“We prefer not to be associated with Nazis,” said Rutley, taking a few steps. “But if you want to be simplistic, then yes, the Brotherhood of the Morning Light and the Thule Society share common beliefs and ancestry.”
That explains why Max began investigating them when he got Russ’ invitation, Elisa thought to herself. If the Brotherhood was an offshoot of the Thule Society, things were even more complicated than she’d realized. Elisa didn’t believe in coincidences, so she knew that this somehow had to be connected to that skeleton.
“What do you want?” asked Elisa. “You’re going to kill us anyway, might as well tell us.”
Rutley smiled. “I’d prefer the satisfaction of knowing you went to your grave ignorant.”
“Spiteful little bastard, aren’t you?” asked Asami.
No response came from Rutley. He squeezed his hand and both Elisa and Asami felt the energy holding them above the ground beginning to crush them. They screamed, but there was nothing they could do in order to stop it.
Then a gunshot. The duo was released and they fell to the ground. Elisa looked up and saw the door they entered from. Jason stood there, a Beretta in each hand. On the ground was Rutley, wounded but not dead. He rose, glaring at Jason.
“Kill the interloper!”
The Brotherhood members charged Jason. He jumped from his spot, opening fire as he fell behind bookcases. Elisa reached behind her back for her kukri and drew them in a swift motion. From the corner of her eye, she looked at Asami and witnessed her partner transforming into her kitsune form. Asami raced across the cobblestone floor and leapt, tackling one of the Brotherhood to the ground, her claws tearing into him.
The other men grabbed swords from racks on the walls and Elisa found herself surrounded by three of them in short order. A sword came slicing through the air from above. Elisa crossed the kukri over her head and blocked it. While holding that sword in place, she threw out a kick to knock back a brother that charged her from the side. With the sword still blocked by her kukri, she released it and stabbed one kukri into the brother on her left. The swordsman came at her again and Elisa threw the second kukri, striking him square in the throat. He gagged and collapsed on the ground.
More came at her, about five of them. But then the bookcase by their side collapsed upon them. Elisa looked at the source and saw Jason standing beside it. He hopped onto the turned-over case and Elisa did the same, running across it towards the men Asami was fighting. Muffled groans of pain were heard coming from beneath the case.
“It’s about time you showed up,” said Elisa.
“We’ll talk about that later,” said Jason.
Just past the library area, they saw a group of the Brotherhood monks all bunched together. And moving within that group like an orange blur was Asami. She was egging them on, begging them to come at her, and come at her they did. Asami’s claws and teeth tore through the Brotherhood with ease.
“You sure she needs our help?” asked Jason.
“No, but that doesn’t mean she’s not getting it.” Elisa came up behind one of the monks and stabbed both kukri in his sides. She pulled them free and let his body fall to the ground.
Continuing into the circle, Elisa’s blades tore through the monks, clanging against their swords and deflecting their strikes. There was someone behind her, she could feel it, and just as she was about to turn, a gunshot rang out and the monk fell at her feet.
Jason continued to provide support from a distance as Elisa fought through the monks. It wasn’t long before she was fighting side-by-side with Asami. The kitsune eyed her with disdain and snorted through her foxlike nose.
“Do you remember me asking for your help?”
“Nope, but I know if you died on my watch, you’d never let me live it down,” said Elisa.
Asami chortled and went back to the fight. The partners quickly tore through what remained of the monks before they were all scattered about the room. Jason came up to the two women, just as Asami was changing back into her human form. The two of them locked eyes for a moment and then quickly looked away.
“How’ve you been?” he asked.
“Good. You?”
“Good.” Silence. And then Jason broke it with, “I tried to call.”
“I know. I was…” Asami paused. She coughed. “Busy.”
An energy blast struck Jason from behind. Asami changed right back into kitsune form and leapt without even looking, rushing the source. She too was struck by a similar blast, leaving only Elisa standing.
