|
|
|
|
|
|
|
woman had been almost too easy; her aura stood out among the dead like a beacon. But when he had tried to locate Trigg, all he'd received for his efforts was an incessant high-pitched buzzing in his head almost like the static on an AM radio during an electrical storm. Then, when he had used the talisman to try and locate the origin of the static, the psychic seeker had just dissipated, indicating that the source of the disturbance was too widespread to isolate. He suspected that the cave had trapped all kinds of psychic energy from the dead Indiansthat might explain it. Only . . . |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"I don't like this place," the goateed man whispered. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
They were literally walking over the bones of the dead that had spilled down into the central aisle. In some places the skulls were so thick that it felt like walking over a cobblestone road. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Not much farther," the Dark Man replied. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The duo had just about reached the center of the crypt when Kyna hobbled out into the aisle. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Why are you doing this to me?" she shouted. Her words echoed hollowly: to me . . . to me . . . to meee. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Dark Man's face split in a huge grin, but he quickly recovered his senses, and his glower. Releasing his hold on the necklace, the Hungan called out, "Nice to see you, Ms. Rand. We've had a good game of hide-and-seek, but I am afraid you will not be 'home free.'" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
He drew the combat knife from his belt and let it dangle at his side. "Time to join your friend Bryan." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As he took the first step toward her, his mind already anticipating the pleasures he was going to derive from her agony, a skeletal hand came up out of the mound of decaying bodies and grabbed hold of his ankle. The witch doctor nearly fell, then looked down. When he saw what had happened, at first he was too stunned to speak. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Master!" the goateed man cried as two skeletal scarecrows began clawing their way up his legs. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"How dare you!" the Dark Man screeched, and swung the knife, severing the offending hand at the wrist. |
|
|
|
|
|