Hi everyone! This is the sequel to Jubal Sackett! I know Louis L'Amour wouldn't have written it exactly like this, because he wouldn't have combined it with Lord of The Rings, but i had to have magic in this and Lord of The Rings magic is a lot less creepy then weird Indian magic, Tell me what you guys think!

Disclaimer: I do not own a lot of the characters although i did make a few up. The part in italics is my going over what Louis L'Amour said in his book, its not exactly what he said though

Jubal Sackett's eyes came open and he sat up grasping his knife in his left hand. What had awoken him? He wasn't sure, but by all means, he would find out. He glanced beside him at his wife Itchakomi, but she lay still, sleeping happily.

The only light outside was the moon light which made shadows dance playfully on the stone floor of the fort. A thought came to him, a memory from his past, something that he hadn't thought about in a long time, and didn't care to think about it now. But he was already thinking about it and there was no way to push the thoughts aside.

A shiver went up his spine as a cold memory played itself in his mind

The sky was grey and the dew on the grass was fresh. Here the cliffs rose straight up above him and he had to crane his neck up to see the top. Before him, barely visible in the dim light, he saw the cave. At first he wasn't sure if it was really what it seemed to be for it looked like just a narrow slit in the side of the cliffs. As he got closer it seemed to grow wider and he could see that it was at least a few feet deep.

He wasn't quite sure if it was indeed the cave that Keokotah had spoken of for it wasn't exactly as the Indian had said it was, but it was a cave, and it was in the general area that Keokotah had described.

Cautiously Jubal entered the cave. He held his candle before him so he could see what he was walking into. The candle flickered on the walls but he saw no shadows but the one that he himself made.

Suddenly he looked again. He was almost positive that he only saw the shadows he was making, but faintly there seemed to be something else. Jubal shook his head, it was ridiculous, imagination. All the shadows he saw were supposed to be there.

Trying to ignore the faint nagging in his mind that was telling him something was not right he moved further into the cave. Ahead of him he saw the opening that lead into the second chamber of the cave. The other room.

Something moved. Jubal drew his knife and looked quickly around. A noise seemed to come from outside the cave. He stood still his mind racing. He didn't believe in ghosts, or didn't think he did, but what if they were real? Would a knife do any good against a ghost?

Again Jubal looked around. He saw nothing more, but he could sense that there was some sort of presence here with him. He edged his way back toward the entrance to the cave.

But when had Keokotah come? Had it been years since he visited this cave? Or shorter than that?

He moved and something else seemed to move with him. Jubal turned and looked at the wall, the shadows he saw were still the normal shadows that he should see, but what had moved? Had something else moved at all? Or was it all just his imagination? He took a step and something else stepped.

He tried to tell himself the sound had only been an echo, but he wasn't sure if he believed it. His eyes looked at the floor, he must stay calm. There was no need to start jumping at shadows. The floor was perfectly clean, no dust had settled on it, it was almost as if someone had recently swept the floor.

Jubal looked at the sticks in the middle of the first cave. These must be the sticks that Koekotah had left. The place for a fire was next to the sticks. There were ashes in the the ring of rocks that made a fit pit. Should he light the fire?

Supposedly the fire was what brought the 'unnatural shadows' to life. No, he was not cold, lighting a fire would not do any good. Though, it might rain and then he might need a fire.

He dismissed the thought easily, it was warm in the cave he wouldn't need…Warm? Jubal swallowed, why was it warm? Such caves as this were always cold, even Koekotah had said he thought this was a place that was always cool, so why was it warm?

In fact, it was so warm that Jubal wouldn't have been surprised if there had been a fire recently, very recently. The hair pricked up on the back of his neck and a shiver ran up his spine. He knelt suddenly and reaching out, touched the ashes. They were warm!

He felt them again, but there was no doubt about it, they were warm and a fire must have been here recently.

