Page 146 of Empire of Shadows

The professor had set up his field desk under the front awning in order to take advantage of the light.

He was alone. Most of the men were wisely gathered near Nigel’s cookfire, waiting hopefully for seconds. A few others clustered around a game of dice.

Ellie stood near the game, with Flowers and Mendez flanking her.

Since they had been captured, Ellie had sported two escorts against Adam’s one. When Adam puzzled over why, he recalled Jacobs’ easy confidence back in Dawson’s tent on their first night with the expedition

When Jacobs had told Dawson that Adam wasn’t a risk, he’d sounded entirely sure of it. But how could he be? Jacobs had no notion of just how far Adam’s relationship with Ellie might stretch—and he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d throw all his chips onto a half-assed bet.

Jacobs hadn’t been gambling. He hadknownthat Adam wouldn’t risk Ellie’s safety… and even after a day of mulling over it, Adam couldn’t think of a single damned way in which that was possible.

Ellie’s words from the night before came back to him.

I have an uncomfortable feeling that he has an unnatural ability to see through a deception.

Adam forced his attention away from the conundrum of Jacobs. He plopped himself down on a rock beside the professor, who was looking a little worse for wear. Dawson’s graying, gingerish hair tufted out in odd places, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

It didn’t look as though he’d been sleeping very well. Somehow, Adam doubted it was guilt keeping the guy up at night—even though heshouldfeel bad for the mules and men charged with carting around his small mountain of books and unnecessary gear.

“Oh. You’re here,” Dawson announced with a distinct lack of enthusiasm as he scratched uncomfortably at the skin under his collar.

“Sure am,” Adam agreed flatly. “What’ve you got?”

“I believe they are hives,” Dawson answered in a bit of a whine. “It’s this relentless, ungodly heat. Perhaps I simply lack the robust constitution of these natives, but I am most put out by it.”

Adam glanced back at Staines and caught the guard rolling his eyes.

“I meant your map,” Adam returned.

Dawson made a face like he’d just sucked on a lemon, but he handed over what he’d been working on. Once again, it was all scribbled onto a piece of notepaper. The professor was still apparently afraid to put marks on his map.

Adam took the page with a sigh. He glanced over it for a few seconds before tossing it back to the professor.

“Nope,” he concluded and moved to the table.

Dawson scooted away as though Adam were carrying something contagious.

“That was an interesting find we came across this morning,” the professor said carefully as Adam worked. “I mean the monument, of course.”

“Uh-huh,” Adam replied without looking up. He made another note on the map.

“It certainly seems to indicate that we are on the correct path—a fact which I must concede we owe to some degree to your labors,” Dawson added with a thin note of cheer.

Adam frowned. The remark had sounded suspiciously like a compliment… a compliment for the work that Adam had been extorted into doing for the men who were currently marching him around at the wrong end of an Enfield.

Adam reined in a threatening flash of anger. He couldn’t afford to lose his temper—however tempting it might be. Not with Ellie’s skin on the line.

“Glad to be of service,” he retorted.

Dawson appeared to be oblivious to the sarcasm.

“Yes—It seems that despite appearances, you are rather a useful fellow!” the professor mused. “I have been giving the matter a bit of thought, and I am forced to acknowledge that really, your particular combination of talents is quite rare. I mean, I have come across university men with pretensions of thriving in the wilderness, but it has always been quite clear to me that their capacity for survival in the wild depended entirely on the skills of their hired hands. That is certainly not the case with you!”

The last remark sounded a bit chummy. Adam paused in his work and slowly turning his head to give Dawson a better look.

The professor smiled back at him with an expression that managed to look both bland and nervous… but it was the avaricious glint in Dawson’s eyes that really set Adam’s alarm bells blaring.

Dawson wanted something from him. Nothing about that sounded promising to Adam.

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