by Sue Bentley
She clambered toward the side of the cave and began collecting driftwood. Flame watched her from where he sat on a rock beside a large pool behind her.
“Who-oo-ooh!” Suddenly a terrible wail rang out, echoing around the cave creepily.
“Oh!” Maisie gasped, as her heart missed a beat. It was the drowned smuggler!
Then things seemed to happen all at once. Maisie heard Joel and Louise scream with fear, and then their footsteps rang on the rocks as they pounded toward her.
Just as Joel and Louise came into sight, Flame screeched with panic. Maisie turned to see him scrabbling for a pawhold on the seaweed. As she watched, he fell with a sickening splash into the pool.
“Flame!” Maisie cried in horror. Dropping the driftwood, she sprang toward the rocks.
“What happened? Where is he?” Joel shouted, rushing up with Louise close behind him.
“He’s under the water!” Maisie pointed at the pool, her heart pounding.
Flame’s tiny head suddenly appeared. He paddled desperately, his paws sending out ripples as he tried to keep his head above water.
“Swim to the side, Flame! You should be able to climb out,” Maisie urged, hoping that the other two wouldn’t realize that Flame actually understood.
Flame mewed and swam toward the side of the pool, where thick seaweed from the rocks draped into the water. He tried to catch hold with his claws, but it was no use and he slipped back in.
“He can’t get out. He’ll drown!” cried Louise.
Maisie felt desperate. She realized that Flame couldn’t use his magic without giving himself away. Before she could think twice about it, she stepped forward and launched herself into the pool.
She gasped with shock as the icy water rose almost up to the tops of her thighs, and a dreadful pain shot up her leg. She had twisted her ankle on a submerged rock.
A wave of sickness washed over Maisie, but she gritted her teeth. Flame had sunk for a second time. She plunged her hands beneath the water and felt around.
“Got you!” she cried as her fingers closed over wet fur.
She lifted Flame up triumphantly and held him to her chest. Shivering and whimpering with cold, Flame clung to her soaked T-shirt.
Joel and Louise leaned over to help Maisie clamber out of the pool. Trying not to put any weight on her twisted ankle, she crawled onto the rocks on her hands and knees.
Still holding Flame, Maisie managed to sit up. Her ankle throbbed with a dull ache, and she was shivering from head to foot. She bit her lip as a small groan escaped her.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt, Maisie?” Louise asked with concern.
“She’s probably just cold. What did you jump in for, you idiot?” Joel scolded Maisie.
“Shut up, Joel! And give her your jacket,” Louise ordered, glaring at him.
Joel quickly took off his jacket and spread it around Maisie’s shoulders. As soon as Flame was covered up, Maisie felt sparks igniting in his fur and gently prickling her fingers.
A familiar, warm tingling flowed down her spine. She felt deep, soothing heat spreading all over her body until her shivering gradually stopped. She gasped as the pain in her ankle increased for a second and then it seemed to pour away, like water down a drain.
Flame snuggled up to her, his tiny body warm once more and his silky fur as soft as velvet. As every last spark faded, his whole body vibrated with his purring.
“Stay with Maisie, Louise, I’ll run and get help!” Joel cried.
Maisie realized that what had felt like minutes passing, while Flame performed his magic, had actually only been seconds. “No! Wait!” she called after Joel. “I’m feeling much better now. And Flame’s okay, too. Let’s just keep this between ourselves. If my parents hear about this, I’ll be grounded until school starts!”
“You’ve got a point,” Joel agreed. “Our parents won’t be too thrilled, either. I’m the oldest, so I’ll get the blame for bringing you here.”
“But are you sure you’re all right?” Louise looked closely at Maisie and Flame. “I don’t get it. You’re hardly even wet. It’s like magic,” she said in amazement.
Maisie smiled to herself, wishing she could tell them how wonderful Flame really was. She sighed as she thought about how she could never tell anyone. “I’m fine,” she said firmly. “Come on. Let’s go!”
