Atlantis Rising (The Myth Hunter Book 6)

by Percival Constantine

  Elisa smiled at her. “Thank you.”

  The two friends shared a hug. Once Laki broke from Elisa, she approached Asami and hugged her, too. “Take care of her,” she said to the kitsune.

  “Keeping her outta trouble’s my job,” said Asami.

  Laki moved from Asami and smiled at Jason and then Sun Wukong. “Good luck.”

  Sun Wukong spun his staff, creating a portal to the sands of Egypt. “We’re gonna need it.”

  Asami and Jason entered the portal first. Elisa waved at Laki before stepping through herself. Finally, Sun flashed Laki a salute and dove into the portal. It shrunk behind him and closed off, leaving no trace of its existence.

  CHAPTER 16

  Aldrich Connelly walked across the dirt path of Giza, the Sphinx standing tall in the distance. He was flanked by a Freemason security contingent. Vendors had stalls lined up along the paths and a few of them tried to come out and aggressively hawk their wares.

  The security guards would have none of that. Connelly himself didn’t even need to pay them any attention, his men intercepted any vendors that came up to him and either kept them at bay, or sometimes knocked them right on their ass.

  Connelly kept his stride, never once slowing. One of his men held a case which contained Mjolnir, the key to unlocking the doors. He could almost taste the power as he continued on his approach. With the Akashic Records in his possession, he could finally raise Atlantis and return the world to a state of order.

  The Sphinx grew larger as they came closer. Security around the Sphinx tried to stop them from getting too close, but Connelly simply smiled at the men who barred their path. He looked at his own troops.

  “Show them our credentials, gentlemen.”

  From under cloaks, the Freemasons drew weapons and opened fire on the security personnel. Some of the guards died instantly, while a few others attempted to put some distance and brought their own weapons to bear. Connelly and the man by his side with the case continued walking. Although his guard looked somewhat concerned, Connelly wasn’t bothered in the least by the bullets that whizzed by.

  They walked between the giant structures that made up the limbs of the Sphinx and approached the altar in the center. Connelly studied it and then looked at his man. “Place the hammer on there.”

  The Freemason set the case down. He opened it and carefully removed Mjolnir with both hands. Gently, he set it right in the center of the altar on its head. Connelly and the Freemason both took a few steps back as they heard a rumble.

  The runes along the hammer’s surface began to glow with bright, azure energy. That energy traveled along the length of Mjolnir, then spreading onto the altar itself and down its body. The energy continued on its path, expanding and flowing into the Sphinx.

  The rumbling grew louder and they felt the earth shake. Connelly gave a look back at the rest of his team and saw the survivors approaching, then stumbling slightly at the sudden quakes.

  The altar lowered into the ground, the hammer positioned on top of it. And the stone barrier at the base of the Sphinx’s body sunk inward, then rose, revealing an entrance into the chamber.

  “Yes…” Connelly muttered to himself, rubbing his hands together. Turning to his men, he said, “Stay here. Make sure no one else is allowed inside.”

  The men nodded and raised their rifles. Connelly proceeded ahead, stepping inside the entrance and finding himself facing an ancient staircase leading underground. Descending the steps, Connelly had to keep himself from racing down them, restraining himself as he moved deeper into the ancient structure and traveling beneath the sands of Giza.

  ***

  A helicopter descended from the sky, holding Wade, Seth, and Max in the back. Wade stared out the window, his eyes contracting into a serpentine shape and he gasped when he saw what was down there—the glowing hammer of Thor resting on the sunken altar and the men armed with guns standing guard to the entrance of the Sphinx.

  “It can’t be… How did they get here before us? How did they know about the Sphinx?” Wade picked up a radio and called to the others. “Get down here, we’ll need back-up.”

  “Back-up? What for?” asked Seth, looking down. “There’s only about five of them. Just get me down closer.”

  Wade ordered the pilot to lower the chopper. It descended from the night sky, and once the Freemason soldiers saw it growing closer, they opened fire. The pilot twisted to try and avoid the bullets. Wade and Max both held tightly to their seats, but Seth moved to the door and pulled it open.

  “What are you doing?” demanded Max.

