Page 24 of Saving Nessie
An unwelcome intrusion yanked Cam out of the dream.
‘What did I tell yer about dreamin’ that face,buidseach?’
Cam felt the slap hit his face—not particularly hard, but enough to jerk him awake. He grunted, lifting his head off the smooth rock he’d been resting it on.
Don’t spy on my dreams if you don’t like them,he thought, trusting that the Redcap could probably hear it.
The Redcap materialised in front of him, sitting cross-legged and floating a metre off the loch bed. It had a fish bone in its mouth, chewing on it like a stalk of grass. ‘Can’t help it, can I? Got this awful bond t’thank fer it.’
Cam rolled the stiffness out of his neck.What bond?
The Redcap rolled its eyes. ‘You an’ me. Got stuck together because of your stinkin’ witch magic.’
You mean the curse?
‘Thassit. Wouldn’tve meddled if I’d known it were one ofhers.’
Maybe he’d been starved of conversation for too long, but Cam found himself intrigued by the Redcap’s tone.You mean Elspaith? How do you know about her?
‘Pah!’ the Redcap spat. ‘How does I know her? How does Iknowher? It were only her that put me in that accursed piece of rock!’
Cam let out a small puff of bubbles in surprise.Elspaith was the one who bound you in the Warding Stone?
‘Aye. Didn’t like how I was luring folks to fall off the cliff by pretendin’ to be the ghosts of them dead Scots. She were awful fierce about it.’ The Redcap shuddered. ‘Thought I’d at least be rid of her, yet here I am back in her wretched company.’
The way the Redcap phrased it gave Cam pause for thought.It’s just a dream.
‘Ha! That’s whatyouthink.’
The Redcap crunched on its fish bone while Cam waited patiently for it to elaborate. When no further detail was forthcoming, he emitted a growl of frustration from his throat.You’re being vague just to piss me off.
The Redcap grinned toothily. ‘Gotta amuse meself somehow, aye?’It leaned back as though on an invisible recliner and folded both arms behind its head. Its bloodied cap swayed in the loch’s underwater current. ‘You haven’t worked it out, littlebuidseach?Don’tcher feel her? Blood’s meant to be thicker than water, or so they say.’
What was it suggesting? That Elspaith really was in the loch, somehow? Could her presence in Cam’s dreams be more than just a subconscious image?
Cam tilted his head, searching for any hint of dishonestly in the Redcap’s expression.Why are you telling me this?
The Redcap snapped the fish bone in half and proceeded to pick its teeth with it. ‘Bored, aren’t I? Been stuck in a stone fer three hundred years with nought but gulls an’ beetles fer company. Then a new fool of abuidseachcomes along—that’s you—and gives me a means t’be free. Only to then get stuck in a big ol’ puddle with nought but fish to speak to.’ It sighed. ‘I tell ye, it mellows a fellow out.’
Cam’s eyes narrowed, fixing over the bloodstains on the Redcap’s hat and tunic.Sure. I bet you’re a fully reformed character.
The Redcap snickered. ‘Worth a try,buidseach,worth a try.’
A cloud of brown silt passed between them, obscuring the Redcap for a moment. When it passed, the Redcap had disappeared.
Cam swam to the surface, replaying the conversation in his mind. The Redcap could just be messing with him. That alone would surely be a fun pastime for the creature. Or it could be hinting at a bigger truth. One that Cam felt he was on the verge of grasping, if he could just form it into a coherent thought.
Light streamed down from above. He hoped Lachlan was having a pleasant day.
Cam emerged briefly to draw in a new breath, then dived back down to search for answers.
Chapter Eleven
Lachlan didn’t know how long he’d been unconscious. When he awoke, he was in darkness—blindfolded. Gagged, as well. Immediate fear and panic sent his heart racing, but he forced himself to be still. He didn’t want to let his captor know he was awake.
Slowly, Lachlan calmed himself down by taking stock of his situation. He was lying on his side, hands bound behind his back. There was damp stone beneath him. His body was shivering. He’d lost his coat, which meant his phone was missing with it. It was cold, but there was no wind.
Once he could hear beyond his own pulse in his ears, the sound of another person’s breathing reached him, close by. It was heavy and fast, agitated. Maybe Fionn?
