Free The Lost Continent by Percival Constantine Page A

“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.
    “And who are you?” asked Laki.
    “This is Asami.” Elisa looked at Davalos. “You're not the only one who made a new friend today.”
    “You see the way she changed?” asked Davalos. “You're some sort of shape-shifter, right? Let me guess...skin walker?”
    Asami rolled her copper eyes. “Kitsune.”
    “...right, I knew that.”
    “You said magic lit these fires, how so?” asked Laki.
    “Magic to you anyway. But to the Acolytes of Lemuria, it's a form of science discovered by the Naa'cal.” Asami took point and motioned for the others to follow. “Watch your step, it gets dangerous from here.”
    “Dangerous my perfectly-sculpted ass,” chuckled Davalos. “What's so da—”
    He stepped on a stone that was colored brown instead of gray and it collapsed beneath his weight. Davalos found his body falling into the large gap when a furry, clawed hand reached out and grabbed him by his collar.
    “ That's what's dangerous.” Asami pulled him to safety and dropped him on the ground. Her hand shifted back to its human shape. “Stay off the colored stones.”
    Elisa came up beside Asami. “You should have let him fall.”
    “We may need him later.”
    “For what?”
    “I don't know, but I'd rather keep him alive for nothing than let him die only to find out later we could have used his help.” She tapped Elisa on the forehead. “It's called giving yourself options. You should look into it.”
    “I'm starting to hate you,” said Elisa.
    “Good, then we're even.”
    The four continued moving through the temple and the torches were now spread further apart. When they reached the end, there was almost no light left, just some flickers of flames to show that they had reached a large staircase heading down into the black.
    “So now what?” asked Davalos.
    “We keep going,” said Asami.
    “Hell no, it's pitch-black.”
    “Aww, what's the matter? Are you afraid of the dark?” asked Asami.
    Davalos