There was no answer.
Letting the boat drift, I scanned the cliffs. At first, there seemed to be no sign of a nearby cave, but then my gaze settled on a low rock overhang. I paddled toward it, fighting the fatigue in my arms with every stroke. The bandage on my injured forearm had begun to unravel, but there was nothing to be done for it now.
“Please don’t let me die,” someone sobbed as I drew closer.
“Liss?” I yelled, hardly daring to believe that the voice belonged to my sister.
“Bridey!” she shouted. “I’m in here! Oh, God, is it really you?”
I moored the boat on the heap of crushed shells that formed the sea cave’s floor. Even knowing Liss was nearby, I took great care to make sure the boat wouldn’t be swept away. Cold water sloshed around my ankles as I crouched and crawled through the entrance, guided by my lantern’s feeble light.
Running a hand along slick walls, I called out, “Where are you?” My voice echoed faintly. My lantern wasn’t strong enough to reach into the depths of the cave.
“I don’t know!” Liss sobbed. “It’s so dark! Hurry!”
“I’m coming!” The ceiling of the cave rose after a few steps, allowing me room to stand. The stench of decay was as disorienting as the lack of light outside the narrow halo of my lantern. My foot grazed a cluster of barnacles, and my stomach squirmed.
“Just my foul luck.” As I stumbled down the narrow passage, frantic breathing filled my ears. “Liss?”
“Bridey! Right here!” A hand swiped at my leg from the shadows, causing me to miss a step. I flapped my arms, the lantern bobbing wildly, but my feet found purchase in a pile of something soft, like rotten logs.
“W-watch your step,” Liss stammered. “There are bones in the corners.”
“Bones?” I leaped back, splashing myself with chill water.
“Get me out of here!” Liss wailed, her cry echoing off the cavern walls.
“Take my hand.” I reached out, trying to take in the state of her. Liss sobbed harder as my fingers closed over her wrist. “Can you walk? I’ve got a boat at the entrance, but we need to hurry. The storm is getting worse.”
Liss sniffled. “I think my leg is broken. The beast—” She shuddered. “When I first heard your voice, I thought it was back. Making me imagine things again.”
I remembered what Morag had told me. “Serpents are powerful illusionists.” But my sister’s hand clutching mine was too warm and familiar to be a trick. I pressed my fingers into her wrist to find her pulse, reassured by its faint rhythm.
Manannán had conjuring powers just like the serpent. It was rumored he could make one man appear as one hundred to any enemies who dared approach the Isle. Perhaps, if I asked nicely, he would aid me in confusing the serpent long enough for me to toss the poison into its mouth. Or perhaps he’d send me the magical red javelin he kept at the prow of his boat to spear his attackers.
Another cry from Liss drew me back to the present moment. “Listen, you’ll have to try walking if you want to get out of here. I don’t think I can carry you. Use your good leg and lean on me as much as you need to, all right?”
We crept along the short passage, occasionally banging into the walls or stepping on shells despite the lantern’s aid. When a fainter shade of darkness appeared ahead of us, I shouldered most of Liss’s weight and hurried to the mouth of the cave. The boat was right where I’d left it, paddles and all.
With a groan, I heaved Liss over the side and scrambled in behind her.
The rain, which had been a nuisance before, now felt wonderfully refreshing. I collapsed on the boat floor beside the bucket of crabs, giggling, while my ashen-faced sister stared. The greenish rainwater now reached halfway up the outside of the poison jar, signaling the loss of more precious time. But I had rescued Liss, and we were free of the dark, decaying-bone cave. That was plenty of cause for giddiness.
“Let’s go,” I said, reining in my giggles at last. I reached for the paddles, my gaze falling on Liss’s outstretched legs. Her skirt hung in tatters, and one of her legs bent at an unnatural angle. Needlelike punctures surrounded the break in her left leg, and the rain had washed away traces of old blood. She must have used scraps of her skirt to staunch the bleeding.
I swallowed hard, fighting a wave of nausea. No doubt Liss could feel how serious the wound was, and there was no point in alarming her more by mentioning it.
“Hang on, Liss.” I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “We’ll send for a doctor as soon as we’re back on land.”
Liss nodded, her face pale and pinched as she toyed with a string around her neck. Her Bollan Cross.