Ancient Forces Collection Read Online Free PDF

softly, “Ryan, is everything okay?”
    As if coming back from a dream, Ryan turned to her and smiled. “Okay?” he asked. “Sure, everything’s
fine. You’re right — this place is incredible. There’s nothing the matter at all.”
    “Unless you count the avalanche that almost killed us,” Scott said with a chuckle. “Other than that, Ryan’s right, nothing’s the matter.”
    Becka looked at him, startled.
    “Avalanche?” Mom asked. She seemed equally startled — and concerned.
    “Yep,” Scott replied. And then, obviously enjoying his role as storyteller, he began to explain all that had happened to them . . . from Little Creek’s warnings about Dark Bear to Scott’s playing on the holy stones to the avalanche and finally to the horned figure Ryan claimed to have seen on the top of the ridge.
    “You saw a guy . . . with horns?” Becka asked, feeling a sense of cold dread fill her.
    “Yeah,” Ryan answered. “I mean, it was pretty fast. One second he was there; the next he was gone. But I’m sure he had horns.”
    “I’m not sure what all this means,” Mom said slowly, “but I think you kids had better be a lot more careful in the future.”
    The guys nodded, but Becka didn’t respond. Ryan’s last phrase had sent a chill shooting up her back and through her shoulders. It was part of her built-in warning system. One that she’d grown to trust through their many encounters with evil. She shifted her weight, trying to shake off the feeling, but it would not go away.
    “What’s wrong?” Ryan asked. “Are you all right?”
    Becka swallowed hard and looked out at the rocks. “Yesterday . . . when I almost fell off that rope bridge . . .”
    “Yeah?”
    “When it was all over, I looked up. And, well, I thought it was my imagination, but now . . .” She looked down. “When I looked up, I saw somebody standing on the ridge above us.”
    “Really?”
    Becka tried to swallow again, but this time her mouth was bone-dry. “It was like you said — he was there only for a second and then he was gone.”
    As if sensing there was more, Ryan asked, “And . . . ?”
    “And — ” Becka finally raised her eyes to meet Ryan’s — “on top of his head were two large horns.”

5
    I t was early in the morning when Ryan awoke — around four o’clock, according to his watch. He listened carefully, sure he’d heard something. Of course, camping out in the New Mexico mountains meant you were bound to hear lots of strange noises during the night — the howl of a coyote, the hoot of an owl, the rhythmic buzz of countless, unknown insects. But this was slightly different.
    Karahhh . . . Karahhh . . .
    There it was again. Very nearby. Almost animal, but strangely human.
    Karahhh . . . Karahhh . . .
    Now Ryan was wide-awake. He decided against waking Scott. After all, the sound wasn’t particularly threatening — and he didn’t want to seem foolish or afraid.
    Karahhh . . . Karahhh . . .
    Quietly, Ryan unzipped his sleeping bag and crawled out. He slipped on his jeans and grabbed a long-sleeved shirt for a jacket. Ever so silently, he unzipped the tent flaps and stepped out into the shadows.
    The air was cool and slightly sticky. And the smells. Sage and dust and a hundred others he couldn’t recognize. The moon was nearly full, filling the desert and mountains with its light. Everything was so peaceful, so silent, so —
    Karahhh . . . Karahhh . . .
    Ryan felt his heart beat a little harder. It was definitely no animal he’d ever heard. And although he couldn’t explain why, he felt it calling.
    Calling to him.
    He crossed the dozen or so yards to the entrance of the campground.
    Karahhh . . . Karahhh . . .
    It sounded like it came from the side of the road. Slowing to a stop, he paused to peer into the moonlight.
    Nothing. It sounded so close, and yet there was nothing.
    He took in a breath to steady himself, then kept going. Maybe it was a raccoon. Or maybe it was some kind of weird