The train rumbled down the tracks into the desert lands of Cappadocia, Turkey. The hot sun from above beat down on the metal, warming the inside of the metro like an oven. They must've been on the road for at least three hours now – the sun would be setting soon.
They had moved her from the cabin she'd initially been in and had taken her to another cabin to keep a close eye on her. Of course, she was still handcuffed. God knew they wouldn't want to risk such a powerful person getting free – that could wreak havoc for the entire cause.
Emily Croft scrunched her arms into her body, pinned between two armed mercenaries, wishing she possessed invisibility or teleportation versus elemental manipulation. Then I could get the heck out of here and find Mom and Dad, she thought. The thought of her parents brought tears to her eyes, the idea that she would never see them again once Joachim Karel had enacted this evil plan of rebreeding those Nephilim, or whatever he called them. Emily had always seen Lara Croft and Kurtis Trent as invincible, indestructible even. Now, though, with the very real possibility that she would be murdered once this whole thing was over, she began to feel her confidence and fearlessness seeping away, fading out the window into the desert skies.
Emily cautiously lifted her eyes to glance about. Two mercenaries beside her. Two guarding the door at the back of the room. Two guarding the door at the front of the room. There was no way in hell she could even think of an escape plan – any attempts would only be thwarted, and likely punished. Besides, what good would it do? She would break free – and then what? She very well couldn't jump off the train. She was trapped, and that was it.
Suddenly, Emily jerked forward, nearly falling off her seat. The mercenaries quickly grabbed her by her arms and shoved her back into the seat. Thanks, guys, she thought dryly. Then, they rose from the seat, standing respectfully as the front door opened and Joachim Karel entered. He grinned down at the young girl before him. "We've arrived," he said.
Emily glared up at him. She'd been afraid of this 'man' since she'd had the misfortune of meeting him in France while staying with Garin Limoux. It was then that she'd witnessed his extraordinarily frightful powers – just before he murdered Garin, one of her father's Lux Veritatis brothers. Now, though, since she figured she was going to die anyway, she knew she shouldn't be afraid.
One of the merks unlocked her handcuffs from the floor panel below so she could rise. Then, they gripped her by both of her arms, shoving her forward from the train. She stepped into the sand, cringing as the sun's bright rays dug into her eyes and skin. She glanced around cautiously. They were in a secluded area, surrounded by railroad tracks, more sand, a small city in the far distance, and a large, stone temple before them. Karel seemed to revere the sight of the temple. After a moment's hesitation, he entered, the mercenaries following after him.
They trudged down the stone path that descended into the temple. Emily heard noises in the distance. Sounds like voices, she thought. They continued forward until they entered into a large room, much like the one she'd been in with her father in Dundermot Mound. At least here, there were no skeletal knights trying to decapitate her. When they entered the room, though, she saw several other men, cloaked in black pantsuits like the one that had been at the Croft Manor so many nights before, attempting to kidnap Emily for the first time. Their hollow gazes fell upon her, and she felt her stomach coil with nervousness. Emily looked away, pretending to glance about the room with a mere curiosity.
The large, circular panel in the center of the floor had Lux Veritatis glyphs traced over it. Karel walked along the perimeter of the circle, eyeing it with a lust for knowledge. Then, he stepped forward, centering himself on the panel. He outstretched his arms with his palms facing down, then chanted something in Latin. Emily watched nervously, startling when the green energy surged from his palms and into the floor panel on which he stood. The perimeter of the panel began to surge with green, electrical flow. Karel dropped his hands to his side, then turned around, watching as the green energy rose forward to create a portal before him. Then, he turned and faced Emily. "Now is your time, my dear," he said. "Now is the time for you to meet the Black Angel."
Emily pulled back, bumping into the mercenaries who gripped her arms. They shoved her forward towards Karel, and then two of the Cabal followers took over, following after Karel into the portal. Nearly ten others entered, following after their master.
