Jason flipped through dusty old log books, careful as he turned the old pages. “Dates are spaced pretty far apart. Guess these guys were more or less on their own down here.” He looked up from the book and saw Asami staring at a large banner that hung from the ceiling, reaching all the way down to the floor. The swastika was emblazoned over its crimson surface.
“What do you think they were doing down here?” she asked.
He set down the book and approached her. “My guess is this place was intended to be a last refuge for the Nazi high command. The records of Highjump—sparse as they are—indicate that they didn’t face a whole lot of resistance down here.”
Jason stepped up beside Asami and looked at her from the side. He found himself staring at her eyes, studying her features. There was something in her face that he found curious.
“How old are you?”
Asami’s head flinched back as she looked at him, blinking a few times. “Excuse me? Didn’t your mother ever tell you it’s not polite to ask a woman her age?”
“I mean that you’re a yokai. Means you’re pretty long-lived, right?”
She folded her arms and scrunched her brows together. “What are you getting at, boy scout?”
“I’m asking if you were alive during the war.”
“Oh, yeah,” she said. “Discovered my abilities during the occupation, in fact. Why?”
“Well, just given all this talk of the Thule Society and the Nazis involved in the occult, it makes you wonder if the rest of the Axis Powers were involved in anything similar.”
Asami shrugged. “Hell if I know. I didn’t give a damn about the emperor or the war. I was just concerned with survival. Most people back then were.”
“I see.” Jason turned from the banner and looked at the maps spread out over the table, examining the figurines that were used to represent military units.
“Since we’re apparently in bonding mode, let me ask you something.” Asami hopped up on the table and sat on the map.
“Hey, that thing’s over seventy years old!” he exclaimed, holding up his hands in annoyance.
Asami rolled her eyes. “Oh please, it’ll be fine.”
Jason huffed and folded his arms. “Okay, what do you want?”
“Just curious about what your intentions are for my girl.”
“Seriously?” Jason began to laugh. But the chuckle ended quickly when he saw Asami’s eyes narrowed at him. Jason cleared his throat. “Guess you are.”
“She’s my responsibility, y’know.”
“Elisa’s one of the most intelligent, resourceful myth hunters on the planet,” said Jason. “We both know what she’s capable of. And frankly, we could use someone like her working for us.”
“Is that all?”
“No, not all of it. She’s also got this kitsune who follows her around everywhere she goes. And I hear they can be pretty handy in a fight.”
Asami scoffed. “Trying to flatter me?”
“I just tell it like it is,” said Jason. “But more than that, Elisa has a connection.”
“Oh please, don’t tell me you’re going to try and get all rom-com on me—”
“With the Freemasons, not with me,” said Jason. “We were the ones who paired up Horn with her grandfather. He worked for us.”
Asami sighed and slid off the table. “Don’t recall that in your briefing.”
“I didn’t want Elisa to think she had some kind of obligation to join us.” Jason heard a call come over his radio and he answered it. “Shroud here.”
“Agent Shroud, we’ve found something you might want to see.”
“We’re on our way,” said Jason. He looked at Asami. “Guess that’s the end of our little chat.”
She watched him head towards the room’s exit and muttered, “For now.”
They walked through the halls of 211, finding the man who summoned them. When they reached the room, they found the man in a small library staring at an old, leather-bound book resting on a podium. And on the wall hung a portrait of one of the most despicable men the world had ever known.
“Heinrich Himmler,” said Jason. “Thank god he’s dead. He was one of the Thule Society’s most powerful members.”
“What’s that there?” asked Asami, gesturing to the book.
“I’m not really sure, ma’am,” said the soldier.
“Let me see it.” Jason took it from his man and began turning pages, scanning the German text. “This is certainly interesting…” he said.
“You know German?” asked Asami.
“And a few other languages,” said Jason, still turning the pages. “All part of a well-rounded Freemason education.”
