Tomb Raider:
Warlock of the Dark

chapter two

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Chapter two: Darkness of the Night.

Lara awoke suddenly, Kurtis was still holding her even in his deep sleep. But an uneasy feeling had crept over her, she new something was wrong, like they were being watched. Carefully she slide Kurtis's arm off of her and sat on the edge of the bed. rubbing her stiff neck she took a deep breath looking around the room. Quietly she walked over to the counter, picking up her guns and walked up to the deck. The cold night air made her shiver as she investigated the boat, her guns ready in her hands. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as she placed her pistols in her leg holsters. She had the strange feeling that she was being watched. leaning over the railing she stared down at the water, the moonlight reflecting on the surface as small ripples glided across the water made a small grin tug at the corner of her mouth. She loved the tranquility of nature. Lara gazed at it for a few moments and sighed. As she looked up she sighted what appeared to be a dark figure standing near the waters edge. Lara narrowed her eyes trying to better focus on the figure. Quickly she went down into the cabin and grabbed her binoculars. Returning to the deck she looked out to where the figure had been but it was now gone. She scanned the area but saw nothing. She frowned standing, looking for a few moments. The uneasy feeling of being watched she had before was gone but she still was cautious. Glancing around one last time she decided to go back inside.

Closing the cabins door behind her, Lara removed her guns and holsters. Leaning against the counter she rubbed her shoulder and looked over at Kurtis. He was laying on his back with an arm up over his eyes shielding them from the moonlight while he slept. She noticed how he looked alittle pale, but his breathing was steady. Lara smiled to herself as she walked over closing the curtains on the small windows, then picked up a light blanket and placed it over Kurtis. Sitting down on the bed next to him. She sat for awhile watching him sleep. She was confused by her own feelings for him. She never liked to show her emotions, but when she was with him they took over, becoming to strong for her to fight. It made her angry how her own feelings betrayed her. She awoke from her thoughts as Kurtis shifted in his sleep, moving his arm down from his eyes resting it on the blanket. She cursed herself and sighed getting under the blanket beside him slipping her arm over his chest.

From the waters edge the warlock stood looking opon the boat his long black cloak draped around his thin yet strong form, His ice blue eyes coldly fixed at the cabins door. The night air was chilled around him, the wind blew coldly against the chiseled features of his face. He winced as he thought of the man that had eluded him years ago, and he had returned cause him to lose again. And the woman? Who was she? He never had seen a woman so strong, so determined and so vigorous.. His mind shifted back to Kurtis, a low growl escaping his throat, He would'nt except defeat at anything. An evil grin crossed his thin lips as he peered across the water. He would have his revenge.

The morning sun was rising up behind the horizon, decorating the sky with hughes of orange and yellow colours. Little streaks of clouds were scattered about the sky. The morning birds sang their morning songs in peaceful harmony in the forests. Lara leaned against the railing on the boats deck, her long auburn hair blew wildly in the wind, her hazel eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling of the warm breeze against her face. She smiled as she felt the arms of her lover wrap around her waist from behind and softly kiss her shoulder. Opening her eyes as she turned to face him, her eyes widened as she gasped in shock, her heart skipped a beat as she froze in disbelief. For it was not Kurtis that held her, it was Karel, the Nephilim that had played many tricks on her with his shapeshifting disguises. ''No..!'' she growled shoving him back. '' It can't be...''

Lara jolted awake from her nightmare. Sitting up in bed her fingers tightly gripping the blanket. Her heart was racing, Her skin covered in a cold sweat. She looked around quickly breathing heavily. Kurtis was sitting in a chair across from her casually searching though his pack. He looked up at her, a concerned look came over his face as he noticed her distress.

''Lara you okay?'' he asked, setting the pack aside. It was raining. Thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance. Lara looked at Kurtis, her eyes narrowed as she stood up watching him cautiously as she reached for her pistol. Kurtis got up slowly, careful not to disturb his wound to much. He grimaced slightly from pain and moved towards Lara. She raised her pistol quickly aiming it at him, he stood raising his hands slightly infront of his chest in a surrendering pose.

''Whoa, Lara. What's going on?'' he asked confused by her actions as he attempted to study her face.

''How do I know your not Karel..!'' her voice was full of anger and confusion, Still holding the pistol aimed at Kurtis. He shook his head trying to figure why she was asking him such a thing.

''What are you talking about? How could I be someone else? Far as I know I still look like me.''

Lara studied him carefully taking a few steps closer to him.

''Being a nephilim, Karel took the form of many faces.'' she paused for a moment. ''One of those faces was yours Kurtis...''

Closing his eyes tightly, Kurtis brought his hand up pressing his fingers between his eyes as he took a deep breath. No wonder she's acting this way... she has every right to think I could be Karel. He looked back up at Lara and frowned.

''Lara, I promise you, I'm not Karel, and hell, if I was one of those ugly bastards I'd shoot me too.''

Lara lowed her pistol to her side and smirked shaking her head with a long sigh. '' Well, if you are Karel you're a bloody good actor.'' Leaning on the countertop, She rubbed her eyes, Still unsure of everything. Kurtis walked over to her slowly, standing infront of her, Lara was staring down at the floor. He lifted her chin up to look into her eyes, they were full of mixed emotions. Slowly leaning in to kiss her Kurtis pulled her near, Feeling his breath on her lips, Lara turned away suddenly and looked up at window.

''What's taking Zip so long...'' she said quickly moving away from Kurtis. He placed his hands atop the counters surface and sighed. Lara avoided his gaze as he looked at her over his shoulder. She swallowed hard and picked up her headset.

''Zip are you there?'' she paced the floor and waited for a response.

''Yeah Lara, I'm here'' she heard the hum of engines and Zip spoke loudly over the noise.

''I take it you are on your way?'' she asked.

''Yep, Won't be long till we reach you. '' Zip replied. Lara turned and saw Kurtis sliding into his shirt, His back was to her and his gaze was fixed on the floor. She new she hurt him, But she was having difficulty bringing herself to trust him. Especially since her nightmare... there must be a reason for these thoughts to surface now.. She thought to herself, Her intuition had always guided her towards the right thing... But in ways it did'nt feel right to her now.

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Authors notes: I promise the next chapter will have more action! I'll be updating again soon, Read and Review please!