19- Between Realities

Several hours had already passed since they had left the archaeologists' camp and Çavusin behind. They kept trudging through the strange canyon. The journey was long, endless in this enclosed space that seemed to close in on them. The atmosphere around them was strangely moist, almost suffocating. An icy silence reigned in this desert landscape, as if they were the only beings left alive in the world.

Karel and his men were on the move, perhaps not far ahead of them. Fresh footprints dotted the ground in places, which reinforced Lara's idea they were on the right track. She remained on her guard, frequently glancing behind her. She could feel that Kurtis himself was on the lookout and a bit tense. But she had no fear of a potential enemy ambush, as the passage they were going through was narrow, and the walls around completely smooth. There was no strategic place where they could have hidden and taken them by surprise. At least for the moment.

The adventuress refocused on her steps. A few feet ahead of her, Kurtis kept making his way without turning around, closely followed by his chirugai. They had hardly spoken to each other since they had entered the canyon.

For the umpteenth time, she pulled out the map she had retrieved from one of the tents. The canyon seemed to wind for several kilometres through the middle of Cavusin plain. A few waterholes, undoubtedly small lakes, surrounded them. In some places, water was seeping through the rock and forming small pools at the foot of the walls.

Lara's gaze wandered over the rocks surrounding them. For a moment she admired the warm colours of the stone. The dry air burned her lungs, which reminded her unpleasantly of Egypt. It was a part of the world she knew very little about, and a bitter feeling came over her as she imagined that under different circumstances, she could have found herself on a mission here but might never get the chance to.

They went through another narrow passage in the gorge. After another bend, they came face to face with a pile of stones and earth, obviously a landslide. Large boulders blocked their way. The adventuress saw the mercenary move forward without hesitation and start climbing the stone wall. Lara remained for a moment at the foot of the wall, pensive. She had a strange feeling.

The American seemed to sense her hesitation and stopped a few meters above. He turned around and looked at her from the rock on which he was perched.

"What's wrong?"

The young woman shook her head, her lips pursed.

"I don't know... I can't really explain... It's hard to tell, it's like I have a sensation of déjà vu..."

The mercenary shook his head too, and shrugged his shoulders. He took her hunch seriously, however.

"I can also feel something strange is going on here... This place's full of black magic and of the World's strangest forces... There's a weird energy running through the rocks... Evil forces maybe... Or maybe just Karel's presence as he comes closer to the cradle..."

Lara did not answer. She stepped forward and began to climb. She carefully climbed the first rocks, sometimes slipping on the dust and sand. She scraped her elbow slightly as she caught herself on a ledge. The slope formed by the rubble pile was much steeper than she had expected. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the mercenary moving little higher up. Kurtis climbed the last few feet to the top. With a grunt, he pulled himself up onto a small platform. He then turned around and reached out to help the adventuress up as she was following him closely.

They stood there for a moment, watching the surroundings. The adventuress suddenly turned her head. She thought she had heard a noise. After a few seconds of silence, she realised it could have been the wind that was strongly whistling against the walls around them. Returning to seriousness, she looked at the other side of the rockslide. She began her descent, followed by the mercenary. This side was easier to access than the other. However, as they got closer to the ground, the young woman's doubt returned. The atmosphere around them changed. The sun, which had already been setting when they had reached the rockslide, seemed to have disappeared completely within a few seconds. Everything was suddenly very dark all around. The air had gone colder. A shiver of anxiety ran through the young woman.

Everything around them had changed. The long, narrow and sandy canyon had given way to a much larger and wider space. Even the rocks themselves had changed and turned into some deep grey stones. The two adventurers took a few steps forward, hands on their holsters, ready to draw. They approached large boulders that stood a few feet away, and took cover behind them.

Something tickled the young woman's leg. She suddenly looked down at the ground, weapon in hand. It was a plant. She realised with amazement that the dusty, uneven ground of the canyon had disappeared. It was now replaced by a huge expanse of green. Grass.

"What the...?"

Lara exchanged a glance with the mercenary, who seemed just as taken aback as she was. Glancing around, Kurtis noticed the deep black ceiling that stood above their heads, the edge of which he could not make out. The air was damp. He realised they had just entered some kind of cave.

"Looks like we're steeping into another world...", he whispered, looking down at the grass beneath his feet.

The Englishwoman's eyes darted in all possible directions. She felt her pulse suddenly quicken. An unpleasant sensation rose from deep inside herself, from the depths of her bowels. Kurtis' chirugai circled around them, also on the alert.

The mercenary took the lead. The adventuress stood right behind him, her weapon brandished in front of her. They moved slowly across the vast plain. A little further on, they perceived masses of high plants standing in their way. They recognised trees, and more precisely, palm trees. A continuous humming sound came up slowly, but seemed to be located a little further away from where they were.