“I just realized what might make that awful shrieking sound,” Joel said, as they retraced their steps back to Smuggler’s Cove. “The wind blowing through a hole in the top of the cave.”
“Now he tells us!” Louise said, rolling her eyes and giving her brother a punch on the arm.
“Ow!” Joel rubbed his arm and took a pretend swing at his sister.
Maisie bit back a grin as Joel and Louise squabbled. At least things were back to normal.
As she lifted Flame into her bike’s basket, she bent over and whispered, “Are you okay now?”
Flame licked her chin with the tip of his rough little tongue. “I am fine. Thank you for saving me, Maisie. You were very brave,” he purred.
“I wasn’t really. I just couldn’t bear to think of anything happening to you,” she whispered fondly.
She realized that it was true. She couldn’t imagine not having Flame around. Maisie felt a pang at the thought that one day he would have to go back to his own world. She shuddered and decided that she wasn’t going to think about that.
A couple of days later, Maisie was helping her mom put books on shelves and stack china in cupboards.
Flame was curled up on the sunny living-room windowsill, dozing.
“A week’s gone by already,” Mrs. Simpson said. “It’s only a few days before we open the new gallery.”
“I know. Everything seems to be happening at once!” Maisie said. The computer was also finally set up and working.
Maisie had discovered that Jane and Nina had sent her long e-mails and had both been worried when Maisie hadn’t replied for a few days. Now she was in touch with her friends and they were sharing news and chatting just like always.
Maisie had been e-mailing last night and received some great news. Both of them, with their families, were coming down for the grand opening on the weekend. “I can’t wait to show Jane and Nina Smuggler’s Cove and introduce them to Joel and Louise.”
Mrs. Simpson smiled, but she looked a bit worried. “It’ll be great for you to have your old friends here. But I hope we’ll have the gallery ready in time. There seems to be so much to do.”
Maisie went over and gave her mom a hug. “Don’t worry. Flame and I will help you. Won’t we, Flame?”
Flame blinked at her with bright green eyes.
“You and your imagination, Maisie Simpson,” her mom exclaimed. “You talk as if that kitten’s capable of anything! Maybe I should give him a mop and a bucket!”
Maisie smiled inwardly, as a cute picture of Flame cleaning the floor with a tiny mop came into her mind. If only you knew, she thought.
Maisie and Flame were in the old store by themselves the next day, helping decorate it. Mrs. Simpson had gone into town to buy food, and Mr. Simpson was searching for a furniture shop.
“Go for it!” Maisie clapped her hands as the brush rose into the air and then dipped itself into the pot of varnish with a flourish. It wiped itself carefully on the rim before dancing across the wooden counter, a comet’s trail of silver sparks shooting out behind it.
“Must work hard, must work hard!” the brush sang softly to itself.
“Decorating’s much more fun with you helping, Flame!” Maisie said, giggling.
Flame sat on the floor, grooming his twinkling brown tabby fur. He looked up from nibbling his front paw and grinned at Maisie. “I am glad I can be of help!”
Maisie heard the sound of footsteps. “Quick! Someone’s coming!”
A spark shot out of Flame’s paw and the brush fell silent. It zoomed back to the open varnish tin and laid itself across the top. Every last gleaming silver spark disappeared f
rom Flame’s fur.
Maisie rushed over and picked up the brush, just as her dad came into the store carrying a flat cardboard box under one arm.
He blinked with surprise when he saw the brush in Maisie’s hand. “Goodness me, you’ve been busy! You’re doing a grand job on that counter,” he said.
Maisie blew on her nails and polished them on her T-shirt. “Does that mean I can have an increase in my allowance?” she asked, grinning.
Her dad chuckled. “Nice try! I’ll think about it! Especially if you help me assemble this cabinet. It’s one of those make-it-yourself items.”
Maisie groaned inwardly. The words “make-it-yourself” and “dad” put together could mean trouble.
If only she could think of a way of getting her dad to go out again for a little while. Flame would have the cabinet assembled in a few sparkly seconds. But Mr. Simpson was already rolling up his sleeves, a determined look on his face.
