“We’re all flying blind,” said Elisa. “The only thing both us and Wade knew was that Horn’s last entry was about Operation: Highjump, so we thought we could find some clue here.”
“And we’ve got jack to show for it,” said Asami,
“Not quite,” said Elisa. “The Thule Society would have known whether or not the spear was here, wouldn’t they?”
Jason nodded. “Stands to reason. The Thule Society took refuge here after the war, Highjump was meant to clear them out.”
“Right, so why would Eckart waste time coming all the way down here? We didn’t even know the Thules were part of this.” Elisa placed her hands on the table and leaned against it. “Eckart knew that by coming here, he was exposing himself. Why take that risk?”
“Because he needed something,” said Jason, then looked up as realization fell over his face. “The journal.”
“Exactly,” said Elisa, standing upright. “As soon as he took it from Wade, he and Jaeger left.”
“On that note, I think we know the source of both Eckart and Jaeger’s powers.” Jason placed his hand on the book and slid it across the table to Elisa. She turned it round on the surface and examined the cover and the worn pages.
“What’s this?”
“Some sort of grimoire,” said Jason. “Written in German, but my guess is it was translated. While looking through it, one word jumped out at me—vril.”
Elisa looked up from the book, tipping her head to the side. “Are you sure about that?”
Asami threw her hands into the air. “Okay, what the hell is vril? You guys gonna make me beg?”
“There have been a lot of theories about vril since it was first mentioned in a novel back in the late 1800s,” said Jason. “A lot of esoteric and theosophic groups became obsessed with the substance during that time. A persistent conspiracy theory says that Nazis utilized vril to power UFOs.”
“And this has what to do with us or this book?” asked Asami, pointing at the worn tome.
“I’d need some more time to examine the book, but based on what I’ve read so far, I think vril might be more than a power source. It seems to be a form of ancient Atlantean magic,” said Jason.
“That would fit with what I got out of Wade. He said that the Thule Society and the Order are basically at war. And it’s a war that dates all the way back to the time of their ancestors when the Aryans and the Naa’cal were fighting for domination of the planet,” said Elisa. “He also said that the Thules began a ritual in the forties, one that was never completed because they lost the Spear of Destiny. If they get their hands on it again, they can pick up where they left off.”
“What kind of ritual are we talking about?” asked Jason.
“The kind that ends in a lot of people dying,” said Elisa, a steeled look in her eyes.
Jason sighed and scratched his bearded chin. “Okay, so the question is where is the spear? We’re right back at square one.”
“Eckart clearly thinks Horn’s journal will help him find it, so that’s probably where we need to start,” said Elisa.
“But you looked at the scans of the pages and couldn’t find much,” said Asami.
“I know and so did Wade,” said Elisa. “But there has to be something we missed. Eckart wouldn’t have taken the journal for nothing. And it’s really the only option we have at this point. We need to find out what he’s after.”
“I’ll make the preparations to fly back to South Dakota,” said Jason. “I’ll let you know when we’re set to go.”
“What about Wade?” asked Elisa.
Jason stopped right after he’d opened the door and looked at Elisa. “He’s coming with us. Maybe he could still be of some use. If not, locking up one of the Order’s top brass is definitely a feather in my cap.”
Jason closed the door after he left and Elisa stared at the book. She flipped through the pages, her brows wrinkled. She bit her lower lip and Asami noticed that Elisa tapped the fingers of her free hand on the table.
“You okay?” asked the kitsune.
Elisa shook her head and flipped another page. “There’s got to be something in this book, something about a way we can use vril against Eckart.”
Asami held out her hand. “Let me have a look.”
Elisa looked up from the grimoire and sighed, sliding it across the table. Once it reached Asami, the changeling shut the book.
“What are you doing?” asked Elisa.
Asami leaned forward, her burning eyes staring into her partner’s. “There’s something off about you. Something you’re not telling me. What else did Wade say?”
