Chapter 43

I squeezethe knife so hard my knuckles whiten.

"Go away!" I shout at the creature.

She doesn't even blink. Her head rises from the muck atop a neck like an anaconda.

"I'm not a pucking goat," I shout, waving the knife. "Last warning."

Nessie strikes. Her maw opens as her head flashes toward me. It takes all my martial arts training to stay still and wait for my moment. When the teeth are ready to close around me, I strike.

My blade sinks into her squishy tongue. Yes!

Nessie jerks her head back, ripping the knife from my hand. I dive for the sewer exit and swim for all I'm worth.

Behind me, Nessie roars.

My arms windmill with insane speed, and the light draws nearer. I might be beating a world record of some kind—assuming some sadist keeps track of sewer swim times.

The beast roars again. She's gaining on me. I impossibly speed up, the proximity of the exit urging me on.

When I finally burst into the light, my eyes take a second to adjust. I'm in the moat in front of the castle, just outside the mountain. The shore is nearby, filled with monks carrying a goat.

Just my luck—Nessie has come across me at lunch time. The good news is that if I hurry, she might eat the goat instead of me.

Fresh air gives my muscles a much-needed boost, and I close the distance in seconds. The stunned monks help me stumble out of the water.

"Nessie," I pant. "I think she—"

Before I can finish, two monks seize the poor goat and heave it into the moat.

A familiar head appears above the water. Nessie opens her maw again. There's no sign of the knife I left there, or a wound of any kind. I guess it makes sense that she has some super-healing ability. She's an incredibly long-lived creature; the legends about her go way back.

A blink later, the goat is gone. So is Nessie.

Whew.

I fish my hand sanitizer out of my soaked pocket and use it all up on my face and hands. "I need to see someone on the Council."

The tallest of the monks eyes me like I'm crazy. "You can't. They're in a meeting and—"

"Does this sound like a normal request?" I growl. "They're going to want to know what just happened, why I just emerged from the sewer with Nessie on my tail, trying to tell them the truth about who's kill—"

He holds up a hand. "I'll take you there."

With a wary glance at me, he heads for the castle. I follow, doing my best to shake off the worst of the slime clinging to me before we reach the familiar door into the coliseum where the Council meets.

"They'll be upset if you just barge in," the monk says, wrinkling his nose. "And not just because of your smell."

I shrug, and trying not to breathe too deeply, I step into the Council chambers.