Water

The mercenary heard a rustling in the bushes not far from him. They both stopped dead in their tracks, pointing their weapons in the noise's direction. The heavy silence fell again. All they could now hear was the sound of their own breathings. They exchanged another glance.

Something suddenly jumped from of the tall grass. A shrill cry tore the air. They fired at the same time at the thing that was hurtling towards them at spectacular speed. The animal gained momentum and launched itself with all its might into the air. Time seemed to stand still for a moment when, in the light of their weapons' fire, Lara recognised the beast that was about to run at her, its long claws out, ready to close in on her.

The animal hit her head on and they both fell to the ground heavily. Kurtis fired again, his teeth clenched. The young woman, trapped under one of the beast's legs, tried to push it away with strength. But it was incredibly heavy, and incredibly powerful. She felt its rough skin under her fingers as she dodged the jaws that came in her direction. The monster snarled repeatedly, snapping its sharp teeth.

Kurtis's metal disc came down on its victim at full speed, and planted itself directly in one of its eyes. The beast let out another scream that pierced their ears. It shook its head in all directions to dislodge the chirugai. One of its legs released the pressure on the adventuress, who took advantage of the situation to grab her pistol and fire into the animal's belly. It staggered backwards, badly hurt. Another burst of bullets from the Lux Veritatis penetrated its skull and the animal finally collapsed with a final scream of agony.

Kurtis came to help Lara push back the carcass under which she had been trapped. She stood up, panting, and quickly wiped the few traces of blood from her trousers. Then, barely giving herself time to regain her senses, she rushed to retrieve the chirugai, which she snatched from the dead animal's eye. She then returned to the mercenary, weapon in hand. She met the young man's stunned gaze.

"You gotta be kidding me," he told her in a voice empty of any kind of emotion.

The young woman turned to all directions. The mercenary couldn't help but take another look at the monster's carcass that lay on the ground: an elongated head and a short snout, a powerful jaw filled with razor-sharp teeth, small bright yellow eyes. A powerful, muscular body, skin as scaly as a reptile's, with red and brown tones. A long tail like that of a lizard. His gaze fell on the enormous protruding claw of one of its hind legs. He felt as if he had suddenly gone crazy. Crazy in the sense that it was logically impossible. He had chased and faced all sorts of demons in his life, but in this very moment, he had the impression his brain refused to make the connection with what he was seeing.

"This can't be real...", he told the adventuress. "This can't be-"

"It is," she cut him off abruptly.

The mercenary's lost gaze fell back on the velociraptor. Lara suddenly brought him back to reality, even though she seemed to be literally decomposing on the spot too.

"We have to be careful, there are at least two more somewhere."

The Lux Veritatis shook his head again, destabilized.

"Wait, what?"

"And there's something bigger waiting for us."

Coming back to his senses, he drew his Boran X and moved into a defensive position. They found themselves shoulder to shoulder. At his touch, even a simple graze, Lara felt all the energy mixed with stress that had seized the young man. She tried to control herself so as not to transmit her own stress to him.

"I'm guessing our only chance is to reach the temple."

They exchanged a glance.

"The temple? For fuck sake what are you taking about?", the mercenary asked obviously annoyed.

A loud growl sounded somewhere in front of them. They pointed their weapons in the direction the sound was coming from.

"You've been here before, right?"

Lara softly shook her head in approval.

"I'm guessing we have to go through this valley, and find the temple at the other end of it, as this is the only way out. The only question is, how did we end up here..."

They took a few more steps forward. As Lara had predicted, the second dinosaur emerged from behind one of the trees, jaws wide open in their direction. It came at them like a rocket. The two adventurers fired in unison and shot it down quite easily. The velociraptor also collapsed in the grass with a roar of rage. Silence fell again in the valley. Without wasting any time, the mercenary followed the young woman who was already resuming her walk.

The dull roar they had heard at the start intensified. The air became more humid. After a few more steps, they discovered a large waterfall above them, which seemed to spring directly from the rock face.

A jolt shook the earth beneath their feet. Kurtis stopped his run at the same time as Lara. She stood there for a moment, holding back her breathing, her arms spread out in front of her, as if she were about to jump on someone. The thud sounded again, and the ground shook beneath them. Slowly, Lara turned around and told Kurtis to follow her with a movement of the head. They reached the nearest wall, bent over, almost folded in half. They took refuge in a recess and behind some tall grass. Kurtis noticed the young woman's jerky but oddly controlled breathing. Her gaze was concentrating on the plain in front of them.

Guess you heard about the expression running for your life?