“Okay. Where are the instructions?” he murmured, tearing open the box.
Maisie’s heart sank as she knelt on the floor and started to help her dad.
An hour and a half later, sections of the unmade cabinet and little plastic packets of screws and bolts were strewn all around.
Flame sniffed at one of the bags and batted it with one paw.
Maisie quickly rescued the screws as they skidded across the room. “No, Flame. Leave those alone, please,” she scolded gently. She looked at her dad. “Maybe you should get Mom to help you when she gets back from shopping,” she suggested.
“I think you’re right,” her dad said, exasperated. He stood up with a heavy sigh and mopped his forehead on his shirtsleeve. “I give up! Who writes these instructions, anyway? They should be sued!”
“Never mind, Dad,” Maisie said, trying hard not to laugh. “It did look really complicated. I think Flame and I will go to the beach if you don’t need us anymore.”
“Good idea. Are you going to call Joel and Louise?” he asked.
Maisie shook her head. “They had to go shopping for school uniforms with their mom. Anyway, I’ve got Flame for company. He’s the best friend anyone could have.”
Mr. Simpson smiled and reached down to pat Flame. “Have a good time, you two. And don’t forget to keep your eyes open for any interesting bits of driftwood.”
“Definitely,” Maisie said. “Come on, Flame.”
Flame scampered after her as she went into the house and out to the front garden. Her bike was leaning against the house wall. She wheeled it out onto the street.
Flame’s forehead wrinkled in a frown. “I do not think we need the bike to go to the beach, Maisie.”
“No. But we do if we’re going to Smuggler’s Cove,” Maisie said. “Remember all that amazing driftwood we saw in the cave? They were huge pieces. I’m going to get some for Dad. I bet he needs cheering up after that mess with the display cabinet.”
Flame nodded. “That is a kind thought. Perhaps you should tell him where you are going or ask him to come, too?”
Maisie thought about it. She had a feeling that if she mentioned Smuggler’s Cove, her dad would say it was too far to go by herself. But if she didn’t ask him, he couldn’t tell her not to go.
“We’re all ready now. Let’s just go,” she decided. “We won’t be long.”
Flame mewed an agreement as she lifted him into the bike’s front basket and they set off.
Rain clouds were gathering overhead and there was a cool breeze, but Maisie hardly noticed the weather as she biked along the cliff path. It was perfect, just being with Flame. He sat up in front of her, his ears pricked and his little front paws resting over the rim of the basket.
The small parking lot at Smuggler’s Cove was almost empty. There were no picnickers today, only a couple of people sitting on a bench looking out to sea. The girl in the ice-cream kiosk was reading a book.
Maisie chained up her bike and set off down the grassy slope to the cove with Flame at her heels. They soon came to the mouth of the cave and carefully climbed over the rocks to get inside.
Maisie couldn’t suppress a shudder as she stood on the cave’s sandy floor. There was a slimy green mark about three feet high up the rocky sides, where the water obviously had come up to when the tide came in.
When they had last come here, it had been a bright sunny day, but the cave had seemed damp and spooky. Today, it seemed even more shadowy and gloomy. Maisie bit her lip, recalling Louise’s scary tales of trapped smugglers being dragged away by sea monsters.
“Is something wrong?” Flame mewed.
“Not really. It’s just this place. It gives me the creeps,” Maisie replied. “Let’s get some driftwood and go.”
Flame nodded. Suddenly he sat up straight and peered intently into the cave, as if he could hear something.
“What is it…?” Maisie began, and then she froze.
Muffled sounds reached her. A burst of hollow laughter swelled in the air, echoing off the cave walls at the back. It gradually got louder as if someone, or something, was coming closer.
Maisie’s eyes widened as a strange figure loomed out of the shadows. It seemed to have a round back and lots of dark shiny legs. Her blood ran cold as the weird creature crawled over the rocks toward her.
“Argh! M…Monster! Flame…help…,” Maisie stammered.
She couldn’t move. The stories were true. Sea monsters really did live in the cave!
