Whoo! I'm updating for the second time in a week!! And it's another long one. I think I deserve ice cream and cookies :) Thankyou for the lovely reviews and encouragement. hugs
Chapter 19: Darkness and Light
As we got further down into Derinkuyu we were forced to move a lot more cautiously. Karel's guards were keeping a close watch at each stairway and passageway, alert to every sound and movement. Kurtis and I had to progress in silence, communicating only with hand signals or, when it was too dark to see, Ozan had to step in as mediator. We had had to abandon the use of flares when Ozan warned us that there were guards waiting in the dark with only flashlights, watching for approaching lights that could signal the presence of intruders. In the tunnels lit by gas lamps or strings of electric bulbs, Kurtis could use his farsee to scout ahead for enemies, but in the darkened places we had to feel our way along the rough walls, relying on Ozan to scan the area psychically for the presence of guards. The Chirugai made quick and effective work of the lone guards, while those in pairs or even threes had to be taken out swiftly by our combined weaponry.
We reached an archway that led into a large, high-ceilinged hall, and paused outside it with our backs to the wall.
How many inside? I asked, before waiting several seconds for Ozan to analyse the room.
Four, he replied eventually. Two close to the left wall, standing together. The third is on the right side in the nearest corner, ready to aim at anyone who comes through the doorway. The fourth is just outside the archway at the other end of the room – your exit.
I exchanged glances with Kurtis, who was standing on the opposite side of the archway. Although we couldn't read one another's thoughts, we knew exactly what we had to do.
I crouched down and readied the crossbow. Rounding the edge of the doorway just enough to take aim, I fired off two lethal shots in immediate succession, dropping both enemies on the left hand side of the hall before the second could even turn towards his felled partner. At the same moment, Kurtis' Chirugai flew through the archway above my head and into the right hand corner, still concealed from our view. A heavy thud and the clatter of a dropped firearm told us the third man was dead. Kurtis was already on his way through the hall, the Chirugai streaking ahead of his outstretched arm to the exit archway, illuminating the darkened corridor beyond and slicing through the chest of the final soldier as he tried to raise his weapon.
We strode on together towards the next chamber, growing more confident in our task. The men who made up Karel's workforce were dropping like flies in our path, and he didn't even know we were coming. I smiled grimly to myself, reflecting that perhaps our chances were better than we had predicted.
The feeling was short-lived, however. A sudden mental jolt left me tumbling to me knees, and a gasp from Kurtis signalled that he had felt it too. My body shook as my thoughts were submerged momentarily in a wave of ice-cold fear.
Ozan?! I called out frantically with my mind. What's wrong? What's going on?
Kurtis reached for me and helped me to my feet, his eyes wide and anxious.
Another mental surge hit us both, comprehensible this time. No…It's him… He's coming!
What? I looked around urgently, reaching for my pistols. The Chirugai was already hovering in the dank air by Kurtis' shoulder. The passage ahead was as silent and still as before. Where? Ozan, who's there?
Karel-And suddenly, Ozan was gone.
"What the hell is going on?" Kurtis asked, frozen.
I shook my head. "Karel… he must know we're here." I levelled my pistols at the empty path ahead, adrenalin pulsing through my veins. "But we're not ready to fight him."
"I'll use my farsee," Kurtis said. The Chirugai snapped back onto his hand, the blades retracting with a sharp click.
"No," I argued. "It's too dangerous. You'll be defenceless."
He looked at me sternly. "We can't just stand here and wait. We have to know where he is. Otherwise we're fish in a barrel."
The thought of Kurtis leaving his body at such a critical moment distressed me, but I nodded in agreement. "Alright. Be quick."
He held out his arms, the palms of his hands facing upwards, and his body shuddered as his mind was propelled out of it. I stood waiting for what seemed like an eternity, keeping a constant check on the passageways ahead of us and behind, ears straining for the slightest sound. At long last I heard Kurtis take a sharp intake of breath, and turned to look at him. He was back, and he didn't look happy.
"He's not here," he said breathlessly, running a hand over his face.
"What do you mean? He's got to be here."
"No. He's not. At least… he's not heading this way." He shook his head in confusion. "Something's wrong."
