21. Demon
Every return was sad in some way - and that one was the most.
Anna was broken. She looked tremendously tired, but Lara saw beyond that. The girl had simply had too much in too little time. First, the horrible experience of Sri Lanka in summer. Then, from what she'd gathered from Selma, the school year didn't go well either. And suddenly, in winter, her parents fought seriously, her grandmother revealed her cancer and shortly after, died; she'd witnessed a brutal attack and also got her first period while the Gift manifested strongly in her and turned her in a puppet. They had not even celebrated her birthday nor Christmas, engaged in more urgent matters. For any teenager it would've been too much. And she, in most things, was like any other.
For her sake, Lara tried to make the return as painless as possible. So, the first thing was to manage that Niyol flew to England. The girl would recover faster from her sorrow if she could count on the beneficial company of the beloved stallion. Seemed that, after all, Lara would've no choice but to build a stable in Surrey and hope that the beautiful Navajo horse would adapt easily to the English climate.
Secondly, Lara made sure to locate Catherine Kipling - Kat -, Anna's best friend, and briefly explained to her what could be explained to a teenager with a normal life and no horrible secret in her life, outside the usual regrets of any family. Kat promised to show up soon in Surrey to be with her friend.
Finally, during the return by plane, Lara whispered in her ear that she and her father had "cleared up" some things, and that they would keep talking, that she shouldn't suffer for...
"I know." Anna cut; her gaze lost in the distance. "I've felt it."
The British explorer blinked slowly. "What?"
"Don't worry, Mom. I feel it. You radiate love." It was fun to see her mother raise her eyebrows and look at her, embarrassed. "I can't explain it to you. I'm sorry." Anna put her hand on her arm. "You used to radiate anger, rage, frustration. Now you radiate love. I can feel it. I don't know how, but I can feel it."
Lara was perplexed. "I suppose the change has also been noticed in him."
"No." Anna looked at her then. "He's always radiated love. Always." And fear, she thought silently. But the fear's gone now.
Every return was sad in some way, but that one was also disconcerting. At least for Lara, who found her mother, the uptight Lady Croft, running towards Anna with open arms and then filling her with kisses. She'd never touched or kissed Lara that way. In any way, in fact. So Lara looked away and pretended that she saw nothing while she was in charge of having the hired personnel carry the luggage of both back to their respective rooms; as well as managing that Niyol was provisionally taken to some communal stables in the area to preventively have a place of comfortable and gifted shelter until the inevitable stable ended up appearing somewhere in the area of the manor. The things I do for love.
When she entered the manor's hall again, Anna had gone up to her room on the first floor, but Lady Angeline was waiting for her, circumspect and expectant.
"What do you want?" Lara said, sounding drier and more exhausted than she really wanted to appear.
"What do I want?" The lady pressed her lips, annoyed. "Well, a greeting wouldn't hurt. I've not seen you for months. You haven't stepped on this manor since before Sri Lank..."
"You spent years without seeing me, and it didn't cause you much grief back then." Lara cut.
Lady Croft took a deep breath and chose to change the subject. "The girl told me what happened. I'm so sorry for the Indian woman..."
"Marie Cornel. Her name was Marie Cornel." Lara cut again. "You know it well, as you also know the name of Anna's father that you refuse to pronounce. At this point, your contempt for them is obvious to me, but at least in my presence, you will fake some respect."
Lady Angeline breathed again. Wow, we're belligerent today, she thought. "I'm sorry, in any case." She said, dodging the fire again. "But that attack in Turkey..."
Lara passed by her side, as if she didn't hear her, and began to climb the stairs. "What now?" She replied acidly. "Is it also my fault when bombs are armed near us?"
"You shouldn't have taken the girl there." The voice of reproach reached her from behind. Seeing Lara slowly turn her face towards her, the old lady knew that she'd crossed the line again. Three times now, she thought heartily. Today it's impossible to talk to her.
"You don't get to decide where my daughter is going and with whom. I'm her mother."
"A pretty irresponsible mother." She let go.