Karel moved forward, the Lux Veritatis glyphs along the walls illuminating with energy. Emily held her head low, as if she would be able to shrink away and disappear. If I had my lighter, I'd take this bastard down, she thought. They continued forward until they entered into another room. Along the wall, there were eight tall statues, extending towards the ceiling. There were nameplates along the bottoms of them, reading some foreign Latin names. Emily immediately recognized the one that read 'Limoux'. Could these be replicas of the Lux Veritatis brothers? she thought.
A large, circular panel began to emerge from the floor with each step they took. Karel stopped once he reached it, gesturing for the men holding onto Emily to stand back. They stopped, pulling her back along the wall. The other men stepped forward, helping Karel turn the circular panel until the loud clunk underneath it indicated that it had been turned as far as it would go.
Karel folded his hands together, drawing a silent breath. Then, without warning, swords protruded from eight slots in the panel, skewering the other Cabal members with a cry of pain. Karel cringed as the sword jutted out from his body. After a moment, the swords retracted into the panel, and the other Cabal members fell dead. Emily squeezed her eyes shut, turning her head away to ward the evil sight out of her head. The hole in Karel's stomach immediately healed, sealing shut. Then, he glanced backwards at the Cabal followers, and they ushered Emily forward, standing by her side.
The eight statues along the wall of the room began to move forward along the track panel on the floor. Emily shrunk away, wishing she could run down the hall, through the portal, and into open air. Why didn't I just stay in Maghery with Father Patrick? she thought regretfully. The statues moved forward, and then their own swords jutted forward, skewering the large circular panel in the middle of the room. They retracted their swords as the dust settled around them. After a moment, a coffin in the center of the floor was revealed, with a large, cross-like paneled covering over the top of it. Karel narrowed his eyes at the coffin. "We've found him," he declared.
The other Cabal members who had evaded death stepped forward to remove the coffin's lid. They tossed it aside quickly, coughing as the dust and foul smell of a corpse entered their nostrils. Emily covered her nose and mouth, turning away from whatever she would be forced to meet within moments. After a silent moment, she slowly turned back, staring down into the coffin of a skeletal corpse. At least this one isn't alive, she thought.
As soon as she'd finished her thought, however, the skeleton began to move, ever so slowly, pulling itself to life. His arms outstretched from the crossed-over position they'd been in over his chest. He pulled himself up until he was seated forward. Bits of flesh covered his entire body, singed rags adorned where his body parts should have been. After a moment, the corpse stood fully, stepping out of the coffin to approach Karel. Karel stared into where its eyes should be, showing respect. "Siamak Lachesis, ruler of Lemuria, I have come to awaken you and send you home. First, it would only be customary that you show your gratitude by helping me in my own journey of finding my home."
The skeleton groaned, and Emily was certain he wasn't pleased with what he heard. Then, he began to speak in a dark, hollow voice, in a language that Emily didn't recognize. He began circling around Karel as if assessing whether or not he should allow him to live. Finally, he stopped, standing before Karel. He spoke again in the foreign language.
"The last thing I would ever do is disrupt your peace," Karel said calmly. "As I said, I only wish to return you to your home in Lemuria. A noble deed, is it not?" The skeleton muttered again in the foreign language. Then, Karel paced before him casually. "What's it been? Several thousand years since you've sat on your throne? Let's not be ridiculous. You may have been peacefully asleep in your coffin, no doubt, but just think of how much more peaceful you'll be, returning to Lemuria."
The knight stared at him, seemingly glaring in anger. Then, he groaned some more of the foreign language. "Not to worry," Karel said. "I was already aware of the predicament beforehand. I wouldn't come unprepared." Karel casually walked over to Emily, stopping before her. He gestured his hand in her direction. "This child exhibits the strength of a thousand warriors. Her powers are far too invaluable to be left to someone so…" He turned to her. "…careless. Hence why I feel you should have them. Consider it a gift. Imagine how powerful you'd be…"
Emily stared fearfully up at the walking corpse, then glanced over at Karel as he sold her over to the undead knight. The knight, however, seemed uninterested in Karel's offer, and began to shout in the foreign language. Karel remained calm regardless. "Let's not have this animosity between us," he said. "We both know how pointless this is. You need my help to return to Lemuria, and I need your help to rebreed the Nephilim race." The skeleton began to speak again, but Karel lifted his hand to silence him. "The Lux Veritatis are your enemy. Had I not reached you first, the 'lackeys' themselves would've come to rid the world of your presence. In fact…" He turned towards Emily and shoved her forward onto the floor.