Elisa shook her head and turned her back on Asami. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Sure it does, especially if it means we’re going to go into battle with you second-guessing yourself,” said Asami. “I can tell when something’s eating at you.”
“Yeah, and how can you do that?”
“Because you always twirl your hair around your finger when you’re worried,” said Asami.
Elisa scoffed. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
Elisa noticed Asami wasn’t staring at her. She followed the gaze and looked down at her shoulder. She saw strands of her dark hair wrapped around her index finger. Elisa released the hair and stuffed both hands into the pockets of her khakis.
Asami leaned against the wall and folded her arms. “You ready to talk?”
Elisa sighed. “Wade said there’s a prophecy. When Lemuria is unearthed, the Spear of Destiny will return.”
“And you blame yourself,” said Asami. “He was after Lemuria, too.”
“Actually, he was trying to stop me from finding it.” Elisa gave a disturbed chuckle. “How’s that for ironic? I leave behind Davalos and the Order and the mercenary lifestyle. And what’s the first thing I do? I end up bringing about an apocalypse.”
She sat in one of the old chairs, dust flying out from the cushion and into the air like a cloud. But Elisa didn’t seem to mind, or even notice for that matter.
“The Order was doing the right thing, trying to keep me from Lemuria. If I hadn’t pushed on, Seth never would have gotten involved. We’d never have found the continent and the Spear of Destiny wouldn’t even be in play.” Elisa shook her head. “This is all my fault.”
Asami rolled her eyes. “Oh suck it the fuck up.”
Elisa looked up, her nostrils flaring. “What?”
“Yeah, you heard me.” Asami moved from the wall and walked up to Elisa, staring down at her. “Please tell me how you were supposed to know that finding Lemuria would lead to a bunch of Nazi occultists getting their hands on the Spear of Destiny? Unless I’m mistaken, didn’t your parents spend most of their lives looking for Lemuria?”
“Yeah…”
“And what about Max? Wasn’t he also looking for it?”
“I see your point.” Elisa was first turned onto the search for Lemuria by her parents, who were myth hunters like her. Elisa’s mentor, Maxwell Finch, was also a former myth hunter who spent most of his career seeking out Lemuria alongside Robert and Tanya Hill.
“Ao Jun wanted me to keep Lemuria hidden, it’s why I was sent after you in the first place. But he never told me why,” said Asami, referring to her former employer. “If you really want someone to blame for this, why don’t you try blaming Wade? Maybe if he’d been straight with you about Lemuria, this could’ve been avoided.”
A knock came on the door and it was followed by Jason opening it, peeking his head inside. “Everything okay in here?”
“Yeah, we’re fine,” said Elisa, standing. She gave Asami a nod of confirmation. “Are we all set?”
Jason nodded. “Wheels up in twenty. Let’s get moving, ladies. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
CHAPTER 7
Himmler pulled on the black coat, carefully affixing each of the gold buttons closed across his chest. He reached for the table and picked up a pair of glasses, placing them on his face. Himmler examin
ed his reflection in the mirror, admiring himself through the round lenses.
“Reichsführer?”
He turned at the mention of his title and saw Eckart enter his room. Himmler smiled at his new charge, who saluted him.
“Come, let me take a look at you,” said Himmler.
Eckart approached and Himmler examined the young man’s features. “You have your grandfather’s eyes, my boy. Hard to believe so much time has passed.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Eckart, linking his hands behind his back. “The Thule Society has done much to prepare for your return. And now it is up to you to lead us into our destiny. To raise Atlantis and create a new home for the Aryan race.”
“Indeed it is,” said Himmler. “Come, there is much to learn about this new world. We must discover where that traitor hid our prize.”
The two men left the quarters that had been set up for Himmler. Eckart led the resurrected Nazi through the tunnels of Agharti. When they came to a meeting room, Jaeger already stood waiting for them, wearing the uniform of an SS officer. He offered a salute and Himmler returned it.
