Like a Jurassic world, the boulder field stretched all down the shore, dotted with a nearby copse of gnarled-looking she-oaks, eerie in the dark. Huck had said the entrance to the cave was marked by a fallen pillar, like a crossbeam, covered in tree roots. He scanned these trees with the lamp but could see no crossbeam stone. An answering light came from a boat out on the water, and Forest quickly cupped the lamp, then uncupped it. To hide now would look suspicious. Even if they could see him, he was just a lad doing some exploring.

In the middle of the night? he thought with a snort. Not suspicious at all.

He picked his way along more boulders, searching for trees out here, wishing he’d thought to bring a more powerful torch. He saw now that caves dotted all of these pillars, where they’d fallen from whatever cliff once stood here, forming crawl spaces that weaved in and out of the rock.

He shuddered, imagining faces in there, peering out at him. He wished he didn’t have to do all this alone.

He headed for a tree that stood higher than the rest, trying to avoid lingering near the cave entrances. As he drew closer, he saw it was a stunted native currant tree. He picked his way closer through a gully between the stones, splashing through a puddle of stinking briny water that wet his shoes. Back up out of the gully, he puffed and panted as he crawled up to the tree, using its roots as handholds.

That was promising.

He strained, feet slipping, until he finally dragged his weight to the top.

This might be it. Tree roots gathered between the pillar he stood on and the next, and the rock in-between could be considered a crossbeam. Beneath it, the maw of one of those cave entrances.

This has to be it.

Now that he was here, he didn’t want to go inside. The thought nearly suffocated him. Terror made him want to run – to the water, away from this cave, any direction that led away from whatever lurked inside.

Suddenly he heard a sound, a stone’s throw away. A scrabble of footsteps as somewhere above him a man slipped and stumbled, then a soft curse.

True terror hit him now. Forest flicked his light off and flattened himself against the stone, sliding noisily into the opening of the cave.

He shook so hard he thought he’d throw up. How had he been followed? Stupid! He’d deserve to be outed for not paying more attention!

He stayed in the mouth of the cave, scanning the tops of the nearest boulders. The sound of the wind and waves rose and fell in irregular rhythm. Insects buzzed right beside his ears.

A tall silhouette appeared on a nearby pillar, framed against the moonlight: a man rising from a crouch, standing up straight to scan the surrounding rocks.