Chapter 7 – A Legendary Treasure
London, England
Edmond Mason sat quietly on an antique loveseat, a fire roaring in the marble fireplace. He looked about his office, taking quick inventory of everything. He had it all set up. Lady Croft would be here any minute, and he needed everything to run smoothly. Considering Lady Croft's volatile nature, he doubted the meeting would proceed as such. But he had done his part to keep things civilized. He smiled to himself as he thought of his future. With Lady Croft as his right hand woman, there was no way he could fail. He would have his treasure, no matter what. And then, when the rest of the world least expected it, he…
"Excuse me sir." He frowned heavily, his face tightening with irritation.
"Yes Bonnie?" The small woman with blonde hair and dark circles under her eyes cowered at the doors to Mason's office.
"Sir, uhm… The Lady Lara Croft is here to see you. She says she has an appointment." Mason slid seamlessly to his feet, like a snake about to seduce his prey.
"Of course she does, Bonnie. The Lady Croft is an important client of mine. Have you treated her with the utmost respect since her arrival?" Bonnie shivered slightly, her eyes darting to and fro.
"Yes sir, of course! I…I-I mean, yes sir. With only the greatest respect, sir. As you instructed me." Mason smiled slightly at her reaction to his condescension.
"Good girl. Such behavior deserves rewarding. Order yourself up a nice, expensive lunch on my account, darling. Take your time. I'm sure Lady Croft and I will be quite busy for the time being." Bonnie's face brightened a little, and she managed to bring her eyes to meet his.
"Thank you sir. Shall I send her in now?"
"Immediately, love."
"Yes, Mr. Mason." Bonnie scurried out, like a frightened little mouse. He grinned, amused at how others trembled before him.
He sat behind his massive desk, a look of authority glued in place. He arranged his suit jacket, smoothing it with his hands. He adjusted the ruby ring on his right middle finger. It glimmered as the light from the fireplace glinted off its cut surface. He concentrated on the doors as one would a serious task. He had made a living for so long knowing exactly how to handle people. How to get just what he wanted from them. And now, he was prepared to get exactly what he wanted from Lady Croft.
Lara smiled at the skinny blonde secretary outside of Mason's office. She was bustling about, obviously trying to be accommodating in every way.
"Mr. Mason has been expecting you, My Lady. If you'll follow me, I-I'll show you into his office at once." Lara tried to thank her, but she shook her head. "I'm only doing what I'm told, My Lady. Mr. Mason says you're a client of the utmost importance." She gasped and threw a skeleton hand over her mouth. "But I don't think I was supposed to say that!"
"Don't worry," Lara replied with a kind smile. "It'll be our little secret." Bonnie smiled slightly, scratching at her head.
"Okay. Umm… This way, Lady Croft."
She led Lara up to the grand double doors that led to Mason's office, stopping to knock politely three times. When no reply was heard, Lara raised a brow. Bonnie, however, opened on of the doors for her, bowing slightly.
"This way, My Lady." Lara shifted slightly in the suit she had worn. All of a sudden she felt very uncomfortable. She walked in, Bonnie at her back. When they were both inside the monstrous office, Bonnie said,
"The Lady Lara Croft to see you, Mr. Mason." And she left, closing the great door behind her. Lara looked at the figure seated royally at the desk. She couldn't quite make out his features, as the light from the huge window fell around him like a pale picture frame. All she could see was a man in a dark suit, framed by the buildings surrounding London's business district.
Mason looked at her carefully. She wore a black pantsuit with red pinstripes. Expertly tailored, he guessed Trenton Monaco. Spanish designer. Very expensive. He was instantly impressed. From the way Alex West had spoke of her, he had half expected some high school tomboy wearing Army boots and toting a backpack. He was relieved to find her much more appealing. He rose as she began to walk towards the desk.
"My Lady Croft," he said, black honey oozing from every word as he spoke. "It is so magnificent to finally meet you! Please, come sit! Make yourself comfortable!"
She walked slowly, sensually, with an air of confidence. He liked that. She wasn't afraid of him. For all he knew, she probably didn't respect him any, either. Good. She shouldn't.
"Thank you for your invitation, Mr. Mason." She sat to his right, crossing her legs and tossing back her hair. Mason smiled.