She'd better never have said that. Lara's face flushed with anger. Like mother like daughter. Neither of them knew how to contain herself. None knew how to shut up on time. Her face burned, but the voice that came out of her was immeasurably cold. "A pretty irresponsible mother." Lara chewed each of the words. "Lady Angeline Croft giving parenting lessons. Wonderful. Anything else to add, mother?"
Even she knew when to stop. The old lady decided to bury the hatchet. "Farrington has been calling repeatedly."
That caught her off guard. Lara blinked. "Who?"
"The earl of Farrington. I think you might him, he..."
"I know who he is." Lara clenched her teeth. "What does he want?"
Lady Angeline sighed. "Apparently, you took a contract from him. I don't know what you were thinking, but..."
"I said what the hell he wants."
No, I give up, thought Lady Croft. "He wants the Teardrop of Brahma back."
The morning after, an acid discussion on the phone awoke her. Anna slid toward the door frame and watched her mother stride, like a caged animal, from one side of the room to the other, giving dry and short answers to whoever was on the other side of the line.
She knew who he was, though. Ian, the Earl of Farrington, Lara's rejected fiancé. That was a novelty. Another unexpected surprise among the many accumulated in those hectic months.
Lara hung up abruptly and sawed her teeth. "Annus horribilis." She sentenced then. "What a terrible season."
Anna raised her eyebrows: "It's true that he was your fiancé...?"
"Not my fiancé." Lara let out a tired sigh and rubbed her eyes. "He was for a while, many years ago. But I broke the commitment."
"What does he want now?"
"He's the one who commissioned the Teardrop of Brahma."
Anna frowned and shook her head. "I don't get the picture."
Her mother shook her head and dropped into one of the armchairs, dejected. "Those commissioning the stone's search were supposed to be the earls of Farrington." Lara shrugged. "Those who were going to be my in-laws, many years ago. I should've known that it would bring trouble to accept such a mission, but I've always wanted to recover that damn artefact. And now it turns out that it wasn't them, but he, who'd commissioned it. And he wants it back."
"He doesn't want the artefact." Anna said suddenly. "He wants you."
Lara looked up. For a few moments the silence thickened around them. "Lately, you're giving me the creeps, Anna."
"But it is true." Anna shrugged. "Since when does an English lord care about artefacts? He's commissioned you for an approach. And now he wants it back. Why haven't you managed to clarify anything on the phone? He wants you to go see him."
The British explorer frowned. She didn't know if her daughter was "feeling" things again, or simply, she was becoming tremendously insightful. "The Teardrop is yours." She said calmly. "I promised you, and I'll deliver. And if I must go see him, I will." She got up. "Besides, the Earl is my business. Don't worry."
It would still cost her another week to get hold of him.
Lara watched her flawless reflection in the mirror and then, slowly, slipped the deep red lipstick over her mouth. She seemed so absorbed in a task so seemingly mechanical and simple that she didn't appear to realize her mother's presence, who'd appeared in the doorframe behind her.
Lady Croft watched her daughter silently finish getting ready and then, without more, take the small purse on her dresser. Small, but large enough to contain the amber stone that she quickly slid inside. "You look really beautiful." The elegant lady conceded. "Even so, I don't think you can convince Lord Farrington."
Lara didn't answer. As it was obvious, not that she couldn't talk to her mother at all, but she also wasted no words with her. She passed her silently and began to descend the stairs.
She stood halfway when hearing the roar of a motorcycle in the outer courtyard. After hesitating for a moment, she finished descending, opened the front door and left. There he was, next to the newly parked motorcycle, untying his luggage. He'd arrived. But he'd arrived at a bad time.
Kurtis looked up and raised his eyebrows: "To Buckingham for tea with the Queen?"
Lara wasn't wearing an evening dress, but almost. The combination of jacket and short skirt was definitely elegant. She's collected her hair under a small hat. Feeling awkward, she twisted the leather gloves on her hands. "Wasn't expecting you tonight." She muttered.