  “Saving your life, Professor.” Seth jumped from the helicopter and fell through the air. The guards turned their bullets to his falling form, and as Seth dropped, he drew his katana from the scabbard. Holding the sword out in front of him, he plunged the blade into one of the Freemasons as he fell into him.

  Quickly pulling the sword out, Seth cut across the distance to a second, his blade cutting through the rifle’s barrel, then disemboweling his opponent. The blade cut a bloody streak, flinging gore onto the face of a third. Seth ducked the spray of bullets and dragged his sword across the ground. He pulled it up, the metal moving between the soldier’s legs and cutting through him from his groin.

  Just one soldier left and he had his gun aimed at Seth. The assassin held the sword to the side, flicking it to shake the blood from the blade. The Freemason pulled the trigger, but nothing happened.

  Seth smiled. He leapt, raising the sword and tearing it through the man’s neck, removing his head from his shoulders. Just as the body and head hit the ground, the helicopter touched down nearby and Wade and Max emerged. Max recoiled at the sight of the bodies, but Seth’s grin remained wide on his face.

  “Told you we didn’t need back-up.”

  “Suppose you were right,” said Wade, folding his arms over his chest. He looked at the entrance to the Sphinx. “The Freemasons beat us here. Come on.”

  The three approached the entrance, but before they could step inside, there was a whooshing sound that came from behind. Turning, they saw a tear in time and space opened and four figures emerged from it. One of them Seth knew very well. A scowl formed on his face and he raised his sword.

  “Elisa Hill,” he growled, then leapt at her.

  Elisa wasn’t quick enough to draw her kukri and defend herself, but Sun Wukong was faster. He threw his staff in the air and it shot up, striking Seth and knocking him to the ground. The Ruyi Jingu Bang fell right back into the Monkey King’s waiting hand.

  The myth hunter drew her daggers and grabbed Seth by his hair, holding one to his neck. “Maybe I should try cutting your head off again.”

  “Stop!”

  Elisa looked up and saw Wade standing there, with Max by his side. She eyed her mentor with confusion. “Max? What are you doing with Wade?”

  “As difficult as it is to believe, I think we’re all on the same side this time,” said Max. His eyes narrowed at Jason. “Most of us anyway.”

  “Back off, Finch, he’s on our side, too,” said Asami.

  Max blinked at Asami’s tone. In all the time they’d known each other, she’d always been extremely respectful towards him. Or at least more so than she was to anyone else.

  “Aldrich Connelly, the Freemason Grand Master,” said Jason. “He’s gone rogue.”

  “Those were Freemasons I just killed,” said Seth.

  “He’s using them, spinning lies about his true purpose,” said Jason. Then, with a cold stare, he added, “And don’t think I’m going to forget about what you did to those men. Or the ones in Morocco.”

  Max took a few steps closer. “Elisa, please. Release Seth. If we’re going to stop this Connelly, then we must work together.”

  Elisa looked down at Seth’s face, the kukri’s edge pressed against the flesh of his neck. Her grip tightened around the hilt and all she wanted to do was cut his throat. But instead, she slammed his head on the ground and stood, sliding the dagger back into its scabba
rd.

  “Happy?” she asked.

  “It’ll do,” said Max.

  “There’s also the matter of this one,” said Wade, pointing at Sun. “Why’s the Monkey King mixed up in this?”

  “Because if Connelly raises Atlantis, he’ll end the whole damn world. The powers that be have an interest in stopping that. I was tapped to help ’cause I worked with these people before.”

  “Sound fair enough to you, Wade?” asked Elisa.

  Wade scoffed. “Might be interesting to have him on our side.”

  “Look, over here,” said Jason, approaching the hammer on the sunken altar. He knelt down and reached for the hammer, but then Sun placed the tip of his staff on top.

  “Leave it,” he said. “Take the hammer off, the locks activate again and the entrance is sealed off.”

  “So we leave Connelly locked down there, seems like a good plan,” said Jason.

  “Not quite. He’ll still have access to the Akashic Records, and that’d be very bad,” said Sun.

  “Then shall we go into the breach?” Wade gestured to the entrance and looked at Elisa and Asami. “Ladies first.”

