Chapter 20
Their shadows were hidden by darkness as they continued forward. The tunnel headed straight and slightly down, leading them under the mountainside, and closer toward the ancient Vial.
The companions were blind as they walked, no glint of light anywhere as the tunnel continued for several minutes. The air smelt of moisture and mold, though neither could possibly have made itself into this hidden place.
Lara, unsure of their destination, considered a flare. The idea was cut short as a slight brightness appeared before her eyes. The tunnel was still too dark to see clearly, but her eyes could now make out the faint outline of the rectangular floor, and the white ceiling that hovered only two feet above them.
Kurtis's pace had quickened; he had seen it too. She followed behind, ever nearing the faint light, which now grew brighter to her eyes. Lara could hear a faint echoing noise ahead, and could barely see Kurtis as he wandered farther forward. She quickened her pace, the noise growing louder along with the light.
They were there. The tunnel ended.
Lara starred ahead, peering past Kurtis's shadowed outline. An opening had appeared 20 feet in front of them, and the appearance of a large room could be seen on its other side. They started toward it.
Lara and Kurtis were forced to shield their eyes as the familiarity of darkness was suddenly changed.
Lara waited for the brightness to settle, and forced her lids open to peer at the room before her. She smiled.
The room was moderately large, rounded, and held a high ceiling that stretched no more than 30 feet above them. She stared at the room; almost identical to the one in Annaba that they had been forced to scale, only a lot smaller. This room only had one floor, and only one set of doors on its opposite side, immense and colored dark red. The doors were made even more eerie by the light that shown against their surface. Several torches lined the room in no specific place, and a single candle lay in the center of the room atop a thin, stone alter; all were kept burning by some ancient occult mysticism, or even a curse of some kind.
They entered the room, cautiously waiting for an unwanted presence to show itself. None did. The room was still and silent, other that their footsteps cast gently upon the marble floor. Lara stared down, studying the stone below her. The floor was a faint yellow on its outer edges, either natural or tinted by the flames, Lara couldn't tell. Inside of the edge, the floor was identical to the giant door; dark red. Its surface was decorated with thin lines of black that ran along the red colored marble. Lara studied it, familiarity in its presence. She backed away, searching for a better view to configure the markings. She grinned with annoyance as she saw its pattern. Again the branded circle ran across the floor, symbolizing the Lux Veritatis and that Kurtis was supposed to be here.
Lara redirected her attention to the giant doors. She neared them, cautiously watching the floor, searching for any dents or rises where traps may be tripped. She crossed without disruption, and stared at the object before her.
Her hands met cold iron, graced by ancient nails, and a long since rotten wooden support. She pushed forward on its surface to find that it wouldn't move. It had either jammed, or Kurtis wasn't meant to walk through it. She looked for him throughout the chamber to find him staring forward, taking in the room and contemplating his destiny. He looked confused as he walked toward the candle that stood in the middle of the room.
"It's locked." Lara called to him, her hand still firmly against the door. She received no answer. Lara exhaled with unwanted disappointment. She felt strange as Kurtis constantly neglected her, especially after sleeping with him. She was starting to feel that he had only used her. "No." Her mind spoke out as she realized that she had been the one who used him.
She felt like a whore at that moment, and quickly redirected her mind. Maybe the reason he was acting so strange was because of her actions the previous night. She regretted coming back to attack him. She felt immature and unlike herself at the thought of the attempt. Maybe he was afraid of her. Maybe he didn't trust her. Lara's mind suddenly laughed with pathetic gullibility. Why did she care how he treated her anyway? "What's done is done." She told herself. "And I don't regret any of it."
Lara bit her lip with personal disgust. She did care about his neglect. She was worried about it, worried about how he felt about her.
Her concern wasn't like before however. She wasn't scared about him liking her, but disappointed at the thought that he didn't.
She slowly turned her head toward him, not wanting to attract attention to her longing stare.
Kurtis stared at the candle which sat before him. The small flame flickered off his pupils, creating the essence of a demon against his eyes as he neared the unscathed wax, it's form still solid after thousands of years aflame; Lara would love it.
He called to her.
Lara was relieved as Kurtis called her name. It was the first time since they had arrived that he had truly acknowledged her being there. She smiled to herself as she started toward him, maybe he had forgiven her. "Or maybe he hadn't blamed you in the first place."
Lara stopped. Something distant rang within her ear, alarming her of a nearby presence. She listened quietly in the direction of the giant door. She stared at it as the slight noise of a large object dragged across a textured floor sounded on the opposite side.
