Baylen shook his head. “No, but I did pull one out of a pile of rubble in the courtyard of the Paracelsus Towers. I imagine they are difficult to kill.”

“I would imagine. Being a Bhikhu, killing one isn’t my goal. Thank you for your aid.”

The Cruithne shrugged and then squeezed out the door again, shutting it noisily behind him.

Hettie sighed. “Why do I feel like Tyrus is sending the goose with a message to the fox’s den?”

He looked at her askance. “A goose, am I?”

“You honk like one, letting the whole world know the direction you are flying.”

Paedrin smiled broadly. “I may honk like a goose, but notice I did not reveal your part.”

What the Cruithne said was true. The cliffs and the sea were shrouded in fog. Paedrin and Hettie stood above deck, smelling the salty air, feeling the moist kiss of the mist on their faces. The sound of waves crashing against stones haunted the air, but they could not see the breakers. The waters were green-gray, full of froth, and pungent, so different than the smell of the lake waters of Kenatos. The wind brought sounds from many directions, the slosh of water against the hull, the spray of the waves against rocks, the cries from gulls overhead. Paedrin leaned against the railing, staring into the fog, his stomach knotting with nervous energy. Baylen’s words had unsettled him, but he was determined not to let them ruin his courage. Master Shivu would not have trusted this to him without believing in him.

Hettie leaned next to him. “I still don’t trust him.”

“You can have your opinions. Leave me to mine.”

Baylen climbed down from the helm deck. “This is as close as we dare go. The crew says the rocks are very near. We will need to take a little boat to go farther. I will row you to the shore. Do your business and I will bring you back to the ship.”

Paedrin nodded and they followed him to the edge where some sailors were using pulleys to fix the boat with ropes. Hettie and Baylen entered the small vessel and it swayed dangerously when Baylen boarded. It took three sailors to lower them down, their arms straining against the bulk. Paedrin waited on the edge and then breathed out, lowering himself down to the boat with a single breath of air to slow his fall. The Cruithne took the oars and rowed against the wild churn of the waves. Spray splashed against the side and the mist swallowed them.

The jolting of the boat was alarming as it responded to the surge from the ocean. Paedrin gripped the edge and prepared himself to float the rest of the way to shore if it swamped. He did not like being on the waters. Hettie hugged herself for warmth, peering into the gloom. Suddenly Baylen thrust out an oar and struck it against a jagged rock that appeared out of the water in front of them. The boat lurched violently, but he managed to avoid crashing into it. He took the oar in both hands and stroked vigorously. The mist began to part, revealing enormous cliffs and misshapen crags. The rock was thick with brown vegetation and moss, and puckered with clinging shells.

“There!” Baylen shouted, pointing to a cleft in the rock. Waves bounded against the cliffs, spraying them with white churn. The boat rocked violently as the crosscurrents hit it and Paedrin gripped both sides of the boat to steady himself. Hettie did the same. The boat pitched again as a wave caught it from behind and sent it shooting forward. Then the bottom scraped against rocks and it slowed to a halt.

Baylen cursed, rose, and jumped over the edge. The boat began to float again, and he gripped it with both hands and pulled them closer to the sheer cliffs ahead. “Do you see the stone steps?” He pointed straight ahead at the wall-like surface. Sure enough, the craggy rocks had been carved, forming a near-vertical stair upward, which disappeared into the mist.

“I see it,” Hettie said.

“This is as close as I can get you until high tide,” he said. “You’ll have to wade in farther and climb up. I’ll pull this boat up on a rock nearby and wait for you to come down again. If you don’t come back in a day, I will come looking for you. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Paedrin replied, jumping out of the boat. He helped Hettie clamber out and felt the pull of the tide water against his legs. The power in the surf was incredible. Hand in hand, Paedrin and Hettie crossed the sharp surface of the reef, knee-deep in seawater, and closed the distance to the face of the jagged cliffs. He glanced back, spying Baylen climbing up on a pyramid-shaped boulder, the boat dragging behind him. The water was bitingly cold.

Hettie slipped on the slick stones and he tugged her back up as the water soaked her front. She uttered a Romani oath and pulled with him to reach the edge. The water receded with each wave, revealing enormous pockmarks in the reef. Colorful objects and plants grew inside the water-filled tide pools, amazing creatures he had never seen before. Some looked like flowers, except with quill-like ends instead of petals. Strange rocky creatures with five points clung to the rocks as if hugging them. Little crabs darted amidst the pools. The plethora of life was intriguing.