Page 172 of Empire of Shadows

Kuyoc sat on a sack of feed in front of Ellie, whistling tunelessly to himself.

“Padre!” she hissed.

“Ah,” he replied with quiet ease. “I was wondering when you would turn up.”

“But why are you here?” Ellie demanded.

Kuyoc’s eyes narrowed as his gaze locked on the pale, looming shape of the temple.

“To do something I should have done a long time ago,” he replied grimly.

With a glance to make sure the men on the far side of the courtyard were otherwise occupied, Ellie scrambled over the wall and slipped to Kuyoc’s side.

“Never mind. We need to get you out of here,” she asserted, hefting the awkward weight of Adam’s machete. “Hold still while I cut these ropes.”

“I think not,” the priest returned quickly as he shuffled his hands out of her reach. “I need those.”

“Why?” Ellie replied with surprise.

“Well, I can hardly get where I’m trying to go without them, can I?” Kuyoc retorted.

“But where are you trying to go?”

“There,” Kuyoc replied with a determined nod toward the temple.

“Youwantedthem to catch you,” Ellie burst out, barely remembering to keep her voice down.

Kuyoc shot a disgruntled look at her over his shoulder.

“What—you think this bunch of lead-footed noisy fools could’ve found me if I didn’t want them to? I am Maya,” he asserted fiercely.

“I don’t understand,” Ellie protested.

The priest cast her a look edged with disdain.

“I should hardly expect you to,” he replied.

“Then tell me how I can help you,” she pressed back.

“What you should do is collect Mr. Bates and leave this place. Get out of here before it’s too late.”

Outrage hummed through her.

“Before Death sweeps from the sky?” she retorted skeptically.

The priest let out a dark, slightly unsettling chuckle.

“You’retryingto scare them off,” Ellie accused. “Just like you tried to scare me and Adam. But we were never coming here to steal. We just wanted to learn about this place. If you’re here to protect it, then we’re all fighting on the same side!”

Kuyoc slowly shook his head.

“I know you do not mean to harm, mija,” he said tiredly. “But I have told you what you need to do. Now get behind that rock.”

“Why?” Ellie pushed back as her temper flared.

The priest’s mouth quirked into a dangerous smile. “Because I am about to call that murderer over,” he neatly replied. “¡Oye! ¡Patrón! How is your search for the glass going?”

A jolt of surprise nearly exposed her. Ellie scrambled to the right and skidded into the makeshift corral for the mules. A few of the animals snorted with irritation as she tucked herself in behind the forest of their legs.

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