Disclaimer: I don't still own the characters. I own none of the myths or artifacts appearing in the story. Only the plot.
Thank you for your reviews. It's nice to know someone still likes this. I've never had more than three reviews per chapter so this is...touching. Hope you have as much fun as I had while writing this. Please review
Pursuit
Konstantin didn't know what Lara was up to but went through his pockets all the same finding not a coin.He whispered the piece of information he had gathered to Lara who became slightly frustrated after hearing the news. She neither had a single coin and they couldn't risk it going back to the hospital. Plus there was Karel to concider and the Halls of Doom of course.
The Halls of Doom. She had forgotten about them. If there truly was a place a creature almost immortal didn't have the will or courage to step into how could she manage? After the Vault of Trophies it's not very big a deal, Karel had told her in the hospital. Hopefully this place wasn't built and designed by Lux Veritatis. The Hall of Seasons and the Vault of Trophies had been enough for a while. She had no idea why something so evil than the Obscura paintings hadn't simply been destroyed. Perhaps they were undestructable or then the Lux Veritatis members who had hid the paintings shared Lara's enthusiasm when it came to archaeology.
"We have to find it before Karel", she said and realized she had said it aloud when Konstantin replied.
"Find what?", was the simple question and even to his ears it sounded stupid.
"Now ain't a good time to discuss it. You do want to stop him, don't you?", Lara hissed back to Konstantin who remained silent.
Lara looked for the black car and when she couldn't see it she signaled Konstantin to follow her. After seeing it was safe she started to run Konstantin hot on her tail. Stealth could go to hell for all she cared about. She didn't have any idea where she was going but her main interest was to get far away from the alley, the hotel, the hospital and Karel.
Suddenly she stopped dead on her tracks and if Konstantin had seen her eyes that moment he wouldn't have liked what he would've seen. She looked like a wild animal who just realized it had been caged and the feeling was far from pleasant. Her eyes looked at the slowly approaching form of the black car and felt the coldness taking her over. Her heart had to struggle for every beat and it felt like the next breath would never come. She hated the feeling. She hated feeling helpless and cornered but had come accustomed to it during her years of adventure. In her profession one had to be ready to face situations where the outcome wouldn't always be the liked or wanted one.
Konstantin was able to gather his thoughts sooner and grabbed Lara's hand. First he got no response but as he tightened his grip she winced and managed to snap out of it. She went through the choices they had quickly in her mind and thought running away would give the most positive outcome. The only positive outcome.
Frantically she searched the area with her eyes trying to find a place to hide. None was offered so she sprinted grabbing Konstantin by his arm.
She didn't look back as she run. Konstantin wasn't something that bothered her now - she heard the man was following. Hearing the car accelerating and the tires screaming as they left a mark on the road made a drop of cold sweat run down her face. Her thighs protested against the sudden movement but obeyed her command.
Konstantin kept his eyes on her back while running as fast as he could. Concidering the closening sound of the black vehicle it wasn't good enough. They had to get of the road. An alley, fore escape or finding a good place to hide would serve the purpose but he could see none of those close by. Damn he hated this. If this had happened a couple years ago he would've stood a chance but now he felt like his body was being ripped apart. To his shock he realized he couln't keep up with Lara's pace. He saw her glancing over her shoulder and stunned expression took over her face. It wasn't hard for Konstantin to understand the voiceless question on her lips and the answer was as easily readible on his face. He was too old for this.
Lara had heard Konstantin falling behind. The sound of his footsteps had grown weaker. She glanced over her shoulder seeing it written over his face. There wasn't much fight left in the man and the rest was escaping from him in the form of sweat that so freely formed on his skin. This was the last thing they needed right now. Suddenly her mind was in the Louvre again running after the brown-haired man who had stolen her painting. He threw open the locked doors and made his chiruqai fly using his mind. She suddenly made a dart to her left and headed for double doors that stood ajar.
Even Konstantin didn't miss the idea of her actions. Surely Karel wouldn't order his driver to enter the building with the car? Killing a few bystanders wouldn't cause Karel to stop but even he had common sense. If he told his driver to drive to the concrete wall there was no way they were going to capture Lara or Konstantin. Even if they were almost immortal they had to wait their wounds to heal. He spurted and ran as fast as he could toward the doors and when he entered the building he heard the driver pushing the brake pedal causing the tires to scream. Konstantin didn't care what happened outside. He concentrated on the doors picturing them closed in his mind..
