Ancient Forces Collection Read Online Free PDF Page A

knew this wasn’t wrong, something about Ryan’s fascination caused him concern.
    “Hey — ” Ryan stopped abruptly and pointed toward the top of the hill — “look.”
    Scott stopped and turned but saw nothing. “What?” he asked.
    “He’s gone now.”
    “There was somebody out here?”
    Ryan nodded.
    “Who?”
    “I don’t know . . . but he had something coming out of his head.”
    “Horns?” Little Creek asked. “Did they look like horns?”
    “Well, yeah.”
    “Then we’d better hurry.” Little Creek suddenly broke into a trot.
    “Why?” Ryan asked, jogging beside him. “What’s going on?”
    “If what you saw were horns, then we’d better get out of here. Fast.”
    “But why?”
    Little Creek didn’t answer. “Come on,” he insisted, continuing to run. “Come on.”
    Scott didn’t press the issue and neither did Ryan. Whatever it was that Ryan had seen had made Little Creek pretty nervous. And whatever it was, neither Scott nor Ryan felt inclined to stick around and find out why.
    An hour later as they approached camp, Little Creek said a hasty good-bye. He still would not tell them the reason for his concern, but it was obvious he was anxious to get away from them. Scott and Ryan wished him farewell and headed toward their tent.
    As they walked up, a tantalizing aroma filled the air. “What’s that smell?” Scott called. “I’m starved.”
    “You’re always starved,” Becka said as she stooped over the grill to check on the thick, sizzling hamburgers.
    “You boys are just in time for lunch,” Mom called.
    “Great,” Ryan said.
    “But look at you — you’re filthy. What happened?”
    “Oh, we just had a little run-in with a falling mountain,” Scott quipped.
    “You what?”
    “We just had a little — ”
    “Never mind,” Mom interrupted. “Go wash up. When you get back you can tell us all about it.”

    Becka watched the burgers carefully, making sure they didn’t burn. When Scott and Ryan returned from washing up, she grinned. “It’s about time! These things are ready to serve up.”
    “What do you boys want on them?” Mom asked.
    “Oh . . . anything’s fine,” Ryan said.
    “Yeah,” Scott agreed. “Whatever you got.”
    “Whatever we’ve got?” Becka repeated, laughing. “That sounds pretty suspicious coming from someone who complains about everything.”
    “Who? Me?” Scott asked, pretending to sound indignant.
    “Yeah, you.”
    The guys each grabbed a plate, bun, burger, and some chips before settling down at the picnic table near their tent.
    “Still no sign of Swift Arrow,” Becka sighed. “We checked, and he hasn’t come back yet. Nothing to do but just keep waiting, I guess.”
    “That’s okay with me,” Scott said. “I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”
    “It’s okay with me too,” Ryan agreed. “I’d say the longer we can stay here, the better.”
    Becka glanced at Ryan. The guy was practically beaming. As the sun reflected off his jet-black hair, she couldn’t help thinking how gorgeous he looked . . . and how lucky she was. For the past year their friendship had been growing stronger. Oh, sure, they’d had their disagreements, but something was growing between them. Something deep. When Ryan looked at her a certain way, Becka felt herself become weak and trembly inside.
    Now she crossed over and sat beside him as she had so many times before. But instead of turning to smile at her, he barely seemed to notice her.
    “I’m really starting to enjoy this trip too,” she said. “It’s different from the others. So quiet, so peaceful . . .”
    Ryan nodded, but when she glanced into his eyes, hoping for that special connection they always shared, she saw that he wasn’t even looking at her. Once again he was off somewhere. And once again she felt a twinge of jealousy. Was it her imagination, or was he purposely ignoring her? She tried to push the thought from her mind, but it kept returning. Finally, she asked