Chapter 41 (Epilogue)
Three days later
"I finished my assignment." Kurtis spoke into the payphone receiver held loosely in his hand. "I got the Vial, so I don't want to hear anymore shit out of you bastards."
"I'm afraid Mr. Trent," another voice sounded on the connections receiving end. It was slightly older with its heritage, and quiet, on the verge of a whisper yet loud in its commanding presence. "that you will be hearing from us bastards, until an actual elder is created." The voice paused as if in thought and speculation. "Bring the Vial to the church in Istanbul, and we can sort things out for you and your future child."
Kurtis was silent at the words, knowing the truth that would have to be told, knowing that his superior would not want to hear it. "I can't" He spoke firmly.
"And why is that?" The man asked, more jokingly and confused than angered.
Kurtis spoke with hesitance and breathed deeply, afraid of the reaction he would receive. "I don't have it anymore."
"What!" the man questioned with fear and rage, desperation in his voice. "You lost it!"
"No." Kurtis simply answered him.
"Then what happened! Where is the Vial!"
Kurtis paused as he closed his eyes, forcing the words to appear, "I used it."
Kurtis could sense a change in the man named Daquord's attitude though his voice was silent. The tension changed from fear of the Vial being lost, to rage at Kurtis's statement.
Daquord's words came softly however, hoping that he had heard the young demon hunter wrong. "Mr. Trent, you know full well that this organization does not take well to practical jokes."
Kurtis faked a smile though no one could see him, "That's why I never make one."He paused "I fell in love and she died, so I used the Vial to revive her.
"You used it?" The man repeated the words sullenly, though his thoughts were the opposite. "May I ask the woman's name?"
"Her first name's Lara." Kurtis spoke quickly, then wished he hadn't. "And that's all you're gonna get."
A silence returned at the words. The slightly aged man was taking the time to comprehend what he had just been exposed to, his thoughts quickly changed from understanding to evil. "Listen to me." Daquord firmly threatened, though his voice was still low. "You have no idea the possible horrors you may have unleas-"
"I don't understand the problem." Kurtis lashed out with confusion and impatience. "In order for me to have a child, I have to have a woman. I just did what was necessary to finish what I started because I lov-"
"She is not the one!" The man then yelled with frustration and slight worry, the noise aching Kurtis's ears and creating even more confusion in them both.
"The one? What do you mean?"
"Did you ever consider Mr. Trent, that you were not the true Veritatis savior, that your wife would be?" the man paused, letting the words sink in. "And that wife was not meant to be Lara Croft!"
Kurtis stared at the ground, brows arched at Daquord's final word, "How did you know her last name?" Fear entered his mind.
"That is not important."
"I think it is!"
"No!" the man stopped the argument. "What is important is that this misunderstanding can be corrected." His voice paused with thought. "Bring this Lara to me. We may still be able to use the Augustine blood on the real woman you were meant to feed it into."
Fear erupted again in Kurtis. "How could you? The blood's been used."
"The Vial's blood is not restricted to a certain type, and therefore can be placed in anyone." He paused. "A complete blood transfusion should work."
Kurtis felt his jaw slightly drop with realization. "No." he spoke sternly with anger. "A procedure like that would take a blood type that matched Lara's. You'd never be able to get that amount of blood, so it's impossible."
"And why do we care whether Lara Croft receives the other end of the transfusion?"
Kurtis shook his head, his teeth clenched. They were going to kill her. "You stay the fuck away from us."
"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen. You have ruined-"
"Lara is a fucking woman just like whoever the hell you want me to have. She is just as capable to-"
"The prophecy does not-"
"Fuck the prophecy!" Kurtis screamed. "I love her! And you are not gonna take her from me like you've done everything else in my life!"
The phone slammed into the receiver as Kurtis's emotions turned to anger. They knew who Lara was and they would come for her. He didn't understand. What was Daquord talking about the chosen one, not him but a woman? It made no sense. If he wasn't-
It didn't matter, what mattered was Lara, what mattered was keeping her alive. He quickly left the glass booth upon the street corner, and made his way back toward the small hotel at the end of the city block. Lara was inside, her mind in the dark of unconsciousness, expecting nothing, with no idea of what was to come.
(-)
The older man with the dark set eyes calmly hung up the phone as the line was disconnected, knowing the warrior Kurtis Trent's anger. He couldn't muster a smile, his fear of the future made his sternness more defined. He retrieved the receiver once again, dialing a new number, one he hadn't dialed in ages.
"Hello." A cracked voice sounded, blistered with age and cruelty.
"I've been in contact with Kurtis Trent." Daquord spoke. "I'm afraid I have bad news Sir."
The line was silent, the man on the opposite end not granting himself assumptions, he had no time for them.
"He's used the Vial on Lara Croft." Daquord continued. "After she'd died, he revived her."
The pause continued from the mysterious man known simply as Sir, a pause that was created out of anger and thought, both controlled with temperance. But the silence was short-lived. "You know what must be done."
"Yes Sir." Daquord answered the statement. "I'll dispatch the priest to retrieve Miss Croft immediately."
