Chapter Four: Welcome to Turkey
After ordering breakfast in the hotels restaurant and bringing it back up to the room, Kurtis and Lara ate and then got back on the bike to continue their journey to Cappadocia.
That afternoon, while stopped for gas, Lara came out of the quick mart and tossed a soda at Kurtis, who caught it one handed and took a gulp. "Thanks."
Lara leaned against the pump and crossed her arms. "What do you suppose Karel meant by commandeering you? What is he planning?"
"Evil," Kurtis ventured.
"That's a given," Lara informed. "He was pretty adamant about reviving the Nephilim, offering me the chance to be a part of a 'benign' new world order."
"Sounds anything other than benign," Kurtis said placing the gas cap back on the bike. He took another gulp of his soda before disposing of it in a near-by garbage can. He hopped on the bike and started the engine and waited for Lara to mount before taking off.
A black car stopped in the middle of the Turkish desert. The back door opened, and Karel stepped out, clad in a black sweater, quite unusual for the warm temperatures. He stepped away from the car a bit, holding out his hand to guide a woman from the vehicle.
"Ms. Lewis," Karel said to the woman, taking in the surroundings, "welcome to Cappadocia, home of the Nephilim."
The woman, Ms. Lewis, who was actually Kaylay DeCombel, looked around. She wasn't real impressed with her surroundings, but it was important to Karel and she was working for him so she didn't see the need to complain. "I thought Cappadocia was underground?"
Karel turned to face her. "My dear Kaylay, the city is beneath the sands of Cappadocia." He raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed it and then looked into her blue eyes. "The underground city is much more beautiful than this barren wasteland." He gestured to the desert that stretched out before them. He then bared a smile. "You'll soon know."
Within a few hours, a mock archaeological dig site was erected and swarming with many of Gunderson's guards.
Kaylay sat at desk in one of the tents that littered the sand, reading the Book of Enoch. She had read it as a child, but it was the only piece of literature Karel had given her to read. She set the book down atop the table and rested her legs on the desk, crossed at the ankles, and absorbed what had happened to her the last week.
She had found out that her beloved cousin was dead, teamed up with Karel, a Nephilim, the very thing she had sworn to protect the world from her entire life, and was now involved in reviving the race. How much lower can I get? She thought just as Karel walked into the tent.
"The dig is going as planned," he informed her sitting down in the opposite chair. "Gunderson would like to see you."
"Did he say why?" Kaylay asked, suspicious. She knew Kurtis had worked for Gunderson and had stayed away from him since she became employed by Karel.
"No," Karel said lifting the book from the desk and closing it. "He's just outside, managing those brainless mercenaries of his."
Kaylay removed her legs from the desk and stood up, straightening her shirt. She remained speechless as she exited the tent, and was taken by surprise when Gunderson wrapped his arm around her neck, clasping a hand over her mouth. He whispered into her ear, his breath hot against her skin. "Don't say a word and don't consider screaming for help. I can snap your neck in two with a quick flick of my wrist."
Kaylay nodded to his words and he pulled her into the shadows behind a near-by rock wall. He pushed her against the wall, holding her arms to her side so she couldn't fight back against him. He pressed his face close to hers. "I know who you are. You don't fool me." He paused briefly as her eyes stared at him in nervous confusion. "The similarity to Mr. Trent is uncanny."
Kaylay managed a breathless sentence. "You know who I am?"
"Of course I do." Gunderson breathed. "You really think you could fool me?"
In that instant, a memory that had long been forgotten suddenly came back to Kaylay and hit her like a ton of bricks.
"Hey Marten!" Kurtis' voice called across the mess hall. "My cousin's arrived."
An older man, probably early thirties, turned to look at Kurtis. "Well, bring her in. You talk about her so much…it's time we meet the girl."
Behind Kurtis, Kaylay walked in, just a young girl at the time, probably sixteen, seventeen at the oldest. "This is Kaylay…my cousin."
Gunderson raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Pleased to meet you."
"Oh my God," Kaylay breathed. She hadn't realized that she did come into contact with Kurtis eleven years ago before she left home. Her memory had failed to remind her of that little episode a week back.
Gunderson released his grip on her arms, but remained holding them. "Remember something?" His voice was to the point, like he was expecting her to remember meeting him all those years ago.
Kaylay nodded and attempted to free herself from his grasp. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"
Gunderson released her and took a step back. "Wanted to make sure I had my facts right before I confronted you." He watched as Kaylay rubbed the sore parts of her forearms where he had held her a bit too tight. "Sorry about that." He pointed to the redness on her arms. "Didn't think I was gripping you that tight."
"It's alright," Kaylay informed. "I've had worse." She looked up and met Gunderson's gray-blue eyes. "You're not going to tell Karel that I'm Lux Veritatis, are you?"
Gunderson smiled. "No. I would never betray a friend."
Lara jolted awake when the bike stopped outside a hotel. She removed her arms from Kurtis' waist and looked up at the building sprawled out before them. "Where are we?" she asked groggily.
"Turkey," Kurtis replied. "You fell asleep on me about four hours ago. It seemed like you needed the sleep, so I didn't wake you."
Lara watched as he got off the bike and then helped her off, since her body was still sleeping. She approached the door of the hotel and walked in, taking in the surrounding area. It wasn't much, not what she was used to anyway. The floor was hardwood but it was falling apart and in dire need of staining; wallpaper hung loosely off the walls; the upholstery on the furniture was torn and tattered; the television in the corner of the lounge was an old black and white set with tin foil over the antenna and the picture didn't come in clear.
