CHAPTER 11
As soon as word reached the Vienna Freemason lodge that the Thule Society had struck Fort Knox, Elisa wanted to immediately board a plane for Kentucky. Jason had to convince her that it would be no use. By the time they’d heard about the attack, Himmler was already gone. The flight would do nothing more than waste hours they didn’t have to search for clues they had no idea would be there.
Since news of the attack came, Jason had left Elisa and Asami alone in the library. He was making calls, checking field reports, trying to collect as much information about the attack as possible. And as Elisa waited impatiently, she twirled a kukri in her hand.
“Mind putting that away?” asked Asami. “You’re making me nervous.”
Elisa jammed it into the wooden table. Asami leaned back in his chair across from her in the library, looking at the dagger with a calm eye. “You know he’s gonna make you pay for that, right?”
She grunted and took the dagger out, sliding it into the sheath behind her back.
“Take it down a notch,” said Asami.
“They’ve been making us look like idiots since the beginning.” Elisa stood behind one of the chairs, grabbing the back and rocking it back and forth. “First we think the Order’s the problem and then it turns out it’s actually the Thule Society. We go on a wild goose chase to Antarctica and they get Horn’s journal. We follow them to Vienna and they take the Holy Lance. Now they’ve beaten us to the Spear of Destiny’s true location!” She raised the chair’s rear legs slightly and slammed it back down.
“Could you not break anything?” asked Jason as he walked into the library, a tablet tucked under his arm. “We’re here as guests, okay?”
Asami whistled innocently as she slid a stack of books over the damage Elisa had done to the table just moments earlier.
“What’s the word?” asked Elisa, turning to Shroud and folding her arms over her chest and her black tank top.
Jason shook his head. “Not good. It was about a dozen Haunebus. They were able to lay waste to the army’s forces and when designing the Depository’s security they apparently didn’t account for vril magic.”
“How many?” asked Elisa.
“How many what?” asked Jason.
Elisa narrowed her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
Jason took a deep breath. “Haven’t gotten an official death toll yet. But…it’s bad.”
“And the spear?”
“Officially there’s no record of it being in the Depository.”
“Unofficially?”
“Unofficially I can’t get a straight answer,” said Jason.
“Why not? Aren’t you guys supposed to be like, the government’s government or something?” asked Asami.
“I think the term you’re looking for is ‘shadow government,’” said Jason. “And don’t believe everything you see on YouTube. The Freemasons are powerful and wealthy, we’ve got a lot of resources, but we’re definitely far from omniscient. We have connections in government, but they don’t answer to us. They only tell us what they’re willing to.”
“But the spear was there, right?” asked Elisa.
“I can’t think of any other reason why Himmler would go to all that trouble to break in,” said Jason. “I’ve got to hand it to Horn. Leaving a false trail for would-be spear hunters to follow while hiding the real thing in the most secure vault in the world was a pretty good move. He must have had help from people in the Treasury Department, it’s the only way he could get it in there in the first place.”
Asami leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on the table. “Too bad he wasn’t smart enough to leave a clue off the Habsburg Spear. If not for that, Himmler wouldn’t know where to look.”
“It’s a risk he had to take,” said Elisa. “In the event someone had good reason for seeking out the spear, he needed to give them a way to find it.”
“She’s right,” said Jason. “The legend of the spear says that whoever possesses it controls the destiny of mankind, either for good or for evil. Horn believed there would come a time when humanity would need the spear.”
Jason held up the tablet and walked over to the table, sitting down as he propped it up on the case’s built-in stand. “But there is something else you both need to see. Photos taken in the aftermath of the attack.” He gave Elisa a concerned look. “They’re a little hard to look at, but I think it could be important.”
“It’s okay,” she said.
Jason brought up the photos. He slid past them one by one. Elisa cringed as she looked at the sight of the dead bodies and piles of ash. The ruined fences. The mangled weaponry and vehicles. But then there was one photo that showed a bunch of withered husks in army uniforms. They looked almost mummified.
“Hold on,” she said, pointing at that image. “What happened here?”
“That’s the odd thing,” said Jason. “That picture was taken a few miles away from the Depository, at a bunker used as an escape for people who are trapped inside the vault. Soldiers got an alert that there was movement and went to confront the intruders. They were all killed.”
“It’s different from the ones at the Depository,” said Elisa.
Asami sat up and leaned over the table to look at the photos. Elisa compared them side-by-side for her partner to see. Asami reached a hand to her head and scratched beneath her fedora. “Looks like they were drained.”
“That’s exactly what happened. Preliminary tests on the corpses says these soldiers died of extremely old age, but not one was over thirty-five. And none of the other corpses—at least the ones that weren’t vaporized—had this happen,” said Jason. “Up until now, we’ve seen the Thules use vril energy in a purely destructive manner. They just break or blow up anything in their way. But these were drained of their life force when Himmler was making his escape. So why the difference?”
Elisa brushed her hair behind her ear, her eyes fixed on the ground as she tried to think. “That resurrection spell you found in the Thule book, did it say anything about the energy needed to complete it?”
