The Lost Continent (13 page)

With her tail, she gestured for Max to follow and then she moved to all fours, running down the corridor. Another came towards her and Asami ran up the wall, bouncing off to the other side, then spring from that and hitting the guard with her feet, bouncing off him and continuing until they came to a corner.
 

Asami stood behind the corner and peered around, then turned and faced Max who calmly walked to her side.

“How many?” he asked.

“Five.”

“Think you can take them all?”

“Yes, but then I've got another five scents further down.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Something that will give me a headache tomorrow.”

“What?”

Asami peered over the corner and her copper eyes changed to red. A controlled explosion burst out between the two sets of guards, causing them to scatter as well as blowing a hole in the wall leading outside. She grabbed Max and threw him onto her back as she ran on all fours again.
 

Max clung tightly to her fur as the two of them ran past the hole with the Order's guards trying to chase after them. Asami kept moving at a breakneck pace, speeding up as she came towards the barbed wire fence. Once she was close enough, she sprung into the air and flew over the edge, her legs barely missing the wire. She landed on all fours, skidding to a stop and then Max climbed off her.

“What now?” he asked.

A horn honked as lights pierced the darkness, a car screeching to a halt in front of them. Laki peered through the lowered window. “Hurry up!”

Max climbed into the backseat with Asami following. Once inside, Asami shouted for Laki to drive. The car sped off, kicking up dust in the wake as Asami closed the door.

“I have to say, I'm impressed,” said Max.
 

“All part of the plan,” said Laki, slamming her foot on the accelerator and racing into the distance.
 

Back at the warehouse, Wade calmly walked out of the hole Asami made and shook his head as the lights vanished over the horizon. He turned to one of the guards who came up to his side. In an instant, Wade grabbed the guard's head and twisted in one fluid motion, snapping the assassin's neck.

“You're all pathetic,” he said.
 

Elisa swam beneath the waves of the Pacific Ocean, Seth swimming a few paces ahead of her. The water was dark, necessitating the use of their lights to guide their way. But it seemed as if Seth could navigate the area without any illumination.
 

They approached the Yonaguni Monument. The main portion consisted of a rectangular formation and a complex series of terraces and steps bordered by near vertical walls. Two closely spaced pillars stood at the top of the formation, which Seth swam directly through and Elisa followed suit.

On a low platform stood an isolated boulder called the Gosintai. Seth came to a stop at it, treading right above it and motioned for Elisa to follow. Once she reached his location, he placed his hand on an indentation which Elisa could tell was for. Seth reached for the sack held at his side and opened it up, drawing out the Keystone. Elisa watched carefully; she hadn't seen this object since Lucas stole it from her in the Caribbean.
 

He took the Keystone in hand and set it into the crevice. It fit perfectly and the symbols on it began to glow brightly. The water around the Gosintai began to bubble and a low rumble almost like an earthquake echoed through the water. Elisa's crystal eyes were fixed on the scene behind the lens of her mask and the light that began emitting eliminated the need for their lanterns. The light flashed brighter and brighter and finally, it was so extreme that Elisa and Seth found themselves temporarily blinded.

Once the light faded, the Gosintai was still there except everything else was different. Light poured in from the surface and the area was completely shallow. Elisa peered around and saw that they were now in a cove of some kind.
 

Seth removed the Keystone and the two swam to the surface. A series of steps met them and the pair walked up them slowly, removing their masks and tanks and setting them on the ground.
 

“Look.” Seth pointed off into the distance. Elisa came up by his side and bear witness to what was once a massive city but had been devastated by a series of natural disasters. The architecture possessed a mixture of elements from various ancient cultures, including but not limited to Aztec, Mayan, Egyptian, Greek and Indian.
 

“It's incredible,” said Seth, his emerald eyes wide with wonder. “Imagine Hill, we're the first people to set foot in this city in thousands of years.”

“Lemuria,” said Elisa as she reached inside her own pouch and drew her digital camera. She started to snap photos of everything in sight.
 