The person behind the desk acknowledged their presence, startling Lara with the clearing of their throat. "May I help you?" His voice was raspy and he couldn't seem to look them in the eye.
Lara approached the desk only to be yanked back by Kurtis. He talked to the man, keeping his hand around Lara's wrist. "We need a room for tonight."
"Just one?" the man asked pulling out a large three ringer binder from a shelf behind him. He opened it up and looked through the log. "'Cause we've only got one room left."
"One will do," Kurtis answered, still having hold of Lara's wrist.
The man removed the pen that was tucked behind his ear. "Name?"
Kurtis looked at Lara. "Hey, don't look at me. You're the one who had to jump in and ask for a room." She raised an eyebrow and nodded toward the front desk. "Well go on, think of something clever."
Kurtis inhaled deeply before letting out a frustrating sigh. He thought a moment and then answered the man, who was looking at them strangely. "DeCombel." Kurtis finally spit out.
"Ah, the French," the man said. "We don't get many French in Turkey. What's your business here in Cappadocia?"
"Just that…business," Kurtis answered as he took the key the man slid across the counter.
"Not my place to ask I guess," the man said. "Room 27, second floor. Welcome to Turkey."
Once they turned and headed toward the stairs, Lara ripped her hand from Kurtis' grip. "Where'd you come up with that name?"
Kurtis glared and when they approached the door to their room, he opened it without using the key and entered. "It's my real name."
Lara closed the door behind her and securely locked it. "Your real name?"
"I changed it to Trent when I joined the Legion, okay?" He plopped down on the bed and rubbed a hand over his tired face. "Enough of the third degree."
Lara sat down on the edge of the bed and un-laced her boots. She slid them off her feet and tossed them toward the desk that sat in the far corner of the room. She looked over at Kurtis who was staring at the ceiling. She noticed that dog tags hung from around his neck and off to the side. "Why do you still wear those?"
Kurtis looked at her. "What?"
"The dog tags. You're not in the Legion anymore."
"Habit." He muttered sitting up. "I'm going to shower."
Lara watched as he stood up and stripped off his shirt, his muscles tightening as he lifted his arms up and over his head. He tossed the shirt to the side so it landed on the bed. An intricate tattoo, black as night, embraced his back from shoulders to below the waistband of his pants. That must have been painful, she thought as he walked into the bathroom, the door closing behind him.
After Kurtis came out of the bathroom, Lara entered to get cleaned up herself. Kurtis took advantage of the situation and pulled a cigarette from the pack in his jeans pocket and lit it, breathing in the chemicals like they were candy.
He stood by the open window, shirtless, allowing the cool winter air of the Turkish evening to hit his torso. His chest moved up and down slowly with each breath he took, his dog tags moving with them, clanking quietly against each other. He touched his wound with his free hand, feeling the roughness of the stitches and wishing he could take them out.
He took a long drag on the cigarette butt before flicking it out the window. He rested his arm against the sill, placing his head on his forearm and looked out at the dark evening sky. He sighed, his face complacent and lost in thought. His hair was still damp from his shower earlier and bits of water dripped down onto his face. He rubbed a hand over his face to dry the water droplets off. In the distance, nothing but the stars could be seen. He looked at those stars; those stars that his father once showed to him, teaching him the constellations, especially the ones that were on the Lux Veritatis seal, and memories that had long been forgotten came rushing back to him, making him want to cry, but he held back said tears and reached out to grab the window, pulling it toward him and closed it, latching it shut.
When he turned around, Lara was standing there, showered and dressed, staring at him. He knew what she was going to say but didn't want to hear it. "Don't." he said closing the shades. "Just…don't."
"Kurtis…" she began but he cut her off.
"I don't want to talk about it," he answered, still looking at the window even though he couldn't see through the shade.
"Something is bothering you," Lara pressed. "You can talk to me."
He turned around and glared at her, his eyebrows furrowed. "You just don't quit, do you?" Lara didn't answer; this he was expecting. He crossed the distance between them and stopped inches from her body. He lifted a hand and touched her cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin, and brushed his thumb along her jaw line. He lifted her head and leaned in, pressing his lips against hers. He felt her kiss back, gently and unsure of the situation at first and then hardened the kiss. His tongue felt for hers; the kiss deepened, and he pulled her up against his body, running his free hand over her arm and down to her waist, tugging at the hem of her T-shirt. He felt her pull away from him and he was left looking into her eyes.
Kurtis watched Lara touch her fingers to her lips as they stared at each other, not sure if they should continue and go down the path that they both wanted to, but feared that it would open doors and lead to something they both weren't ready for yet. Lara opened her mouth to speak when he placed a finger against her lips and shook his head.
He moved away from her and walked over to the bed, pulled the covers back, and sat down, burying his head in his hands. Idiot, he thought to himself. You want her, just be a man and do it. But he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and crawled under the covers, resting his head on the pillow. He reached up and turned the light off.
A few hours later, he felt Lara crawl into the bed next to him, her back toward his. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her fold the pillow under her head. Then, he heard her sob quietly to sleep. In that moment, he wanted to take her into his arms and hold her, sooth her, tell her everything would be okay, but something in the back of his mind kept him from doing so and he rolled back over, staring at the wall in the dark, watching the shadows dance across the room.
Thanks again for the reviews guys! They keep me inspired and give me the motivation to keep on going with this fic. Things are starting to heat-up a little between Lara and Kurtis...and maybe theres a little something going on with Kaylay and Gunderson; who knows. :P -bm16