"No' this one." He aimed the powerful beam of his flashlight at the swiftly flowing river. "Where are ye, demon? Come oot an' show me yer yellow eyes. I want tae see them once mair afore I blast ye back tae hell."

"Dad, what are you doing?"

He smiled. "Dad? Ye never call me that."

"You never liked it."

"Now I do. I see ye found Johnny's remains."

"You were right. I'm sorry… I should have believed you."

"Save it." He turned and yelled, "Alban MacDonald, where are ye, auld man?"

"Back here!"

I looked behind my father, surprised to find the Crabbit, preoccupied with digging through piles of rubble along the southern wall.

"Alban, my son's hurt. Take him back through the access tunnel, I've business tae tend tae."

"So dae I. Take him yersel'."

"Damn ye, Crabbit… come on, laddie." Angus helped me to my feet, then pointed to a small hole set among debris along the far wall. "Crawl through that tunnel, it'll lead back tae a chasm an' a manual lift. Be quick aboot it, the air here's no' fit tae breathe."

"I'm not going without you."

The dark river belched, the ten-ton Guivre circling somewhere below, readying its next attack.

"Ha! I see ye, de'il, I kent ye couldnae leave!"

"It's an animal, dad, let it be. It's brain's been poisoned, can't you smell the oil? It's everywhere, seeping in from some busted pipeline above our heads."

"Aye. It's originatin' frae one o' Johnny's auld wells."

"You knew?"

""Course. Bastard's been pollutin' the Great Glen for years. Been payin' off officials in Glasgow in order tae keep things quiet."

"And that's why you hit him?"

"Nah. I hit him "cause he struck Theresa, an' that's no' acceptable, no' tae me. Didnae ken the dragon wis close by at the time, though I shouldae suspected it, wi' a' the dynamitin' they were daen' that day. Anyway, Johnny got his, now this freak o' nature'll get hers."

"Why?"

"Call it revenge. Now go, afore it surfaces."

Alban hurried over. "I need help, I've no' found it yet!"

"Probably buried among the rubble," Angus spat back. "I need a' oor eyes tae find it."

"Take the lad, I'm no' movin'."

Alban grabbed my arm, dragging me back toward the southern wall as he mumbled incoherently. "It wis here, laddie, set within a crevice by this wall. Help me find it!"

"Find what? What're we looking for?"

"A casket… a silver casket, aboot the size o' a grapefruit. It wis set here, within this wall."

"What's so special about this casket?"

"It's no' the casket, lad, it's whit's inside… oor past an' future, a symbol that many have died for, a treasure that shall one day herald Scotland's freedom."