From the top of the steps, there was a long road leading down into the center of the city, past the front gates. Once through there, the path split off in a web-like series of roads. Buildings of all shapes and sizes stood, still magnificent even in such a state of decay and desolation. It made Elisa wonder just how incredible this city had looked when at its pinnacle.

“The legends say that at the height of the Naa'cal's empire, Lemuria housed sixty-four million people,” said Elisa. “Their colonies spread all over the world and in one night, Lemuria supposedly rose into the air and was devastated by a series of earthquakes and volcanic explosions, leaving nothing left, suffering the wrath of the gods.”

“Nothing left on our plane of existence anyway,” said Seth. “But here we see that their city indeed did survive, transported to another world.”

“But
what
world?”

“Perhaps that's what the secrets will tell us.”

They moved past the city gates and into the center where a giant statue stood at the heart of Lemuria. The statue depicted a humanoid being but with reptilian features, dressed in regal clothing.
 

“Some legends state the Naa'cal weren't actually human, but creatures,” said Elisa. “Looking at this, it seems they were right.”

She knelt down by the statue and brushed her hand over the inscription, clearing it of dust. It was written in Naga-Mayan and although Elisa didn't clearly understand the language, she had studied enough to try and make out bits and pieces.

“Do you know what it says?” asked Seth.

“Not completely,” she said. “Something about secrets long buried, never to be discovered.”

“Yes well, we'll see about that. Let's keep moving.”

From the center of the city, they followed the path all the way to the rear. At the end of the path, they came to a large pyramid-like building, a mixture of Egyptian and Mayan. Slowly they ascended the stone steps and at the apex, they entered the darkened temple.

Once they set foot, just in the temple in India, the torches on the wall flared to light. The torches bordered statues, each one of the same type of species as the one in the center of the city.
 

“This place is a tomb,” said Elisa.

“Yes, but what a glorious place to lay your body to rest,” said Seth.
 

They followed the path until it came to a dead end. Seth looked around for some switch to open to another door when they heard a rumble and felt the ground shake. Slowly, the platform they were on began its descent into the lower levels.
 

“Down into the depths,” said Seth.

“Shut up.”

The descent quickened.
 

“Seth...”

“I know,” said Seth, very calmly as the speed increased. “We've been dropped.”

The platform plummeted down and further ahead, they could see light. Elisa prepared herself, as did Seth. Neither said a word to the other, both hoping the fall would kill one of them. Just before the platform struck the ground, when they had an opening, they leapt simultaneously and rolled away as the platform slammed down.

Elisa got to her feet and went back to the platform, examining it. The platform was undamaged from the fall. “At least we can get back up with it.”

“Forget that,” said Seth. “There.”

Up ahead was a statue holding a stone tablet with Naga-Mayan characters written over the front. Seth pivoted on his heel and with that motion, drew his sword and brought it down. Elisa countered it with the khopesh and twisted, trapping Seth's katana within its curve. Her free hand drew the kampilan and she thrust forward. Seth turned his body and the blade passed by him.
 

He ducked as he turned inward towards Elisa, and on his rise, his elbow struck her in the neck. Elisa stumbled back, the blow causing her to cough furiously. Seth knelt down and picked up his katana and slowly stepped closer to her, using the tip of the blade to gently raise her chin.

“You had a nice run and you're a good fighter,” he said. “Too bad it wasn't enough. And now, the secrets of the Naa'cal are mine.”

“Oh really?” Elisa slowly moved her hand and unleashed the latch for the sheng bao, allowing the rope to slip into her waiting grip. Her other hand reached for a kukri and in a swift motion, she jammed the kukri into Seth's thigh and rolled to the side. As she rolled, she threw the sheng bao forward, the meteor hammer leading the path right towards the tablets in the center. Seth turned but could only watch as the hammer struck it, shattering the tablet into bits.

Seth bent over and dislodged the kukri, throwing it to the ground. “Do you know what you've done?”