  Asami was the first one to descend the staircase, with Elisa following close behind. Wade was third, with Max, Jason, Sun, and finally Seth at the rear. The stairs seemed to go on forever, and the warm light barely visible at the bottom gave them the feeling of descending into Hell.

  When they finally reached the bottom, there were flaming torches on either side of an archway. Proceeding past the archway, they stood in a massive chamber, filled with cases containing hundreds—perhaps thousands—of scrolls, tablets, bamboo, and parchment. There were other pathways leading to adjoining libraries, and statues holding khopesh sickle-swords. And standing in the center of the room, with a large scroll unfurled across the ground, was Aldrich Connelly, his back facing the others.

  The Grand Master rose to his feet and turned, smiling at them. “I see you all finally made it.”

  “How did you know the location?” asked Jason. “Was Badat just another smokescreen?”

  “Not at all.”

  Connelly looked past the entire group, his eyes settling on Seth. There was a glow in both their eyes and Seth drew his sword from the scabbard. The undead assassin raised the sword, holding it in an offensive stance.

  “What the hell are you doing?” asked Wade.

  “Atlantean magic, Wade,” said Connelly. “It always trumps Lemurian. Especially when it comes to resurrection spells. Mr. Seth here has been my inside man ever since you raised him from the dead.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Seth had one target in mind: Elisa Hill. He raised the sword and charged past the others, going straight for her. Elisa ducked into his charge, slamming her shoulder into his body and flipping him over her.

  But Seth was graceful and he rolled with the attack, turning in the air and landing in a crouch. He charged with the sword and Elisa drew the kukri to deflect. Gunshots rang out and bullets slammed into Seth’s body courtesy of Jason’s Berettas. And though the shots stunned Seth for a moment, they weren’t enough to take him down and he brought his sword at Elisa once more.

  Asami transformed into her kitsune form and tackled him. The two rolled across the chamber. The sword fell from Seth’s grip and when they stopped, Asami was perched on him. She raised her clawed hand and drove it into his chest. The mercenary screamed, but then backhanded her with a blow far more powerful than Asami thought possible.

  Seth jumped to his feet, just as Elisa slashed at him with her kukri. He dodged several strikes, blocked a few more, and then grabbed one of her arms. A punch to her jaw, then a knee to her chest, and finally he wrestled one of the kukri from her. Elisa pulled back as she felt a sharp pain and looked down to see a tear in her tank top with a red mark on her skin, blood leaking out.

  Sun Wukong jumped into the fray, swinging his staff with wild abandon. The Monkey King was fast, but Seth’s resurrection and the magicks that empowered him made him more than a match for even a demigod.

  ***

  “Quite amusing,” said Connelly, watching with a sick grin on his face. While Seth continued to battle Elisa, Asami, Sun, and Jason, Connelly turned his attention back to the scroll. Then he felt something sharp against his back.

  “Get up,” said Wade, holding Seth’s sword in his grip.

  Connelly took a breath and closed his eyes. Wade was thrown across the room, slammed into one of the cases. The scrolls fell all around him, followed by a few tablets. The Grand Master stood and approached Wade, picking up the discarded sword. He examined the blade and looked down at Wade.

  Vril magic raised the Order’s leader from the ground, pinning him to the wall. Connelly held the sword and placed the tip of the blade against Wade’s chest. “We’ve been at this for some time, Wade. What a shame that it has to end like this, before you can see the glory of Atlantis.”

  A tablet shattered against Connelly’s head. He grunted and dropped to one knee, then looked up and saw Max standing over him. Connelly’s eyes flashed with power and he hurled Max across the chamber. Standing again, the Grand Master picked up the sword and drove it into Wade’s chest.

  “This is just the beginning,” whispered Connelly into Wade’s ear. “Once I infuse myself with the power of the Akashic Records, I’ll be able to find the bones of Kurios. Then, our great Atlantean King will walk this Earth once more, raining down righteous judgment on those who are unworthy of this world. You Lemurian scum are dead and your pathetic Order dies with you.”

  Connelly drew the sword out and walked back to the scroll. He held the sword out in front of him, slicing into his own hand and his blood dripping onto the ancient papyrus. Ancient words in a dead language flowed from his lips and the blood seeped into the material, spreading along its length, the symbols on the scroll beginning to glow with arcane energy.

