Chapter 6

Kurtis jumped back in surprise as he watched Lara's body fall limply to the floor. He quickly grabbed his churigai and stood still, waiting for the attacker to make himself present.

His stance became more agile as the figure stepped from behind a niche in front of Lara's limp form, its slender figure and features hidden in the shadows as the moonlight shone behind it.

The enemy slowly walked forward through the dark chamber, coming closer to Kurtis, walking casually as it neared him.

Kurtis was calmed as his eyes followed the enemy's movements. It's body slowly began to angle itself, circling around its target. He cautiously stared while the figure continued around, as if taunting him. He stood still, ready for its attack.

The figure finally came to a halt directly in front of his stance. It stared at him, completely still, teasing his mind, making him loose interest before it suddenly lunged forward.

Kurtis quickly lifted his arm as the attacker kicked toward him. He felt his churigai dig into flesh, but heard no scream from the dark figure before him.

The form instantly backed away as its wound was set. It didn't delay however, as it simply restarted its previous movements, circling him once again. It was utterly silent in its advance, but stepped with the grace of an inhuman creature.

It closely studied the form of its target, its movements becoming still once again, completing the same act of trickery, then lunging forward with another attack.

Kurtis blocked his attacker's oncoming arms, and was surprised as he felt himself being pushed backward. He felt his feet suddenly falling from under him, and then his spine against the back wall. He slung the churigai forward, again feeling blood at it's tips, but the attacker remained in silence. The quietness confirmed Kurtis's assumptions, and he knew that his attacker was of the same demon forms that he had encountered at the museum earlier.

He grimaced as he received a fist across his face, but instantly retaliated by forcing his own forward. The enemy halted back, and Kurtis rushed toward it, grabbing the figure's throat, and lifting it against the car's side wall.

A light from the passing town, suddenly entered the train, and Kurtis gasped with surprise as the attacker was revealed to him. Kurtis starred in disbelief at the familiar female face, the short blonde hair that ran to her chin, and the pale glow that this woman gave off. He looked at her with cruelty and astonishment. "Mariana?"

"Did you miss me?" the figure sarcastically began, before connecting her knee with his torso.

Kurtis was forced back and grabbed the wound at his stomach, now searing with pain. As he fell forward, a sharp kick bruised his face. He hit the floor, and was forced to remain still as the pain increased and the attacker's foot pressed forcefully against his back, holding him down.

He felt the woman reach down and take the Boran X from his side. She tossed it to the floor then kicked it across the car.

She lifted her arm, and with ancient sorcery, forced him from the floor and pressed his body against the nearby wall.

Kurtis felt stiff, and realized that he couldn't move. He helplessly watched as the creature walked toward him and smiled. The black cat-suit that covered her body let off an eerie glow that haunted his mind.

"Hello Kurtis." she playfully stated as her fingertips caressed his chin and her teeth bit down upon her lower lip. "If I'd known you would be the last, this could have been over long ago."

Kurtis watched as the woman quickly retrieved a sword from the belt at her waist. She lifted the ancient weapon, crafted of black metal, and held it in the air, ready to thrust it forward.

"I'm going to miss you Kurtis Trent." She spoke with an evil grin. "It's time to end this."

Kurtis shut his eyes with fear as the blade began its descent toward him.

A sudden noise rang out, and he reopened the lids, forcing himself to look. He saw the satanic woman lower the blade as her eyes wavered down, staring at her chest with a sense of surprise. Silence prevailed.

The noise then sounded again and Mariana's body violently lunged back.

Kurtis turned to see Lara standing beside him, the smoking Boran X pistol in her hand. She pulled the trigger again, and the demon bitch was forced to the wall.

Lara stared at the woman, holding an expression of disbelief as she realized that this was the same person she had killed at the Lancaster Museum that very morning, the evil entity that Kurtis had referred to as a wraith.

The woman's eyes glowed red as she started toward her attacker, the growling noise erupting once again within her throat.

Lara smiled at the beast before lifting her foot, and thrusting it forward, sending the woman's form backward and out of a nearby window.

Stillness entered the car as the smile remained, and Lara carefully looked out of the now broken window pane.

She turned to Kurtis, who now lay flat against the floor, gripping his waist.

"Once again I find myself saving your ass." she said in a playful yet fretted tone.

"Catching the enemy off guard?" Kurtis returned, just searching for an excuse to Lara's words. "I wouldn't call that saving my ass."

Lara rolled her eyes. "Well next time I'll let you die." she stated. "Get up." she helped him off the floor, and pressed her hands against his wound. "Who was that?" She asked with slight urgency. "I shot her at the museum. Why isn't she dead?"

