A NUMBERS GAME, Chapter 9
Lara's eyes popped open to ashen skies.
There was no lingering grogginess – she hadn't been sleeping.
A soft sobbing reached her ears. The brunette shot up into a sitting position.
She was in the centre of the stone circle; judging from the prevailing light, it was at least mid-morning.
But of more immediate concern was the crumpled form on her right, sitting back on her knees, face buried in her palms.
Lara reached out and gently lowered the blonde's wrists.
"Elsie…?"
The American slowly raised her head level with the Englishwoman's, gazing upon her companion with severely reddened eyes.
"You just couldn't leave it alone, could you?" asked the blonde, her voice hoarse. "Was it really so hard for you to put your trust in me?"
"I..."
The brunette quickly scanned the hilltop; so far as she could tell, they were alone.
"Elsie…how did you get here?"
The blonde's shoulders drooped.
"Really, Lara? That's the question that needs asking right now? I swiped Ivy's scooter, if that makes any difference..."
The archaeologist bit her lip at the pain in the American's words. But there more pressing matters.
"Come on," said Lara as she scrambled to her feet. "We'll talk about this later…we have to get out of here."
The blonde made no motion.
"Elsie –"
The American slowly shook her head.
"There's no getting out," choked the blonde. "Not for me."
The Englishwoman frowned.
"What are you going on about?"
The American drew in a long shuddering breath, her gaze fixed on the ground.
"This is where we part ways, Lara…"
The finality of her friend's tone sent chills down the brunette's spine.
Throwing herself down before the blonde, Lara ignored the sharp pain as her knees impacted the hardened earth.
"Are you daft? Why would you say such a thing?"
Elsie swallowed awkwardly.
"It's...out of my hands, now. But you're safe...that's all that matters..."
Lara could feel her brow beading with sweat. She didn't like the sound of that – at all.
"Elsie...what did you do?"
The American shook her head again.
"She has paid your debt, Lara Croft."
The archaeologist scrambled to her feet at the unexpected sound, the same disembodied voice she'd heard previously. Her eyes darted around the stone circle, trying to determine its source - but she and Elsie were still alone.
"Who's there?" barked the brunette to the air. "Show yourself!"
"Lara, don't –"
"SHOW YOURSELF!" repeated the Englishwoman hotly.
For several moments all was quiet, with not even the faint chirping of birds permeating the hilltop. The brunette ran her palm against her thigh, detecting the absence of her pocketknife. Not that it would have made much of a difference, she suspected - but any weapon was better than none.
"Does this better suit your expectations?"
The archaeologist whirled about. Before her stood a woman rivaling Brienne of Tarth in stature, clad in a simple grey cloak and yet possessed of a distinctly regal bearing. Even though she bore no accoutrements of rank or position, Lara sensed this was a woman of power.
And most likely, mused the archaeologist, not born of humanity.
Her age was indistinct; though her hair was long and silvery-grey, her face was unlined. She could be in her thirties - or unimaginably ancient.
"Who are you?"
"Again, your insatiable thirst for knowledge," returned the woman. "Some mysteries are best left unexplored, Lara Croft. I fear your curiosity will be your end."
"Let me guess," shot back the brunette. "This hill is hollow and you and your ilk live within?"
The woman smiled.
"If it helps in your understanding, then...very well."
Lara's breath stilled momentarily as realization sunk in. The woman wasn't joking.
The ancient legends. The myths from the mists of time.
People of the Hills.
Tuatha De Dannan. Sidhe.
Lara would've normally dismissed the notion as utter bollocks - but this woman had literally appeared from nowhere.
The archaeologist swallowed. "So…what now?"
"As your friend stated," continued the woman, "a settlement has been reached. You may go. And pray you never return."
Lara put her hands on her hips. "I'll need to know the details of this 'settlement' before I agree to anything."
The woman's serene smile faded.
"It is not conditional upon your acceptance," Said the Sidhe. "Consider yourself fortunate, Lara Croft. You profaned a sacred rite, an offence made all the worse by your attempt to bring knowledge of it into your world. It is only your friend's pleading that stayed our hand."
Lara glanced at Elsie; the blonde's gaze was still fixed on the patch of ground, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"What...what did she..."
The woman continued: "It was she who begged that your memory of that day be purged from your consciousness...and we agreed, on condition that were you to return to this place it would be on pain of death. And now here you stand once more."
The brunette's foot twitched. "But...you just said I could leave."
"Indeed."
Lara arched a dubious eyebrow. "Just like that? No consequences?"