  Swirling bands emerged from the scroll, whipping all around Connelly and raising him above the ground. He held his arms out to the sides, the energy creating a vortex all around him. The beams shot into his body and his mouth and eyes opened wide, the power visible in the orifices.

  The purplish vril vortex shot straight up, burrowing through the ancient stone that made up the Sphinx. The walls cracked and bandaged hands burst through those cracks, breaking free of their prison. The entire library quickly filled with mummified corpses walking upright. Only their eyes were visible, holding the same signature glow as the energy that consumed the Grand Master.

  Connelly’s actions paused the fight between Seth and the others, and Max looked up from where he lay on the ground. He climbed to his feet, his mouth agape in horror as he watched the scene unfold.

  “Soon, this world will be made right,” said Connelly, each word he spoke reverberating with a dark echo. His arms lowered to his sides and he looked up, the power of the vril shooting him right through the hole made by the vortex.

  ***

  The sudden explosion of power distracted Sun and drew his attention towards Connelly. Once the Grand Master exited, Seth took advantage of the distraction and grabbed hold of the Ruyi Jingu Bang. Yanking it towards him, Seth delivered a kick to Sun’s face that threw the Monkey King back.

  Seth swung the staff around to block an attempted strike by Elisa. He knocked both kukri from her grasp and thrust the staff against her chest, forcing her away from him.

  Spinning, he blocked Asami’s flailing claws, sparks flying as the two traded fierce, furious blows. Jason tried to come to her aid with the use of well-placed shots, but Seth was fast enough to dodge those.

  The emerging mummies took the fight priority off Seth. Jason and Sun concentrated on them, with Max joining the fight, too. He’d taken a khopesh from one of the statues and swung it, slicing off the head of an approaching mummy, then slashing another mummy’s stomach open, spewing out dust.

  Elisa got to her feet, now weaponless, but she took a cue from Max and pried a khopesh from another statue, fighting back the mummie
s that converged on her. Her eyes went to the center of the room where she saw Asami in a battle for her life against Seth.

  The myth hunter took a second khopesh and swung them both with wild abandon, slicing off limbs and tearing into the bandaged flesh of the attackers swarming her. She sprung from the ground, bound off a wall, and hit one of the cases, knocking it over onto several more mummies.

  Elisa’s priority was Seth, she’d let her allies take care of the reinforcements. Jumping from the bookcase, she raised one khopesh and brought it down across Seth’s back. He arched forward and stumbled, helped further along with a kick from Elisa against his fresh wound.

  Seth fell forward, right into Asami’s waiting claws. The kitsune plunged them into his chest as she snarled. The assassin’s expression froze for a moment, but then a flash of power in his eyes and he dropped the staff. Seth grabbed Asami’s wrists and pulled her claws from his flesh, then spun, swinging her as he did. Releasing his hold, Asami was thrown into a group of mummies and had to deal with them.

  Kicking the staff off the ground and into the air, Seth grabbed hold and brought it up to defend against Elisa’s swing with the khopesh. But then she turned the blade, hooking its sickle on the staff and wrenching it from his grasp.

  The staff went flying and Sun leapt into the air, retrieving his weapon. Once he landed, he wielded it with deft precision against the mummified horde. Jason continued to provide aid with his Berettas while Asami’s claws and teeth and Max’s khopesh tore through the bodies.

  Elisa faced off against Seth, pointing one of the swords at him. Seth inched backwards, his eyes glancing behind him. But Elisa’s gaze never moved from his face. “You never should’ve come back, Seth.”

  “In case you’ve forgotten, I didn’t have much choice in the matter,” he said.

  “Time to go back.” Elisa lunged forward and swung the khopesh.

  Seth ducked and rolled across the ground, over to Wade’s body, where his sword lay. Quickly retrieving it, Seth held it above his head to block Elisa’s next strike. He sprung up, forcing her into a back-step, her boots skidding on the ground. A thrust, one Elisa blocked. Then another. She blocked that one, too. But his attacks grew stronger and faster and Elisa had difficulty keeping up. Though she could get in a few on her own, ultimately she faced off against a nearly unstoppable opponent and that kept her on the defensive. She needed another tactic, and one came to mind.