The air left haunting traces of cold on my skin as we exchanged a glance.
"But why would he do that?" Lara mumbled.
"Probably wants us all for himself." I responded. "But only time can tell us his true intentions."
At that moment, one definitive question lingered in my head.
Who really was Karel?
All this time, my focus had been solely on Eckhardt. I had viewed going after his henchmen as nothing but a waste of my time and energy. But this didn't mean I didn't know things about them, let it be things the other Lux Veritatis members had told me, or my own observations from afar.
It didn't take much to know Karel wasn't the mouthy type. His conversations with Eckhardt almost only consisted of simple questions; Maybe one, maybe two at a time. I also hadn't seen him interact with the other members of the Cabal at all.
And unlike any other one of them, looking into his icy eyes wouldn't give you a single clue about what went on in his head. At first sight, he seemed to lack Eckhardt's maddening calmness, Müller's I-am-so-full-of-myself stare, Gunderson's fiery anger, or Boaz's wide-eyed gaze. His expression was perfectly neutral at all times, no matter the circumstance.
It chewed me up on the inside to know that if I had been at least a little bit curious about him sooner, our job would be a lot easier.
I turned to Lara. "You said that you saw him. Did you two speak?"
"We did." she said, eyes narrowing. "He told me that Eckhardt unknowingly worked for him, and that he didn't plan on getting rid of his work."
"We need as much information about the Nephili as possible, if we want to get to Karel." I said. "We find a way to bring his people back and lure him in."
"He knows we have the shards. I suppose it won't be that easy." Lara said, letting out a sharp exhale.
A heavy silence then settled between us. I turned and headed for the desk in the corner, Lara following right behind. I leaned towards the desk and booted up the computer. A sea of files and walls of text greeted me just while the screen jumped to life.
My gaze rushed through the paragraphs, looking for any crumb of information, no matter how small. Familiar words kept on flying by. The Nephili. The Sleeper. Paintings. Sanglyph. But no sentence was a stranger to me.
I finally raised my head, closed my eyes and took a step back.
"Have you found anything?" Lara asked, leaning in to look over my shoulder.
"Nothing we already aren't aware of." I said, narrowing my eyes and looking down at the screen in sheer disappointment. "Eckhardt was all crazy about the Paintings and nothing else."
A phrase among the paragraphs caught my eye as I shot one last glance at the monitor.
…Alongside shapeshifting, The Nephili are thought to have abilities to alter perception and emotional states…
Chills ran down my spine upon reading the phrase. A sensation I couldn't yet figure out the reason why.
A navy blue sky greeted us as we stepped foot outside. I crossed my arms and took a deep breath, relieved to reunite with fresh air.
I suddenly got the urge to scan the area surrounding the facility. The farsee ability was truly a blessing, wasn't it?
I stuck my hands out, palms facing to the sky. A second later, a cloud of energy broke free from my body and began to wander within the open space.
It drew a wide half circle around the Strahov. Through the amber haze, a nearby forest caught my attention. Trees hugged one another with their dense branches. Shadows garnered the thick grass beneath, depriving me from getting a clear sight. Not far from the edge of the woods, rocks formed a recognizable arch.
A perfect place to keep things hidden for an occult organization. And suspiciously close to the Strahov.
The cloud took a sharp turn, and I saw myself. I let out a grunt as it reentered my body.
I turned to Lara. "There's some woods and a cave nearby." I said. "Do you think The Cabal is hiding something in there?"
She raised her brows. "There's only one way to find out."
"Tomorrow, first thing in the morning." I responded.
With the relief of having a clear destination now over me, we headed back to the lodge.
The night had finally fallen. As my fatigued mind lended itself to the kind arms of sleep, an image flashed in my subconscious. A small town, one I very vaguely remembered seeing. After a brief moment of thinking, I finally figured out what this place was; It was the town that the remainder of the Lux Veritatis lived. The one I had spent the first three years of my life, before my father took the two of us across Europe.
As expected from them, the members of the Order saw their privacy as sacred and pristine. In the far corners of the US, Navajo tribes had helped them build this sanctuary for themselves, under the leadership of my mother. Seeing it again filled me with the comfort of its familiarity.
Wooden houses lined the sides of the gravel path, which was the only footway around. Each was roughly the same size, sporting two or three rooms. A distant forest added color to the sight. The leaves of the trees caught the sunlight and glimmered in an almost otherworldly way. Not a single cloud was in sight, allowing the golden rays of the sun kiss everything and providing a clear view of the vast sky above me. A textbook perfect picture.
But why did this imagery suddenly appear in my mind?
I began to draw closer to the town, cobblestones symphonically cracking under my boots. In the blink of an eye, the scenery changed.
Endless darkness engulfed all the eye could see. Everything was shrouded in thick, black smoke. Embers of fires rose from where the homes once stood, mercilessly swallowing everything on their path.
Then I saw something. A movement among the ruins. My steps quickened, my heart beating in my throat.
My chest clenched with what I saw up ahead.
A boy, rummaging through the ashes. I bolted to his direction.
