Dragon Mountain

by Katie Tsang

  ‘A bit of a tall order for a summer camp,’ said Dylan under his breath, nudging Billy in the ribs. Billy swallowed a laugh. Despite Dylan being unlike any of his friends at home, he was starting to think maybe he wasn’t too bad. Even if he wasn’t a surfer and everything seemed to make him anxious.

  Old Gold untied his necklace and plucked a bead from one of the ends. He held it in front of him between his finger and thumb. ‘This is your first assignment,’ he said. He took the bead and tossed it directly at Charlotte, who caught it right away. The bead gave off a light purple shimmer and was about the size of an acorn. Old Gold smiled as he pulled another bead from his necklace and tossed it to Dylan, who fumbled it between two open hands before letting it fall to the ground.

  ‘Does this mean I fail the first assignment?’ asked Dylan, looking morose.

  Old Gold let out a deep laugh. ‘No need to worry, Dylan. A little dirt won’t hurt.’ Old Gold continued to pull beads from his necklace and toss them around until everyone was holding one. ‘Each of your journeys here at Camp Dragon will be a personal one,’ he said. ‘I want you to close your eyes, open your minds and your hearts, and think about what you want most from your time here.’

  Billy held the bead in his hand and closed his eyes, feeling a bit silly. He opened them again and saw that everyone else’s eyes were shut, their expressions earnest. He sighed and closed his eyes again. He was here now. He might as well try. He rolled the bead in his palm and thought about how far he was from home. How different everything felt here. Nothing was familiar. Even the air smelled different from the salt-scented ocean breeze he was used to. As the wind rustled his hair, he listened to the insects and birds chirping around him, the distant rushing water and the occasional howl of the monkeys. He thought about how far from home he was, and it gave him a pang in his chest.

  Focus, he told himself. What did he want from his time at camp?

  On the journey here, Billy’s only thought had been how much he was dreading the summer at this camp and all the things he would miss at home. And now as he stood, listening to the new sounds and breathing in the mountain air, a tiny trickle of excitement crept in. If he had to be here, he might as well have a bit of an adventure. This felt like the kind of place for that.

  The bead sparked unexpectedly in his hand and his eyes flew open. Old Gold was staring straight at him. Billy shut his eyes quickly, feeling as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. Billy shook his head, trying to refocus, but before he could gather his thoughts Old Gold clapped. ‘Very good, very good. I hope that helped centre everyone.’ He walked round and collected the beads, stringing them back onto his necklace. For a moment, Billy thought his bead was glimmering. And were some of the other beads too? He blinked. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light.

  ‘Now, what would you think if I told you that these beads are going to help me divide you into groups for the summer?’ asked Old Gold with a grin.

  ‘I’d say that you are absolutely off your rocker,’ Dylan said cheerfully.

  Old Gold laughed. ‘I like your honesty,’ he said. ‘Even so, that is what I’m going to do. You might have noticed I’m just a bit old…’ He paused and winked, as if letting them in on a secret. ‘Over the years I’ve learned that some things can’t be explained, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t let them guide you.’

  Old Gold ran the necklace through his fingers and closed his eyes, humming to himself and rocking back and forth.

  ‘This does not seem like a legitimate way to group us at all,’ said Charlotte, crossing her arms. ‘Surely we should be divided into groups based on our skills?’

  Billy couldn’t help agreeing. Now, not only was he stuck on a mountain in the middle of China with no mobile-phone service, he was also at a camp run by an old man who believed in magic beads.

  ‘Billy Chan!’ Old Gold thundered, and Billy jumped.

  ‘Dylan O’Donnell!’

  ‘Charlotte Bell!’

  ‘Liu Ling-Fei!’

  Old Gold opened his eyes. ‘The beads tell me you four belong together,’ he said. ‘And who am I to disagree?’

  Old Gold divided the remaining eight campers into two more groups, and beamed at everyone. ‘I think we are off to a very good start, don’t you?’

  The campers eyed each other warily.

