From the vantage point of their next safety stop, she surveyed the seabed below. Rocks like ancient monoliths reached up towards her. Others spilled out across the sand, alive with jewel-like anemones and brightly coloured seaweed.
She caught Nico’s attention and signed quickly. ‘Where?’
Where had Jason found the coin? She knew the general idea, but Nico knew the specifics. Simon had highlighted these general coordinates, Jason had explained, and a few other locations in the area. What little they had been able to garner from his notes indicated he expected something to be found here and Jason was convinced the coin was just the first treasure they’d find. For her brother, this was a quest, a trail to be followed which he believed would lead to a lost city. Ever the optimist, Jason.
Nico just gestured down and she narrowed her eyes behind the mask. It was hard to be more specific than that underwater though. She followed him as he led them lower and Thierry began to record. There were rocks spread all over this area, buried in soft sand. They looked like they’d come down off the cliffs which rose above them. Pieces of Castelmeur itself.
Gesturing to the sandy bed between two large outcrops, Nico swam down and began fanning his hand at the sand in a small crevice where two of the rocks met. A modest plume of sand and other debris rose from the gap.
Ari swam to join him, examining where he was pointing. It was a dark hole, narrower than she would have liked. Towards the shore, she could see where the seabed rose to join the cliffs. They weren’t that far from land. Around them, in a wide fan, she noted the scattering of rocks and stones. It could be debris, she thought. At the very least, there were signs of recent rockfall from the cliffs, which was to be expected, but there was something else here, she was sure of it. She didn’t know why.
The stone was heavily encrusted, but if you squinted, it almost looked smooth at the edges, especially when you examined the gap. It could have been worked stone rather than natural. Maybe. It would be impossible to tell without raising it and they didn’t have the facilities to do that.
Beckoning Thierry over, she indicated that he should film the area from all angles, and to focus on the stone’s edges. Then she swam up a little to get a better look.
Scatter effect. Could be natural. Could be…something else. She glanced up at the cliffs again. The sea surged against them, twisting and rolling high overhead. To her left, there was a small islet rising from the seabed, and she could make out the entrance to caves dotted along the coast.
There was no real evidence here. Not really. Perhaps with sonar, if they had the money for that, or lifting a piece of it, or—
A shiver seemed to pass through the water, all around her, like a boom of thunder far away. Like rock falling or…
She steadied herself and turned towards the cliffs. Above her, the waves were hitting them with renewed force. She could see the surface churning and boiling, the sea pounding against the cliff face and into the caves. A premonition shook its way through her, and in her mind’s eye she could see it happening: rocks falling, the cliff sliding away, stones raining down on them. This dive site wasn’t as safe as it appeared.
Ari jerked her attention back to the dive, and looked for the others, signalling to Nico for his attention. As he swam towards her and she tried to figure out what gestures would convey the problem, something made her glance towards the others.
Below her, Thierry reeled back from the boulders, almost dropping the camera. Madalen pulled him clear and a dark cloud puffed up in the water from his arm. Blood. Ari darted back towards them, aware that Nico was signalling an alarm. She caught sight of something sleek and shining, shooting between the rocks and back into the darkness: a conger eel, several feet in length. They must have disturbed it poking around.
She swore to herself and pulled out her torch, shining it into the gap in the hope it would drive the vicious thing off. Something glinted in the darkness. White. Bright and smooth. Not natural. Definitely not natural.
Nico caught her shoulder, jerking his thumb back up, where Madalen and Thierry were already two dark shapes heading laboriously to the surface. He had one hand clamped over his arm and Madalen, now holding the camera as well, was leading him.
Before she knew what she was doing, Ari did the unimaginable. It was pure instinct, an act of desperation. She thrust her hand into the gap and felt it close on something. Not a coin. Too big. Not metal either. It felt smooth to the touch and cool…but not actually cold.
Nico flipped around in front of her, and she couldn’t miss his concern. He pointed down and signalled alarm.
The eel was right underneath them, coiling around the rock, coming back.
Fuck. They were vicious bastards and that one looked huge. It had already attacked Thierry. It wouldn’t hesitate again.
Archaeological best practice deserted her and she jerked back, her fingers locked around the object in panic. She returned Nico’s thumbs up signal to ascend with anOKand kicked off, rising quickly and smoothly away from the seabed, the eel left behind.
She glanced down to see a smooth white thing in her hand, like porcelain. For a horrible moment, she thought it was a bone, part of a skull. But it wasn’t. Not quite. This had been worked, carved. Could it be ivory?
No, it was too cold, too smooth. More like a fine ceramic…
Breathe, she told herself again. Breathe.
How had Jason missed this? And what was it even doing there?
She shouldn’t have wrenched it out, but she could not have made herself leave it there. Not for anything. It was almost like the eel had been guarding it. A stupid idea. But still, she couldn’t shake it.
By the time Ari broke surface a few yards from the boat, the other two divers were already on board and Yana was bending over Thierry while Jason quizzed Madalen.
Nico spat out his regulator, heedless of the sea water. ‘Mon dieu, Ari, you’re as bad asheis. Get back on the boat.’
‘I couldn’t leave it there. We need to secure it right away. The site wasn’t stable. And besides, that thing could have—’
‘It could have taken your hand off. Or worse. Hit an artery. Drowned you. I’ve seen them take half of a man’s face off. Come on.Now.No arguing.’
