The room appearing in front of them was not very big or high. All along its walls torches were fixed that were now flickering happily, giving the place a warm, cozy atmosphere. It was almost empty, except that thin, more or less two meters high column in the middle. On the floor Kurtis could make out a smaller square area that was covered with tiny holes. He did not like the expression on Lara's face.
Lara put the torch down to the floor and carefully stepped closer to the area in the middle.
"What do you mean with puzzle?" – Kurtis asked cautiously, venturing a bit closer.
"What I said, a puzzle. You know… for solving." – Lara was already concentrating on the column standing in front of her. Carefully stepping closer, she placed a foot over the area with the holes and quickly pulled it back again. But nothing happened as she would have expected. No pikes were launched, no darts tried to pierce through her. "Okay." – she decided. "We're safe for the moment."
"What are you doing?" - Kurtis watched her examine the column and finally Lara found the thin rope hanging out of it. She curiously took it in her hands, and pulled on it lightly, being prepared to jump away if anything happened. Kurtis jumped back at the sounds, but the only thing happening was another column rising out of the floor in the corner of the area. Lara raised a brow. The same kind of rope was hanging out of it. When Lara let go of the rope she was holding, the column disappeared in the floor again.
"I need you to help me." – Lara turned to Kurtis, with a little worry on her face. She did not plan to involve him when it was unsure what would happen, but she had no other choice. "When the column raises again, pull the rope. I can't reach it from here."
"Is this some kind of a game?" – he was wondering when a third column raised out when he pulled on the rope, but it immediately went back again when Lara released hers.
"Let's start again." – she frowned, then pulled the rope out longer and went over to the third column with it. As she went around it, a fourth one appeared in the opposite corner. "I guess it's your turn." – she looked at Kurtis, who shrugged and pulled his rope to the other corner. In a few minutes the place looked like a huge mess of spider-webs, the ropes criss-crossing between the rising columns like a total chaos. And the game was not over yet.
"You need to climb over there" – Lara showed at the newest column, which she could hardly see anymore. It was getting harder and harder to move around. Kurtis climbed over, concentrating on not letting the rope go. When he got close to her, he stopped for a moment.
"Do you always do this?" – he looked at her and Lara lowered her gaze. Those blue eyes were too much to bear at the moment. They looked at her so warmly and tenderly that his stare made her go weak.
"That's how tombs usually are." – she answered turning away as much as she could before it was too late. Feeling that he had not meant this, she wanted to get away, hide behind the safe mask of reticence.
"I don't mean the tombs." – he leaned closer, brushing his thumb across her cheek, making her swallow in confusion. How could it be that this tough woman became so tense and scared from just one stroke of his hand?
"You need to keep moving before the column disappears again." – she changed the topic, nodding towards the pillar about a meter away from them. Kurtis let his hand down, feeling that she was not ready yet. Not ready to show and accept her emotions. Slowly moving on, he fixed the rope again, hearing another column rising just beside this one. Fine, he thought, leaning against it.
When Lara realized it, their eyes met. Brown met blue, sending quivers down her spine. It had to be done. She ducked, squeezed herself through between two pillars, fought her way through, stepped over the mess of ropes, almost falling at the end. But a strong hand kept her and she found herself facing him again. Why did he have to look at her like this? Why did he have to make her feel all those things that scared her?
"I meant if you always hide your emotions so well?" – he continued as if there had been no break in their conversation at all. Kurtis stepped closer, still holding the rope tightly in his hand. Having her so close changed everything, stirred up everything in him. No matter how much he tried to convince himself, he only wanted to help her smile again, the fatal attraction he felt could not be denied.
"I don't want to talk about that." – Lara tried to pull away, but there was no place to go. The column was right behind her back, and for a moment she forgot about the puzzle. He confused her, more than anything. Fighting back those fluttery feelings was harder than she thought.
"One day you will have to." – he leaned closer, very close actually. His gaze burnt her, his lips almost brushed her skin, his breath hot against her face. No, this could not be, she whispered, but no word left her mouth.
"You don't understand this." – finally she managed to squeeze the words out.
"You keep saying that, but you don't even try to explain." – his free hand run down her arm, just as it had in Paris. When his fingers found hers, he took the rope from her. Lara felt lost. Lost in his eyes, in his closeness, in his embrace as he slid his arm around her. The puzzle, the ropes, the columns, they all ceased to exist around her, no matter how much she tried to focus on them. All she could see was those incredibly blue eyes. It hurt her… suddenly one more emotion appeared next to those burning inside her. And this one made her feel guilty. A tiny little ray of happiness.
Lara did not notice when his hands met behind her back, closing her in a kind of embrace, building a knot on the two ends of the ropes, tying them together as firmly as he wanted to connect to her.
"I can't….you wouldn't… " – it did not make sense. She had to find back to reality.
"I think you did it." – his hand softly touched her cheek. "The door is open." – he smiled at her, pulling away slowly and Lara needed several seconds to understand his words.