She heard Kurtis speak "This is incredible." as she timidly scanned the doorway.
She ignored his words, focusing entirely on the door that stood before her. She grabbed her pistol as the noise sounded again, louder this time. Someone, or something was behind it, waiting for them to let their guard down or to activate the door, and set whatever it was free.
"Kurtis." Lara spoke lowly to gain her companion's attention, though she never took her eyes from the locked door. "There's something in their."
She received no answer.
"Kurtis." Lara repeated, slightly louder as she slowly backed away from the iron gateway in front of her. "There is something in there."
Again, no answer came.
The noise sounded again and Lara was forced to slightly jump out of fear and anxiousness. She didn't know what to expect, but there was no doubt in her mind that soon she would be facing the creature that awaited her.
"Get back." she stated to Kurtis. She could see him from the corner of her eyes. He was silent in response.
"Kurtis!" Lara screamed, ignoring the sound that continued through the doorway out of sheer annoyance. She received the answer of "What!" from Kurtis, just, if not more, aggravated than her statement was. Lara stared at him with angered features, undescribably frustrated at his ignoring her. She started again, her face slightly red in color. "I said, that there is something behind the fucking doo-"
Lara's words were cut short as the iron door before her suddenly left its ancient hinges and burst open, delivering an unbearable amount of force throughout the hollowed room, nearly knocking her to the floor. She quickly jumped backward and leveled her pistols, aiming toward the newly opened passageway.
She stared at the gaping darkness that stood before her, unsure of what was to come.
The room was silent at that moment as the scraping noise no longer came. Lara held steady hands as her aim never waned. She breathed lightly as Kurtis appeared by her side. She ignored him, completely absorbed with-
Her thoughts were interrupted as a new noise occurred, a sweeping noise, the noise of an object moving rapidly through the air, a no doubt deadly object in this instance.
She saw the fatal instrument. It's slightly visible form coming toward her.
Lara quickly holstered her guns and stared forward with a smile. The blur grew larger, and she could make out the object that sped rapidly toward her, an ancient spear, blackened with age.
She stared, studying the weapon's movement before thrusting her arm outward and stepping to the side.
Lara's hand met the blistered wood and she quickly pivoted on her heel. Her body spun rapidly around and she fiercely threw her arm forward, lunging the spear back toward the darkness with a single movement.
The silence ended as the spear hit its target, the noise one of metal upon metal. A sturdy target.
The noise suddenly changed however, changed to the noise that she had heard earlier, that of the shuffling creature coming closer.
Lara and Kurtis didn't move. Their eyes were set, waiting for the ancient being to present itself.
The noise grew louder at that moment, as the shadows slowly separated, teasing the naked eye and making time seem even slower. Then, the enemy appeared.
A dim light covered the single knight's form as a cracking noise erupted from its chest, the sound of the spear wedged in its upper body splitting apart, the figure ripping it out, unscathed by the attempt to kill it.
"Not again." Lara stated aloud as the knight threw the wooden slab to the ground.
She reached for her pistols but stopped as her eyes met the broken spear; it was covered in blood, the blood of a living thing. This warrior wasn't like the ones she had encountered before. He was real, a living and breathing form part of some ancient mysticism, and immortal as it seemed.
Kurtis held his Boran X firmly with his hand. He stared at the ancient knight, something familiar about its presence, something telling him that this warrior was somehow the key to this cursed place. The knights armor was thicker than any he had ever seen. Its breastplate held the symbol of the Lux Veritatis, and a helmet covered the warriors face, hiding its features and true appearance.
Kurtis slightly stepped back as the knight retrieved a large sword from its sheath. Kurtis returned his advance however, as the warrior began toward Lara. He breathed rapidly and aimed his pistol as the knight met Lara's form, threatening her life. He fired.
Kurtis watched as the sword fell from the soldier's grasp. He then aimed at the creature's head, ready to fire once again.
He instantly stopped as the figure's breastplate became more apparent. The inner quarters were lined with the letters LTV, the sign of his lineage.
All the lore he was taught as a child instantly returned to his mind as he stared at the ancient warrior, the lessons of the guardian knights and those who wore the Lux Veritatis emblem. He remembered the statements of truth and honor between those who served his cause and-
Kurtis's mind stalled as he saw Lara before him, her gun cocked, ready to destroy the creature that had attacked them.
"Don't." Kurtis lightly spoke before rushing to her side. "Let him pick up the sword."
