A snarl ripped past her bared teeth as Amari spun in place. She instantly pulled back at the familiar brown. Diana had caught up to her. Surprised and grateful, Amari charged through. Branches whipped at their faces. Up a little incline, the trees became more sparse. Noses in the air, they worked in tandem. A sharp turn revealed a subtle path, deer, bear, and multiple Mutare confused the scent.

  Amari crouched. Belly to the dirt, she crawled forward. Across a small clearing, a narrow opening into the rockface stared back. Old wood created a frame, ragged remnants of cross boards hung by rusty bent nails. Bits of a written warning split between the boards haphazardly tossed aside.

  A pale hand rested on her shoulder. Amari understood with a chuffed rumble. Her eyes systematically watched the area as her ears pulled the opposite direction, ready to pounce the moment something dared to show its face.

  Diana spread a map across the dirt. A quick grease pencil mark added to the faded lines to plot their approximate location. “Okay, if I had to hazard a guess, this is the Whisper Winds Mine. The tunnels spread deep and wide. There are multiple entrances spread over the two square miles. Though this is an unknown entrance.”

  Amari spared a glance at Diana’s finger tracing the outline of the boundaries. Sheer magnitude spiked her fear. Diana pet her fur sympathetically at her whine. Many old mines crisscrossed the area, the tunnels went for miles. Cave ins and flooding were known hazards across decades and perhaps centuries. Legends spoke of monsters that scared away even the olden day prospectors’ greed and grit.

  “Don’t worry sis, I have been in and marked at least parts of these tunnels.” Diana folded along the cracked laminate. The click of plastic, the obscenely neon survival pack secured on her hips and chest. She raised her brow in question.

  Breathing deep, Amari smelled only the waning remnants of the packless Mutare. It only took a moment. Her wolf pulled back to the partial transformation. Amari hated surrendering the speed, but tight quarters required the smaller frame.

  “You don’t happen to have a map of the mine’s tunnels in that pack of yours?” Amari’s voice rumbled in the larger chest, pitching her voice down.

  “Sorry, no. But if you find either a circle or triangle on your left you are heading towards an exit, if it is on your right you are going deeper into the mine. If you see a giant ‘x’ through the symbol then it is a dead end. Definitely check all the walls near a crossroad.” Diana whispered as they scurried to the entrance.

  The cool of the dark danced with the negatives of the light. Sneaking through the passages Amari whimpered. The sounds of dripping water echo distorting the origin. Dust billows up a strong musty odor with each footfall. Multiple paths and overlays of prints obscured any indication of the right path.

  A slow decline to a ‘T’ with tracks and old dusty rope disappearing in both directions. When in doubt go left. A weird family tradition that Amari hoped wouldn’t fail her now. With a flick of her wrist, Diana extended sharp claws and marked the right wall with an asterisk.

  Stabbing in the dark was wearing on Amari’s nerves. Guarding her sister as she methodically worked made Amari itch with impatience. Yet, this is what Diana did, with a consistently high success rate, even under circumstances of duress. In any other situation, it would be amazing to watch Diana work. Her confidence exuded with every movement. Under her careful inspection, she had eliminated most branches quickly. Only following a path if there were indications of humanoid life.

  Another cave in, Amari pounded a fist against the stones. The third time wasn’t the charm. “When are we going to catch a break?”

  “We will get there I promise. It seems like whoever is using this mine has had to change patterns with each new cave in. We will find the right one soon.” Diana skipped into a jog back the way they came.

  “Not quick enough. What if they already left? We wouldn’t know.” Amari voiced the worry that gnawed at her.

  “We tracked her here, we will find some sort of clue and we will never stop looking.” Diana never was one to downplay the reality. “There.” The orb of light surrounded a rough drawn triangle. “We head back to the beginning and go right.”

  Amari reached out her hand spread, the claw marks scarring the stone extended out an inch on either side. The creatures that came to mind were not fans of humans. Humanoid activity drew them down a wide steep tunnel.

  “Leave us alone!”

  The words echoed on the upward draft. Amari ran. The beam bobbed erratically around her. Her head smacked into the stone and she slid down the wall. Diana’s claws gently pressed into her cheek as her furred hand clamped over Amari’s mouth.

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  Amari followed her pointed finger. The ground was gone. An expansive mined cavern opened in all directions. Her head swam as the pit below them melted into impenetrable darkness.

  “Go away.”

  Amari locked onto Nova’s head peeking out over the right side of the higher ledge. Slowly she backed away from a thin scarecrow of a man. The path led nowhere but the ledge below.

  “Missy, you will wander forever or meet the monster.” A gruff voice hung ominously.

  “I will take my chances.” Nova spread herself in front of a cowering, waif of a girl.

