The Lost Continent

by Percival Constantine

  “What do you mean?”

  “What are you, stoned?” asked Davalos. “The rush of tracking these things down. Of dodging poison-tipped arrows, of wrestling with creatures from other worlds, of knowing that you've seen and done things most people can't even dream of.”

  “Take another right up here.”

  Davalos followed her direction. “I was trained in the military. Did a fair share of freelance jobs for private security firms after that before finding out about this line of work. You don't get the same sense of excitement from gunning down rebel soldiers in third world countries that you get from being a myth hunter.”

  Laki shook her head. “You're pathetic.”

  “Oh am I?” asked Davalos.

  “Yes. You've been privy to all these wonders, things that most people never even know of, and all you care about is how you can profit off it.”

  “Spare me the Good Samaritan routine, I've heard it all before.” Lucas removed the cigarillo and tossed it out the window. “By the way, your new best friend? Elsie wasn't always the 'save the world' type. Hell, back in the day, she had a reputation for being more ruthless than anyone else.”

  “You're full of it,” said Laki.

  “Oh am I?” asked Davalos. “You see those weapons she carries around? To use those things, you've gotta have skill. And my girl's got that in spades. She knows twenty different ways to skin your whole body before you lose consciousness.”

  “And I'm sure you're a reliable source.”

  “Hey, you can believe whatever you want, but I know the truth. I worked with her, we used to be partners. The two of us used to travel the world taking on various jobs for money. Sometimes it was a matter of just simple monster hunting—werewolves, mermen, demons—you'd be surprised how much their organs or skins can fetch in the right places. Other times, it was hunting down priceless artifacts, much like the tablets.”

  “What's next, are you going to tell me she used to work for the Order, too?” asked Laki.

  “Honey, we didn't care who we worked for, we just did our jobs and got our pay,” said Davalos.

  “So if she was so good at this, why did she turn her back on that lifestyle?”

  “She's got her reasons, think she comes up with a new one about once a month or so.”

  “Whatever you say, Lucas.”

  “Suit yourself, babe. But maybe you should do a bit more digging on the people you find yourself working for. Never might know what sort of skeletons they got in their closet.”

  Laki turned an icy stare to him. “And what skeletons are in your closet, Mr. Davalos?”

  Lucas grinned. “None, actually. I'm very proud of the body count I've racked up over the years.”

  “You're sick.”

  “Nah, not really, I just know I'm good at what I do,” said Lucas.

  Laki looked out the window. They had been driving through the countryside for some time now and there was a temple in the distance. Lucas smiled upon setting his eyes on it.

  “Well, well, well, look what we found.” He tossed her a wink. “Guess you're going to make it through this alive after all, Professor.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Once Elisa emerged from the building housing Laki's office, her senses went on high alert. She felt eyes on her and she just knew someone was out there, watching. Elisa's hands went behind her back, slowly drawing the kukri from their sheaths.

  A sound came from the darkness and Elisa's head spun in that direction. But nothing was there. Her gaze moved carefully from side to side, trying to take in every view and find the source of the disturbance.

  “I know you're out here,” she said. “Might as well show yourself, I haven't got all night to stand around.”

  Another rustling. Elisa carefully moved towards the sound and something sprung forth from the night. In the moonlight, Elisa could see it was an animal covered with reddish fur with a white streak and a bushy tail. When it landed again, Elisa saw it was clearly a fox, albeit an extremely large one—not to mention angry. Around its neck was what seemed like a pearl necklace, each of the orbs emitting a soft glow.

  The fox's lips curled up, baring its teeth as it growled. Elisa brought her daggers to the fore, slipping into a defensive stance. The fox jumped from its position, and Elisa had to twist to avoid its claws, which still managed to tear into her jacket. The fox landed and immediately turned around, its feet touching the ground only momentarily to provide a surface to spring from.

