Her spirits sank. If Nico was hurt, how could they possibly carry him back up?
Find him first.
That’s what her dad would say. He always stayed calm in a crisis, even lately, when his daily mail route included delivering eviction notices and overdue bills. Opal turned sideways and continued inching forward. The trail sunk deeper into the fog. Then all at once, she dipped below the mists.
“I see the bottom!” Opal shouted, eyeing the flat, mirror-like surface of Still Cove twenty yards farther down. The dark ocean seemed more ominous than the fog. “We’re almost there.”
“What about Nico?” Tyler yelled from above.
“Not yet.” Opal breathed a sigh of relief at not seeing the broken body of Nico Holland cradled on any of the jagged rocks below. She hurried along the last of the trail to a shelf hanging a dozen feet above the water. Tyler and Emma crashed down after her.
The ledge was six yards wide and three deep. A cave burrowed into the cliff face behind it. Opal stepped inside and spotted a crack in the roof with water trickling through it, spilling down to form a shallow, sandy pool.That’s what the deer come for.But the path ends here.
“Nico must’ve landed in the cove,” Tyler said, leading them back out onto the ledge. “That’s good news, at least.”
“Then whereishe?” Emma glanced around in a state ofnear-panic. “The walls are vertical. There’s nowhere from him to climb out!”
Opal kept her voice steady. “He must still be swimming around, then.”
“NICO!” Emma bellowed, cupping her hands over her lips. “Nico, where are you?!”
“Shhh,” Tyler hissed, waving madly for quiet. “Don’t forget we’re in Still Cove right now.For real. Think about what that means!”
Opal stared. “Please tell me you’re not talking about the Beast.”
“Laugh all you want,” Tyler scolded. “Right until it snatches us off this ledge.”
There was no response to Emma’s call. She stormed back into the cave. “Maybe he’s in here somewhere.”
Opal peered across the inlet, goosebumps spreading at the thought of touching that murky water. How must Nico have felt, dropping into it from the top of the cliff? Was thereanychance he was okay?
“Guys!” Emma’s voice echoed behind Opal. “There’s more cave!”
“Is Nico in there?” Opal asked, spinning around. But even in the gloom she saw Emma’s shoulders slump.
“No,” Emma grumbled, dejected. “Just some old junk.”
“Junk?” Opal hurried to join her. At first she couldn’t make out anything in the gloom, but then she spotted a darkershadow in the black and slipped forward to inspect it. “A rowboat!”
A thick weave of spiderwebs coated the battered vessel, but it seemed to be in one piece. “Look, oars!” Opal grabbed a gunwale and began dragging the boat toward the ledge. “We can use this to look for Nico.”
“Why is this boat here?” Tyler demanded. “In a deserted cave in the middle of nowhere?”
“Who knows, but we’re taking it. We’ll push it into the cove and jump in after.” Opal’s patience was running out. How much longer could Nico tread water?
Emma nodded, grabbing the other paddle.
“Jump in the water,” Tyler said slowly. “The water where the Beast lives.” He pressed both palms to his eye sockets. “Guys, we don’t have life jackets. You’re not supposed to get into a boat without a life jacket.”
Opal slapped the hull, eyes fierce. “Nico doesn’t have one either, Tyler.Ora boat.”
“Thanks to you and your friends!” Tyler shot back, his face a twist of worry and fear. He backed against the cliff, eyes roving for an escape.
Opal flinched. It was true. She hated what Logan had done, hated everything about the crappy situation except this lifeline of a boat. “You’re right. I’ll go alone.”
“I’m in.” Emma took a deep breath. “Nico would do it for me.”
Opal tried to not show her relief. “Let’s hurry.”
