16- The Sanctuary
She walked as silently as possible, hidding in the shadows of the monastery walls. She heard a noise, and slowed down her path. She went to press herself to the wall, before discreetly bending her head to one side to take a look around. On the left was the large main building, and on the right, the small chapel and gardens through which she and Kurtis had arrived earlier. The goat herd's bells rang out in the distance, but the place was all silent.
She suddenly saw a movement to her left, and she moved back and pressed herself a little more against the wall. Her breathing stopped, she concentrated on the footsteps coming towards her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a man in a dark toga, no doubt one of the monks, walking quietly back towards the main building. Lara relaxed. He had not seen her.
She tilted her head to check the surroundings once more, and decided to resume her progressing. She took long strides towards the chapel, winding her way through the tall plants and the imposing olive tree that stood in the centre of the courtyard. She kept glancing around and walked around the chapel and towards the aqueduct, whose strange shape stood out in the night light. She passed under its great arches, and suddenly found herself at the edge of the cliff. Hidden behind a huge rock was a path which climbed steeply through the vegetation and rocks.
She took the small path without asking herself questions, climbing the rocks in her way one by one. On this side of the island, the moonlight illuminated her way, and allowed her to progress quite quickly at first. After about an hour, she finally reached the first ridge, and went on a path that was not really traced, but relatively flat and continuous. The slope to her right was steep, with no escape. If she slipped, she would hit her head on the rocks that awaited her a hundred feet below.
I'd better avoid this scenario
Even though the perfume impregnated in the mercenary's shirt she wore was rising to her nostrils and disturbing her strongly every time she made a move, she remained focused on her steps. The hilly landscape finally softened, and gave way to a green plateau covered with tall grass. A little further on, the adventuress caught sight of the monastery of Dionysus, much smaller than that of Simonos Petra, but just as austere in appearance. The building was also perched on a cliffside, just a few feet above the Aegean Sea. Fortunately for her, the path branched off and went up above the monastery, she would thus stay away from it without being spotted.
After that the road almost disappeared completely, winding its way dangerously up the mountain. Most of the time now, it was covered by moss, stones and grass, and Lara deduced it had not been used for ages, or even abandoned. She knew some monks could be very superstitious, and having seen it herself earlier with brother Giannis, she was not surprised: Azarias had admitted it himself, few monks had taken the risk to walk this road to access the sanctuary.
Lara kept going for several hours without even realizing it, and she was even pleased to be progressing so quickly. She didn't know exactly where she should go, but she had in mind to find the gate -if there was one at all- and simply go on a recon mission. She liked to know what kind of terrain she was venturing into, even if deep inside herself she hoped to find more than just a few clues.
She suddenly felt her foot slip. She was thrown off balance and began to topple to the side, carried away by the momentum. A rock had given way under her foot, she was about to fall into the void. But before it was too late, she barely caught herself by clinging to the wall and some olive tree roots that sprang up from the earth. The earth fell away and tumbled in large clumps between the cliffs that plunged steeply towards the sea. In a fraction of a second, she found herself suspended in the void. Somewhat surprised, she grabbed the roots she was holding onto a little tighter and pulled herself up to get back on solid ground.
Lara straightened up and caught her breath. Then, as if nothing had happened, the young woman resumed her walk. The path was becoming difficult to walk on, and was extremely narrow, if not non-existent. However, after only a few feet, Lara stopped dead in her tracks: a gaping hole, several feet long, prevented her from getting to the other side of the ridge. Here the ground had slid and obviously collapsed into the sea, part of the terrain had been swept away by a landslide. The young woman held back a grunt of frustration, Mount Athos was no more than a mile away from where she stood now. But it was impossible to cross to reach the other side, she would have to go around the northern flank of the mountain, which was extremely steep and visibly unstable. And she would lose time.
I would definitely need a boost right now
Disillusioned, she glanced around and made her way around the pit that blocked her way to the other side. She slipped several times on the dry earth, clutching at the grass to catch herself. She managed to advance a few more feet, but had to stop again. Where she wanted to go, there was only the cliff. And the void below. If she wanted to continue, she would have to climb the rock face with her bare hands, and this for several feet.
It's risky...
The wind suddenly picked up and began to whistle against the rock, as if it was warning her. The moon was disappearing behind the mountain, and so was its light. In a few minutes, she would hardly be able to see anything, which would make her climb even more complicated.
