The violent tremors had kept every mercenary and tomb raider from their feet. Lara had held fast to one of the many golden columns, yet her eyes never moved from the center of that engraving. Vladimir even now, still occupied the small circle, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. Croft had prayed that the quake would stop in time for her to take action; Vladimir wouldn't be off guard for very long.
And the shaking stopped. That single element of the situation meant that another event was about to occur- The spinning of the Tables.
"A catalyst, if you will, Miss Croft," Vladimir boasted as he held his own arm in front of him. "Blood, spilled in this very circle, will speed up the entire reaction."
"You've already told me this Vladimir!" Lara yelled. "But it won't matter if you speed it up; your demise will come regardless."
"You seem so sure, Lady Croft. But please, allow me to demonstrate the actual power of this artifact..."
"It has no power!" Lara yelled in exasperation. "Don't you see, Vladimir? The Amulet will unleash a demon upon the world. Mass destruction will ensue and everyone will die. You fail to acknowledge this particular piece of truth!"
But the mercenary merely smiled and took a blade to his right forearm.
"To spill my blood is to ensure the power that I am about to receive."
"The only thing being spilt will be your brains on that wall," Lara spat.
"Oh, Lara, why be so graphic? You will be spared; spared as in a quick death, that is. Or if you keep pestering me, I might put in an extra hour of torture for your friends."
He grasped the blade tighter.
Lara snarled, "Take it to your wrist, Vlad, dearest. And make sure to cut up and down, not side to side."
As the cold metal approached his skin, it reflected the fire around them. The gold that embellished the Amulet of Ilse shone brightly; it seemed to know that its time was nearing.
Lara raised her weapons and aimed them straight for the mercenary leader's head. Her hands remained steady as a result of years of comfort with firearms. Her gaze was threatening, her pulse steady.
"Really, Lara, do you think your shot will be that clean? We don't want too much blood, or the result might happen too quickly."
And the tiny splatters of blood dropped on the engraving. There was nothing that Lara could do.
Suddenly, a deafening screech filled the chamber. It echoed so loudly that Lara dropped her guns and clutched her ears in agony. The fire in the pyres grew so intensely, that the heat was now unbearable and sweat poured down the Tomb Raider's face. Even the ground burned. The screams of the remaining mercenaries could barely be heard over the piercing tone. Then as if everyone's wish had been answered- silence.
Feeling as if her lungs had been released from a deathly clutch, Lara lied on the floor for a moment, hands still clutching her ears. Shakily, she rose to her feet and fumbled for her weapons.
"Ow!"
But the heat had found a nice home in the metal of her pistols and it wasn't planning to move out anytime soon. Lara could almost see her guns glow with red heat; to touch them again would be a nasty ordeal. Now looking around, Croft stood in a ready stance; her eyes settled on Vladimir, his form still hovering in the center of the engraving.
"Lara!" Someone cried.
The tomb raider looked above her and there was Alex West, sweat dripping from every inch of him. He clung to the top of a damaged pillar.
"Lara, what's next? There's nothing we can do!"
Oh, but there is, Lara thought. Vladimir doesn't entirely realize what he's just done.
The mercenary leader stirred. The amulet still hung around his neck, but somehow it appeared precarious. But it was; and before Vlad could do anything, the Amulet of Ilse released itself from Vladimir's neck and disappeared.
"No! No! What happened?" Vlad screamed in frustration. "Where is the Amulet!"
Croft shook her head. "Vlad, it's over. Now, come with me and we'll get out of here. There's nothing else you can do."
But before he could reply, the commander felt himself being torn apart from the inside. Lara heard the distinct crack of bones as Vlad hunched over in pain. He was unable to retain balance and his knees gave out. Without warning, Vladimir's skull split open and the white bone shone through the gap in his forehead. Blood trickled down his face and fell to the floor; each drop that touch the ground made the circle glow even brighter.
Both Tomb Raiders exchanged looks of terror. This was what Lara was waiting for- the real sacrifice. Now Vlad would die and the demon would live because of it. The real challenge was about to begin.
The question was, could they stop the demon from coming at all?
The brother.
"Alex! Alex, where is the brother amulet?"
The male tomb raider looked around in panic.
"Alex!" Lara screamed.
"It's there!" He said frantically. "Still with Vlad, in the middle of the circle. But, Lara, you can't go in there! Do you see what's happening to him? Lara, NO!"
Words were lost to Croft as she sprinted toward the engraving. Within seconds, she was closer to the remains of Vlad; now his eyes were shrinking, begging for fluid to make them whole again. His face sunk in and his cheek bones pierced through his skin. But Lara did not pay any attention. Quickly, she dove across Vlad's mangled body. Her hand, as she flew by, grabbed the second amulet.
Sailing through the air, Lara prepared for a crash. Her body smashed into the opposite wall, bruising her left side. But she had the second amulet- the artifact that Vladimir had possessed when Lara had the Amulet of Ilse. She inspected it for a moment and it finally dawned on her what exactly this amulet was made for.
The Pacific Amulet, she thought to herself. He found it in the water and I found Ilse in a cave. They were so close together that no one would guess that they were there the whole time. If donning the Amulet of Ilse brings the devil, the Pacific Amulet will drive it back into Hell.
Scrambling to her feet, Lara only flinched momentarily as she ran back to where Alex was perched. Her side ached excruciatingly.
"West, catch."
"Got it," he replied as the amulet flew into his hands. "But what do we do with it?"
That was the part that Lara, herself, was not anticipating.
"West, when it's distracted, you need to slip it around its neck. I will be the diversion and you..."
"No!" The tomb raider yelled down to her. "I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself for this! There's got to be another way..."
"There is no other way, Alex!" Lara said desperately. "This needs to be done and I know that you understand. So please just do what I say."
A painful look spread across West's face. "Be careful, Lara."
Croft smirked as she picked up her cooled pistols from the ground. Spinning them sharply on her fingers, she holstered them and gave her comrade a sly wink.
"Aren't I always?"
And then her attention turned toward the circle. The shrieks of pain had ceased and now all that was left was the remains of Commander Vladimir. His face, distorted, his body, split in half. Lara's iron gut was all that saved her from vomiting on the spot. Each mercenary that had witnessed this grotesque scene now hid himself from sight; Lara could even hear some of them vomiting in the dark. Now in Vladimir's place, the circle held a demon of great proportion.
Its body seemed to be formed of air; a blood-red color was all that distinguished it from being invisible. When it turned around, the eyes of Vladimir could be seen, but only for a moment. The pupils grew to the size of marbles and the rest became a menacing, depraved orange and yellow. Thick horns jutted from the solid skull, they twisted and thrust themselves higher, curling forward. It took a more human shape for it had devoured a human soul and human flesh.
The former organs of the now deceased commander still twirled in midair; they finally joined together and were sucked into the demon's body. Lara could only watch the horror that had been unleashed before her very eyes, as it now spread open its arms and roared in anger. The chthonic entity now stood before her in all of its hellish glory. Its arm span, three times the length of Lara.
Gritting her teeth, the tomb raider un-holstered her weapons and gripped them tightly. With one look toward Alex, she approached the demon as it became aware of her presence. Red eyes blaring, it charged.