"Thought you were waiting for me." There was a sarcastic, joker dye in his words. Lara frowned.
"I must go out and resolve an issue, but I'll be back at night." She passed by and headed for the exit door. "Wait for me, I won't be long."
"As you wish, m'lady." The sarcastic tone was still there.
Lara bit her tongue. She grabbed the door handle, but, before opening it, changed her mind, released it and turned to him. "I have to go see the Earl of Farrington."
Kurtis raised his eyebrows. "The what...?"
"Yes. That Lord Farrington."
The ex-legionary looked again at her elegant outfit and her careful makeup. "Whoa, look at that. So, you still fancy the cute Earl of Tra-la-la-ley Tra-la-la-lay?" Kurtis snorted with a mischievous smile.
Lara smiled, tired. "You're cute when jealous, but it's not a pleasant visit. I screwed up with the Teardrop of Brahma. I'll explain later." She grabbed the door handle again and, this time, opened it. "Be patient. I'll be right back."
The heir of the earls of Farrington, Ian, called Lord Farrington, although his title was really that of an earl, like his parents, had been indeed Lara Croft's fiancé. The story was known to everyone: at 21, Lord Henshingly and Lady Angeline Croft's daughter, who was already a rebel and unruly as a child, had become definitely deranged after an unfortunate accident in the Himalayas, from which she'd barely survived. Driven by what the high aristocracy described as a sad mental disorder, Lara had refused to marry him... or anyone else, as far as she was concerned. Her parents had threatened to disown her if she refused, but that was knowing the wild girl badly. They had no choice but to execute their threat, thinking that she would return to the fold, crying helplessly.
They had no idea, of course, who they were facing.
If the Croft's reaction had been bad, that of the Earl of Farrington had been worse. It didn't show up publicly, but it was rumoured there were bad words and even – according to some - a possible aggression. But that hadn't broken the young woman's determination either.
Since then, she hadn't seen him. To tell the truth, in all those years, she'd barely dedicated a single thought to the scorned fiancé; an otherwise young man, attractive, and who'd eventually followed the course of his life by marrying a decent lady and bringing six children into the world.
Until suddenly, he'd contacted her to recover the Teardrop of Brahma. In doing so through his parents, Lara had bitten the bait, more concerned with the artefact than with the client.
Big mistake. A mistake now to be repaired.
He'd had the nerve to invite her to his manor, but Lara had had enough with biting the bait once, by candidly accepting an assignment that, if what Anna perceived was true, it had been a poisoned chance. Instead, she met him in an exclusive café that only the aristocracy frequented. There, on neutral ground, she wasn't going to have to fall so low as to humiliate Lady Farrington with her presence, or for her children to see her. She was going to keep that dignity at least.
The Earl didn't make her wait, rather he was waiting for her. He was still tall, gallant and handsome, although his dark hair had turned grey. Seeing him, Lara's mood worsened considerably. She didn't want to see him. His face evoked only bad memories. She began to wonder if it hadn't been a mistake to accept seeing him.
She soon found the answer.
When he attempted to kiss her on the cheeks, she backed away and offered her hand. When he removed her chair for her to sit on, she chose another and removed it herself. When he wanted to order tea for both, she refused. And finally, tired of gallantries and formalities that only meant the same thing, she just took the Teardrop of Brahma out of her purse and placed it on the table, between them.
The attractive lord raised his eyebrows. "I see you're still as direct as ever. Thank you for being kind enough to bring me the Stone of Shiva."
"The Teardrop of Brahma." Lara corrected, unable to avoid a sarcastic grimace. "And I'm not bringing it to you, Ian. I'm proposing a change in the contract."
"Change? The stone's already here. The contract is fulfilled. Did you have a hard time recovering it?"
Lara made a vague hand gesture. "Not when recovering it, no. But the trip cost me a lot. Civil war broke out while we were in Sri Lanka. A bounty hunter tried to steal it from my daughter and hit her on the head with a branch. I had to let him die in the jungle, of course. But then the guerrillas hunted me, and I was stuck inside a bamboo cage, threatened with torture and rape while Anna was rotting in a hospital. In the end Kurtis had to save me."
