by David Wood
Maddock shook his head. “Swim where?”
“Good point.”
Brigid moved to the water’s edge, casting a pleading look at her daughter.
“Meikle’s been helping you, hasn’t he?” Maddock asked, playing for time.
“Yes, what little help he’s been. It seems Isla managed to play him like a violin,” she added, a note of pride in her voice.
“Did he know all along that you were alive?” Isla asked. “Is he a part of…whatever this is?” Her sweeping gesture took in her mother, Fairly, who had risen from his hiding place and stood holding a pistol as if it were a writhing serpent, and their two surviving underlings, both of whom wore blood soaked clothing that indicated they were nursing wounds.
The odds were not yet in their favor, but there was hope. If Maddock could draw Brigid and Fairly out onto the island, maybe he and Bones could disarm them. Then it would be a fair fight.
“This is the Tuatha de Dannan,” Brigid said. “Meikle is not a member, but he’s been useful at times.”
Isla forced a small, sad laugh. “All this secrecy, all these years lost, and for what?”
“For what?” Brigid threw up her hands. “Isla, don’t you understand? It’s real. It always was. The United Kingdom is falling apart. The tenuous bonds that held Scotland and England together are dissolving. Britain is losing its identity, being overwhelmed by outsiders. Anti-Irish politics is on the rise. Europe as a whole is falling apart. The Celtic people have never needed the Tuatha more than now.”
Maddock frowned. Did this woman really mean this crap, or was she just trying to mesmerize Isla with a mad tale?
“Celtics?” Maddock said. “You mean the people that pretty much covered Western Europe once upon a time? You’re going to wave around a sword and spear and they’ll all bend the knee?”
“Most have lost their way,” Brigid said, “but let me ask you this. Where is the Celtic language still spoken? Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, Wales, Cornwall. We have not forgotten. Even Brittany remembers.”
“France?” Bones said. “Screw the French.”
Brigid ignored him. She continued to lock eyes with Isla.
“What do you think is going to happen?” Maddock asked. “The Tuatha will rise again?”
“The spirit of the Celtic people will rise. We will unite, break free of the yolk of the English. Soon our cause will spread as others remember their true roots. They will remember who we were before the Roman church broke us.”
“You think the English will stand still for that?” Maddock asked. He suddenly remembered that Isla had said something similar the night before.
“England is collapsing from within. They are torn down the middle politically. Terrorists on both sides fuel the fire. And as they fall apart, my allies are prepared to step in.” She beamed at Isla. “Isla, I am part of a new family, a sisterhood.”
The word pierced Maddock like a dagger. He and Bones had encountered a group called the Sisterhood before. Instinct, and Brigid’s emphasis on the word told him it was the same organization, and if that were the case, something had gone very wrong.
“I know this will be difficult to believe, but we are directly descended from the original Tuatha—my family and your father’s. We are royalty, and one day you will be queen.”
Isla’s eyes widened in amazement, her features softened. “No. That can’t be.” The smile slowly creeping across her face suggested that, deep down, she truly believed it.
“It’s true,” Brigid said. “Why do you think the Tuatha was always such an important part of our family? The focus of so much of our work.”
“Isla, don’t believe her,” Maddock said, but she clearly wasn’t listening. Maddock needed to break the spell.
“You never told Isla what happened to her father,” he said. “You have something to hide?”
Isla stopped short. Brigid flinched.
“He is lost to us and we have the corrupt government from which we shall break free to think for it.” She held out her hand to Isla. “You completed the quest. You proved yourself worthy. Join us. Please.”
“You have to let my friends go,” Isla said. “They did nothing wrong. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have recovered the treasure. Will you guarantee their safety?”
“Of course,” Brigid said, but the semi-darkness could not hide the narrowing of her eyes, the forced tightness of her smile. Maddock knew she was lying.
Perhaps Grizzly realized it too, or maybe he was overcome by a momentary wave of heroism, but at that moment he leaped out from his hiding place. With a cry of, “No!” he snatched up the sacred spear and drew his arm back. “You won’t take her.”
