Secrets

AN: Thanks to ExtremeRainbowRaiderPrincess and Dark Angel for the reviews. Keep them coming! Please?

To Dark Angel: have you read my mind? What you said is REALLY close to how it's actually going to happen!


"So you're telling me that you used to do that sort of stuff all the time?" Morgan asked as she joined Lara, Kurtis and Mason in Kurtis and Mason's hotel room.

"Used to. Yes." Lara nodded from her spot on the bed as Mason sat at the desk and Kurtis stood beside the window. They had been waiting there for Morgan to get ready, having waited for over half an hour. Morgan didn't come across as the type to be into her looks, which could have been the reason why she had taken so long – staring in front of the mirror, doing her hair endless times just because one hair was out of place. Although, she did seem the type that, once woken up, was likely to go back to sleep. Lara had shook her from her slumber at six in the morning, Morgan promising to get up only to fall back asleep as soon as Lara left the room.

"How are you not dead then?" she yawned, sitting down beside Lara.

"Because we know what we're doing. Unlike some who can think they can fool around and not suffer the consequence's." Kurtis answered for her. He shot daggers at Morgan.

"She didn't know what she was doing." Lara turned to face him.

"Exactly. You think we should let that thing loose in the wild with her abilities! She could commit genocide in five minuets!"

"That thing?! I do have a name you know."

"Yes. It." he looked out of the window, watching the sunrise. It was coming closer to winter; making the mornings darker and the nights become dark quicker.

"You're not helping, Kurtis." Lara sighed.

He turned around to face her again,"Helping what? There's nothing to help, Lara! Karel's back and you know that he means business. We have to make sure he doesn't get what he wants, whatever the hell that is. Me, Mason and Morgan – we have no choice but to do this. It's in out blood, literally. But you've been forced into this. You could've said no, but you had to act the hero again, didn't you?! We might not survive this. Morgan – she's still got the rest of her life to look forward to. She's just a child! And you. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

Lara gazed into his eyes. She had never seen him this angry before. Something was causing him to act like this, something Lara didn't want to take over him. "And what makes you think that you have a bigger chance of surviving? I'm the one with the expertise in this sort of stuff. I could get those artefact's with my eyes closed! As well you know. I've fought Karel once, I can do it again."

"You didn't do a very good job."

Lara stood up, facing him with the words that shot out of her mouth, fuelled by her anger, "You don't know, Kurtis! I'd like to see you fight him!" she challenged.

As a reply, he brushed past her and opened the door, exiting the room. Lara sat back down sighing, "Don't worry, Lara. It's a shock to him. It's a shock to all of us." Mason comforted her, having been silent for the whole argument.

"I still don't know who this Karel guy is." Morgan said.

"It's a man to watch out for." Lara said standing up and walking over to the window, in the spot Kurtis had previously been in. "What did he mean when he said he didn't have a choice but to fight?"

Mason sighed, getting up and walking over to a bag he had brought with him. "Karel is the last of the Cabal, the rest being killed on that day in Prague. It is our duty to stop him at all costs. It was our ancestors duty, and now it's ours. Even if that means dying in the fight, so be it." he finally found the object he was looking for and held it up for Lara to see it. She walked over to him and carefully plucked it from his hands, looking at it, admiring the beauty of the box she was holding, "Is this what you had to get from the house?" she asked him, now turning her attention back to Mason. He nodded, "The box of Heissturm. It was Kurtis' father's."

"Heissturm? Wait, was that Kurtis' former surname? I knew he had changed it, just didn't know what it used to be."

"I thought you would have known that."

"Well, we went to school together, if that's what you mean, but his name was Trent by then. Why would his father change it at such a young age?" she studied the box again.

"Probably for protection. Every Lux was a target. The Cabal would track us down by searching for our second name. That's the only reason I can think of." he shrugged, sitting back down, watching Lara with amusement as she gazed at the box as if it were a heavenly object.

"Why was it named after him? And why does Kurtis not know about it?"

"I'm not sure why it was named after Konstantin. Perhaps it was handed down throughout his bloodline. The reason Kurtis never received it was because his father thought he had left for good."