The cup of tea that the Earl of Farrington had directed toward his lips had stopped halted halfway while Lara released her explanation. The aristocrat was staring at her, frowning slightly. "Good Lord, Lara." He growled. "No wonder they say you're insane. You must stop inventing such bizarre stories."
"There's not a single lie in what I just said." She shrugged. "It's been hell bringing the stone here, so I'd like to keep it and compensate you in some other way."
He kept staring at her, an unpleasant glance. Lara noticed a strange feeling, forgotten long ago. The disgust creeping up her back. That glance.
"Who's Kurtis?" He said suddenly.
"My daughter's father."
The answer didn't please him at all. He frowned even more. "Father? I thought there was no father."
"Every baby comes from a father, Ian."
Lara's slight sarcastic tone unnerved him. He set the cup on the table with a porcelain cling sound. "Some starved scoundrel or cutthroat, sure..."
"Ian." Lara cut. "I'm here to talk about the artefact. I understand it's unfair not to deliver it now, so either you be a gentleman and give up on it; or we agree to compensation."
"Compensation, huh?" God, that disgusting smile. "Which compensation are you going to give me, Lara? I've more money than I can spend in a hundred lives. Even though..." And then he slipped his hand under the table and rested it on her knee.
For a moment, Lara's expression froze. Then, slowly, she pushed her leg back until the Earl's hand slipped away.
"Come on, Lara, don't play games with me. I've heard stories about you. Surely you won't mind if we remember old times..." He interrupted himself when she suddenly picked up the amber stone and put it firmly in her purse.
"So, here's the reason for the meeting, Ian." Lara pierced him with her eyes. "You never had an interest in the Teardrop of Brahma."
The attractive lord laughed quietly. "Of course not. You're smart enough to know that I've never been interested in old boulders. Even so, you accepted the commission. Even from me, your ex-fiancé, whom you hate so much."
"I always accept a challenge." Lara shrugged, ignoring the sarcastic tone of her interlocutor. Although this challenge is costing me a lot, she thought. "I, however, believed you smart enough to know that I've the same amount of interest in you now that I had when we were engaged: none."
Lord Farrington sat up in his seat. "You don't need to be rude. Keep your thug manners for the people you work with... and with which you go to bed."
"Is this how you win the favor of the ladies now, Ian? Insulting them?"
"You're not a lady."
"And you're not a lord, even if you decorate yourself with a title." Lara shook the braid indolently. "What have you come for, fool? To take me as a lover, even though you have a wife and children? Who do you think I am? I didn't want you when you were a single man covered in money and property. What am I going to love you for now?"
For a moment, Farrington's face deformed into a grotesque, hateful grimace. Lara knew that expression well - but it'd been a long time since he managed to disturb her. "Did you tell that thug you put in your bed that I was the first one having you?"
Lara startled and suddenly laughed, throwing her head back. She kept laughing for a few moments, and finally, she dried her eyes elegantly. "Men are fascinating." She said, without losing her coolness. "You think that by sleeping with a woman she already belongs to you. Or simply taking her virginity, in your case. How sad." She laughed again. "You make me talk, Ian, so I'll tell you. It was me who had you, out of curiosity, and not even for that you were worth the try." She stared at him again. "You're still not worth the try."
Instinctively, Farrington raised his fist. She also knew that well. "Hit me." She challenged her. "Come on, punch me again, if you dare. This time will be the last you try it."
"You're just a whore." He muttered. "A shameless bitch. A tomboy, a piece of dross, like the scum you rub shoulders with. Like that murderer you've put in your manor. An ordinary hooker, even if you act like a highborn lady. Everybody knows. And your daughter is on her way of being a vulgar slut, too."
Lara wrinkled her nose. "Language." She murmured. "And yet, it's you who just now were touching my leg with a hot hand. But it's also typical of men to insult and humiliate when they don't get what they want. Now," She got up with a graceful movement, "since you're not interested in the Teardrop of Brahma and I'm not interested in you, better to leave before you exhaust my patience and there's an accident."
