Will nodded. “I saw the reef. Any idea where to enter?”
Mr. Behr shrugged. “Do you have any equipment that will see the bottom?”
“I thought about that, but it won’t see far enough ahead. I’ll have to trust my instincts and my eyes.”
“I’ll go let the others know,” I said, and turned to leave.
The girls were stretching when I found them. Cherise bounded to her feet when I told her we were close. Karis, never a morning person, moved more slowly. When I reached Chace and Steria, I paused. He wouldn’t want to hear that we had arrived. But I also knew that he wouldn’t want to miss any of the remaining time he had with her. I woke him gently.
Why are you sad, Harley? Steria inquired as I roused my friend. Is this not what you had planned?
I nodded. “I guess, but I thought we could come and visit you whenever we wanted. Now we have to stay away, or else people will follow us or Professor Raleigh will find you.”
“Thanks for the reminder, Harley,” Chace said, pushing his glasses up on his face.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “She asked.”
Chace shrugged awkwardly, and I could tell he was trying to avoid the subject. “What’s up?”
“We’re almost there—Steria could fly the distance we have left. Breakfast is in the wheelhouse. Will is going to have to avoid a reef to get near, but then there’s a dock to tie up to.”
“Well, let’s see your new home, Steria.” Chace stood and stretched, then adjusted the suspenders his mom had given him.
When he was ready, we headed back to the wheelhouse.
***
“Watch out!” Cherise called from the flybridge. “You’re too far to the right.”
Will adjusted his course while the rest of us held our breath. From where she stood, Cherise had a better view of the ocean and what lay in front of us, but everyone else was essentially blind in the glare of the water. After a few more adjustments, Cherise yelled down, “I think we’re clear! I don’t see any more rocks.”
“And I think I see the dock, there off your starboard side,” Mr. Behr directed.
Will nodded and made for the little pier. Within fifteen minutes, we had tied up and were standing on solid ground. It felt strange to not feel the movement beneath our feet—I kept stumbling as I tried to walk. I was surprised by how quickly I’d adjusted to the sway of the boat under me.
“Welcome to your new home, Steria,” Mr. Behr said. “My friend, Jason, says this island is only used for conservation and study. He’ll check in occasionally, but for the most part you’ll have the place to yourself. As long as you promise to not eat everything in sight and be friendly to Jason, you’ll be fine here.”
Steria nodded solemnly. Well, then, let us explore my new home.
Mr. Behr and the girls headed toward the small cabin just up the hill from the dock, while Will stayed with the boat.
With stately grace, Steria leapt into the air, her wings iridescent in the morning light. I looked at Chace and shrugged. He grinned and began running, following behind her. I joined him. The ground sloped upward at a gentle angle. Dried grass crunched under our feet. As we rounded the hill, the grass disappeared and gave way to rock. It was the same crumbling stone that comprised the cliffs off the shore of Myrtle Beach. The wind had taken its toll and worn down the rocky surface, leaving flaking shale in place of the solid ground it once had been. The plateau stretched for about a mile and then disappeared from sight. Sea birds lifted off the rough crags, squawking as they went. These birds were in for a shock. Their home would have another occupant. In the air, Steria circled in great, gliding loops, bugling her joy and dashing through the salty spray that leapt from the breakers up the face of the cliffs. I looked over and saw Chace watching her, a bright smile on his face, hardly touched with any sadness.
On the west side of the rock shelf, it dropped in a sheer cliff to the ocean below. I backed away, not wanting to get too close to the precipitous edge. To the south, a more gradual slope met my gaze, fading into a meadow where cattle and deer were grazing. I stared, wondering how on earth deer got onto the island. Beyond the meadow, trees rose toward the sky. From my vantage point, they were like a blanket covering that side of the island.
I don’t know how long I stood gazing out to sea before I heard voices shouting. Far up on the hilltop, figures waved. I raised my arms and waved back. One of the people—Mr. Behr, from the silhouette—came toward me. Steria sat in the middle of the clearing. I met Mr. Behr by Steria, who had stretched out and pointedly ignored us. Beside her lay Chace.