"So he gave it to the next best thing. He thought Kurtis wouldn't want anything to do with the Lux and Cabal so it was passed onto you. But Kurtis still got his Chirugai and the Periapt Shards..."

"Perhaps he wanted Kurtis to avenge him? I'm not sure."

"What's in the box then?" She handed it back to him.

"I don't know. It's impossible to open. No matter which angle you try to open it at, it still won't budge." he sighed.

"Maybe you're going about it the wrong way. Maybe we need Kurtis' help. It is his father's after all."

"Good luck. He's even more moody than me just now." Morgan said from her spot on the bed.

"I'll go talk to him." Lara said as she opened the door to the room, leaving Mason and Morgan alone.

Kurtis stared at his plate in front of him. Sausage, bacon and eggs. His first proper breakfast in a long time. He thanked the waitress beside him and lifted his knife and fork as she walked away. He cut at the sausage and chewed it as he looked up to see Lara enter the room. He sighed, leaning back in his chair, putting his knife and fork on his plate. Lara sat down beside him, looking up at him.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"What? Letting some steam off?" he said after swallowing his food.

"No. Taking your anger out on the closet thing."

"I've already told you. Karel isn't one to be messed with. God knows what's going to happen to us."

"You have to trust yourself. And Morgan and Mason. And me. Anyway, we're at an advantage."

"How so?"

"Mason showed me a box. It was named after your father."

"My father?"

"Yes. I don't know what's in it, but it's impossible to open."

"Why do I not know about this?"

"We're not sure. But it would have had to be a good reason if he gave it to Mason."

"But I still got the Chirugai and the shards..."

"I don't know why you're asking me all this; I don't have the answers."

"Oh. How terrible of me to expect you to help." he pushed his plate towards her, "I'm not hungry." Lara looked down at the plate and then pushed it back to him, "Neither am I."

Kurtis sighed again, now looking past Lara and at Morgan who was yawning and entering the hotel restaurant. "Hey." he said dryly as the teenager sat down beside Lara.

"Hello." she replied.

They three sat in silence for a moment before Morgan broke the tension, "Mason said we should get to his second house at about 12pm. There's supposed to be quite a bit of traffic from the rain but other than that, it'll be a straight forward trip."

"Thanks." Lara replied, "Do you want this?" she offered Morgan the plate of food that both her and Kurtis had refused. To Lara, Morgan looked like she could do with a lot more sleep and a bit more dressing on the wound that was inflicted by Karel the night before. If she looked down at the young girl's top, she could see that it clung to her waist, indicating she had taken the bandages off and her clothing had caught to her burn. Under her eyes were slightly visible bags, meaning she either had trouble sleeping or was just exhausted altogether.

"I'm OK, thanks." she smiled.

"Are you OK, Morgan?" Kurtis asked her.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You seem a bit...troubled." Nothing like her, he added. He knew Morgan a lot more than he would ever let on. Growing up, she had been like a sister to him. Although she was seventeen years his junior, before he got that rebellious streak in him, he used to look after her night and day; playing with her, talking to her and helping her out when she needed support. A few years after he left, her mother died and she was put into care up in Scotland, being forced to cross the globe in order to be safe from the sins that were following her father; she was only five. She moved back to America with her father until the age of eleven when he died, flying back over to the UK to get a semi-permanent place in an orphanage. And now, Morgan had changed. The accent was one thing – she used to have this cute American accent and now she ended almost every sentence as if it were a question, her accent completely flipping round because she was raised in the UK. Her personality had changed as well; she used to be this happy-go-lucky, adventurous girl that was always smiling. And now, it seemed although she was suffering pain deep within herself, but covered it up with a sarcastic attitude and a want for arguments.

He was snapped out of his trance as Morgan waved a hand in front of his face, "Hello? Earth to Kurtis. I'm fine. It's you who seems troubled, not me."

"Definitely not the same." he sighed. She was back to normal again – the Morgan that didn't care.

"What?"

"Nothing." he replied dryly.