She took a quick look at Kurtis and found herself facing the young man's blank face.

Because this is exactly what we are going to do

A terrible, terrifying growl echoed throughout the cave. The grunt of an extremely large, powerful and dangerous animal that was approaching with a heavy step. In a few seconds it would be upon them.

Just follow me. When we'll have reached the temple, there will be another velociraptor coming at us...

What about the big one?

Lara did not answer. Another beastly growl sounded a few feet away from them. They could now distinctly hear the animal's breath searching for its prey. The young woman tried to control the new wave of stress that was rising in her. The visceral fear she had experienced many years ago. Everything was exactly the same. The valley. The trees, the plants, the rocks. The waterfall. The wooden bridge suspended in the air several metres above them. That moment of suspense before discovering the enemy. The same feeling she had had when she had discovered this place several years ago. Everything was the same, and yet nothing was certain. She had no way of knowing if it was the same scene. Who knew if there would be other traps waiting for them along the way. And yet, they had no other choice. She could see no other way out than the temple.

The two adventurers exchanged a last look.

Do you trust me?, she asked hastily.

An almost imperceptible smile appeared on the mercenary's face, but his piercing gaze betrayed his anxiety. She saw him suddenly break down on the spot as his eyes caught sight of the mass advancing towards them.

"Holy fucking shit...", he said in a breath.

Lara slowly turned her head, and her fears were confirmed. The huge T Rex was moving with slow, measured steps towards them, nodding its head to get a better scent of its prey. Its tiny yellow eyes focused on them. Time stood still for a moment.

He's quite a big one, indeed

Kurtis felt the adventuress' hand grab his.

Ready?

Before they could react, the chirugai shot like an arrow through the air. The metal weapon shot straight at the dinosaur with a loud hiss, before slashing deep into the corner of its snout. The beast's huge jaw opened and snapped, as if it had hoped to counter the small disc, before letting out a snarl of rage.

Kurtis felt the young woman pull sharply on his arm. They began to run. A loud roar sounded from behind them, followed by more earthquakes. Not surprisingly, the dinosaur was chasing them.

Kurtis caught up with the chirugai as it flew back towards him, covered in blood. He followed the young woman as she slalomed through the grass and trees ahead of him. They nearly lost their balance several times, thrown off balance by the monster's heavy steps behind them. The Lux Veritatis could feel the beast lengthening its stride to catch up with them. They would not last long. The young man drew his firearm. He held his hand out in front of him. Lara suddenly deviated from her trajectory and went to the side.

"What the...?!"

She found herself almost against the wall again, camouflaged by some tall grass. She saw the mercenary move in the opposite direction, his weapon pointed at the huge dinosaur that was charging him.

"Kurtis!"

"I'm creating a diversion, go to the temple!"

She wanted to retort, but they had no time to think. She saw the T Rex's powerful grey-speckled body undulate dangerously to change direction and follow the mercenary. As she continued to run, Lara drew her 9mm and fired a burst of bullets that struck the animal in the thigh. It let out a scream of rage and slowed down a little, allowing the mercenary to get a little head start. But the T Rex didn't seem to want to turn away from the American. Lara shot at it while it was in her sight, wounding it in the tail, before moving away. She headed straight for the valley's end and the temple, and finally saw the first stones of it. In the distance she heard the dinosaur roar again, followed by a burst of bullets.

As she had predicted, a third velociraptor sprang from the stone structure and jumped towards her. As the beast gained distance and leapt towards her, the adventuress dropped to the ground. With the momentum, she slid into the earth and passed under the animal. She fired without hesitation. The bullets pierced the dinosaur's belly. She narrowly dodged the long hind claw that grazed her face, before the raptor collapsed a little further behind her, mowed down in its momentum.

Lara got up, panting.

Another down

The earth began to vibrate around her again. After a wide diversion to get away from the T Rex, Kurtis was making his way back to the temple. The huge beast was still trying to catch up with him, its great jaws ready to snap shut at any moment. The adventuress charged straight at them, firing her pistols. The monstrous beast seemed suddenly taken by surprise, hesitating as to which prey to pursue. With a movement of his hand, Kurtis managed to mentally move a piece of tree, which whistled in the air and went to plant itself in one of the dinosaur's eyes. It suddenly stopped and staggered back, seriously injured. A deafening growl echoed through the cave. The mercenary took the opportunity to fire more shots at its head, while the adventuress came towards him.

Lara ran a little faster. She gained momentum. After one last powerful stride, she propelled herself into the air, towards the Tyrannosaurus' head. Understanding what she had in mind, Kurtis gave her a good impulse, which propelled her a little higher in the air. Concentrated on the American, the monster did not notice the glide the young woman was making above him.