... but worth the try
Lara put her foot on a huge rock suspended above the void, and glanced down.
No room for error, once again
She walked towards the wall, placed her hands on it, and then put her foot on a thick rock below. After a final breath to concentrate, the adventuress gave a slight push and found herself clinging to the rock. She progressed slowly, taking the time to secure each of her holds. Her steps were precise, her concentration at a maximum, in tune with her slow, deep breaths. She reached out to grab a crack in the rock above her, and pushed with all her might to pull herself up. Her hands' skin scraped against the rock, but to her surprise, she was struggling much less than she had originally feared. She didn't feel the fatigue, or the tightness in her muscles. Progress was almost easy.
It's far from being fun, but it could be worse, she quipped as she stepped onto a narrow rock.
She gave a little push and reached the next ledge. She could see the other end of the cliff from here, and eventually the rest of the remaining path some feet away. But her hopes quickly vanished when she realised the wall she was standing on ended up in the void too. Another gigantic hole separated her from the other ridge. The wind blew small rocks and dry earth at her face, the young woman turned her head away for a moment to protect herself. She then raised her head towards the opposite wall, looking for potential holds. But that looked complicated. According to her estimation, she had to jump almost five feet to reach the other side.
She hesitated for a second, but the numbness she felt in her hands made her act quickly. If she waited too long here, the rock would give way. She took another brief second to think and calculate her jump. Her gaze fixed on a landing point close enough, and big enough to hold on to. Lara just had to hope the rock would hold tight when she landed on it. She breathed, pushed on her legs and throw herself forward. To her surprise, she made it quite easily to the other side. She held out her arms to prepare for her landing. But as her hands closed on it, the piece of rock gave way and fell from the wall. She felt her body tumble into the void and there was nothing she could do. She tried desperately to hold on to what she could, but she felt the fall take her. Her fingers brushed the rocks. If she didn't react immediately, she would crash on the rocks several feet below.
Slightly below her, she suddenly saw leaves and branches on the wall. A shrub. Her heart leapt in her chest at this unexpected lifeline. In a desperate move, she reached out to grab the tree she was falling into.
She fell hard on the branches, which scraped her arms and face. Her fingers closed on the dry branches. There was a violent jolt, but the plant held on. Lara let her body hang and stopped the movement with her legs, just before she hit the wall. She waited for a moment, until she could stabilise herself. The branches she was holding creaked dangerously, before the silence finally fell. She folded her legs so that she could lean on the rock and pulled herself up onto the small shrub. She heard the waves whip against the shore with force several feet below her, but she preferred not to think about it or about the fatal fall she had just survived. She caught her breath slowly, before looking up. Strangely enough, she was not far from the top of the cliff. She pulled herself together and resumed her climb. It took her several long minutes to reach the top. The last few feet were the most difficult, due to the configuration of the wall, which leaned in a dangerous diagonal. She felt relief when her fingers finally grasped the edge of the ravine. She raised herself up on one elbow, then the other, and her legs flapped in the air as she took one last swing to pull herself up onto solid ground.
First on all fours, Lara slowly straightened up and caught her breath, hands on her hips. She took a deep breath of fresh air and glanced at her hands and arms, which were slightly bruised. She saw the trousers Brother Azarias had lent to her also bore the marks of her climbing session. When she turned her gaze, she realised that on this side of the mountain, the landscape was much more arid, and the terrain much flatter. Lara pushed back the strands of hair that were bothering her, and resumed her walk without thinking anymore, carried by the wind that kept on blowing strongly, and almost as if nothing had happened, again. She walked for several hundred feet before she saw lights in the deep darkness of the night. She had just reached the last monastery of the orthodox republic, the last building before the ascent to the sacred mountain.
Again, the path led her far above the monastery, and although some of the monks were out working the land, the adventuress went totally unnoticed. She walked around the vegetable gardens, and after a few more feet, she found herself once again in the high dry grass and the most total silence of the rocky mountain. However after only some minutes walking, she came to a dead end again: the path came to an abrupt halt, cut off by the mountain that suddenly stood in front of her. When she got her compass out to check which way she should go, Lara had the confirmation she was still following the right direction, and after checking again quickly, she started climbing the rocks that went up to Mount Athos.
The progression was quite long and tiring this time, although not as dangerous as what she had done so far. Rocks were high, piled up one on top of the other in a heap that seemed to stand against her like a warning again. In some places she had to climb again to continue. It took her several hours to reach the highest part of the mountain. Then, after climbing another huge rock full of moss that blocked her way, the steep and rocky slope suddenly gave way to greenery, and to a flat landscape.