The woman's unblinking stare was unnerving.
"None to you."
The Sidhe shifted her gaze to Elsie.
The brunette drew in a sharp breath.
"Oh no," said Lara as she interposed herself between the woman and her friend. "No you won't..."
"A life is forfeit, Lara Croft, as we said," repeated the Sidhe. "The price must be paid."
"Bullocks!"
The Englishwoman had heard enough. She stepped back and grasped Elsie's arm, hauling the blonde forcibly to her feet.
"We're getting out of here," she announced as she shot a warning glare at the woman, who oddly made no move to stop them.
It was Elsie herself who unexpectedly fought Lara's pull, managing to tear herself free after just a few steps.
"Let me GO!"
Lara made a move to re-acquire her grip on the blonde, only to have her draw back out of reach.
"For God's sake, Elsie -"
"I can't leave!" cried the American, her voice strained. "If I leave, you die!"
"I'll take my chances," growled the brunette as she made another grab for her friend - only to miss as Elsie scuttled back.
"Stop that!"
"The time has come, Lara Croft," intoned the woman in her ethereal voice. "Your friend understands what is at stake. We will grant you a few moments to make your farewell."
The Englishwoman snarled. "Oh, bugger this!"
And launched herself at the Sidhe, her powerful legs sending her flying towards her target.
Her hands clutched fistfuls of empty air.
The brunette tumbled to the ground.
"LARA, NO!"
The archaeologist rolled with the momentum and was back on her feet in an instant, Elsie pulling her back by her belt.
"Don't!" pleaded the blonde. "Lara, don't! You're just going to piss them off!"
Lara quickly glanced about the hilltop. They were seemingly alone - at least for the moment.
Taking advantage of the Amercian's proximity, she quickly clamped down on her companion's wrist.
"Come on!" barked the Englishwoman as she made for the trees.
Elsie fought to break her hold with increasing desperation at every step, to the point that it was all Lara could do to keep moving: forward progress had slowed to a veritable crawl.
"Stop fighting me!"
"Let go!"
"I'll carry you if I have t-"
"Going somewhere?"
Lara spun around, the blonde taking advantage of the momentary distraction to yank her arm free of her companion's grip.
The Englishwoman found herself staring at a young female that looked to be barely out of her teens, though it was her attire that differentiated her more starkly from her predecessor: she was clad in surprisingly modern garb, from her knee-high boots and jeans to a velvet top, accentuated by a stylish belt and an expensive looking leather jacket. All in all, it was an ensemble that wouldn't have looked out of place in Sam's closet.
Only in this case, it was all comprised of varying shades of greens and browns, from olive to cucumber to coffee to chocolate; even the girl's hair was of a deep evergreen hue. Her skin was a walnut brown. Only her eyes differed in colour, being a striking shade of Lilac.
And she was almost ridiculously beautiful, noted the archaeologist.
But the girl's allure was tempered by a gaze that made Lara feel as though she were a mouse that had just been dropped into a maze.
This was not a garden variety faerie – but no less dangerous, if the stories Winston had read to her were true.
"I am, in fact," replied Lara, edging back towards teh American while maintaining her front to the strange girl. "Who the hell are you, anyway?"
The Sidhe shrugged. "Others pass sentence, I'm simply the one who carries it out. So be nice."
The girl's speech and mannerisms were strangely cosmopolitan, noted the archaeologist - but there was no time for investigation.
She extended her arm behind her.
"Come on, Elsie."
"Lara, no..."
"Oh, but she stays," countered the girl, sauntering closer. "A life is forfeit, remember? I would've thought you'd be more appreciative it wasn't yours."
The brunette took another half step back. "You're not touching her."
The girl smiled - unexpectedly brightly, noted the archaeologist.
"You're right," agreed the Sidhe. "Since you'll be the one doing the deed."
Lara's jaw dropped.
The girl cocked her head and continued: "So much more interesting that way, don't you think?"
"You little SHIT!" barked the brunette furiously, balling her fists. "There's no power on Earth that would make me do that!"
The girl's smile widened into a worrisome grin.
"Oh, really? Do I detect a dare?"
Lara's hand instinctively drifted down to her belt, her fingers unconsciously fumbling for a nonexistent weapon.
The Sidhe gave a casual wave of her hand, as though introducing a prize on a television game show.
An object coalesced before the brunette from seemingly the air itself. Browned with age and roughly rectangular, it fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Lara blinked as she strained to make out the details.
Oh, bloody Hell...
Splayed out on the ground not three feet before her was the Voynich Manuscript.