Shots rang out. Grizzly uttered a low cry of pain as the impact spun him around and he fell, face-first, to the ground, clutching his shoulder. The spear clattered to the floor and rolled away until it stopped against the base of the statue of Danu.
“So much for the unbeatable weapon,” Bones said.
“Scratch that legend,” Maddock agreed.
Brigid had noticed, too. She frowned. “That shouldn’t have…” she whispered. As quickly as it had come, the frown was gone, replaced by a cold smile. “Come with me, Isla. We’ll get your friends out of here and then we’ll have all the time in the world to talk.”
“No!” Maddock reached for Isla, but she was already gone. He watched helplessly as she leaped out onto the stepping stones and ran to embrace her mother. He had lost her.
“Either of you guys got a bandage?” Grizzly groaned.
“Of course.” Maddock rose to his feet, but before he could take one step, one of the Tuatha fired, the bullet pinging the ground inches from his toe.
“I’m just going to bandage his wound,” Maddock said, hands raised. His eyes roved all around. There had to be a way out of this.
Isla and her mother had reached the shore. She whirled about at the sound of the gunshot. “You promised not to hurt them,” Isla said.
“They know too much. I’m sorry.” But there was no regret in Brigid’s icy voice.
“But, Mother!”
“Can you honestly say they would support our cause?”
Isla didn’t reply.
Maddock sensed they had seconds left. A whirlwind of thoughts spun through his mind. Should they grab the Tuatha weapons and try to fight? Could they swim for it? And what about Grizzly? Could he swim with his wounded shoulder?
And then he noticed something strange. A faint flicker deep within the crimson stone upon the spear of the Tuatha, as if the gem were coming to life. A second light, a silver shimmer, almost too faint to see, danced within the triskele carved on the floor.
It all clicked into place in his mind. The pattern carved on the floor of the chamber at Dunstaffnage. The same pattern encircling each gemstone. And here it was at Danu’s feet.
“It’s the triskele! Get the treasures inside it, now!”
He and Bones sprang into action as Brigid shouted, “Kill them!”
Bones shouted a question, but his words were lost in the torrent of gunfire.
Bullets sizzled through the air all around them as Maddock and Bones heaved the Stone of Destiny onto the ground at Danu’s feet. Maddock immediately knew he’d made the right call. Silver light danced within the onyx jewel, and the pattern on the ground shone brighter.
“I’ll get Grizzly,” Bones shouted.
Maddock nodded, then turned to grab the cauldron, which he set alongside the stone. The light within the triskele grew in intensity.
“Now we’re really sitting ducks,” Maddock muttered. “No more darkness to hide us.”
As Bones hauled Grizzly, still clutching his injured shoulder, to the center of the islet, Maddock took hold of the sword of the Tuatha and slid it free from the stone.
Holding it up before him, as if it could ward off the bullets, he stepped backward onto the triskele.
The blue stone in the pommel of the sword shone with brilliant light. Around him, the spear and cauldron adde
d their red and golden glows; and atop the Stone of Destiny, the black gem spat flashes of silver light as the four treasures came together within the ancient Celtic symbol.
“What the hell is happening?” Bones said as the triskele suddenly burned with white light, turning the cavern bright as day.
“Grab the spear,” Maddock said.
“Sure, give the spear to the Indian.” Bones snatched up the ancient weapon. “Do I throw it?”
“I don’t think we need to,” Maddock said.
He realized that something had changed. He could see muzzle flashes as the Tuatha fired upon their position, but he could scarcely hear them. Only dull pops reached his ears now. The air around them seemed to thicken and everything slowed.
He watched, bemused, as a bullet swam toward him in slow motion. He moved to the side and it floated on past.
He turned to Bones, who had also realized what was happening. Grinning, he used the shaft of the spear to swat another of the slow-moving slugs.
“You guys look like the Flash!” Grizzly’s garbled voice sounded as if it were coming from underwater.
