Hello, my dears! :)

For once, a rather early update. :) I need to thank you all for the support. :) A special thanks goes to Titova Lara (here) for the enormous encouragement. And basically making me inspired enough to update this soon (for my standards). But there are more people behind my enthusiasm and persisting desire for writing this story. (Both here and somewhere else.) THANK YOU. ALL OF YOU. You all rule! ;D Hopefully the chapter will bring at least some of you a little bit of enjoyment. :)

Chapter 28: A False Sense of Security

"Hello?" Lara announced their presence as she and Kurtis approached the couple. Her companion was still cautious - she could already tell by his slightly tense stance and careful wariness in his eyes -, but he relaxed when seeing the pair in close. Even though she supposed that her partner was likely still on alert, he appeared suspicious no more. For Lara his ease confirmed that addressing the pair had been a good idea. And also the fact that there was no danger coming from the two.

The young woman with light brown hair reaching to the shoulders gasped in surprise and turned around. "Oh... Hi," she said shortly with a frown, but laughed at them nervously almost immediately. "You scared me a little bit." The fright was no surprise since there was literally no one else in sight. On top of it, the adventurous duo had just descended down the steep hill with no path. And appeared behind her back. She smiled and looked around the depopulated surroundings and empty road in both directions. "What are you two doing here in the middle of nowhere like us? Or are you locals?"

"No. We're just travelling," Lara replied simply.

"I've thought so," she pondered aloud. "You two don't seem lost."

"Hello there!" a man called from the car cheerfully, lifting up his head from the engine. "This is not typical destination for tourists. Looking for a crazy experience?" he asked in a friendly tone.

"You could say that. Do you need any help?"

The woman waved her hand in a resigned gesture. "Well, only if any of you is a mechanic. Or rather a magician," she added with a sigh.

"Lemme see it," Kurtis stated simply, already closing the car without further ado.

"Really? Sure! She pointed him towards the vehicle. "Thank you! You understand that?"

"Quite," he stated.

Liam started explaining the details of the issue and his not very successful attempts to fix it. Lara overheard something about the car's battery. She turned her full attention back to the woman. "My companion here is just being humble," Lara tried to cover Kurtis' aloofness. "He's very good with machines and mechanical stuff," she announced with a smile. "If anyone can make it work, I believe it's him."

Trent looked back at her shortly with a pleasant surprise in his face. Then he just returned back to the work.

*"Oh, my name is Alisa. And this is my fiancé, Liam."

The man approached the two women. "Nice to meet you," he smiled in gratitude. "We are really thankful for your help."

"That's not a big deal, really. "I'm Lara by the way." They shook each other's hands. "And our mechanic over there is Kurtis."

"Hi!" Trent called. He was a little bit irked by Lara revealing their real names, but concluded that it posed no harm in this situation.

Liam shifted in slight discomfort, scratching the back of his head. "I admit I'm not very skilful concerning vehicles, you know..."

"No one can do everything, Liam," Alisa addressed her fiancé lovingly, grabbing her partner's arm and leaning her head on his shoulder. "I've told you that many times. Plus you've done almost everything else in our new house. Remember?"

"I'm no mechanical expert either," Lara joined the talk politely. In this moment she was grateful for her skills of conversation she had gained during her aristocratic upbringing. As she had never been one for a small talk, these classes and practice had given her a useful starting point. Especially when there was nothing concrete to say. And Kurtis hadn't seemed to care enough to join the chat so far.

"So, are you two having an excursion tour?"

"Just a rather short trip."

"By the look at you two, an adventurous one, right?" she asked, eyeing the Tomb Raider's practical attire up and down. "It's quite popular these days. "Alisa's positive energy and enthusiasm were contagious."

Lara smiled back at her. She really liked these people. "Yes, it is. I've always enjoyed getting to know foreign places. And you, if I may ask?"

"Visiting my fiancé's friends. Unfortunately," she sighed, "our dear car has decided otherwise." She shrugged. "Bad luck I guess."

"I see. Hopefully we will be able to do something about it."

"That would be me, not we," Kurtis pointed out in the background.

The British woman put on a mischievous smile. "I've thought you had a job to do."

"Yes ma'am, just keep chit-chatting when I'm doing all the hard work. Why not?"

Suddenly Alisa squirmed in uneasiness. "We really wouldn't want to cause you any trouble..."

Lara waved her hand. "Relax, we are just joking."

"That's a relief," she placed her palm on her chest. "We will have a big problem if we don't make it work. We're not from around here, our friends live far from this place and just all the paperwork I'm imagining right now... The insurance..." She shook her head.