Jason scanned the table, trying to find the grimoire from Station 211 amongst all the other volumes they had spread out. When he did, he flipped open to the page and slid it over to Elisa. “Yeah, here.”
Elisa sat beside him and ran her finger over the text. “If I’m translating this correctly, then it says something about waning life force.”
“What’s that mean?” asked Asami.
“It means to restore a person’s life, you need to replenish the depleted life force,” said Elisa. “But because the body has already died a natural death, that energy depletes far faster than a living person’s does.”
“And with all the vril magic they’ve been using, Himmler’s been burning the candle at both ends,” said Jason. “But how come he didn’t drain anyone’s life force before he got his hands on the spear?”
“Maybe he needs the spear to focus his power,” said Asami. “Or maybe the spear needs energy to operate on its own. It’s one of the principles of magic—nothing is free. Every cause has an effect.”
“That would be the trade-off for immortality,” said Elisa. “Sure, you can live forever. But only so long as you keep up the supply of energy.”
“There’s also the matter of this ritual,” said Elisa. “What exactly are they trying to do? Wade mentioned something about genocide, does the book say anything about that?”
“Actually yeah, there is something,” said Jason. “Mention of raising Atlantis.”
“That could be catastrophic,” said Elisa. “It would cause the plates to shift, water to displace. We could be looking at earthquakes and flooding all along the European, American, and African coasts.”
“For starters,” said Jason. “But the amount of power needed is pretty vast. They’ll need a pretty big sacrifice.”
“Do we know where the ritual would be taking place?” asked Elisa.
Jason shook his head. “The book doesn’t say any
thing about a location, which means it could probably be done anywhere.”
“Right, but they already started it,” said Asami. “Isn’t that what Wade said?”
Elisa nodded. “It was disrupted.”
“Then if the ritual began in a location, it needs to be finished in that same place,” said Asami. “They’ve already started to open the gate. They can’t open another before closing the first.”
“So we need to look at places that were significant to the Nazis and the Thule Society. Or more specifically, to Himmler himself.” Jason stood from his chair and started to walk towards the bookshelves.
“That won’t be necessary,” said Elisa.
Jason paused and turned to look at her with a frown. “Not necessary? Elisa, we’re talking about the fate of millions of people.”
“It’s not necessary because I know where Himmler is going,” said Elisa. “Wewelsburg Castle.
“Did you say ‘Devilsburg?’” asked Asami
“No, Wewelsburg,” said Elisa. “It’s a Renaissance castle in Germany. The Nazis acquired it in the thirties and Himmler envisioned it as becoming a kind of Nordic academy. He wanted to make Wewelsburg the new center of the world. There were even some facilities constructed that have occult implications.”
“That must be where the ritual began,” said Jason.
Elisa nodded. “Exactly. That’s where Himmler’s going, I’m sure of it.”
“Okay, so we know the where,” said Asami. “Now we just gotta figure out the how. As in, how the hell are we gonna stand up to an occult army with enough destructive magic to break into Fort Knox?”
“That’s something else I’ve been looking into,” said Jason. “Or I should say, I’ve had some help with.”
“Oh no…” muttered Elisa. “What help?”
Jason picked up the tablet and made a few gestures, switching to another application. When he set it back on the table, Elisa and Asami found themselves staring into the round, smiling face of the man they knew as Wade.
“Hello ladies, so good to see you again,” he said.
“You’ve gotta be kidding!” said Asami.
“Desperate times, Asami,” said Jason. “You’ve both been in situations like this before, you know we have to take whatever we can get.”
Elisa huffed and let her head drop. She shut her eyes for a moment. Wade had been a problem for her for years and she wasn’t sure if she could stomach his help. But she also knew that she had to swallow her pride if she was going to have any hope of finding a way to defeat Himmler. She finally raised her head and opened her eyes, staring angrily at Wade.
“Okay, tell me you have something of value for us,” she said.
“Vril is powerful, but not omnipotent. At the end of the day, it’s simply another form of magic,” said Wade. “And like all magic, it can be resisted or even countered.”
“Cause and effect, like I said,” said Asami.
“And right you are, my dear,” said Wade. “All magic can be countered or resisted, provided you have the proper materials.”
“And what materials are those?” asked Elisa.
“Vril is based on belief. In order to provide a suitable counter to it, you must have an object that is the symbol of your own faith,” said Wade.
Asami and Elisa both looked at each other and then glanced away nervously. Jason watched their actions with a raised eyebrow, confused at what was going on.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Belief isn’t exactly something we’re stocked up on,” said Asami. “I’m a centuries-old spirit who was basically exiled by her people.”
“I’ve never really believed in much myself,” said Elisa.
Jason scoffed. “You’re kidding. You two go up against gods and monsters for a living! How can you possibly be atheists?”
“The two aren’t related,” said Elisa. “Everything we encounter, yes it’s strange and yes it’s difficult to explain. But that was once true of thunderstorms. Just because I know these things exist doesn’t mean I believe it’s the result of some sort of god.”
Jason sighed. “Well fortunately for you, one of the requirements to become a Freemason is belief in a supreme being. Every one of the people who works with me has some belief. We can help provide some resistance to the Thules. Lord knows we’ve got enough artifacts to do the job.”
