“Just playing it safe.” Maddock gazed at the water, then up to the ceiling, far above, and finally to the shrine. He could see no sign of a booby trap or any other danger. Most likely there had once been a thirteenth stone, rigged to undercut the efforts of an unlucky treasure hunter. Hopefully whatever sort of trap it had been was like a mousetrap — once sprung, it was useless unless someone came along and reset it.
Might as well go for it. He tensed and sprang. He was no long jumper, but he cleared the water with ease, landing smoothly and turning to face the others.
“What are you waiting for, Bones? Not scared, are you?”
Bones laughed and, taking the stepping stones two at a time just to show off, made his way across to join Maddock. Grizzly followed, stopping periodically to turn toward Isla and smile for the camera. He didn’t seem to notice that she stopped clicking the shutter every time he struck a pose.
“Clear the way,” Grizzly warned as he reached the last stepping stone. “I don’t want to knock you over.”
Maddock looked down. He stood a good five feet from the water’s edge. Unless the cryptid hunter grew wings, he wasn’t covering that kind of distance. Still, he moved a few inches to the side just to humor the man.
“Isla, you might want to get this,” Grizzly called. “Maybe get me in midair. That would make a great cover photo for your magazine.”
Bones turned to Maddock. “Want me to push him in?”
Maddock laughed. “Nah. Let’s keep him around. You never know when you might need a meat shield or a sacrificial lamb.”
Grizzly tensed and sprang, legs splayed, one hand held high above his head.
“Michael Jordan!” Grizzly cried. His feet hit the rocky island right at the edge of the water. For two comical seconds, he teetered on the edge, his arms windmilling wildly. And then, with a shout of, “Whoa!” he fell backward.
Quick as a mongoose, Bones reached out, snatched the man by his belt, and yanked him forward onto the island. He was rougher than absolutely necessary, and Grizzly ended up on his hands and knees at Bones’ feet.
“Did you get that?” Bones called to Isla.
“You bet your ass I did!” she said, holding up her camera. “Probably not front-page material.” She replaced her camera in its waterproof case, tucked it into her drawstring bag, and made her way across the steps.
“This is not my idea of fun,” she said as she leaped from one rock to the next. “They made us do hurdles in physical education. I’ve avoided jumping on principal ever since.”
“Seriously?” Maddock asked as she landed on the last stepping stone.
“Not really,” she said, laughing. “I’m just worried that I’ll slip and get my camera wet. Speaking of my camera…” She slipped out of her drawstring bag. “Hold this, just in case.” She tossed it underhand to Maddock. In doing so, she overbalanced. “Oh, bollocks!” She tried to jump but made it only a couple of feet before hitting the water.
“Isla!” Maddock shouted.
She surfaced a moment later, shuddering and spewing a stream of curses.
“Can you swim?” Grizzly asked.
“Of course I can swim, you bloody…” She halted in mid-sentence and gasped, her wide eyes staring at something off to the side.
“What is it?” Maddock asked, sweeping the beam of his light across the surface of the lake.
“Th… th… there. Coming this way.”
And then Maddock saw it.
Three dark humps sliced through the water, making a beeline for Isla.
Brigid shone her light across the dark water to the small, stone islet. It took all her self-control to keep her features fixed as she gazed upon what was obviously the remains of an aquatic reptile. Odd, despite having believed the legends of the Tuatha de Dannan, having read the clue that said it was guarded by a beastie, she had never put any stock in Nessie lore. She’d always believe it a foolish local legend, repeated and embellished to encourage tourism. Furthermore, she’d assumed the Tuatha had capitalized on the tales in order to frighten the unworthy.
“It seems there was something to the legends after all,” she said.
“You mean that thing is real?” O’Brien asked.
“No,” Brigid said, derision strong in her voice. “Someone made a fake sea monster skeleton and hid it down here where no one would ever stumble across it, and then sealed up the well just to make certain.”
“I only meant, perhaps it’s a forgery intended to frighten anyone who comes looking for the treasure,” O’Brien said dully.
“Lower your voices,” Brigid said. “The others are somewhere up ahead. We don’t want to alert them to our presence.”
“They aren’t the only ones I don’t wish to alert,” Fairly said delicately. “If this beastie has brothers and sisters about…”
“Then Isla and her men will encounter the beasts first,” Brigid said. “Perhaps the guardian of the treasure will take care of them for us.” Her guts knotted as she spoke. What if Isla fell victim to the beast?
“But if that happens, who will take care of the guardian?” Brown asked.
Standing a few paces away, Donnelly grinned and cracked her knuckles. “We will.” She patted the pistol holstered at her hip.
Brigid nodded. There were six of them, all armed and ready. She hoped that would be enough.
Chapter 31
The line of dark humps undulated as it zipped silently through the water. As Bones and Grizzly hauled Isla up onto dry land, Maddock drew his pistol and took aim. Did he dare fire? Would a bullet only anger the beast? Could he say for certain that it meant them any harm?
“Everybody move to the center, next to the statue,” he said.
“Is this a good idea?” Bones asked, taking up a position in front of the others. “If this thing guards the treasure, we’re standing at ground zero.”
“The other option is to run, but I don’t relish hopping back across those stepping stones with that thing out there.”
As they watched, the humps veered away from the island and began a slow, wide circle around the underground lake. When it seemed the thing would come no closer, they all relaxed, though Maddock kept his pistol in his hand.
“So it really does have humps,” Grizzly marveled. “I guess it’s to be expected that the plesiosaur would evolve some unique traits over time.”
“How big do you think it is?” Isla asked.
Maddock gazed at the strange sight. Visions of all the alleged Loch Ness monster photos he’d seen over the years ran through his mind. “Difficult to say. The humps are barely breaking the water, but if they comprise the length of the body, then I guess triple it to account for the neck and tail.”
“About six meters, or twenty feet. Not a large one, then,” Isla said.
“Works for me,” Bones said. “The shorter the neck, the less chance it has of reaching out and snatching one of us.”
Maddock grimaced. “Unless it climbs up here with us.”
“Well, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine?”
As if on cue, the line of humps turned and headed directly toward them. Once again, Maddock raised his pistol and took aim.
“Holy crap.” Bones took out his own pistol and moved to stand beside his friend. “Do we wait to see the whites of its eyes?”
“I don’t know. Just make your shots count.”
The humps drew closer. Maddock placed his finger on the trigger.
Twenty feet. Ten feet.
And then something broke the water. A sleek, round, fur-covered head with a long snout and big, dark eyes.