Blade looked out along the shore across the water, looking for a landing place. As he did, he noticed something so intriguing that he completely forgot about the landing place. The sea was incredibly clear and transparent, like crystal. Beyond the white fringe of foam, Blade could see the rocks of the reef falling away to an amazing depth. Far down in the pale blue-green crystal, he saw sparks of color moving and silver flashes as schools of fish passed by. Even farther down, he could see purplish darkness beginning to set in, as the depth of the water finally defeated the sun. He guessed he was looking down three, perhaps four hundred feet into the depths-before the light faded out.

Reluctantly, Blade lifted his eyes from the water and stared across the waves at the distant shore. To his left the cliffs ran away out of sight, without offering any visible way up through them and inland. Heading that way would be a badly conceived gamble.

But far off to the right was something that looked like the yellow sand of a beach backed by green trees. Blade couldn't be as sure as he would have liked to be, for the beach was a good six miles away. If visibility hadn't been nearly perfect, he wouldn't have seen it at all. But there it was. Even if it wasn't a route inland, it would be a better place to spend the night than a cove certain to be submerged twenty feet deep by the incoming tide.

Six miles. A good stiff swim even for Blade, in his present shape. He considered the prospect, then examined his situation to see if there was any alternative. He did this not out of any reluctance to face the swim, but out of an ingrained habit of assessing a situation and considering alternative strategies. His experience as a secret agent in Home Dimension had done that ingraining. It wasn't a habit one could use in tight spots where all that mattered was fast action. But a little care in advance could prevent a lot of those tight spots. Otherwise one was likely to go blundering into unexpected situations, be surprised, and not live very long.