  ‘Now,’ Old Gold continued, ‘I’m sure you’d all like to get to know each other, and you can do that over lunch. But first I want to introduce you to the other camp counsellors.’ He gestured to three adults standing on the edge of the group – two women and a man. ‘This is Lee laoshi, Feng laoshi and Wu laoshi,’ he said, putting the Mandarin word for ‘teacher’ after their surnames. The other camp counsellors waved. ‘If you have any questions, or need anything at all, you can find us in the main cabins in the centre of camp. Now off you go to the canteen!’

  * * *

  ‘Well,’ said Charlotte when they reached the canteen, ‘we should probably sit together, shouldn’t we? If we’re going to be part of a team. I’ll admit all my pageant training has made me fiercely competitive – I’m going to want to win all the activities we do.’

  ‘It isn’t about winning,’ said Ling-Fei earnestly. ‘It’s about the experience.’

  ‘That’s what people say who don’t usually win,’ said Charlotte. ‘Now that you’re on my team, Ling-Fei, you can get used to winning.’ She winked and flounced off to get her tray.

  The food was plentiful and delicious. Billy devoured mountains of fried rice and all the dumplings he could eat. So far, the food was the best part of Camp Dragon. He still wasn’t sure what to think about the other campers, especially his new teammates. He liked Dylan all right, and Ling-Fei seemed nice enough, if a little strange. And he figured he’d rather have Charlotte on his team than be competing against her. He didn’t doubt her commitment to winning.

  ‘I’m so pleased we’re all on the same team,’ said Ling-Fei with a shy smile at the group. ‘Now that we’ve met I can feel that we’re going to be friends, can’t you?’

  Her heartfelt enthusiasm made Billy feel awkward. He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Sure,’ he said. Maybe the easiest way to get through the next ten weeks at camp was to just go with the flow. He was good at that. The brief spark of excitement he’d felt when he’d been holding the bead upon arrival had sputtered out, leaving him feeling resigned. He wondered what his friends at home were doing right now.

  ‘Don’t you ever feel as if you’ve been waiting your whole life to meet the right people, for something to happen? And then when it does… BAM!’ Ling-Fei threw her hands up in the air for extra emphasis, startling Dylan, who dropped his chopsticks.

  Ling-Fei laughed, the sound tinkling like bells in the air. ‘This feels like that,’ she said. ‘Can’t you feel it?’

  ‘I think all I’m feeling is a bit of jet lag,’ Billy said with a yawn. ‘I’m going to go find my cabin. And maybe take a nap.’

  If Ling-Fei was disappointed by Billy’s lack of enthusiasm, she didn’t show it. Instead, she nodded. ‘Good idea! Let’s all go and find our cabins.’

  It turned out that Billy and Dylan were sharing a cabin, and Ling-Fei and Charlotte had the one next to them. The other campers were sharing cabins with their groups too. Billy was glad that he was sharing a cabin with someone he’d already met.

  ‘I’m going to go find some wild flowers to decorate our cabin,’ Charlotte announced. ‘Interior decorating is another one of my talents. Come on, Ling-Fei, you can show me where to find some.’

  Billy was pretty sure he’d never met anyone with so much confidence, or so many self-professed talents, as Charlotte. She seemed like the kind of person who constantly demanded attention and, right at this moment, Billy found her a bit draining. He was relieved to see her and Ling-Fei head out of the cabin and into the woods.

  But it wasn’t just Charlotte. It was everything. Being at camp, meeting new people, hoping that everyone liked him. Billy wished he was back in
California. Even though he would never have admitted it to them, he missed his parents. And his know-it-all older brother, Eddie. He wondered what they would make of all this.

  He knew what they would tell him though. His mom would tell him he was lucky to have such a great opportunity. His dad would tell him that he’d be happy he’d done this, when he was older. And Eddie… well, Eddie would ruffle his hair (he knew Billy was vain about his hair) and tell him to suck it up, but then he’d say that he was proud of him for being brave enough to go so far from home.

  With the thoughts of his family comforting him, Billy went to check out his cabin with Dylan. It was remarkably plain, with two beds, two desks and two chests of drawers. That was all. There was a communal bathroom that everyone at camp shared. Billy had never shared a bathroom with anyone but his family, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.

  ‘Billy,’ said Dylan as they unpacked their bags, ‘I should probably tell you I snore.’