"Oh, Lady Croft. You are indeed modest. To have the chance to invite someone of such renown to my humble office is a pleasure, I assure you." He watched as she looked around.
"Humble isn't the word I'd put on this one, Mr. Mason. You obviously have a taste for grandeur." He smiled slyly at her, leaning in towards the desk.
"Between you and me Lady Croft, I'm obsessed with it." She smiled back, her eyes slitting. For a moment, his gut caught, and he thought he might have actually been attracted to her. He quickly pulled himself back, stiffening. It was never good to allow ones' self to have feelings for the hired help. And no matter how rich she was, or how a good a tomb raider she had become, she was still on his payroll.
Mr. Mason, I know you are a busy man." He nodded, folding his hands in front of his chest. "And as I'm sure you are aware, I myself have a great many things to attend to. Let's say we cut the formalities short this visit and get down to exactly what it is you want, and how much you're willing to dish out for it." Mason laughed aloud, his grey eyes alight with something sinister.
"Your reputation precedes you, My Lady! Of course, I had every intention of getting down to brass tacks. You must forgive the formalities. Habit, you understand." She nodded, keeping her eyes locked on his. He stood, walking around to the right of his desk. He took a silver remote from his pocket and, pressing one of the buttons, revealed a hidden panel on the wall. As it opened, Lara turned in order to see what was happening.
"Lady Croft. I have asked you here today in order to propose to you an expedition of sorts." As he talked, the panel opened to reveal a very old parchment scroll, opened to display the beautifully intricate symbols painted on it. Lara stood, a little in awe. She had a weakness for the ancient. Mason had hoped she would.
"What kind of expedition, Mr. Mason."
"Do you recognize this scroll, Lady Croft? Lara studied it for a moment, her eyes widening as she came to recognize it.
"This… This cannot be! It's the scroll of the Shankai!" Mason smiled, pleased that she knew of it.
"It is indeed, Lady Croft. Discovered by my personal team of archeologists in Alexandria not two months ago."
"It's incredible," Lara whispered, running a hand over the protective glass the encased the scroll."
"Yes, it is. Do you know the story behind this scroll, Lady Croft?"
"Of course! What tomb raider or treasure hunter doesn't? The Shankai were a secret order of priests commissioned by Hathor, an ancient Egyptian sorceress, named after the mother of Horus. Hathor had created this device, this… doomsday machine almost. She believed it to be so evil and so powerful, that she destroyed it, throwing its pieces into the Nile Delta. However, she didn't toss it all. She saved the heart of the machine. It wasn't machinery at all, but a kind of centralized energy. She placed the force inside of an incredibly beautiful amulet. She sealed the amulet with an ancient spell, hoping to keep it locked away at all times. She wore the amulet around her neck for many years, keeping a careful watch on it so that no one could get a hold of the evil power she had accidentally created."
"She began to notice changes in herself after wearing the amulet for long periods of time. She began to waste away, never sleeping, never eating, never feeling thirst. And she had somehow acquired unnatural long life. After more than 150 years, she was still alive, even though she was an old woman when she first began to notice the changes. She knew that it must have been the amulet that gave her immortality. But she also realized that the amulet was draining her human life-force away, leaving her nothing but an empty shell. The price for her immortality was her humanity."
"So, she built a great temple in the 1st century, B.C., in Upper Egypt. She chose 500 of the strongest and wisest men in the land to be priests. She charged them with keeping the amulet away from any and all who sought its power. She called them the Shankai, which was the name of an ancient protection spell used by magicians and sorcerers. Then she placed the amulet in the temple, sealing its doors forever. The priests were to guard the temple with their lives, keeping the amulet safe."
"After leaving Upper Egypt, Hathor finally passed away in peace. The Shankai priests kept their vigilant guard over the temple for many centuries, their children and their children's children entering the Order as was commanded. For many centuries it remained safe, locked away from the world. Then, during a great war that waged throughout Egypt, European armies discovered the temple. One of the generals, an evil, treacherous man, attempted to steal the amulet. He killed many priests, and finally made his way inside the temple walls. The remaining priests congregated outside the temple and cast a spell of destruction around the temple. Legend has it that what resulted was a great sandstorm that blew through Upper Egypt, burying many of the cities in sand. When the sandstorm finally stopped, the temple had disappeared. Despite and incredible amount of search efforts, it was never found."