A/N: sorry, third time i've reposted this chapter. Something is wrong with my stat counters and i had to repost one more time...unfortunately i dont know how many people have read, so please reviewso i can gauge how quickly i need to update! sorry for any inconvenience!
revised just slightly from the original posting. Hope it makes more sense now!
Atrum Umbra de Silenti
"That was fun" Lara actually said to her partners, loving the experience a narrowly escaped death gave her.
"Sure. Tons of fun." Kurtis replied coldly.
With out another word, the three walked through the doorway, now finding themselves in a large, circular arena, with a high pointed dome and walls that began to slope at the floor. Once again, a circular opening in the pinnacle of the dome shed a soft, white light on the cavernous complex.
"What do we do know? There are no doors." Alice asked, innocently.
"There's always a door." Lara stated, with authority.
"No, she's actually right. There aren't any doors. But look, there's some sort of grating in the center…" Kurtis replied coolly, as they started walking towards a grated trapdoor directly opposite the circular hole in the ceiling. "But how does it open?"
Lara scanned the room. She knew enough about gratings in the floor to understand that there probably was a switch somewhere to open it. Indeed there was. High up on the wall lay a little crevasse, which once followed it led to a small opening in the sloping wall-ceiling.
"Look. Up there. It'll take some climbing, but ultimately, not a problem. I'll do it." Lara said without any uttered disagreement. She walked over to the wall were she began to make the ascent to the crevasse, her lithe muscles accustomed to the jaunt and relishing in every movement up the wall.
As she made her climb, Alice and Kurtis tried to fill the void in their conversations with a survey of the room. They purposely slipped to opposite sides from the other, taking in the expanse of the architecture.
"Kurtis!" Alice hissed. "There's something here. It's Latin…" Kurtis sauntered over.
"What, you don't know Latin?"
"French, German, Russian, and some Arabic, but no, no Latin."
Kurtis tried to hide the astonishment he felt at the degree of languages she knew by leaning forward and attempting to translate the script, as Lara pulled herself into the housing of the switch.
"Angelus socius caelitus unto Abyssus , exspectata per atrum umbra de silenti etc: The Angels fell from heaven unto hell, and were welcomed by the dark shadows of the Dead. Huh, wonder what that's supposed to mean." Just then, Lara pulled the switch, causing the trapdoor to open as the floor shuddered slightly. Alice's hands wrapped themselves around Kurtis's arm as they braced themselves. When the floor stopped shaking, Kurtis noticed this, and smirked at Alice.
"Oh grow up," she said, sounding exasperated and condescending. "With your history of translations, I expected the worst. And yes, if I went down, I was taking you with me." She sauntered off to the center of the room by the grate coldly, once again leaving Kurtis confused.
Having pulled the switch, Lara began her descent. It was not a difficult climb up, but it was harder going down. She trailed down the ceiling before she was no more than a story off the ground. Instead of finishing the climb, however, she jumped, lacking the patience to end properly. No sooner had she made her way to the center of the floor, where she was met by Alice staring into the abyss and Kurtis looking confused as ever, when the white light from the ceiling dimmed considerably, casting shadows that were rapidly encroaching onto the trio in the center.
"What the Hell?" Lara asked, astounded and slightly worried.
"Dark Shadows of Hell. Shit. Jump in, you do not want to see this…" Lara did, realizing she had jumped into a pool of eerily lit water, the walls cavernous but casting just enough of a glow to make her way down. "Alice, come on!" Kurtis shouted at Alice who was still staring at the shadows.
"Go, I'll cover. I'll be right behind you" She shouted in reply. Kurtis, wanting to believe her, jumped in and began his decent behind Lara, hearing some rapid gunfire before he could hear nothing but the silence of the water.
The tunnel was dark, filled with ragged rocks and sharp outcropping that Lara dodged and avoided, knowing, as she followed it ever downwards, that if she didn't find air soon, she alone would start failing, not to mention the two people she hoped were behind her. Her lungs started aching and her body began to struggle, trying with all her might to keep in control. Suddenly, the tunnel curved upward into a perfectly square, large room. With no choice but to hope there was air, Lara used her last oxygen to kick her legs vigorously, shooting out of the water, gasping for air.