Then the silence overtook again. This is going to be the death of me, Lara thought, putting her hand just below her chin, leaning on it. Once again, Morgan was the one to break it, "Lara, could you...my...it needs..." At the lacking information that was given to her, Lara guessed she was talking about her burn.

Lara stood, mirroring Morgan's actions. "What are you talking about?" Kurtis asked, also standing.

"Nothing important. I just got a little burn last night. It isn't fatal so don't worry." she rolled her eyes. Kurtis sat back down and watched as the two exited the room, and then turning back to his plate of food. He should tell Morgan the truth – he preferred that than her overhearing Mason and him talking about it. But she wouldn't remember him. About a year after he lost contact, his father had hid Morgan away, putting her in a foster-home. Then she automatically went into an orphanage when her father died. She was only eleven, and she had lost everybody; her mother, father and brother. Only, she hadn't lost everyone just yet.

"So, what's the deal with you and Kurtis?" Morgan asked after Lara had finished re-dressing her wounds.

"Nothing." she sighed, finding her feet and walking over to her back-pack on her bed, putting the remains of the health pack in it.

"Don't lie, Lara. Anyone could see it."

"See what?"

"As if it wasn't obvious. Anyone could just glance at him when looking at you and tell he felt something for you. And it's the same thing with you." she smiled, "You have feelings for him." she playfully punched Lara on the arm.

"I told you. There's nothing." There was something.

"Aha, so there was something. Now, lets see where we can work from that." she walked over to the mirror on the back of the door that led to the hall, pulling herblonde hair back into a ponytail with a bobble that had been resting on her arm.

"Oh, no. Don't tell me you can do that too."

"Yep. It's great isn't it?" she laughed, sitting down on the bed.

"For you maybe, not for me." she sat down beside her, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oi, stop trying to steer this in a different direction."

"There's nothing to steer in a different direction. This conversation is finished." she got up and walked into the bathroom and Morgan heard her turn a tap on. "But it's not. If you won't answer me, I'll just ask Kurtis."

Lara rushed out of the bathroom, "Don't you dare."

"Then tell me; do you have feelings for him? It's a simple question." she got up, heading to the dresser next to her bed and taking her sweatshirt off of it, pulling it over her and zipping it up.

"It's...complicated." Lara said, picking her back-pack up along with Morgan's small rucksack and handing it to her, before heading towards the door that led to the adjoining room. "If you say so." Morgan chuckled, brushing past her and into the room.

"You ready?" Lara asked upon following Morgan into the room.

"Almost." Mason said. He zipped a bag up and lifted his laptop into his hands, "Right, now we're ready."

Kurtis opened the door and the group walked out of the hotel after handing their keys back to the receptionist, into the car park and into a jeep that Mason had his butler drive along for them. Mason got into the front seat, Lara, Kurtis and Morgan into the back.

Half an hour later, they were stuck in a traffic jam, cars surrounding them and rain pattering off the windows. Morgan sat in between Lara and Kurtis, leaning her head against Kurtis' shoulder as she slept. Lara's head was leant against the window, her fingers tapping in time with the music that played on the radio.

"Her necks going to hurt." Kurtis said, shifting slightly in his seat.

"Here." she sighed, pulling Morgan's arm softly, making her move her head onto Lara's shoulder instead of Kurtis'.

Another patch of silence took over the group. Lara glanced out of the corner of her eye, over to Kurtis who was now doing what she had been doing a minuet ago, looking out of the window, staring into space. There was a bump in the road as Mason turned to the left. "What are you doing?" Lara asked, noticing their departure from the rest of the traffic.

"It was too dangerous, someone was following us." he glanced up at the mirror, checking that they were alone. No one was behind them.

"Would it not be a better idea to stay on the carriageway?"

"It wasn't busy enough."

"So you decided to drive threw a town instead. Yeah, there'll be a lot more traffic here." she said sarcastically. She looked down as Morgan stirred beside her and saw her open her eyes, pulling her head up, "How long 'till we get there?" she asked, yawning.

"Not long. Just out of here and then we'll be there." he said, once again looking up in the rear-view mirror. His eyes widened and he looked back at the road, "Lara, there's a case under the seat. Take out what you need."

