Loch

Chapter 27

An arched doorway opened onto the dark tunnel that led to the well beneath the seven heads monument. Beneath his feet, the weathered, chipped stonework showed signs of great age. Patches of weeds grew from the cracks as far back as the sunlight could reach, lending a splash of color to the uniform gray. Moisture oozed down from above, staining the rocks. Maddock ran his hand along the rough, gray stone, cold at his touch. His fingertips brushed over green patches of thin, mossy growth.

“It feels like the entrance to an old dungeon,” Grizzly said.

“Let’s just hope no one locks us in,” Isla replied.

The passage came to a dead end, the scant light revealing only a few of its secrets. Maddock and Bones flicked on their Maglites and shone them all around. Another, lower archway marked the end of the passage, and just beyond it lay the Well of the Seven Heads.

“Not very big,” Bones said.

Maddock shook his head. “Nor very deep.”

He knelt for a closer look. In the crystal clear water, he could see the bottom of the well, several feet beneath the surface. Unlike the rough stone of the tunnel in which they stood, the stonework at the bottom of the well was precise, each stone fitted neatly together.

“The clue does say ‘under’ the well,” Maddock said. “And I’ve got a feeling that bottom was added to hide whatever is down there.”

“Okay, who wants to be the one to test your theory?” Bones said.

“Worried about shrinkage again?” Maddock asked.

Isla covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Bones rolled his eyes but didn’t reply.

“I’ll do it.” Maddock handed his phone, wallet, pistol, and flashlight to his partner. “Give me some light down there, all right?” Before he could change his mind, he braced himself, took a couple of breaths, and plunged feet first into the well.

The sudden immersion was a shock to his system. His thoughts immediately flashed to a fall into icy water off the coast of Wrangel Island, years ago. Okay, it isn’t that bad, he thought. He forced his eyes open, waited a few seconds to adjust to the stinging, chilly water, and looked around.

Rough stonework lined the sides of the well, except for the row at the bottom. These stones were regular in shape, finely honed. He searched them one by one, and his eyes fell on a familiar symbol — the cauldron. Excited, he turned quickly and found at the compass points the remaining symbols — sword, spear, and stone. It was just like the chamber beneath Dunstaffnage.

He gave each stone a careful inspection, poking and prodding them one by one, pushing and pulling, trying to release a hidden latch. Nothing. Lungs burning, he went up for a breath of air.

“How we doing down there?” Bones asked.

The frigid water of the well seemed to have deprived Maddock of speech, so he shook his head numbly and went back down.

The stones were obviously a dead end. There must be something he was missing. He repositioned himself and examined the floor. After several seconds, he spotted what he had previously overlooked. Faint lines ran across the floor. He moved higher until he could take it in — the face of the Celtic goddess Danu! Her image was rendered in shallow cuts, easy to overlook. Furthermore, if viewed from too close up, it would look like random lines running across the stone. He was certain it meant something, but what?

He stared down at the face, his eyes burning from the cold water. Invisible bands seemed to constrict his chest. He’d need more air soon.

And then he spotted it. Danu’s open mouth was formed from rock a shade darker than the rest. He swam down for a closer look and saw that its edges rose a few millimeters above the surrounding floor. Was it a plug?

He tried to take hold of it, but his numb fingers cold not grip the scant edge. Next, he took out his knife and tried to work the plug out with its sharp point. No joy.

His body now screamed for air. Spots appeared in front of his eyes. He needed to go up again, but stubbornness held him in place.

Damn! There’s got to be a way.

Anger surging through him, he rose, braced himself against the sides of the well, and stamped down hard with the heel of his booted foot.

Nothing.

He stamped again, and this time he thought he heard a dull, crackling sound. Again and again, he hammered his foot against the stone plug until finally, it shattered.

And then, with alarming suddenness, the floor fell away beneath his feet. He had only a moment to wonder what he had done before a loud, sucking sound filled his ears, and he was swept down into darkness.

“He needs to hurry up,” Bones said, shining his light down into the well. He couldn’t tell what exactly Maddock was doing, but it was clearly ineffectual. “I need coffee, and we might have to form a new plan.”

“This has to be it,” Isla said. “There’s only one Well of the Seven Heads. The clue at Dunstaffnage, the carving at Urquhart, everything points here.”

“I get it, but unless he finds something…” He paused. His sharp ears picked up a dull, thumping sound, like someone hammering from a great distance away. And then a crackling sound that grew louder. Instinctively he looked up, fearing that the ceiling were about to come down.

“The water!” Isla shouted. “What’s happening?”

The surface of the well roiled. A vortex formed at the center, spinning into a whirlpool as the water drained away in a rush. Bones turned his light down into the well and found only a deep hole.

Maddock was gone.

“Maddock!” Bones shouted.

“Oh my God! What’s happened to him?” Isla clutched Bones’ arm. “We have to get down there now. What if he’s hurt? What if he’s…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Tears welled in her eyes.

“I’m sure he’s okay,” Grizzly said. “We had a nice little fall when I found the trapdoor at Dunstaffnage, and we came out of it all right.”

Isla nodded and scrubbed at her face with the back of her sleeve. “Sorry for my reaction. I’m exhausted and have been on edge for days.”

Bones wasn’t sure he bought her explanation, but he let it go.

“Want me to go down and look for him?” Grizzly asked.

“Yeah, headfirst,” Bones said.

Grizzly tilted his head, a slight frown creasing his brow. Then he laughed. “You always trip me up with your sense of humor.”

“I imagine a lot of things trip you up.” Bones still couldn’t quite believe that the cryptid hunter whom he’d so admired had turned out to be such a disappointment. Sure, the guy knew his monsters, but in every other area, he was woefully lacking. With a wry shake of his head, he turned his attention to Isla. “You going to be all right?”

“I think so. But if something happens to Maddock, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Suspicion flared inside him. Had things between her and Maddock gone farther than he’d thought? Surely not. Maddock had returned from her room after only a few minutes the night before. No time for anything serious to happen.

“Chick, you hardly know him.”

“I just meant because I got you two into this,” she said much too quickly.

“Relax, we’re free agents. When it comes to our work, that is.” He cast a meaningful glance at her, and she lowered her head.

“I think we can get down there,” he said, shining his light down the well. “It only drops a couple of feet below where the floor was, and then it looks like it angles out. Might be like a water slide going down, which could be dangerous. Maybe you two should wait here while I check it out.”

Isla gave a firm shake of her head. “I’m going too.”

“Me, too,” Grizzly added. “The treasure is down there, and maybe the monster. That’s where I need to be.”

“Great,” Bones said. “Just stay behind me and try not to slip. If you come crashing down on top of me, I’ll be highly pissed.”

A dark sense of foreboding creeping over him, Bones lowered himself into the well.