Hi everybody! What an eventful day for an update :P

Again - many, many thanks to wyverndragon, nemesis, Ferilium and isaalacrymosaa for your amazingly encouraging reviews! I am so glad you like the updates so far, and sincerely hope you guys enjoy this chap too! =) *sends cookies/brownies/cupcakes/everything-sweet-your-way* =)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot!

Without any further ado..

RETURN OF DARKNESS

CHAPTER 7: BURNING

Salt Lake City, Utah

3:12 pm

It was a perfectly ordinary day. The kind that left no significant imprint on one's memory as they fell into their daily routine. Which was perfectly fine with Marie; it would distract her from the burden she had always carried.

As per her routine, Marie had faithfully retired to her bed at 11pm the night before, after a simple meal and an intense hour of watching the news and reading the evening paper. In the morning, she had her customary toast and coffee, after which she left for her day-job, and barely made it in time for her morning class. Beneath the shabby exterior of an aging lecturer in the local university, Marie had carefully concealed her past – letting herself be the widow of a senior paralegal in some international law firm, and the mother of a young entrepreneur trying to break even somewhere in Europe.

In her early sixties, Marie was much fitter than majority of her demographic. Or even youngsters, these days. Trim, and strong; she ate well, went on long walks and kept herself alert and active. Age had only added more charm to her countenance. Apart from the gray hair, it brought wrinkles to the sides of her mouth and neck. Recently people had begun to notice slight crow's feet around eyes that still dazzled and shone like a clear blue summer sky.

Coming home from the university, she treated herself to a small home-made lunch, before settling in with the morning paper she had ignored in her hurry.

But on this seemingly ordinary day, she was in for a horrific sight. As was everybody with access to world news.

The Monstrum had struck again – this time, in a Czech hospital.

The place was worse than a war-zone. Dead bodies had been desecrated, organs ripped out and unknown writings slathered onto the halls. 50 or so people had been slaughtered.

The only patient unaccounted for was some young American man in his thirties, as per the paper. Name of Kurtis Trent.

Kurtis. Trent.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw a small picture of her son from the newspaper - taken through a security camera in Prague. Konstantine's rugged face with her azure eyes, stared back at her, annoyed.

A small, breathy gasp tore from her throat as she pressed the newspaper to her chest. It had been thirteen years since she had laid her eyes on her only son. Thirteen long years - during which he had barely called and never wrote back. Years ago, Konstantine had gotten in touch with her – confirmed that he had tracked down their son, whose wild streak now flourished as he was involved in mercenary-work and contract-killing. He still refused to listen. Refused to return.

And on this not-so-ordinary day, there he was, in the morning news – said to be recuperating from a serious stab wound that nearly shattered his spine and a shotgun-bullet graze that had taken a chuck of flesh out clean from his shoulder. Staring at her from the print. Missing in action. Just like his father…

My son…

The blare of the telephone broke Marie from the reverie. In a second, she was up, wiping away the tears she never registered falling as she made her way toward the telephone.

She inhaled a calming breath before she picked up the receiver.

"Cornel residence."

"Maria… It's me…"

Her first thought was of Konstantine. Only he had called her Maria – a familiar tease, aimed her part Hispanic, part Native American roots.

But that wasn't possible. Konstantine was dead. This deep, throaty voice – so familiar… So much like her husband's… Was it… Could it be?

She gasped as realization dawned upon her.

"Kurtis?!" Fresh tears rolled out of her eyes as she stumbled into a nearby chair. Her heart raced and she felt her breathing stop in anticipation. "Is it…?"

He cleared his throat to cut her off. There was hesitation in his voice. "It's me, Maria…" he repeated once more. "I uhh… How've you been?"

Marie simply closed her eyes and leaned back. Hearing from her son. His voice. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, she felt a wave of motherly love wash over her. And all she wanted at that moment, was to hold her son… and hear him drawl "mother" again…

But she was well aware of the Order's security protocols. It was the reason why Kurtis never referred to her through their actual relation in telephonic conversations. It was what she reminded herself before stamping down on her maternal yearnings.

"You there?" the telephonic voice spoke, concerned.

"Okay… I've been okay, I guess… and yourself?" she felt stupid asking the question, considering what she just read.

"I'll live…"

The conversation was obviously more awkward for him, than for her. She could imagine his furrowed eyebrows and see him pinching his nose in frustration as to continue the dialogue. It is funny how a mother feels no such confusions or hesitations during such reunions.

"I don't recognize the number…"

"You wouldn't… I'm calling from a phone booth, in Prague… Listen, I uhh… need something. To ask you something."

Marie nodded. He need not say anymore. Order business. "I understand perfectly, Kurtis."

