Hey, Paizanos! We're back again with chapter six! Although there is action in this chapter, you don't find out the full extent of the damage until NEXT chapter, so bear with me here.
Lara quickly bolted down the hallway towards her daughter's room, Kurtis hot on her heels. She threw the door open to see a foreign figure of a man standing along the wall, pinning Emily against the wall with his hand. His hand was raised back, and it glowed with green energy. Lara's stomach dropped, and she'd expected herself to react more quickly, but she didn't. She adopted the old habit of reaching for her holstered pistol, but found herself reaching for empty air. Kurtis quickly removed his gun from his holster, aiming it at the man.
"No!" Lara protested, with the fear that Kurtis would hit Emily. She should've known better. Kurtis Trent never missed a target. He opened fire and shot the man in the leg, and the man slumped to the ground, crying out in pain. Emily screamed as the gun went off, then cowered against the wall, her legs crumpling like jelly. Kurtis kept his weapon trained on the fallen man while Lara rushed to Emily's side, holding her to offer consolation. Kurtis bent down near the man, overturning his body so he could look him in the eye. The man immediately reached out, striking Kurtis in the face. Kurtis slowly turned towards him, then backhanded him with the gun. "Kurtis," Lara breathed, indicating that their young daughter was watching everything. Sorry, he apologized to her. She nodded, and he turned his attention back to the man, pressing the gun into the man's throat.
"Who are you?" Kurtis demanded. The man cursed at him in some foreign language, which only angered Kurtis more. "Try speaking English, buddy," he ordered.
"The Lux knights will be finished by our master's work," he said in a low, evil voice. "Even the children."
Our master…Kurtis thought. Where had he heard that before? Then he remembered. It was twelve years ago, just beyond the bar up the street from his dumpy apartment building in Avignon, France. He and Davis Aicard had chased down the bastards who'd blown up his bike, and had come to realize that they were followers of the Cabal. They weren't just mercenaries – they were actually Cabal members. Even the children? Kurtis thought. Was this man implying that Emily possessed some kind of psychic power? Kurtis pulled the man up by the neck of his shirt. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, pretending to not know anything.
"The New Age is coming," he continued. Then he chanted something in a foreign language again. "You will all be slaves soon enough."
Kurtis glanced up at Lara, who continued to hold her young daughter in her arms. Then, Kurtis turned down towards the man, pressing the gun further into his neck. Then, the man reached up, gripped Kurtis's hand, pulled the gun towards him, and a shot echoed through the house. Emily screamed again, turning away fearfully into her mother's embrace. Kurtis stepped back, staring down at the suicidal follower of the Cabal. Then, he looked up at Lara, nothing but seriousness in his eyes. "It's Karel," he said.
Kurtis could see a million questions swamp into Lara's eyes, but she held them back, aware of the impact that this had already had on Emily. Lara slowly helped her daughter to her feet, ushering her down the stairs. Kurtis stared down at the dead body, then holstered his weapon, following after Lara and Emily.
Alister and Zip had emerged from their room, standing at the top of the stairs. "What in the bleeding hell is going on?" Alister asked quickly.
"Alister, put on a pot of tea," Lara ordered quickly. "Zip, go downstairs and turn on the security system."
Without second questions, they both headed down the stairs to do as they were told. Lara led her trembling daughter into the rec-room downstairs, seating her on the couch. Her face was ashen, and she was shaking violently, curled into a ball against the armrest of the couch as Lara continued to hold her. "Are you alright?" Lara asked quickly. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"N-No," Emily stuttered. "Who was that, Mom?"
Lara glanced up at Kurtis, as they debated silently together as to whether or not they should explain to Emily. He already threatened her life, Lara concluded. She might as well hear the whole story. Kurtis seated himself on the opposite couch, facing Lara and Emily with a look of concern on her face. Emily drew in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Why do you have a gun?" she asked Kurtis.
He drew in a silent breath. "For people like that guy."
"Are you a cop?" she asked.
"Emily, there is a lot we have to tell you," Lara interrupted.