"Hopefully you'll evade all that."

"Done," Kurtis stated.

"You mean that it won't work ever again?" Alisa asked with a desperate expression.

"No, it's fixed. Should be. Let's try."

"See?" Lara grinned and gave the last of the Lux Veritatis an admiring and grateful nod.

Liam rushed to sit into the car and test the functionality. The starting ignition was heard several seconds after. "Wow! Great!" he exclaimed with a smile from ear to ear. "You are like our guarding angels!"

A dark thought crossed Lara's mind after hearing the angelic reference. However, she quickly pushed the worrying ideas aside.

"You are amazing! Thank you so much! You're our saviours, indeed!" Alisa hugged Lara in happiness.

The Tomb Raider clenched her teeth, not really appreciating the sudden affection. She quickly hid her discomfort, though. "It's nothing."

Then Alisa rushed to her fiancé.

The British went over to Kurtis. "Good job," Lara praised him. "And thank you."

"Just a little bit of battery corrosion and then reconnecting... What about some reward?" he asked with a sparkle in his eyes, wiping his hands from the grease with a cloth hanging from the car's bonnet.

"Hmm... I'm sure we'll think something up sooner or later."

"Sounds good."

Alisa interrupted their exchange. "Where do you want to get to? Let us take you with us," she said with a wide smile. "As thanks. We go this way," she pointed down the road. "How about you? But if you want to go elsewhere, we should have enough gasoline to—"

"If we could join you down in your direction, it would be great." Lara threw a look at her partner. "It's not against anything, do you agree?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Why not?"

"Great! Then it's settled!" Alisa opened the back door. "Take a seat!"

The adventurer got in and Kurtis followed. "Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks."

Lara glanced at him in somewhat admonishing look as if saying: At least pretend that you are grateful.

"You are welcome." Alisa hadn't noticed the wordless exchange between them. "People should help each other out as much as possible, right?" She put on a seat belt as the car set out. So did all the others. "That's what we plan to teach our children one day. Actually, we are planning a big family so the world would be a nicer place then." She giggled at her own statement.

"That's nice," Lara said politely. "We wish you all the best, of course."

"Awww! Thanks my dear! And don't worry." She winked at her conspiratorially. "I'm sure that such luck will meet you as well one day." Her smile widened even more. "You two look so good together! You are going to have such a lovely family in the future!"

"Actually, we are not—" Lara interrupted quickly.

"We aren't that far," Kurtis finished for her and then smirked. "Yet."

Lara couldn't help and grinned, shaking her head. "You can be so cocky sometimes."

"And I know that you like it, dontcha?"

She turned back to the couple. "I think you have a clearer picture now."

Alisa smiled. "Yes, sure we do... You are both cute!" she exclaimed with a smile from ear to ear. The duo of adventurers made their best not to burst out laughing in unison. Kurtis Trent had never expected to hear such thing about himself. Neither had Lara Croft.

"Cute," Trent repeated, "Right."

XXX

During the ride, Lara couldn't help but was admire the scenery. She especially noticed the constant changing of the surroundings. Canyons, woods, empty plains, rocks, deserts and - as expected - lakes. Everything changing all the time. Looking at the view currently, she shortly remembered her long-ago trip to Nevada. No wonder. The border to the state was near. She briefly noted the fact to Kurtis. In return he informed her about some of his other killers of time in the area - rock skimming and riding a motorcycle.

Seeing the note reading: Bonneville Salt Flats - Recreation Area told her that the planned destination was near. The place offered nothing different. Even though in comparison to various places she had seen in Utah already, Salt Flats appeared to be somewhat... empty.

To her slight disappointment, they had passed a beautiful lake just to get back into the desert. Lara had expected the hideout to be in a canyon, so she was surprised when Kurtis decided to get out of the car in the middle of nowhere. Literally. Only sand, rock formations and some low vegetation. No beautiful and refreshing water around. Just stones.

They had got close enough to their goal, thus Lara and Kurtis said their farewell and then continued in their way.

"Very kind and nice people," Lara pondered aloud, rising up another hill. "Not much of these lately. Their good mood was pleasant to watch somehow. It was nice to forget about all this for a moment."

"I agree. Time to get back to reality, though," Kurtis proclaimed.

"Sure. Back to our little game?"

"Why not? I have a bunch of weird and terrifying experiences to talk about. For example, I've encountered another very dangerous demon... And no. I'm not talking about you."

Lara laughed aloud."Just wait. You haven't seen anything yet."

Kurtis smirked, but said nothing.

