Atlantis Rising (The Myth Hunter Book 6) Read online

  “What about Elisa and Asami?”

  Connelly waved a dismissive hand. “Let them run off on their own. They’re not our concern at the moment. Ensuring that the Order can’t learn how to raise Atlantis is our priority.”

  “I understand, sir. I’ll take care of it.” Jason paused and rubbed his chin. “I just have one question, if you don’t mind.”

  Connelly nodded for Jason to continue.

  “You could have told me all of this through an intermediary or by phone or email. Why did you want me to come here in person?”

  The Grand Master took a few final puffs of his cigar and them stomped it out in the ashtray. Another sip of his martini and then he elaborated. “Because I felt that with all the work you’ve done for us, you’ve earned a face-to-face meeting. You’ve served the cause well, son. You’re going to go far in our organization. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be sitting in this chair.”

  Jason looked down, an embarrassed smile crossing his face. He composed himself and stood. “I should probably begin preparations for the job.”

  Connelly gave a nod. “Thank you for all your work, Jason.”

  “It’s been an honor and a privilege, Mr. Connelly.”

  The Grand Master rose from his seat as well and offered his hand. Jason shook it and then left the den. Once he was gone, Connelly sat back down, picked up his phone, and dialed a number.

  “It’s me. Has she been contained?” Connelly waited until he heard confirmation and he grinned. “Excellent. Make sure she stays there.”

  He hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. Elisa Hill wouldn’t complicate matters, now the only concern was the kitsune. And Connelly would see to it that she’d face opposition once arriving in London.

  Soon, the Order would be finished.

  CHAPTER 8

  Elisa was seated at a table and across from her was a security guard whose name-tag identified him as Singh. She’d just gotten done explaining her story, how she was attacked and then chased through the airport. Singh remained mostly quiet and just listened to her story. After she finished, Singh had left her alone in the room and Elisa’s eyes drifted to the clock on the wall.

  She’d missed her flight. And as long as airport security still held her possessions, no way to call Asami and let her know what the situation was. Or to call Jason and have him use his Freemason contacts to get her out of here.

  A few minutes passed before Singh returned and sat across from her once more. “I have a few questions for you, Ms. Hill.”

  She sighed. “You know I’ve now missed my flight, right?”

  “Once we’ve finished here, we’ll see to it you get on another. Now…” Singh flipped through his notes and looked up at her. “You said that you didn’t know the people who attacked you?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “The curious part is that we have witnesses who say they saw this first man simply approach and talk to you. Then it was you who threw hot coffee on him.”

  “He threatened me.”

  “No one seems to have heard this threat. But from everything we’ve heard, you threw your coffee on his face, punched him, and ran. In every instance here, it seems you made the first attack.”

  Elisa drew in a sharp breath. Singh was right, of course—she did throw the first punch. That certainly didn’t help her case. But she knew the Order was after her and she couldn’t risk getting overwhelmed by them. It was a gambit that unfortunately did not pay off.

  “Whether or not anyone else heard the threat isn’t really my problem. I feared for my life, okay? I did what I had to do.”

  “Were you aware that CBEC has a file on you?” The Central Board of Excise and Custom, India’s own customs agency. “A few years ago, you brought some weapons into the country.”

  “Artifacts.”

  “Right. Artifacts.”

  “And I was cleared. It was a simple misunderstanding.”

  “I read that, too. Once we detained you, we pulled your luggage from your flight and discovered weapons in there.”

  “Artifacts.”

  Singh scoffed. “Of course, my mistake.”

  Elisa leaned forward and folded her hands together on the table’s surface. “What’s this about, Officer? Am I being charged with a crime?”

  “By us? No.”

  The door opened and three white men in dark suits and sunglasses entered. They closed the door and lined up behind Singh’s chair, standing at attention. The one in the center was bald while the one on the right had brown hair and the left sported blond.

  “But these men are from your State Department, and they’d like to have a word with you.”