The myth hunter readied her weapons and saw Rutley standing before her. He had a limp as he moved, no doubt from Jason’s earlier shot. But his eyes glowed with the power of vril.
“You think you can invade our sanctuary?” he asked. “Think you can stand up to the power of the Brotherhood of the Morning Light?”
“Maybe, maybe not. But I’m gonna try anyway. I’m stubborn like that.”
She threw a kukri and Rutley held up his hand. The dagger froze in mid-air and he laughed. “Pathetic!”
Elisa crossed the distance between the two of them, just using the kukri as a distraction. She threw several pellets obtained from one of her pouches, a cloud of smoke enveloping the room. Jumping into the smoke, Elisa’s steel flew wild, striking at Rutley. But now he used the vril to form a shield around himself. Each blow she attempted, the blade was blocked by his barrier. Rutley grabbed her by the throat and held her above the ground, his power pinning her arms to her sides.
The smoke cleared and she found herself staring into his eyes, glowing with the unique signature of vril. “You pathetic little myth hunter. There’s no stopping the Rise.”
“The…Rise?” she asked.
Rutley grinned. “Like I said before, you’ll die without ever knowing the truth.” He laughed, but then the laugh was suddenly cut short and his expression changed to one of horror. Rutley looked down at his chest and saw a golden rod sticking through it. His grip on Elisa’s throat weakened and she dropped to the ground, landing on her ass.
Elisa looked at Rutley and he fell, blood pooling around his body. The rod was pulled from his body and the figure who held the staff twirled it between his hands, the weapon shrinking down to a compact size as he did. Elisa couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face when she saw the creature that just saved her life.
“Good to see you, Sun,” she said.
“Wish I could say the same, but once again, you’ve gotten yourselves into some deep shit,” said Sun Wukong. “And now it’s up to me to save your worthless asses.”
CHAPTER 15
Laki came and met the group in the basement of the Brotherhood’s temple, somewhat stunned to see the Monkey King standing before her. The bodies of the Brotherhood monks were disposed of by Sun, teleporting them to another location, and Elisa and Jason were examining the books in the library by the time Laki arrived.
“Everyone’s here now,” said Elisa, nodding in Laki’s direction. “So can we compare notes and find out just what is going on here?”
“Seems we’re all being used by people with different agendas,” said Jason. “The Freemason Grand Master told me to leave the two of you on your own, said that you could jeopardize our efforts to stop the Order.”
“And then the Freemasons tried to hold me prisoner in India,” said Elisa.
“What’d the Grand Master have you do?” asked Asami, the closest she came to really talking to Jason.
“He sent me to Morocco, wanted me to investigate a potential oracle. The Grand Master said the Order is after the Akashic Records. He believed this oracle, Omar Badat, could provide the location of the Records.”
“Where’s Badat now?” asked Laki.
“The Order has him.” Jason looked at Elisa. “Seems they found a way to bring your old friend Seth back to life and enslave him. What about you? What’d you find out?”
“Max was investigating the Brotherhood before he accepted a summons from a former student on a deep-sea excav
ation. But I’m guessing we stumbled on something even bigger,” said Elisa.
“Rutley talked about the Rise, what’d he mean by that?” asked Asami.
All eyes in the room fell on Sun Wukong. “The Rise is an ancient prophecy, refers to the return of Atlantis. Something the gods of this world have tried to prevent from coming to pass.”
“The gods?” asked Laki.
“Well, gods to you in any case,” said Sun. “More like superior, other-dimensional beings. Centuries ago, the wars between Atlantis and Lemuria threatened to destroy the planet. The gods intervened, summoning an unprecedented amount of power to wipe out the civilizations and erase any trace of their existence. Something remained behind, though. Something the gods couldn’t destroy.”
“The Akashic Records,” said Laki.
Sun tapped his nose. “The Records were laced with powerful Atlantean magic, destroying the physical copies would simply release the full power of the Akashic Records into the ether, overwhelming the mind of every single descendent of Atlantis.”
