Chapter 9
Tomb of Tihocan
She surfaced quickly, her eyes immediately looking ahead. There was a large tomb sitting ominously against the dark cave wall, the only light coming from two large hanging goblets of fire near the two pillars next to the entrance of the tomb. Guarding the tomb in a mystical rage was two huge statues of Centaur monsters, each posed with bow and arrows raised high in the air in a triumphant manner, only instead of being half horse half-human, it was half horse half…something else.
She swam over to the little island the temple was sitting on, pulling herself up. There was grass covering the edges of the stone walkway, making her think that maybe this area was above ground at one time. The last stone she stepped on opened the tomb entrance. She walked in carefully, guided by torches along the wall. The tomb was dark at first, with light shining through several columns to the left.
Set up high on a raised platform in the next room was a pedestal with another piece of the Scion, set in a three-pronged golden holder. A black marble Sarcophagus was behind the stand. Intrigued, Lara walked over to it and read the inscription on it.
"Here lies the God-King Tihocan, one of the Triumvirate. Keeper of the Scion. One of the two just rulers after the Great Betrayal caused Atlantis to be lost beneath the waves."
Lara raised her eyebrow in confusion, then pushed on the lid of the coffin. It moved slowly, and as it slid off she grabbed a torch from the wall and looked inside the dank casket. It was empty. She leaned up slowly-
-and the back of her head hit the cold metal of a gun barrel.
"You see, instincts can be expensive Mademoiselle. Yours is going to cost you both pieces of the Scion." Lara narrowed her eyes.
"That's not a price I'm prepared to make Pierre." She said coldly, keeping still.
"Don't be absurd Lara! No job is worth dying for…?" Lara thought for a moment, considering and weighing out the outcomes. After a few moments, she spoke in a soft, grave tone.
"Yes…it is…"Her heart began pounding as she jerked to the side quickly and punched Pierre in the jaw. Her shook his head as she did several flips, dodging shots from his powerful black 50. Caliber pistol.
She landed beside him, karate kicking his gun up and out of his hand, then spun and kicked him in the abdomen. She caught the gun and dove behind Tihocan's casket as he pulled his other 50. Caliber and fired several more before the gun clicked, and she heard him throw it down. She pulled the slide back, loading another bullet into the powerful pistol and stood up, aiming it forward.
She saw Pierre exit the tomb, still clutching Tihocan's piece of the Scion. She hopped over the casket and followed him. She heard the sounds of fire erupt, and as she neared the entrance she slowed, as if in a trance. The two Guardian Centaurs were now alive and moving, each with an old army helmet with a red tassel, silver shields, and bow and arrows.
The top half looked so abnormal, like some alien race. The mouths were long and full of small, sharp teeth. Their eyes were glowing red, a fire within them. Pierre looked at the Scion, then at Lara.
"On second thought, you have it!" He yelled, then threw it over to her. She jumped up and caught it safely.
"Bon Chance" He said, waving. The Centaurs turned toward Pierre, then raised up in a defiant scream-
-before coming back down and stomping Pierre into the ground, his scream unheard over the pounding hooves. She put the piece of the Scion into her backpack and raised the 50. Caliber, diving over the fire caused from them knocking the goblets of fire down.
They focused on her, and she began firing, the gun jumping in her hand. She kept a firm griping, firing at each monster. A green glow suddenly appeared around their faces, and she stopped firing. She heard a piercing whistling sound, then ducked down and covered her head as a green bolt of energy shot from the eyes, turning the nearby iron grating to stone. She rolled over, jumping back up with the gun blazing. The one closest to her roared then began charging at her.
She dived to the right, firing the last 50. Caliber shot into its head. It slid to a halt, wavering around. She ran over and snatched the shield from the beast, waking it from the painful trance. She drew her pistols and began firing at both of them at the same time, gritting her teeth with determination.
"C'mon boys! Is that all you got?!" She screamed over the banging of her pistols. The other one jumped up and swiped at her with its shield. She jumped away, kicking the shield from its claws. The other one was standing still, a bright white light forming from its head, hands raised. Then suddenly a ball of fire shot forward, coming at Lara. She back flipped, firing the whole time. The green orb appeared around their heads again, and she stood up, out of breath and bleeding.
She looked at the shields, then rolled over and picked one up, coming back to her feet. She ducked and raised it, feeling the green energy ram into it. After it stopped she looked up and saw both Centaurs were stone. She saw chips breaking and flying off, so she ran over and grabbed the chain that hung one of the fire goblets and began swinging it around.
She let go of it as it swung forward, taking both heads from the beasts. The stone covering broke off and they both fell to the ground, pints of dark red blood squirting from their necks. She looked away at them and Pierre's crumpled body, pulling out both pieces of the Scion. The seemed to attract to each other, almost like magnets. A glow of energy appeared around her as she connected them both together. The floor suddenly gave away and she felt herself falling, pieces of floor coming with her.
She looked around as something bright circled her. She spun her falling body to face it as it rose up, seeing now it was a giant mirage of the Scion. It came apart, all the pieces floating side by side. The she heard a deep voice talking come into range.
"You have broken the sacred Triumvirate of Atlantis, tainted the powers of the Scion, and mangled Qualopec, your own brother!"
Giant images of three people, one in a large walking contraption with metal spider like legs which she guess was Qualopec, and a handsome man with masculine features and dark hair, who was Tihocan, were both standing next to a slender figure knelt down in shame.
"I am still here wretch." Said Qualopec, leaning close to the third ruler, who Lara couldn't quite see. "You may have destroyed our continent, but it is my face you will see in your nightmares…" He leaned away.
"What have you to say for yourself?" Barked Tihocan. Lara then continued falling past them as the third and final piece of the Scion came down and hovered near a mirage of an opening in Egypt. She could make out several land features of the area, realizing it was the Temple of Khamoon.
The piece of the Scion flew into the opening, and she looked down as reality rushed back toward her and she landed back in front of Tihocan's tomb, dropping the two connected pieces of the Scion. She reached out and picked it back up, dusting herself off. She looked like hell and felt just as bad, but she had the second piece and knew where the last piece was. A trip home and she would be off for Egypt.