Mr. Behr looked at us with a sad, knowing smile. “We have a long trip ahead of us. We can take a few more moments, but let’s at least start heading in the general direction of the dock.”
Steria stirred, and I caught a feeling of remorse and fear. It wasn’t my emotion, but I sensed it as fully as if it had been. Chace must have felt it, too, because he laid a hand on her flank. Some of the apprehension ebbed immediately as she leaned ever so slightly into the touch.
“Mr. Behr,” Chace spoke up. “We need to give Steria time to adjust before we leave.”
“I know, Chace, but we need to head back, as well. We can easily stay another twenty minutes or so, but let’s head back to the cove. Will’s waiting for us.”
“Come on, Steria,” I said.
She sat up and pushed off into the sky, where she circled the meadow once and then flew off in a straight line for the dock.
“She’ll be fine, Chace,” I said into the stillness.
He nodded, but it was stiff and pained. We walked in silence the rest of the way.
As we came down the path to the dock, I saw Steria perched on a rock. I nudged Chace and pointed to her. He nodded and adjusted his suspenders.
Will greeted us. “There you guys are! I didn’t want to leave the boat. Carl will have my hide if anything happens to it.”
“Not to mention not being able to get home, right?” I laughed. Chace seemed awfully quiet. “You okay?” I asked him in an undertone.
He shrugged and turned to watch Steria. The memories of the first week of summer ran through my mind. I remembered our surprise as we felt the tapping from her shell for the first time, laughter as she knocked Karis to the barn floor, and horror mixed with amazement as we saw her breathe fire for the first time. Will hopped out of the boat and walked over to us. We stood, silent and suddenly somber, staring at our dragon.
A hand on my shoulder startled me. Karis stood behind me with Cherise beside her. Our normally cheery friend stood with her face fixed in a tight-jawed fight against tears, her large brown eyes pools of emotion. I heard her voice in my memory saying, “It’s a dragon, of course.” I replayed the awe we all felt as we saw the egg hatch. I remembered Steria inquiring about Mr. Behr. I looked over my left shoulder to where he stood beside Karis. He, too, was far from his usual jolly self.
Steria stirred on her perch and began to preen her wings as if nothing was wrong. A lump formed in my throat. I didn’t want to do what I knew was necessary. I could only imagine how Chace was feeling.
“Steria,” Karis called, her voice thick. “Can you come here? I don’t want to talk to you over this distance.”
The dragon paused, looked my sister in the eyes, and then flew up into the air. She alighted a distance away, and Karis walked to where she landed. I watched as my sister hugged our dragon, and I saw Karis wipe her eyes as she turned and came back to the boat.
Mr. Behr waited until she had returned before he approached Steria. Cherise stood beside me now, Will on my other side Chace still faced out to sea.
“What now?” Will asked. “What do we do?”
“What we’ve always done,” Cherise said. “If we were friends before Steria, we can still be friends when she’s gone.”
I wanted to believe her, but I wasn’t too sure. I watched as Cherise traded places with Mr. Behr and threw her arms around Steria. The two stayed that way for a long while. When Cherise turned bac
k toward us, I saw the sun glistening off tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Well, I suppose it’s my turn,” Will said. I heard the regret in his voice.
“Will,” I stopped him from leaving. He turned to me. “It’s okay. No one holds it against you.”
He shook his head. “Harley, I was wrong to tell Professor Raleigh about Steria’s egg. I didn’t want to believe you guys. Mom and Dad are always arguing over money. I thought... I thought I could help, but...”
“I know, Will,” I interrupted. “I didn’t help by making you give me your backpack, but you’ve more than made up for it by piloting us out here.”
“But if I hadn’t told him, she might still be with us, and Chace...” he looked helplessly at our grieving friend.
