“That’s just grand. We’re a step closer.” Hilda stood and surveyed the table. “And, as the unofficial matriarch of this group, Lottie excluded, of course?—”
“Go on, they’re yours.” Lottie waved a hand and we all laughed.
“We need to make a plan. A watertight, pun intended, plan. We protect Graham at all costs. We research this curse. And we see if we can learn more about The Three Queens. I had no idea there were more artifacts to be found, and if so, that places a larger burden on the Order as a whole to track those artifacts and make sure they’re being protected.”
“Can you imagine? There might be another town out there getting hounded by the Kelpies?” Liora wondered.
“Or something far worse,” Archie said, his voice sending a shiver down my back.
We spent the next hour hammering out details. The schedule was complicated as Graham ran a pub, which meant irregular hours and constant interaction with the public. We couldn’t exactly station guards at the door, but we could make sure someone was always nearby, always watching, always ready to intervene if the water made a move. Whatever the hell that looked like.
“What about rain?” Orla asked suddenly.
Everyone looked at her.
“The curse uses water, right? What if it’s not limited to the loch? What if it can useanywater?”
A deeply uncomfortable silence fell.
“Orla,” Graham said slowly. “Are you suggesting I need to be afraid of weather now?”
“I’m suggesting we don’t know the limits of this curse. Better to be paranoid than dead.”
“That’s a lovely philosophy. Very optimistic.”
“I’m a builder. I deal in practical realities. And the practical reality is that water is everywhere. Puddles, rain, pipes, baths?—”
“No more baths,” Sophie announced. “Graham, you’re on shower-only until further notice.”
“This is unbelievable.”
“This is Loren Brae,” Sophie said. “Everything here is a touch unbelievable. We just have to lean into it.”
“Quick showers,” Matthew added. “In and out. No lingering.”
“I’m not going to be murdered by my own bathroom.” Graham sighed.
“You don’t know that.”
Graham looked at me with something approaching desperation. “Agnes. Please tell them this is ridiculous.”
I wanted to. But the truth was, I didn’t know the limits of the curse either. What if Orla was right? What if the curse could use any water?
“Maybe... be careful?” I offered weakly.
“‘Be careful’ she says. ‘Avoid all water’ she means.” Graham slumped against the wall. “This is my life now. Death by dehydration because I’m afraid of the tap.”
“You can still drink water,” Lachlan said. He turned to Sophie. “Can’t he?”
“I don’t know.” Sophie bit her lower lip as she considered it. “But the man runs a pub. He’s, like, literally surrounded by liquids.”
“Hmm, maybe you need to close?” Finn winced as Graham slammed his hand on the bar.
“I’m not closing my pub.” Graham’s voice was sharp.
“But you’ll be careful around water?” Sophie asked, hope in her voice.
“Right. No water. Apparently, I can drink it. I just can’t bathe in it, walk near it, or exist in its general vicinity.” Graham rolled his eyes.