Rogue tufts of black hair fell on his face. Amber hues from the fires lit up his pale skin. A large ring gleamed on his tiny finger. He slowly raised his head, locking his gaze onto mine. His azure eyes were welled up with tears.
I reached to comfort him, my fingertips tenderly brushed against his arm. I noticed something just while I pulled my hand back; A charcoal colored spot had appeared right at the point of contact. I didn't think too much of it at first.
Seconds later, the discoloration began expanding. It then invaded his entire forearm. He didn't seem to notice. Quicker than I expected, it swallowed the entirety of his arm, then his torso. I finally truly realized what was happening to him.
He was turning into ash, right before me.
I frantically looked around, hoping to find something that would be able to help him.
But there was nothing.
I got down to his level. He gave me one last, desperate look just while his deteriorated hand reached for me. I reached back and grasped it with all my strength. His entire body swiftly disintegrated soon after our hands met. My wide-eyed gaze was fixed to the pile of ashes that was once him.
I raised and looked at my hands, now stained with charcoal.
Unbeknownst to me, they would never come clean.
Early in the next morning, Lara and I were standing at the entrance of the mysterious cave. Both of our stares were locked to the darkness lying before us.
I poked her arm lightly, flashing a slight smile. "You don't seem too eager, miss." I teased.
She blew a strand of hair from her face, eyeing me cautiously. "Take a look at yourself first…"
Without another word, she began to march towards the cave. I started following her. She whipped out her flashlight from her backpack, and I pulled out my trusty lighter from my pocket. The flame arose with a swift flick of my thumb.
With every quiet step, we were submerging into the deep black further and further. I had diverted all my focus into picking up on even the slightest sound around me, but the sole thing I could hear was blood flowing through my veins. Lara then stopped in her tracks, pointing her light right ahead.
"You see something?" I asked.
Her eyes became thin slits. "I think I do…" she muttered. Her footsteps quickened, her barely visible silhouette straying far from me. I felt my chest clench yet again. She stopped near the wall to my left.
"And… jackpot!" I heard her shout.
My brows shot up as I hurried to check on her finding.
What crossed me was a mountain of military supplies. Medpacks. First aid kits. Bullets of all types. Bandages. Anything the two of us could ask for.
"Nothing about the Nephili, but at least we have this…" Lara said under her breath, already filling all storage on her with anything she could get her hands on.
She then swooned her head toward the Boran just while I pocketed a chocolate bar. "Haven't seen anything like that before, and I know my guns."
"This?" I asked, landing gentle pats at the holster. "I designed and crafted it myself. Nothing on the market would cut it for me." I replied, a soft glee adorning my voice.
Her gaze ever so slightly softened as our eyes met yet again.
A series of low growls echoed in the distance. Our stares snapped to their direction.
We weren't alone.
We inched closer until our shoulders were pressing up against each other. She readied her pair of Vectors.
"You ready, Croft?" I said, flashing a half smile.
"I'm always ready, Trent. Are you?" she teased.
I let the click from the Boran be the answer to her question. As I expected, the creatures struck seconds later. One let out a pained whine after Lara put a bullet in its skull. Another knocked me down. It quickly went limp after I landed a couple of shots in its belly. I managed to push it away and swiftly got up on my feet. The Chirugai unhooked itself from my belt and began floating around, steadily slashing the throats of some of the beings along the way. My ears picked up on Lara groaning with fury as she shot down a couple more.
"I missed this!" I heard her shout.
"Miss what? Creepy caves? Shooting at murderous beings?" I yelled back, surprised.
"Exactly." she chirped with a playful tone.
"You mad, mad woman…" I muttered to myself.
My gaze, even for a split second, fell on Lara after I made sure no creature was waiting to lunge at me.
That was when I saw it.
One of her guns was pointed at one being, and the other to another. A third was running up to her from her right. The shots knocked one down on its side just while she turned to face the runner, whose glimmering claws were steadily heading for the side of her stomach.
"Watch out!" I screamed.
I kept on sending bullet after bullet into the creature. But it just wasn't enough to deter it from digging the blades into her skin.
I sprung forward and shoved her out of the way with all my strength.
I couldn't do anything as it sunk its claws into my flank. I kept on pressing the trigger until its lifeless frame fell next to me. With adrenaline flowing through my veins, I got up to my feet. Now overtaken by the sharp pain, I pocketed the lighter and placed my now free hand above my fresh wound. I attempted to back away, but the second I put my foot down, I realized what I stepped on was, in fact, the very tip of a ledge.
But I had noticed that a bit too late.
My foot slipped. With a remarkable reflex, I managed to hold onto the ledge with my free hand. My palm was slippery with blood, rendering my grip weak.
The light from Lara's flashlight danced on the walls as she bolted to my direction. She shot the being that attacked me dead on her way.
"Take my hand!" she called, reaching over to catch me.
Just as I was about to hold onto her, my grip gave in, sending me into a freefall into the black.
"Kurtis!"
The last thing I saw under the scarce light was her arm helplessly dangling above the ledge. I felt as though time had stopped at that moment. I could feel the air whooshing around me.
Then I finally plummeted to the ground below.
The horrific noise of the impact was followed by silence.