There was a long pause. Marie knew he was thinking up some absurd code to get the message across to her. Fact was, Kurtis calling up out of the blue, with the recent Monstrum attack and his survival in the Strahov, it ought to be something of utmost importance.

He cleared his throat.

"Books to the ceiling, Books to the sky. My pile of books is a mile high. How I love them. How I need them. I'll have a long beard by the time I read them."

His recital was utterly monotone. Had the situation been different, Marie would have roared with laughter at the image of her rugged, young son belching out a child's rhyme.

Kurtis had never been interested in his books, ever.

But the situation was what it unfortunately was, and what he had wanted was now perfectly clear.

He needed the Order's ancient scripts.

Her heart twisted in bittersweet pain, when she realized that he had used his father's preferred method of encryption; poetry.

Guessing the name of the poet or author would imply a positive response. Stumbling over the verses would mean a negative. Konstantine and Marie had exchanged many a secrets using this cryptic method – dancing the eternal dance of literature.

"Arnold Lobel… I never knew you had an affinity for children's books." Affirmative. She still had all the volumes and scripts with her.

"Perhaps," he gave a light laugh before continuing. "Hear this: It is the desert wind that gives effect, to the stroke of the brave youth in is not that I am hungry for pigeon and dove - Renunciation is the mark of an eagle's life -"

Marie's eyebrows shot upwards in appreciation, this time around. Desert Wind. Eagle. Flight.

"Allama M. Iqbal." Confirmation. She would send them by air.

"Hmm… You remember your poets…" she could picture him smiling a warm half-smile at that.

"And you their works – who'd ever imagine your inner romantic?"

They both shared a small laugh at that. Marie's spirits soared at re-establishing a vacillating bond with her son, after all these years.

"I miss you, Kurtis… You should visit sometime," every fiber of her being wished for a positive reply to this.

"Me too, Maria… It's been quite a while…" followed by a small, careful laugh.

"Amen…"

"I uhh… Jeeesus Christ!…" she heard an instant dread in his tone, and she immediately felt a chill despite her warm living room.

"Kurtis- what-"

"I'll call you back, Maria… Take care." And with that the line went dead.

Marie knew it was trouble as she hung up. The deaths of Eckhardt and the Cabal hadn't been enough. The Monstrum attack only confirmed her worst fears. The threat still loomed at large. She did not know what her son was up to, but after all these years, she was simply glad – to see him defeat the enemy that had taken so much from her. From him.

And at this time, simple emotions were all that she could process.

Marie called up at the university and cancelled the lectures that were scheduled for her for the entire week.

Prague, Czech Republic

11:28 pm

It had been nice, overall, Kurtis mused. Not so bad, really…

Frankly, he had never imagined he'd succeed in communicating the way he did with his mother. Words, he realized, and with a cringe, poetry seemed to flow out from his lips as if he had done it all his miserable life. Surprises, surprises.

Nevertheless, it was coming along all just fine and dandy. Until, he had turned in the booth, receiver held to his ear hearing his mother pine for him through her silence, and seen angry flames roaring and crackling to life in a small building less than half a block away.

The motel.

He felt an oath slip from his lips before he even realized he was talking to his mother. But from the moment he saw the fire, he could hardly string a decent thought together, let alone carry on a conversation. Lara's acid words, her harsh accusations and his consequential rage at her dissolved with the sound of the whistling wind in his uncovered ears as he sprinted with a single notion in mind. To simply see the damned woman to safety. He could always hate himself later for it; experience dictated that he usually did.

But for now - all he knew was that he had to get to Lara.

Though the distance was of a mere few hundred metres, he felt as if a black-hole of dread had opened up in the middle of his chest – sucking every legible thought and emotion into it's black nothingness.

It was not long before he reached the entrance of the motel – now nothing but a massive ball of fire. The entrance was hued in orange and red, with flames dancing over what had been the reception area.

He scanned the few people standing outside the building, and those who were rushing for cover, for the familiar brunette. With disinterest bordering on rudeness, he ignored the receptionist and pushed aside the housekeeper as they raised hell themselves, frantic and panic-stricken.

As if entrapped in the mind of a stranger, Kurtis mentally calculated the time till the building collapsed with crystal clear objectivity. From his limited knowledge on structural engineering, he could tell the foundation was not as damaged yet – and the building should hold on till a few more hours. Undoubtedly, the flames were only likely to spread. Provided there will be nothing else to accelerate the burning itself, he should have enough time to search the building and rescue Lara – that is, if she hasn't already jumped down three floors and broken her spine trying to escape-

BANG!

An explosion resounded through the air, as the top two floors caved in on themselves. He instinctively took a small step back as the earth beneath him shook in the aftermath of the explosion, as the tensed cries and murmurings of the people outside morphed into frightened shrieks.