  Elisa dropped to the ground herself, sliding along as the fox soared overhead. She used her feet to stop herself and sprung back at the fox, who had just landed and she drove one of the kukri into the fox's back, between its shoulder blades. The fox howled in pain and turned its head, snapping its jaws at the myth hunter. Elisa forced the fox's head down to the ground with her free hand and raised the second kukri, prepared to drive it through the animal's skull.

  “Sorry about this, but it looks like it's come down to you or me, Foxy,” she said.

  The fox seemed to smile and the necklace it wore began to glow even brighter. “It's not over yet,” came a soft, sultry voice and Elisa was blinded as the glow flashed. She pulled away and blinked several times, trying to get some kind of a bead on what happened to the fox. Spots dotted her field of vision and it took a few more blinks before she could see at least a little clearly. The fox stood there, albeit slightly blurred. And then Elisa watched in surprise as the fox padded towards her then slowly rose to its hind legs. As it did, its appearance seemed to change. The fox began to walk more like a human being and less like an animal. The reddish-white fur darkened, the hairs growing shorter.

  By the time Elisa's vision had completely cleared, she saw not a large fox but a beautiful young woman with a narrow face, close-set eyes, thin eyebrows and high cheekbones. Her hair was long and dark, spilling down her shoulders but despite her Asian features, her eyes were more of a copper color. The woman wore a black suit with white pinstripes and a dark red tie. Around her right wrist was a bracelet with white, soft-glowing orbs that resembled the fox's necklace. Her head was topped off with a matching fedora hat and the edges of her lips curled into a slight smile.

  “Just what the hell is this?” asked Elisa.

  The Asian woman's lithe fingers balled into a fist and connected with Elisa's jaw. “It's called a punch.”

  Elisa's head rocked to the side and she struck back with a swift kick striking the nameless woman in the chest. The woman stumbled back and snarled at her opponent and muttered something in another language.

  “Watch your mouth, some of us understand Japanese.” Elisa reached into a pouch on her belt and hurled several shuriken at the woman. “Bitch.”

  The woman weaved through the projectiles. She reached behind her back, pulling free the kukri dagger that had still been lodged in there. Her face contorted in pain as she did. She jumped towards Elisa and let the kukri fly from her fingers. It was too fast and it went into Elisa's shoulder, causing her to grimace.

  “How does that feel?” asked the woman.

  “Okay...maybe we should take a break here,” said Elisa. “I've got a lot of questions that need answering and at the moment, many of them revolve around you.”

  “Funny, I could say the same.”

  “So what do you say, pause on the cat fight?”

  The woman stood upright and crossed her arms over her chest, carefully eyeing the myth hunter with her copper eyes. After a few seconds, she sighed and nodded.

  “Good, but first things first.” Elisa gripped the kukri and pulled it free from her shoulder. “Nngh...much better. Now, just who the hell are you and what's with the Lon Chaney routine?”

  “Asami,” she said. “And the transformation? I've been able to do that since my hundredth birthday.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I'm a yokai, you moron,” said Asami.

  “You mean you're a Japanese spirit?” asked Elisa.

  “Kitsune to be exact,” she said. “And yo
u're a myth hunter, aren't you?”

  “How did you know that?”

  “Those weapons and the fact that you weren't too terribly surprised by the transformation,” said Asami. “I know what you're after and I won't let you get those tablets.”

  “So the Order is now contracting out to monsters, is that it?” asked Elisa. “From what the legends say about kitsune, they're mischievous and crafty but they're not sinister.”

  “You're right, for the most part,” said Asami. “Except you've got one thing backwards, sister—I'm not the one working for the Order, you are.”

  Elisa fixed her crystal eyes on Asami's copper gaze. “Would you mind running that by me one more time? I could've sworn you just said I'm the one working for the Order.”

  “You mean you didn't know?” Asami's face initially had a look of surprise but it quickly shifted to one of slightly perverse amusement. “Oh, now this is just too good for words.”

  “Forgive me but I'm not seeing the funny,” said Elisa. “How about you tell me what the hell is going on here?”

