The Triumphant Return of the Tamale Knight

The Triumphant Return of the Tamale Knight

"The Triumphant Return of the Tamale Knight"
Chapter II

Alex West sighed with relief, having finally found a secluded spot sheltered on all sides by trees. He unzipped his fly and relieved himself against the one at the north end, away from the camp. When he exited the little grove, he found Lara Croft standing before him. She offered him a moist towelette to clean his hands with.

"Lara, what are you doing here?" Alex asked.

"For some strange reason, Alex, I just can't help thinking of you as a friend." Lara replied. "As such, I feel I should warn you. No one in that camp is going to survive."

"Killing isn't your style, Lara." Alex replied.

"Things change." Lara replied, this time baring a pair of gleaming, wicked-looking fangs. Alex's hand reflexi wen went to his throat to protect it. "Oh, I'm not going to do to you what was done to me." Lara said. "I'm only here to help you." She stared intently into Alex's eyes, extending her new power into his mind. "Sleep." she commanded. Alex fell to his knees, then flopped forward.

"See?" Jose asked. "We're not any more hears ths than we were as mortals."

"Why do I want to sink my fangs in his neck then, even though I'm full as the proverbial tick?"

"That's just your emerging procreative urge responding to his helplessness and wanting to make him strong like us." Jose replied. "Nothing to be scared of."

"I'm new to this." Lara said. "I'm afraid of losing control."

"That is why we guide those we bring across." Jose responded, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Come now, pet. There's work to be done."

"Yes, Master." Lara said, following behind the vampire.

* * *

"All the evidence I've gathered thusfar indicates that the nosferatu still lives, merely imprisoned within his coffin by the cross the villagers nailed to it." explained an elderly man within the large, main tent.

"And imprisoned with him is the secret to eternal life, Dr. Von Strauss." responded his younger companion, a dark-haired man with dark eyes and a goatee around his mouth.

"You told me you were after the artifacts." the doctor commented.

"I am, but a surviving vampire is a lovely bonus, for which the Illuminati will pay handsomely."

"Illuminati?" Dr. Von Strauss asked.

"The People of the Light." Lara Croft explained, causing those with their backs turned to her to whirl in surprise. Within a heartbeat, she was on the other side of the room, juggling the guns formerly belonging to the men. "The Illuminati have been a pain in my arse for some time now." Lara continued. "And apparently I'm the only one with what it takes to stop them when we cross paths."

"That will soon change." the dark-haired man said. "Because you're going to be dead in a matter of moments."

"I highly doubt that, amigo." said another voice, and suddenly Jose had the man by the throat. The others drew knives. Lara snarled, her eyes becoming slitted and catlike, glaring at Jose's attackers as she pounced. The sound she made was like that of a hunting puma. She knocked one of them aside, and he flew through the tent and was impaled on the broken limb of a tree. The next was knocked fifty feet into the river. The others ran away. Lara resisted the urge to chase them and concentrated on keeping the converging guards away from her Master. This she did with superhuman strength, speed and ferocity. Within the span of a few minutes, she had no foes left to fight, and in her adrenaline peak, she scanned the battleground searching for more. Jose appeared in her field of vision, and after only a momentary rise in ferocity before recognizing him, she was docile again, leaning against him for support.

"Master..." Lara whimpered. "...I don't feel like I have control over myself anymore."

"You don't." Jose said. "That's why you need me to guide you through the difficult first...gaak!" This last he exclaimed as a stake jutted through his torso. Enraged, Lara pounced, pinning his attacker, knocking his crossbow aside. A strong hand pulled her off him, and Jose held Dr. Von Strauss by the throat. He slowly, painfully pulled the stake from his side and tossed it to the ground, then he glared into the doctor's eyes. "This is my kidney, Doctor." he snarled, pointing to the wound. He then pointed to his sternum. "This is my heart. Too bad I need your blood to heal me, or you might have lived long enough to make use of that lesson." With that, he sank his fangs into the man's throat. There was no sensuousity about it, it was pure animal hunger. Right before Lara's eyes, the wound closed. Jose broke the doctor's neck and tossed his body in the river. "He made a critical error, missing both of our weak points." Jose explained. "The spine and the heart. Remember that, Lara. Now come, we must return to the cave before dawn."

Back at the little underground town, Lara watched in fascination as Jose searched through the various treasure chests about the town designed to lure treasure hunters away from his coffin in the square.

"Here they are!" he exclaimed with glee. "Sun charms made for me by a Mayan shaman in exchange for protecting his village against its foes--which I did until they abandoned me." He held the two golden charms aloft with pride. "With these, the sun's rays will do our bodies no harm, though our eyes are still extremely sensitive, and we will need to protect them."

"How's this, Master?" Lara asked, pulling two pairs of polarized snow lenses from her recovered pack. "I used them on the peaks nearby for snow glare."

"Excellent, my dear." Jose said, drawing Lara close. She moaned as her growing animal lust responded to his presence.

"Bloody hell, I'm such a slut." she panted as he began to kiss her.

"It's a survival trait, Lara." Jose replied.

Epilogue

"Lara! We've been so worried about you!" Henry exclaimed. The butler accepted Lara's bags, though they almost threw out his back. "How the blazes did you carry so much gold out of South America?"

"That's not for me, Henry. We've got plenty, or haven't you noticed?" Lara responded. "Brice, help our guest with his things, please?"

"Guest?" asked the scruffy-faced tinker.

"Sir Jose Rodriguez, the Tamale Knight as some have called me, back in Europe after half a millennium of exile." Jose said at the door. "It was no picnic crossing all that water, let me tell you!"

Henry and Brice fainted.

"I suppose this will take some getting used to." Lara said, folding herself into her Master's arms.

"For all of us, dear." Jose replied. "You're the first apprentice I've ever trained. This is a learning exenceence for me too."

"I think you're doing fine, Master." Lara responded huskily.

End.