"Like what?" she asked, sitting forward. "I want to know what's going on. Who was that guy, what did he want with me, and why does Kurtis have a gun?"
Lara drew in a deep breath. "Several years before you were born, Kurtis and I worked together. We were archaeologists –"
"Like you are now…?" Emily added.
"Somewhat," Lara said. "Only back in those days, we did something between archaeology and…well, something like police work."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"The artifacts we found were things we'd often risk our lives for, because other people wanted them, and they weren't afraid to threaten our lives to get what they wanted."
"So…you were like Indiana Jones?" she asked.
"Basically," Lara replied.
"So…what does that have to do with what happened with that guy?"
Lara glanced at Kurtis, because she didn't have the answer. She didn't have the answers about the Cabal and about Karel, which was exactly what this was about. Thankfully, Alister entered the room, carrying a tray of tea and setting it down on the table before them. "So would anyone like to explain the gunfire?" Alister asked, rising.
"We're getting there," Kurtis said.
"He was obviously with the Cabal," Lara speculated. "But I thought that you and the brothers had taken care of Karel back in Lemuria…?"
"I thought so, too," Kurtis said. "I don't know how he could have survived."
"Regardless, we have to put the manor on lockdown," Lara said. "He's obviously alive and kicking, and he's got it out for us."
"Will someone please tell me what the heck is going on?" Emily interrupted.
"When your mother and I met," Kurtis began, "we were being tracked by a man named Karel. He was the leader of an ancient cult called the Cabal, and he was hell-bent on destroying us, and everyone else of my kind."
"Your kind?" she asked with confusion.
"I'm part of an ancient order called the Lux Veritatis," Kurtis continued. "The generations before me were murdered in their attempts to defeat the Cabal."
"This sounds like a really weird ghost story," Emily said skeptically.
"It does," Kurtis agreed. "But it's true. And Karel might have it out for us."
"What does he want with the 'Lux Ver-ee-tah-tess'?" she asked slowly.
"To kill us," Kurtis put simply.
"What?" she asked abruptly. "Why?"
"To protect himself."
"Then what did that guy up there want with me?" she prodded.
Lara looked up at Kurtis, knowing there would only be one way to explain this. Kurtis, however, wasn't finished. "Emily, is there any reason to believe you would possess…psychic powers?" Kurtis asked slowly.
"What?" she asked as if he were crazy. "Yeah, right." She looked up at him, and he held his gaze with her, staring deep into her eyes as if he didn't believe her. Then, she exhaled the breath she'd been holding. "Okay, fine," she muttered. "I can…I can do some weird things."
"Such as…?" Kurtis asked.
"I'll show you," she said, rising. She left the room, then returned in a brief moment. In her hands, she held a small, metal lighter. She flicked it open, then drew in a deep breath, looking up at Kurtis and Lara to make sure they were watching. Then, she released the flame. She reached forward with her free hand, and then summoned the flame into her palm. The small flame danced in her hand as she lowered the other hand that held the lighter. She smiled nervously at her mother, who appeared shocked. Kurtis, however, wasn't. He rose and approached her, reaching his hand forward. Then, the flame flew from her hand to his. He increased the small flame into the size of a fireball, lifting it in a vertical stream of fire. Emily stepped back in awe, watching in amazement. Then, Kurtis closed his fist, and the fire vanished.
"H-How did you do that?" she breathed.
"We have a lot in common," he responded.
"Wait a minute…" she said slowly. "Does that mean that I'm Lux Veritatis or something? Why do I have special powers?" Lara looked up at Kurtis, knowing that it boiled down to one final revelation. Emily glanced back and forth between the two of them, waiting for someone to reply. She even looked up at Alister, who immediately turned away, exiting the room. "Well?" Emily demanded.
Kurtis sighed deeply, running his fingers through his hair. Then, he looked up at Emily. "If I'm Lux Veritatis, then you're Lux Veritatis."
"What do you mean?" she asked slowly.
Lara drew in a deep breath, rising. "Emily," she said slowly. "Kurtis…" She paused. "Kurtis is your father."