  “You've been played,” said Asami. “Why do you think the Order has allowed you to get this far? The Keystone, the Churchward Tablets—they've been found by you and it's through you that the Order was able to get their hands on them.”

  “But Davalos...”

  “A pawn, just like you. He doesn't know that his real job is just to follow you and steal everything you find. Why else would they entrust a complete idiot with tracking down what the greatest myth hunters in history couldn't find?”

  “You're talking about the Lost Tribe of the Naa'cal,” said Elisa.

  “No, the Naa'cal are just the first piece of the puzzle,” said Asami. “It's not the Naa'cal the Order wants, it's what the Naa'cal left behind.”

  “Which is?”

  “The Naa'cal were composed of the greatest minds to ever walk the Earth, it's why their civilization was deemed too dangerous to exist,” said Asami. “The Naa'cal recorded everything, including their discoveries of evolution and development. They unlocked the secrets of not only science but magic as well. In other words, they left behind the instruction manual to reality and that's something the Order is very interested in reading. But the only place they can begin to search is a place that no longer exists on this plane of existence.”

  “Lemuria,” said Elisa.

  “The homeland of the Naa'cal,” said Asami. “It existed and no, it wasn't destroyed by earthquakes or floods or volcanoes. Simply...moved.”

  “Moved? Where?”

  “Believe me, even if I tried to explain it, you wouldn't understand,” said Asami. “The important thing you need to know is that if the Order gets their hands on those tablets, they'll know the location of the gateway. And with the Keystone already in their possession, they've got just about everything they need to reach Lemuria.”

  “Why are you telling me all this?” asked Elisa. “If you knew all along that I was being used by the Order, then why attack me at all? Why not simply go after Davalos instead of wasting time with me?”

  “Because I already know where Davalos is going and I know he can't reach the tablets without your knowledge,” said Asami. “And also, I wanted to see if you were as good as your reputation says.”

  “And...?”

  Asami shrugged. “To be honest, I'm a little disappointed.” She turned her back to Elisa. “Now let's go, I hate having to rely on a barely-evolved primate, but I suppose I don't have much of a choice.”

  “And how are we going to get there?” asked Elisa. “Laki was my ride and now Davalos has her and her car.”

  Asami walked towards the brush and pulled aside some bushes, revealing a Harley Davidson motorcycle waiting there. She offered a smug grin at her new ally. “Now that I've finished embarrassing you, maybe we could hit the road?”

  CHAPTER 11

  Asami's bike charged through the back roads of India, kicking up dirt and debris in her wake as she revved the vehicle into higher gears. Elisa noticed that despite the speeds they traveled at, Asami's fedora seemed to be firmly lodged in place. She wondered if this meant the form Asami appeared in, including the clothes, were simply illusionary.

  The kitsune took a sharp turn, traveling through an open field. Off in the distance, Elisa could see an old temple coming into view on the edge of the horizon. Asami's bike screeched to a halt and she set down the kickstand before climbing off herself. Elisa slid off the back of the bike, following Asami's gaze up to the top of the temple.

  “What do you think?” asked the yokai.

  “The architecture is strange,” said Elisa. “It's not Buddhist or Hindu, but there are aspects of both mixed in, as well as some others. So what is it I'm actually looking at?”

  “Remains of a Naa'cal temple. Those that know of the Lost Tribe hold their secrets here.”

  “So why has this never been found before?” asked Elisa.

  “Oh it has.” Asami looked at her companion. “Where do you think Churchward saw the tablets?”

  “The high priest he befriended was Naa'cal?”

  “No, just one of the Lemurian acolytes. But we have to be careful from this point on. Churchward was invited here, we weren't.”

  “In other words, knocking won't get us anywhere.” Elisa turned her head at the sound of an engine in the distance. She drew the kukri daggers and Asami's eyes flashed.

  “We've got company.”

  “Davalos,” said Elisa. “At least we beat him here. Quick—” She looked at the spot where Asami stood but found she had vanished. “—hide?”

