One chapter left after this!!
Lara had a heavy heart as she trudged forward through the Hall of Lumen. She had been angry that Emily had run away, of course, but more upset that Kurtis had said she would be "safer" with him. Of course Lara knew what he meant, and she'd only inferred something else, but it still hurt to hear it.
Kurtis was more capable of taking care of their daughter because he had his telepathy and telekinesis and what not – it was just the fact of truth. If Emily were left in Lara's care and Karel managed to track them down, the only defense she'd have would be her weapons and, of course, her witty mind. The simple fact, though, was that neither of those could fend off immortal enemies like Karel. At least if Emily were with Kurtis, she'd stand a chance. Lara simply hated the fact that she was so, well, dispensable.
She sighed in frustration, stopping at the fork in the path. Down the left, it looked like there was nothing more than a pile of collapsed rocks. The other end was dark and eerie. That must be the way then, she thought with a sigh. It always seems to be the worst end. Lara stepped forward, heading deeper into the hallway, activating her LED light once again. The walls were lined with ornate patterns and markings. The lanterns posted in various places along the walls flickered against the panels, glossing the texture.
Lara was having a difficult time with focusing on where she was supposed to go when she was preoccupied with thoughts of Kurtis and Emily. She wasn't quite sure, but she felt like something bad was heading this way. Could Karel find them here? Of course he can, she rationalized. He could find them anywhere, anytime, with ease, and then take their lives, or take whatever the hell he wanted.
She groaned with frustration as she reached the end of the hallway. There was nothing more than a solid wall with more ornate drawings. Lara moved her hand along the seams of the crevices in the wall. She sighed deeply, leaning her forehead against the cold stone. I've never had this problem before, she thought. She was usually able to recognize a puzzle or trap at the drop of a hat. Here, she couldn't even focus.
"Are you alright, Lara?" Alister asked.
"Fine," she said quickly. "This wall has some interesting patterns. I'm not sure how to open it, though."
"Um…" he said slowly. "Check the panel on the floor."
Lara could tell by the tone of his voice that it was something she herself should've noticed. She glanced down at the diamond-shaped pattern on the ground. How could I have missed that? she thought. She stepped onto the panel, activating the pressure plate. The door began to open outwardly, leading her into a dimly-lit corridor. "Well, then," she breathed. Lara stepped down the hall, turning off her LED. She entered into the next room, standing before the giant center column that she knew she would have to traverse. "And I'd bet my life on it that the sword fragment is at the top," she said.
"Where else would it be?" Alister countered. Lara drew in a deep breath, trekking forward. She gripped the lowest platform and pulled herself up, heading towards the peak of the layered platforms. "Please don't look down," Alister begged.
"Haven't we been through this before, Alister?" Lara asked with amusement. "All will be well, so long as you stay quiet." She continued moving forward until she reached the top. The panel she stood on was branded with more intricate patterns. From the ceiling, there was a small molded vertical column, and the sword fragment floated in the orange orb of energy below it. "It's beautiful," Lara said. "And it's mine." She reached forward, removing the artifact from the energy. She stared down at it with a grin. "That wasn't so difficult."
Suddenly, the platform began to quiver, and she felt it descending back to the ground. "Saves you the trip back down," Alister told her.
Lara touched the grip of her pistols. "That doesn't mean we shan't stay on our toes," she said carefully. The platform reached the ground, and Lara glanced about, waiting for something to come out. Then, she heard an explosion behind her. One of the tall pillars in the back corner erupted. Lara removed her pistols from her holsters, holding them low with wariness. The dust settled around the column, and nothing happened. Lara tucked the sword fragment into her backpack. She cautiously stepped towards the column. There was nothing around, nothing to be seen inside the pillar except darkness. She stepped closer…
And then, Lara dove out of the way as a sword protruded from the darkness. She lifted her pistols in time to see a walking corpse holding a shield and a sword in each hand. The five other columns around the room began to erupt as well, revealing more of the skeletal bodies holding their weaponry.
"That doesn't look so good…" Alister chipped in.
Lara glimpsed the markings on the shield. "Lux Veritatis knights," Lara speculated. "They must be here to guard the sword fragment."
"And I'd guess they're immortal?" Alister said rhetorically.
"That's going to be a bit of a problem, then," Lara said, raising her guns to the skeletons walking her way. She began to wish she'd never split up with Kurtis in the first place. He might be the only one with an idea as to how to stop these walking corpses. "Perhaps Dundermot Mound really is the gateway to hell." She opened fire on the skeleton, and it began to stagger backwards. Once the magazine was empty, it looked up at her, and though it had no facial features, she could tell it was angry. It raised the sword in the air, and Lara quickly dived out of the way – into the path of the next enemy.
Lara began to panic, thinking of how she could get away from these guardians. Then, she remembered the pool of water down the hallway. She holstered her weapons, and did her best to evade the swinging blades of the guardians. Once she made her way to the exit, they began to follow her, grunting with anger and raising their swords in defense. Lara bolted down the hallway until she reached the split path, hovering over the pool of water below. She stood, braced, waiting for the knights to come down the hall. When she heard them coming her way, she backed further down the hall, keeping her gaze on the hallway they would be coming from. When she saw them emerge, she removed her pistols again, and opened fire on them until they staggered backwards into the water.
