The Terrible Business with the Loch Ness monster

5. A Long Walk

"Heather, wake up!" someone was shaking her shoulder, and Heather tried to wave them away.

"leave me alone!" she murmured and turned over.

"no, you have to get up, we have to leave!" as sleep was letting her go, Heather recognised Angus voice, low and urgent. She was just about to open her eyes fully to see what it was all about, when a splash of water hit her face.

"now, that ought to get her up." Victoria's cold voice remarked, the moment before Heather jumped up with a cry. The freezing water was everywhere, and the shock had made her wide awake, and furious. Without thinking, she threw herself at Victoria, and knocked the other girl to the ground with her surprise-attack. But that was as far as her plan went, and she was in any event no match for Victoria's training. In a heartbeat, she had twisted them around, leaving Heather laying on the ground with Victoria sitting on her ribs, looking down on her with an expression that showed mixed emotions.

"and I was going to insist ye' stayed away from the fighting!" she grinned. "but it would seem as if we're still to make a warrior out of ye'."

"hush now!" Angus said harshly. Victoria's grin faded, and she stood and held out her hand to Heather. Heather though about ignoring it, and get up on her own, but then grabbed it and stood.

"what's happening?" she asked. The others were all tensed, and she noticed that the Guardhorses all stood facing the same direction, stiff as bowstrings. Alex was moving in between them, carefully putting saddles on and securing packing, and not even Requiem was making a fuss.

"so, it turns out the Council kept riding through the night, and are not far away." Angus said. "if you listen closely, you can even hear the horses." Silence fell, and Heather spiked her ears. In the far distance, there was the clattering of hooves, moving slowly, but steady in their direction, and the voices of men calling to one another.

"what can we do?" Heather asked, feeling panic staring to creep up on her.

"we have a plan." Angus admitted. "it's not very good one, but it's a plan."

"yes?"

"me and Alex will take all four horses, and ride away, and hopefully they will assume we're all in that group, and they will hunt us down. That leaves you to sneak behind them, and carry on to Loch Ness and kill the monster, by foot, or on whatever horses you manage to steal."

"but that's dangerous for you!" Heather protested, and Angus smiled at her.

"not really. we're Guardians, they won't kill us, only arrest us and take us to trial. And once you turn up with the slayed monster, we will be found not guilty of any crime, and everything will work out just fine. Much better than if they find you with us."

"why would that be worst?" Heather asked curiously.

"because in the eyes of most of the Council, you're no better than the monster we're hunting, coming from a family of warlocks, and if they think you've committed a crime, or really, if they're just in the mood for it, they will kill you on the spot, and put us on trial for disobeying. We probably won't be convicted, being underage, but it's not a good thing." He explained.

"I still don't like this." Heather said. "is there no way for us all to escape?"

"no, this is the best we can do, so just go with it, it's important!" Victoria hissed, putting an end to the conversation. And then Alex came with the horses, giving Artemis and Requiems rains to Angus, and then got into the saddle of Spark. He didn't care to hold Ire, and Angus got on Requiem instead of Artemis, leaving his rains hanging.