He got up, made a wry bow, took the cane and the hat and headed for the door. She didn't move an inch. "Oh, by the way." He heard Lara's voice behind him. "It's the last time you insult me, or you disrespect my daughter. I'm not what you said." Farrington turned to her and gave her a face, but she kept talking: "I'm far above you, since I'm not running after other men, as you do with other women, although you're married with children. If I marry a man, I plan to stay with him. And I didn't choose you. Get over it at once and leave me alone."
"Are you done?"
"No." She smiled. "It's the last time you insult Kurtis, who's also far above you. I could explain why, but your little brain won't understand. So, I'll tell you something you can understand: your aristocratic title, which you love so much, is nothing compared to what he is. His bloodline dates back to the Middle Ages... but his lineage is much, much older than you can imagine. Actually, you should bow before him, and bend until your forehead touch the ground he steps on." She smiled slightly and, backing away, settled into the chair. "Now I'm done. Get out of my sight."
Anna woke up in the middle of the night, absolutely terrified. Not for a nightmare. Not because of some unexpected noise. Not because she felt sick or unwell.
There was no reason to wake up terrified - but she woke up absolutely terrified.
She sat up suddenly, panting, drenched in sweat, and looked around. At first the darkness was too thick to see something, then it was diluted and she began to distinguish the contours of her room, her furniture, the table with endless sketches and crumpled paper balls on top of the desk, in the bin, and also around her.
There was no one in the room. There was nothing out of the ordinary.
So why was she so terrified? Why was fear gripping her like a claw in her throat and swelling up her legs?
It took her a second to realize what was troubling her. What had woken her up.
Nothing was heard.
And nothing meant absolutely nothing. Neither the whisper of the wind outside, nor the creak of the tree branches, nor the splash of water on the assault course where her mother trained, not even the manor's creak. And Croft Manor creaked a lot. Each beam, each old furniture sang its old song day and night, while they lived and while they slept, to such an extent that any continuous and habitual inhabitant of the great mansion had become used to that song. Since she'd been a baby, far from frightening her, while it frightened poor Kat, that old song had lulled Anna and helped her sleep. The house breathed, moved, vibrated like every old building, and it was natural.
But that night nothing was heard. The manor had silenced, and with it, the sounds of the night, the night breeze and the trees moved by it, the waters and the nocturnal animals, all in silence, all holding their breath.
It was the scariest thing Anna had ever heard. The nothing. The absolute nothing.
Something was going very wrong.
Trembling, the girl kicked away the sheets wet with sweat and jumped up. When she put her feet on the floor, the boards creaked again under her weight, but that was it. The mansion fell silent again.
The silence was so thick that it began to ring in her ears. If it wasn't because when she moved, the boards creaked, she would've wondered if she had become totally deaf.
She couldn't stay there. The silence was too horrible. Her first impulse was to look for her grandmother, who slept in a nearby room. She knew that her mother had gone out and, after scrutinizing the winding watch, which, by the way, had also fallen silent - really? - she knew Lara would take time to return. Then she repented. What are you, a chicken? She wasn't going to bother her grandmother about that.
Her father, on the other hand... she'd heard his motorcycle arrive at the mansion when she was already half asleep, and by the time Kurtis went up to see her, she was already completely asleep - but she knew he was there.
Kurtis wouldn't laugh at her if she went looking for him. At least he would listen to her. Perhaps he would even agree that this silence wasn't normal.
Anna went out to the main corridor and headed to the marriage room, where his father slept when he was in the mansion even though the old Lady Croft wrinkled her nose just thinking about it. It was only natural for Anna than her father slept in Lara's bed when he was with her. Where else would he sleep?
But that night he wasn't there. Anna froze when she saw the large double bed without undoing. Then she remembered, of course, they hadn't spoken yet. Damn adults.
She turned and headed for the guest room. Surely Kurtis had gotten there for some sense of decency. Her father might not be a highborn, but in terms of manners he was much more careful than most of...