  Billy sighed. It was going to be a long summer.

  A Sky Full Of Stars

  That night, Old Gold gathered everyone around the firepit. Overhead, the stars came out – first one, then another, and then so many all at once that Billy lost count. He’d never seen so many stars in his whole life.

  He’d taken a nap after lunch and was feeling slightly more energized about everything. Now, under a sky full of stars, the small part of him that yearned for adventure this summer sparked to life again, bigger than before.

  ‘Did you guys see that shooting star?’ said Kwaku, the boy from Ghana, pointing above them.

  ‘Look! Another one!’ said Charlotte.

  They all watched the shooting stars for a few moments, and Billy made a wish.

  He wished that he could do something at camp to make his parents and Eddie proud. What exactly, he didn’t know, but Eddie had always been the one his parents were proud of and, even though that was annoying, Billy looked up to him. Maybe just once, he could be the one they bragged about.

  He looked round the firepit at all the new faces. Dylan, his eyes wide and twinkling with humour, Charlotte, currently explaining the workings of shooting stars to a bewildered-looking boy next to her, and Ling-Fei, her face eager and shining in the firelight. Yes, he’d try to make the most of this summer. And maybe, just maybe, he’d find a few friends along the way.

  ‘Are there shooting stars every night?’ asked a girl with light-brown skin and short dark hair. It took Billy a second to remember her name. Shreya, from Mumbai.

  Old Gold smiled. ‘Yes. We’re lucky up here in the mountains. Most nights are clear enough to see the stars. Unless there is a storm, and then the clouds are so low you can almost touch them.’ He pointed above them. ‘Do you all see that bright star there, the one right above us?’

  Billy squinted up at the sky. He found it impossible to differentiate between so many stars. They were brighter than he’d ever seen at home.

  The kids all shifted and tilted their heads, trying to find the star that Old Gold was pointing at.

  ‘Oh!’ said Shreya. ‘That one!’ Billy followed her line of sight and his eyes widened. It was true: one was shining especially bright. Once he’d seen it, it was impossible not to notice.

  ‘That is the Dragon’s Heart,’ said Old Gold.

  ‘I’ve never heard of that one,’ said Dylan with a slight frown. ‘Is it like the North Star?’

  Old Gold smiled. ‘Not exactly. Everyone knows the North Star. But this star… this star is special to this mountain. We are in the perfect place to see it. I’m sure that other men have seen it—’

  ‘And women,’ Charlotte interrupted.

  Old Gold smiled. ‘Yes, Charlotte. I’m sure others have seen it, but I am sure they have different names for it. This is a name that has been passed down in my family for generations. We believe it is called the Dragon’s Heart because of a great battle that happened right here, on this very mountain, many years ago.’

  ‘Who was battling?’ asked Billy, his interest bubbling out of him as he looked away from the sky and towards Old Gold through the flickering orange flames.

  ‘It was a battle between legends. A battle between dragons,’ said Old Gold, a bit breathless with excitement. In the shifting shadows of the firelight Billy thought Old Gold looked like an ancient sorcerer about to cast a spell. And Billy found himself leaning forward, eager to hear more about the battle. About the dragons.

  ‘I thought it was a real battle,’ someone said, sounding a little disappointed.

  ‘And it was!’ said Old Gold, affronted. ‘Why do you think this mountain is called Dragon Mountain? This used to be where dragons roamed. Only the truly worthy could walk beside them. Legend says that sometimes the dragons bestowed their powers on the humans that they bonded with.’

  ‘What kind of powers?’ asked Billy. He was curious despite himself. It had been years since he’d believed in things like dragons or any kind of magic at all, but sometimes, when he was surfing, he’d imagine he was riding not a wave, but a mythical beast. And, he had to admit, sitting around a roaring fire in the shadow of the towering mountain with stars shooting overhead and a yearning for adventure fluttering in his heart, this felt like a place where dragons might really have existed.

  Old Gold’s eyes widened. ‘Too many powers to name! Dragons are like sorcerers. They have all kinds of magic.’ He said this as if it was a fact, like tigers having stripes.

