Page 124 of Aurelia

“It is better if you see it yourself,” he said. “It is just this way.” He was wearing fisherman boots and quickly made his way to where the rock cliff curved.

“Wait!” she called. “I cannot go as fast as”—she yelped when her foot slipped and slid into a rockpool all the way up to her ankle. “Blast!” she hissed as she shook water off her foot, already feeling the cold seeping through the seams of her boot.

When she looked up, Arthur was gone. “Arthur? Arthur!”

His voice came from around the corner. “Over here!”

Aurelia heaved an irritated sigh and considered just turning back. But one foot was already soaked and the other halfway there, so she continued picking her way across the slippery stones.

When she rounded the corner, she paused and gaped at the huge slice of cliff that must have sheared off at some point. It had landed on one end and was resting against the cliff itself, almost like a door that had been left ajar. Prodigious vegetation covered much of the fracture, suggesting the piece had broken off some years ago.

Arthur’s head popped out from between the rock face and broken slab, startling her. “It is in here, Aurelia. You need to hurry as we’ve barely an hour to enjoy it before the tide comes back in. Come, I’ve got a lantern.”

“Where is Sir Gideon?” she asked, hurrying as much as she could.

“He is clearing out a path so you can get a closer look.” He held out his hand and helped her over several larger rocks and then stepped aside. “You go first and I’ll hold up the light to guide your way.”

Aurelia took a few steps and then stared. “Why, there is a cave!”

“More than a cave—a whole system of tunnels. Go on in.”

She peered into the darkness.

“Here,” he said, lifting the lantern higher. “Is that better?”

“Oh my, it is huge,” she said.

“You go ahead, I’m right behind you.”

“The floor is rather slippery,” she murmured.

“It is usually covered with water. Only at the lowest tides is this accessible.

Aurelia looked up and saw something sparkle in the gloom overhead. “I see something up there.”

“Stalactites,” Arthur said, his voice echoing eerily in the enormous chamber. “Go to your left and you will find the rock isn’t as slick.

Aurelia did as he bade her, grimacing as her boots sank into the sort of seaweed that did not often grow in intertidal areas. “This must be underwater most of the time.”

“Yes. It is a rare opportunity we have. Not much farther now,” he said in a wheezy voice.

Aurelia paused and turned. “Are you sure you should be doing something so strenuous?” she asked, appalled that she’d not noticed the gray, greasy look of his skin.

He smiled, the light making his eyes glitter a preternatural blue. “I will rest as soon as you see our discovery,” he promised. “Just around the next curve and you will see it.”

Aurelia resumed walking, her thoughts on the obviously ill man behind her. She had meant to broach the matter with Roland but had forgotten given all the excitement of the past few days.

Her foot slipped and she put her hand on the wall to steady herself and then grimaced when she felt cold, slick seaweed.

“Careful, my dear,” Arthur chided.

“The tide comes up higher than I thought.”

“Indeed, it does, that is why we should hurry.” Arthur lifted the light. “It is not far now, Aurelia. You need to look up high—over your head.”

She rounded the corner and gasped. “It is magnificent!” Aurelia stopped in her tracks and gazed up at the figures carved into the rock walls.

“It is from the time of the Vikings,” Arthur said, his voice so close she felt his hot breath on the back of her head. “They are above the waterline… for now, but I daresay they will one day be eroded by the sea. They must have been protected inside the cave for centuries before the cliffside broke off, exposing them. There are probably more, but the tunnel collapsed just ahead, so it is likely we will never see them. A pity, really.”