Suddenly, when passing in front of the library door, Anna froze. Rather, she felt out of breath, unable to move. The silence thickened in spirals around her.
There was something in the room.
Anna felt attracted like a magnet to that thing, that presence too horrible to express in words. She'd never felt so terrified. She never got to know how and why she began to move forward and entered the library, dragged by that strange force that made her go through the door frame and suddenly, left her stuck in the ground again.
Hello, little Anna.
The girl felt her guts twist in a jerky knot, for she had just heard the most horrendous sound in the world: that monstrous, inhuman voice, multiple as if a thousand voices spoke at once, each more repulsive, each more horrifying. Or rather, she didn't get to hear it, because it rang only inside her head.
Nothing broke the thick silence of the muted manor. But in her head, that horrifying multiple voice, which had formulated innocent words with the greatest cruelty, resounded again.
How you have grown, little one. Last time I saw you... well, you weren't quite human yet.
A dry, broken laugh that sounded like hundreds of dry and broken laughs at once.
"Anna?" The girl turned, trembling, and saw her grandmother in the door frame, backlit. Lady Croft was dressed in her nightgown and her long hair, now silvery, fell in waves over her shoulder. "What are you doing here, Anna? How…?"
The girl would've liked to answer, but her tongue was numb and stuck to the palate. She didn't even succeed in telling her that somehow, she'd to run away, she'd to leave, he couldn't be there, something was terribly wrong, that thing...
And suddenly Lady Croft's eyes moved past her and fixed on something behind her. Anna saw clearly, even in that gloom, how her grandmother's always dignified and serene face was dislodged with horror, dilated pupils, jaw off-hook, and suddenly, the old lady's knees failed, and she staggered back, knocking against the door frame. In an attempt to grab something, she flipped a Chinese porcelain vase in a sideboard right next to her. The valuable piece shattered against the ground, with a shrill sound that tore that horrible silence.
Anna already knew what was behind her, even before turning slowly to face it. She didn't know how, but she knew it. So, she assumed, with perfect rationality and calm not at all characteristic of her young age, the nightmare creature that stood before her, a being as horrendous as lethal, a being whom, despite not having ever seen in her short life, she recognized immediately.
How pretty you are, little Anna, the monstrous voice whispered in her mind as a long, black tongue licked long, sharp fangs. The being stood up, huge and stocky, before her - it would measure more than two meters tall - and then spread its wings, which covered the night light coming from the window and darkened the room.
Anna heard her grandmother sobbing behind her - but she couldn't help her. "Moloch." The girl murmured, more to herself than to that thing. "The Prince of the Incubi." And then that horrific, but at some point, magnificent creature, bent forward in a mocking bow. He was missing one of the eyes, but the other, the one he had left, shone mockingly. He made fun of her and hated her.
I see you've been told about me. Who was? Your whore mother or that human waste of your father?
Lady Croft's moans took shape behind her: "...Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners..."
Tell that old bitch to shut up or I'll tear her apart piece by piece.
Anna straightened. A part of her was dying of fear, screaming in her brain to run away, to leave and hide, as she had promised to her deceased grandmother. But her legs didn't respond. She felt her feet stuck to the floor.
And her grandmother, the one who still lived? She couldn't abandon her.
"… now and at the hour of our death…"
I won't repeat it, little Anna. The old slut gets silent or I'll paint the walls with her guts.
"Silence, Grandma." Anna exclaimed. "You're making him angry."
She heard Lady Croft whine again, but the prayer ceased.
Good girl. The incubus licked his lips again. Good, good girl. The tone of voice, sweet, sounded disgusting in that monster.
"You shouldn't be here." Anna muttered. She realized that speaking out loud calmed her. "My father trapped you in the Vortex. You should…"
...be fighting with my servants against the Authority and His disgusting flock of angels. Very well, little bitch! Daddy taught you well. But that starving mortal doesn't know everything. I escaped. I left before his pathetic sacrifice closed the gates of hell.