Maddock ducked another bullet.
“Do we just keep dodging until they’re out of ammo?” Bones said, his voice similarly odd and distant.
“I don’t know.” Maddock turned his head in time to see a bullet fired from behind them making its slow way toward Grizzly. He swatted it away and watched as it splashed into the dark water.
And then everything came rushing back to him. The thunderous sounds of gunfire. The acrid smell of gun smoke. The dampness of the cavern. Everything moved at full speed now.
Including the bullet that tore into his thigh.
Maddock looked down in disbelief as blood began to soak his leg. Had the magic gone?
Another bullet ricocheted past him. And then he realized what had happened. He’d stepped outside the triskele.
Holding the sword out in front of him, he staggered back into its protection and felt the strange, thick air envelop him. They were safe, but they couldn’t remain here forever. If Brigid were smart, she’d call for reinforcements and wait them out. And unless he was badly mistaken, the woman was no fool.
Grizzly shouted something unintelligible. Maddock turned to see the cryptid hunter, holding the cauldron like a shield, pointing with his injured arm at something out in the water.
Maddock immediately saw what had caught the man’s attention.
A dark shape sliced through the water. He knew right away that this was no seal. It was huge, covered in a thick, dark hide, and it left a wake like a speedboat behind it as it zipped past the islet.
The gunmen on shore were so focused on turning the cavern into a shooting gallery that they didn’t see the beast until it was too late.
A serpentine neck rose from the water. In the light from the glow of the treasure, Maddock saw the creature’s long, narrow head, its jaws filled with dark, razor-sharp teeth. It was magnificent and terrible.
It struck like a viper, tearing out the throat of the first Tuatha. The man reeled backward, hands clutching his ruined throat. He was already dead, but didn’t know it. He wobbled, then tumbled forward into the water.
Fairly, standing close by, scarcely had time to turn and fire a wild shot before the guardian of the treasure struck. Its teeth severed his arm at the elbow, his forearm, along with the gun he held, splashed into the water. Screaming, he turned to run, but the beast lashed out with its tail, sending him flying through the air. He struck the cavern wall with a sickening thud and slid to the ground, leaving a trail of blood and gore behind him.
Maddock caught a brief glimpse of Brigid and Isla fleeing into the darkness. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
The last remaining Tuatha, the red-haired woman called O’Brien, emptied her magazine at the beast of the lake. When it ran dry, she flung it at the creature, and then made a dash for the safety of the Shrine of Danu.
She almost made it. Reaching the last stone, she leaped, but the beast snatched her in midair. It caught her by the leg and began to whip her back and forth like a dog with a new toy. O’Brien cried out in rage and fear as the beast flung her this way and that like a rag doll.
Maddock’s first inclination was to go to her aid, but then he remembered. In this situation, O’Brien was the killer, the beast the protector. At least, it was momentarily their protector.
Apparently the thought had not occurred to Grizzly. As Maddock and Bones watched the terrible scene unfold before them, the cryptid hunter, cauldron clutched in one hand, pocketknife in the other, stumbled forward.
“Grizzly, no!” Maddock reached out, snatched the cryptid hunter by the back of the shirt, and yanked him backward.
His hand soaked with the blood that oozed from his wound, Grizzly lost his grip on the cauldron. It clanged dully to the ground and rolled to the edge of the water.
The world came back into sharp focus. The air cleared. From the open water where the beast had carried her, O’Brien’s screams rose in sharp, terrible pitch. Maddock’s heart fell.
The cauldron had passed the edge of the triskele.
The spell had been broken.
Chapter 34
The Shrine of Danu
O’Brien’s pained shrieks died a gurgling death along with the rest of her. With one final twist of its neck, the beast flung her torn body onto the islet. Maddock ducked as one of her arms tore free and flew past his head. He spared a glance at the shredded corpse, then turned his eyes back toward the guardian of the lake.
The beast met his gaze with its black-eyed stare. She tilted her head like a confused puppy.
