A rope lay coiled at the opening of the mine; a length disappeared into the mouth of the tunnel. Staying low, she crouched just inside the entrance, probing the tunnel with her mind. As she slipped off her snowshoes, Quincy’s aura pinged weakly back to her, almost like sonar. Allison pulled her backpack around and fished out a flashlight. Looping the strap over her wrist, she clicked it on but saw only a small tunnel vanishing into darkness. At that moment, Anton shot her a bloody grin from across the clearing, despite Peter’s blows. “What do we have here? Lovely, lovely intruder.” In a whoosh of air Anton hurled Peter into the trees on the other side of the clearing. Peter landed with a sickening crunch of bone and branches that she could hear, even at this distance. He didn’t move. Oh God. She had to get Quincy. Anton stalked toward the mine entrance. Terror driving her, she dove into the tunnel and hunched down, half running, half crawling into the dusty mine. Supporting timbers flashed by.