He paused, stumbling over one of the words. Jason re-read it a few times, mouthing it silently.
“Guess someone didn’t pay attention in class,” said Asami with a bemused smile.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just…” Jason looked up from the page. “This talks about vril.”
“What’s that?” asked Asami.
“Something that could cause us a lot of problems if this text is accurate.”
***
After being sure that the base was clear, the Freemasons had set up Elisa and Wade in one of the smaller meeting rooms. Wade was chained to a chair and Elisa stood over him, tapping a kukri against her thigh. Dim lighting was provided by a bulb that hung overhead.
“Well, isn’t this cozy?” she said. “Not the first time we’ve been in a situation like this. Only back then, I was the one in chains.”
Wade snickered. “Are you going to try and intimidate me, Miss Hill? You should know that I don’t scare very easily. And I’m fairly certain that you wouldn’t go anywhere near as far as I would in an interrogation.”
Elisa jammed the kukri into Wade’s thigh and he screamed. She leaned against the wall and folded her arms. “Don’t be so sure. I used to run with Lucas Davalos. Learned a few things from him.”
“P-point taken,” said Wade, staring up at her. He gritted his teeth, sweat beading up on his forehead. “Why does it burn so much?”
Elisa blinked a few times in an exaggerated fashion. “Oh gee, I’m not sure. I mean, I just cleaned it.” She bit her fingernail and then gave an embarrassed giggle. “Oh shucks, I must have mixed up the cleaner with toxin again. I should really pay more attention to the labels.”
She forcefully pulled the kukri from his thigh and wiped the blood from the blade’s surface. After sheathing the blade behind her back, Elisa reached into her pocket and removed a small vial.
“Antidote. If you tell me what I want to know.”
“F-fine,” said Wade, his breathing growing heavier.
“Otto Eckart,” said Elisa. “Who is he?”
“Grandson of Dietrich Eckart,” said Wade. “And he’s continued the family tradition, with plans to bring the Thule Society out of the shadows.”
“The Thule Society was supposedly destroyed in the wake of the war.”
Wade turned his head from side to side in a gesture. “Look around you. What do you think this place was intended for?”
“You said you were trying to keep the spear away from someone. Was that Eckart?”
Wade nodded.
“Why? Can’t stand having some evil competition?”
“Because the Thules are our enemy.” His head fell, eyelids growing heavy. “If you want to know more…might want to hurry with that antidote…”
Elisa stepped closer and held Wade’s head back. With her thumb, she popped off the plastic top from the vial and poured the liquid contents into his open mouth. She stepped back and Wade began coughing fiercely. After a moment or two, his body relaxed and he took a deep breath, looking up at her with a smile.
“Thank you.”
“The Thules. What are they to you?” she asked.
“In Lemuria, you saw statues, correct? Of reptilian humanoids?”
Elisa recalled what Wade referred to. When she made her journey to the lost continent
of Lemuria, she did indeed find those statues. She wished she had more time to explore the continent and the mysterious capital city but it didn’t quite work out that way. “What about them?”
“Those were statues of the Naa’cal.”
“The inhabitants of Lemuria, mankind’s ancestors.”
“One of them,” said Wade.
Elisa raised her brow and leaned against the wall again. “What do you mean?”
“Mankind sprang from root races,” said Wade. “Powerful beings of vast intelligence and strength, armed with knowledge of the esoteric arts. Before man, this world was dominated by two powerful civilizations. One was Lemuria, ruled over by the Naa’cal.”
“And the other?”
“Atlantis, ruled by the Aryans,” said Wade. “Whereas the Naa’cal were more demonic in appearance, the Aryans were more angelic. Beautiful, flawless. On the outside, at least. But inside, they were twisted and evil.”
“Angelic and demonic?”
Wade nodded. “You see where I’m going with this?”
“You’re saying Judeo-Christian legends of the war in Heaven, the concepts of angels and demons, they come from the Aryans and the Naa’cal.”