A deep ravine between the two tall rocks stopped their progress. Trent looked on the other side. "Yeah, now comes another tricky part. I've remembered this right. I have a rope with me so I'll get over there and attach it." He informed her and went to the edge, looking down into the depth. "You'll be able to traverse then, right?" Kurtis only registered a person zip along him quickly and rising from the ground. He was pleasantly surprised when the British woman had just jumped across swiftly, pulling herself up from the edge. He hadn't even needed to help her in any way.

"Are you going or not?" she asked with a grin, waiting for him on the other side.

He jumped next to her with a certain effort. "You realize a fall like that would be a fatal one, right?"

She dedicated him a deadly glare. "Are you trying to gain another terrifying experience into your collection just right now? I can oblige. And gladly."

"Yeah, the demon I was talkin' about. Right. Thanks for the reminder." He had rather tried to change the topic quickly. Kurtis had already known that questioning Lara's abilities was something she was not fond of. "This one was said to be sucking the souls of its victims. Once I saw it in action with my Farsee. It was not my best idea, though. The process was affecting my powers in a very strange way. I was younger, didn't have so much practice with the Farsee and I recall being scared of not being able to get my inner-sight back to my body. I used to have nightmares about it for quite a long time."

"You did get back, obviously," she stated with a relieved satisfaction written in her face.

"Yeah, the Chirugai ended its existence quickly eventually. But without it, it would have been pretty tricky. It was not a weak creature by any means."

"That's really intriguing. All these beings you talk about... The mention of the demon's power reminds me of one specific occasion. I've found a very special dagger in the past. In China. It can offer a great power, but in exchange for your life. The Dagger of Xian."

"That's a pretty bad deal."

"I agree. Especially since you don't need to become a dragon to fume over something."

"A dragon? His eyebrows lifted up in wonder. "Nice." He chuckled. "And funny. Actually there is an interesting place with a dragon-shaped rock situated on west side of Salt Flats."

"Shame there's no time for sightseeing," she replied, giving a sigh.

"I doubt it would impress you very much."

Lara threw him a side glance. "I'm not as picky as you think."

"Good to know."

"Hmm," Lara looked up the high rock structure in front of them. "I don't mind more climbing, do you?"

Kurtis grinned. "Not at all."

XXX

They had continued in their way full of uneven terrain and dangerous spots in some places for a while, when Kurtis suddenly stopped. "Here we are."

Except the rocks nearby, there was nothing eye-catching. Lara looked around and checked her compass and the map. Funny. She had changed this gear for more modern technology a while ago. But since Zip had smuggled the item into her accessories as a joke, she decided to remember the old good times. Plus since the hacking attack on her home network, she had certain doubts concerning the modern stuff. With the time-proven things, there was no danger present. She expected her partner to comment on her old-fashioned gear. But she supposed Kurtis didn't seem to find anything weird about it. "There's nothing. Only if..." she turned to him with a sparkle in her eyes. "Only if it's well hidden and—"

"And the entrance is beneath us. That's what you wanted to say?" he smirked back at her.

She made a gesture of giving him precedence. "It's all up to you and your magic, now." She kept smiling, now more with a bit of admiration. Lara was curious about the hidden place, as well as Kurtis' Lux Veritatis legacy. She realized that the enjoyment of the exploration had been coming back to her more and more. Who would have thought that her healing process would be so enforced by the events starting with Von Croy's murder at the very beginning and leading to a threat hanging over the world. And also the American presenting the last living member of a medieval order. She leaned against the stone structure on the side.

"Clever girl. But before entering," he come over to Lara, making the British woman retreat and ending up with her back against the rock. "There is one thing. One thing I need to do first." Then he kneeled down right in front of Lara, as if ready for an initiation or a proposal to make.

She was watching him intently, genuinely confused. "What are you—"

"I need to ask you..." he lifted up his gaze, "to move aside, so I can dig up and push the hidden lever." He reached out to the stone wall behind her, with a grin from ear to ear. He started removing the stones. "You've looked really scared for a second here," he uttered. "Too high hopes?"

Lara joined him. "Just surprised that you've decided to polish my shoes out of the sudden. Still a pretty good outcome," Lara retorted, not really sure if she was disappointed by his flippancy, outraged by making her feeling silly or relieved that the sense of humour wasn't leaving him.

"I can do better. Just wait for another good opportunity."

"I would expect you to take this a little bit more seriously."

"It might be my last joke, you know?" The truth was that Kurtis was not happy with returning to this place at all. And teasing Lara was a way of a distraction.