Everything would be settled in a fraction of a second. That was all she had. But that was all she needed. She had its head in her sights, just a few centimetres below her. Her gaze met the beast's yellow reptilian eyes for a brief moment. She heard Kurtis fire again. She pulled the trigger.

The bullets pierced directly through the skull bone, which exploded in places, before embedding themselves in the brain. The tyrannosaurus shook violently. It roared one last time, and, mortally wounded, suddenly toppled to one side. The ground came dangerously close, and at great speed. Lara felt an invisible force holding her back slightly, before she hit the ground with strength. She rolled on herself several times before finally stopping face down. She felt the cold, rough skin of the T Rex right next to her. She had to be quick, before the monster collapsed on her. She tried to stand up, but the dinosaur's back was already falling on her. Another invisible force propelled her violently to the side, just as the huge carcass finally collapsed to the ground.

The echo of the T Rex's last breath fell gently, and calm gradually returned. The adventuress felt the mercenary join her, and he helped her to her feet.

"You okay?"

She shook her head in agreement. Lara took a quick look at Kurtis to see that he was alright too. He was just a little out of breath. The young woman quickly dusted off her dirt-filled clothes.

"One day you'll have to explain how you always end up in situations like this... kinda bad habit of yours, isn't it ?"

She couldn't hold back a cynical laugh.

"It's a long story, indeed."

They looked up at the ruined building just above them. There too, the young woman easily recognised the structure in which she had found a cog several years earlier. Elegant columns with Inca motifs, carved into the rock, framed a small opening, which plunged into the bowels of the earth.

A growl rose from a little further into the valley. Something was running towards them. The two adventurers glanced at each other. Without waiting, they hurried up the few steps that led up to the small temple. When they turned around, they discovered that three more velociraptors were coming towards them at high speed. Lara and Kurtis positioned themselves in attack mode again. They each fired at one of the dinosaurs. At first they each took cover behind a column, but then soon realised they had to back away, their opponents being much more resistant to bullets than their predecessors. One of the velociraptors growled furiously in their direction. They were getting dangerously close. One of them finally fell to the ground. The second, wounded, staggered for a moment, before rising again, more determined than ever. Lara's magazine suddenly emptied. As she reached for an assault rifle behind her back, Kurtis stopped her.

"We've wasted enough energy and ammunition, let's go inside."

"I just hope I'm not wrong...", replied the Englishwoman in a breath.

Kurtis nodded, and the young woman, at his insistent gaze, lowered her weapon. They turned around as the two raptors reached the body of the T Rex. They would arrive in the temple in a few seconds.

The two adventurers started to run. They passed through the entrance arch, and entered an enclosed space. It was a small room with a pool of water, in the centre of which was a small platform, which had probably once served as a sacred altar. The back wall had completely disappeared, replaced by a sort of passageway, which seemed to open onto total nothingness.

"This is fucking weird too!", the mercenary yelled.

Their eyes met for a brief moment. The raptors' cry echoed behind them. Their claws scraped the stone floor. They had just entered the building. In one motion, Lara and Kurtis jumped over the small pool of water to the other side, and dashed headlong into the passageway that opened up before them.

They fell heavily to the ground, as if they had fallen from a height of several metres. They rolled in the sand and dust.

After a few seconds, just enough time to recover, they finally stood up. After a short inspection, they realised that the lost valley had disappeared. There was nothing left. No tall grass, no waterfall, no trees, no dinosaurs either. They were back in the canyon, with its great rock walls rising high above their heads. They exchanged a questioning and surprised look.

"What do you think it was exactly?", the young woman asked, trying to catch her breath again.

Kurtis moved closer to her, keeping an eye on the surroundings.

"I can only guess...", he replied softly, panting hard too. "A parallel reality maybe... Only few Lux Veritatis know about it and how to use it... It's dangerous and poorly mastered... Many former adepts have been trapped and have perished, unable to master such dark magic..."

"And let me guess, you used it to torture your enemies?"

"And as a protection and security system."

"Do you think Karel could have done this?", the adventuress asked.

"We're getting close to the Nephilim cradle, it's obvious they have a vested interest in protecting what we're looking for... but Karel is quite capable of setting up this kind of protection system. He may have activated it after passing here, to delay us..."

"This is crazy...", she replied, shaking her head in disbelief. "It was exactly the same, in every detail."

"One of your old expeditions?"

"In Peru, yes."

Lara shook her head thoughtfully. She glanced at the long canyon that opened up before them. It was much darker now, the sunlight was slowly disappearing. Night was falling.

"We have to keep going while we can," Kurtis told her gently.

She nodded without looking back. Still stunned, they resumed their walk and advanced through the narrow canyon.