“That’s our theory,” said Wade. “And like the Naa’cal, the Aryans still exist in some form today. The Order is dedicated to restoring the former glory of Lemuria. And the Thule Society, they’re our Atlantean counterpart.”
Elisa blinked a few times and shook her head, trying to process all this new information. “That’s why you were after Lemuria, too.”
“The war between the Order and the Thules has been at a stalemate for decades,” said Wade. “But now the time is right for the Spear of Destiny to turn the tide.”
“Why the sudden renewed interest?” asked Elisa. “The spear has been missing for almost seventy years. If this weapon is so important to both sides, why wait until now to find it?”
“There’s a prophecy. Says that the spear will vanish during a time of great turmoil only to one day rise again after the gates of Lemuria have been opened.”
Elisa’s chin dropped to her chest, her eyes taking on a blank look. “You mean to say…?”
“That’s right, Elisa.” Wade tilted his head back, his lips twisting into a playful grin. “If not for your attempts to seek out Lemuria, the Thule Society would have remained dormant.”
Elisa furtively shook her head. “No.” She pointed at Wade. “You were looking for Lemuria, too!”
“In point of fact, we were trying to stop you,” said Wade. “The only reason we sent you and Davalos to Yonaguni was because Seth got involved and we had to contain the situation before more damage could be done.”
Elisa turned to the wall and slammed her fist against the surface. Years spent searching for Lemuria, years her parents spent searching for it. And after all this time, now she learned that one of the greatest discoveries of her career could well be the thing that will bring about the rise of a great evil.
“What will Eckart do if he gets his hands on the spear?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder through strands of hair that covered her face.
“Once someone takes possession of the Spear of Destiny, there is only one thing that can stop them,” he said. “The spear itself.”
“And if he’s not stopped?”
“Then he will use it to conquer the world, continue the work his ancestors began during the war,” said Wade. “The Aryans weren’t ones for sharing this planet. Eckart and the Thule Society seek nothing less than genocide on a global level. A sacrifice to increase their power.”
CHAPTER 5
After departing from Station 211, the Haunebu returned to the Himalayas. In the decades since the attack on this base by Walter Horn and Kenneth Hill, the Thule Society had managed to rebuild Agharti. And now they returned home, the Haunebu lowering itself into a valley. The ground opened below the craft, allowing them to lower into a massive, underground hangar.
Otto Eckart emerged from the Haunebu, walking down the ramp, followed by Jaeger. Eckart removed his goggles and the heavy, winter coat. Beneath the gear, he had sand-colored hair, soft blue eyes, and a graying beard. Jaeger was bald, with the Nazi Reichsadler eagle tattooed over his face, his eyes nestled in its black wings.
“The time has come, Jaeger,” said Eckart. “We have the journals of that traitorous Horn. Soon, we will discover the location of the spear and then everything will be in place to complete the ritual.”
“Does this mean…” said Jaeger, pausing for a moment. “Is it time for his return?”
Eckart smiled and nodded. He walked through the base, past the Thule soldiers who held out their arms in salute. Jaeger followed him down the corridors, the two men walking deeper into the bowels of Agharti.
“What of our enemies?” asked Jaeger.
“Wade is in the hands of the Freemasons now and I doubt they will consider him a reliable source,” said Eckart.
“And the Freemasons? It’s because of their meddling that the spear was taken from us in the first place.”
“Very true, and they no doubt have copies of Horn’s journal,” said Eckart. “However, Horn would not have trusted anyone with the true location. They will have to use the journal to decipher its resting place. But we have someone else who can show the way.”
Eckart stopped in front of a door and banged a few times. When it was opened, he and Jaeger stepped inside a large, round room constructed of stone. Cloaked men stood around in a circle. In the center of them was the Sonnenrad or Black Sun, a mural painted on the ground. It consisted of a large circle with a smaller one in the middle and zig-zagging lines emanating from the center point. Hanging above the symbol from the ceiling was a small holder with a flame lit in the center. Eckart gave a nod to indicate his approval of the set-up.