“How come you guys didn’t fare so well against them in Antarctica then?” asked Asami.
“You’ve seen our uniforms, they’re unmarked. That must have something to do with the effect of the vril,” said Jason. “We’ll be dressed appropriately this time. But that means we can only do so much. You’ll still have to face Himmler. And without any kind of belief, you do know that means you’ll be vulnerable.”
Elisa looked at Asami, who nodded, and Elisa then faced Jason. “We’ll see about that.”
CHAPTER 12
The massive plane hovered high above the northeast area of the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. Elisa looked at the contingent of soldiers the Freemasons had managed to assemble in such a short period of time. All of them wore paramilitary gear, with one stark difference—each soldier wore some symbol of their religious faith. She saw a number of Christian crosses, Jewish Stars of David, pendants bearing the star and crescent of Islam, the yin-yang of Taoism, the Aum of Hinduism, the nine-pointed star of Baha’i, and many others.
She had to admit she felt somewhat impressed by the multi-faith collection of warriors the Freemasons had gathered. Their reach had truly grown to global lengths and went far beyond the Templars that their organization grew out of centuries earlier.
“We’re approaching Wewelsburg,” said Jason. Elisa looked at him and the large, gold cross hanging around his neck. Jason noticed her stare and commented on it. “I’ve got another one. Just in case you’d feel safer with it.”
Elisa gave a half-hearted smile and reached behind her back, drawing one of the kukri. She twirled it in her hand and held it up for him to see. “This is the only thing I need to have faith in.”
“I’m not so sure that will cut it,” said Jason.
“It’s all we’ve got.” Elisa sheathed the blade. She checked her parachute again for what felt like the umpteenth time. Her belt held a pouch containing shuriken and strapped to her leg was an Egyptian curved sword called a khopesh.
“Not all,” said Asami. “You’ve got me, too. If you gotta have faith, might as well have it in your supernatural bodyguard, huh?”
Elisa’s eyes tightened on Asami, but she still managed a grin. “You’re not my bodyguard.”
Asami reached out pinched Elisa’s cheek. “Isn’t she cute when she’s all assertive?”
Elisa swatted her partner’s hand away from her face, a smile still on her face. “Cut it out! This is serious.”
“We know that the North Tower of the castle is where the Obergruppenführersaal and the Gruft are located,” said Jason. “My men will parachute in around different points of the castle, try and keep the Thules distracted enough for us to get inside. But once we’re there, it’ll be up to you to figure out just how we can stop Himmler from using the spear.”
“With Jesus boy on our side, they won’t stand a chance,” said Asami.
Jason scoffed and rolled his eyes. “We’re not exactly sure how well this defense will work against the vril. Remember that the information does come from Wade.”
“It’s all we’ve got to go on, but don’t rely on it as a given,” said Elisa.
“We’re approaching the first drop zone,” came the voice of the pilot over the plane’s intercom.
The soldiers moved into position as the plane’s rear hatch opened, revealing the clouds speeding past them. The soldiers wasted no time running and diving from the hatch, flying like bullets to the ground below. Elisa watched from the windows as they descended, pulling their chutes at the right moment.
“We’re up next,” said Jason. He pulled the goggles from his forehead down over
his eyes. “All set?”
Elisa readied her goggles as well and nodded. She looked over at Asami, who just tipped her hat.
“No time like the present, huh?” With that, Asami ran down the ramp and sprung off into the sky.
Jason stared at the spot where the kitsune had jumped from, a look of confusion on his face. “Was she wearing a chute?”
“You know, I wasn’t paying attention,” said Elisa, flashing him a smirk. “C’mon!”
Her and Jason ran to the ramp next, jumping off and flying out into the night sky. Elisa dove head-first through the clouds, bringing her arms and legs together. She flew like a bullet. Her goggles had night-vision capabilities, which was now active. And she could see the triangular shape of Wewelsburg Castle with the round North Tower that was her destination. Flashes of light went off around the castle, meaning that the Freemasons and the Thule Society had already begun the battle without them.
The castle had an inner courtyard and it was there that they planned to breach. There was an access point to the North Tower from that courtyard, and as it was inside the castle walls, Jason had theorized that it wouldn’t be as fortified as the outer perimeter.
Wewelsburg grew larger at an alarming speed. Elisa flipped in the air and pulled the ripcord. Her parachute exploded out of the pack and she held the risers to control and guide her descent. She saw bright flashes of light against the dark background and heard the sound of gunfire.
Then she realized she was plummeting fast. Elisa looked up at her chute and saw it was lined with holes.
The ground approached rapidly. Elisa tried to look for something to catch herself on, stop her fall. But nothing was high enough. The only hope was the pointed roofs of the southern towers. If she could maneuver herself into position…
Elisa swung with all her might, trying to redirect her descent. She moved away from the target and towards the southeastern tower. Elisa grabbed the parachute and tried to use it as a rope to catch around the tower’s peak.
The parachute fell into position and the sudden stop halted her descent, but also caused some pain as her back struck the stone surface. She groaned and grimaced, but didn’t waste time. Elisa looked up and saw Jason’s chute fall into the target area. Nothing she could do now but get back there.
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