And then the monster took a step forward.
I've looked for him for years. Untiringly. There were business to finish among us. I fucked and killed your mother, I saw you shattered in the mouth of the Goddess, but even so, he undid everything. He brought you back. The sacrifice was undone. The offering was returned, intact, without blemish. I had to take revenge. Do you understand, dear Anna?
The girl took a step back. She could finally move.
But his Light had gone out. The fucking pig sold his powers in exchange for life. And then a veil covered my eyes. But not anymore, dear Anna, not anymore. You're my miracle. You began to shine like a lighthouse in the darkness, then it was a matter of a few months. From there, I no longer had to search. You attracted me like a moth to a spotlight. And now the time has come.
Moloch took another step forward. Anna took another step back.
Now, my dear, I'm going to make you a woman. The voice twitched sinisterly. Don't fight back. Your mother did and her agony was atrocious. Save yourself the suffering. Then I'll kill you fast, I promise. And so this old whore here too. Moloch took another step forward. Anna didn't move. The incubus raised his eyebrows, surprised. I'm going to fuck you like...
"Shut up."
The expression of surprise increased on the demon's face. Anna heard a gasp of fear behind her. But nothing mattered anymore.
What did you say, brat?
"I said shut up, hellish piece of shit."
The creature threw back its head and let out a monstrous laugh. Lady Croft cringed in her corner. Alright, little bitch. No easy way. You'll scream like a pig. I'm going to...
"Are you deaf or else, monkey? I told you to shut up!"
Anna never expected he could move so fast, but she hadn't even finished talking when Moloch's claw crossed her face. She felt an explosion of pain in the cheekbone and found herself flying backwards. She landed on the lap of her grandmother, who was screaming in terror, and managed to perceive a vague smell of urine in her, something the haughty lady had never smelled of. Of course, she could hardly blame her for it, in the present circumstances. "Anna!" She heard her scream. "Oh, Almighty Lord, save us!"
As if He gives a damn about you, old crap.
Anna stood on all fours, panting, and although her whole body was shaking, she got up again. She noticed a sticky substance run from her nose, lips and neck down. When she ran her tongue over the bloody lips, she noticed she had a loose tooth in her mouth. She spat it on the floor.
And now, bitch...
"Silence!" Anna exploded, and her sharp voice tore the air. "You can't frighten me, pathetic spawn! I am Anna Croft! Daughter of Lara Croft, the Amazon, to whom the angels came! Daughter of Kurtis Heissturm, the Warrior made flesh, the Son of Light! The one who returned from the Vortex because your superiors chose him over you. You are nothing! You're nobody! This is my home, and you can't frighten me!"
Moloch looked at her for a moment, dumbfounded... and then his gaze drifted upward. Almost instantly, a large, warm hand was placed on her shoulder and began to push her back. "Dad!" She hadn't even heard him come in. She grabbed his arm. "Dad, leave, don't...!"
Kurtis silenced her with an abrupt gesture and let go of her grip. He never looked at her. His eyes were fixed on the incubus.
Well, well. But if you are here, Son-of-Light, the demon paraphrased mockingly. Did you come to see how I crush your brat?
Anna wanted to grab her father again, but again Kurtis's hand seized her by the shoulder and pushed her back. "Go away, Anna." He ordered in a severe voice. "Go and take your grandmother with you."
"But I…!"
"Leave!" Kurtis' voice flashed like a whip as he pushed her back with such brutality, that Anna ended up falling on top of her grandmother. Her eyes got filled with tears. He'd never treated her like that.
Try what you want, pathetic little soldier. I'll have her the same. You're no longer a rival to me.
Kurtis had not moved an apex, nor had he diverted his gaze away from his enemy. The only weapon he held was his faithful gun, the Boran X. The only weapon he could use now. It wasn't enough against the Prince of the Incubi.
Anna tried to get up, but Lady Croft suddenly grabbed her, regaining all the forces she seemed to have lost before. "Don't! Grandma! Let go…!"
