Sinister, deeply buried secrets spin
a treacherous and far-reaching web
of murder, intrigue, and betrayal.

Twilight descended over the wilderness, long-armed shadows deepening. Where patches of sodden earth had begun to appear along the toes of the drifts, crocus, fern, and snowbells speared through the ground.
Now, an impenetrable mist cloaked the forest. Kathryn crept from tree to tree, pausing to crouch behind massive moss-covered boulders to scan the path ahead before moving on. Numb with fear, a high-pitched sound screed in her ears. At last, peering through the gloom, she spotted the ledge.
She sank to the ground and braced her back against an ancient pine. Despite the icy air, her hands were wet with perspiration. She wiped them on the legs of her jeans, then raised her granddad’s rifle, and butted it against her shoulder. The pipe—an escape hatch from the floor of the mine to the Aerie—was no more than twenty feet away. Anything short of fifty yards was in range. She shivered. The forest was suddenly and eerily silent.
When his hands grasped the top rung of the ladder, sheer terror squeezed the breath out of her. Within seconds, he’d hoisted himself over the sill. Sensing her presence, he swung toward her.
Stunned, Kathryn cried, “My god, it’s you!” She felt dizzy and disoriented. Even the pistol he aimed at her seemed surreal. As she swiped at the tears blurring her vision, the barrel of the rifle slipped. She started to reach for it.
“Huh, uh, leave it where it is.” He laughed. “Well, the old man’s dead. Jason’s gone, too. Who’s going to save you?”
“But why? Why do you want to kill me?”
His eyes, glazed with madness, flared, then narrowed. “If it weren’t for you, she’d be alive.”
Kathryn leaned toward him. “It was you! You murdered her.”
“She died because of you!” he screamed. “And it’s time you joined her.”
A fierce smile curved Kathryn’s lips. “Yes, it’s time,” she whispered, and her wolf-like eyes glittered.