USING THE WALL TO GUIDE HER THROUGH THE THICK VEIL OF BLACKNESS, Ellie inched slowly backward, away from the approaching light. The kerosene lantern gave off a dull yellow glow that allowed her to see her surroundings: fallen rock and sagging timbers, rubble that included piles of rotten boards, old nails, and rusty miners’ picks and shovels.

There was a stack of old wooden boxes with the words HIGH EXPLOSIVES and DANGEROUS printed on the sides. She carefully edged around them, figuring they were probably extremely unstable.

She studied the ground, and her heartbeat quickened as she spotted a shovel, put down the rock, and grabbed the handle, only to have it disintegrate in her hand. She caught the blade before it landed noisily on the ground, set it aside with relief, and grabbed one of the picks, a smaller weapon but perhaps more useful. She would have to get closer to use it, but the pick was in better condition.

With luck, it would stay in one piece long enough to use it against her attacker.

Her gaze came to rest on a small metal trowel lying half-buried in the dirt. Pulling it free, she stuffed it into her back pocket.

The will to live strengthened inside her, giving her a fresh rush of courage. As long as she was thinking and planning, she was able to keep the panic under control. She wasn’t going down without a fight. If she lost her struggle with the devil, she would do her best to send Rick Egan straight to the hell he deserved.

The lantern light shifted, casting eerie shadows on the walls as Egan searched the partial room he had created and realized she was hiding in the darkness beyond.

“There’s no way out, Ellie. You can go deeper, but you’ll only get lost down there. Unlike you, I know my way around these tunnels. My father made me work here when I was a boy. He thought it would be good for me to learn the business from the ground up.” Eerie laughter echoed through the cavernous interior, and goose bumps rose on her skin.

“Ironic, isn’t it? I finally made use of what I learned.”

Ellie’s hands shook as her fingers tightened around the handle of the pick and she raised it above her head.

“If you don’t come out, I’ll be forced to come after you. You won’t like what will happen when I find you.”

Ellie said nothing.

“This is your last chance, sweetheart.” Quiet fell. The silence stretched into what seemed an eternity.

Then the lantern went out.

Ellie gasped as suffocating darkness once more enveloped her. She could hear the faint sound of Egan’s footfalls coming in her direction, but she couldn’t force her feet to move. He was closing the distance, moving confidently, almost silently through the blackness, as if he could actually see.

Devil that he was, maybe he could.