Maddock felt himself relax. Perhaps she sensed that they meant her no harm. He wasn’t sure why he’d suddenly decided the creature was female. It was the mental association with Nessie, he supposed.
The aquatic reptile gazed at him for a few seconds, and then she opened her mouth and let out an angry hiss.
“Take a step back, there, Maddock,” Bones said.
“We need to get the cauldron back inside the circle,” Maddock said, eyes locked on the beast. He took a step forward, and it hissed again.
“Maybe she won’t mess with us,” Grizzly offered. “She’s the guardian of the treasure.”
“The treasure we’re now holding,” Maddock said, still watching the angry creature, which swam slowly, inexorably closer to them.
“But we were protecting it, too.”
The creature let out a high-pitched shriek and shot toward them.
“Try telling her that,” Maddock said.
The beast struck, and Maddock did the only thing he could. He struck at her with the sword.
A flash of blue, and the creature drew back, a shallow gash across her snout. She hissed and struck again. Slowed by his injured leg, Maddock barely managed to dance out of her reach. His weak blow struck her across the back of her powerfully muscled neck. Another flash of light, but no damage that he could see.
“Looks like you’re just pissing her off with that thing,” Bones said.
The sound of his voice drew the beast’s attention. She snapped her head around to face him.
“Whoa, Nessie!” Bones said. “Just chill, girl.”
His words fell on deaf ears, or whatever orifices a plesiosaur used for hearing. The creature snapped at Bones, and only his lightning-fast reflexes kept the snapping jaws from closing around his throat. He ducked, and then came up fast, stabbing her throat at the vulnerable place where her head joined the neck.
It could have been a killing blow, but the beast was too quick. With a flash of blood-red light, the spear head sliced a narrow cut along her neck. The beast snapped at the spear, caught it in her jaws, but couldn’t hold on. Red light danced along the blade, an electric sizzle crackling through the cavern. With a pained, angry shriek, the creature let go of the spear just as Maddock staggered forward on his injured leg, sword raised high.
For a moment, he was certain it was over. The sword flashed, gl
eaming blue, sweeping toward the exposed neck of the legendary beast. But his sword fell on empty air, and clanged down on solid rock in a shower of blue sparks.
“You almost killed me, Maddock!” Bones shouted.
“I was trying to save you!”
“Look out!” Grizzly cried.
Something powerful struck Maddock across the back of the thighs. His legs were swept out from under him and he hit the ground hard on his back. Pain radiated in all directions from the base of his spine. He tasted warm salty blood in his mouth.
“That hurt.” He forced his eyes open to see Bones leap backward as the beast’s powerful tail swept back toward him.
Somehow, Maddock managed to roll to the side. He felt the rush of foul air and the splash of dank water as the tip of the tail sliced through the air mere centimeters from his face.
“I got the cauldron back inside the symbol, but she’s not stopping,” Grizzly said. “Maybe she’s immune to the magic.”
“Either that or she’s got the bloodlust in her,” Bones said, fending off the creature with another thrust of the spear. “No telling how long it’s been since she’s tasted human flesh. This chick’s got the munchies. I guess a Tuatha snack wasn’t enough to satisfy her.”
Maddock’s eyes flashed from the beast to the cauldron in Grizzly’s hands.
He had an idea. A crazy, foolish, probably doomed to fail idea, but it was the only one he had.
“Give me the cauldron.” He snatched the gleaming kettle, turned and looked around. There, a few feet from him, lay O’Brien’s severed arm. Grimacing, he picked up the severed limb and dropped it into the cauldron.
“Bones, keep her distracted for just a couple more seconds!”
“What the hell does it look like I’m doing?” Bones ducked behind the statue of Danu as the creature snapped at him again. She struck the statue, shattering the face of the ancient Goddess as her fangs snapped shut.
Maddock staggered to the edge of the lake, as close to the beast as he dared. He scooped some water into the pot then set the cauldron down at the edge of the triskele.
“Dinner time!” he shouted, clanging the sword against the rim of the cauldron.