  Elisa moved behind a statue that stood guard near the entrance. She pushed her back up against it, keeping her breathing steady and prepared to strike with the daggers. She heard the sound of a gun cocking and could tell it was Davalos' Zastava.

  “C'mon, keep moving!” His voice carried towards her, as did the sounds of a woman struggling against him, feet dragging on the ground.

  “Laki...” whispered Elisa. She waited behind the statue, concentrating her hearing on Davalos' steps. As the sound grew, she knew he approached closer to her spot.

  Elisa sprung out and pushed herself between Laki and Davalos. She bent her arm around his outstretched one which held the Zastava. Her body rounded behind his, her left leg sliding between his and when she brought herself with her face to his back, she had a kukri positioned right at the base of his spine.

  “One wrong move and you spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair,” said Elisa. “We understand each other, Lucas?”

  “Oh we're crystal, Elsie.”

  “Good. Laki, grab the gun.”

  As Laki knelt down to pick up the discarded Zastava, Davalos continued the conversation. “Question is, what are we gonna do now?”

  “I could just kill you and find the tablets without worrying about you dogging my steps anymore,” said Elisa. “You never were too good at tracking things down without a guide, Lucas.”

  “You're right about that, but there's something you forgot.”

  “Elisa, you have to let him go,” said Laki.

  Elisa's eyes shot to her friend. “What did you say?”

  “I said let him go.”

  “Why would I do something as stupid as that?” asked Elisa. “Don't tell me you let his slimy charm work you over. What sob story did he tell you? The 'daddy used me as a punching bag' story? Or maybe how the love of his life ran away with his best man?”

  “The one about the thermite strapped to his chest.”

  “The...thermite?” asked Elisa.

  Davalos smiled. “Go on, Professor. Show Miss Elsie what little surprise I've got for her.”

  Laki moved forward cautiously and slowly unzipped the front of Davalos' khaki vest. Sure enough, strapped to his white t-shirt was a row of thermite with lights flashing.

  “The detonator is linked to my heartbeat,” said Davalos. “If I die, it blows.”

  “Then I won't kill you, just break your legs and leave you lying
out here while I get the tablets,” said Elisa.

  “Think I'm that stupid?” asked Davalos. “You leave me out here, I blow the thermite anyway, take this entire place with me.”

  “You're not the suicidal type, Lucas.”

  “You know as well as me what the Order will do if I fuck this up,” said Davalos. “You get your hands on the tablets, my life is forfeit anyway. Might as well take you with me.”

  “Suit yourself.” Elisa stepped back and planted her foot at the spot where the kukri had just been. She shoved Davalos up against the front entrance, his face slamming into the door. “You lead the way.”

  “Little bitch...” muttered Lucas.

  Elisa offered her hand to Laki. “Let me have the gun.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I'm going to dismantle it and leave it out here.”

  “Actually...I think I'd rather hold onto it,” said Laki.

  Elisa gave her a questioning stare and Laki just shrugged. “Look, you've got your weapons and your training. Having the gun just makes me feel a little bit safer, okay? Especially with Davalos here.”

  “Hear that? I get her excited,” he said.

  “Oh shut up.”

  “What's wrong, Elsie? You jealous?” asked Lucas.

  “In your dreams, Scruffy,” said Elisa. “Now open the damn doors already.”

  Davalos pulled the door open, leading into a dark cavern. They stepped inside and Davalos removed a small lighter from his pocket, igniting it to provide some light. Just as he did, however, torches lining the walls of the temple flared to life, illuminating the entrance and revealing a floor made of large stones, some of them colored slightly differently.

  Davalos looked at Elisa. “Did I do that?”

  She scoffed.

  Laki examined one of the torches, raising her glasses up and sniffing them. “There's no oil or anything, no methane build-up, no reason these fires should have lit at all.”

  “Magic.”

  The voice came from the ceiling. All three of them looked up as a fox hopped down with extreme grace and practiced ease. As she moved, she began to transform so that by the time she landed, Asami stood in front of them in her human form.