—a blueprint for human evolution, right?”

“The kitsune isn't playing for your team, Elisa.”

“I'm on
any
team that's standing against you.”

“Why such hostility?” asked Wade. “As I recall, you used to work for us. Quite enthusiastically, I might add.”

“That was then,” said Elisa. “You kill, maim or torture anyone who gets in your way in pursuit of your great truths. The way you do things isn't how it's done.”

“In war, there's always sacrifice.”

“What war?”

“The war that's been brewing for centuries, the war between man and god.”

Elisa scoffed. “You've
got
to be joking.”

Wade's round face seemed to darken. “Not this time. You've been out there in the trenches, you know about the increases in supernatural activity not to mention natural disasters. Mankind is reaching the point the Naa'cal once did. And the gods have learned from their mistakes, they're not going to wait until mankind gets too powerful. Not like they did with the Naa'cal.”

“So you need the secrets of the Lost Tribe so you can fight the gods?”

“That's right and we want you to help us. We want you to go after Seth.”

“Not interested,” she said. “Whatever your beef is with Seth,
you
work it out. I don't want any part of it.”

“We found the photo Seth showed you in the temple,” said Wade. “Jackson King's life is in danger. Seth has him.”

“King and I have never been close.”

“So you're willing to let a man die because you're stubborn,” said Wade. “And here you were just criticizing us for our methods.”

“Because I know that if you get your hands on the secrets of Naa'cal, many more will die,” said Elisa. “Don't feed me this Clash of the Titans bunk. The Order is interested in power, end of story.”

Wade sighed. “I was worried you'd react this way.” He snapped his fingers and the masked man left the room. “That's why I brought along a little insurance.”

“What kind of insurance?” asked Elisa.

“The kind that will guarantee your cooperation.”

The masked man came back in, pushing in front of him a man dressed in a suit with a burlap sack over his head and his hands bound behind his back. He slammed the man into the chair and pulled the sack off.

“Max!”