They walked a little further for a while before darkness completely fell. The dark quickly engulfed the canyon, they could not see much anymore, which slowed down their progress.

After a bend, the canyon suddenly seemed to widen. They came to a much wider, much more open space, like a clearing in a forest. Unlike the rest of the canyon, the rock above them suddenly opened up to the dark, starry night sky. The air was cool.

Once again, they felt as if they had arrived in another world. The smooth, dry walls of the canyon were suddenly hollowed out on all sides, just like the towns and villages they had passed on their way before were. A few dozen cave dwellings had been carved out into the walls.

A little further on, they noticed a shape lying on the ground. They drew their weapons and moved forward cautiously. They found the body of a man, lying face down in a large pool of blood. From his loose, simple clothing, they deduced he was a member of the archaeologists' team.

The two adventurers exchanged a glance.

"Do you think Karel would have made some of the people of the camp prisoner?", the adventuress asked softly, as she watched the victim's frozen face.

Kurtis bent down to take a quick look at the body. He found a nasty wound in the leg and abdomen.

"I don't think he could have made it that far on his own, indeed," the American told her as he observed the hole left in the man's skull, no doubt by a bullet.

The mercenary straightened up, and glanced around them.

"Why would he do this? Why would he need these people?"

He shook his head, also in doubt.

"Maybe he needs them... For what, I can't tell you exactly but..."

He left his sentence hanging. A terrible thought crossed Lara's mind and she shivered. She could feel the fatigue gradually taking over. Her leg was throbbing. Suddenly she saw a dark spot on the mercenary's arm. She reached out to study his arm more closely, but the mercenary gently pushed her away.

"It's nothing," he said mechanically.

The adventuress shook her head, annoyed.

"Let's get to a safe place to get some rest, at least for a few hours."

"We don't have time to rest, Lara."

"... we need to get our strength back, we need a few hours rest. Your wound needs care, so does mine. It's too dark now to go on, and who knows what else awaits us in this canyon. There's no point in taking any unnecessary risks. You will use your foresight to locate Karel and find out where they are. Anyway if something had already happened, I suppose you would have sensed it?"

The young man nodded softly, his gaze fixed on the young woman.

"And being half dead for the final fight won't be of any use."

A smile came over the young man's face.

"Guess you're right."

She smiled back at him in response, even though she sensed the mercenary was slightly resistant. The young woman turned around and approached one of the walls, considering the houses perched above them.

"I think we can find a place to hide somewhere above here..."

Kurtis joined her. He put one foot on the first stone and pulled himself up onto the wall.

Her gaze got lost in the immense starry sky above them. Leaning against the rock, standing on the edge of the void, she kept an eye on the canyon below. After climbing several metres high, they had finally reached one of the higher houses, and had settled and took shelter in what looked like an old main room.

She finished the chocolate bar she was eating and went to join Kurtis, who had sat down on the floor, on a mattress made of old and dry straws. Bare chested, he was cleaning up his wounds as best he could by the light of a torch. The young woman sat down beside him.

"Do you think you'll be able to locate them easily?", Lara asked as she took a quick look at his wounds.

"I don't know... actually, my powers are quite diminished..."

She frowned, obviously concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"My powers are not unlimited, they need to be regenerated... I just need to get them back somehow..."

Lara shook her head in disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you..."

"It's a real success."

It wasn't a reproach. Kurtis put a reassuring hand on the young woman's thigh.

"We'll be ready. I'm weakened but in a relatively limited way. I didn't overuse my powers. I should feel better within a few hours."

"How does it work exactly?"

"A little artificial coma, some incantations... usual things, basically. It would have been quicker, and easier if my mother was there to help me with that, but..."

Lara watched him carefully. Then, as the silence hover between them, she grabbed one of her pistols and checked the magazine, more to reassure herself.

"I'll be there to watch your back in any case," she told him.

"I know," the mercenary replied in a soft voice. "I won't be far away anyway."

They exchanged a knowing smile.

"Don't you think it's strange that your father never told you about all this? I mean, you knew about the scrolls, the Nephili story... I'm surprised he didn't tell you what he knew about this place here..."

Kurtis took a sip of water before answering her. He seemed to be seriously considering the question.

"He had located the sword, but as for the Nephilim cradle, I guess he never really knew where it was. He must have had access to the scrolls, or at least part of them, but he may never have had access to the exact translation, or he didn't have the time to, I guess. I think he intended to pass on some of the information to me at some point, but didn't get the chance. His priority was probably to train me physically and psychologically first, so that I would be able to take on such a responsibility later on. Guess he was already preparing me for all this when I was young," replied the Lux Veritatis with a vague movement of the hand.