Lara stared at Kurtis with confusion. "Are you insane?" she asked with sarcasm. "Let him pick up the damn thing so he can kill us with it?"
"It isn't like that." Kurtis replied as he turned to the knight. "I don't know what it is, but something's telling me that he can help us."
Lara stared at the warrior one last time before unsurely lowering her pistol. "You'd better be right about this."
The companions were still, as though mocking the creature's motions. There was no movement throughout the room, only silence, silence that was quickly broken as the knight stepped closer toward them.
Lara fought her instincts and forced herself to remain still as the being approaching. Her anxiety ended as the creature suddenly turned its head as if confused. Lara watched him, unsure of the knight's actions, until it proved her assumptions false and began to speak. Something the other warriors she had encountered failed to do. The creature's voice was commanding, but had an absent presence. It seemed to glide across the room, drifting upon echoes that weren't even their. Its distant bearing forced a shiver through Lara as she listened to the creature's words.
"Why have you halted your defense Kurtis Trent?"
Lara looked to Kurtis with confusion from the statement. He held a smile on his face, knowing that he had been right, and that he was closer to his final goal. She was glad to see it. "How did he know your name?"
"I don't know." Kurtis replied as he slowly walked past her and neared the mythical soldier that stood proudly before them. "If you know me," Kurtis started, then hesitated with anxiousness, "then you know why I'm here."
The iron helmet convincingly nodded forward in response. Kurtis slightly receded his advance as the creature's hands started forward, Kurtis sighed with relief as it brought them to its head. He watched with curiosity as the knight gripped the metal cover on its head, and lifted it upward.
Lara and Kurtis were silent as the warrior's helmet was taken away. They stood with disbelief as a chin appeared, and was followed by nostrils, and a pair of eyes. This creature was no creature at all, he was human.
The form was normal to every extent. The man beneath the armor was no more than thirty years old as Lara could tell, physically that was. His head was thickly covered with brown hair, and his eyes were blue, reminding her of Kurtis's. No facial hair graced the stocky man's face, and his appearance was that of any average being, other than the stub of a spear that stuck from the middle of his chest.
His mouth opened once again, delivering the heavenly melody that continued to astonished Lara.
"Yes, I know you Kurtis Trent, the son of the former Lux Veritatis leader Konstantine. You are the savior of the world, and the man who will-"
"How?" Kurtis cut the ancient guardian off with confusion and slight anger at his father's name. "How do you know all this. Who are you?"
"I am the knight Garen, a simple messenger," the man continued, "kept alive by the original Constantine to lead you on your way, and guide you to your destiny."
"But how do you know me?"
"That is not important. You have made it this far, and that is all that matters." the knight ended his words as he walked toward a torch on the circular wall. "You have passed the test, and now you must receive the scripture."
Lara looked to Kurtis with a questioning glance, then turned back to Garen. "Test?"
"The first of five." The knight spoke out as he gripped the nearest torch and forced it from the wall. "Kurtis has extensive knowledge of the Lux Veritatis, the most formidable being his honor. He remembered the sacred lineage of never attacking a member of his own kindred group." He stopped as a grin appeared across the ancient face. "Something I am very thankful for."
"But you said five." Lara began as she turned to Kurtis, frustrated. "Five tests means that the Vial isn't here."
"I was not meant to lead you to the sacred Vial," Garen answered her protest, "but simply toward your next step in finding it."
Kurtis shook his head with angry realization. "So the map," he spoke softly, "wasn't a map at all. All I needed was the sentence printed on it, so that I would come here." Kurtis stared as the knight slowly nodded his head in agreement. "How did you know I would understand it?" Kurtis continued. "Or that I would even survive the Realm of Valor."
"We did not know either." Garen answered. "But we did know that your companion could achieve both." The knight's eyes waned to Lara as he mysteriously smiled.
"What?" Lara asked with a disbelieving grin and slight sarcasm. "You knew I was going to be with him?"
"We have known many things for many years." The man simply stated before bowing toward her.
Lara and Kurtis watched unsurely as the knight turned away from them, and started through the now opened iron door. The torch within his grasp reflected eerily off of the ancient walls of the hidden fortress.
Lara smiled with achievement as she turned to Kurtis. Her expression was met by its opposite. "What is it?" Lara asked, confused at his concerned look.
"Nothing." He harshly stated before walking aggressively past her. He headed toward the path that Garen had taken.
Lara stared at him with anger and slight worry. She wanted to hate him, but couldn't. He was too incredible to hate, and too desperate. He needed her and she knew it.
And with the death of Winston, she needed him.