There was nothing accidental about this fire. It was deliberately aimed at him or Lara, probably both. It was the sound of the explosion that summed it all up. A sound he knew all too well.

"C4…" Kurtis whispered to himself, eyes widening.

It was only when a screaming man, his form nothing more than a mere silhouette amidst the bright flames that engulfed him, ran out from the building like a pitiful human torch that Kurtis stepped out from his reverie.

Goddamn it, woman! Where are you?

Apart from that, he was far from any semblance of rational thinking.

Placing two fingers to his temple, he mentally forged a small force-field around himself as he ran straight into the heart of the inferno and bellowed out Lara's name as hard as he could.

And when he was met with nothing except the searing heat, humming flames and pitch black smoke around him, he felt a very real sense of terror – liquid and as cold as ice, trickle down from between his shoulders all the way down to his spine.

Lara…

Somewhere along the Austrian-German border

11:32pm

She was losing her mind.

The chartered double-container carrier was destined to be nothing more than gray ashes. She lay crouched on her haunches in the dark, illuminated by the occasional crackle of lightning from the severed power cable, painting her silhouette an ominous bright blue. She revelled in the bloody glory of today's mission. She could not suppress the heartless half-smile that graced her features, nor the solitary tear that rolled from her eye.

Seeing something go up in flames would never bring such delirious joy to her, in all her twenty-two years of life. And for a small moment, she was honestly afraid of her own thoughts; of the downright monster she had become.

But the moment passed and the sheer, bloody joy came back again. She clenched her eyes tightly shut and grinded her jaw.

She was definitely losing her mind.

The murky blood of those mutant abominations ran rivers from her forearms and hands, gathering into puddles on the metallic floor of the container. Shards of the glass-baths used to nurture the creatures crunch beneath her feet. An eerie hum resonated throughout, as the vile stench of death hung heavy in the air.

The howls and cries of the abominations responsible for the hospital massacre were long since dealt with. The souls of the innocent can finally rest in peace.

She stood up, walked toward the slide door, and opened it. The whip of freezing wind across her face refreshed her, as she watched the snowy fields ahead come into focus.

Though she frowned in disappointment, confused as to how she managed to lose track of her target – the mercenary head who authorized the slaughtering of innocent civilians. Martin Gunderson.

It was his throat she had wanted to slit so bad, she almost fantasized about it. Before being torn in fear and hatred of her own self.

She fished for a contraption in her trouser pocket, a remote control device. When she had walked a decent distance, she pressed it – blowing the container and its contents behind to smithereens without as much as a final glance.

As she walked away from the burning inferno, she felt the warmth from the fire on her back, as it melted the snow on the ground in its vicinity. It would take Captain Nicol Heinrich to reach the area in about 45 seconds. If everything goes well, he would be catapulted to honour within his ranks for stopping what could have possibly been another Monstrum deadly attack, somewhere in Germany. Her university pals, both the Captain and his lovely fiancée Lisa would hopefully have nothing to regret from this. The thought warmed her heart for about two seconds, before the winter-cold set in again.

35 seconds, now and counting. It was her cue to leave.

Mounting the bike, she sped off on the snowy field, long before anybody could even think of putting the pieces together, and figuring out her role in this grisly hell of a mess.

Prague, Czech Republic.

11:34 pm

Kurtis' nicotine-lined lungs could only bear so much strain. Halfway up the stairs to the second floor, he burst into another round of coughs where he almost retched his lungs out. Sweat dripping down his nose, with precious oxygen levels precariously low, and weary with sudden exhaustion, Kurtis' extraordinary limits were stretched to the maximum. The visibility issue had been overcome thanks to his spiritual vision – the thick black smoke and soot continued to make a barbecue out of him, but at least, in his mind's eye, he could navigate around.

But then, there was always the nagging fear at the back of his mind of being blown to smithereens, should another round of C4s go off on this very floor. A fear that he continued to suppress in that dark little corner of his mind over which he never particularly liked to ponder upon.

Gritting his teeth, he climbed up the final flight of stairs onto the second floor - where he and Lara had shared many an argument since their arrival that morning. With the C4s taking out most of the fourth and fifth floors, the third floor directly above him had almost caved in on itself, adding undue pressure onto the foundations of the second floor. This structural concern, in addition to everything in sight being taken over by red-hot flames was enough to fray his steely nerves.

Determined even further, he jogged over the debris and mentally banished the flames from nearing his countenance as he made his way toward the very room where they had had their meager last meal.

Their own final supper. How bloody ironic.

"LARA!" he bellowed as he burst into the room, trying to stay alive himself. The fierce hum of the roaring fire met his ears as he strained to listen to the slightest sound indicating the raider's presence.