"What?"

"Their behind us. Take what you need and keep it with you."

Lara reached down under her seat and felt a handle, pulling it to reveal a silver case. She lifted it onto her lap and unclipped the hooks on it, opening it to reveal a set of guns. She smiled and took a pistol out, handing it to Kurtis and then taking a second pistol out for herself. She watched as Kurtis turned around in his seat, looking for the people behind them, "Em. Mason, no one's there." he said, sitting back in his original position. Mason looked in the side mirror, not seeing anyone behind them. "I could have sworn someone was there." he muttered to himself.

"Well, we're alone."

"Karel can do that though; Play mind tricks." Lara said, glancing behind them just in-case.

"How long?" Morgan groaned.

"Oh, for crying out loud, you just that two minuets ago!" Kurtis said, turning to the girl.

"Calm down."

"Lucky for us, we're here." Mason pulled up outside a smaller house, but a private one all the same. It was alone, but was still surrounded by grounds. "We should get to the castle quicker from here. It's only a five minuet walk." he said, opening the door. He stepped out of the car and opened the door for Kurtis, then the pair getting the groups bags from the boot of the car.

Lara and Morgan made their way out of the car and then up to the gates of the house. Lara left Morgan looking around while she moved over to the car, helping Mason and Kurtis with the bags. Kurtis handed her her pack and then the three made their way up to the house, joining Morgan before heading up the path to the front door.

Mason opened the front door and the group walked in, following Mason into the living room. The house was a lot smaller than the previous one they had stayed in. It was about the same size as an ordinary house, but on private land instead of a street. Mason put his laptop down on the coffee table in the corner of the room and then turned back to the other three. "We should get going just now. The museum shuts at half four, so we'll have time to look around if we get there earlier."

"Wait, what castle are we going to again?" Morgan asked, heading back out the front door.

"Bamburgh, why?"

"I just fancy having a look around."

"Don't worry, you'll have three hours to look around." he followed after her.

"Are you OK?" Lara asked Kurtis when they were alone.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"Your mind seems to be somewhere else. That won't help once we're there." she headed out the door.

"It doesn't help now, either." he sighed to an empty room.

Lara opened the passenger door to the jeep, immediately being hit by the sea breeze. She smelt the seaweed from the beach down below and the wind challenged her footing. She closed her eyes, taking in the peaceful moment and then opened them again as Morgan made her way out of the car. She hugged her hoodie close to her chest and rubbed her arms as she stood beside Lara, "It's freezing here."

"You're right next to the sea, what do you expect?" she laughed. She watched as Kurtis handed a man at a toll booth a two pound coin and then him and Mason walking up to them. "We'll head up just now, get a look around and then get down to business." Kurtis said as the four began walking up stone ground towards the castle. There was some sand on the ground, from the beach located right next to the landmark, but apart from that, it looked spotless. Well, spotless for gravel anyway.

Lara made her way into a small alcove where a woman sat with a desk, "Good afternoon, miss. Would that be three adults and one child?" she asked.

"Yes, thank-you." Lara said, pulling her purse out of her back pocket and taking a ten pound note out, "Nine pound, fifty five, please." the lady smiled.

Lara handed her the note and then walked up the rest of the path, letting the lady keep the change she owed her. They worked their way up the slope, Morgan often drifting away to look at the cannons and the view that the castle offered. She rejoined the group again, "This place is beautiful." she smiled, looking around their surroundings.

They walked up the path and then stopped as they came to a patch of grass. The building in front of them was made of stone and Lara would say at least three times bigger than Croft Manor. The windows were decorated with stained glass and flower beds covered the outside of the grass. She sighed, "Bamburgh Castle," before walking into the museum part of the castle, Kurtis beside her and Mason and Morgan behind.

AN: Ah, Bamburgh castle. The lovely home of the Bamburgh Beast and the Bamburgh sword.

I've put a few hints in that chapter with something to do with Morgan and Kurtis. Don't worry, it's not like he's her dad or anything, but you'll have to wait a few chapters to find out what I've done.

Catch you on Wednesday!