Loch Nessa

by Clare Kauter

  “I really don’t think that’s any of our business,” said Daisy, giving Hecate a pointed look. I frowned for a second, then caught on to what Daisy meant. Clearly she thought Henry and I had been having a secret rendezvous.

  “I’ll decide if it’s relevant when they tell me what they’ve been up to.”

  Hecate’s tone took me aback. She sounded suspicious, but I couldn’t think why. We really hadn’t been up to anything nefarious. Well, apart from me talking to Ed, but it wasn’t like she could know that, was it?

  “I don’t suppose either of you have seen a certain ghost during your wanderings?”

  Don’t gulp. Don’t gulp don’t gulp don’t gulp. Shit. How could she possibly know? Had she heard me talking to him? Seen me with him? Maybe Ed’s clouding spell hadn’t worked during dinner after all. Wait, no, that made no sense – if she’d seen him then, she would have just arrested him. So what was she talking about? How had she found out that I’d –

  “I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about, Hecate, but Nessa and I didn’t see any ghost around here. Vampires, yes, but no ghost.”

  “Is this true?” Hecate asked, rounding on me.

  I nodded, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. She flicked her gaze between the two of us.

  “You still haven’t explained what you’re doing up.”

  “I went to Nessa’s room,” said Henry. Both Hecate’s and Daisy’s eyebrows rose, and if they’d been watching me instead of staring at Henry in shock then they would have seen mine do the same. It took every ounce of self control I had (which, admittedly, is not a lot) to get my face to return to a neutral state.

  “It’s not like that,” he said quickly, catching their facial expressions. “I just wanted to discuss the case. While I was there, Nessa had the idea of scrying Alora.”

  “I thought it would be easier now that we’re nearby,” I added, not exactly sure why Henry was going to the trouble of lying for me, but grateful anyway.

  “Something in the castle was blocking us, so we decided to go outside to try there,” said Henry.

  “And did you see her?”

  Henry shook his head. “While we were out there, we were attacked by the baobhan sith.”

  “And then Pierre showed up and decided he wanted a bite, too,” I added.

  Henry glanced at me out the corner of his eye. A warning look.

  “Pierre showed up at the coven the other day,” I explained to him. “He’s been chasing me for a while, but I’m not really sure why.”

  “Because you’re the weakest of us,” Hecate said, nodding once. “That must be it.”

  Somehow I doubted it.

  “Probably,” Henry agreed. “Anyway, those two attacked us but we managed to escape back inside.”

  “How?” Hecate asked.

  Henry hesitated for a moment before saying, “I’m not sure. There was some sort of… explosion.”

  “Explosion?” Hecate asked, staring at him intently.

  He nodded. “I don’t really know what caused it,” he lied. “One second the vampires were about to attack us and the next… boom.”

  Daisy and Hecate glanced at each other. Did they suspect Henry was lying? Surely not.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  They hesitated for a moment before Daisy spoke. “We might have some idea of what caused that explosion.”

  “Oh?”

  “I can’t imagine why he’d…” Hecate murmured to herself, lost in thought.

  “Why who would…” Henry trailed off. “Wait, you asked about a ghost earlier. Are you talking about what I think you’re talking about?”

  “We think Ed was in the area earlier this evening,” Daisy said, nodding. “That’s why we’re awake. We were alerted to his presence.”

  “How?” I asked, hoping to hell they didn’t know I’d been with him.

  “The Doomstone was used,” guessed Henry. Well, he pretended to guess, I guess.

  Daisy and Hecate both nodded. “It was, not ten minutes ago.”

  “Around the same time as the explosion,” said Henry, nodding.

  I felt myself tense. Why was he drawing a correlation between the two events? Surely he wasn’t going to dob me in now! He’d already lied to the others for me, so I was pretty sure he was on my side. If so, then why was he pointing out that the Doomstone had caused the explosion that saved us? What was he playing at?

  “It makes sense,” said Henry.