  Elisa looked up at the three men. She never figured the Order had that kind of clout. Sure, they were able to get her detained by customs a few years ago, but this seemed beyond them. Singh stood and shook the hand of one of the agents.

  “Thank you for your cooperation, said the agent. “We’ll take over from here.”

  “Of course.” Singh gave Elisa a parting glance. “She’s your citizen, after all.”

  He left the room and Elisa started to rise from the chair. Two of the agents approached from either side of the table and as one of them moved, she saw a brief flash of metal beneath his jacket, stark against his white shirt. He was armed—which meant all three of them likely were.

  “Come with us quietly, Elisa,” said the agent standing across from her. “Don’t cause any trouble. We’re friends.”

  “My friends don’t usually approach with guns.” Then Elisa got a glimpse of the ring the agent in charge wore. It was gold and large with a clear insignia—a G with a square and compass surrounding it. She released a sigh of relief. “Jesus, why didn’t you guys say something? Jason sent you?”

  The lead agent smiled. “That’s correct, Agent Shroud. My name is Thane. This is Smith and McBride.”

  The two subordinates flanked her and walked her out the room, with the lead agent following. They moved through the airport and out towards the parking lot where a black SUV was waiting, the driver keeping the engine running. The blond, Smith, opened the back door and stood beside it.

  “Go on,” said the Thane.

  “Why are we leaving the airport?” asked Elisa. “I’m supposed to get to London.”

  “I’m afraid you won’t be going to London today.”

  Elisa took a step back, but McBride grabbed her wrist. She looked into his sunglass-covered eyes and then at Thane. “Shroud didn’t send you, did he?”

  “You’re becoming a liability to our organization, Ms. Hill. We can’t risk you inadvertently aiding the Order.”

  Smith closed the door and reached inside his jacket. At that, Elisa kicked fiercely at McBride’s shin. He grunted and released her. Elisa grabbed McBride’s arm and swung him into Thane. Smith was distracted at first, but now drew his weapon.

  Elisa kicked his arm, slamming it against the side of the SUV and his gun slipped from his grip. The myth hunter rolled across the distance and picked up the weapon, ending in a crouch with the gun aimed.

  Thane pushed McBride off him and stood, and McBride got up to his feet as well, although his leg still obviously in pain. Elisa held the gun trained on the three of them. “I take it you’ve got my luggage?”

  Thane nodded. “In the back.”

  “Good. Here’s how it’s gonna go down. Beavis and Butt-Head stay here. Thane, you come with me. You’re going to arrange for a private plane to take me to London right now.”

  Thane chuckled. “I think you’re forgetting something.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “The driver.”

  The roar of the engine made Elisa jump. The SUV reversed towards her suddenly. She jumped onto the back of the car, still holding the gun and gripping onto one of the racks on the roof. The car stopped and she had to hold on to keep from falling off.

  Elisa dropped from the back just as Thane and McBride drew their guns and opened fire. Another bullet then
shot through the window, from the driver. She dropped to the ground and rolled under the vehicle. The car was still running, so that meant she could get out of here. She waited, watching as the driver got out the front and circled around the car towards the back with the other operatives.

  Rolling out, Elisa climbed into the driver’s seat, shifted into reverse, and backed up. The SUV slammed into the driver and Smith, throwing them back. Elisa shifted into gear and then stomped on the accelerator. Thane and McBride fired after her and she kept her head low to avoid the shots.

  Elisa pulled a sharp turn, the tires screeching and smoking. Hitting the gas again, she raced through the parking garage. No doubt reinforcements would be on their way, if they weren’t already waiting for her.

  She came to the exit of the parking garage and saw two police cars already waiting. They were both angled towards the entrance. Elisa sped up, slamming right into the hoods. The officers got out, drawing their weapons. She increased the speed, pushing past them and onto the road as gunfire followed.

