“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?”
Chapter 29
Maddock played the beam of his Maglite all around as they moved down the wide, gently sloping tunnel. In the quiet, he could hear only their soft footfalls and the occasional dripping of water onto the floor. A chill ran down his neck. It was cold down here, their light clothing doing little to ward off the dampness.
Isla broke the silence. “There are cracks everywhere down here.” She ran her finger across a split in the rock that oozed water. “That doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.”
“It’ll be all right,” Bones said. “It’s like a Hoover Dam tour.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Bones raised his voice a notch and gave it a nasal quality. “I’ll be your dam guide. Feel free to take all the dam pictures you want.”
Isla gave him a blank stare. “Still nothing.”
“Are there any dam questions?” Bones continued.
Maddock chimed in. “Where can I get some damn bait?”
Grizzly put his arm around Isla’s shoulders. “If you’ve got some chewing gum, I could try plugging some of those cracks for you.”
The three men guffawed.
“Come on,” Bones said. “Vegas Vacation? Chevy Chase? Cousin Eddie?”
“I hate you all.” Isla turned around and stalked away down the passage.
“It’s cool,” Bones said. “When this is over we’ll rent the movie. You’ll love it.”
His words were cut off by Isla’s loud cry.
“Guys! Get in here now!”
Maddock hurried after her, following the glow of her light. He rounded a bend and skidded to a halt, the damp stone slick beneath his feet.
“What is it?” he asked.
Isla snaked an arm around his waist. Her breath coming in rapid gulps, she pointed a trembling finger.
They stood at the edge of a small underground lake, its dark surface smooth as glass. As Maddock’s eyes ran across it, a single drop of water fell from the ceiling, partially concealed by a curtain of mist, and struck with a gentle plink. Ripples radiated out. The beam of his light followed them until they reached a rocky islet at the lake’s center.
Bones and Grizzly caught up with them and stood gaping at what they saw.
It was not the small island itself that was remarkable, but what it held. The middle of the gray slab of stone was worn down in a deep, rounded indentation like a wallow, similar to what they’d seen below Urquhart Castle. How large a creature and how much time had it taken to wear down the stone like that? But that wasn’t what captured Maddock’s imagination.
In the middle of the wallow, lying amongst fish bones and other detritus lay the remains of a juvenile plesiosaur.