  “It does?” asked Daisy, Hecate and I in unison. My voice came out sounding a little squeaky, but the others didn’t seem to notice.

  Henry sighed, nodding his head. “I’ve suspected for some time that Ed might be following us.”

  “What on earth for?” Hecate asked.

  Henry shrugged. “I don’t know. Perhaps he thinks we might lead him to certain other artefacts.”

  “The companion items?”

  Henry nodded. “It’s one theory. We don’t really know what Ed wants, after all.” He paused. “Although we may suspect,” he said pointedly, giving me a look.

  “So you think Ed might have used the Doomstone to save you from those vampires?” Hecate asked, looking sceptical. I didn’t blame her – it seemed like a long shot.

  “If he thinks we’re going to lead him to something then yes, it would be in his best interest to keep us alive.”

  The others didn’t look completely convinced, but they didn’t argue. The group fell into a pensive silence.

  “Um, guys?” I said after a moment of standing around. “You don’t think maybe we should head back to our rooms, what with the redcaps on the loose and all?”

  That seemed to snap them out of their collective reverie.

  “Yes, of course,” said Hecate. “Henry, you escort Nessa back to her room. It might be best if you stayed there for the night, just in case either the redcaps or Ed try something. Daisy and I will search the grounds.”

  Henry nodded.

  “Be careful,” I said. “Those vampires could still be out there.”

  “We’ve already eaten raw cloves of garlic as a precaution,” Daisy assured me. “Don’t worry about us.”

  “So,” I said when Henry and I arrived back in my room.

  “So,” said Henry.

  “You just alibied me,” I said. “Lied to the police.”

  He inhaled deeply. “I guess I did.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t really know. Not sure that you deserved it.”

  We were silent for a moment, and I felt compelled to reassure Henry that I wasn’t totally evil.

  “I haven’t used the Doomstone for anything bad, Henry,” I said. “I’ve only ever used it to get out of dangerous situations.”

  “By killing people?”

  “Not always,” I said. “Only Dick. And a demon, I guess, but he doesn’t really count.”

  He appeared to think about that for a moment. “You never answered my question about what’s going on with you and Ed,” he said finally.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” I said.

  “Are you friends?”

  I snorted. “Hardly. How could anyone be friends with him?”

  He seemed satisfied with that answer. Relief flooded through me. If he’d pushed any further, I would have been forced to admit that not only did I still see Ed from time to time, but I’d already seen him that evening.

  “We should talk about the case,” I said. “See if we can come up with any theories.”

  “Sure,” said Henry. “Although I don’t know how. We haven’t really come across any clues yet.”

  “We have suspects.”

  He frowned. “We do?”

  “Of course! We’re in their castle right now.”

  “Really? Fach and Gladys?” He shook his head in disbelief.

  “What?”

  “This is a Department approved safe lodging for overseas magical travellers.”

  I crossed my arms. “Oh, because The Department is always so r
ight about people?”

  He sighed. “Fine. What’s your theory?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t really have a theory, but I certainly don’t trust Gladys,” I said. “I saw her face change when she talked about Alora. What if Gladys is responsible for whatever happened to Alora? We should check the dungeons for her body.”

  Henry looked shocked. “You can’t be serious,” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Gladys is a lovely woman,” said Henry.

  “What is she?”

  “A lovely woman,” Henry repeated, frowning. “Did you not hear me?”

  “Yes, I heard you. I meant what kind of creature is she?”

  “Human,” he replied.

  I shook my head. “No, she’s not.”

  “She is.”

  “She isn’t.”

  Henry folded his arms. “You only met her tonight and you think you know her better than me? I’ve been working here for two months now and –”

  “And you haven’t noticed her hooves?” I said. “The way her face changes when she gets angry? Her aura of dark magic?”

  He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “Are you messing with me, Henry?” I asked. “Is this your way of getting back at me for what I did to you?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not messing with you. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “That’s not good,” I said. “Do you know what Daisy and Hecate think of Gladys?”

