Dead Roses for a Blue Lady Read Online Free PDF Page A

legions of the damned. Indeed, the legends concerning the Demon Knife claimed that there was no devil that could not be killed with it—not even the Greatest of Evils Incarnate.
    A rattling sound, like that of a wooden wind chime, shook Ghilardi from his reverie. He turned and saw Multoon remove the garland of ivory skulls from the idol's neck and stuff them into a canvas bag.
    " What are you doing? " he yelped, his voice sounding young and foolish even in his own ears. "Put that back!"

    Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com ) Multoon paused in his looting long enough to favor his partner with a sneer. "What 'tis it to ye? Ye got yer loot, eh? Ye didn't think I spent all this time an' effort just t'steal a fancy pig-sticker, did ye? Besides, in for a penny, in for a pound, I allus say." Multoon returned to looting the idol, removing the skirt of jade hands from its waist, then yanking free the red jade tongue that jutted from between the idol's lips.
    Ghilardi's eyes widened in alarm when Multoon took out his pocketknife and locked its blade into the open position. He grabbed the older man's arm, staying his hand. "Are you mad—!? This isn't just looting, it's desecration!"
    Multoon shoved the younger man aside. "Mad? I'll tell ye what's mad!" he snarled. "It's skinnin' some poor dear, dyin' her blacker'n Queen's Victoria's mournin' dress, then stuffin'
    her like she was some bloody huntin' trophy!" He plunged the pocketknife into the idol's right socket, popping the ruby eyeball free in a spray of horsehair and packed sawdust.
    "Good lord, man—don't you understand? What if the skin truly is that of Kali the Destroyer?"
    "Yer daft! All that book learnin' has turned yer brains t'mush! Now let's clear off before Naga's boys learn we're here!"
    Ghilardi pointed to the subterranean pool, the middle of which had begun to bubble like a pot on the boil. "Something tells me we're too late."
    Their argument forgotten, the two men fled back up the steep black marble stairs.
    Ghilardi's heart was lodged just below his tonsils as they reached the entrance, and for once he was glad to see Gupta.
    "Did ye place th' charges?" Multoon wheezed, his face so red it looked like he had painted it with tandoori paste.
    "Yes, sahib," Gupta replied.
    "Good man!" Multoon grinned.
    "Charges? What charges?" Ghilardi asked, baffled by the exchange.
    "I took th' liberty of plannin' against the likelihood of our bein' pursued," Multoon explained. "But this tisn't the place to stand an' talk about it."
    The Irishman took off in a dead run in the direction of camp, Ghilardi at his heels. Seconds later there was a thunderous explosion and the entire canyon shuddered as if in the grips of an earthquake, knocking both men to the ground. When Ghilardi looked again in the direction of the entrance to the Black Shrine, all there was to see was a pile of rock. Gupta came trotting up, a demolitionist's detonation box tucked under one arm.
    Ghilardi sat in the dirt and stared at where the Black Shrine used to be. It was impossible to tell whether the blast had merely sealed the tunnel or demolished the entire cave. Not that it mattered. Something inside him shriveled up and died as he realized he had played a major part in destroying all traces of the greatest archeological discovery since the unearthing of Tutankhamen's tomb.
    And all in the name of a silver knife.

    Upon returning to camp Ghilardi was so depressed it was all he could do to wash the grime from his face. Multoon and Gupta, on the other hand, seemed in exceedingly high spirits. Ghilardi retired to his tent early, leaving the two to regale the bearers with tales of their daring exploits in the search for treasure.
    Too weary to write in his journal, Ghilardi placed the Demon Knife under his pillow and

    Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer ( http://www.novapdf.com ) stretched out, fully clothed, on his camp cot.