Tamzin stood frozen on the rock, staring at the place where the vision had appeared. It was Moonlight, she had absolutely no doubt of it. For one instant he had been there, as real to her as she was; then a moment later he was gone. But she had heard the warning voice, and it had stopped her from doing something very foolish and dangerous. She would have gone through the gap, forgetting everything but the overwhelming desire to get into the cave. And the tide was coming in.
But the voice had broken the spell…
Suddenly she didn’t want to stay a moment longer. She jumped down from the rock and ran, pelting back the way she had come. As she raced round the headland the sea was almost licking at her feet.
Alec was walking down the beach towards her. He raised a hand and waved, and Tamzin hurried to meet him.
‘Your nan said I’d find you here.’ He smiled at her, but his eyes were serious. ‘She told me the full story; about the broken statue, and why she buried the pieces. She also told me about the warning inscribed on the statue’s base. And she showed me the full translation written down in her old family bible.’
Tamzin’s breath caught in her throat, but she didn’t speak. Alec went on.
‘I’m starting to understand properly now, Tamzin. And I’d like to help you in any way I can.’ They started to walk back. ‘Those pieces of stone that I found,’ Alec continued, ‘I think they might possibly have been carved by the same person who made the Grey Horse statue.’
Tamzin was astonished. ‘How can you tell?’ she asked eagerly.
‘I can’t, not for sure. But the way they’ve been cut is very similar to the fragments your nan showed me. Not only that, but several of them are obviously parts of a horse carving. I think they might have been practice pieces for the statue. And that shows how important it was for the sculptor to get his statue absolutely right.’
Tamzin’s heart was bumping. ‘If they were in the cave before the rockfall, how could they have got here?’ she wanted to know.
‘Ah, that’s still a mystery. There’s some evidence that there was a settlement – like a village but much smaller – in the valley, many centuries ago. If your ancestors lived there, perhaps they also made the old mining tunnels inside these cliffs. And perhaps that particular cave had some special meaning for them; something religious, or superstitious.’
Tamzin looked up at him and said, ‘So do you believe in the Grey Horse now?’
Alec hesitated. Then, to her disappointment, he replied, ‘No. I’m sorry, but I still don’t think it really exists. But,’ he added as she was about to protest, ‘the important thing is, your ancestors did believe in it, and so do you.’ He smiled kindly. ‘So if we can solve the mystery once and for all, it will put your mind at rest – and give me some very valuable help with my own work!’
Tamzin nodded. Behind them she heard a deep roar as an especially big wave broke. The noise of the sea was growing louder; it was growling now, and the wind was rising, too, blowing her hair around her face. She stopped and looked over her shoulder. There were choppy white wave crests right out to the horizon, and surf was surging against the great bulk of Lion Rock in the distance.
‘The lion’s roaring,’ she said.
‘The lion?’ Alec looked puzzled, and she smiled, pointing out to sea.
‘People call that Lion Rock,’ she told him, ‘and when the sea gets rough they say that the noise it makes is the lion roaring.’ They walked on, and she added, ‘It’s a funny name for the rock. I mean, it doesn’t look the least bit like a lion, does it?’
‘No, it doesn’t,’ Alec agreed. ‘Though of course "lion" might not be its proper name. It could be a corruption of an old Cornish word that means something completely different.’
That had never occurred to Tamzin, and she was intrigued.
‘I don’t know much Cornish,’ said Alec, ‘and I can’t think of a word that sounds at all like “lion”. But I’ll do some research and see what I can find out. In the meantime, though, I need to find a way to get into that cave! That second landslip has made it much too risky to try again from the top, so the beach entrance is my only chance.’ He sighed. ‘I just wish I could get through!’
Tamzin said, ‘Wishes come true, sometimes.’
Her own words startled her. That wasn’t at all what she had meant to say! She had been about to tell Alec about the gap she had discovered, but the words had come out of nowhere, and she had spoken them without even thinking.
Quickly she looked back at the sea. Would she see the vision again; the form of Moonlight galloping among the breakers? But cloud had covered the sun and the water no longer dazzled her. The vision was not there.
Alec was striding on, unaware that anything strange had happened. But Tamzin was certain that something had made her say what she did.
And she believed there was a good reason.
*