"And these realities you were telling me about earlier, have you ever experienced them yourself? Do you think that Karel would be able to set up other traps like that on our way?"

"Never before, no. As I was saying, this art was reserved for very specific and above all extremely powerful members of the order... I wouldn't be surprised if in our case Karel was at the origin of it, yes, and it is very likely that other traps await us. He may reinforce the protection as we get closer to the cradle."

Lara bent down and reached into her bag to pull out an object.

"We're come most of the way through the canyon," she continued. "I don't know what we're supposed to find exactly, but it looks like it leads to a watering hole."

They glanced at the map the young woman had just unfolded. Kurtis pointed to the end of the canyon, which seemed to stop dead in the middle of the Cappadocian desert.

"It looks like so, yes. Well, guess we'll find out soon. There's not much left to go now," the mercenary muttered.

They stared at each other in the silent darkness. Lara observed the torch's shadows undulating on the American's face. Then she slowly put the map aside. She began to undo her long braid and combed her hair. Kurtis watched her run her hands through her free and tangled hair before gathering it to one side to re-braid.

"Just hope they won't be waiting for us at the end of the road," she told him pensively.

As if he suddenly remembered his wounds, the mercenary looked away and tried to concentrate on re-bandaging his arm, but the compress kept slipping off. He felt visibly annoyed.

"Looks like you're not really concentrated."

Kurtis looked up at Lara, and caught her mocking gaze. He smiled. With a movement of the hand, she calmed him down and forced him to let go of the bandage he was trying to put on. The mercenary watched her gently manipulate his arm. Her hands were warm against his broken skin. Her eyes quickly got to the man's bare chest and his muscular arms, before looking up.

"I would definitely feel more concentrated if you'd stop eyeing me up like this", he replied with a smirk.

"And you definitely know that I would do more than just eyeing you up in other circumstances."

Kurtis raised both eyebrows in surprise. He watched her wrap his arm with the clean gauze.

"Am I dreaming or has the nice little aristocrat you are just told me something dirty?"

Lara spotted his amused smile, which grew even bigger. Nonetheless, he could not hold back a grimace as the adventuress knotted the bandage tightly around his arm.

"Is that a problem for you?", she asked defiantly.

"Absolutely not."

The mercenary suddenly caught her by the chin, and drew her to him for a kiss.

She could feel Kurtis's slow, deep breathing against her back. His heartbeat echoed in a reassuring rhythm. His arm encircled her waist firmly. As he had explained to her, the young man had slipped into a kind of artificial coma, cutting himself off from the outside world for the next few hours.

Lara glanced around them again, then at the weapon she had left not far from her. She tried to resist for a moment, but, overcome by fatigue, she finally closed her eyes and let herself go.

A scratching sound woke her up with a start. She sat up abruptly, clutching her 9mm. She pointed to the darkness in front of her, to one side of the cave and then to the other. Her gaze remained focused on the canyon's opening side. The silence had fallen again.

Beside her, Kurtis was still deep in his restful sleep. She gently grabbed his arm and put it aside to get out of his embrace. She slowly got up, and approached the entrance to the cave.

She took a look outside. At first she noticed nothing. The canyon below was as silent as ever, and the moon shone far to the south, casting a silvery light on the surrounding landscapes.

Another rustling sounded. She pointed her gun down the cliff. For a fraction of a second, it seemed to her that the opposite wall had moved. She blinked and shook her head to regain her senses. Then her eyes were suddenly drawn to a detail. Her heart jumped in her chest. The archaeologist's body was gone.

She swallowed with difficulty. No matter how hard she squinted to see, the man's corpse had disappeared. She abruptly turned around and ran towards Kurtis, still in his coma. She shook him gently.

"Kurtis!", she whispered softly.

The young man grunted. She shook him a little harder to bring him back to reality. He slowly woke up from his deep sleep, obviously out of phase. His eyes were still asleep, searching for explanations. He looked at the young woman standing over him, who was struggling to hide her anxiety.

"What's going on?", he asked, a little groggy.

"There's something wrong."

"What?"

He sat up in a grunt. The blood was pounding at high speed against his temples.

"The body is gone."

The mercenary slowly came back to his senses, massaging his aching neck.

"What are you talking about?"

"The dead body is gone, it's no longer here. I don't know what's going on here, but something woke me up."

Lara helped the American to his feet. Just as the young man was about to protest, they heard a loud creak from outside.

They both rushed to the cave entrance, weapons drawn. Kurtis's chirugai came to life as well, floating behind his master, alert. When he glanced out, the young man saw that the archaeologist's body was no longer there.