“No,” I told him firmly. “We’d have had to find a new place for her anyway. Who knows how big she’s going to get? We couldn’t hide her forever. And without you, Steria would be hiding from the professor and all of Myrtle Beach. Or worse, she’d be going to some NSA holding ground and we’d never know if she was okay.”
He nodded. “Thanks, Harley. I needed that.”
“No problem.”
He smiled, and that’s when I realized that Cherise was right. Steria hadn’t been the reason for our friendship; she had only strengthened it.
The water lapped at the pilings beneath us. Chace hadn’t moved from his place. I knew the turmoil inside him. I felt the pull to stay, but I was coming to grips with everything. Steria would be fine here without us. The run up on top of the hill had proven that to me. I could let her be here. The harder part was to leave and not come back. “Chace?” I called, pitching my voice just louder than the sound of the waves. He didn’t move. “Chace?” I tried again.
“Harley, I can’t do this.” he said.
“I know,” I agreed. “But it’ll be okay. We’ll be fine.”
He shook his head. “I can’t leave her. She’ll be lonely here. She needs company. No animal here thinks and communicates like she does.”
He paused to take a breath. I understood his feelings, but I didn’t want him to miss out on saying goodbye, and we did need to go home soon.
“Chace, we’ll be fine. And so will she.”
He shook his head. “I can’t. There’s a nice cabin over there. You guys can bring me supplies. There’s enough fish and game. I’ll be fine here.”
I didn’t think he was serious until he looked at me. His eyes showed the hurt, but also determination.
“Chace, what about your dad?”
That seemed to stop him in his tracks. It was like I had put a pin in a balloon. He stood there staring at me. Then he turned and walked to Steria, and stood beside her with his hand on her shoulder. Everyone else had boarded, and they were looking back expectantly. I shook my head and followed my friend.
“Chace,” I said when I reached him, but he held up a hand to stop me. I sighed and moved to Steria’s other side.
“Hi, girl,” I said.
Hello, Harley.
“Can you talk sense into Chace?” I asked her.
I heard her low rumble of a laugh, and I was forced to acknowledge that common sense had not had much of a role in our decision making since we found her egg. I giggled. She joined in, and even Chace added his laughter to ours. Soon it was a rolling sound, the three of us together in the face of our parting. But when it died down, I knew I still had to convince my friend to come home.
“Chace, I understand how you feel. You’ve been like a dad to Steria. You’ve fed her, watched over her, and taken care of her. Hey, you’ve even used the shotgun to scare Professor Raleigh away!”
Chace chuckled as he recalled that moment.
“See. I know what you’re going through.”
“No, Harley, you don’t,” he said. “You’ve never had to watch someone you love slip away from you. You’ve never had to tell them good-bye.”
I swallowed and winced at the raw pain in his voice He continued. “When Mom died, I promised that if I ever loved someone, I’d never let them leave again.”
The memories of our fifth grade year came back to me. I remembered the struggle as Mrs. Martin fought the cancer, only to succumb at home over spring break.
“When we found the egg,” Chace said. “I knew I had no control over it. Steria wormed her way into my heart, and I knew I could never say good-bye to her.”
“Oh, Chace,” I sighed. “I’m sorry. I really am.” I was at a loss for words. I thought of the day when I had gone to his house, back while his mom was still alive. Knowing her time was running out, she had pulled me aside.
“Harley, I know you are Chace’s friend. He’s going to need you and his dad in the days to come.” She’d paused to gather her breath and strength. “Don’t let him forget that he needs his dad. In their hurt, they’ll pull away from each other, but his dad needs Chace just as much as Chace needs his dad.”
The memory faded. We stood silent, one on either side of our dragon. The surf lapped at the rocks, and the ropes tying our boat to the dock creaked. How could I encourage Chace to come home? A seagull called overhead, and Steria stirred, looking up at it. This close, I could feel her flash of yearning to soar with the bird.
“Harley, you can go now,” Chace said. “The others are waiting for you.”
“No, Chace, the others are waiting for us. Steria, help me, here. He can’t leave his dad to stay with you. Besides, if he stays, that means we’ll have more trips back and forth, and Professor Raleigh would be more likely to find you.”