“So instead of destroying them, the gods locked them away,” said Elisa.
“That’s right. And the doors to that library were sealed with a spell. A lock that can only be broken with a weapon of the gods.”
Elisa looked up, her eyes meeting Jason’s and then Asami’s. “Oh my god…”
Sun slapped a hand against his forehead. “Don’t tell me…”
“Mjolnir,” said Elisa. “The Freemasons have it.”
“And even worse, it’s been gaining power,” said Jason.
“Why would the Freemasons even do this?” asked Laki. “I thought they were supposed to be on our side.”
“Sun said it was only one person within the organization, and all evidence points to Aldrich Connelly, the Grand Master,” said Jason. “He’d be able to order a team to hold Elisa in India, to dispatch me to Morocco, and he’d have access to the hammer.”
“But he doesn’t know where the Records are, does he?” asked Elisa.
“As far as I know, that’s why he wanted me to see Badat.”
“Sun, if Connelly can access the Records, what happens then?” asked Laki.
“Then he’ll have access to the forbidden Atlantean rituals,” said Sun. “Resurrection spells of the darkest kind.”
“Who would he resurrect?” asked Asami.
“Kurios,” said Sun. “The last—and most unpleasant—of the Atlantean Kings.”
“Unpleasant in what way?” asked Elisa.
“In the genocidal way. But the good news is he’d need Kurios’ bones to complete the resurrection.”
Elisa groaned and took her phone from her pocket. She brought up the photograph Max had sent her that kicked off everything and held it up so the Monkey King could see it. He grunted and frowned.
“Of course.”
“This skeleton, you think it could be Kurios’ bones?” asked Asami.
“It would explain why all this is coming together now,” said Jason. “Mjolnir suddenly powering up, Connelly seeking out the Akashic Records. The pieces are falling into place for that prophecy that Sun mentioned.”
“If it’s prophesied, can we even stop it?” asked Laki.
“Damn straight we are.” Elisa placed her hands on her hips and faced her friends. “I don’t buy into this fate crap. I don’t believe that we have no control over what happens to us. Just because some mystics had a vision long ago doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. We’re going to stop Connelly from wreaking havoc on this planet, even if we have to die trying. No prophecy is going to stop me from doing my job. Anyone who doesn’t want to come with can stay here, but I’m going to find Connelly and take him down.”
“The Jade Emperor sent me here to help you, so I’m in,” said Sun.
“Where you go, I go,” said Asami.
“Same here,” said Jason.
“You realize that if Connelly’s got the Freemasons drinking his Kool-Aid, you’ll have to go up against your friends, right?” asked Asami.
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” said Jason.
“I’m not a field operative, so I’m not sure what I can do to help. But you’ve got my support,” said Laki.
“The question now is how do we find Connelly? Make a raid on the Freemason base?” asked Asami. “Maybe grab the hammer before it’s too late?”
“If Connelly knows the hammer is the key, he would have already made arrangements to take it for himself,” said Jason. “We’d just be wasting time if we went back to the States right now. No, we have to head him off at the location of the Records.”
“But the Order has Badat,” said Laki.
“And probably Max, too,” said Elisa. “Which means they’d also have Kurios’ bones.”
“The Order are trying to stop the Rise, too,” said Sun. “Remember, they’re from Lemuria. Last thing they want is Atlanteans coming back from the dead.”
“So they’re good guys now?” asked Laki.
Sun tightened his lips and tilted his head from side to side. “Wouldn’t go that far. They’re pretty power-hungry themselves, but this once, we can probably say they’re on our side.”
“We still need to find them, get the location of the Records,” said Elisa.
“No, you don’t—I already know where they are.”
Asami scoffed. “Jeez, way to bury the lede.”
“Where is it?” asked Jason.