"If that makes you happy..." she retorted, shaking her head.

"Now, what would make you happy?"

She gave him a satisfied smile. "You can start with making a way for me."

"My pleasure. Just no red carpet I'm afraid." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, concentrating.

"Don't get lost on the way," she said now in an caring tone, referring to their earlier talk.

Kurtis smiled. "I won't. I'll be right back." Then he stretched out his hand in the manner Lara already knew well. "Try to avoid touching me in the meantime," he uttered, smirking. Nonetheless, the joyful mood just had been covering the fact that Trent was really uneasy about his experiences connected to the hideout somewhere under their feet.

The signs of the mildly nauseating feeling had left him quickly. Now he was in that world of muffled sounds and partly distorted picture again. He could see Lara shaking her head and smiling. Not wanting to lose time and energy, his inner sight aimed right down beneath their legs. Even though such action seemed illogical, Kurtis knew well what he was doing.

There, as if something had stopped blocking his vision, through the ground he could see some sparkling particles in one place. That was what he was looking for. It was time to get back to Lara. In a reverse movement - the shortest way this time - he got back.

He stumbled, already feeling Lara's reassuring hand on his arms. It was pleasant feeling to know that she had rushed to his side to support him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. This kind of a kick is normal," he informed her. "But the performance is not over yet." Kurtis straightened up and went over to the earlier detected place. "Make a two steps backwards, okay?"

"Fine."

He didn't seem to be satisfied with her spot. "Or rather three."

She obeyed, watching him. To Lara, it seemed like he was just standing at a random place. But Lara was calm, fully trusting in his abilities. She kept quiet, not wanting to disturb him.

Kurtis went down on his knees, placing both of his palms on the sandy ground. He closed his eyes again, this time reciting some Latin words.

"In absentia lucis, tenebrae vincunt. Lux Veritatis mecum. Ducere me."

Lara listened carefully, trying to recognize and translate the words she could catch.

In the absence of light, darkness prevails. Light of truth be with me. Lead me.

The ground around his palms started emitting golden light. As if the sunbeam was shining through textured glass. Lara had no idea how this was physically possible. The surface was firm, after all. The phenomenon was simply captivating. Also, the combination of his smooth voice's intone together with the sight was almost hypnotizing. At least to the Tomb Raider.

And then, the ground under her feet started shaking. Or was it only her imagination? The effect cold serve just as a optical illusion, after all. She tore her eyes from the sparkling sight and her gaze wondered under her legs. Then the fascination exchanged for the true fear. The surface collapsed suddenly, leaving Lara falling. She shrieked. The memories of Egypt had flown back in instant.

A person on the side of the road had caught their attention. Getting closer, they could see a robust man standing by a black van together with a police car was nearby.

"Has something bad happened over there?" Alisa asked her partner.

He leaned forward slightly to see better and frowned. "Looks like it, but I don't see any sign of the crash."

"Look! There is someone waving. It's the police!"

"Calm down. Let's see what's going on. Maybe someone just got lost."

The couple pulled out and Liam looked out of the window. "What's going on, officer?"

The man in the uniform leaned closer to the car's window and smiled. "Hello. We would like to ask you for your cooperation. Have you seen these people?" He put a photo of two persons in front of their eyes. Man and a woman, both in their thirties. Lara and Kurtis. The man and woman exchanged their unsettled glances.

The officer has noticed their reaction and he had a hard time to prevent his polite smile from widening. "Don't worry, they are not dangerous," he said in a kind tone. "We are looking for them for their own protection. They both can be in a great danger."

The relief was apparent in the couple's faces for a few seconds, but then it turned into a worried one. "What kind of danger?" Alisa asked.

"We have some leads that a group connected to the serial killer called the Parisian Monstrum goes after them. They are important witnesses. The key witnesses, necessary for the justice to be executed. We can protect them. But we need to find them first. It's understandable that they are worried. And trying to hide."

"That's horrible," she breathed out, shocked. "They are so nice people. We'll try to do anything to help for sure."

"So how do you know them? What can you tell me?"

"We don't know much," Alisa twisted her hair in her fingers from nervousness. "They just helped us to get our car fixed and we took them with us."

"So they go on foot now?"

"Yes. They shouldn't be far from the place where we departed. We don't know where they went exactly," Liam said. "But we can show you where we left them. Nothing else I'm afraid."

For the first time, Marten Gunderson smiled sincerely. "That would be a good start for sure. Would you leave the way for us?"

"Sure, officer. It's not that far."

"Thank you. We really, really appreciate your cooperation."