Page 128 of Empire of Shadows

“You are a Cambridge scholar. You have visited a number of other ruins. Do you have a theory?” Dawson repeated impatiently.

“I’m not much on theories,” Adam returned evenly.

He turned back to his work. A distinct sniff sounded from behind him.

“I thought as much,” Dawson noted stuffily.

Adam fought the urge to respond. The man didn’t deserve it. A few moments later, he set down the pencil.

“There’s your route,” he announced.

Dawson hurried in, casting Adam a sideways look as he passed. He peered down at the pages on the table.

Adam put his finger on the modern map and traced a line.

“Your route had us going through the middle of this mountain… and then back through it again. Which makes not one damned bit of sense,” Adam finished neatly.

Dawson bristled but managed to contain himself.

“My route goes through a mountain?” he pressed.

Adam answered by tapping his finger on the mountain in question.

Dawson pulled the papers toward him for a quick, furious examination, and then straightened awkwardly.

“Oh,” he said.

“We gotta follow the line of this ridge.” Adam waved his hand over the entirety of the region. “None of this territory has undergone a formal survey beyond a straight-line expedition to the border with Guatemala a dozen or so years ago. We can be pretty confident about the locations of the various peaks, but that’s about it. Our route’s actually got to run more directly south. It almost doubles back on itself.” He crossed his arms and considered the line against the path that he and Ellie had taken to get there.

The most direct route to the X on the map would’ve required heading west from Padre Kuyoc’s village. Adam honestly should’ve figured that out himself, once Ellie had finally shown him the whole of the map. He’d been so focused on getting them to the next landmark alive and intact, he hadn’t taken the time to plot further.

He burned a bit at the mistake. If he had, they never would’ve bothered hiking to the cataracts—and Jacobs might’ve sat out here waiting for them for weeks.

Which would’ve been just fine with Adam.

“You should be able to make it as far as here tomorrow,” he said and tapped the map. “After that, I’d look for an open stretch of the ridge to see if you can spot thisRiver of Smoke. Whatever that is.”

“Yes, well,” Dawson said stiffly. “Thank you for your assistance.”

“Don’t mention it,” Adam replied thinly.

Assistance.Was it really assistance if he gave it on the threat of Jacobs carving Ellie into pieces?

“You can go now.” Dawson waved a hand dismissively before greedily gathering up the maps.

Adam fought against the urge to tell the professor exactly what he was thinking.

Don’t get killed, he reminded himself again. The phrase was becoming something of a mantra.

Adam pivoted for the door of the tent. Staines snapped to attention behind him.

“Where am I supposed to take him?” Staines demanded.

Dawson looked up, flustered, as Adam paused at the threshold.

“How should I know?” the professor exclaimed. “Ask Mr. Jacobs.”

With a flap of his hands, he dismissed them.

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