"So what do we do now?" I asked, praying that Ozan would hear me and respond. What the hell was he doing?
A terrible thought struck me, and I gasped, one hand flying to my mouth. "Oh God, no-"
"What?" Kurtis demanded, seeing my shocked expression. "Lara, what is it?"
When I spoke again my voice was fainter than before. "Karel's not coming to us, Kurtis," I said weakly. "He's going for Ozan."
"Jesus," Kurtis replied, face stricken. "Karel will tear him apart."
We knew we had to do something, and fast. Ozan desperately needed our help. We went over our options hurriedly, growing more uneasy with every second wasted. As I was the faster runner it made sense that I went to Ozan, although Kurtis was unhappy at the thought of me crossing paths with Karel. But what choice did we have? Meanwhile he would keep heading down towards the last doorway, and take advantage of Karel's absence to sabotage his plans in any way possible.
"Even if I can just get hold of one of the medallions, Karel won't be able to open the door," he reasoned. I nodded at the plan, and in my haste I turned to run back the way we had come. Kurtis reached out and grabbed my hand to stop me.
"Be careful," he said gravely, his eyes giving away the concern he felt. I wanted to tell him the same thing, but found that I just couldn't say the words. It would be too much like admitting my fears, and that hurt too much.
"I'll see you soon," I told him instead, and then turned and ran without looking back.
I backtracked to the entrance in a fraction of the time it had taken to get down there. Knowing that we had already taken out all the enemies on our way down, I was able to use my flares again now, and my booted feet pounded along the rock floors as I sprinted back towards the surface. The sunlight was blinding as I clambered up the ladder and out into the deserted camp.
Reunited with the motorbike, I kicked it into action and steered it back towards the road, dust flying in my wake. I tore along the streets towards Ozan's house, my gloved hand forcing the accelerator as far as it would go. A short time later the bike squealed to a halt on the worn driveway. My heart gave a sickening jolt as I saw the front door standing open, the sweat on my arms and chest suddenly feeling like ice. Drawing my weapons, I stepped through the doorway and into the hall. The house was silent. I wanted to call out to Ozan but fought the instinct; I would only put him in greater danger. Besides, he wouldn't need to hear my voice to know that I was nearby.
I crossed the stone floor of the living area, treading as softly as I could, glancing into the empty kitchen before continuing along the corridor to Ozan's room. The door was closed. I stood outside, heart pounding and mouth dry. When I was sure there was no sound from within, I pushed open the door in slow motion and stepped inside. A familiar smell hit me as I crossed the threshold; a hard, smoky smell. In another moment I would have placed the smell from memory, but I didn't need to. The explanation lay right in front of me. Gunsmoke. I clasped my eyes shut for a moment and clenched my teeth to choke back a scream of anger. Letting my breath out slowly, I approached the bed. Ozan lay motionless on his back, the breast of his white suit stained crimson. In his hand was the old-fashioned revolver that Kurtis had told him to keep close by. He had shot himself in the heart rather than face Karel.
I sank to my knees beside the bed, face creased up in grief, and reached out for my friend's arm. His skin was still warm and I squeezed his hand tightly, like I had earlier that day when he could still feel it. I sat for several minutes beside him, letting a numb despair settle over me after the frantic but futile dash to get to Ozan in time. I don't know how long I might have sat there, paralysed, if I hadn't seen the book. Lying open as though it had been dropped, a spiral-bound notebook lay on the tiled floor, half concealed by the bed.
I reached out and picked it up, flicking through pages packed tightly with Ozan's small, neat handwriting. I stopped suddenly at a double page covered in unusual, winding symbols surrounded by various scribbled notes in both Turkish and English. These were the symbols from Kurtis' tattoo. Ozan had been using this notebook only this morning. I scanned the following pages, looking for some shred of information that might be helpful now the man himself was gone. The familiar words 'light of truth' and 'Nephilim' appeared several times along with others, such as 'beacon', 'heaven' and 'angel'. There didn't seem to be anything much that Ozan hadn't told us himself, but as I reached the last page of notes something odd caught my eye. There had been one particular symbol in Kurtis' tattoo that Ozan had recognised but been unable to decipher. The same symbol was drawn several times on the page with slight variations, and most of the notes around them had been crossed through and rendered illegible. But at the bottom of the page, the word 'Asharagael' had been scrawled in large, bold letters that made a sharp contrast with Ozan's normally meticulous script. I had only a brief moment to ponder its significance, however, before a sound came from behind me. I turned slowly, already knowing who was there.