  Something wasn’t right here. Why would Jason suddenly turn on her like that? If he had reason to keep her off this job, wouldn’t he call her about it? Try and reason with her?

  It seemed likely these were Freemasons. But what did that mean for the people who approached her in the airport? Were they really with the Order and if so, why did they want to speak to her as they said?

  Elisa continued driving. The car no doubt had GPS tracking and she couldn’t stay in it long. She ditched it as soon as she could and went to the back. Just as Thane had said, they took her luggage from the flight. Carrying around two bags was a luxury she couldn’t afford, so she restricted herself to the necessities: phone, passport, wallet, and her pouch-belt with the twin kukri sheathed at the back.

  Heading off from the car, she took out her phone and made a call to Laki, explaining the whole situation. Elisa told her that she needed Laki to find a way to arrange for a private charter flight to London, use whatever contacts she had to make it happen. Laki said she would get right on it and to stand by for her call.

  The next call was to Asami. After Elisa explained the situation, her partner’s anger was palpable. “That back-stabbing, rat-bastard sonnuva bitch!” she cursed.

  “Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. I think there’s more going on here,” said Elisa. “That’s why I’ve got a job for you…”

  CHAPTER 9

  Asami swerved in and out of traffic on the drive from Heathrow Airport. She had her right hand on the wheel and her left held a phone to her ear, once more trying to call Jason. But once more, she only heard his voicemail greeting. Grunting, she tossed the phone on the passenger seat and accelerated.

  “You better not be avoiding my calls ’cause I’ve been avoiding yours…” she muttered.

  Elisa said she’d been approached by the Order and then later detained by the Freemasons. It seemed completely backwards and Asami had resisted the urge to say, “I told you so.” Back when they first encountered the Freemasons, Asami warned Elisa that they couldn’t be trusted.

  Over time, Jason seemed to have proven them wrong. Now it just felt like a long con. And Asami knew all about those.

  While Elisa worked on a way to get out of India under the Freemasons’ nose, Asami had a mission of her own—follow Max’s trail, see what he was investigating, and if possible, find out where he went.

  Her rental car sped along the M40, swerving across the three lanes, weaving in and out, her foot almost never lifting off the the gas for more than a few brief moments. The drive to Oxford from Heathrow would take under an hour without traffic—Asami was determined to make that trip even shorter.

  The trip only took about twenty minutes. Asami parked and went to the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology. The head of the school was Professor Garrick Byrne, and it was he who brought Max over for the first part of a lecture tour. When Asami arrived and asked about Byrne, she was told he was in the middle of a lecture and she went to the hall, found an empty seat in the back row, got comfortable, and tipped her fedora over her eyes for a few moments of sleep while she waited for the presentation to end.

  About an hour later, the sound of students shuffling past awoke Asami. She placed her fedora back on her head and stood, moving down the steps to the front of the lecture hall where an old man with a silver beard, thinning hair, and glasses was packing up his things.

  “Professor Byrne?”

  “Yes?”

  “My name’s Asami, I need to ask you a few questions.”

  Byrne waved his hand dismissively. “Contact my assistant or come see me during office hours.”

  “You don’t understand, I’m not a student.” Asami stepped closer. “I’m a friend of Max Finch.”

  Byrne stopped and looked at her—for the first time, actually looking at her. He blinked and removed his glasses, noticing the strange, copper color of her eyes. “What did you say your name was again?”

  “Asami.”

  A sharp intake of breath indicated that he’d heard of her before. “Your Max’s…unique friend, correct?”

  “That’s right. An’ I came a long way to find out what the hell happened to him.”

  Byrne cleared his throat and finished placing his materials in his bag. He pulled the strap over his shoulder and gestured to the exit. “My office, please.”

  Asami allowed Byrne to lead her through the halls until they finally arrived at his office. As Byrne set his bag down against a bookcase, Asami took a seat in front of his desk without waiting to be offered or bothering to ask. Byrne circled around and settled in behind the desk.

