The Lost Continent (8 page)

“How did you know that?”

“Those weapons and the fact that you weren't too terribly surprised by the transformation,” said Asami. “I know what you're after and I won't let you get those tablets.”

“So the Order is now contracting out to monsters, is that it?” asked Elisa. “From what the legends say about kitsune, they're mischievous and crafty but they're not sinister.”

“You're right, for the most part,” said Asami. “Except you've got one thing backwards, sister—I'm not the one working for the Order,
you
are.”

Elisa fixed her crystal eyes on Asami's copper gaze. “Would you mind running that by me one more time? I could've sworn you just said
I'm
the one working for the Order.”

“You mean you didn't know?” Asami's face initially had a look of surprise but it quickly shifted to one of slightly perverse amusement. “Oh, now this is just too good for words.”

“Forgive me but I'm not seeing the funny,” said Elisa. “How about you tell me what the hell is going on here?”

“You've been played,” said Asami. “Why do you think the Order has allowed you to get this far? The Keystone, the Churchward Tablets—they've been found by
you
and it's through
you
that the Order was able to get their hands on them.”

“But Davalos...”

“A pawn, just like you. He doesn't know that his real job is just to follow you and steal everything you find. Why else would they entrust a complete idiot with tracking down what the greatest myth hunters in history couldn't find?”

“You're talking about the Lost Tribe of the Naa'cal,” said Elisa.

“No, the Naa'cal are just the first piece of the puzzle,” said Asami. “It's not the Naa'cal the Order wants, it's what the Naa'cal left behind.”

“Which is?”

“The Naa'cal were composed of the greatest minds to ever walk the Earth, it's why their civilization was deemed too dangerous to exist,” said Asami. “The Naa'cal recorded everything, including their discoveries of evolution and development. They unlocked the secrets of not only science but magic as well. In other words, they left behind the instruction manual to reality and that's something the Order is
very
interested in reading. But the only place they can begin to search is a place that no longer exists on this plane of existence.”

“Lemuria,” said Elisa.

“The homeland of the Naa'cal,” said Asami. “It existed and no, it wasn't destroyed by earthquakes or floods or volcanoes. Simply...moved.”

“Moved? Where?”

“Believe me, even if I tried to explain it, you wouldn't understand,” said Asami. “The important thing you need to know is that if the Order gets their hands on those tablets, they'll know the location of the gateway. And with the Keystone already in their possession, they've got just about everything they need to reach Lemuria.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” asked Elisa. “If you knew all along that I was being used by the Order, then why attack me at all? Why not simply go after Davalos instead of wasting time with me?”

“Because I already know where Davalos is going and I know he can't reach the tablets without your knowledge,” said Asami. “And also, I wanted to see if you were as good as your reputation says.”

“And...?”

Asami shrugged. “To be honest, I'm a little disappointed.” She turned her back to Elisa. “Now let's go, I hate having to rely on a barely-evolved primate, but I suppose I don't have much of a choice.”

“And how are we going to get there?” asked Elisa. “Laki was my ride and now Davalos has her and her car.”

Asami walked towards the brush and pulled aside some bushes, revealing a Harley Davidson motorcycle waiting there. She offered a smug grin at her new ally. “Now that I've finished embarrassing you, maybe we could hit the road?”
 

Asami's bike charged through the back roads of India, kicking up dirt and debris in her wake as she revved the vehicle into higher gears. Elisa noticed that despite the speeds they traveled at, Asami's fedora seemed to be firmly lodged in place. She wondered if this meant the form Asami appeared in, including the clothes, were simply illusionary.
 

The kitsune took a sharp turn, traveling through an open field. Off in the distance, Elisa could see an old temple coming into view on the edge of the horizon. Asami's bike screeched to a halt and she set down the kickstand before climbing off herself. Elisa slid off the back of the bike, following Asami's gaze up to the top of the temple.
 

“What do you think?” asked the yokai.

“The architecture is strange,” said Elisa. “It's not Buddhist or Hindu, but there are aspects of both mixed in, as well as some others. So what is it I'm actually looking at?”