"It's a long story." Kurtis simply answered.

Lara looked at his wound, its bandage slightly turning color with the presence of blood. "Well you're not going anywhere until this is fixed up," she spoke, looking back to him, "so start talking."

(-)

Lara helped him back to their cabin, and lye him on the sofa that still remained upright. She lifted his shirt, and started to fix the bloodied gauze.

"So?" she began, impatiently waiting for Kurtis to talk.

"That woman's name is Mariana" he told her with hesitance. "I've known her my entire life, and I've known that she's evil."

"So why didn't you do something about her."

"I couldn't." he stated. "She's been against the Lux Veritatis since the beginning, and she's impossible to kill."

"Why is that?"

"Something happened a while back." he said and then paused as to avoid the question. "She's a demon."

"Great." Lara said with a sarcastic smile. "So why hasn't she killed you before, if she was against the Lux Veritatis?"

"I don't know." he spoke as he sighed, "She and my father where enemies, and she killed my mother." he paused. "But for some reason, she would never touch me. It was like she wanted to be my friend."

"So you just make friends with demons?"

Kurtis looked at her with indecisive eyes. "Six years ago, I left the Lux Veritatis." he told her. "I couldn't take being their puppet anymore, so I decided to go out on my own." he paused, not wanting to tell her the truth. "I started operating less than legal operations for the people who were against the clan, and against my father." he looked down at the words. "Mariana helped me."

"Just like that?" Lara asked, confused. "You trusted someone that killed your mother and wanted to destroy your clan?"

"I didn't have a choice." he stated. "I knew she worked for the Cabal, but getting back at the Veritatis sounded great. I didn't know what I was doing. I was young and stupid."

"Apparently." Lara said, then suddenly stopped with realization. "Wait, if she worked for the Cabal, then you worked for the them." Lara unholstered her pistol at this thought.

"Yeah." Kurtis answered, unsurprised by her action. "I helped them get certain commodities." Kurtis wiped the sweat from his forehead "Guns, explosive, medical equipment. If they needed it, I got it for them." he shook his head. "I started talking to my father again, and realized what I was doing." Kurtis's face turned to anger, and he clenched his fist. "Then Eckhardt-" he stopped with correction, "or Karel, or whoever the fuck was in charge had him killed."

Lara put her gun down. "So they betrayed you."

"Not so surprisingly yeah." He said with a fake smile, wanting to kill himself inside. "They used me to get to my father, because he was the man that kept the clan unified and strong." He starred at her. "After that, I swore that Eckhardt and his organization would fall." he stopped. "And I was a fucking idiot."

Lara jumped as Kurtis suddenly stood up and angrily kicked over a table that sat in front of them. He quickly sat back down however, a sudden dizziness plaguing his mind.

Lara put her hand on his face, and turned it toward her. "You didn't know." she spoke, trying to comfort him. "It's not your fault."

They starred at each other for several seconds, each with thoughts of how they felt toward the other. They were still, as if in a trance, their eyes fixed together with slight comfort and closeness.

Lara felt as though she couldn't move, and she was angered by this action. She had done it, seemed weak in front of Kurtis, and made him think that she cared. Her thoughts grew deeper as the feelings continued. Did she care?

Lara gazed at the paralyzing eyes with wonder, until she pulled herself away in an uncomfortable fashion. She looked at him strangely, then tried to end the silence between them.

"We should be in Lyon in a few minutes." she spoke, slightly shaken by her thoughts. "I'll go get our stuff."

She began to walk away, and suddenly felt Kurtis's hand grasp her own. She slowly turned back to him, not knowing what to expect. She was afraid.

Kurtis stared at her silently, which had Lara slightly worried about his intentions. She was surprised as he let out a simple "thank you" and released her hand.

Lara stared at him once again with mixed thoughts and comprehension, until looking away and hastily leaving the room.

Lara stopped and leaned against the wall as she entered the interconnecting hallway of the next car. She closed her eyes and deeply exhaled, still thinking of Kurtis. She bit her lip, and once again shook her head to delay the thoughts. They meant nothing, just anxiety over her situation.

She felt strangely different as she continued forward to get their luggage.

A/N Ok guys, I know it's been a while since I've edited anything, but one of my best friends was killed March 11th, so I've been kinda spaced out. I'll definitely try to pick up the pace a little because I'm really anxious about the new game and all my Tomb Raider senses are booming. I'd really like some more reviews though. Maybe my story is just to long for a lot of people to read.