  “Can I just say, it’s a true honor to meet…someone of your kind. In all my years of study, I’d never—”

  Asami rolled her eyes. “Can we cut to the chase, Prof? This isn’t a zoo and I’m not sitting in a cage.”

  Byrne bit his bottom lip, a bit of color rising to his pale cheeks. “You’re right, my apologies. You said you wanted to talk about Max?”

  “Yeah, I know he used this lecture tour as a cover for why he was taking time off from Burroughs to come to England. And from what Elisa tells me, you used to work with him back in the day when he was still myth hunting.”

  “That’s a bit generous, I’d say. I was mostly a bookworm, aiding Max and Elisa’s parents with research. Speaking of, can I ask why you came instead of Elisa?”

  “She meant to come, she’s had some…unexpected delays.”

  Byrne raised an eyebrow. “Nothing serious, I hope?”

  “We’ll see. But let’s focus on the issue. What was Max up to and where’s he gone?”

  “He was investigating the Theosophical Society of London, and then he got a call from a former student.”

  “You know who he was?”

  Byrne began searching through drawers on his desk. “I think I wrote something down…” He fumbled around before he finally found a piece of paper that had what he was looking for. “Ah yes, here we are. Russell McCartney. He was apparently overseeing a deep-sea excavation in the Atlantic.”

  The professor handed the document over to Asami and she looked at it, noting the name of the vessel as the Ignatius. Her gaze met Byrne’s once more. “Do you know where he went from London?”

  “As I understand it, he said he was going to go to Morocco.”

  “Thanks for this.” Asami folded the paper and placed it inside her jacket. “What about the Theosophical Society? Anything you can tell me about them?”

  “Do you know much about them?”

  Asami shook her head.

  “It was founded in New York by Madame Blavatsky and other spiritualists back in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Theosophy is basically a collection of mystical and occult philosophies, and theosophists believe hidden, ancient knowledge can lead to salvation.”

  “Knowledge like hidden continents?” asked Asami.

  Byrne gave a nod. “Some very prominent myth hunters in the nineteenth century were the
osophists. Blavatsky based a lot of her writings on discoveries of her myth hunting associates. Much of the esoteric knowledge myth hunters possess today is only because of Blavatsky. Of course, there’s a darker side to her beliefs. Blavatsky was extremely anti-Semitic and her writings on the root races of Atlantis were a massive influence on the Thule Society and, by extension, the Nazi Party.”

  “And they still exist today?”

  “In a variety of different forms. There have been several different organizations that use Blavatsky’s teachings. Max was investigating a place in London called the Brotherhood of the Morning Light. Unfortunately, I don’t know much more about them than that. I’d honestly never heard of them before Max mentioned them to me.”

  “Know anything else that might be able to help me?” asked Asami.

  “These people are very powerful, and potentially very dangerous,” said Byrne. “I heard about what the Thule Society was able to do. Their esoteric knowledge came from the Theosophists, so be very cautious when approaching the Brotherhood.”

  Asami offered a smile and tried not to make it condescending. “I’ll keep that in mind, Prof.” She rose from her seat. “Thanks for the help, we’ll be in touch.”

  Once leaving the office and while en route to the parking lot, Asami took out her phone and called Elisa. “How are things going on your end?”

  “We’re okay for now. Laki managed to secure us a plane and we’re in the air, heading for London. You find anything?”

  “Spoke with that Byrne guy you told me about, he said Max went to Morocco on an invite to a former student’s excavation. Russell McCartney.”

  “Right, that makes sense. Russ must’ve discovered that skeleton Max took a photo of.”

  “And there’s more. Before Max left, he was looking into something called the Brotherhood of the Morning Light. They’re a theosophical organization, maybe they’ve got some intel on what’s going on here.”

  “Any luck reaching Jason?”

  “Nai. He’s still not answering his damn phone. Bakana dansei.”