“This one is quite impressive,” said Himmler, approaching Jaeger. He frowned at the tattoo over his face. “Not so sure about the markings, though.”
“My apologies, Reichsführer,” said Jaeger.
“Quite all right, my boy. It is hardly my primary concern.” Himmler slowly circled Jaeger, looking him up and down. “What is, however, is the presence I sense within you.” Himmler looked at Eckart. “Within both of you for that matter.”
“We have unlocked the secrets of the vril magicks used by our ancestors,” said Eckart. “Attempted many experiments to bond the substance with our men. Jaeger was the first success, the magicks working through him to enhance his strength and durability. He is like a juggernaut.”
“And you, Herr Eckart?” asked Himmler.
“My abilities are of a more…subtle nature.” Eckart focused his gaze on a book lying on the table. Slowly it rose above, hovering in the air. Himmler watched all this happen with a pleased smile on his face.
“Extraordinary,” he said. “You two are truly children of Atlantis.”
“Only because of what you taught our people,” said Eckart. “It was you who first discovered how to utilize vril. And though we were never able to implement it fully during the war, we have since managed to perfect those uses. Our enemies cannot hope to defeat us.”
“Yes, about those enemies.” Himmler grabbed the book from midair and sat in one of the chairs around the table. “I would like to know what exactly we are up against.”
“Of course, and I have that information for you,” said Eckart. “Jaeger, the lights, if you please.”
Jaeger turned off the lights and Eckart removed a smartphone from his pocket. From the device, he was able to activate the screen against the wall. Himmler sat forward, staring at the device in Eckart’s hands.
“What is that?” he asked.
“Technology has come a long way since your death,” said Eckart with a smile. He mirrored his phone’s contents onto the larger screen, showing an image of a woman with long, dark hair and crystal-blue eyes. “This is who the Freemasons have sent after us. Elisa Hill, granddaughter of Kenneth Hill. The man who aided Horn in his quest to take the spear from us initially. Most often, she is accompanied by this woman.”
The image changed from Elisa to a Japanese woman with reddish eyes and dressed in a pinstripe suit. “She goes by the name Asami. She is a changeling, and though we have some record of her operating in Japan following the war, she mostly remained quiet until joining Hill.”
“Why should we be concerned about them?” asked Himmler.
“Together, they defeated the Dragon Kings of China. And they also defeated a man in possession of the Necronomicon some months back,” said Eckart. “They are not to be underestimated, Reichsführer.”
Himmler scoffed. “If the Freemasons are relying on women to fight their battles for them, they are truly in a sad state.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” said Eckart. “Hill is quite resourceful. She has been trained virtually since birth and she’s something of a legend among the myth hunters.”
Eckart turned off the monitor and Jaeger brought the lights up again. Himmler adjusted his glasses and opened the journal, flipping through the pages. “This is all we need concern ourselves with, Otto. I am convinced Walter Horn hid the secret of the Spear of Destiny in these pages.”
He went to the end of the book, reading over Horn’s hand-written German while clicking his tongue disapprovingly.
“Oh Walter, what a disgrace. What a pity you became a puppet for the Americans. You could have been a stunning model of Aryan superiority.”
Himmler scanned his finger over the words, reading them silently. He read Horn’s account of the spear’s retrieval from Agharti. After that, the passages became vague. There was a record of Operation: Highjump, and some mention of Antarctica being an ideal resting place for the Spear of Destiny.
“Station 211 is mentioned here,” said Himmler.
“It was not there,” said Jaeger.
“We searched the area thoroughly in the years after it was abandoned and followed the Order to the location. It’s how we were able to retrieve the journal,” said Eckart.
Himmler looked up and rubbed his chin. “Perhaps Horn was smart enough to understand the danger the spear posed in anyone’s hands. He would not simply write down its final resting place.”
“So the journal is useless?” asked Eckart.
