Page 170 of Empire of Shadows

Her pursuers were on to her—and Ellie could think of only one way to elude them.

Wincing against her archaeological sensibilities, Ellie grasped the neck of the broken urn and chucked it out into the forest.

The artifact burst with another crack. The men behind her murmured before setting off in pursuit.

Ellie picked her way more carefully forward, ducking to keep to the growing shadows that cloaked the overgrown, moss-covered ruins. Voices continued to sound from various points around her, but the deepening dusk and the towering rubble of the once-palatial residences made for ample cover.

Silently, she crept toward a jumble of fallen stones that sat right at the edge of the great plaza.

A handful of men still lingered around the campfire there, uninterested in the brawl. The light of the flames looked small amid the ghostly grandeur of the city.

None of Jacobs’ guards were with them, but Ellie knew they could still be nearby.

She risked inching out of her hiding place for a better look at the roofed structure where Bones had chosen to store the company’s supplies.

The front wall of the building was missing, leaving it open to the broad plateau—probably because it was some sort of ceremonial structure for public rituals. The men had built their campfire just in front of it. Ellie couldn’t hope to get inside that way without them seeing her.

She glanced up at the pyramid. The strange light was gone, but she could just make out the silhouettes of three men lingering on the platform at the top of the steps. She couldn’t be sure through the gloom and distance, but she felt certain none of them were Adam.

What was going on up there?

Worry tore at her, but she couldn’t give in to the impulse to rush up there—not until she’d done what she had come here for.

Ellie slipped back onto the overgrown path behind the buildings that lined the plaza, listening carefully for more patrols. She reached the back of the structure that housed the supplies, hoping her hypothesis would prove correct.

Ceremonial architecture had to include a way for the figures in ritual pageants to get inside and await the moment for their appearances—like a back door

The rear entrance to the storehouse was half crumbled to rubble, but as Ellie had hoped, it led not to the main chamber but to a smaller annex within the building.

She climbed carefully over the loose stones into the shadowy passage. Soft light glimmered from around the corner. Ellie followed it and found herself looking through an opening cut into the wall.

Through it, she could see the piled crates of the expedition’s dry goods, stacked beside sacks of maize, rice, and beans. The case of ammunition had been moved inside as well.

Ellie looked at it longingly, thinking of the magnifying lens in her pocket… but the sun was gone, and an explosion would do her little good in her current circumstances, even if she hadn’t made that dashed promise to Adam.

At last, she spotted the coffee. The burlap sack of beans leaned against a pile of crated excavation equipment.

She risked peeking a little farther through the opening. Just beyond the open threshold of the chamber, the men still sat at their fire. Ellie recognized Ram and his friends there, along with Nigel and Aurelio.

None of them struck Ellie as a threat—but even an alarmed cry of surprise when they spotted her would draw the interest of any of Jacobs’ patrols that happened to be nearby.

It didn’t matter. She would have to chance it.

Thunder rumbled, and a flash of lightning brightened the clouds overhead. In the quick glow, Ellie spotted two more figures standing just beyond the range of the firelight.

It was Jacobs and Bones, holding a quiet consultation.

She tucked herself neatly back into the shadows. How could she eventhinkof trying this with Jacobs standing right there?

Ellie took a breath and forced herself to calm. He was just one man. He had no idea she was there. She didn’t know what was happening with Adam up in the temple, but every instinct told her time was running out.

With her eyes locked on the coffee bag, Ellie dashed for it.

She slid into place behind the crates and made herself small. The murmur of conversation around the campfire was unchanged. Nothing had alarmed Ram and the other men.

The top of the burlap bag was open. Ellie couldn’t reach into it without making herself visible to those outside—as well as to Jacobs, if he happened to glance her way.

She peeked around the crate. Nigel stood by the fire, stirring his big pot with a spoon. She tried to look past him to see if Jacobs still lurked there in the darkness, but her eyes refused to penetrate the deeper gloom beyond the glow of the blaze.

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