I stayed where I was and tried to wrap my mind around what she’d just said. It was strange talking to such a little girl who was so well advanced beyond her years. Sometimes, she made me feel inadequate.
Scanning the water’s shores, I felt confident no one was boating this early. Feeling her little hand tug at my fins, I let her pull me under. She giggled as I floated down to her.
“You’re pretty,” she said, and something about the way she said it made me want to give her a hug. I pulled her into my arms and held her close. Resting my chin on the top of her head, I closed my eyes. Naira was one of the loveliest children I’d ever met and she was my sister, believe it or not. I wondered why I hadn’t spent more time with her in the past.
“Because you had Thayde,” she answered and I held her back.
“Are you going to be in my head all the time now?” I joked and she shook her head.
“You can block people from reading your mind.”
“You’re going to have to teach me that one too, I’m afraid.” I let her go and she held onto my hand.
“I think Sharlie will let us ride him.” The quick shift in subject made my skin prickle.
“No, that’s all right!” I almost shouted. “Let’s just have a swim for now.”
“But he’s already here.” She pointed into the dark water.
I couldn’t see a darn thing and it was terrifying. When I looked at her, her eyes were white. Ah yes, the dead eye thingy. Within seconds, I had changed them and all became clear. Sharlie’s monstrous form was suspended in the water, about a hundred feet away, and fifty feet below us. I watched, frozen, as his tail whipped to the side, propelling him effortlessly toward us. Frantic, I began to scramble to the surface, pulling Naira upward with me.
“Stop!” She cried, pulling her hand away. I paused long enough to see Sharlie had stopped swimming toward us and now looked about, as if searching for a predator. “He won’t hurt us,” she insisted and started to swim to him.
“Naira!” I could see Mom and Tammer’s disapproval from a mile away. “Come back here!” I squealed, the sheer panic at the fact that my tiny sister was going to be gobbled up by the lake dragon, forcing me to follow her.
She began to sing softly and Sharlie’s gaze zeroed in on her like a hawk tracing a rabbit for the kill. Within moments, he was a few feet in front of her, slowing. I couldn’t reach her in time. He circled his long neck around her pulling my baby sister to him.
“Naira!” I screamed, knowing this was the last time I was going to see her alive. And then, her arms encircled his neck in a loving hug. She rested her head on him and closed her eyes, her smile telling me all was well. I stopped my ungraceful scramble toward them, changed my eyes back to normal, and watched.
Sharlie was hugging Naira – well, as best he could, and Naira was loving every minute of it. She began to hum, and a low, guttural sound began to emit from Sharlie. They were singing to each other! If Sharlie hadn’t been so freaky to look at, I would have said it was sweet.
When they were finished, he released her and she patted his side. “I told you so,” she said coyly.
I was too stunned to speak.
“You can be Sharlie’s friend too.”
“How?”
“You have to feel The Love and push it to him.”
Clearly, she meant the golden orb we were able to create.
“You just have to relax,” she encouraged.
“Easier said than done!” I argued.
She sighed, placing her hand on her hip. Naira wasn’t one who liked to mess around – my baby sister liked to get her way. Sharlie watched me with one of his hawk eyes and twisted his head to the side – almost like an owl. I think he was deciding whether or not he should eat me.
I forced my eyes closed and began to focus. The orb eventually arrived and I pushed all the love I had for Thayde into it. When it released, it flew toward the monster, covering him in a gold shower of light that faded as it fell through the water.
“Whoa!” Naira cried, as she, too, was covered in it. “You want to make him fall in love with you?”
“No,” I stammered, “I just did what you said.”
She held onto his neck as he moved toward me. As soon as he was within striking distance, he lowered his head.
“He wants you to pet him.” Naira said, in a way that I swear she wanted to add “duh” on the end.
I reached forward, my hand shaking and patted him tentatively. His brown-green scales were unforgiving under the weight of my hand.
“Don’t be afraid,” Naira said. “He likes us.”
I let my hand rest on his head and he closed his eyes tight. I felt as if I were patting a faithful dog. He didn’t look exactly as people had long described him. He resembled an enormous dragon, except he didn’t have wings. In place of claws were flippers, with talons that looked as if they could contract if he wanted them to. His long tail curled about in the water, keeping him steady.