“Egypt, beneath the Sphinx,” said Sun. “I can transport us there, once you’re ready to go.”
“Good. Let’s see what we can find around this place that will prove useful,” said Elisa. “Get ready, we leave in an hour.”
***
Asami examined the weapons that were mounted on the walls of the basement—swords, mostly, but also a few staves, daggers, bows and arrows, shields. She could smell his scent behind her, but she didn’t turn to acknowledge him. Instead, Jason was the one who had to speak first.
“Didn’t figure you’d have need of weapons.”
“I don’t, but I’m not book-girl and I got nothin’ better to do.”
“I know the feeling.” Jason reached under his leather jacket and drew one of his Berettas. “I’ve got these and that’s all I really need for the job.”
“You get in touch with your Boy Scout troupe?”
“No point, Connelly could easily block my phone. Besides, I trashed the thing once Sun told me what was going on. They could use it to track me if they wanted and that would pose a problem.”
“So you’re on your own.”
“I’ve got you guys.” He paused after that comment and silence fell between the two. Finally, he spoke again. “Listen, about Corbaton…”
“Really?” Asami spun to face him. “You wanna do this now?”
“When else am I supposed to do it? I’ve been trying to get you on the phone for months and nothing.”
Asami scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. “Listen, Shroud. Let’s clear the air once and for all, okay? We got drunk. We fucked. That’s it. End of story.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Are you looking for a wife or something? Is that what you want? The white, picket fence? A few of those little monsters you people call children? A house in a suburban hellhole?”
“I didn’t say—”
“I’m not the commitment type, okay? Not with my own people, not with humans, not with anybody.” She raised her arm and pointed to the pearl bracelet she wore. “Elisa’s the only commitment I have.”
Jason opened his mouth, but Asami cut him off again.
“And no, not in that way, so get your mind out of the gutter, you perv!”
She walked past him, bumping her shoulder against him as she did, and returned to the main library. Jason stood there with his mouth hanging open.
“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
***
Laki set a book back on the shelf and took another one out. She blew the dust off the leather cover and ope
ned the book, scanning the aged pages. It wasn’t written in English, wasn’t written in any language that she knew.
“How you doing?” asked Elisa.
“Okay.” Laki glanced up for a minute, then looked back at the pages. “I’m hoping maybe I can find something in these books, something that you can use against Connelly.”
Elisa took the tome away from her and closed it. A cloud of dust puffed up when she did and Laki coughed. The myth hunter placed the book back on the shelf and looked at her friend.
“You’ve come a lot further than you needed, but now I think you should go somewhere safe.”
Elisa held out a slip of paper and Laki took it from her. On it was a phone number. Laki looked up. “What’s this?”
“That’s Stubby’s number, he’s a friend. Call him, tell him I sent you and that you need to lay low in London for a few days. We can’t risk the Freemasons getting to you.”
“You can’t shut me out of this, Elisa.”
“I’m not trying to, I’m looking out for you.” Elisa sighed. “You said it yourself, Laki. You’re not a field operative. And we’re going up against something powerful and ancient here. You weren’t with us the last time we were in Europe, you didn’t see what Atlantean magic is capable of. We’re going to have our hands full with this and I can’t fight them off while also keeping an eye out for you.”
Laki took a deep breath. Nostrils flared, lips tightening. Part of her wanted to slap Elisa for sidelining her. But Laki also knew that the myth hunter had a point—she only provided support for myth hunters, she had no combat training herself. And with the only weapons available in the Brotherhood’s temple being close-range, she certainly didn’t have the skill to use any of them effectively.
“Time’s up.” The words came from Sun Wukong. He extended the Ruyi Jingu Bang. “Ready to go?”
Elisa gave Laki a final look. “Please,” she said. “I need to make sure you’re safe.”
Laki placed the slip of paper into her pocket. “You’re right. I’ll stay here a little bit longer, see if any of these books can be of use. Then I’ll contact Stubby.”
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