"Lara," the familiar cold voice said. "I wondered if you might turn up. Alone?"
I got to my feet carefully, sliding the notebook back under the bed as I did so to keep it hidden. I looked up at Karel and grimaced. "Yes. I'm alone."
He nodded with interest. "So, that means our brave warrior is still in the chambers. Not to worry. He won't get far enough to cause any damage." The half-Nephilim was in his human camouflage, as he had been when I first saw him. Only his eyes, dark and cruel with age, gave away any hint of his true nature. He was dressed in a long black coat and black gloves that would have been torturous to a human mortal in the sweltering Turkish climate.
"What did you want with Ozan?" I snarled, hands on the butts of my pistols.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm sure you already know that. Ozan was viewing the city through the eyes of my staff, and he was trying to communicate with you. I can't allow that kind of thing to continue." He glanced at the figure on the bed. "But he felt me coming. He must have died quickly, I'm sure there was very little pain." He spoke as if this would be some comfort; some justification.
I pointed both pistols at his head. "We're going to stop you, Karel. You won't achieve any of it. We're going to kill you and send you to hell."
He gave me a brief look of pity before striding towards me and grabbing me by the neck with one hand. The few bullets I managed to discharge failed to slow him down. Without the slightest sign of effort he swung me around and flung me through the open doorway, back into the corridor. I slid along the stone floor, past the kitchen, and crashed against the far wall. Karel walked back towards me from the bedroom as I lay grazed and stunned, clutching my throbbing throat and gasping for air.
He stood in the shadows a few feet away waiting for me to recover, and smiled politely, clasping his gloved hands behind his back. I clambered back to my feet, guns thankfully still in my hands, and glared at him through the loose strands of hair hanging in my face.
"You're not going to win," I told him again. "Even if you kill me right here."
Karel actually looked impressed. "Of course you must tell yourself that. You have great passion. And it is admirable, your strength of will, although you are fighting for a side that is already defeated. I wish that some of my followers had shown the same strength of spirit as you, Lara. I would not have had to waste so much time."
"I'm not the only one who's strong. And we are certainly not defeated yet," I replied through gritted teeth.
He shook his head. "It is as good as over for you. But it need not be."
"If you're thinking of trying to sell me the Nephilim dream again," I sneered, "don't waste your breath."
"Would it be so difficult?" he asked quietly. "To shift your allegiance to me? It would please me to have you at my side. You have nothing to lose, Lara. This way, you live. You have power. I can give you whatever you want." As he spoke this last line, he stepped closer to me, his outline shifting and breaking up in the shadows. As he stepped into the light from the kitchen window, his transformation ended. He stood before me, Kurtis down to the finest detail, replicating perfectly the line of his jaw, the unruly hair, the curve of his lips. He had performed this trick before, in the Strahov, but that didn't make it any easier for me to watch this time. Even though I knew Karel lurked underneath the surface, the illusion threw my mind into momentary confusion.
But no amount of Nephilim magic could reproduce the look in Kurtis' eyes, the spark that was inside him. I was disgusted to think he would try to impress me with this empty shell and promises of glory. Guns clasped tightly in both hands, I fired six rounds into that beautiful borrowed face.
Gazing at me with vague curiosity, Karel closed the distance between us, the marks from my bullets smoothing away effortlessly as his face changed back to its previous form. Without warning he struck me hard around the head, his hand blazing with green light as it flew towards me. I toppled to the floor, vision swimming drunkenly, and lay helpless on the cold stone. I saw a pair of smartly polished boots striding away towards the door, and then my consciousness left me.
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A/N: Buahahaha! Oh yes, the cliffhangers will be truly evil from now on. Most of the remaining chapters are already written, but you ain't getting anything if you don't review! :p Press the button... do it... you know you want to...