The room she'd emerged in was tiled pristinely, with torches illuminating the room, but leaving the ceiling shrouded by darkness. There was a solid door opposite of the side she'd emerged on. Three of the four walls had a small ledge and walkway around the perimeter of the room, leading ultimately to the arched door. Having regained enough air to control her body she made her way to the side, pulling herself up onto the tiles and sitting, trying to regain strength, just as Kurtis also shot out of the water. He too gasped for air and found it, moving towards the wall.
"Alice?" Lara asked, trying to determine where her comrade was.
Kurtis just shrugged, and Lara could sense worry and sadness emanating from him. He'd just made his way to the wall, readying to pull himself up, when Alice burst through the surface of the water, flailing, gasping, and shaking. Without thinking, Kurtis reached his arm out, encircling it around her waist and pulling her to the wall. He noticed she didn't try to wriggle free. Dumbass, probably because she's half drowned. He pulled her to the wall, supporting her and pushing her up so she sat on dry land, pulling himself up next to her.
Obviously, Alice had been a lot closer to not making it as the other two had, not having as much exposure to underwater activity as Lara, nor as much lung capacity and strong a stroke as Kurtis (ironic, considering he was, or had been, a smoker. Lara obviously had no qualms about voicing her disproval.) It took her a few minutes to get her breathing to normal. Lara encircling the room and taking it in, Kurtis sitting next to her stroking her back.
He couldn't help himself. It had started as an effort to calm and regulate her breathing, but the physical contact and the soaking wet figure besides him encouraged his mind, if not his hand, to wander as small shivers, that he, of course, blamed on the water, coursed through his veins. He tried to brush the thoughts he was having about her aside once her breathing was normal, but he couldn't stop thinking about her.
Somewhat suddenly, she turned to him, wide eyed with fear.
"Dark Shadows of Death? What…what where those…things?" She managed
"I don't know exactly. Whatever they were, they were placed here probably by the Nephilim, an effort to keep people from finding the Sleeper and shield unless they meant business." He realized abruptly that his hand still rested on her back and snatched it rapidly away, averting his eyes in an effort to conceal his embarrassment. Why are you embarrassed? You've done this countless times…she's just another woman…he tried to assure himself. Thankfully, Alice was too consumed in her own thoughts to realize anything peculiar.
"Jesus what have I gotten myself into?" Alice thought aloud, staring now into the water. She was suddenly distracted as she felt something warm trickle down her arm. She reached for it, finding a deep gash. "From the rocks," She explained to no one in particular, pulling a bandage out of her pack and securing it tightly around her arm. She got up followed by Kurtis and walked the perimeter around the pool to where Lara stood in front of the doorway.
As he followed her, Kurtis digest her words not meant to be heard, 'Jesus what have I gotten myself into?' he thought. No wonder she's so hostile. I mean, she hardly knows me and is placing her total trust in us, for some artifact that she knows so little about. He joined them; standing next to Alice he motioned as if to put a supportive hand at the small of her back, but caught himself before making contact with her skin. He laughed inwardly as a smirk danced across his face before he returned his hand tohis side.
"Plures may obduco hac, tamen tantum validus of fides quod validus of pectus pectoris mos quondam iterum reverto. Many may pass this way, but only the strong of faith and strong of heart will once again return.. Sounds promising. Kurtis?" He grunted in reply, caught from his silent reverie, as he realized she was referencing the barbed arrow sign in the keystone of the doorway.
"I guess that's my cue." He moved forward, unable to see the confused look in Alice's eye. He reached his hand out to touch the solid door, and shut his eyes, the bluish shadow that erupted from his shoulder embedding itself as a ray in the keystone; the door moved aside with a deep, guttural rumble.
"Beautiful. Shall we?" Lara asked, her question obviously rhetoric as she confidently led the way into the passage.
Alice steadied herself, trying to gain recover from her dazed expression mere moments before, simultaneously trying to build confidence before she followed Lara down the hall. She smiled meekly at Kurtis before realizing that she was actually wishing he was holding her. Are you crazy? You know better than that! She quickly turned her head to face the hall as her smile vanished as she began to walk; Kurtis behind her witha smirk playing across his features.