Something moved on the opposite wall. They both pointed their weapons in the direction, but they could not see anything in the darkness. Suddenly, shadows began to move in the canyon below. The ground seemed to move, or more precisely to ripple, like the surface of a body of water in the wind. Some of the stones seemed to be moving.

"What the..."

Something was climbing up the wall. Something big, something heavy. An unpleasant crunching sounded against the rock.

They fired in unison. One by one the bullets hit the thing that was coming at them, which exploded in handfuls of earth and rock. After a few moments, the thing got completely disintegrated and disappeared in a cloud of dust. The two adventurers looked at each other in dismay.

"What is that?", asked Lara, alarmed.

Kurtis had no time to answer. Several shapes were already coming back at them, climbing up the wall. Kurtis fired again.

"We have to get out of here!"

Lara turned and rushed to the back of the cave. She quickly rummaged through the weapons bag and pulled out the grappling hook. She quickly picked up what she could find, and ran back to the cave entrance. She grabbed the weapon, and aimed at a ledge on the other side of the canyon. The metal arrow shot out as she pulled the trigger. She heard the arrow's metallic clang rasp the rock on the opposite wall.

She felt the stress raising up inside her. The monsters would be upon them any moment. She could hear their dull roar and the rock creaking as they came closer. The chirugai dived repeatedly towards the attackers, illuminating their completely uniform and faceless faces. Their enemies were nothing but stone.

She gave a nod to Kurtis, who grabbed her firmly by the waist. Before launching herself into the void. Lara took a split second to pray that the grappling rope was secure. But once again, they had no time to think. She gave a push, and they tumbled into the void.

The fall only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed endless. They flew over the oncoming enemies. Thanks to a boost from the mercenary, they narrowly avoided the opposite wall, and when the ground finally approached, Lara let go. They both landed in the sand, cushioning the fall with several rolls. They didn't have time to catch their breath that the monsters were already chasing them. When Lara stood up, she saw four or five stone monsters coming down the wall and coming towards them. She felt the pressure of Kurtis's hand against her back.

"They are Golems!"

They began to run.

"Because you've seen that before? How great...", the young woman shouted over the things' grunts behind them.

"I've come across them before, yes..."

The ground slipped under their feet. They could feel the earth shaking as the Golems got closer. Lara tried to turn and fired randomly into the pile. Some of her bullets went into the monsters, but that didn't seem to stop them. She gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"To defeat them, you have to-"

But Kurtis did not have time to finish his sentence. Everything happened very quickly. Suddenly two huge Golems appeared in front of them, blocking their way. The Lux Veritatis easily shot the one facing him, aiming at the top of its face. The monster let out a loud groan, before collapsing into a pile of dust. Lara skidded and fell to the ground, carried away by her own impulse. She rolled to one side as the second monster brought its rock fist down on the ground. Kurtis fired, again aiming at the monster's face. But before they could react, the still-living Golem grabbed the young woman by one ankle and pulled her with it.

Kurtis could do nothing. He saw the Golem and Lara literally disappear into the ground, as if sucked into the rock.

"NO!"

He turned round to face the other Golems coming at him. He fired, and two other monsters quickly fell to the ground before disappearing completely. The third one got attacked by the chirugai, which here again, got into the upper part of its face to kill it. Before he could shoot, the two last ones suddenly disappeared into the rock.

Within only a fraction of second, the canyon fell suddenly silent again. Everything around him froze. His fingers softened and let his weapon slide to the ground. He fell to his knees. In a desperate gesture, he scratched the sand and rock almost to the point of blood where Lara had been literally swallowed by the earth. It was a nightmare.

He stayed there for a long time, staring into the void. He didn't notice it at first, but the landscape changed all around him. The darkness in the canyon became a little thicker. The red stone turned black. He only looked up when he realised that a light mist had risen.

Several metres ahead, two figures emerged. One, of medium height, was watching him from over his small glasses. His hands seemed to be clasped in two large iron gloves, from which emanated a strange bluish light. The second, much younger and taller than the first, had his steel-blue eyes on the mercenary.

Kurtis got to his feet, still stunned. He didn't understand what was happening. Again, he felt like his own brain couldn't make a connexion with reality anymore.

"So what, we're just going to stand here and stare into each other's eyes?", the Lux Veritatis suddenly shouted, his arms spread wide in defiance.

The two men suddenly approached, muttering words that the American could not make out.

"Where are the other shards, Lux Veritatis?"

Kurtis shook his head. What were they talking about?

He tried to retaliate and move forward, but found that he could not move. When he tried to move towards the two men, he was shocked to discover that his arms, as well as his legs, were bound in large, thick chains. He was tied to a cross-shaped trestle. His arms hurt like hell. One of his feet was burning. He realised with horror that he was missing several fingers, and an ugly wound ran up and down his chest. His lost gaze roamed the room in which they were standing. The landscape around him had changed again. The black walls had moved closer, closing in on him. The canyon had disappeared again, replaced by a small cavern, which looked very much like a dungeon.