Taking a step inside, he felt a jolt of shock barely register. Scrawled on the walls, as if with claws, that had torn down plaster and bits of the dry-wall with it, was the Nephilic writing. The same as it was at hospital.

'At least there's no blood…'

Trying his best to ignore the wave of nausea that suddenly racked him, he moved forward – in a bid to examine the writings in the bright firelight, and was at once distracted by a shadow. Glancing ahead of him, he saw the familiar brown eyes, now wide chocolate splashes in her pale, thin face.

Lara shouted something, which he did not understand, and signaled him to come to the balcony – miraculously saved from the flames.

Kurtis ran through the open window – the glass shattered from the C4 long ago - and joined the raider. The cold blistery wind and peaceful snow were welcome from the blazing inferno – but they were far from safety even then.

Kurtis leaned back upon the railing, trying to catch his breath back and calculating the distance to the ground, the bitterness of their previous encounter lost somewhere in the orange flames that licked the room. He took inhaled the cold air deeply. Three floors. No problem for him, hopefully. But for Lara…

He glanced her way, as he exhaled his breath in a cloud of fog. Clad in tattered dark jeans and a brown sweater, she'd had enough time to don her woolen coat and finger-cut gloves, and throw in her belongings in an equally tattered backpack. He took in the strain in her shoulders and tensed stance that had nothing to do with the fire at hand, but from her earlier lashing.

He saw the deep regret in her eyes which she pathetically tried to hide.

Lara Croft – tough as nails, rapier-tongued, uncommonly intelligent with goddess-like beauty – had never seemed more human. So prone to breaking.

And in that moment, though he would never ever acknowledge it until he felt like it, Kurtis forgave her. That damned woman.

She gulped before beginning. "You-shouldn't-have-"

He held up a hand to cut her off.

"Don't waste anymore time, woman." He inwardly winced at his own coldness.

Lara merely set her jaw, met his eyes steadily and nodded. In a swift motion, she had vaulted over the railing and was now using the drainpipe to make her way down.

Kurtis suppressed a rueful smile as he watched her go.

Leaning his legs against the railing, he pushed himself back and felt the wind rush in his ears and hair as he fell below, in an obviously familiar manner. Though he mentally strained and controlled his fall, it seemed as effortless as it did in Paris.

With a half-somersault in midair, he landed on his feet in a short few seconds. He found himself at the back of the hotel, with a vast expanse of plain concrete that resembled more like a snow field than the industrial area that it was.

Only the heat of the burning building at his back gave indication of anything out of normal. Apart from that, soft snow fell on top of the looming structures in the most hauntingly peaceful fashion.

He whipped back to check on Lara as she made her way down. As fast and as carefully as she could, the raider nimbly moved, often using protruding bricks and window ledges as handholds. Blinking red and beeping dangerously at the base of the second and ground floors were packets of strapped C4s, each at the corner of the building, ticking time away perilously.

Lara was barely a foot below the line of the planted C4s on the second floor when they went off. A solid boom shook the entire structure and the ground beneath. Somewhere behind them, the siren of the fire-truck could be heard.

"LARA!" Kurtis bellowed as he watched her hang helplessly from one hand, desperately trying to seek support for the other. There was only one set of the explosives left – to decimate the entire structure. And now, it could go off any second.

She felt dust rain down on her face and neck – but as the top floors folded into themselves, she soon lost her grip and found herself falling back first.

She felt a scream escape her lungs.

Halfway through the fall, she felt distinctly warm despite the freezing weather, as if being embraced tightly. Not knowing what exactly carried her, she felt a hazy warm wind direct her entire body toward the ground and away from the structure.

She had been lowered onto the ground safely – by Kurtis' telekinesis she realized – barely in the nick of time. Before she could hit the ground, Kurtis grabbed her arms and laid her back on the ground, before crawling on top of her body himself.

Their faces inches apart, hot spastic breaths intermingling and whispering down their necks. Both were slick with sweat and soot – and despite their position, the foul odour of death and danger hung heavy and suffocating.

As if acting on premonition, Kurtis gently cupped the back of her skull with his hand and eased her face into the crook of his neck and collarbone, shielding her face.

In a frighteningly loud boom, the final set of explosives went off. The ground shook menacingly, and with a few strained groans, the five-floored motel behind them finally collapsed – burying alive at least 5 civilians whose skin and flesh had melted off long before the fire was put out.

Kurtis continued to shield her from the raining debris with his much-abused body, grunting occasionally. Lara, unaccustomed to such chivalry, made fists at the front of his jacket, closed her eyes shut and shook viciously with blind fury at the tragedy of it all.

Wowie! Hope I was able to make this work! Again, thanks for reading – do let me know what you think of this! =) Enjoy guys - and happy holidays! =)