Page 197 of Empire of Shadows

Adam quickly took the lead. He steered her toward the edge of the cavern, where the stream of insects had already thinned out. As they passed, he kicked a stray few of the bugs out of the way with the toe of his boot.

He seemed to enjoy it a bit more than he strictly should have.

They passed some of the stripped, fleshless bones as they ran—and Ellie realized that she had a fairly good idea how they had gotten there.

Venom that paralyzes them and melts their insides.

She repressed a shudder and hurried after Adam.

Their exit was a wide, dark mouth. The tunnel it framed descended steeply down.

Adam glanced back at the wriggling, insect-fueled bonfire by the burning torch basket.

“We might not want to risk the light until we’ve got more distance between ourselves and the swarm,” he suggested.

“That seems prudent,” Ellie agreed.

He offered a hand. Ellie looked at it for a moment in surprise, and then reached over and clasped it.

“Here we go…” he said and led them into the dark.

?

The light of the bug-fueled inferno flickered softly on the walls of the tunnel for a while as they walked. As it faded, their pace slowed—and then the light was gone, plunging them into an impenetrable night once more.

“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Adam said. “Feel the ground in front of you before you put your weight down. We could stumble into another crevice or sinkhole at any point down here.”

“Indeed,” Ellie agreed tightly.

Adam’s grip on her hand was a warm anchor. Ellie latched on to it.

They were wandering through an unknown cave system. That was a risky prospect, even under the best circumstances. Doing it in the dark without any of the proper equipment was frankly madness.

Not that they had an alternative.

This was not just any cave system, Ellie reminded herself with a sense of wonder. Someone had left those torches. Even the way the opening of the cenote had been framed by the ball court was clearly intentional.

There had to be some ritual purpose behind it all. The thought touched Ellie with a little chill of excitement. She was walking through the secrets of a lost world.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t kill her.

Adam’s voice broke the silence that had shrouded them since they’d left the light behind.

“Tunnel’s turning,” he reported.

“How do you know?” Ellie replied.

“I’ve got a hand on the wall,” he said.

“Should we risk another torch?”

“Would’ve been nice if we’d had that damned bone,” Adam grumbled.

“What bone?” Ellie asked.

“The one Dawson used to light up the temple,” he replied. “The firebird bone.”

Ellie stopped walking.

---