Sorry it's late guys =( But school is out until January, so no more worries!
Emily kept her focus on Karel as she took three terrified steps towards him. Then, she stood with her feet shoulder-width apart, her head held high, and her fists balled at her side. She drew in one steady breath, holding eye contact with Karel as he let his evil grin spread over his face. Emily could feel the heat from the self-created fire as the flames danced behind her. She could tell her mother had already left. She'll be back, she thought. She was either rounding about to come around from the back, or she was going to find Kurtis, and they were both going to come back.
Emily's plan was simple – she was going to dispose of Karel herself, or hold him off just long enough for her parents to return and help her finish him. There was only one thought in her mind that she continued to replay over and over – if both Siamak and Karel were so convinced that she was powerful enough to do all the things they'd intended to use her for, then she must be powerful enough to stop them, or at least Karel, since he seemed so less fearful than Siamak.
She'd been so afraid of this man since the beginning. Hell, she'd been so afraid of this…situation…in its entirety since the beginning, from the first night she'd been threatened by that Cabal follower in her room. Now, here she stood, facing the challenge, willing her mind to push aside the fear and do what was noble and right.
Emily quickly glanced about the cavern. If she could somehow trap Karel inside beyond the fire, she could make a run for it. Hopefully, she could stall him long enough to reach the outside of the gateway at the same time Kurtis had defeated Siamak.
Karel took a casual step towards her. "It's quite honorable of you to stand alone against me," he said. "Perhaps, it's even more foolish."
"Oh well," Emily said. "I'm not afraid of you anymore, Karel."
"Fear is an innate emotion," he replied. "Do you honestly believe you can rid yourself of it in its entirety?"
"I think it's time for you to be afraid of something for a change," she retorted. "How does being stuck in Lemuria forever sound?"
Karel chuckled with amusement. "Is that your brilliant plan? Because you're going to need a lot more than a lighter to stop me."
Emily held her hands up before him. "I don't have a lighter," she said. "You took it from me on the train, remember?"
Karel narrowed his eyes at her. "Ah, that's right," he remarked. "Well, it should make my task much simpler."
"Think again, Karel," she said.
Emily thrust her palms forward and attacked Karel with two streams of pyrokinetic energy. She was surprised that he didn't even dodge the attack – perhaps he'd really thought she had no powers without her lighter. All the better, she thought. Karel staggered back, then regained his footing, peering down at the breast-pads on his black suit-jacket. The holes had been singed all the way to his tacky red sweater. He glared up at Emily, then jerked his wrists at his side as he ignited the threatening green orbs of energy in his palms. "Fine, then," he said flatly. "We'll play games."
Emily quickly dodged the bolt of energy he sent her way, moving about in the small amount of space in the cavern that she had. She knew exactly what she needed to do. She kept all her senses alert, focused on Karel as he moved deeper into the cavern. Perfect, she thought.
"You've ruined everything," he said in a low, evil voice. He sent another surge of energy her way, and she narrowly dodged it. "You've destroyed everything I've worked for!" he shouted. Another bolt of energy. Emily took cautious steps backwards and to the left, keeping herself wary of the flame behind her. "Now, you're going to pay the whole price for it," he finished.
Emily quickly dodged another burst of energy, then drew her fists back and shoved a stream of fire his way. He dodged it as narrowly as Emily had. We're just fighting fire with fire, she thought. At least she had a real plan. Karel's only plan was to kill her – she could see it in his eyes, and she could feel it. As much as it scared her, she knew what she needed to. She would have to wait for the right moment.
Karel continued to step towards her with the glowing green in his fists. Then, he shot the bolts towards her. Emily closed her eyes and let the warm, stinging burn fall over her as she flew backwards and down the corridor Karel had come from. She'd never experienced such pain in her life – not the time she'd broken her arm, not the time she'd cut her hand with a knife while chopping tomatoes, not the time she'd fallen and hit her head on a brick edge. No, this was the most pain she'd ever felt. Her insides seemed to melt from within, and her entire body burned like she'd been the one impaled with fire. To top it off, she could feel warm blood oozing from the side of her head and back of her shoulder from where she'd collided with the rough ground.
Emily fought to open her eyes. I have to finish what I've started, she convinced herself. She struggled to sit up on her hands. Karel chuckled evilly as she heard his slow footsteps approaching her. "Foolish child," he chided. She slowly looked up at him as he bent down towards her, lifting her from the ground with his hand. She struggled to breathe, reaching around his hand as it gripped her throat. "I don't even need powers to kill you," he said simply. "I can crush the life out of you right here."
