‘Oh? An’ what might ye be offering, supposin’ I wants anything to do wi’ ye?’
Cam released a strand of ethereal flame into the water. It flickered quietly below the surface. ‘My deal is this. If you harm no one, and cause no mischief, then you’ll remain on good terms with the new guardian of Loch Ness.’
The Redcap scoffed. ‘Fine words. Who’s this guardian, then? I’ll run pretty rings around ’em!’
Cam’s fire drifted deeper. There was still magic here. Elspaith’s curse had left a scar, like invisible iron chains bounding the loch. Cam pulled on those chains now, bidding them to take on a new shape.
Water arced into the air, twisting and bending as it did so. Fire spiralled alongside it, creating steam where the two opposing forces met. Out of the vapour emerged a luminous creature, a great leviathan… an elegant plesiosaur.
The apparition was nearly transparent, almost an optical illusion formed of heat haze and mist. It curved its long neck to look down on the Redcap, who was cowering under the jetty.
‘Meet your new companion,’ Cam said. ‘Nessie here will be keeping an eye on Loch Ness, from now on. I recommend you don’t get on her bad side.’
He stood up, ignoring the shocked cascade of insults floating up from under the jetty. Offering an arm to Lachlan, they made their way back up the hill to The Lucky Teapot.
‘Nessie?’ Lachlan said, giving him a sidelong glance.
Cam ran a hand through his hair, hiding his embarrassment. ‘I couldn’t resist.’
‘And I can’t help but notice you made it a plesiosaur,’ Lachlan said with a smile. ‘I thought you could make it any shape you liked?’
I could have,Cam thought.But I’d rather preserve the memory of everything that happened here.
This new Nessie was only an echo. A spirit moulded from a piece of Cam’s magic, and the remnants of Elspaith’s. But he’d also included a large measure of Lachlan in its conception.
Lachlan might not have realised it, but he had been as much a part of the loch as Cam and Elspaith were. He’d been its guardian for three centuries, and it was only natural that a new protector would fill the shape of the void that he’d left.
‘Well, who am I to go against tradition?’ Cam replied. He slung an arm round Lachlan’s shoulders. ‘What’s Loch Ness without its monster?’
* * *
It wasn’t long before Cam was called away from Loch Ness again. The Minchmen wanted a longer debrief of the situation with Bryce, and a number of other Warding renewals were coming up on the calendar. He threw himself back into the work of witching with grudging zeal.
Things wouldn’t be so bad, he considered, if he didn’t need to spend so much time at Glencoe. He could cope with travelling and being apart from Lachlan for a few days at a time. But that time was inevitably lengthened by days, and sometimes weeks, of necessary research as Cam hunted through the Walker notes in his family cottage. There was still so much he needed to learn. And, despite the generational attempts of Walkers across the years to coherently organise it, he was trying to learn it all from a library that was as dense as a treacle pudding.
During one of these longer stints away from Loch Ness, Meredith brought Lachlan over to visit. When he walked into the cottage, Cam’s world immediately brightened.
‘Lachy!’ Cam dropped the vial of yarrow root he’d been holding and strode to greet him.
‘Hello, Cam.’ Lachlan smiled, placing his key in the pot by the door. They met in an earnest embrace, sealed with a deep kiss.
Cam was filled with such joy and heartache on seeing him again that he blurted what was on his mind as soon as they separated. ‘I need to talk to you.’
Concern passed over Lachlan’s face. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘No. Well, yes. These past few weeks… being away from you has been hell,’ Cam confessed. He’d intended to work up to this over dinner, but what the hell. He ploughed on. ‘I don’t want us to have to keep meeting each other halfway. I understand if you think this is too fast, but I want to make the most of every minute with you—’
‘I agree,’ Lachlan said calmly, taking his hand. ‘That’s why I’ve decided to leave The Lucky Teapot.’
The words didn’t register properly at first in Cam’s ears. ‘Wait, what? No, that’s not— I was going to say that I want to move up to Loch Ness. To live with you. Permanently.’ He faltered on the last word, worried how Lachlan would take it.
‘No, I don’t think so.’ Lachlan’s eyes shone with affection. ‘I know how much this cottage means to you, Cam. So much of your history is here. Your family. And I want to be a part of that. I want to live with youhere.’
‘But… the Teapot,’ Cam said thickly. He cupped Lachlan’s cheek. ‘It means just as much to you, doesn’t it? You’ve spent years building something beautiful there. You don’t have to give that up for me. You don’t have to change anything for me, Lachy.’
He meant it, with all his heart. Cam didn’t want Lachlan to have to bend for anyone; he deserved to have everything the way he wanted, and more.
Lachlan laughed. ‘Cam, I’ve run that teashop for over fifty years. Before that, it was a tea cart on Dores Beach. And beforethatI travelled all around the villages by the loch, peddling oatcakes. I’ve gained a knack for moving on.’ He looked away, a little shyly. ‘Now, I’d like to spend my years building something new. Something beautiful with you.’
