Loch

Chapter 28

Maddock careened down the steep passageway. He grabbed for a handhold, tried to use his feet to slow his fall, but he could find no purchase on the water and grime-slicked stone surface. Worn smooth by the passage of water and time, the channel down which he slid was like a tube. He slid along the slimy rock, oddly unaware of how fast he was moving in the pitch darkness. Bones would think this was a blast, he thought.

And then he hit level ground. It happened so suddenly he scarcely had time to protect his head before he was tumbling across a rough stone floor. His body found every bump in the uneven surface, and then he crashed into a solid wall. Sparks flashed as his head struck rock, and hot pain coursed through him.

“I don’t even have Grizzly to blame for this,” he muttered to no one.

He lay there, flat on his back, arms and legs splayed out, breathing heavily. He concentrated on listening to the messages his body was sending him. Which parts were injured and how badly? He’d wrenched his back, but he thought his spine was uninjured. He checked it by wiggling his fingers and toes. At least, it felt like they wiggled; he couldn’t see an inch in front of his face in the pitch black. Next, he flexed his arms and legs. Everything seemed okay there as well. After a quick head-to-toe assessment, he diagnosed himself with a bump on the head, a few bruised ribs, and a similarly injured kneecap.

Satisfied that he was going to live, he decided it was time for action. His hand found the wall next to him, and he rose to his feet. A wave of dizziness washed over him, but he managed to remain standing. Maybe the blow to the head was worse than he thought. He sucked in a few deep breaths and waited for the dizzy spell to pass.

“Okay,” he said, “no light, and no idea what’s down here. I guess I can find the tunnel and try to crawl back up, or I can wait and see if Bones and the others come down.”

The decision was taken out of his hands when he heard Bones’ voice echo through the chamber.

“Hooooly craaaap!” Bones rumbled. And then, “Everybody make yourselves into a ball!”

“Wish I’d thought of that,” Maddock muttered.

And then he heard a soft thumping sound and his feet flew out from under him as something, rather someone, crashed hard into his legs. He hit the ground hard, the wind forced out of him, as new spears of pain lanced through his side. And then, one after another, two more bodies crashed into him.

“Seriously?” he gasped. “Not one of you managed to avoid hitting me?”

“Maddock? Are you all right?” He felt Isla’s hand on his cheek, her breath damp on his neck. As if of its own volition, one of his hands found hers and gave it a squeeze, but she jerked it away. “Just checking,” she snapped.

Still angry about last night, I suppose.

And then a light blossomed in the darkness.

“That was actually kind of fun,” Bones said. “Except for the part where Maddock kicked me in the head.”

“Kicked you?” Maddock said, still regaining his breath. “You three treated me like a bowling pin.”

“Yeah, but I’m the one who managed to pick up the spare. Can you stand?”

Maddock nodded and allowed his friend to haul him to his feet. Everything hurt. Bones returned Maddock’s belongings to him, and Maddock added his own light to the one Bones held. A moment later, Isla and Grizzly clicked on their flashlights. After the pitch black, the cavern now seemed bright as day.

It was a domed chamber, maybe thirty feet across. Up ahead, a wide opening led into a dark passageway beyond. And all around the entryway lay…

“Skeletons!” Isla gasped.

Human bones lay scattered across the floor. The beam of Maddock’s light fell upon a skull; its open mouth and empty eye sockets appeared to gape at him, as if shocked by this intrusion into its final resting place. Here and there he saw bits of leather and fabric, metal buttons, and rusted weapons.

“Who were they?” Grizzly asked.

“And who killed them?” Isla added.

Maddock moved closer to examine one of the skeletons that remained mostly intact.

“I don’t think it’s a question of who,” he said, “but what. Look at this guy.”

The others moved in around him for a closer look.

“His left foot is gone like it was bitten clean off. Same with his right hand.”

“Why do you say ‘bitten’?” Isla whispered.

“It’s too clean. If either were hacked off with, say, a sword, or blown off by a gunshot, you’d see shattered bone, fragmentation, crushing.”

Grizzly swallowed hard, let out an audible gulp. “Couldn’t a sword slice through cleanly?”

“The right sword, wielded by the right man, striking the right place, maybe. But look how high up on the leg it’s severed. See the thickness of the bone? Something powerful sliced through this man’s leg like it was nothing.”

“Hold on,” Grizzly said. “I can’t believe that Nessie is a killing machine. I just can’t. There’s no record of her attacking anyone.”

“Except the German soldiers on the U-boat,” Bones said.

“Remember the clue?” Isla prompted. “The beastie guards the treasure. Maybe when the monster’s down here it’s more… territorial?”