When Lara stood up, standing on a huge rock which overlooked this unlikely landscape, she could not hide her astonishment. She had just reached an immense circular space, undoubtedly carved out by the waters over time, nestled at the foot of the sacred mountain. The cliffs above her formed strange folds of varying colours, which contrasted sharply with the green of the plants and shrubs. A little further on, a waterfall several feet high gushed out of the rock, before tumbling down heavily in a thick mist. A clear stream flowed down this lost valley before disappearing a little further down behind rocks.
Lara carefully climbed down and made her way through this huge and unreal place. It was quite dark down there, and actually she didn't really know what to expect. There was nothing but the waterfall and the water. No animal, no beast. No human either. And nothing which looked like a door for the moment.
She walked around at a measured pace, scrutinizing every detail, every rock or landform. As she approached the waterfall, she was quickly caught in the water mist. The ground was slippery in places. She went to the other side of the cirque, scanning the rock faces in great detail, moving the tall grass away sometimes as she thought something could be hidden under her feet. But she found nothing. At least not at first sight.
She went back to where she was coming from, and took a look around. Her gaze then fell on the waterfall, and an idea came to her mind. She retraced her steps and headed to it.
She walked along the wall and crossed the water without difficulty, and finally found herself behind the waterfall. It was extremely dark underneath, she could not see much, but she could make out a shape in the rock in front of her. Vegetation and moisture had covered it, but the shape of a doorway was clearly visible behind a mound of moss and vines. Lara put away her weapons, took a few more steps and grabbed the bindings to pull them off and clear the stone. As she suspected, she found herself face to face with a huge doorway, its elegant details visible in the dampness of the waterfall. The upper part formed a large Arch, which was overlaid with a whole host of various symbols. In the centre, a round space awaited the key that opened the sanctuary's doors.
The sound of the waterfall was far too deafening for her to hear it coming. Lara suddenly felt a movement at her back, but she had no time to react. Someone threw himself at her and grabbed her by the neck, and pulled her backwards. Before she fell to the ground, she grabbed her attacker's arms and pulled him with her. They fell to the ground in one motion, both letting out the same grunt of surprise. They rolled into the rocks. Lara skidded and pushed on her legs to get up as quickly as possible. She turned round and ran to her attacker and tried to kick him. As if he had anticipated her reaction, the enemy who had barely had time to straighten up, dodged the blow with great agility. With a skilful and precise gesture, he protected himself with one arm before being kicked, grabbed her by the ankle and made her fall back to the ground. Lara found herself on the back, but reacted right away: she threw her leg to mow down the man's legs. He slipped on the wet stones and, took off balance, fell back too. Lara rushed at him, but he struggled furiously. As she positioned herself on top of him to block him, the man made them roll into the moss and rocks. Lara tried to pull him away, but she felt him taking advantage and positioning himself on top of her. Lara punched him in the face as he blocked her to the ground. The man let out a grunt, but did not let go. She tried to struggle, until suddenly their faces were close enough for her to recognise those black locks of hair, and that piercing blue gaze.
"What are you doing here?", Lara and Kurtis said in the same astonished voice.
Their bodies froze, completely stunned to find themselves facing each other. Lara looked at the young man's face, which was only a few inches away from hers. A thin trickle of blood flowed from one of his nostrils.
"The same thing as you, I imagine...", retorted the young woman, who swallowed with difficulty at the proximity of Kurtis.
"A little night walk, I suppose?"
"Just a reconnaissance mission."
Their eyes met in the dark night. After taking his breath, the mercenary wasted no time in freeing the young woman from his grip and getting to his feet. He stood up and offered her his hand to help her up, but the Englishwoman refused. They stared at each other, both slightly out of breath. Lara dusted off her clothes, preferring to avoid eye contact with the American.
"Brother Azarias mentions a path and an ancient and dangerous secret sanctuary, and all you can think of is to rush to find it?", Kurtis said cynically.
"And I guess you were planning to tell me you were here too, maybe?", the young woman replied with an extremely disdainful voice.
"In any case, it wasn't very prudent of you, you could have warned me at least."
"I didn't know I needed your approval."
The mercenary let out a cynical laugh, he couldn't help but shake his head in annoyance.
"And how were you gonna open the portal without the medallion, tell me?"
