“Oh, I care about money and the making of more of it,” Kilian said. “Some things are worth the price, though. We both know that today’s weather may be the calmest we get for a time. I don’t want to wait, and figured neither did you.”
“You figured right.”
The man came on over the speaker system, “I’m going to have to insist you sit down, in the middle, please.”
Grace allowed Kilian to lead her over to a set of seats in the middle of the boat. She raised an eyebrow at Kilian.
“No need to piss the man off,” he said, sitting down. “I may have tripled his rate and promised a bonus on our return but that doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind.”
Grace sat down next to Kilian. The boat pulled away from the dock and the next hour gave them the monotonous view of the rough sea. When they arrived at the Great Skellig, Kilian got up and tossed the secure line to the deck. He jumped over the rail quickly and tied the line off. The man stepped out of the wheelhouse and tossed a second secure line to Kilian.
“You got two hours until dusk,” the man said as Kilian helped her onto the dock. “I ain’t staying any longer than that.”
Kilian gave him a nod before leading her up the south steps past broken walls. They climbed the steep, narrow path to Christ’s Saddle. Together, they searched the cemetery, the large oratory, and the dry-stone huts. They scrambled over rock and dead grass to search the monastery and the land. The wind blew harshly and she shivered as she kept looking for the next clue.
They were in the right location. She knew it deep down. Still as their time slipped by, her hands shook from the cold and she sat down, pounding her numb hands against the ground. She’d brought them here and yet they couldn’t find anything. Grace couldn’t understand why her great-great-grandfather hadn’t made it easier to find the clues. Then she had to shake her head. If he had made it easier to find, then it was likely that someone else would have found the clues before her.
Kilian crouched down in front of her. He lifted her up enough to pull the letter from the back pocket of her jeans. He pulled the note out and read it. She knew what it said but wondered what he saw in it. He stood and walked away from her, the note still in his hand. Her mouth dropped open as he left her in the shadows of the monastery.
Grace snapped her jaw shut and huffed as she pushed herself to her feet. She followed Kilian, stopping short as he walked to the cliff edge. What was he doing? Kilian read the note again. The smile that played across his face stretched his lips into a dark and wicked curve to match the thunderous sky.
“What did I miss?”
He turned halfway to her and chuckled. “You read the clue but didn’t truly absorb it.”
“And they clung to their island, like their faith,” Grace said for both their benefits.
“Oh, they clung to their faith alright, but there’s more that they clung to.”
“They lived their lives back there.” She pointed behind her. “Grew vegetables and fished. They eked out a life here, clinging to what they had.”
He finally fully faced her. “You really aren’t seeing the rest of the clue, are you?”
She swallowed hard as her mind raced. He was taunting her with a new piece of information. An important piece they needed to find the next clue they were looking for. But what? What had she missed? Looking at his face, she kept her gaze away from the edge of the cliff they stood next to.
Swallowing again, she asked, “What is it that I’m supposed to be seeing?”
“The next clue is hidden on the cliff face behind me,” he said. “You’re going to have to go down and get it.”
She closed her eyes.
18
Grace staredin disbelief at the letter in Kilian’s hands. “Up there?” She pointed at a steep cliffside in the distance. “You’re kidding me.” She huffed, shaking her head frustratedly.
Kilian nodded, a look of wild determination in his eyes. “Looks like it. Well, kind of. I think it’s tucked into the cliffside just off the edge.” He looked down at the letter again, his brows furrowing as he studied it for a few more seconds. “It has to be.” He started off towards the cliffside without hesitation.
Grace threw up her hands, annoyed with Kilian’s cryptic behavior. “How are you so sure?” she yelled after him angrily. Her boots slammed the ground loudly as she begrudgingly followed him, despite the sky darkening ominously above them.
The sun had now set, making the already inhospitable island even more uninviting and harsh. Thunder and lightning boomed in the distance, occasionally lighting up the sky for a second or two before casting the horizon into darkness once more.
“You’ll just have to trust me,” Kilian stated plainly with a sly half-smile. He marched onward towards the edge of the impossibly tall crag jutting into the sky. “From the looks of it, you’re going to have to climb down it and grab it.”
“What?!” Grace exclaimed, her throat becoming dry as they stepped nearer to the clue’s location. “It’s wedged into the side of the cliff?” Her eyes were wide and fearful, but she pressed on. There was no way she was turning back and leaving Kilian to find the next clue for himself.
“Yes.” Kilian confirmed. “I’m pretty sure it’s only a few feet down--just far enough for me to dangle you off the side so you can grab it for us.”
“Dangle me off the--? Grab it for US?”Grace sputtered in disbelief. “I don’t believe this shit.” She growled to herself, stomping after Kilian. The cliffside seemed to grow larger and more menacing as the two approached it. Wind whipped around them as the thunder in the distance grew closer, and a trickle of rain had begun to fall, making the ground slippery and damp.