  ‘Well, what happened to them?’ said Dylan, leaning closer to the fire.

  ‘For a long time, they lived in peace, alongside the humans they befriended. But then one dragon became more powerful than all the rest. The other dragons didn’t like that. And so they fought. The battle was so fierce and brutal that a river of dragon blood ran from the mountain itself.’

  In the smoke from the fire Billy could have sworn he saw the shape of dragons emerge. He could practically hear their roars in the crackling of the flames.

  ‘I don’t believe that a river of blood ran from the mountain,’ said Dylan flatly.

  ‘Dylan,’ said Charlotte, throwing a stone at him. ‘Stop ruining the story.’

  ‘I’m just saying,’ said Dylan. ‘A river of dragon blood sounds a little far-fetched.’ He paused. ‘What happened next?’

  ‘Oh, not if you aren’t interested,’ said Old Gold. He gave an exaggerated yawn. ‘I’m getting tired myself.’

  ‘Tell us the rest of the story, Yeye,’ said Ling-Fei. Old Gold wasn’t really her grandfather, but she’d told them earlier he’d been good friends with her grandparents, and she’d always called him that.

  ‘Does anyone else want to hear the rest?’ said Old Gold, glancing around. ‘I don’t want to bore you on your first night.’

  Around the circle there were nods and cries of, ‘Yes, keep going!’

  ‘Very well,’ said Old Gold, settling back against the tree he was leaning on. ‘The river of dragon blood ran and still the battle raged. Even the stars couldn’t help but watch. And then, when the battle was finally done, as even the worst battles must come to an end, the stars were so impressed with what they had seen, they took the heart of one of the slain and put it in the sky – as a reminder to all other dragons, and humans too, of how even the mighty can fall.’

  ‘What happened after that?’ said Dylan. ‘That doesn’t sound like the end of the story. Who won?’

  ‘That is not for us humans to know. But, after this battle, dragons were never seen here again. Perhaps they battled until all were dead. Perhaps they joined the stars in the sky. Or perhaps…’ Old Gold paused.

  ‘Perhaps what?’ asked Billy, unable to contain himself. All this talk of dragons had brought back a memory from when he was little – he and Eddie would go to the hill behind their house and lie in the grass for hours, staring up at the sky, hoping for a glimpse of a dragon.

  They hadn’t done that in a long time.

  ‘Perhaps the dragons are just biding their time, waiting for the right moment to return,’ sai
d Old Gold. He yawned, a real yawn this time. ‘I can’t stay awake another minute. I’m heading to bed, and –’ he looked at all of them with his sternest expression, which really wasn’t that stern at all – ‘I expect all of you to do the same within the next five minutes.’

  ‘Yes, Old Gold,’ they chorused.

  ‘Goodnight,’ said Old Gold, and with a groan he pulled himself to his feet and walked back towards his cabin.

  * * *

  Later, Billy lay in bed, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling.

  ‘Dylan?’ he whispered, but the only reply was Dylan’s deep breathing and an occasional snore. He hadn’t been kidding about that.

  Billy had thought he’d fall asleep right away, but his mind was buzzing. He’d enjoyed tonight. More than he’d expected. And the story Old Gold had told about the dragons swam around in his brain, making him remember how much he really did love legends and magic.

  He realized that if he had stayed at home this summer, he knew exactly what he would be doing. Knew exactly what his summer would look like. There was comfort in that, but it wasn’t very exciting.

  Here, he didn’t know what to expect. And, to Billy’s surprise, he found he quite liked that idea.

  The Storm

  Billy woke to the light pitter-patter of rainfall on the roof of their cabin and Dylan snoring.

  He rolled over in his bed and looked out of the window.

  The camp had turned into a mud pit overnight. Through the rain-fogged windowpane, he could see other campers making their way to the canteen, presumably for breakfast.

  ‘Dylan,’ he said. ‘Dylan, wake up.’

  Dylan grunted and buried himself deeper in his bed.

  Billy threw a pillow at him. ‘Come on, it’s time for breakfast.’

  ‘It sounds like it’s raining,’ Dylan muttered. ‘I don’t want to go out in the rain. I get enough of that at home in Ireland.’