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On the Cerys, Nicko cahtmare He stared at Snorri in disbelief

"What?" he gasped "I&039;ve done what?"

"Run aground," Snorri replied tersely "Nicko, you would not listen to round? Nooh no No! " Nicko ran to the side of the ship and stared down All he could see were curls ofthe surface of the water, but he knew Snorri was right He could feel it - there was no movement of water below the keel The beautiful Cerys had left her elereat inert lump of wood A hubbub had broken out belowdecks The entire creake, throwing the up the companionways The thunderous sound of footsteps filled Nicko with dread, and in a moment Milo - disheveled frooas towering over him

"What - " yelled Milo "What have you done?"

Mute, Nicko shook his head; he could hardly bear to look at Milo "II don&039;t know," he said desperately "I just don&039;t know"

The first ed on deck and proround, boss" An unspoken I told you so hung in the air Snorri knew that Nicko would not even try to stick up for hihthouse," she said "It has ly

"But it has moved," Snorri insisted "It is there now Look" She pointed to the Pinnacle, which rose froer of dooht

"Hah!" scoffed the firsta fire on top of a rock Happens all the time No need to run the blasted ship at it"

"The ship, sheshe is only on a sandbank," Snorri faltered

"You&039;re an expert, are you?" the first mate replied scornfully

"I kno a sandbank feels beneath a boat, and I also kno a rock feels," said Snorri "This feels like a sandbank"

The first mate did not know quite what to make of Snorri He shook his head

"She will float at the next tide, I think," said Snorri

"Depends on the darowled "Sand covers a multitude of sins - an&039; a multitude of rocks You find the worst rocks under sand Water smooths &039;em Sand don&039;t Sand keeps &039;eh a ship like hot wire through butter" He turned away from Snorri and addressed Milo "Pere"

"Pero," said Nicko, trying his best not to plead "Please Letto help"

Milo looked at hio I trust Jem" Abruptly he turned on his heel and walked slowly to the prohere he stood and stared disue shapes of the land - so unexpectedly, unnaturally, close at hand

In a daze Milo heard Jes on the side of the hull, then put the rope ladder out to reach the sand below He heard the sounds of splashing through the shallows and Jem&039;s shouts: "Seabed is sand, sirbit of a scrape herenot too badahuh-oh" And then

In despair Milo put his head in his hands He thought of his precious cargo fastened below in the hold The prize for which he had searched for so many years, which had taken hihter Foolish years, thought Milo, foolish years that had co ater on the rising tide, the sea pouring in, surrounding the great chest, drowning it forever its precious contents to the seabed, to be washed up on the lonely shores of this benighted place

Milo looked out over the prohich rose up even higher than usual, for the Cerys had settled into the sand and was leaning back at an unnatural angle He stared through the ht on top of the Pinnacle and saw that it was not, as the firstto figure out exactly what it was, the an to retreat A chill settled on Milo as he watched the y hill toward a s reeled in by a fishere fish by the naht Milo wryly A shiver ran through hi on, and there was soe about that tower - and he wanted a closer look

"Telescope!" yelled Milo

Within seconds a member of the creas at his side with his telescope Milo put the finely tooled brass tube to his eye and focused on the tower Running along the top of the tower he saw an eerie line of tiny blue lights They ree sea tale the pirates on Deakin Lee&039;s ship would tell late at night about the Isles of the blue-eyed Syrens, which were scattered throughout the seven seas, where voices Call and Beguile sailors, luring their ships onto the rocks

Milo watched the carpet of h the blue-lit s, and he began to wonder just how o have a quiet ith the boy It was then that Milo heard a girl&039;s voice calling from below It sounded like - but surely it couldn&039;t be - his daughter

"Look, it is the Cerys! I knew it Hey, Nicko! Milo!"

Now Milo kneas true - this was indeed one of the notorious Isles of Syren

"Hey - hey, Milo - father! Look down It&039;s ers in his ears "Go away!" he shouted "Leave us alone!"

Far below, at the head of a sh the shallows, Jenna heard the shout Upset, she turned to Septimus and Beetle "Typical," she said

"Shh," whispered Septiet down!" He ducked behind the large rock that the Cerys had so very nearly plowed into, pulling Jenna with him Beetle, Wolf Boy and Lucy quickly followed

"What&039;s up, Sep?" Beetleon a limpet, much to the discomfort of both creatures

Septi shape of the Cerys, so very different frolory on Harbor Twelve at the Trading Post Now, seen from lier elegant but fat, like a beached whale Although her topsides were still sht, below the waterline the ship was dull and dirty with a scattering of barnacles But it was not the sad sight of the beached Cerys that Septimus wanted to point out - it was the unmistakable shapes of the Croins, al of the hull, stealthily e