Kurtis let out a cynical laugh.

"Okay, I see...", he said as he tried to hold back all the bitterness that was slowly taking hold of him.

The two enemies came dangerously close. The glove of the former vibrated a little more strongly. The mercenary could feel the powerful heat that was emanating from it from where he stood. His distraught eyes met those of his tormentors.

"Would you have entrusted them to your bastard son or your degenerate wife?"

Kurtis watched the scene, dumbfounded. A strange feeling came over him. He felt a seething anger slowly rise up inside him as he met the eyes of Karel and Eckhardt who were looking at him with an evil smile.

"Answer now!", the Nephilim suddenly shouted. "What have you found out?"

The young man raised his head and spat in Karel's direction. The latter retaliated with a powerful punch.

When he stepped back, the mercenary saw the glove coming dangerously close to his chest. At the contact of the alchemist's finger, his skin began to melt. His jaws blocked the scream that was rising at the same time in his throat. A finger, then a second, then the whole hand pierced his flesh, plunging slowly into his flesh. He screamed.

From that moment on, he felt disconnected from what was happening. He could no longer think. His mind gradually faded away to make room for its true owner. He realised that he was only a spectator of the scene. There was absolutely nothing he could do. He was a prisoner of this painful memory.

The alchemist abruptly removed the glove from his chest. The young man's head tilted back in shock. He felt a warm liquid running down his belly. The flesh inside him seemed to keep burning, slowly and painfully. He let out another cry of pain. His arms pulled desperately at his bonds. He could no longer control his ragged breathing. Once again he tried to retort, but no sound came out of his mouth.

Eckhardt put his gloved hand on the man's face. The energy emanating from it vibrated dangerously. He felt a vise tightening around his skull. His eyes began to burn. He shook his head, trying to get out of the grip of his attacker.

"We've wasted enough time, Master. He won't give in," Karel told him, silently watching the scene.

"I know."

He pressed his hand a little harder against the prisoner's face, who began to scream.

"Rouzic has managed to locate the first paintings. And for the shards, well, I guess we'll have to go to his bastard son."

Under his hand, the man was jerking his shoulders to free himself. Eckhardt released the pressure on his face. He looked for a moment at the horribly burned face of the Lux Veritatis.

"The only Lux Veritatis warrior left alive now, isn't he? And one of the most powerful..."

With a huge effort, the prisoner managed to raise his head towards his enemies.

"Our Order will survive... He is not the only one left alive..."

"After you, he will be."

The alchemist's icy voice echoed in his skull. Against all odds, the man suddenly started to laugh. A laugh of despair, but a highly cynical laugh, which seemed to unnerve the alchemist for a short moment. Eckhardt's mouth twisted into a frightening sneer. He approached the prisoner and plunged his acid gaze into the resigned eyes of his prey.

"I'll spare you the traditional farewell speech."

With those words, Eckhardt grabbed the Lux Veritatis by the stomach. A smell of burning flesh instantly filled the small room. The glove vibrated once more, making its way into the man's body. This time he offered no resistance as the hand plunged further into his belly. He was caught in a jump. Liquefied flesh and blood mingled and flowed in great quantities. The hand tightened on his heart. He felt as if he was about to burst into a thousand pieces. His azure eyes met those of his killers one last time.

Forgive me, son

After a final cry of agony, everything went black.

When he opened his eyes, the only thing he could see was the dirty ground. His mouth was full of sand and dust. He felt slightly nauseous, and emptied of all energy. He had to squint several times to regain consciousness.

He sat up with difficulty. His whole body protested, as if he had been run over by a large truck. The old wound in his rib was hurting again. He glanced around and at the huge walls above him: he was back in the canyon. No more caves. No more dinosaurs. No more Golems. No more torture, no more blood. No more fighting. Only silence and the wind whistling against the stone again.

Kurtis's gaze then fell on a shapeless mass lying on the ground, a few feet away from him. His heart jumped. He stood up abruptly, approaching it as quickly as he could. He found Lara lying face down on the ground.

He knelt down. He swung her gently towards him. Her body offered no resistance, limp as a disarticulated doll. Her arms fell back on each side of her, lifeless. He checked her pulse, non-existent, and her breathing, extinct. He took her face in his hands and pushed back a few strands of rebellious hair. Her lifeless stare locked onto the mercenary's. Kurtis felt his heart clench uncontrollably into his chest, like an iron wall that would have suddenly crumbled down on him.

No...