“It looks like these bodies have been down here a while,” Maddock said. “It looks like this guy was wearing a tunic.” He pointed first to the moldering remains of a loose-fitting, knee-length shirt clinging to the skeleton, and then to the claymore, its blade pitted with rust, lying nearby. “But the well, and the false bottom were built long after these guys died.”

“So the Tuatha chose a cavern where the beastie lives as the place to hide their treasure,” Bones said. “Makes sense.”

“It would definitely present a challenge to the unworthy,” Isla added.

“Maybe there’s no monster. Perhaps they just put these skeletons here to scare us off,” Grizzly said.

“If you don’t want to go on, you don’t have to,” Maddock told the cryptid hunter. “But I’m not stopping.”

Grizzly held up his hands. “Nobody said anything about stopping. It’s just, you two have guns, and I don’t want you getting trigger-happy if we encounter an unknown creature. Just,” he looked up, searching for the words, “give her a chance.”

Maddock nodded. “Fair enough. We don’t use deadly force unless it’s in defense of our lives.” He turned and shone his beam down the dark passageway. “Now, let’s see what’s back there.”

Brigid descended the steps, the cool breeze off of Loch Oich ruffling her auburn hair. She looked out at the water and sighed. She wanted to believe this was it — that they were finally on the verge of discovery. But there had been so many disappointments, so many bumps in the road. And then there had been the impediments. They would have to be removed post-haste.

She sighed. Isla could present a problem. She was as dedicated to the search for the treasure as Brigid was, but could Isla be made to see the big picture? If not, steps would have to be taken. The thought pained Brigid, but that was a problem that would sort itself out in time.

At the mouth of the passageway that led to the Well of the Seven Heads, she paused. The footsteps behind her stopped. In addition to Fairly and O’Brien, she’d brought extra muscle along in the form of Donovan, a former cop with a penchant for excess violence, and Donnelly, a big, bald woman whom she’d hired away from a musician’s private security detail.

“What is it?” Fairly whispered.

Brigid held up a hand. Cautiously, she leaned forward and stole a glance down the tunnel. No one was there.

“Just checking.” She looked around. “Where the hell has Brown gotten to?”

“I’m here.” Brown stepped out from behind one of the many trees that ringed the Loch. “They went in right about the time I called you, and they haven’t come out.”

Brigid’s heart raced. “So they must have found something!” Hope rose within her. She sensed that, at long last, they had reached the end of their quest. This time, they would find it. “Let’s go.”

She led the way down the tunnel, taking care to move soundlessly. No need to alert Isla should she be somewhere nearby. The passageway faded to black, and she took out a flashlight and flicked it on.

“That’s the well?” O’Brien whispered from somewhere behind them. “But there’s no water.”

Brigid knelt and shone her light down into the gaping hole. “There was a false bottom, but someone has broken through. See?” She played her light around the well, several feet down. Jagged chunks of rock stuck out perpendicular from the wall.

“Isla,” Fairly said.

Brigid nodded. “She’s a clever one. Resourceful.” Worry filled her as she spoke. Isla was a diligent researcher with a sharp mind and could be a valuable resource. Surely she could be brought around. But how much did Brigid really know about the young journalist? Perhaps Isla couldn’t be trusted.

“When we catch up with them, what are our orders?” O’Brien asked.

“When we get down there, you are free to kill the men, but do not shoot Isla unless I give the order. She could still prove valuable.”

“But, there’s a chance you might want her dead?” Fairly asked. “That would be a shame.”

“It would. She has been a faithful hound over the years even if she didn’t know it. Her father’s influence. He loved a treasure hunt.”

“He surely did,” Fairly agreed.

Brigid nodded. “She, and whoever these men are, have hopefully led us to the treasure. If she won’t see reason, we will have to accept that her usefulness is at an end. We can’t leave a single enemy alive to interfere with our plans moving forward.”

Fairly nodded. “If I may make a suggestion, why follow them down into God knows what? Let them bring the treasure out, and we’ll take it from them.”

Brigid shook her head. “Too many things could go wrong. The Tuatha might have built in a back door, in which case they could find another way out. Or they could hide the treasure, intending to return for it later.”

“I agree,” Brown interrupted.

Brigid turned a withering gaze upon her underling, but the man did not flinch.

“This is the treasure of the Tuatha de Dannan,” Brown continued. “A reward for the worthy. It is not for the fearful, who cower while others claim it. We should go down there and take it. For Scotland.”

Brigid set her jaw and stared at Brown. This insubordination should not go unpunished, but Brown’s words had had the desired effect. Where she had seen trepidation, even fear, moments before, she now saw determination in the faces of Fairly and O’Brien. He stood.

“Well spoken, Mister Brown. How about you lead the way down into the well?”