Emily's gaze slowly turned from her mother to Kurtis, the color draining away. "Wait," she said slowly, pointing up at Kurtis. "He…" She turned her gaze to Lara. "And you…" She glanced between the two of them. "You guys…you're my…parents? Both of you?"
"Yes, both of us," Lara said.
"So that would make me…?" she said slowly, looking back to Kurtis.
"Lux Veritatis," he answered. "And…my daughter."
Emily stared into his eyes for a moment until her gaze drifted past him, and she fell to the floor, fainting. Kurtis sighed, rubbing his head. "Did she learn that from you?" he asked.
Lara sighed, approaching Emily's side. "She's been through a lot today, obviously," Lara replied, scooping her into her arms. "I'm taking her to the couch in the tech room. She'll be safe in there with Zip."
Lara exited the room, carrying Emily's unconscious body into the tech room to sleep. Kurtis ran his fingers through his hair again, glancing up as Alister returned. "So she's heard the news, then?" Alister asked.
"Yeah," Kurtis replied dryly. "She's thrilled. Can't you tell?"
"Take it easy, mate," Alister said calmly. "She's shocked. She's never known anything of her father before, and for you to come in so unexpectedly…well, it's quite the rush for her."
"Yeah, sure," Kurtis said.
"We need to focus on Karel at this moment," Alister said, getting to business. "If one of his lackeys was able to get in, then he'd no doubt be able to get in, and you and Emily are the first people he'd go after."
"We'll make sure Emily's the last," Kurtis said, leaning over the window sill. Then, he headed out of the room, towards the tech room, just in time to see Lara pulling a blanket over Emily's shoulders. "I need to make a call to France," he told Zip.
"Uh, sure," Zip said slowly. He punched in a few buttons on the keypad, then rolled back for Kurtis to dial out. The ring echoed through the room, and he glanced back at his sleeping daughter. "She'll sleep through anything," Lara said, waving off his caution.
Kurtis turned back towards the computer screen just in time to see Garin Limoux's face appear. "Limoux residence," he greeted him fondly. "Kurtis? Is that you?"
"We're in a bit of a predicament," Kurtis said, skipping the small talk. "I think Karel is still alive."
"W-What do you mean?" he asked fearfully.
"I mean that there was a man upstairs just now threatening my daughter's life on behalf of his master, i.e. Karel."
Garin drew in a deep breath. "How did this happen?"
"I don't know," Kurtis responded angrily. "You said that the Sword of Light would kill him without a doubt. Apparently, you were wrong."
"Kurtis, when you went back to find your father in Lemuria, what did you really find?"
Kurtis drew in a silent breath, anger overtaking him. "Karel," he said bitterly.
"Did you kill him? Did you use the sword?"
"I did," Kurtis said. "At least, I thought I'd killed him. I speared him right in the gut with the sword."
"And did you see him any time after that?" Garin asked.
"No," he said. "I didn't see him again for all six – twelve – years. It was just me by myself trapped in hell." Then, he looked away, thinking something over. "I think he was just hiding, though. He kept taunting me with…images and flashbacks…" He couldn't bring himself to continue.
Garin looked away, contemplating over the possibilities. Then, he looked back at Kurtis, fear in his eyes. "You left the portal open."
DUN DUN DUN...*video of the weird chipmunk thing turning around dramatically plays* Lol, first Lara, then Emily...I didn't know what to do.
SGRaider: Yup, so Emily has powers! She's a pyro, haha. I couldn't help myself - I have this infatuation with pyrokinesis.
Jade the Grey: Lol. Actually, I do that too. Change my mind every five minutes. Like I said though, Emily is a lot less annoying than me, haha XD
inmate1099: Well...so much for that, eh? I promise you though that the outcome will be amazing, especially when we reach Part 2.
OveractiveImaginer: Yes, I did get that idea from X-Men, haha.
Alright, alright. Chapter seven will be up for your viewing pleasure on Thursday!! Stay tuned, guys!! =D