Kurtis stepped into the near darkness with Lara following closely behind. He listened to the knight's words as Garen continued to guide them.
"You will now receive the first ancestral scroll." the figure stated as it's iron foot holds clashed loudly against the marble floor. "You shall receive one during the completion of each of your tests, and each will help to guide you toward the next, until eventually your quest will be complete."
Garen suddenly halted as he turned to face the companions. Lara had just noticed the small podium that stood behind the warrior, gracing the path's dead-end, and presenting them with an ancient roll of paper.
Kurtis greedily went toward the scroll as Garen looked on with a satisfied stare.
Lara watched as Kurtis quickly unrolled the paper, unscathed by time, just as the mystical candle had been in the previous room. His eyes ran rapidly across its surface as he read the scripture's message.
Garen spoke the words aloud as Kurtis read them within his mind. "Discover the next path of gallantry in the one place where the Lux Veritatis were truly born."
Kurtis slowly lowered the scripture and looked to Lara as the words were finalized, a never ending glance that had the feelings of confusion, acceptance, and relief. He smiled at her as he started toward her...and kept going, back to the main hall.
Lara watched him as he passed by her, a grimacing smile across his face. He knew something that she didn't, as his eyes were full of excitement and anxiousness at the scrolls disoriented message. She looked up as Garen moved in front of her. His features seemed different at that moment, and Lara slightly backed away out of surprise. She forced herself to calm as the face continued to change, conforming into an older image of himself, the darkness turning grey and the beauty turning horrid.
"Thankyou." She softly stated before quickly turning around wanting to catch up with Kurtis, but also wanting to leave the strangeness of the changing features. Her motion was stopped as the knight's voice rang out "Wait" behind her.
Lara quickly turned back toward him. She slightly gasped at the presence before her, no longer young and attractive, but old and decayed, aging in a mere second from what would normally take a lifetime.
"The candle." Garen spoke within his final words. "It must be put out, or I am to remain in this prison for all of eternity. My work is done. Won't you set me free?"
Lara stared at the now old and withered features of the ancestral knight as he spoke. She gently nodded her head when his words had finished, she would do him the favor; she would kill him.
Lara slowly walked out of the tunnel and back into the circular hall. She stared at the candle as she walked toward it. Its shape was perfect, a solid cylinder even after thousands of years of being aflame. It gave off a bright white essence like Lara had never seen. She didn't want to end its beauty, but forced her lips to conform, and unleash air upon the small flame.
The light flickered lightly, then suddenly disappeared, just as Garen had, no longer a man, but a pile of dust upon the ancient floor. Lara smiled with admiration as she walked toward the mystical fortress's exit. Kurtis stood in the small tunnel's entrance, staring at her as she came toward him.
"Nice thing you did." Kurtis stated with a smile, a smart elect tone in his voice. "Killing him."
Lara returned the attitude, "Maybe one day I'll do it for you."
(-)
Sunlight struck across shadowed faces as they emerged from the underground fortress. Lara covered her eyes as its beams evilly pulled at her eyes. She saw Kurtis going rapidly toward the parked Jeep that he had driven to the canyon wall.
"What's the hurry?" Lara asked as she started toward the vehicle. "We still haven't figured out the scroll yet."
"It's done." Kurtis told her as he started the ignition, and shifted to Drive.
"What?" Lara asked as she opened the passenger door and casually climbed into the Jeep.
"The next scroll's in Turkey. " He answered as the vehicle lunged forward.
Lara smiled with sarcasm. "May I ask how you know this."
"Because of the text on the first one."" Kurtis replied. "It said 'the place where the Lux Veritatis are born.' It can't mean that literally because the clan was spread all over the world."
"So born is a metaphor for what?"
"Our lineage." Kurtis replied as they sped across the barren salt flats. "There's a cathedral in Samandira, Istanbul where all the members take their final vows and become an official part of the Lux Veritatis. So in their terms that's where we're truly 'born,' or initiated into the clan."
Lara smiled as she stared at him with amazement. "So we are actually going to the site of the ancient Byzantine Empire?" she asked with sarcasm as Kurtis smiled. She bit her lip, despite her anger at him for all of the trouble he had caused, "I guess you're smarter than I thought you were."
A/N: Man am I glad that's done, those 2 'Utah' chapters aren't my favorite I've read them so much I'm sick of them. I'll be able to get through the rest a lot quicker cause I actually enjoy them. ;) Need some more reviews guys! Don't want to write a sequel for a stoey that only 16 people have read!