"I agree it's unorthodox, but I mean to put an end to Mr. Rael's antics before this murder trial turns into a search for the Loch Ness monster."
The shadow ascends beneath me, homing in on the trail of blood. It rises higher, I can feel its presence around my knees, I can hear it growling in my ears… oh, Jesus, get to the light, Zachary! Get to the light!
"Clear the courtroom," said the judge, turning to his Court Macer. "Everyone but the jury, the accused, and the prosecutors."
The migraine was skewering my eyes, the Macer moving too damn slow. No one wanted to leave, and I was beyond desperate, the images and the migraine causing my entire body to tremble.
To hell with them!
Standing upon my chair on quivering legs, I unbuckled my trousers, then ceremoniously yanked my pants and boxers down six inches, allowing the High Court of Inverness to ogle my waistline, revealing to one and all, the hideous line of two-inch purple scars that encircled the fleshy upper region of my buttocks.
Entry: 23 October 1330
Whit have I done, whit course err'd that has led me to this evil place an' oor impossible task? I try tae write, but is it night or day, I dinnae ken… I canna think, my mind overcome by darkness an' the madness o' oor mission.
We had set off again at dawn, or close tae it, as the valley remained hidden in clouds. Each Knight bore a heavy pack on his back, mysel' included, though I didnae ken the contents, only enough no' tae ask. MacDonald seemed sullen, but determined, as we followed the eastern bank o' Loch Ness, movin' steadily south.
An hour later, we arrived at oor intended destination… or so I thought.
It wis a hillock o' rock, its location set back a bit frae the shoreline, at a place jist north o' where the waters doubled in breadth. MacDonald ordered six o' us tae roll one o' its boulders, revealin' a hole in the ground. It wis the entrance to a cave, its mooth only wide enough tae allow one man at a time tae descend intae its darkness.
Where it led tae? I wid soon find oot.
MacDonald assigned oor formation, keepin' me between himsel' an' Sir Iain Stewart. We secured oorselves in this single file by lengths o' rope, then lit oor torches an' lowered oorselves backwards, one by one, intae the darkness o' mother earth.
Havin' ne'er been in a cave, I wis quite excited, but quickly, the ground beneath my feet dropped away, becomin' a narrow crevice. Twis as if God had cut a jagged slice in the earth wi' his sword. Every treacherous step took us away frae the day until it finally disappeared, each o' us kent only by his tug an' the light o' his torch. I fell several times frae dizziness an' fatigue, but MacDonald an' Stewart were aye there tae catch me, assurin' me that as long as the torches remained lit, we'd be a'right.
I cannae say how long we journeyed, nor how deep, but quickly the ravine widened too far an' plunged at too harsh an angle for us tae walk, so that noo we had tae lower oorselves by rope, one by one, tae the next crags below. Fortunately, MacDonald had appointed two fine guides tae lead us, Reef Cook an' his younger brother, Alex, an' it wis obvious that baith o' them had followed oor intended route many a time.
We continued on like this for many hours, descendin' doon this jagged elope intae Hell, oor heavy satchels threatenin' tae cast us ower an unseen ledge intae oblivion.
Jist when it seemed my bloodied hands couldnae grapple any mair, we dropped doon tae a level plateau… at the bottom o' the gorge.
We rested, MacDonald pullin' me aside. "Listen noo, Adam Wallace, can ye hear it?"
I could hear a dull roar, like distant thunder, comin' frae the darkness tae my left. "Whit is it?"
"Loch Ness's belly."
After a brief respite, the brothers led us west through the darkness until we arrived at the entrance o' a narrow tunnel, gusts o' cold air howlin' frae its mooth. One by one we entered, forced tae crawl on hands an' knees. Mair than a dozen times I banged my heid against rock, the walls o' the tunnel damp, the echo o' rushin' water growin' louder wi' each passin' minute.
An' then, finally, we arrived.
It wis a massive subterranean chamber, harborin' an underground river, black an' cold, its depths impossible tae fathom by the light o' our torches. Thoosands o' pointed rocks hung like fangs frae its vaulted ceilin', an' a steep wall along the opposite shoreline wis alive wi' bats. The hideous animals scurried ower one another like winged vermin, wi' several occasionally flyin' off intae the darkness.
MacDonald offered answers afore I could organize my thoughts intae words. "The river flows frae the belly o' the Loch tae the northeast for four leagues afore emptyin' intae the sea."
"An' the cavern?'
"Forged by ice long afore men came tae these parts. This juncture marks the river's narrowest point, an' we shall use it tae complete our mission."
"MacDonald, if we can access this passage, then the English can, too. An' who among us wid remain in this Hellhole tae guard the Bruce's keep?"
"Ah, but that is the beauty o' the plan. We shall use the Guivre as oor appointed minions, an' none, no' even Longshanks, shall challenge them."
"An' whit are the Guivre?"
"Some folk say they're sea serpents, others describe them as dragons. Me, I call them the De'il himsel'. The head is that o' a great gargoyle, wi' teeth that can carve a man doon tae his bones. The females are feared the most as they grow the largest, as long as a belfry is high. Nasty creatures they are, but born intae darkness, they prefer the depths, away frae God-an' man's light."
"An' how are we tae use these creatures tae safeguard that which belonged tae the Bruce, an object the English King wid gie half his treasure tae capture?"
"This is the passage the young Guivre must traverse when they enter Loch Ness frae the Moray Firth. When they reach maturity, the adults must again follow the river and return tae the sea. By blockin' the passage, we'll keep the largest o' the creatures frae leavin', an' Scotland's Holy Grail shall be protected."
As he spoke, the Templar Knights began unpackin' their satchels, removin' heavy lengths o' flat irons, the kind used tae gate drawbridges.
MacDonald smiled at me, the madness aglow in his eyes.
An hour has past, an' I rest noo by the fire, my body still weary frae oor descent. As others toil, boltin' together the iron gate, I ponder the repercussions of MacDonald's plan. Assumin' these dragons even existed, whit wrath wid Nature bring doon upon our heads…
Chapter 13
My husband and I had just arrived at Strone Holiday Chalet near Urquhart Castle, overlooking the bay. We parked at the rear of the chalet and my husband paused from unloading the car to admire the view. That's when he saw it! It was a long, dark object, its skin very slick. The two of us watched the object for about 30–45 seconds, until it slipped gently beneath the surface and disappeared.
Both my husband and I have seen seals and dolphins in the wild, and this object didn't look like either. This was not a boat wake nor wind slick or any other dark shape often mistaken for Nessie. It was simply a very large, black animal.
Keeping his word, Judge Hannam ordered me medicated, then held in contempt, his "official" excuse for sequestering me away from the descending hordes of media, to which I was eternally grateful. I quickly found myself in a holding cell across from my father's, the castle's dense walls isolating me from the screams and shouts of reporters demanding answers to their questions.