"Take her away from here." Kurtis ordered in a hard voice, and the old lady had no doubt that, for the first time, that strange man was addressing her. "Take her out of here right now, or you'll see her die."
Of course she's gonna see her die, Moloch laughed. But she'll also see many things before. And you, motherfucker, I'll leave you alive to see everything. You'll be the last. Moloch took another step forward. Kurtis didn't move from his position. He slowly raised the gun in the direction of his rival. What do you hope to achieve with that old weapon? Your Light has gone out, Lilith's spoiled child. You no longer have the Chirugai. You can't kill me, but I'll tear your arms out, so you can't grab me, and tear your legs out, so you can't run away, and when you're just a bloody torso, I'll take your daughter and fuck her in front of you, so that you can watch...
Kurtis barely heard him. He felt himself floating, as in an unreal atmosphere. It was true. He no longer had any power. He couldn't protect the two women. He couldn't save them. But there was something he could do. He was still standing between them and the abominable being.
He raised the gun, aimed at the monster's head, and calculated silently.
Aim well, bastard. Don't you remember that bullets don't harm me? You should strike me right in the center of the forehead. Remember? I'm not giving you that chance.
Lady Croft started dragging Anna back. The girl screamed, kicked and struggled, and in normal circumstances her grandmother wouldn't have been able to fight her strength, but Anna felt her face as broken, throbbing in pain and bloody, and she was confused, and she was terrified.
The deepest terror.
"Dad! Dad please! Please no!"
Come on, little soldier. Aim, if you have balls. Let's see if you succeed. But if you fail, I'm making you eat your own daughter's tits.
Kurtis aimed. "No, Dad, please, no!" And fired.
The blast of the Boran echoed in the darkness. Anna saw clearly the flash of her father's gun... And then Moloch's healthy eye, the only one he had left, burst into a mass of liquid jelly.
An inhuman roar deafened her. Then Anna shivered in horror. Oh no no no no please no it wasn't there you had to strike him on the forehead on the forehead Dad you taught me what have you done Dad what...
Then, she understood too late that her father had never intended to waste a chance to try to kill him, when it was almost impossible for him to succeed. He didn't want to kill him. He wanted to enrage him. He wanted to provoke him to the limit. He wanted him to take the bait.
And he was the bait.
"DAD, NO!" She yelled with all her might.
It happened too fast, but she saw it as in slow motion. The furious incubus, mad with rage and pain, pounced on Kurtis. His wounded eye had already regenerated by the time his claws circled the ex-legioner's neck and lifted him up like a doll. As in a dream, rather like a nightmare, Anna saw Moloch turn toward the window, holding her father up.
Kurtis made no attempt to defend himself. He didn't kick, he didn't fight. His throat was oppressed by the claw. He couldn't breathe - but I he didn't need to. All he needed was a clear target, a clean shot, which didn't fail - and now he had it.
Moloch realized too late he'd fallen into the trap. He noticed the Boran's cold on his forehead, exactly at the only vulnerable point of his body. He'd felt so safe in his position of strength that it had never occurred to him. With a roar of rage and, in part, of fear, he threw Kurtis with all his might against the window, at the same moment the ex-legionary pulled the trigger.
Neither one nor the other failed. Kurtis felt he was flying through the air and his back hitting the window, whose crystals burst into pieces and whose jambs burst, unable to stop his body propelled by the brutal force of the incubus. The crystals cut him massively throughout his body. The window couldn't hold him.
But also, the bullet impacted on the desired target, and with barely time to outline an expression of pain and defeat, Moloch, Prince of Demons, dissolved into the air like a scroll of black smoke, like an evil wind that exploded in a howl of rage and simply disintegrated, disappearing forever.
Kurtis barely had two thousandths of a second to verify his victory and rejoice in it. Anna was safe. The rest didn't matter.
Therefore, he barely realized that he was falling into the void and that a burst of pain broke his body from several sides. All that accompanied him on his descent was his daughter's heartbreaking scream.
"DAAAAAAAAAAAD!"
Then, there was nothing.