The Underground City(65)
Jaikie then turned the eye of the crystal towards the shore. The mountains, covered in snow, gleamed in the pale rays of a winter sun and, as he focused on the road, they could see that cars were parked all along the edge of the loch. People swarmed along the shoreline and, not only that, several boats had taken to the water and were venturing up to her.
Lady Ellan, who had seen the carpets streaking through the cavern, now joined them. “Nessie!” she said with a snap in her voice, “and her fine friend, Grechan, I’ve no doubt!” She looked at her father angrily. “We should have guessed, father! They were always Kalman’s friends!”
“Let Nessie know we are watching her,” the MacArthur said. “Some of these boats are getting a bit too close for my liking and she only needs to flap her tail to sink half of them!”
Although it couldn’t be seen in daylight, Nessie felt the warmth of the ray of light from the crystal that held her in its beam and knew immediately that she had been seen by the world of magic. Hoping fervently that it was the MacArthurs who had homed in on her, she tossed her head once more so that the stream of purple and gold silk flew like a flag in the wind and then, in an almighty swirl of water that tossed the boats in a violent surge, she dived below the cold, grey waters of Loch Ness and disappeared.
31. Showdown
The MacArthur looked round the gathering thoughtfully and addressed the Sultan. “I’ve had a talk with Arthur, your majesty. He says, quite definitely, that he has to be the one to rescue Neil and Clara. He … er, says that his Nessie sometimes gets into a funny temper but he thinks he can handle her.”
The Sultan cleared his throat. “Does anyone have any other ideas?” he asked, looking round enquiringly. Amgarad spread his great wings and looked at Kitor. Both birds knew that they could do nothing while Neil and Clara were under Loch Ness.
“I think I should go,” Casimir stood up and bowed to the Sultan and the MacArthur. “Prince Kalman is my son and I must try to make him see reason!”
Lewis dropped his eyes. From what he’d seen of Kalman, he didn’t think old Casimir had much of a chance. No one spoke but their silence was eloquent. Casimir flushed and Lewis sprang to his feet.
“I’ll go with Casimir,” he said, “it’s his right to see his son even if he might not be able to persuade him. I can be the Shadow again, Casimir,” he said, going up and looking into his eyes. “Come on, we make a great team! Remember the Forth Bridge? What a day that was!”
Casimir was touched and smiled wryly. “I couldn’t have chosen a better person to rescue me from the well at Al Antara, Lewis,” he said abruptly. “Thank you, but I don’t want you to be put at risk. The Sultan will tell you that the situation is dangerous.”
The Sultan, his brown eyes watchful, leant forward in his chair. “I think Arthur is right,” he announced. “He should go to see Nessie first and then you, Casimir, should talk with your son. As Lewis says,” he said, smiling approvingly at Lewis, “you are his father and it is your right.”
Sir James rubbed his chin. “Loch Ness is heaving with TV crews and reporters,” he pointed out. “Arthur will be seen.”
The Sultan smiled. “We’ll get the storm carriers to take care of them,” he said, “and with any luck, it won’t be long before you have your children back, Ranger!”
The storm swept in from the north on a roaring, tearing wind. The skies above Loch Ness darkened swiftly from a steely grey to a brownish purple and, given the sudden, total lack of visibility, the TV crews grimaced, packed up their cameras, and, lashed by the storm, headed for nearby Drumnadrochit while the many small boats on the lookout for Nessie, hurriedly made for safety as the waters of the loch rose in black, threatening waves around them.
Arthur came in on the skirts of a black cloud that quite successfully hid him from view and, taking his bearings from the ruins of Urquhart Castle, swooped swiftly down into the icy waters of Loch Ness. Deeper and deeper he dived until he saw the grim, dark opening of Nessie’s caves loom black before him. After that it was easy and swimming strongly he negotiated the series of passages that ran steadily upwards until he finally surfaced in Nessie’s lair.
The water goblins that were there to see his arrival almost had heart failure. Another monster! They streaked into the tunnels and passages for safety and then crowded the entrances to peek out and see what this fearsome new creature was like. Hearing the shrieks and screams that accompanied Arthur’s arrival, Neil and Clara ran to see what was happening, pushing their way through a mass of excited, chattering goblins who by then had recognized Arthur as a friend.