"I would have improvised, as always."
Dismayed, the mercenary just stared at her, hands on his hips. Then, before retorting, he finally changed his mind.
"Anyway, I'm certainly not gonna get into this kind of debate with you," he grumbled under his breath, wiping the blood from under his nose.
The young man slowly moved towards the door. Lara chose to ignore his remark, and came closer too, seething with anger at having been taken by surprise in such a way, and furious at herself for feeling so unnerved by the mercenary. They took a moment to examine the structure. Lara tried to translate the symbols carved into the rock, but nothing concrete emerged from the shapes on the door, they were probably decorative symbols only. Looking back, she noticed the huge monster head in the centre of the door, its mouth wide open with menacing teeth, the place where the key should be placed. Kurtis took the medallion out of one of his pockets.
"What d'you think?", he asked.
Lara shrugged. Her gaze went over the door once more, but she didn't notice anything in particular. Without waiting any longer, the mercenary stepped forward and, after having cleaned the hole in the rock with his hand, he placed the medallion in the place where it was supposed to be. He took a few steps backwards and returned to the adventuress, who was concentrated, watching for the slightest suspicious movement.
For the first few seconds, nothing happened. All they heard was the waterfall and its deafening sound, echoing against the rock around them. Then, suddenly, something changed. A faint light appeared in the centre of the doorway, where the medallion had been placed. At first very faint, the light grew brighter and brighter in intensity, as red as the gems that made up the locket. Within seconds, the light was so strong it became dazzling. Lara drew her 9mm, and Kurtis his Boran X. The chirugai suddenly unhooked itself from the mercenary's belt and moved into an attack position.
But time seemed to stand still again. The medallion continued to glow, but the door did not seem to open. The two adventurers glanced at each other quickly. Then suddenly there was a loud crack, as if the rock was cracking all around them. There was a violent tremor. For a moment they thought the cliff was collapsing. But then it was quiet again. To their surprise, Lara and Kurtis noticed the large door in front of them was gradually lighting up. The light from the medallion was spreading over the door, following every relief, every detail engraved in the rock, just like a molten metal would have done. The doorway lit up in a dazzling light, causing the two adventurers to look away. Then there was another crack, followed by a loud rumbling sound. The door was opening.
The two adventurers instinctively took up defensive positions, each on either side of the door, weapons aiming forward. The two heavy doors of the sanctuary opened inch by inch with a steady creak, the cool air from within suddenly blowing over them. There was a sickeningly musty, damp smell. The two doors slammed as they were fully opened, the two adventurers took a few steps forward, and waited for the silence to subside. Suddenly they found themselves facing this huge opening that seemed to go straight into the depths of the mountain.
Lara and Kurtis exchanged a wary glance, weapons still in hand. They waited a few more moments, but the silence had completely fallen. Kurtis was the first to make a move.
"What are you doing?", Lara hissed in panic.
"What d'you think I'm doing?", Kurtis replied abruptly.
"Be careful, there might be beasts."
"Beasts?", he repeated, surprised. "In a sanctuary that's been sealed for centuries?"
Lara came out of her hiding place and walked towards the mercenary, exasperated.
"I've seen more thousand-year-old sanctuary full of wolves, bears, and all sorts of other things than you can ever imagine," she told him, keeping her gaze focused on the cave entrance.
She took the lead, closely followed by the young man. Slowly they entered the sanctuary, pointing their weapons in all directions, looking for any suspicious movement. It was pitch black underground, but there didn't seem to be much inside, except for the huge empty space they had suddenly entered. Lara had the strange feeling she was back in the cave when she had gone on the tracks of Vilcacamba's lost city.
The young woman took a torch out of her bag and threw it to Kurtis, before taking one out for herself. Without a word, they entered this immense place, from which they didn't really know what to expect. After several dozen feet, a structure several metres high appeared in the light of their torches. White stones formed a large arch above their heads, supported by thick Greek-style columns. Kurtis saw Lara frown.
"What's wrong?"
The Englishwoman looked up as they passed under the arch, on which the torches' light made strange shapes. Her gaze scanned the walls around them in minute detail.
"The decorations and details on the portal we opened made me think we were about to enter a temple..."
The two adventurers went deeper into the darkness, and soon a second structure appeared before them. The same arch, with the same columns, carved in immaculate white stones, almost miraculously preserved from the effects of time.
