Page 217 of Empire of Shadows

He pressed her back as another bat slammed against the stones. It let out an ear-piercing scream.

“If you go out there, you’re going to get yourself killed!” Ellie exclaimed.

“That’s notexactlythe plan…” Adam began.

Ellie grabbed him by the arms and gave him a shake—though not much of one. It was like trying to budge a tree.

“I will not lose you to an army of monstrous bats!” she shouted over the racket.

Adam grinned back at her. His face was streaked with filth in the torchlight.

“Careful, Princess,” he said happily. “I might start to think you like me.”

Ellie let out a growl of frustration.

“Of all the infuriating—” she started.

He cut her off by yanking her in and kissing her.

Fireworks exploded across her nerves. Her hands slipped against the guano on his shoulders as she held onto him.

He broke the embrace and slapped the copper knife into her hand.

“Take this. Back in a minute,” he said neatly and slipped out into the darkness.

“Blasted, reckless…” Ellie burst out as she slapped her hand against the stone with frustrated fury.

She was rewarded with a splatter of bat guano against her cheek.

“Yerrrgh!” she cried. She wiped it away with her remaining sleeve—and then jolted back as another bat slammed against her hiding place.

This one fell to the ground before the little crevice where Ellie crouched. It flopped there awkwardly… and then began to crawl.

The monster scrabbled against the stones with the small talons at the peaks of its wings, scratching and squeaking as it skittered toward her.

Ellie pressed herself back against the wall, holding the copper blade out in front of her. She wondered with a vague sense of terror if she would actually have to stab something with it.

A boot swept into the line of her vision as Adam kicked the bat soundly in the chest. The blow sent it rolling across the floor before it winged back up into the air.

“I have an idea,” he announced as he slid in beside her. “But it’s probably a pretty bad one.”

“Is it better than having holes punched in our skulls?” Ellie shouted back.

“Er... probably?” he replied.

“Then fine!”

“I got a better look at the thing that fell over the hole in the ceiling,” he said. “It’s some kind of woven mat and it’s pretty rotted out. I think the only reason the bats aren’t busting out of here is because they can’t see how weak it is.”

“Not see,” Ellie corrected him. “Hear. It probably sounds like a solid barrier to them.”

“I think we can take it down if we use that ledge to get closer,” Adam continued. “But you’re going to have to do the work while I keep the bats off of you.”

Ellie eyed the shelf of rock that filled the other half of the chamber.

The plan wasn’t great—but it was better than hiding in a crack in the wall until something dragged them out of it.

“Let’s do it,” Ellie agreed.

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