Lara breathed relief until the final enemy fell below. She held her guns close to her, as if waiting for another surprise. Suddenly, Lara heard something behind her. She gripped her pistols and turned quickly on her heel, lifting her weapons to eye level. Lara ducked into the corridor she'd come from, watching as mercenaries entered into the hallway. This doesn't look good, she thought. She felt anxiety settling in her stomach as more and more began to file in, and when they turned towards the hallway that Emily and Kurtis had gone down, she knew she would need to do something.
Lara was prepared to follow after them – until she heard the groaning cries of the skeletal guards down below. She glanced down to see them scaling the walls, heading back up towards the hallway platforms. Lara backed away, knowing that either she fight the undead knights or risk being shot by the mercenaries in the hall.
Emily trudged along after Kurtis. She didn't want anyone to know it, but she was starting to regret coming to Dundermot. The halls they trekked through were eerie and dark, as if what waited at the end would be death. Emily drew in a silent deep breath, drawing closer to Kurtis as she looked around. Then, he stopped, causing her to bump into him with a soft 'oof'' as she did so. He turned around, gazing down at her with a quizzical look. "Preoccupied?" he asked.
"No," she said nervously. "I was just looking around."
"Wishing you'd stayed in Maghery?" he asked.
"Of course not," she said. "Let's keep going."
Emily started forward, but Kurtis gripped her by the shoulder, stopping her. "I will take the lead," he said. "You will stay back and be careful."
Kurtis stepped forward as Emily sighed. "Sorry," she said, rolling her eyes. She followed after him, gazing up at the large room before them. The floor had a large circular hole in it with a long descending stairwell of variously-shaped platforms. "Do we have to go down there?" Emily asked.
"I do," he said. "You're going to stay up here."
"Let me guess…" Emily said, folding her arms over chest. "It's 'safer' up here, right?"
"Exactly," he said with a grin.
"How bad could it be?" Emily asked, peering over the edge. "It's just a big stairwell…thing."
"These places are littered with surprises," he said. "Just wait right here."
Kurtis pulled himself into the platform, descending deeper and deeper into the depths of the stairwell. Down at the bottom, he could see a faint orange flicker. He continued down until he reached the bottom. There was a small nook in one of the platforms that Kurtis had to reach deep into. When he pulled his arm out, he removed a piece of the sword fragment, glowing with the orange aura. He held it up to examine, grinning at his small accomplishment. Then, the ground began to shake. He glanced about as the platforms began to rise. He looked up as Emily backed away from the platforms. After a moment, he returned to level with her. "Did you find something?" she asked.
He held the sword fragment up by the hilt. "Piece of cake," he said. He handed it to Emily so she could examine it herself, watching as she eyed the prize like a kid in a candy shop. "You think Mom found the other piece yet?" she asked.
"No doubt," Kurtis said.
"Then let's get back to her," Emily urged. "I'd hate for her to be mad at me for a second longer."
Kurtis chuckled a bit, unsure if she was being serious or if she was making a joke. Emily handed the piece back to him. Then, they heard an explosion in the distance. Kurtis reached for the grip of his pistol, and Emily jerked her head in the direction of the noise. They looked up to see a skeletal knight coming from the hole he'd made in one of the columns of the room. Emily backed away fearfully, hiding behind Kurtis. "W-What is that?"
Kurtis removed his pistol and held it low to his side. "It must be one of the Sleepless Knights," he said.
"A what?" she asked.
"Undead Lux Veritatis warriors," he said. "He's probably here to guard the sword."
"Then if he's Lux Veritatis, he should be friendly, right?" she asked nervously.
"It doesn't look that way," he replied. He pushed her back a bit, shielding her with his body. "Stay back. I'll handle him."
Emily backed away towards the wall, watching fearfully as the skeletal knight came closer. Kurtis aimed his weapon at the mummy and began firing, doing nothing but weakening the enemy. Kurtis holstered his weapon, then reached his arm forward, sending a surge of psychic energy towards the skeleton. He flew backwards and into the wall, collapsing to the floor. "That should hold him down for now," Kurtis said quickly.
Then, he heard another explosion from behind, followed by Emily's panicked gasp. She backed away into Kurtis as another knight broke through the wall behind them. Several others began to emerge from the other various pillars, each bearing a shield and sword. "What do we do now?" Emily asked nervously, clinging to Kurtis for dear life.
"Don't panic," Kurtis said. "We need to get back down the corridor. Do you have your lighter?"
"Yeah," she said quickly.
"You're going to need it," he said. "Stay right next to me the whole time, you got it?"
