Ultimate Supernatural Horror Box Set Read Free Page B

white wisps trailing through the air.
    “Smoke!” the copilot cried.
    Kesev pointed.  “It exploded on the canyon floor.”
    He released a soft sigh of relief.  A glance to his left at the top of the east wall of the canyon reassured him that the Resting Place was untouched.
    Close, he thought.  Too close.
    And then he remembered that the canyon floor had its own secrets.
    “Swing the light around,” he said.  “See if we can find the point of impact.”
    It took less than a minute.
    “There!” the copilot said.  “At two o’clock.  Looks like it took out part of the cliff wall too.”
    Kesev went rigid in the seat.  The SCUD crater was right where the cave had been—still was.  Had the explosion—?
    “Take us down.”
    “Sir, we’ve accomplished our objective,” the pilot said.  “We’ve found the impact sight and determined that there’s been no personal injury or property damage, so—”
    “Land this thing now,” Kesev said softly, just loud enough to be heard over the engine noise, “or you’ll spend the rest of your career working a broom handle instead of that joystick.”
    The pilot turned.  For a heartbeat or two he stared at Kesev from within the confines of his flight helmet, then took the copter down.
    As soon as the wheels touched earth, Kesev was out of his harness.  He pulled off his flack jacket—he didn’t need it, had only worn it because of regulations—and reached for the hatch handle.
    “Stay here and train the search beam on the crater.  This will take but a minute.”
    He opened the hatch and ran in a crouch through the hurricane from the whirling blades, following the path of the search beam.  He cursed as he neared the crater he saw that the cave had been exposed by the blast.  What abysmal luck!
    On the other hand, how fortunate that he’d obeyed his instincts and come along to check this out.  As a result, he was first on the scene.  He could prevent this minor mishap from escalating into a catastrophe.  He skirted the edge of the crater and stepped over the rocks tumbled before the cave mouth.  Whoever was working the search beam back in the copter was doing a good job keeping it trained on him.  The cave lit up before him.
    That was when he noticed the footprints.
    Panic clamped his heart in an icy fist as his gaze ranged wildly about the cave.
    Empty.  But in the dust on the floor...sandalprints...two sets...one larger than the other...the old chair—reduced to dust...the urns...
    The urns!  Gone!  No, not completely.  Fragments from one lay scattered in the dust.
    How could this be?  How could a pair of thieves have come and gone so soon?  So swiftly?  It wasn’t possible! 
    And yet the fresh footprints reminded him that it was indeed possible.
    The urns...what had they held?  It had been so long, he could barely remember.  Anything of value?  Old shekels?  He didn’t care about losing little bits of gold or silver.  What he did mind was word of the find getting out and causing archeological interest to center on the area.  That could prove extremely dangerous.
    But what had he put in those urns?  He prayed it was nothing that might reveal the secret of this place.  He racked his brain for the memory.  It was there, just out of reach.  It—
    The scroll!
    Dear Lord, he’d left the scroll in one of those urns!
    Kesev staggered in a circle, his breath rasping, his heart beating wildly against the inner surface of his sternum as his vision blurred and lights danced in his vision.
    He had to get it back!  If it fell into the hands of someone who could translate it—
    He leapt from the cave and ran back to the helicopter.
    “Give me a flashlight!  A canteen too.”  When the copilot handed them out, Kesev jerked a thumb skyward.  “Return to base.  I’m staying here.”
    “That’s not necessary, sir,” the pilot said.  “The inspection team will be here at first light and—”
    “Someone’s already beat us here.