  He shrugged. “They like her. Everyone likes her.”

  “Even despite her outbursts?”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  “Are you serious?” Noticing Henry’s blank face, I realised that he really didn’t remember. “Oh my god. She’s clouded you.”

  “She has not clouded me,” said Henry. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but if you think that convincing me that someone else has clouded me as well is somehow going to make you look better then you are sorely mistaken.”

  “I’m serious, Henry.”

  He rolled his eyes. “She’s not even magical. Check her files. This place is a registered safe house for magicals who need protection when traveling to the loch. I don’t know what you’re trying to imply, but –”

  “What does her husband look like to you?” I asked.

  Henry paused, sighed and then finally answered. “Disgusting,” he said. “But that’s no reason not to trust him.”

  “And what does his magic look like?”

  “Dark.”

  “OK,” I said, chewing my lip as I thought. “So you can see him properly, but not her. Why? Why would she bother clouding herself and not her husband? They both have the same kind of magic. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Nothing you’re saying makes any sense.”

  “And why would she bother clouding it from you and the others, but not from me?” I thought for a moment, remembering back to the time when I’d stood over Ed’s grave and realised there was something concealed inside it. I’d been able to detect a clouding spell back then, and that was before I had the Doomstone or key. Maybe they’d amplified my powers. “Maybe the clouding just didn’t work on me.”

  “What clouding?” Henry asked.

  “She’s magical,” I said. “I can feel her energy, and I can feel a dark energy over the whole forest around here.”

  Henry scoffed. “You really think I wouldn’t notice that?”

  “Henry, I’m telling you, you’ve been clouded.”

  He opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated.

  “How did the clouding spells break before?” I asked.

  “Oh, I see.”

  “What?” I was confused.

  “You’ve made up this whole elaborate story to try and figure out how the clouding spells broke so you can make sure it doesn’t happen again. Well, I’m sorry, but –”

  “Henry, you didn’t feel Pierre coming tonight, did you?”

  He frowned. “What are you –”

  “Pierre, the vampire. Remember when we were in the North Pole? We saw him twice – once when we were at the inn and once in the forest. Then when Dick kidnapped me –”

  “Yes, thank you,” said Henry. “I recognised him.”

  “He pulls in all the energy around him,” I said. “He creates a void.”

  “I know.”

  “But tonight I didn’t feel him approach, and I’m pretty sure you didn’t either.”

  Henry paused, thinking. “What are you saying?”

  “I didn’t feel it because of all the dark energy emanating from the forest,” I said. “It’s like sensory overload for me. I think the reason you didn’t feel it is because the dark magic from the forest is clouded, just like Gladys’s magic is clouded.”

  Henry appeared to think about that for a moment. “But like you said, why cloud Gladys and not Fach?”

  I shrugged. “You can tell from one look at him that he’s a creature of the dark. Clouding that would arouse suspicion.”

  He nodded slowly. “That makes sense. But why cloud anything in the first place?”

  “What if something dodgy is going on around here?” I suggested. “Something they don’t want The Department – or whatever the local magical law bureaucrats call themselves – finding out about?”

  He nodded slowly. “I suppose that’s plausible.”

  “And what if Alora found out about it and that got her killed?”

  Henry bit his lip, thinking. “It’s possible. I don’t know if it’s likely, but it’s possible.”

  CHAPTER 15

  THE NEXT MORNING, I woke up in bed with my arms around Henry. He was still asleep and I extracted myself carefully so he wouldn’t wake up and realise that I’d been hugging him. It wasn’t my fault – he’d been in dog form. Of course I’d wanted to cuddle him. Still, I didn’t need him to know that.

