Jesse James and the Dragon's Egg

An Afternoon Swim

Things were tense between Jesse and Brad the next day. They barely spoke at breakfast and afterward Brad disappeared all together. Mumbling something about wanting to find something to do, he wandered off toward the stables by himself.

The rest of them stayed to help clean up and soon all dishes were done and away and there was nothing else to do. There would be a great feast to prepare for later, but for now, the children were free to play and relax as they willed. Jake went with Imal and some of the other children to feed the horses. Kate disappeared altogether, and John, Lamar, and Jesse retired to their room.

"Man, my mom must be having a cow." John and Lamar were pitching a rough leather ball back and forth to one-another.

"Seriously?" Lamar asked. "We've barely been gone a day."

"Dude, the last time we stayed late at practice, she called the police and told them I'd been abducted by aliens."

"No she did not!" The big boy laughed.

"Man, I kid you not. She was on the phone to the TV station, trying to get it on the news. I think she was almost disappointed when I showed up."

"Yeah." Lamar said quietly. "I know the feeling."

"Anybody want to go swimming?" Elyssa called out, peeking her head around the curtain.

In short order, the boys were on the move. They followed Elyssa, collecting Jake and Kate as they went. Brad came running up a bit later.

Along the way, conversation turned again to parents and Elyssa explained to them that their parents have probably been put under a spell, causing them to believe that they were all away at camp.

"This kind of magic is usually restricted, even by us."

A twenty-five minute hike later and the children and the little dragon arrived at an idyllic rocky grotto. The grotto had a waterfall which fed a crystal clear spring bled out into the ocean. There were many levels to the waterfall, small, precarious cliffs from which the boys and girls dove. A rope swing hung from a massive old date palm which grew out of the side of the falls.

The place was packed with kids and, like the night before; they were readily and happily accepting of the outsiders. Elyssa joined a small group of girls and was immediately engrossed in whispered conversation. now and then she caught Lamar staring at her. She flashed the boy a toothy grin, which he returned out of reflex, looking quickly away and cursing himself for not knowing what to do next.

The big boy had barely gotten in the water long enough to get wet before he came screaming to the shore.

"Something got my foot!" He hopped along the edge of the pool, the offended foot held securely in both hands.

Brad made no effort to hide his laughter. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm telling you something was swimming around out there and it tried to pull me under! It was like a giant fish or something!"

It was at this point that they all realize that Elyssa and the little group of girls were laughing. They were laughing so hard that their faces had all gone bright red and two of them were having trouble getting breath between guffaws. They also notice that besides Elyssa, the girl who was laughing hardest, the one who was floating at the edge of the pool, had a long and lithe blue-green tail which she lifted from the water long enough to wave at the embarrassed boy.

"Nice. Very funny."

Kate was the first to laugh, fitfully choking out a series of guffaws even as she tried to stifle them, and soon they were all laughing. Even Lamar had a quick chuckle before swinging giant hand loads of water at Kate who, after retreating behind Jesse, cannon-balled Lamar. Her impact sent a sheet of water over all of them and the fun was on.