Yet return I must, at the beginnin' o' each autumn an' again at the end o' winter, for I have taken a blood oath… the oath o' the Black Knights. Salvation has blessed me wi' life, fate cursin' me an' mine wi' its task tae return again—tae raise an' lower the gate.

Tae protect the freedom o' Scotland.

—Sir Adam Wallace, 1330

I was on the A82, traveling north out of Fort Augustus. Glancing to my right, I saw a dark, slick animal rise out of the waters of Loch Ness, trailing what had to be a ten meter [thirty-three foot] wake. When I realized what I was looking at, I nearly went off the side of the road.

—MR. BILL KINDER, LANCASHIRE, 9 APRIL 1996, APPROXIMATELY 10:00 A.M.

My brother, James, and I were on our fishing boat, which was fitted with a Koden CVS886 Mk II Color Sounder, its 28kHz transducer directing a 31.6 degree beam vertically downward. The CRO screen displays different strengths of echo in different colors. We were testing the device when we detected a weird shape in fifty-five meters of water. The object was eighteen meters [59 feet] long, about nine meters [29.5 feet] wide.

—ROBERT WEST, FRASERBURGH, APRIL 1981

Chapter 32

Loch Ness

True shook his great Viking head as he accelerated the trawler yacht away from the dock and into deep water.

"Brandy's gonna kill ye, assumin' ye ever survive this lunacy."

"I'll make it up to her."

"That, I doubt. So, Captain Ahab, exactly where we headed?"

"North. Follow the western bank until we reach the Bona Narrows. It's where the fish must enter the Loch, the oil's got to be seeping somewhere close by."

He gave me a weary look, then turned the wheel, guiding us toward the northern entrance of Loch Ness.

Inverness Castle

"Ye say he means tae go underwater tae battle this demon?" Angus squeezed his eyes closed, rubbing his face. "This isnae whit I wanted, no' at a'."

"What did ye want then?" Brandy spat back. "Ye've been pushin' an' pushin' him ever since he returned, hell, ever since he was born."

"Same as my auld man aye did tae me! Life's tough, ye ken. Ye got tae have a thick skin tae—"

"Don't you lecture me on life, Angus Wallace! An' don't you talk tae me about tough love. My mum died when I was seven an' my arsehole father kicked me out when I was sixteen. What you call tough love, I call no love at all. Yer son came all the way back tae Scotland because he sought yer approval, an' all ye've done since he arrived was lie tae him an' push him tae find that monster. Well, congratulations, ye've got what ye wanted. Guess some things'll never change, eh?"

She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm through the cell bars.

"Let go, or I'll break it off."