The line went dead once again.
(-)
Kurtis quickly entered the hotel room as quietly as possible. He shut the door behind him, the cold night air sending a chill across his skin. He turned, staring at the bed in the center of the room, upon it, a face-down body, one, if considered by motion, was dead. Lara had been unconscious for three days, never stirring whatsoever since the Augustine blood had entered her system. He walked to her, gently placing his hand upon the side of her cheek. He was afraid of her, afraid of what she would think of him once she awoke, once she realized what she had become. He didn't care what she did, not even is she killed him. Just seeing her alive and breathing would be worth it, his conscious becoming clear would be worth it.
His hand slid down her back, slightly lifting her shirt with his fingers, her fair skin exposed, its color now fully returned. His fingertips caressed the healed scar where a blade had once resided, a blade placed there by him. His hand continued further down, and then stopped, halted upon the circular figure quartered by a cross, the cursed brand that the Lux Veritatis were forced to bare. The ancient marking shown clearly against Lara's pale skin. She was one of him, and she was alive. It was a reality.
Kurtis closed his eyes, cursing himself. Wouldn't she be better off dead? Better off without thousands of dark entities hunting her down, not to mention the wraiths, and soon the men he worked for, the priests of the Veritatis order, Daquord, a man he could once call his friend, but never again.
He felt selfish, knowing that Lara's life would never be the same, never be as the tomb raider would want it to be. She had no idea the horror that was about to come, but he would protect her, protect her from all of the evil he had caused.
After all, he loved her.
(-)
The wraith gripped its stomach as it walked rapidly up the stairs of the Culdas Cathedral in Zurich. Blood flowed heavily from the wound within its waist, caused by the shotgun of a former target, a woman with a braid and impeccable aim. He stumbled to the church's immense doors, forcing them open with his weight. The wraith could feel the life slowly waning from its host; he had to hurry.
The demon paced quickly through the arched hallway, its eyes meeting a hooded form at the distant side of the long corridor. The creature forced its host forward, dying though it felt no pain. He neared the superior figure, its back to him. The wraith stopped as he bowed his head. "Master." He spoke through blood stained teeth.
The hooded figure raised his head, the dead body of a priest beneath him, and another in a nearby corner. The man turned to the wraith that kneeled behind him, slightly unsure of it's unfamiliar face. "Where is Mariana?"
The demon winced as it's host sputtered up blood "Dead." it spoke quickly, then rushed its next sentence before the Master could become angry. "But she finished the assignment. She forced the Trent warrior to ruin the Veritatis prophecy."
The hooded figure's eyes glared fiercely at the creature's words. He thrust his hand forward, tightly gripping the wraith's throat, ending its statement. "Where is the Vial!"
"He used it!" the wraith could barely speak through the crushed windpipe.
"He used it!" the wild eyed figure screamed. "I ordered that you retrieve the Vial, not let him use it! Your insolence has caused my ruin! I shall never have the blood of Augustine!"
"No." the wraith spoke desperately. "He used it on a woman!" The words stalled, trying to regain oxygen to help them form. "You could easily find this fare and have a child my master! That way the Veritatis and the Nephilim can still become one! Just as you'd planned!"
"I don't have the time!" the angered man tightened his grip before quickly releasing it. He pushed forward forcefully, throwing the demon to the floor. "It will take nearly a year for a child to be born." the figure cursed with anger as he turned back toward the whimpering figure before him, casually stepping over the body of the priest he had murdered while purifying the church. "What was this woman's name?"
The demon paused with recollection as it coughed through sore throat muscles. "Lara Croft."
The hooded figure froze at the words. He knew the name. He knew the long braided hair and the full lips, the lithe body and the brown eyes. The description belonged to a figure who had been reported to him as dead. He thought that the Veritatis prophecy had called for her demise; he must have been wrong.
The Master smiled at the vision, his mind instantly changed. He would enjoy Lara Croft's help in creating his crossbreed of good and evil. He would enjoy it very much. The figure turned back to the frightened demon, and quickly gripped the creature's waist. Sacred words left his lips as ancient mysticism ran from his mind to the injured wraith's stomach. The bullet wound instantly sealed. He looked into the creature's eyes. "Gather the twins Gabriel and Jendine." he paused as he turned away. "Bring the Croft woman to me."
The sound of footsteps rapidly sounded behind the shadowed figure as the wraith frantically left his side. He stared forward for a moment, his mind swarming with malignant thoughts, thoughts more than pleasing to his twisted ways. His hands met the black and red satin hood that fell evilly across his forehead. He slowly pushed it back, revealing his slightly distorted features and his short blond hair.
An anxious and hopeful emotion entered the Master's mind.
Karel smiled.
A/N: TO BE CONTINUED...someday. I hope you guys really like this story, and I'm so happy to have finally finished it after 2 years of working on it. The end wasn't a big surprise I know, but I had some good ideas for the sequel, if I ever get to it. Thanx to everyone who got all the way through it, I know it's rather lengthy. I'm interested to know what parts you liked and didn't like, so please post them up! Thanx again!