Beside her, Flame hissed. Maisie saw sparks in his fur and then was surprised when they quickly went out as the figure came into the light.
Maisie dared to look back at the cave.
Relief washed over her. It was six teenage kids in wetsuits, holding their dinghy above their heads. There wasn’t any monster after all.
Maisie gave a shaky laugh as the teenagers ran past her and headed for the cave’s entrance.
“Hi!” they called, waving and laughing.
“Hi!” Maisie waved back.
She watched them put the dinghy down into the shallow water washing around the cave’s entrance. Some of the teenagers jumped in and the others dragged the dinghy out of sight. Just as they disappeared from view, one of them shouted to Maisie.
“Don’t hang around in here. Watch out for the…” Whatever else he said was lost in the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks in the distance.
As soon as they were alone, Maisie turned to Flame. “Phew! I was really scared for a minute! Mom always says my imagination works overtime!”
Flame gave her a whiskery grin and rubbed himself against her ankles. “I thought it was a sea monster, too!”
Maisie bent down and patted him affectionately. “Did you? I don’t feel like such a wimp then! Come on. Let’s get some driftwood!”
She climbed up to the natural rocky shelves and began collecting big pieces of the twisted, bleached wood. Her dad could make some fantastic carved birds from this. When she had enough to almost fill the bike’s basket, she clambered back down onto the cave’s sandy floor.
“Oh!” she gasped, looking down in dismay as cold seawater swirled around her ankles.
She looked back toward the cave’s entrance and saw that the sea was washing up the sides of the rocks there. The tide was coming in fast. With a gulp, Maisie now realized what the teenagers had been trying to warn her about.
She suddenly remembered the high tidemark on the cave walls. How long would it be before the cave was flooded?
“We’re trapped, Flame! We’re going to have to swim for it!” she cried.
Maisie stared in horror at the entrance to the cave. The cold gray sea was flowing in ever faster. The thought of having to swim around the cove and back to the beach terrified her.
Sparks ignited in Flame’s long brown tabby fur and his whiskers crackled with electricity. Maisie felt a familiar, warm prickling sensation down her spine.
“Follow me!” Flame’s eyes glowed like green coals. With a shower of bright sparks, he leaped from rock to rock, speeding toward the cav
e’s entrance and the rising water.
“Wait!” Maisie pleaded, hesitating. “I can’t, Flame. I’m too scared!”
“Trust me!” Flame called and then he leaped into the cold, swirling water.
Maisie felt her whole body fill with a strange tingling. Her feet moved all by themselves and she found herself running after him. A flash of energy shot up her spine. She rushed forward to the mouth of the cave, and her muscles tensed as she sprang up into a mighty leap.
In a flash, she dived straight into the sea. With a flick of her powerful tail and flippers, she cut through the water. Her body had become strong and streamlined and covered with smooth gray skin.
Flame had turned her into a dolphin!
There was a rush of water against Maisie’s elongated face and she shot through the waves in a stream of bubbles. Shoals of silver fish darted aside as she dived down. She used her flippers and tail to steer herself back around to the cove, avoiding the sharp rocks.
Leaping out of the water with sheer excitement, Maisie performed a set of somersaults, and then it was time to swim toward the shore.
Maisie felt herself carried on the crest of a wave. She coasted along at high speed, like an expert surfer, riding the waves rolling toward the shore.
As Maisie’s feet touched the sandy bottom, she stood up. Feet! She was a girl again. Maisie ran up the beach, surprised to find that she was completely dry.
Flame came bounding down the sand toward her.
“Wow! Thanks, Flame. That was awesome. I loved being a dolphin!” she said, her chest swelling with relief and happiness. “And I love having you for a friend. I hope you stay with me forever!”
Flame’s emerald eyes twinkled with affection. “I will stay as long as I can,” he answered in a soft purr that held a note of sadness.
“Oh well. Dad’s still going to have to go without his driftwood…,” Maisie commented, as she and Flame trudged up the beach and began the walk back toward Smuggler’s Cove.