Chapter 1

Somewhere in Europe

The Graveyard

Kurtis Trent

He stood there looking down at the grave as everyone started to leave the ceremony. the funeral of his father, the master of their order. Is it my fault that he's gone? Is this my punishment for leaving him? Not wanting to fight with him in the Shadow wars. Is this why he was taken away from me, because I didn't want to fight?

"Kurtis," a woman behind him said. "I'm sorry."

She isn't the one at fault. I'm the guy who left.

Kurtis spun, facing her. She probably wanted to say something else.

She walked past him, looking at the headstone. Bouquets of flowers sat on the rocks - flowers that had been placed there, out of respect for his father.

The Graveyard had many of the order's knights who had fallen in the shadow war. They had been buried here in this cemetery.

"Steph-" Kurtis said.

Should I reach her or not. Hmm, rather not

"Eckhardt's going to find everyone," Steph said, tapping his shoulder. "Your mother can't come, so she gave me these."

Steph handed him the two shards and the Chirugai.

Kurtis shoved the shards in his pocket. The Chirugai clipped onto his belt. His fist clenched. "Eckhardt will die."

A salty tear dripped onto the corner of his eye, onto his cheek. I have been training for the shadow wars all night in my youth and got lectures all day. No school father had said that I'm too intelligent. That I must keep my head focus until I'm ready.

"Kurtis-" She spun, looking him straight in his eyes. "Your mother is hiding with her people."

Steph sighed, glancing away.

"Good," Kurtis said, glancing away from her.

My mother tried to give me the best life she could give. All the places we used to go. She would make sure that I at least had some friends there. My mother and father used to get into a lot of fights. My father didn't approve and I used to eavesdrop and hear my father say that I should focus on my training more.

Then there is my little brother, five years younger than me. We used to be very close to each other and played like normal brothers until I left that night. The night I would never forget.

"Let me fight with you," Steph said, glancing at the headstones. Some were recently placed. The others were old and uncared for. "I don't have powers, but I'm a pretty good fighter."

"Steph-" Kurtis poked her arm. "I'm not gonna have your blood on my hands as well."

"But Kurtis-"

"No buts," Kurtis said, Why isn't my little brother here for our father's funeral? Those he even know that our father had been murdered? Is he also hiding?

"Listen, I'll need my brother's help. not yours. Any ideas why he's not here?"

"No luck in finding him, it's as if he just disappeared from the face of the earth," Steph said.

"I have ways of finding people," Kurtis said. When I find my little brother. I'll make the Cabal pay for what they did to you, father. That's a Lux Veritatis oath.


England, Surrey

Croft Manor

Lara Croft

Winston flinched, his eyes snapping towards the doorway. The tray in his hands fell, shattering into a bazillion pieces. The sound tore through her eardrums as she entered the Manor's doors. She traipsed towards him and he just stood there. The old butler straightened himself. He placed a hand on his chest, surely trying to calm down his racing heart beat. She tried to move past the shattered pieces of cups. Presumably, he was on his way to give Zip and Alister their tea.

Winston grabbed her, pulling her into a hug. She drew tight breaths, choking for air.

"You're squeezing the life out of me," Lara whispered in his ear, his fruity cologne wafting up her nose. The hot tea seeped from his damp shirt, straight into her chest.

"I'm sorry, Lara but..." Winston paused, sparing her a glance.

"It's okay, it's in the past," Lara said as they broke the hug. He bent down, but she grabbed his arm, tugging him back up "This is my fault. Let me."

Lara crouched, her fingers brushing the shards of glass.

"Milady, I can't let you dirty your hands." Winston frowned. He bent down, reaching for the shards.

"Don't call me that," Lara said, picking up the pieces.

Winston said nothing. They gathered the pieces, heading into the kitchen. The shards were disposed of in the dustbin.

"What happened?" Lara said, leaning against the counter.

Winston switched on the kettle, the steam humming in her ears. "Your Uncle Errol tried to take over the manor. But we couldn't let him. Not until your body's been found.

Lara chuckled, tapping the side of her thigh. "Even now, huh?"

Winston nodded, smiling. "He even tried to bribe Zip and Alister. Fortunately, they're loyal to you."

"I'll have to give them a raise," Lara said, nodding. She smiled to herself. "Where are they?"

"Zip's in the tech room," Winston said. "Alister's in the library. Making sure your tomb-raiding career is safe."

Safe, meaning that no artifacts have been discovered without me. And if anyone is going to discover them, it will be me.

The kettle whistled. Lara reached for the cupboard, pulling out four cups. One for Winston, one for her, and two for her friends. She placed the tea cups on the counter.

"Just bring me my tea," Lara said, strolling towards the stairs. "Tell them I don't want to be bothered."

Winston poured out the kettle, liquid sloshing in her ears. "Yes, milady. I'm sure they'll understand."

Lara nodded at that. Walking out the kitchen, up the staircase to her room. She stepped into her room. It hadn't changed at all. The bedroom was clean, almost as if Winston never believed that she had been gone for two years. Her king-sized bed still sat at the left corner, her couch with the small table was still at the middle, and her walk-in closet still had all of her clothes. Nothing had been touched - just cleaned and well-loved until she eventually returned.

Thank Winston for that.

Lara sighed, placing her bag on the bed. She walked out of the room and into the balcony, staring at the sunset, breathing a sigh. What am I gonna do now? I'm not going back to tomb-raiding anytime soon. I don't even want to go back to tombs. The birds flew by, soaring through the clouds. Free to go wherever they want. What is out there for me, besides tomb-raiding?


Author notes

To all readers out there this is a story I had adopted from Sanglyph who had given the story up. Those who remember Tomb Raider: Lost Souls story of hers. This is the one, it flows better and will be going into the game in later chapters.

Credits:

Eretein: Help beta this story, gave me advice on where is mistakes and helping me that the chapter flows better. Without Eretein I would still be stuck with what to do with this story, thank you so much.

I would say if you need a beta reader who you want to go into detail on what's wrong with your chapter, Eretein is the beta for you.

Sanglyph: The story originally came from her, so its would just be right to mention her in the credits to.

Reviews:

To Josh14Raider, TR FAN, Velenona, Light, Lux Veritatis and Maria G: Sanglyph says thank you for all your reviews and support.

Readers

For readers in the past (Sanglyph's story) and to the future ones, I want to say thank you for reading my story and I hope you enjoy them. It means a lot and I hope of hearing of you all in the comments below. Even if your commenting as a guest I'd love to hear from you.

Take care, stay safe and read on

;)