It was late evening, so the streets weren’t packed with people, but they were around. Their laughter and music rode the air. He eventually pulled into a parking space outside an old, weatherworn inn. Despite its run-down appearance, inside it looked warm and it was packed with people—more locals than tourists, if the thick brogue filling the air was anything to go by.
We got out and went inside, Trae guiding me with one hand at my back. We found a table near the huge old fireplace, and for several minutes I did nothing more than stand in front of it and melt the ice from my bones.
A few hours, a few ales, and a good meal later, I was feeling decidedly better and sat back with a sigh.
“Feel human again?” Trae asked, a smile teasing his lips.
“As human as I could ever feel.” I drained the last of the ale from my glass, then said, “I guess we’d better move. We need to find somewhere to stay up near the loch, and it’s getting rather late.”
“I’ve already booked us a cabin near Strone Point, which didn’t look that far down from Drumnadrochit’s main center. The owners advertised the cottage as overlooking Urquhart Bay and the loch, so I thought that would be handy.”
“It will be.” Because it would also overlook the sharp hills of my mom’s lands, and the house the scientists were using as their base. I needed to watch that house for a while. Needed to get a feel for their rhythms and movements. I had no idea how we were going to get in, let alone rescue my mother and the kids, but one thing was certain. It could not be rushed.
Still, Mom would feel me near. Would know I’d come back to rescue her, as I’d promised.
“I told the proprietor we’d be arriving a little late.” He glanced at his watch. “She’s going to meet us there with the keys in about half an hour.”
“Should be plenty of time.” I somewhat reluctantly pushed to my feet. Trae held out his hand, and I wrapped my fingers through his, letting him lead me through the crowd.
Once back in the car, I stared out the side window, watching the bright lights of Inverness fade into hills and darkness. Trae turned on the radio, and the gentle melodies that filled the car were restful rather than intrusive. After days of swimming, it was tempting to let my eyes close and drift off to sleep, but that was pretty pointless given that Strone was only fifteen miles away.
Twenty minutes later, the headlights were sweeping across a little white cottage, highlighting the stone-work and the pretty little window boxes. Its curtains were drawn and there were no lights on inside.
“She’s obviously not here yet,” Trae said, stopping the car and turning off the lights.
“No,” I agreed, and climbed out of the car. The wind stirred around me, tugging at my hair and chilling my face. I breathed deep, letting its crispness fill my lungs.
This might not be the place of my heart, but it
I might not have been raised here, but sea dragons had used this area as a refuge long before humans had come to claim the lands for their own. We were a part of the very foundation of this place, and it a part of us. And no matter how much I loved my home in West Lubec, there was no escaping the power of this place.
No escaping the simple joy of merely standing here.
Lights swept across the night, twin points of brightness that pinned me where I stood. Trae climbed out of the car and walked around to stand beside me, wrapping one arm across my shoulders and pulling me close to him. The warmth of his body battered away the chill of the night.
I raised a hand to protect my eyes from the lights, and watched the car approach. It pulled to a halt a few yards from where I stood, and an older-looking lady climbed out.
“Oh dear, you’d be Trae and Des Jones, then?” she said, looking us up and down. “I wasn’t expecting a couple.”
Trae had obviously given her a false surname, meaning he was a whole lot smarter than I’d been when I’d first come here. “Is that a problem, Mrs. Molloy?”
“Oh, no. It’s just that I’ve given you the bigger cottage, the one with several bedrooms. It’s a bit more expensive, though.”
Trae gave her a smile that brought heat to her cheeks, and said, “That’ll actually work out well, because we’ve some friends who were thinking of coming over from England to join us.”
“Ah, good then. And it’s nice and quiet out in these parts. Except when the trucks go past on the A82.”She fetched a silver key from her pocket and bustled toward the door. “You two here for a bit of monster-spotting, then?”
“Not really,” Trae answered, his glance at me full of amusement. “But we’re told we can’t tour Scotland without at least having a look at Nessie’s loch.”
“Well, there haven’t been many sightings of her since those damn scientists moved in up there.” She waved a straightened finger toward the hills of my mother’s lands.
I raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. “Scientists?”
“They’ve been here for years. Don’t know why—they debunk the monster myth every chance they get.” She sniffed and pushed open the door. “Hasn’t harmed tourism, but I’ll be glad when they leave, all the same.”
My heart just about stopped. “They’re leaving?”
“That’s the talk. Certainly they’ve been a bit more frantic in their activity of late.”
“But why would they be leaving?”
“Maybe they’re finally believing their own words.” She swept on the lights and shrugged. “Most researchers give up after a while. The loch holds her secrets well, and even the most well-financed venture must run out of cash.”
I hesitated, then asked, “So they’ve had no sight of the monster?”
She looked at me. “Oh, that’s one for conjecture.”
“So despite what they’re saying, you think they have?”
“I think they’ve found something, lass. Whether it’s the monster or not is anyone’s guess.”
I smiled. “You don’t believe in her?”
“Oh, I do. But I believe she’s far too clever to be caught by the likes of them. After all, she’s lived in these parts for centuries. She’d have to be a canny one.”
Canny didn’t take into account modern equipment or hunting methods. And it certainly didn’t take into account being betrayed by some greedier members of the dragon community.
Even so, perhaps my mother, like the locals,
But then, that affliction had also been my downfall. I’d been so damn confident in my skills that I’d waltzed straight into their trap. Well, not again. Not without some planning beforehand, anyway.
But the five hundred-foot range of the tracker in my tooth would make planning my assault a whole lot tougher. The minute I entered that place, they could find me. If they suspected I was there, that was.
The question, of course, was whether they actually had the receivers here, or whether they were all in America with those who were still trying to capture me. I had to hope they were, but I couldn’t actually bank on it. They knew I wanted my mother out of there, after all.
I ducked in front of Trae and stepped into the cottage. The front room was small, but homely, and filled with flowers whose sweet scent warmed the slightly stale air.
“Haven’t had time to give it a good airing, but open a window or two, and it should be right.” She walked across the room. “There’s three bedrooms along the hall through here, the bathroom to my right, and there’s a small kitchen diner to your left.”
“It’s lovely,” I said.
She beamed. “Will you be needing breakfast?”
I hesitated, and glanced at Trae. “Would you prefer breakfast early or late?”
I put a slight emphasis on “late,” and he raised his eyebrows, amusement bright in his eyes. “Late would be better. I’d prefer to sleep in after the flight over we had.”
“Late, then. About ninish?”
She nodded, and Trae gave her the cash for the cottage. She bustled back out the door, a woman who was all energy and good cheer.
“Now what?” he said, once she’d left.