"Come!", Lara's voice brought him back to reality and together they sprinted up the stairs while the Nephilim fought with the now locked door.
"Wait a moment!", Konstantin hissed and ran to the elevator. He pressed the button calling down the elevator. When the elevator's doors opened Konstantin pressed the button of eight storey and grinned to Lara after doing so. They watched as the light of the second storey button was lit and the elevator sent on its way.
At the very same moment they heard a loud crash as the doors couldn't hold the Nephilim outside anymore. Lara gave Konstantin the so called 'What now?' look and the grin on the man's face disappeared. He pointed at the small dark place under the stairs.
It didn't take long before Karel and his companions were standing there. No voices could be heard but the four of them were still communicating in some inhuman manner. They didn't stand there long and two of them stormed upstairs while the others seemed to go and search the basement.
Lara was stunned. She wouldn't have fallen for it but Konstantin knew their adversaries better. She thought at least Karel would've understood that there was no reason in going to the top floor if there was no way down from there. This building was strange to her and she had never seen its roof. Perhaps Karel hadn't been tricked so many times. At least not by someone who was almost completely human. Maybe that was the difference between humans and the Nephilim. Others thought that death couldn't touch them and because of it didn't concider any other race as their equal. Human beings on the other hand knew death could touch them and didn't concider any other species living on earth as their equal. The difference was that the Nephilim thought they were the kings of the world while all the humans wanted to be kings. The difference was small but it existed. She was about to leave their hiding place but he stopped her. They needed as long headstart as they could have and he wasn't going to risk it.
Few more seconds crawled past and when Konstantin thought it was safe they sneaked out of the building headed for the car. The black vehicle stood on the street end seeing it made Lara feel a little nauseous. She thought what the car stood for and who owned it. How would it feel to sit in something that belonged to the very things you hated? She didn't have to think for it long.
"Shit. They took the keys!", Konstantin sweared.
This brought a small smile on Lara's lips. It seemed that old dogs could lern new tricks.
Thank you for your reviews. It's nice to know someone still likes this. I've never had more than three reviews per chapter so this is...touching. Hope you have as much fun as I had while writing this. Please review
Pursuit
Konstantin didn't know what Lara was up to but went through his pockets all the same finding not a coin.He whispered the piece of information he had gathered to Lara who became slightly frustrated after hearing the news. She neither had a single coin and they couldn't risk it going back to the hospital. Plus there was Karel to concider and the Halls of Doom of course.
The Halls of Doom. She had forgotten about them. If there truly was a place a creature almost immortal didn't have the will or courage to step into how could she manage? After the Vault of Trophies it's not very big a deal, Karel had told her in the hospital. Hopefully this place wasn't built and designed by Lux Veritatis. The Hall of Seasons and the Vault of Trophies had been enough for a while. She had no idea why something so evil than the Obscura paintings hadn't simply been destroyed. Perhaps they were undestructable or then the Lux Veritatis members who had hid the paintings shared Lara's enthusiasm when it came to archaeology.
"We have to find it before Karel", she said and realized she had said it aloud when Konstantin replied.
"Find what?", was the simple question and even to his ears it sounded stupid.
"Now ain't a good time to discuss it. You do want to stop him, don't you?", Lara hissed back to Konstantin who remained silent.
Lara looked for the black car and when she couldn't see it she signaled Konstantin to follow her. After seeing it was safe she started to run Konstantin hot on her tail. Stealth could go to hell for all she cared about. She didn't have any idea where she was going but her main interest was to get far away from the alley, the hotel, the hospital and Karel.
Suddenly she stopped dead on her tracks and if Konstantin had seen her eyes that moment he wouldn't have liked what he would've seen. She looked like a wild animal who just realized it had been caged and the feeling was far from pleasant. Her eyes looked at the slowly approaching form of the black car and felt the coldness taking her over. Her heart had to struggle for every beat and it felt like the next breath would never come. She hated the feeling. She hated feeling helpless and cornered but had come accustomed to it during her years of adventure. In her profession one had to be ready to face situations where the outcome wouldn't always be the liked or wanted one.
