Page 141 of Empire of Shadows

Ellie halted that enticing train of thought. No explosions, she reminded herself—not until she’d cleared them with Adam… but then again, he hadn’t said anything about simply concocting a few explosivematerials, had he?

She was still working on her plan for how she and Adam could possibly stop Dawson and Jacobs from looting whatever they found at the end of their route. In the meantime, she had set herself to swiping every potentially useful item that she managed to get her hands on.

So far, Ellie had the magnifying lens from the foreman’s desk, as well as a broken pencil, a needle with a bit of thread in it, a pair of nail scissors, and a flask of moonshine, which she had absolutely no intention of drinking. She had opened the bottle for a single sniff and nearly burned her nose hairs off.

It was important to be prepared. One never knew when some unexpected piece of equipment might prove to be the difference between defeat and success.

Ellie was contemplating how she might pluck a hand spade from the gear strapped to the mule in front of her—and where she might conceal it on her person—when she realized that the caravan had stopped moving.

Whispers slid through the men around her in a mix of languages, threaded with an uncomfortable urgency.

“What’s going on?” Ellie demanded.

“Who knows?” Mendez retorted impatiently.

Ellie shifted in the saddle. There was really no position she could find that didn’t irritate her.

With a spark of inspiration, she stood up in the stirrups.

The mule grunted unhappily beneath her, but the change lifted her just high enough to see over the heads of the men in front of her.

The expedition’s leaders were gathered in a tight knot at the top of the caravan line, where they gestured at some object she couldn’t yet make out.

Throughout the morning, Ellie had taken time to familiarize herself with more of the men working the expedition—at least, those that didn’t simply glare at her over their rifles. It was common courtesy… and one never knew who might prove an ally rather than an enemy. Flowers had aided her efforts with casual introductions, while Mendez had glowered irritably and marched her on as quickly as possible.

The men who held the expedition’s more menial positions had been relatively friendly with her. After all, they were simply here for a paycheck. They had little sense of any difference between their current employers and the other white wealthy people who usually hired them.

Ellie had contemplated trying to sow the seeds of an outright revolt, but she had no illusions about how disposable fellows like Ram and Aditya, two of the young East Indian gentlemen recently escaped from their indentured servitude in Jamaica, would seem to someone like Jacobs if they caused any trouble.

The gathering at the front of the halted caravan included Bones, the Jamaican foreman, as well as Velegas, the grandfatherly-looking tracker. Jacobs and Dawson were with them—as was Adam, Ellie realized as his familiar frame became visible through a shift in the bodies ahead of her.

“Get back on the mule,” Mendez ordered and gave her belt a tug.

Ellie landed in the saddle with an uncomfortable thud.

“We need to go up there,” she declared.

“No chance,” Mendez retorted flatly as he shifted his rifle to the other shoulder.

Ellie looked to Flowers, who struck her as the more sympathetic party.

“Sorry, Pepa,” he said with a shrug.

She turned her face forward again, burning with frustration. The whispers around her had grown into an outright murmur as the men shuffled awkwardly, wondering what had caused the delay.

Somethingwas going on up there, and she was being left out of it.

Ellie couldn’t afford to be left out. She had no way of knowing what piece of information might give her the advantage she needed to stay alive.

The afternoon sun beat down on her through a break in the canopy overhead. The heat of it against her shoulders gave her a little spark of inspiration. Ellie hesitated, as the inspiration would certainly earn her Mendez’s ire… but then again, Mendez wasn’t in charge. Jacobs had made it clear that he was reserving the threat of violence against Ellie as a means of keeping Adam in line.

She supposed that meant she could afford a little ire.

Surreptitiously, Ellie slipped the magnifying lens out of her pocket. Holding it low against her thigh, she turned it carefully back and forth until it winked at her as it caught the light.

She carefully directed the focused beam toward the back of Mendez’s trousers.

He shifted his footing uncomfortably and frowned under his mustache.

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