Emily was too afraid to look up. She sat on the ground on her hands and knees, her eyes closed, her head dropped low. Please get me out of here, please get me out of here, she asked to no one in particular. She stared down at the dingy brown color on the floor, the sound of Karel's circling footsteps echoing in her mind. "…she is Lux Veritatis herself. You wouldn't want someone so powerful getting in your way, would you?" For the first time since Karel had begun his argument, the knight seemed to adhere to his statements. He slowly glanced down at the trembling child before him. Then, he muttered something to Karel. Karel quickly approached Emily's side and dragged her to her feet. The knight approached her slowly, gripping her chin to examine her face, as if he recognized her.
Emily felt tears of fear and panic coming to her eyes. She could smell the rotting flesh from the knight. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as he continued to examine her, like a cat trying to decide if the bird was worth the kill or not. Emily balled her fists at her side, praying that the horror would end soon. Finally, he released her and stepped backwards, muttering something to Karel. "Yes, she is Lux Veritatis," he confirmed again. "A descendant of the ninth generation warrior, Montsegur." The knight spoke something to him again, then turned away, taking slow steps towards the exit.
Karel grinned devilishly as he watched the Black Angel march away. One of the Cabal followers nervously approached him. "You're just going to let him go, Master?"
"Why would I let go of something so powerful?" Karel asked rhetorically. "He's a walking time bomb, and we don't want to be in his path of destruction when he explodes, do we?" he asked.
Emily was unsure as to why she was still alive. Karel had promised that the knight would need her powers, and likely kill her after. For whatever reason, she was still alive. She closed her hands into fists again, trying to control her trembling fear.
Em? Are you there? a voice entered her head. Emily's face knit into confusion, glancing around the room nervously. No one was looking at her. No one was facing her. What was going on? Em, it's me. It's Kurtis.
Emily's hear soared at the sound of her father's voice. Where are you? she asked quickly.
Your mother and I just arrived in Turkey. Do you know where you are?
In some weird temple, she said. Karel dragged me down here.
Stay with me, Em, he ordered. That's the only way we can find you. Just hold on a little longer…
Emily glanced up, knowing she would need to stall Karel if she wanted her parents to have a chance at finding her. Thankfully, for whatever reason, no one was budging. Emily pretended to be curious about the temple, glancing around the room. "Where are we?" she asked nervously.
"The temple of the Black Angel," Karel said. "The place where his body was moved after being dug up by your Lux Veritatis ancestors." He spat with words of contempt.
"I thought you were going to kill me…?" she said irritably.
"For whatever reason, Siamak isn't interested in your powers yet," he said, a sly grin crossing his face. "But you'll serve your purpose soon enough."
You still there? she asked Kurtis.
I'm not going anywhere, Kurtis responded. We're getting close. There's a large stone temple ahead…
That's it! Emily said quickly. That's where we went! Be careful. There are mercenaries inside, and beyond that, through the portal, Karel is waiting with his Cabal buddies.
When I give you the word, you need to run, Kurtis commanded.
Run where? she asked. I'm trapped in a big room. There's nowhere to go.
Find somewhere, Kurtis said, even if you have to run in circles. Just get away from them.
Emily backed away from Karel, pretending to look over the ornate structure of the coffin. Her hands fell over the markings, and she examined them as though she were truly interested in their symbolism, though really she wanted to run away and flip Karel off as she made her way to safe ground. Then, the ground began to shake violently as an explosion beyond went off. Emily fell to her feet, covering her head as the stone ruins began to collapse. Run, Emily! Kurtis ordered.
Karel and his buddies seemed to be just as confused as she was. Now's my chance! she thought quickly. Emily rose to her feet as quickly as possible, then bolted past Karel, narrowly escaping his hand as he reached out to grab her. She heard him shouting commands to his buddies, probably to go after her. She didn't stop. She only continued forward, propelled by the hope that she could dive into the safety in her parents' arms once she managed to get through this hell-hole.