She felt his grip tightening on her throat. Just one more second, she thought reluctantly. She felt her eyes roll through the back of her head, but fought it off desperately to focus on the high ceiling of the cavern before her. She watched it carefully as an orange cloud began to form, encircling the ceiling. Karel glared at her strangely, then gazed up at the ceiling. His look of concern turned to fear when he saw a funnel of fire coming his way, impaling him and sending him backwards towards the wall of fire Emily had used to block Lara off earlier. She fell from his grip, struggling for breath as she heard Karel crying in pain. She quickly covered her ears as she stumbled to her feet, rushing down the corridor and away from Karel as quickly as her weak and pained body would let her.
Before she could make it all the way down the corridor, she felt the warm stinging pain strike her in the back, and she flew forward, impaling the wall in the distance. She slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Kurtis shoved the blade forward, sending a surge of energy towards Siamak. Siamak had been dodging the attacks for endless minutes, but now, as the scene continued, he was losing strength and energy. The force of energy struck Siamak in the shoulder, and he cried out in pain, clutching where he'd been attacked. He removed his hand long enough to glimpse the singed skin that had been crisped from the psychic energy of the Sword of Light, then glared up at Kurtis as he stood with the sword held before him.
Siamak took slow threatening steps towards Kurtis, then stopped, turning to face the person standing at the edge of the gateway. He turned towards Lara with an evil glare. She'd tried to pass by the gateway and reach the cavern where Emily and Karel were without being noticed, but the plan had failed.
Kurtis felt fear reach across his heart for the briefest moment. Emily wasn't with Lara. Em, where are you? he communicated quickly. He waited for the briefest second, but when nothing returned, he knew something was wrong. All of his plans from before were shot to hell – he was going to have to improvise. To hold the sword outside of Lemuria doesn't require psychic capability, he thought quickly. With that thought in mind, he quickly turned away. "Lara!" he shouted to her.
Lara turned her attention to him quickly as he tossed the sword towards her. She nimbly caught it, turning to him with confusion. "This is your specialty, Kurtis," she said quickly, glancing over at Siamak as an evil grin of amusement crossed his face.
"Now it's yours," he returned. "Take care of him. I'm going to find Emily."
Kurtis bolted out of the alcove and past the gateway. Lara turned her attention towards the Black Angel, slowly descending the steps to approach the enemy. This is it, she thought. This is where it ends. She drew the sword backwards into a warrior's stance, glimpsing the wound on Siamak's shoulder. "Do you really think you of all people will be able to control such a weapon?" he asked with amusement.
"I've handled worse before," Lara replied. "You and Karel have caused enough damage – it's time for you to go home."
He outstretched his arms as his hands began to spark with the green energy. "That's exactly where I've intended to go all along," he said casually. "But this time, I won't be going alone. Your little daughter and your boyfriend are going to spend eternity with me in Lemuria."
Lara glared evilly at him, tightening her grip on the sword. "Let's settle this," she bellowed.
He narrowed his eyes at her, then shot the energy her way. She quickly dodged the attacks by diving to the side, then shot energy from the sword towards him. He dodged it, and immediately retaliated with another burst of energy. Lara quickly reached the sword up, catching the energy against the blade. She gritted her teeth as she fought to hold off the pressure, then shoved the sword forward, pressing against Siamak's attack with the energy from the sword.
Colorful surges of blue and orange collided, streams of equal length separating Lara and Siamak. Now, it was a matter of tug-of-war – who could hold out longer. Endurance has never been a problem for me, Lara thought.
"You're wasting your time, Lara!" Siamak shouted over the humming of colliding energy. "You can't kill me!"
"Your bedside talk won't work on me, Siamak!" she returned, shoving harder with the energy.
She heard Siamak chuckle. "So you really are incorruptible…but how about indestructible?"
She felt him shove the energy hard, and she flew backwards into the wall with intense force. Lara collapsed to the ground on her stomach, shaking her vision clear of the darkness creeping in. She reached forward quickly to retrieve the Sword of Light, but was shoved against the wall by Siamak's telepathic force. He stepped towards her, arm outstretched, with a dangerous grin across his face. She could feel pressure on her chest as the air was blocked from entering her lungs. "I don't think you're quite as indestructible," he commented.
She felt the pressure increasing on her chest as she sought for something, anything, to get herself away from him. Siamak drew his free hand back as it surged with green energy. Then, she saw it out of the corner of her eye. The intricately-designed pillar on the opposite side of the room had a shiny brass hook at the top. Her fingers fumbled for her grapple at her side, and she threw it forward. It locked onto the hook, and she quickly pulled, removing the unstable pillar from its nook in the wall. Siamak turned quickly, too shocked to move as the massive pillar fell towards him.