"... the Greeks of the Corinthian era used a much more elaborate, detailed style of decoration when it came to constructing buildings to honour their gods, and in particular for their temple, as I thought at first... and given what Azarias told us, and given the historical identity of the region, it seemed relatively logical to me..."
"But?", asked Kurtis, concentrated on the black space before them.
Lara glanced around them with concern. A little further ahead of them stood a new arch. She felt her heart suddenly racing, she had a bad feeling.
"... but these arches were carved in a much cleaner and simpler style, which could only be found in very special places..."
They passed the third arch and its tall columns, which the chirugai illuminated with its golden light. The strange feeling of unease was compounded by a terrible sense of déjà vu that the young woman could not fight. Kurtis gave her a more than insistent look, waiting for her to finish her sentence.
"... necropolises," Lara concluded.
Her gaze met her companion's bewildered eyes. A little further on, a new arch began to appear from off the shadows, and Lara wondered how far this long and interminable tunnel would lead them.
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?", the mercenary asked in a low voice, not quite sure what it meant for them.
"I'm not sure yet."
"D'you think it's a trap?", Kurtis retorted, tightening both hands around his weapon.
"I-"
Lara didn't have time to finish her sentence. The ground and walls around them suddenly shook dangerously, as if an earthquake had struck. The cobblestones on the floor cracked and were engulfed in a huge cloud of dust. There was a moment during which nothing happened, then they felt their hearts literally rise in their chests as they both fell into the void. They hadn't had time to react. They fell into the gaping hole that had formed beneath their feet, caught by surprise. Pieces of wall and cobblestone fell with them, dust blurred their vision. Lara let out a cry of pain as she landed on her back some feet below. She narrowly dodged a large rock coming at her, and dropped her lamp, which tumbled and disappeared into the sand that carried them underground.
They found themselves in a wide and inclined underground gallery, they were sliding. Not far from her, Lara saw Kurtis roll several times over himself, carried away by the momentum. The young man grunted as he rolled over a stone in his path. He then rolled to the side to dodge a rock that was about to fall on him. When he managed to get to his feet, his unsettled gaze met that of the young woman, who was throwing panicked blows in all directions. But she could see nothing. She tried to slow her fall by braking with her hands and feet, but they continued to slide without stopping, carried down a slippery ramp of earth and stones, which went further and further into the depths of the earth.
They slid at full speed through the darkness, the gallery passing by at full speed, and yet their fall seemed endless. Up above their heads, the chirugai was zigzagging at breakneck speed trying to keep up with his master. Kurtis tried to illuminate their descent with the lamp he still held in his hand, but the clouds of dirt and dust were far too thick. Lara tried to stand up several times, but it was no use. The two adventurers looked at each other in despair.
Suddenly the chirugai plunged forward. Kurtis heard its sharpened blades pass by his ear as the object outpaced them. The light emanating from it allowed the two adventurers to make out something a little further down. Kurtis thought he saw something, and exchanged a quick glance with the adventuress who confirmed his suspicions with a nod. There was some sort of hole, which looked very much like a pit ahead. They didn't take the time to think, and acted at the same time without consulting each other. Kurtis folded his legs and jumped to the side to join the young woman. Just as the pit appeared in front of them and they were about to topple into the void, he firmly grasped the young woman's hand in his. They jumped in one motion. They passed to the other side of the pit, at the bottom of which Lara discovered, as she had suspected, a whole series of sharpened stakes pointing towards them, just waiting to impale their next victims.
Time stood still for a few seconds before the two adventurers came back to reality. They flew over the great pit and landed hard on the other side. Carried away by their momentum, they rolled for several feet, unable to stop. Then, suddenly, the slope became gentler. The mercenary was the first to reach back solid, or at least, flat ground. He rolled several times before finally stopping on his back, out of breath.
"Holy shit!" he gasped, as he felt a pain in his ribs, not far from his old scars.
He heard Lara screaming, and saw her roll like a rag doll a few feet away, before finally stopping face down. Suddenly everything stopped. The walls and the earth stopped shaking around them, and after a final cloud of dirt and dust, the cavern fell silent again. For a moment the only sound they heard was their own gasping breaths, and the vague hiss of the chirugai above them.
Lara let out a groan. She managed to get up on all fours, and massaged her sore neck. Her elbow had hit a rock, and she saw that blood was running down her arm. Kurtis struggled to get to his feet.
"You okay?"
She nodded and winced.
"I think so," she replied in a weak voice.