  A dwarf, if the intricately twisted beard was to be trusted, stalked forward slowly with his cane. Between him and the scarecrow at the edge of the ledge all exits were blocked. Amari bit back a growl.

  Diana pulled at her.

  Hesitantly, Amari pulled back from the abyss.

  “S-ah!”

  Amari looked at Diana.

  “Don’t.”

  Amari ran. Smoothly she bent down, transitioning to all fours as her form morphed. Pushing every ounce of will and power, she leapt off the edge. A clean arc over the darkness. Subtle popping, her wolf receded. Knees buckling, Amari tucked and rolled to her feet. She tensed against the pull of momentum as she ran up the curved ledge. A hollow thump, she knew Diana was hot on her heels.

  In a swift, practiced maneuver, Amari switched places with Nova. Amari in a sharp punctuated snarl, “Stay. Away. from MY daughter.”

  “Who’re’ya?” The scarecrow man flinched.

  “Doesn’t matter, ya idiot. Git rid of her, and grab the girls.” Braids danced and jingled with the deep tenor of the dwarven man.

  “How about we make this fair?” Diana slid past the girls.

  “Where’d’ya come from? I’d know there’d’be nutin’ down there.” The scarecrow peered over the edge. His eyes bugged out. “Didja jump?”

  “Stop gawking, we don’t wanta be down ‘ere when it comes.” Awkward, lumbered steps, the dwarf whipped the cane up.

  The head made of a large stone, like a sledgehammer, caught Amari’s side and pushed her closer to the wall. Shallow breaths managed the pain. With a grunt, she surged forward. Two quick swipes, her claws cut through his forearm. Blood webbed down to his hands, pooling between his fingers. Amari bent back, the rough, rounded stone brushed her nose as it slipped in his grip. She cringed as the stone slammed against the wall, scattered shards tinkering to the ground.

  Amari leapt, twisting around the shorter, stout dwarf. Claws dug deep into his shoulders. Their momentum took them to the ground. His compact weight presented a challenge to grapple. In the back of her mind, Amari kicked herself for not practicing with various races when she had the chance.

  Amari spared a glance toward Nova. A prideful smile drifted across her lips, her daughter stood guard, ready and watching. While the other girl stood clutching her arm with a blooming purple. Stars erupted in her vision. Heat blossomed in her cheek. Bucking her hips, she leveraged him to the side. Her hand fisted into his hair grinding his face into the ground, beard splayed out.

  “Surrender.”

  “Never.” His hand slipped out from his side. With a quick jab, he thrust a blade into her calf.

  Amari recoiled, relinquishing the upper hand. Rolling to a crouch, she created distance. With a hiss, she pulled the blade, mitigating catastrophic damage. She tossed it over the edge, the tinking skidded to a faraway stop.

  Huffing before her, anger twisted the dwarf’s brow.

  “How’re you doing?” Diana pressed into her side. Eyes darting between the scarecrow and Amari.

  “Not bad, you?” Amari huffed through gritted teeth. Her gaze never left the dwarf, clearly the ring leader of this recovery mission. Anger bubbled at the thought of these men dragging Nova away again. A snarl rolled at the back of her throat.

  “Hardest workout I’ve had in a while.” Diana wheezed.

  “Flip!” Amari shouted, ducking down. Elbow locked with Diana’s, Amari tugged her over and with a well timed push of her legs, launched her.

  Diana’s kick landed. The dwarf fell back towards the edge as he struggled for air. Amari glared at the scarecrow. Red spread through the patchy stubble as he stood, mouth agape. The sight of his partner doubled over stopped him short.

  “Are you willing to surrender?” Amari held back the painful hiss as she stood tall, staring vehemently at the scarecrow of a man.

  “I’ don’ think ya gonna kill us.” Hollow eyes looked down at his partner. Short calculations, the scarecrow lunged forward. “The people who’d hired us prolly will.”

  Diana dropped and swept a leg. Amari spun around catching his fall with an arm around his neck. His lanky form reminded her of sparring with Max.

  “You went after my daughter.” Amari dropped her voice so only he could hear. “I wouldn’t trust my restraint.”

  His whimper didn’t cover the scrape of the stone against stone. A small warning that the dwarf recovered. Diana swiped her claws up his side. Amari backed up against the wall, arm tightening. She could hear the gasps and feel the desperate clawing at her arm. A few more moments was all she needed.

  Faint but steadily growing louder, quick footfalls, pulled Amari’s attention to the tunnel ahead of them. Benjamin emerged jacket fragments swirling behind him. Worried pants, he blindly aimed towards the scuffle.

  “Benjamin?” Surprised, Amari's gaze drifted.

  “Run!” Benjamin didn’t look back.

  Echoed steps vibrated through the floor.