The tunnel continued for some time, before Lara checked herself, stopping before the passageway terminated in another door only Kurtis could open. She didn't say a word as she stepped off to the side to let him approach the door, reluctant to relinquish the position of tomb raider she'd rediscovered. Kurtis approached the door quietly, his palm outstretched and his eyes closed, and Alice merely with silent yet hidden awe as a blue, translucent ray emitted from Kurtis's shoulder and vanished in a barbed-arrow engraving at the keystone above the doorway. The door slid open magically, and the trio stepped cautiously into the room beyond.
It was circular in theory, but in practice there were four flat walls. The passageway emerged from one, another passageway opposite, and lastly two arched doorways housed two formidable, wooden doors, with gargoyle-esque carvings of angels and demons, the one off two the right of where the trio stood housing a heavenly scene, and the opposite holding a more sinister, evil depiction of hell.
There were two pedestals in the center of the room, in line with the two doorways. They were surrounded by a single, circular floor tile, glossy but engraved. Kurtis went up to it, leaned over, and read the engravings, Lara and Alice close behind him.
"Talis ut illic est a Olympus quod Abyssus , sic quoque es illic duos of plurimus : Duos keys , ostendo sum duos ianua , ostendo sum duos praemium.: Such as there is a Heaven and Hell, so too are there two of most: Two keys, reveal two doors, reveal two prizes."
"Two keys? But, that's impossible, there was only one at the Duomo Obscurita! Where are we to get the second?" Lara asked, thinking aloud.
"Key? Like this?" Alice asked innocently, pulling a metallic, circular object from her bag. "I found it up in the room with the shadows. I guess the switch raised a pedestal raised. I ran to get it before dropping my gun and diving," She explained. Kurtis eyed her inquisitively. "But still, two prizes? I thought there was just the shield?" Alice continued..
"Well, I guess when the sleeper was buried, the Lux Veritatis buried with it a sword. This sword, lux lucis, or Light, is allegedly the only thing that can actually destroy evil."
"This is new information," Lara blandly accused Kurtis.
"Yeah, sorry. I Knew the Lux buried the sword, I just didn't know where. It makes sense though. 'Two Prizes'. It has to be here." Lara shrugged in response to his reply.
"So that could take out the Sleeper? But then why would Kaufman and Petrova send us down, we could potentially destroy the nephilim—"Alice continued.
"They didn't know about it." Lara intervened.
"Our job just got easier." Kurtis announced.
Lara examined the prominent pedestal. "Ahh, the old eye of Horus trick—"
"Wasn't Horus an Egyptian God? And isn't whatever we are dealing with, well, not?" Alice timidly asked.
"Yes. It's not peculiar to the Egyptians though. That was just the last time I'd seen it." Lara paused, expecting a shudder to overtake her but when none did, she was grateful and inwardly smiling. "Here, we'll need to combine the two keys so it fits in the lock on the pedestal."
Alice gingerly stepped up to the pedestal, facing Lara.
"This is it, you ready?" Alice asked, her voice void of any emotion exclusive of curiosity and anxiousness.
"On three. One….two…three."
A/N: just to lazy to get that beta read, sorry if there are mistakes but i just had to post it.
i know some disproval was voiced about alice, but i promise you at some point in the future we'll learn more about her. in the meantime, i hope your having as much fun reading sexual tension as i am writing it. which is to say, alot. haha.
thanks toMythrael, Ellethiel, Akkon, The odd little tutle, and Spidy007 for reviewing! i really appreciate it and am glad to hear what you think!
also, in case anyone is confused as to what the barbed arrow symbol looks like, its from the game i think meant to represent the periapt shards. anyways, if you need a visual, http/img346.imageshack.us/img346/5232/luxveritatisfinala4lh.jpg (i got it off google images)
anyways, i hope you enjoy. time seems so limited these days i really have no idea when the next chapter will be up, but i can guarantee that the more reviews i get the less time you'll have to wait! (no point in writing if no one is reading!)
Thanks to all my readers, and enjoy!