“Remains of a Naa'cal temple. Those that know of the Lost Tribe hold their secrets here.”

“So why has this never been found before?” asked Elisa.

“Oh it has.” Asami looked at her companion. “Where do you think Churchward saw the tablets?”

“The high priest he befriended was Naa'cal?”

“No, just one of the Lemurian acolytes. But we have to be careful from this point on. Churchward was invited here, we weren't.”

“In other words, knocking won't get us anywhere.” Elisa turned her head at the sound of an engine in the distance. She drew the kukri daggers and Asami's eyes flashed.
 

“We've got company.”

“Davalos,” said Elisa. “At least we beat him here. Quick—” She looked at the spot where Asami stood but found she had vanished. “—hide?”

Elisa moved behind a statue that stood guard near the entrance. She pushed her back up against it, keeping her breathing steady and prepared to strike with the daggers. She heard the sound of a gun cocking and could tell it was Davalos' Zastava.
 

“C'mon, keep moving!” His voice carried towards her, as did the sounds of a woman struggling against him, feet dragging on the ground.
 

“Laki...” whispered Elisa. She waited behind the statue, concentrating her hearing on Davalos' steps. As the sound grew, she knew he approached closer to her spot.
 

Elisa sprung out and pushed herself between Laki and Davalos. She bent her arm around his outstretched one which held the Zastava. Her body rounded behind his, her left leg sliding between his and when she brought herself with her face to his back, she had a kukri positioned right at the base of his spine.
 

“One wrong move and you spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair,” said Elisa. “We understand each other, Lucas?”

“Oh we're crystal, Elsie.”

“Good. Laki, grab the gun.”

As Laki knelt down to pick up the discarded Zastava, Davalos continued the conversation. “Question is, what are we gonna do now?”

“I could just kill you and find the tablets without worrying about you dogging my steps anymore,” said Elisa. “You never were too good at tracking things down without a guide, Lucas.”

“You're right about that, but there's something you forgot.”

“Elisa, you have to let him go,” said Laki.

Elisa's eyes shot to her friend. “What did you say?”

“I said let him go.”

“Why would I do something as stupid as that?” asked Elisa. “Don't tell me you let his slimy charm work you over. What sob story did he tell you? The 'daddy used me as a punching bag' story? Or maybe how the love of his life ran away with his best man?”

“The one about the thermite strapped to his chest.”

“The...thermite?” asked Elisa.

Davalos smiled. “Go on, Professor. Show Miss Elsie what little surprise I've got for her.”

Laki moved forward cautiously and slowly unzipped the front of Davalos' khaki vest. Sure enough, strapped to his white t-shirt was a row of thermite with lights flashing.
 

“The detonator is linked to my heartbeat,” said Davalos. “If I die, it blows.”

“Then I won't kill you, just break your legs and leave you lying out here while I get the tablets,” said Elisa.

“Think I'm that stupid?” asked Davalos. “You leave me out here, I blow the thermite anyway, take this entire place with me.”
 

“You're not the suicidal type, Lucas.”

“You know as well as me what the Order will do if I fuck this up,” said Davalos. “You get your hands on the tablets, my life is forfeit anyway. Might as well take you with me.”

“Suit yourself.” Elisa stepped back and planted her foot at the spot where the kukri had just been. She shoved Davalos up against the front entrance, his face slamming into the door. “
You
lead the way.”

“Little bitch...” muttered Lucas.
 

Elisa offered her hand to Laki. “Let me have the gun.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm going to dismantle it and leave it out here.”

“Actually...I think I'd rather hold onto it,” said Laki.

Elisa gave her a questioning stare and Laki just shrugged. “Look, you've got your weapons and your training. Having the gun just makes me feel a little bit safer, okay? Especially with Davalos here.”

“Hear that? I get her excited,” he said.
 

“Oh shut up.”

“What's wrong, Elsie? You jealous?” asked Lucas.

“In your dreams, Scruffy,” said Elisa. “Now open the damn doors already.”

