Blue Dragon

interesting ability.
    I had a million questions, so I pushed my head above the water and dropped the snorkel. ‘Can you hear me?’ I said above the waves.
    Nothing.
    I dipped my head under the water. They were gone.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    L eo stood at the shoreline, watching me with concern. I put the ring above the water and asked it to tell him what had happened.
    Too far, the ring said.
    ‘Damn,’ I said. Leo would be panicking. I put my snorkel back in and headed towards the shore.
    Leo swam out and met me halfway. I stopped and took the snorkel out again. We floated in the water together.
    ‘She’s okay, don’t worry,’ I said. ‘She can breathe the water. The Dragon’s taken her to try out some stuff. I’ve had enough. I’m going back.’
    Leo swam beside me back to the beach.
    When I pulled myself out of the water, I threw off the goggles and fins and collapsed onto the mat, panting.
    ‘You need to do more physical stuff,’ Leo said. ‘You’ve been doing far too much energy work lately.’
    I gave him a push. ‘Thank you very much .’ I turned onto my back. ‘She forgot to put her snorkel back in and was breathing the water. She dived down to look at the reef. The Dragon came and took her out for,’ I laughed, ‘a field trip .’
    ‘Damn, Emma, that’s amazing,’ Leo said, looking out over the water.
    ‘Not surprising, though. Her father can do it too. If you’re with him, holding his hand, you can breathe the water as well.’
    Leo glanced at me, then obviously decided against asking. He grinned. ‘Want a coconut?’ He gestured next to him on the mat. Three young coconuts sat there with their tops chopped off and straws stuck into them.
    ‘Thanks,’ I said, and took one. The milk inside was clear and sweet, the flesh like jelly. It was ice-cold and refreshing. ‘Nice young one. Where’d you get them?’
    ‘There’s a kiosk at the end of the beach,’ Leo said.
    I faced the water next to Leo. ‘You ever seen the Dragon in True Form?’
    ‘Nope.’
    ‘He’s at least twenty metres long. Huge.’
    ‘Whoa.’
    ‘Gave me the shock of my life when I turned around under the water. His head was right next to me.’
    Leo laughed softly.
    We sat silently together on the beach and waited for them to return.
    Simone and the Dragon reappeared about an hour later. They climbed out of the water together. The Dragon wore a pair of plain grey swim shorts and had made his hair short and black. He was elegant, slim and muscular.
    Simone had lost the goggles somewhere along the way, but she still had the fins. She stopped to pull them off, and fell over in the water. She lay in the water and removed them as the Dragon stood and watched her with amusement.
    Simone came up the beach and fell into Leo’s lap. She smiled up at him. ‘We’re going to the other islandnow. There’s better reef there and I’m going to jump off the boat.’
    ‘Lady, Lion,’ the Dragon said, still smiling, ‘if you will come with me, we will return to the boat and moor for a while off Manukan.’
    Leo grabbed Simone and threw her over his shoulder, then hoisted himself up quickly, making her shriek with delight. He carried her towards the jetty, her arms slapping loosely on his back as he walked.
    ‘Faster, Leo!’ Simone squealed, and he ran, making her bounce on his shoulder.
    The Dragon sighed, shook his head, and gestured for me to follow. A couple of smiling demon staff, in the form of young Malays, walked from the jetty to pack up for us.
    ‘Is she very unusual, being able to breathe the water like that?’ I said as we headed back to the boat.
    ‘Not even young half human dragons can do it,’ the Dragon said. ‘She really is exceptional. Very talented.’
    ‘She needs to be able to defend herself against big demons when her father goes,’ I said.
    ‘Yes,’ the Dragon said reluctantly. ‘That, I’m afraid, will be the most important skill of all.’
    ‘What if she can’t handle anything bigger than about level sixty when he goes?’ I said. ‘What do we do then?’
    ‘She will still be too small to travel to the Plane,’ the Dragon said. ‘You should just hope that he doesn’t go before she can handle just about anything. What about yourself?’
    My shoulders sagged. ‘Not higher than about level forty bare-handed,’ I said.
    The Dragon stopped. ‘You can handle up to level forty without a weapon?’
    I turned to him. ‘I know. Similar with energy. With a weapon, nothing bigger than