Chapter 17 #2
“Yes.”
“What happens if it’s removed?”
Malone kept walking but glanced at me over his shoulder. “Don’t know. Don’t care. Once I’ve got what I came for, we can leave.”
“Won’t stealing some of her hoard make her mad?”
“Madder than she is?” he snorted. “That is assuming she lives past today. I’m thinking your dragon lover is going to make sure she doesn’t.”
“Exactly how are you going to escape with this treasure?”
“So many fucking questions.” He sighed.
“Well, it’s not like you can grab it and swim to the surface. And I doubt the kelpies will obey you.”
“As if I’d trust them,” he muttered. “One ride with them was enough. I use a submersible when I need to visit, which isn’t often.”
“Tiamat has a submarine?”
“More like a baby version of one for transporting goods.”
Suddenly my chances of escape looked a lot better—so long as Malone took me with him.
It turned out the treasure room lacked a fancy door or even a sign.
One minute I was being dragged into a hall, and the next I’d been yanked into a massive chamber, almost as big as the one I’d been chained up in.
The mini lake in the center wasn’t what caught the eye, though, but the mounds of gold, jewels, and more.
I gaped at the wealth spread out all over.
“Don’t just stare,” snapped Malone. “Fill this bag.”
He thrust a canvas tote into my hands before he dropped to his knees and began scooping.
It took me a tad longer because I reeled from the discovery. If only I had my phone to document this treasure trove. However, my satchel with it had been left behind on the beach during my abduction.
“Move!” yelled Malone. “Or do you want to die down here?”
Not really. I pivoted and bent over to start grabbing and stuffing the jewelry just casually dumped. Intricately designed necklaces. Rings inset with fat gems.
A wooden box atop a pile caught my eye, and I found myself reaching for it, only for it to tumble, and as it did, the lid popped open, spilling its contents at my feet.
Shiny coins, to be exact, with distinctive imagery that I, of all people, should recognize since I’d studied before going on the hunt for it.
The Jacobite Gold.
I’d actually found the missing treasure, not that anyone would ever believe me. Unless… I crouched and began tossing them into the satchel and, seeing Malone busy with his own scavenging, slipped a piece into my bra. Risky? At this point, did it really matter?
The water in the lake began to churn, and Malone noticed. “Time for us to go.”
He grabbed for the chain still dangling from my collar, and I had no choice but to follow, stumbling behind Malone, who almost ran through the halls. The heavy satchel of goods kept bumping my legs.
A distant roar of a jungle cat had Malone glancing fearfully over his shoulder. He should be afraid.
“Alistair’s going to eat you,” I stated, feeding on his fear.
“Shut up.”
“Did you really think you were a match for two ancient dragons?” I further taunted, wondering if my voice carried far enough for Alistair to hear.
“Ancient,” he snorted. “Turns out they’re not the oldest or most powerful.”
“What do you mean?” He couldn’t be talking about the hatchlings. “Did another dragon survive the purge?”
“In a sense. He’s been sleeping for a long time. So long he was forgotten.”
“Obviously not, since you know about him.”
“Because of Nessie.”
“Don’t you mean Tiamat?”
“Tiamat would have never revealed this secret. But Nessie did.”
“What did she tell you?”
He never replied, likely because the next feline roar sounded much louder—and closer.
“Move.” The hard yank on my leash just about put me face-first into the floor. I barely managed to keep my feet from slipping as I raced with Malone.
We entered the loading dock room with the barrier holding back water, currently empty of kelpies and other monsters. The previously empty hitching dock now had a bright yellow sub tethered and bobbing. Malone must have arrived just after us.
Given he headed for the submersible, I didn’t argue or stall. After all, it remained my best chance of getting out alive. Although, what I’d do once we reached the surface, I didn’t know. Would Malone keep me hostage? Kill me? Did I dare hope he’d simply abandon me on the beach?
The inside of the sub felt cramped, and I began taking deep breaths in and out to try to control the panic that threatened to rise. Probably not the best time to be thinking of that submersible that went looking for the Titanic and ended up collapsing like a tin can, killing all aboard.
“Sit,” Malone ordered. “And touch nothing.”
I didn’t plan to. I dropped the satchel of treasure and plopped my butt as Malone closed the hatch and spun a wheel to seal it. He then threw himself into the seat beside mine and began fiddling with the dials and buttons on the dash.
The hum of the engines didn’t entirely mask the sudden thumping on the hull.
“What is that?” I exclaimed.
“Tiamat’s minions trying to stop our escape,” he muttered.
Before I could formulate any reply, a Red Cap plastered itself to the window and began pounding it with a fist.
My wide-eyed, mouth-open, shaking self couldn’t even muster the breath to squeak as the submersible lurched into motion. The Red Cap continued to smack the glass, which, to my relief, didn’t crack.
Plook.
The submersible plunged through the barrier holding back the water. The darkness that suddenly enveloped made it hard to see the Red Cap.
Click. Malone flicked a switch, and suddenly there was light, and I could see the monster, twitching and jerking and flailing. Guess it couldn’t breathe water or swim. It didn’t struggle for long before drifting off.
“How long to get to land?” I asked as the submersible chugged away from Nessie’s underwater palace.
“Given we weren’t down there too long, about twenty minutes,” he muttered.
“Don’t we need to decompress at intervals given the depth?”
“Under normal circumstances, yes, however, Nessie had something done to the loch to minimize the ill effects on living tissue. Technically, we could reach the surface in under five minutes, but I’ve found even with the magic protecting us from decompression sickness, rising too fast can be uncomfortable. ”
It surprised me that he answered my question instead of telling me to shut up. Might be that conversation helped with his anxiety. Sweat beaded his brow. His hands shook slightly as he guided the mini sub.
Talking helped me, too, so until he told me to zip it, I kept asking questions. “Why do you wear a mask?”