“Nein. There is a passage here I believe it points to the next link in the chain.” Himmler closed the book and rose from his seat. He approached Eckart and handed him the journal. “Ready a team. We have an errand to run.”
***
Once the group returned to Mount Rushmore, Elisa met up with the Curator and the two immediately began re-reading Horn’s journal to try and discover some clue hidden within the pages. They both sat across from each other, each of them holding a tablet in front of them.
They’d been at it in the hours ever since they’d returned from Antarctica. Elisa felt her eyes straining after staring at the glow of the screen for so long. She set the tablet down and blinked a few times. She rubbed her eyes, gave a yawn, and then went right back to work. Elisa stole a quick glance at the Curator across the table from her. He didn’t seem to be the least bit tired after all this time. In fact, she’d never seen him so much as look up from his screen.
She looked at her screen again. Her German was pretty good, but she felt like she was missing something. There was a nuance to the words that she wasn’t quite grasping. Just what had Horn hid inside these pages?
A knock came at the door. Elisa looked up and, for the first time, so did the Curator. Jason entered the room and closed the door behind him, leaning against it. “Anything useful yet?”
Elisa shook her head. “Not a whole lot, I’m afraid. If Horn said anything about the location of the spear in his journal, he certainly hid it well.”
“I have actually noticed something,” remarked the Curator.
“What’s that?” Jason walked forward, stopping behind the Curator and looking over his shoulder. The Curator pointed a wrinkled finger to the text on the screen.
“Horn talks quite a bit about the Imperial Regalia of Charlemagne,” said the Curator. “Specifically, he makes several references to the gold band around the Habsburg Spear.”
“But the Habsburg Spear is a fake,” said Elisa.
“Indeed,” said the Curator. “Horn illustrates that point in his text. To such an extent that it borders on repetition.”
Jason shrugged. “So he was a bit wordy. What does that mean?”
“Listen to this passage.” The Curator translated the German words on the fly, reading out in English. “‘Hitler and later Patton were so obsessed with an object that was nothing more than a representation of that which they sought. The Habsburg Spear is not the same lanc
e Longinus used to pierce the side of Christ. It is a lie. A beautiful lie wrapped splendidly in gold, but a lie nonetheless. Yet if we look carefully beneath the lie, truth can be discovered.’”
Elisa leaned back in her chair and tapped her fingers on the table. “I read that passage, too. I thought it was a little odd. The journal is pretty straightforward, reading more like an objective report. But there are moments when he gets somewhat more philosophical.”
“Indeed,” said the Curator. “And those philosophical asides are always in passages related to the Habsburg Spear.”
Jason scratched his head. “I don’t get it. Are you saying that the Habsburg Spear is the real Spear of Destiny?”
Elisa shook her head. “No, there’s more to it. Horn says that the Habsburg Spear is a lie…”
“…But beneath the lie, there is truth,” said the Curator.
Elisa suddenly stood from her seat. “The Habsburg Spear can tell us where Horn hid the real one.”
“If we figured this out, what do you think the chances are that Eckart did, too?” asked Jason.
“I’d say pretty high,” said Elisa. “We have to get to Vienna right away. Eckart might already be en route.”
“There is a Freemason lodge in Vienna, I will contact them and have them arrange for additional security around the Imperial Treasury,” said the Curator, standing as well and adjusting his tie.
Elisa gave a nod. “Good.” She looked at Jason. “We have to get to Vienna. If there’s a chance we can run into Eckart, then I wanna be there. Where’s Asami?”
“With Wade,” said Jason.
***
Wade laid his head down against the pillow, his large frame spread out on the cot that was almost too small for him. The small cell he’d been deposited in by Jason Shroud when they arrived at Rushmore was clean and that was about the only good thing he could say about it. Everything was white and there was a cot and a toilet but nothing else.
The heavy, solid door unlatched from the outside. Wade looked up from the cot and was surprised to see Asami step inside the cell, wearing her familiar pin-stripe suit with matching fedora.
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