  After breakfast in the dining chamber, it was time to head to Loch Ness. I took my bag with me, not trusting our hosts enough to leave my stuff behind in the castle. I wasn’t exactly what you’d call an experienced diver, so I was assuming we would be using magic to explore the depths of the lake rather than wetsuits and oxygen tanks. Henry would be fine – he could just transform into any sort of lake-dwelling creature that he liked. I wondered how exactly the rest of us were going to manage to breathe underwater.

  We followed a path through the forest to the water’s edge. The bank was muddy and covered in rounded stones, smooth from the years of water lapping away at them. I picked my way to the edge, wobbling a little as the stones moved under me (an athlete I was not, and balance was definitely not one of my top strengths).

  “So,” I said, when we were all standing at the water’s edge, “what’s the plan?”

  “We brewed a potion last night,” said Daisy. “It will allow us to travel to the bottom of the lake.”

  I narrowed my eyes. That seemed like a very unspecific answer to me. “I don’t suppose you could give me any more details?”

  Daisy smiled and shrugged. “I’d rather not tell you until you’ve already drunk it.”

  “Why?” I asked, although I suspected I knew the answer. If I knew what it was, I wouldn’t drink it.

  “Is it dangerous?” Henry asked, looking concerned. I was surprised that the others hadn’t told him what they’d made.

  “Not at all,” Hecate replied. “It worked for Alora, so it will work for us.”

  “You don’t know that it worked for Alora,” I pointed out. “You haven’t heard from her since she departed from the castle and came down here to see the dragon.”

  Hecate and Daisy glanced at each other.

  “I’m sure it’s fine,” said Hecate. Daisy reached into her bag and handed me a vial. The liquid inside was bright blue, almost turquoise. Very appetising. I wracked my brain, trying to figure out what the liquid could be, all the while wondering if I really wanted to know. I trusted Daisy – at least I trusted her potion-making abi
lity. She and Hecate were about to drink the same stuff, so I was pretty sure she wasn’t trying to poison me. Maybe I was better off not knowing what was coming. I had a feeling it was going to hurt.

  After stripping down to just my T-shirt and jeans, I stood on the bank shivering, still hoping that I was somehow going to be able to get out of this. I decided to leave my shoes on, because going barefoot made me feel too vulnerable. Henry went into the water first, bounding in as a wolf and then disappearing under the surface as he transformed into something else. Daisy and Hecate followed him, wading out a distance before turning to see where I was.

  I considered turning back and just leaving the others to it, but the thought of returning to that castle gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I had no desire to hang out in the woods alone. Plus I was pretty sure that if I backed out now Hecate would use it as an excuse to not give me my licence so she could keep me on her leash for a little longer. Nope, I had to do this. No matter how much it seemed like the worst idea ever.

  Scrunching my eyes shut, I stepped into the water, ready for the cold to stab me like a thousand tiny knives. What I felt instead was more like the kind of cold when you move from a sunny place into the shade on a cool day. Not exactly fun, but bearable. I opened my eyes, pleasantly surprised. This wasn’t so –

  Then the water soaked through my shoe.

  ‘Stabbed by a thousand tiny knives’ doesn’t begin to cover it. I let out a string of curses so inventive that I was both horrified by and proud of myself. All I wanted at that moment was to get out of the water. Maybe Ed was right and it was time to embrace my shadow side. No one would be able to tell me what to do then. I could order minions to do it for me. This was a ridiculous request of a royal like me. Why was I doing this? Why didn’t I just become a super villain instead and live out my days in relative comfort?

  Because you’re not evil, said a voice in my head.

  Shut up, voice, I replied, but I sighed. It was right. The one time in my life when being evil actually appealed to me and I couldn’t even embrace it. Maybe later in the day that would bring me comfort, but at this moment I was just annoyed. I took another step into the water and sucked in a breath as the cold hit me again, then hobbled over to meet the others. My limbs had seized up from the cold and I walked like a zombie, unable to bend – I felt like I was frozen solid. Already I was barely able to breathe just from the temperature, and I wasn’t looking forward to seeing how I performed at the bottom of the lake.