Konstantin was able to gather his thoughts sooner and grabbed Lara's hand. First he got no response but as he tightened his grip she winced and managed to snap out of it. She went through the choices they had quickly in her mind and thought running away would give the most positive outcome. The only positive outcome.
Frantically she searched the area with her eyes trying to find a place to hide. None was offered so she sprinted grabbing Konstantin by his arm.
She didn't look back as she run. Konstantin wasn't something that bothered her now - she heard the man was following. Hearing the car accelerating and the tires screaming as they left a mark on the road made a drop of cold sweat run down her face. Her thighs protested against the sudden movement but obeyed her command.
Konstantin kept his eyes on her back while running as fast as he could. Concidering the closening sound of the black vehicle it wasn't good enough. They had to get of the road. An alley, fore escape or finding a good place to hide would serve the purpose but he could see none of those close by. Damn he hated this. If this had happened a couple years ago he would've stood a chance but now he felt like his body was being ripped apart. To his shock he realized he couln't keep up with Lara's pace. He saw her glancing over her shoulder and stunned expression took over her face. It wasn't hard for Konstantin to understand the voiceless question on her lips and the answer was as easily readible on his face. He was too old for this.
Lara had heard Konstantin falling behind. The sound of his footsteps had grown weaker. She glanced over her shoulder seeing it written over his face. There wasn't much fight left in the man and the rest was escaping from him in the form of sweat that so freely formed on his skin. This was the last thing they needed right now. Suddenly her mind was in the Louvre again running after the brown-haired man who had stolen her painting. He threw open the locked doors and made his chiruqai fly using his mind. She suddenly made a dart to her left and headed for double doors that stood ajar.
Even Konstantin didn't miss the idea of her actions. Surely Karel wouldn't order his driver to enter the building with the car? Killing a few bystanders wouldn't cause Karel to stop but even he had common sense. If he told his driver to drive to the concrete wall there was no way they were going to capture Lara or Konstantin. Even if they were almost immortal they had to wait their wounds to heal. He spurted and ran as fast as he could toward the doors and when he entered the building he heard the driver pushing the brake pedal causing the tires to scream. Konstantin didn't care what happened outside. He concentrated on the doors picturing them closed in his mind..
"Come!", Lara's voice brought him back to reality and together they sprinted up the stairs while the Nephilim fought with the now locked door.
"Wait a moment!", Konstantin hissed and ran to the elevator. He pressed the button calling down the elevator. When the elevator's doors opened Konstantin pressed the button of eight storey and grinned to Lara after doing so. They watched as the light of the second storey button was lit and the elevator sent on its way.
At the very same moment they heard a loud crash as the doors couldn't hold the Nephilim outside anymore. Lara gave Konstantin the so called 'What now?' look and the grin on the man's face disappeared. He pointed at the small dark place under the stairs.
It didn't take long before Karel and his companions were standing there. No voices could be heard but the four of them were still communicating in some inhuman manner. They didn't stand there long and two of them stormed upstairs while the others seemed to go and search the basement.
Lara was stunned. She wouldn't have fallen for it but Konstantin knew their adversaries better. She thought at least Karel would've understood that there was no reason in going to the top floor if there was no way down from there. This building was strange to her and she had never seen its roof. Perhaps Karel hadn't been tricked so many times. At least not by someone who was almost completely human. Maybe that was the difference between humans and the Nephilim. Others thought that death couldn't touch them and because of it didn't concider any other race as their equal. Human beings on the other hand knew death could touch them and didn't concider any other species living on earth as their equal. The difference was that the Nephilim thought they were the kings of the world while all the humans wanted to be kings. The difference was small but it existed. She was about to leave their hiding place but he stopped her. They needed as long headstart as they could have and he wasn't going to risk it.
Few more seconds crawled past and when Konstantin thought it was safe they sneaked out of the building headed for the car. The black vehicle stood on the street end seeing it made Lara feel a little nauseous. She thought what the car stood for and who owned it. How would it feel to sit in something that belonged to the very things you hated? She didn't have to think for it long.
"Shit. They took the keys!", Konstantin sweared.
This brought a small smile on Lara's lips. It seemed that old dogs could lern new tricks.