“Very good. It’s time. Bring him out.”
Jaeger moved to another part of the room and raised the lid on a large, pine box. He reached inside, gently cradling the wrapped corpse in his massive arms and carried it slowly to the circle. The cloaked men parted, allowing him a path to enter. Jaeger lowered himself to his knees and gently set the body in the center of the mural. He stood and backed out of the circle, allowing the cloaked men to close ranks.
“Begin,” said Eckart.
The men in the cloaks began chanting in unison, uttering phrases in a dead Aryan language. They called upon the Atlantean magicks of their ancestors, moving their arms in concerted patterns as they uttered the forbidden phrases.
A chill blew through the room. Jaeger could feel the peach-fuzz on his body standing on end and he cast a nervous glance to his leader. But the Thule patriarch just had a maniacal gleam in his eyes and a wide smile on his face. It seemed almost as if he was deriving a kind of sexual excitement from the proceedings.
The flame above the body flared up as if oil had been thrown onto it. It happened again and again. Jaeger fixed his eyes on the fire, watching as the color changed. It went from red and yellow before changing to blue. And then green.
But the flame continued to change, now darkening. The fire turned black, yet still moved as normal. Jaeger heard something coming from the floor and looked to the body in the center of the mural.
He saw it twitching.
The chanting grew in intensity, the voices becoming louder. The body jerked with each flare of the black flame. The corpse pulled its arms free. And then the legs. Wrappings fell from the fingers and Jaeger could see the decayed digits gripping at the rest of the bindings. The corpse tore at them, kicking its legs the whole time like it was trying to stop itself from suffocating.
The bandages were ripped from the head and Jaeger tried to maintain his calm as he saw the skull staring back at him, but with glowing red eyes in the empty sockets. The body slowly rose, first moving into a crouched position.
As the chanting continued, the body stood taller. Rising up to its feet, legs and back straight. It tore the remaining bandages away and as it did, tissue grew around the b
ones and decayed flesh. New muscles and skin formed, starting from the feet and moving all the way up to the head.
Once the skin had completed, hair appeared atop the head as well as a mustache. The lids opened and cold eyes stared back at them. The chanting subsided, descending until it faded into the background. The cloaked men backed away in unison from the circle and the man who now stood in the center. The flame above his head had returned to its normal color before it died out completely.
Jaeger took a cloak and approached the man in the center. He knelt before him and held out the garment. The man took it from him and draped it over his naked body. Eckart stepped forward next and knelt beside Jaeger.
The resurrected being looked around the room. “Where am I?”
“You are in Agharti, the hidden city,” said Eckart.
“What of Wewelsburg?”
“It…is no longer our domain, I’m afraid to say.”
The man grunted. “How long has it been?”
“Almost seventy years,” said Eckart, rising up to his feet. “Lemuria has been opened. We have the means to locate the Spear of Destiny. But we require you, who began the ritual so long ago.”
“So it seems,” said the man. “Then we must begin immediately. Time is of the essence.”
“Indeed,” said Eckart. “Welcome back to this world, Reichsführer Himmler.”
CHAPTER 6
Jason and Asami met back up with Elisa in one of the planning rooms of Station 211. It consisted of a long table with a map of the world displayed on the wall behind them as well as Nazi banners hanging from the ceilings. Jason set down the volume he’d taken from the library.
“My men have been over this base several times, no sign of the spear,” said Jason. “I think it’s a safe bet that it was never here to begin with. This place hasn’t been used in decades.”
“Then why did both the Order and the Thule Society come down here?” asked Asami. “With Wade, we know he was just going by the journal.”
Elisa thought back to the scanned journal pages she’d reviewed with the Curator’s help before they departed for 211. And she recalled the lack of mention of the spear’s resting place. But there was some other information in there, difficult to discern.
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