Emily nodded, holding onto him tightly as he began to move around towards the corridor. The knights began to come closer, moving only at the pace that Kurtis moved. Kurtis continued to step softly, heading towards the corridor. Only a few more steps, he thought. A few more…The knights were just a few steps away. "When I give the signal, you need to use the lighter," Kurtis said calmly.
"O-Okay," Emily stammered, reaching for the lighter in her pocket.
The knights took more steps in their direction. One…two…three…Then Kurtis reached is arm out as they raised their swords, and he sent them flying backwards towards the opposite wall. "Now!" he directed her. Emily lit the lighter, and with the same hand, ignited a line of fire separating Emily and Kurtis from the fallen knights. She hadn't exactly intended to make a 'firewall', but it worked out anyway. Kurtis grabbed her by the arm and proceeded to drag her down the hallway. Then, he stopped abruptly, and she slammed into his back once again. Emily began to rub her head, shaking her vision clear to look up. Then, her stomach dropped at the sight of the mercenaries standing before them.
Emily glanced up at Kurtis, waiting for him to perform another heroic action to get them out safely. She stood behind him, holding onto his arm, hoping he would simply plow through the enemies and rescue them both from what was about to come. When he merely stood still without moving, Emily knew that he had no plan. They were trapped. She looked up just in time to see Karel emerging from the group of mercenaries. Then, she tucked her head back down, wishing she could disappear behind her father's shadow.
"I see you've encountered some of your old ancestors," Karel said.
"Not quite how I remembered them," Kurtis said. Emily noticed him clenching his fist. He'd better have a plan, she thought nervously. I'm working on it, a thought said in her head. She glanced up strangely at Kurtis, realizing it had been him communicating with her. "What do you want, Karel?"
"I'm quite sure you know what I want," Karel said simply. "But where is Lady Croft?"
"She's not here," Kurtis lied. "I decided to come alone – I figured it was the best way to get things done."
Karel raised his head, as if trying to decide whether or not to give Kurtis the benefit of the doubt. "Well, that's most unfortunate," he said. "It seems she won't be able to bid her young daughter a farewell."
"What?" Kurtis asked angrily.
"Well, don't you know?" he asked. "Emily is to play the leading role in my own cinematic adventure."
"Emily isn't going anywhere," he said in a low, threatening voice.
"And I don't suppose you'd be able to stop that?" Karel asked, amused.
"I'll do whatever I have to," Kurtis said. "You're not going to touch her."
Karel stepped closer, but Kurtis didn't back away. He merely glared up at the enemy. Then, Karel reached a hand out, throwing him across the room into the wall, his body slumping to the ground. Emily gasped in fear, backing away. Karel reached his hand towards her. "We don't have all day, my dear," he chided. "If you'll come with me, it will spare the life of your father."
Emily glanced backwards at Kurtis as he lay unconscious. Are you alright? she asked him telepathically. She waited for a response, but gained nothing. Don't leave me here, please…She turned her gaze back to Karel. "I-Is he okay? Did you hurt him?"
"He's merely unconscious," Karel said.
Emily backed away fearfully. The last thing she wanted to do was go with this weirdo. She wanted to run over to Kurtis and shake him awake. She wanted him to stand up and protect her, to beat the crap out of that bastard, Karel.
Karel continued to step towards her, and Emily continued to back away until she felt the heat of the fire just behind her. "There's nowhere left to run, child," Karel pointed out. "I suggest you come with me."
Emily glanced backwards, just in time to see one of the knights raising his sword to slice down over her head. She was ready to run, but felt Karel grip her strongly by the arm and toss her backwards, away from the undead knight. She stumbled to the ground, looking up as Karel attacked the enemies with those green balls of energy. Emily glanced back towards her father, ready to run to his side, but felt her arms being gripped by the mercenaries behind her. They pulled her to her feet and gripped her strongly by the arms, holding her back. Karel turned slowly to face her. "Now, if you have no more protests, we'll move along."
The mercenaries began to drag her down the hall, but she fought as hard as she could, lunging towards Kurtis as if she would be able to break away and run to his side. "Get off of me!" she shouted, struggling to break away. "Dad, help me!" she cried. She felt tears coming to her eyes at the thought of being taken away from her parents, at the thought of being dragged off to God-knows-where for God-knows-what by this heartless bastard standing before her.
Of course, her struggles weren't much of a challenge for the merks holding onto her, but Karel must've found it irritating. He reached a hand forward, but Emily jerked her leg out, kicking him in the shin. He staggered backwards with a small groan, then looked up at her angrily. He reached his hand towards her again and touched her forehead. His hand jerked forward, and then Emily fell limp, unconscious. He held the alchemically transmuted ball of Emily's orange-glowing energy in his palm, then crushed it. "She'll awaken in several hours," Karel said. "Let's move out."
The mercenaries began to drag Emily's unconscious body down the hall and out of the corridor. Karel glanced back at Kurtis, then sent a blow of telepathic energy towards the column above. He turned away and headed down the corridor after the merks, and the column tumbled down, blocking the exit from the corridor to trap Kurtis inside.
DUN DUN DUN...what will happen next?! Find out on Friday!