The two adventurers slowly stood up, and drew their weapons. Both covered in dust, their eyes squinting in an attempt to pierce the darkness around them, they pointed their weapons in all directions, watching for the next trap that would take them by surprise. Lara tried to calm her ragged breathing to focus, but she could see nothing. Kurtis turned to her, then looked up, trying to find a clue as to where they were. The chirugai appeared again, and slowly flew around what looked like a huge cave. Far above them, the two adventurers finally discerned some stalactites, and an irregularly shaped rock ceiling. The flying disc then descended to the ground and moved away towards the back of the room. Only a few feet from where they stood, its aura of light revealed some sort of large opening in the rock. Another door.
Where are we?, Kurtis asked mentally.
The young woman did not answer right away. She looked up at the ceiling, then back at the opening that had appeared in the darkness.
There's only one way to find out
Her 9mm still held out in front of her, Lara took a first step forward. But just as her foot touched the ground, she felt Kurtis move and rush towards her. Before she could react, the mercenary rushed into her and slammed her to the ground, allowing her to narrowly dodge the huge pile driver that had come off the ceiling and that was swinging at her. The two adventurers found themselves against the floor as the huge wooden beam passed over their heads. They were pressed together and felt the air movement as the trap passed not far from them. Kurtis' eyes met those of the young woman lying under him, and who was obviously struggling to understand what had just happened. She remained petrified, staring at him with her large, round eyes, unable to say a word.
"I thought your Tomb Raider instincts were infallible."
Lara saw a slightly mocking smile appear on the close by mercenary's face. Once again, she couldn't bear to feel ridiculed like this, beaten at her own game. Above them, the ram finally stopped moving. With a sudden and impatient gesture, Lara pushed the mercenary away and rolled to the side to get up. Looking away, she readjusted her backpack, checked her weapons, and glanced at the structure that had nearly impaled her.
"A simple 'thank you for saving my life from a death trap and from my total lack of attention, Kurtis' would have been enough...", the American said to her in a cynical voice, as he straightened up too.
Lara ignored him completely, and stepped forward to take a closer look at the wooden ram, her both annoyed and offended expression clearly visible on her face. It was a large solid wooden beam, the end of which had been carved with precision, with the idea of leaving no chance to whoever would be facing it. The object, suspended from thick ropes, and almost ten feet long, must have weighed several hundred kilos.
Lara finally went around it, and headed directly to the back of the room, where the portal they had seen stood. Given the configuration of the place, she walked with a determined step, this time sure of herself, and sure of not finding herself facing another trap.
For the moment
Instinctively, as if he had sensed the young woman's apprehension, the chirugai had already posted himself at the door, and seemed to be waiting for them. Lara felt Kurtis follow her. The adventuress took a torch out of her bag. Then she stopped. Kurtis also stopped. The light from the torch revealed a huge door, similar to the one that sealed the entrance to the shrine, except that it was wide open, as if waiting for them. Behind it, the deepest darkness.
The two adventurers discovered a strangely detailed façade. At first glance, the archaeologist thought they were leaves, plants that wrapped around the Greek columns like ivy, but as they got closer, what she thought were plants became much more precise shapes. Bodies, and above all, human faces, men, women, piled on top of each other, who strangely enough, seemed to create a movement on the stone. A movement of flight, and total chaos. The adventuress was struck by the precision and realism with which the sculptor had depicted the terror on the faces of all these people. The blood, the wounds, the severed or torn limbs, scattered in a nameless chaos. Death. For that was what those innocents were fleeing.
Lara directed the beam of her lamp upwards: they then discovered an imposing sculpture with a golden finish, which stood above them in all its splendour. An animal's head, whose menacing, sharp and deep eyes seemed to focus directly on them. Its long curved horns shone like real ivory. The folds of its ears and muzzle were strikingly realistic. A gigantic bull's head, whose mouth was the wide open door that stood in front of them, as if ready to swallow them.
Lara lowered her head and stared at the darkness that faced them. Kurtis had remained at her side, and hadn't say a word, he could feel her concentration. In front of them was a large alley, lined by completely smooth and several feet high walls. To their right, but also to their left, other alleys, with an equally straight line and perfect symmetry. A fresh, very humid air mixed with a very strong smell of dust rose to their noses. A shiver ran through them both.
"Another trap?", the young man asked softly, also on the defensive.
Lara turned towards him. She suddenly felt her heartbeat quicken.
"A labyrinth."