Jubal stood back up and once more glanced at the entrance to the second cave. This time he started forward. There was a cobweb in the doorway and he had to brush it away.

Just as Keokotah had said, three bodies lay side by side. Each was wrapped tightly in animal skins. The skins were so old they looked as though they might disintegrate at the touch. Two of the bodies were women. Though now they both looked extremely old Jubal could tell that one of them had been much younger when she died.

The third was a man. It looked like he had been put in the cave at a later date then the two women, for the skins on him were not quite as old. He had a calm expression on his face as though he'd died in his sleep, but his eyes were wide open.

It felt as though the dead man was about to speak, but he didn't, because he was dead. All three of the mummies had blue eyes, and they all seemed to be looking at him.

"I shall leave you now, as you have been. Is there anything I can do?" He found himself saying. It was ridiculous, why had he spoken? But again he spoke, "I wish I could help."

Jubal returned to the main room of the cave, he would go now.

A cold voice said, "find them!"

It wasn't an option, it was a demand.

The memory faded and Jubal found himself sitting on his bed staring at the shadows on the floor. It had felt so real, that he was almost surprised at finding himself in reality again. The wind creaked outside the door and Jubal turned to look at it.

The door was bared shut, as he'd left it.

Suddenly Jubal felt cold and wary. That door led out into the hallway of the fort, not outside. There shouldn't be wind.

Cautiously he got up and put on his deer skin boots. He grabbed his knife again, but changed his mind and picked up his English Bow from where it leaned against the wall. He slung the quiver of arrows over his shoulder and approached the door.

He stopped.

The door was opening. The bar lifted itself slowly and the door knob turned, then the door slowly started to creak open, the speed of its opening becoming faster as Jubal's heart raced. He took two stumbling steps backward and then drew an arrow from his quiver, aiming it at the empty space in the door frame.

The door was all the way open now, but there was no one standing there. And he could hear no noise but the wind, which shouldn't be there.

He heard a footstep, and then another, coming toward him, but still he saw nothing.

"Show yourself!" Jubal demanded, his voice echoing in the seemingly empty room.

Itchiakomi sat straight up, "What? What is it?"

Jubal did not reply but kept his eyes fixed on the space where he knew his unseen enemy was standing. He had heard something walking, so this must be where whatever it was standing.

"Jubal…?" Komi asked carefully.

Finally, very slowly, Jubal turned slightly sideways so that he could look at her, "Yes?"

"What is wrong?"

"Something in the house."

"Thing?"

"Yes…I don't think its entirely human, or…something."

"What? You speak nonsense. Your imagination. Go to sleep." She lay back down.

Jubal returned his eyes to the door and now he didn't just see nothing.

A ghostly figure was standing in the door frame. Standing? No, more like hovering, just inches above the ground, waiting. As Jubal made eye contact with the figure, he felt something sinking inside of himself.

The man in front of him, if man he could be called, was glowing green wearing shaggy clothes that were torn in places and almost looked ancient, but that wasn't the worst part. He was dead, Jubal knew he was, and knew that he was looking at a ghost. Its face looked more like a skull with barely any graying skin stretched across it.

He fired the arrow.

As he did so, he knew that nothing would happen, he knew it was hopeless to try and fight a ghost, but he didn't care, he had to try.

The arrow passed through the ghosts left eye socket and clattered to the floor in the hallway.

Komi sat up again, "Jubal, what…" she saw the ghost and she screamed, "What is that?"

The ghost smiled, a smile that revealed all his broken and decaying teeth, and he let out a soft laugh, almost like the whispering of wind, but louder and it seemed to echo multiple times before he even laughed the real sound. It sounded like sand paper against a splintered log and like a footstep walking on a grave stone.

"What are you?" Jubal demanded, already having a second arrow ready to shoot.

"Don't be a fool," the whispery harsh voice came, having the same echoing affect as his laugh, "You cannot kill me, I am already dead. I am, Morthec Gruan, king of the dead."