“Stopped both a madman
and
the Order from getting their hands on perhaps the most powerful knowledge in history,” said Elisa.
 

Seth picked up his sword again and prepared to charge her. Elisa sprung from her spot and as she fell back, she drew the hunga munga and threw. The African weapon cut through the air and the crescent-shaped blade connected with Seth's neck.

His body collapsed right after the head hit ground. Elisa gathered her weapons and went to the statue, kneeling down to examine the remains of the tablet. She gathered the tiny fragments and dust in her hand, allowing them to slowly flow through her fingers. Elisa balled up her fist and shut her eyes.

“I'm sorry...”
 

Lucas held out his hand and helped Elisa back into the boat. He looked back into the water then glanced over at her. “What happened to Seth?”

“Lost his head.” Elisa began removing her gear and knelt down to check on Jackson. “How is he?”

“Mouthed off a bit, so I had to knock him out again,” said Lucas.

“What?”

Lucas chuckled. “You're so damn gullible.” His face shifted, his tone dropping lower as he became deathly serious. “Did you get it?”

“No, I had to destroy it.”

“You what?”

“It was either that or let Seth get his hands on the secrets,” she said. “It's over now, the secrets are lost and neither the Order nor Seth will get their hands on them.”

“Yeah, and what about us? What about Finch?” asked Lucas. “The Order's not just going to let you walk away from all this.”

“Max is safe,” said Elisa.
 

“Fine, but I'm not.”
 

Elisa's blood froze when she heard the sound of a gun cocking. She slowly turned and looked at Lucas, raising her arms. “Lucas, what are you doing?”

“Following orders,” said Lucas as he kept the Zastava fixed on her. “I didn't want it to be this way, Elsie. I was hoping with the secrets, I could barter with Wade, convince him to let you go free. But you had to do your own thing, you had to destroy the secrets. And without that—babe, I've got jack.”

“So what's this all about then?” asked Elisa.

“Wade told me either you don't survive this job or I don't, there's no two ways about it,” he said. “So now, I have to live up to my end of the bargain and if I don't, I end up dead.”

“Cold-blooded murder was never your style,” said Elisa. “Like you said, you didn't want it to be this way. So just turn your back, make up some story about how I got away at the last minute.”

“We both know they won't buy that. It's all or nothing time, sweetheart.”

“Then why haven't you pulled the trigger?”

Lucas sighed and lowered the gun. He pushed past her and went to the controls, starting up the boat. “Well what are you waiting for, pick up anchor and let's get the hell out of here.”

Elisa smiled and did as she was ordered, hoisting the anchor and Lucas moved the boat into gear, heading back towards Yonaguni Island. When they reached there, he helped her get King out of the boat but he remained inside.

“Do whatever you have to so the pilot will take you where
you
want to go, not where the Order wants to go,” he said.

“What about you?” asked Elisa. “Aren't you coming with?”

“Who are you kidding, Elsie?” asked Lucas. “Thanks to you, I've got to disappear now.”

“Guess that means goodbye, huh Davalos?” asked Elisa.

Lucas shrugged. “Never know, you might get lucky.” He moved back to the boat controls.

“Hey Davalos!”

He looked over his shoulder.

“Better luck next time,” said Elisa.

Lucas smiled back. “I'll see you in hell, Elisa Hill.”
 

Elisa sat in a bar in Narita International Airport in Tokyo, slowly sipping on the gin and tonic she ordered. A hand fell on her shoulder and she heard a soft voice from behind.

“Is this seat taken?”

Asami slid onto the stool and smiled at Elisa. “Max and Laki are safe.”

“Thanks,” said Elisa.
 

“Don't mention it,” said Asami. “Been a while since I tore apart the Order's hired help.”

“Back there, Wade told me a little bit more about everything that's going on,” said Elisa. “He said that there's a war brewing between man and the gods, that we're heading down the same path as the Naa'cal did. You know anything about that?”

“Not at all,” said Asami.

“Are you telling the truth?”