The stones collapsed over his body, and Lara immediately felt the pressure leave her chest. She heaved for fresh air, but knew it wasn't over. She quickly stumbled over to the sword and took it into her hand. Once the dust settled, she saw Siamak lying in the debris, his eyes closed, indicating he was unconscious. Lara wasn't convinced. She tightened her grip on the sword as she stepped closer to the young boy. She cautiously stepped around the debris, keeping her entire focus on Siamak as he lay slumped among the stones.
Suddenly, he lurched forward with a shout of retaliation, ready to impale Lara with the energy in his fist. Lara shoved the Sword of Light forward, spearing him in the gut. The energy in his hand instantly depleted, and the eyes that had been so alive with revenge and hatred stared into Lara's chocolate eyes with confusion and defeat. Lara closed her eyes, realizing she'd just killed a child. He wasn't a child, she tried to convince herself. He was a thousand-year-old forgotten warrior, who would've killed us all, had he had the chance. She felt his weight slump against her body as the orange energy of the sword surged through his body. Then, she turned towards the gateway and shoved him forward, past the gateway.
Siamak's body staggered past the gateway, but once he reached the other side, his body vanished into thousands of pieces, disappearing from Lara's view. He was gone.
Lara gripped her stomach with her empty hand, glancing down as she saw a minimal amount of blood soaking her clothing. He'd managed to hit her with his last bit of energy, but it hadn't been enough. "Maybe not indestructible," Lara said wearily, "but certainly not afraid to die." She strapped the sword onto her back, then took slow steps into the gateway, determined to find Kurtis and Emily.
Kurtis quickly moved down the corridors of Lemuria, keeping a watchful eye out for both Karel and Emily. Come on, Em, talk to me, he pleaded. He'd been pleading such a thought since he'd left Lara alone with Siamak. He knew it was a stupid idea – if anyone was going to die at the hands of fate, it wasn't going to be Lara, and certainly not Emily. However, he knew Lara could handle a tiff with Siamak, no matter how powerful he was.
Kurtis headed down the corridor that led to the main arena, where he'd seen Siamak and Emily before. He stopped at the fork. He knew which path led to the arena, but something didn't feel right. He slowly turned his gaze to the corridor down the left, then set foot in that direction until he crossed the unconscious body of his daughter. He quickly bent down next to her, too afraid to touch her and feel her cold skin. If he killed her, he thought slowly, I'm going to…He didn't even know what he would do. No amount of revenge would ever suffice for what Karel had done to his daughter.
Kurtis numbly moved to a crouching position, reaching a shaking hand towards Emily's throat to feel for a pulse. Her face was covered in scratches and bruises, but the worst wound was the blood soaking her t-shirt at her abdomen. Karel had attacked her with one of those bolts of energy. He slowly turned his attention to the flames dancing in the alcove beyond the corridor where Emily lay. Then, he turned back to his daughter, descending to a seated position on his knees. He drew his hand back, not wanting to know whether or not Emily was…
Emily…he thought slowly. Emily, please wake up…He drew in a deep breath. Don't be a coward, he told himself. Then, he reached his hand forward until his fingertips touched her skin. He immediately jerked his hand away. She was cold and lifeless. She was dead. It hardly seemed possible. Kurtis slowly shook his head in disbelief. "No…" he whispered. "No, no…" He leaned over his daughter's body, covering his face with his hands, fighting back tears he never knew he could shed. Then, he drew his hands away and scooped Emily into his arms, cradling her close to his body.
This is how it should've been, he thought. I should've held her like this twelve years ago…not now, not like this. He heard a scuffle behind him, but paid it no mind. If it was Karel, then Kurtis would rather be dead with his daughter than alive without her. When he heard the soft feminine gasp, he knew it was Lara, and he felt a sickness in his stomach. She took slow, heavy steps towards them, then knelt down beside him, tenderly brushing the brown tendrils of hair out of Emily's face. "No…" she whispered unsteadily. "She's not…"
Lara slowly dropped her head as her hand slipped from Emily's forehead. Tears poured over her cheeks over the loss of her daughter. Then, they heard another scuffle behind them. Both Lara and Kurtis jerked their heads up in time to see the illuminated figure of Siamak standing before them.
YES, EMILY REALLY IS DEAD.
But stay tuned, and don't hate me too much =)