Steria bent her neck and dipped her head, much like I’d seen horses do. That is your job, Harley. Her voice sounded quiet in my mind. He will not listen to me. I have tried.
So much for the easy route. I sighed.
“Chace, I know it’s hard, but look at Steria. Really look at her. Feel what she’s feeling.”
I paused and took my own advice. Peace filled me. It seemed to wrap its way around us. Then a breeze touched my face. It didn’t break the peace, but instead brought a longing—a longing to chase it, to be free, to roam far and wide. As the wind died down, that longing was replaced with contentment.
Steria stood and stretched, looking like an overgrown cat with wings. She turned and placed her forehead against Chace’s and gently pressed in. Chace wrapped his arms around her neck. They stood that way for the longest time. I didn’t want to leave without Chace, but I didn’t want to intrude, either. Finally, she stepped away and looked at both of us.
Thank you for all you have done. You both believed when others didn’t. You kept me safe. Now, go, live with your loved ones. I will be fine, but there are others who need you.
She turned, crouched, and lifted into the air. We stood alone and watched as she joined some sea birds cavorting overhead, then peeled away and followed some pelicans fishing further out along the waves. With a graceful swoop, she dragged her hind feet through the water and came away with what I assumed must be a fish. She took her prize to a rocky outcropping jutting up out of the water and set to it with obvious delight. We could just make out her silhouette.
Chace stirred, bringing me back to myself.
“Well, Harley.” His voice cracked, and he swallowed. “Let’s go home. Dad will be worried about me.”
Chapter 23: A Solemn Warning
The ride home was quiet, each of us lost in our own little world. We arrived back at Myrtle Beach just as the sun set. The marina was vacant except for Mom—Mr. Behr had called her to meet us. She didn’t look very happy, but she greeted each of us kids with a hug.
“Thank you for bringing them back home safely,” she told him.
“Mrs. Meagher, they never really were in danger.”
I thought of the professor shooting at me and decided it was best Mom didn’t know that.
“Nevertheless, I thank you.” She pulled Karis and me closer to her.
“Aw, Mom,” I said.
She just shook her head to silence me. I complied.
“Let’s go home,” she said. “Chace, you’re spending the night with us; you’re dad’s out on a fishing run still. Will and Cherise, I’m to drop you off at your homes.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Meagher,” Mr. Behr said. “I’ll head on home, too. Let me know if you need anything.”
He waved and walked to the only other car in the parking lot.
Will slid the boat key into his pocket and did a final check to make sure all the lines were tied off, then joined us. Mom turned, one arm still around Karis and the other around me, and headed to the car.
***
The next morning, I was awakened by a knock on my bedroom door.
“Harley,” Mom called. “Harley, you and Chace have company.”
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Who would visit us? How would anyone even know Chace was here?
After a quick change of clothes, we trundled downstairs after Mom into the guest parlor. Standing staring out the window was the man who had plagued my nightmares, his hands stuck casually in his pockets. At a creak from the floorboards, he turned.
“Thank you, Mrs. Meagher.”
Mom nodded and walked out of the room. Feelings of betrayal and abandonment washed over me as I watched her shut the door behind her.
“Have a seat, boys,” the professor said.
He ran a hand through his hair. His tie was loosened, his suit jacket askew, and he looked like he hadn’t slept all night. A part of me felt sorry for him, but the other part still felt the impact of the sticky web he had shot at me. I didn’t want to sit down, but I knew he wouldn’t steal us away from Mom, and there was no way he was learning where we had taken Steria. So I sat. Chace followed suit, but I noticed that he seated himself on the very edge of the sofa. The professor paced.
“Do you boys have any clue the trouble you’ve caused me?”
“We’ve caused you?” Chace exclaimed. I nudged him, but it didn’t stop him. “You came on my property without permission; you insulted my dad and me; you chased us across town and shot at Harley! I’d say you caused us trouble.”
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