Davalos pulled the door open, leading into a dark cavern. They stepped inside and Davalos removed a small lighter from his pocket, igniting it to provide some light. Just as he did, however, torches lining the walls of the temple flared to life, illuminating the entrance and revealing a floor made of large stones, some of them colored slightly differently.

Davalos looked at Elisa. “Did I do that?”
 

She scoffed.

Laki examined one of the torches, raising her glasses up and sniffing them. “There's no oil or anything, no methane build-up, no reason these fires should have lit at all.”

“Magic.”

The voice came from the ceiling. All three of them looked up as a fox hopped down with extreme grace and practiced ease. As she moved, she began to transform so that by the time she landed, Asami stood in front of them in her human form.

“And who are you?” asked Laki.

“This is Asami.” Elisa looked at Davalos. “You're not the only one who made a new friend today.”

“You see the way she changed?” asked Davalos. “You're some sort of shape-shifter, right? Let me guess...skin walker?”

Asami rolled her copper eyes. “Kitsune.”

“...right, I knew that.”

“You said magic lit these fires, how so?” asked Laki.

“Magic to you anyway. But to the Acolytes of Lemuria, it's a form of science discovered by the Naa'cal.” Asami took point and motioned for the others to follow. “Watch your step, it gets dangerous from here.”

“Dangerous my perfectly-sculpted ass,” chuckled Davalos. “What's so da—”

He stepped on a stone that was colored brown instead of gray and it collapsed beneath his weight. Davalos found his body falling into the large gap when a furry, clawed hand reached out and grabbed him by his collar.

“
That's
what's dangerous.” Asami pulled him to safety and dropped him on the ground. Her hand shifted back to its human shape. “Stay off the colored stones.”

Elisa came up beside Asami. “You should have let him fall.”

“We may need him later.”

“For what?”

“I don't know, but I'd rather keep him alive for nothing than let him die only to find out later we could have used his help.” She tapped Elisa on the forehead. “It's called giving yourself options. You should look into it.”

“I'm starting to hate you,” said Elisa.

“Good, then we're even.”

The four continued moving through the temple and the torches were now spread further apart. When they reached the end, there was almost no light left, just some flickers of flames to show that they had reached a large staircase heading down into the black.

“So now what?” asked Davalos.

“We keep going,” said Asami.

“Hell no, it's pitch-black.”

“Aww, what's the matter? Are you afraid of the dark?” asked Asami.

Davalos scoffed. “Don't make me laugh.”

“Good.” Asami shoved him forward and Davalos cried out as he fell forward, his body rolling down the steps. Laki winced as she watched him fall into the darkness and heard his cries.

“Did you have to do that?” she asked.

“He'll live,” said Asami.

“How do you know? We have no idea what's down there,” said Laki.

“You don't, but I can see in the dark.” Asami's copper eyes seemed to glow as she smiled at Laki and then descended the staircase herself.
 

Laki shook her head. “What have I gotten myself into?”

“Welcome to my world,” said Elisa. “Come on, let's keep going. Last thing I want is either of those two getting their hands on the tablets before us.”

“I see that's some friend you made,” said Laki.

“I've fought for my life more than once against things like her,” said Elisa. “I'm not exactly trusting of this, especially when kitsune are famous tricksters. But she seems to know a lot about this, so we need her help for now. And apparently, she needs ours.”

“You mean she
says
she needs our help.”

Elisa nodded. “When you're right, you're right.” She began her descent down the steps. “But what else do we have to go on?”

“I know we don't have a choice,” said Laki as she began to follow. “Just saying I don't like it.”

When Elisa and Laki reached the foot of the stone steps, Asami and Davalos were waiting. Asami gestured towards the only source of light in the area, a small opening a few hundred feet ahead. “Someone left a path for us.”

“Or a trap,” said Elisa.

Asami smiled. “Part of the fun is not knowing which.”

“Right, of course,” said Elisa.
 

“Hold up,” said Davalos. He held his lighter up against the wall. “There's an inscription here.”

Elisa and Laki approached him, trying to read what was written there. Laki squinted a little.
 

“Naga-Mayan?” asked Davalos.