‘All right. So, we just… wait it out. Like before,’ Meredith said, giving Cam another hesitant pat. ‘Back to normal in a couple of days. Right?’
As Lachlan opened his mouth to curb her expectations, he caught Cam’s eye and the subtle nod of his chin. ‘Right,’ he agreed, changing tack for Meredith’s benefit. ‘A couple of days.’
He hoped he was telling the truth. Camhadgotten the hang of shifting forms remarkably fast when he’d first changed into the monster. He was strong-willed and clever, and not about to let something as trivial as a curse keep them apart. The thought made Lachlan smile, and he pressed his forehead to Cam’s. ‘Don’t take too long, you hear?’
Cam gave a pleasant rumble from his throat and bumped noses with him. The gesture reassured Lachlan beyond measure. If Cam wasn’t worried, then he could find the strength in himself to not fret over the situation either.
‘What about the Redcap?’ Meredith piped up again. ‘Is it on the loose somewhere?’
Lachlan frowned; it was a good question, and Cam seemed to take a long time to answer. Eventually, he swung his head from left to right: no.
‘Do you need us to look for it?’ Lachlan followed up.
Again, headshake: no.
‘Will it hurt anyone?’
An even longer pause this time. Instead of moving his head, Cam simply huffed.
‘You don’t know,’ Lachlan surmised. He struggled to piece together what they’d learned. ‘The Redcap isn’t with you any more, but it’s not escaped either? That doesn’t make sense, Cam. It’s not back in the stone, is it?’
Another headshake, accompanied by a frustrated growl. Cam pulled out of Lachlan’s arms and sank suddenly underwater. He re-emerged just as swiftly, flinging cold droplets across the jetty.
‘I…’ Lachlan floundered for an interpretation. ‘It’s disappeared?’
Cam snorted and dropped away with another violent splash, soaking the boards of the jetty this time. He reappeared with an extremely pointed stare in Lachlan’s direction.
‘It’s… in the loch?’ Lachlan tried again. He was rewarded with a vigorous nod, which splattered him with another spray of water droplets.
‘That doesn’t sound any better,’ Meredith murmured. ‘What’s to stop it from getting out?’
Cam had no gestures to answer this.
‘I suppose at least Cam can keep watch on the creature,’ Lachlan said uncertainly. ‘I’ll check in with you every night and every morning, Cam. You let me know if something’s wrong, understand?’
Cam nodded.
Meredith rose and touched Lachlan’s shoulder. ‘We shouldn’t hang about too long, hon. It’s still light.’
Lachlan held in a sigh. ‘I’ll miss you,’ he said, planting a kiss on Cam’s nose.
Cam warbled a sad sound and slunk away from them both. Lachlan watched the ripples of his underwater wake until they disappeared, smoothing into a nearly flat plane of water in the still air.
He parted ways with Meredith before starting up the hill, excusing himself from her offer of company with the half-truth that he wanted to spend the evening testing new recipes for the café.
‘Do you want me to come in tomorrow? I could help—’ Meredith offered.
‘No, thank you,’ Lachlan said quickly. ‘You’ve done enough already. Please take the day off.’
She enveloped him in a tight hug. ‘Okay, hon. You call if you need anything.’
The Lucky Teapot felt dark and empty when Lachlan reached it, even after he’d turned on all the lights. It was only a week since he’d moved back into the renovated rooms above the café, but he’d too quickly gotten used to Cam being a fixture of his evenings. Usually they cooked a meal together, lit the fire upstairs, and spent the time talking or reading in each other’s company. Often they went to bed early, to make the most of Cam’s time on land—just to hold each other in the warmth of a shared bed, before Cam slipped out of it around 2 AM to return to the loch.
Lachlan stared at the bed now, unwilling to climb into it alone. He’d finally replaced the old single bedframe with a spacious double, a little sign of Cam’s permanence here. But Lachlan felt it was far too big for one person, and always struggled to get back to sleep once Cam had left.
He turned around and made for the sofa instead, cradling a plate of plain toast. It wasn’t how he’d intended to spend the night.
If Cam had been with him… he’d planned something special to celebrate their first joint witching adventure: the recreation of a cinder toffee cake, which Cam had mentioned fond memories of baking with his mum. Lachlan had found the recipe while staying in Glencoe and intended it as a surprise for Cam.
