Secret of the Crystal Dragon

CHAPTER 1

Into the Woods

THE woods were quiet, much too quiet. And still. Not the friendly stillness of summer when fat green leaves cover the trees and reach out to hug you, but a bothersome kind of feeling that puts goose bumps on your arms.

Not wanting to make a sound, Myra stepped carefully over fallen twigs and branches and promptly set her foot into a shallow hole hidden by dead leaves.

Ow-ww! she yelped, losing her balance and sitting down hard on the damp ground.

So much for being quiet. She rubbed her ankle, and then tested it gently. It would do. It had to do. No way was she going back to that house any sooner than she had to. Like dinnertime maybe. Or maybe not, depending on how she felt. And right now she wanted nothing to do with Daddy or Grammy and Pop and their big old house in Winston, Oklahoma.

She trudged on in the same direction, no longer concerned about leaves crunching under her feet. No one would hear anyway, except maybe the chickadees and finches flitting from tree to tree. Nobody else walked around these woods, and for sure no one but Myra knew where she was going.

A chilly breeze whistled around her. Hurry, hurry, hurry! It seemed to say, and Myra’s feet moved faster. Which was crazy. Why should she hurry?

Hurry, hurry!

She was running now, dodging trees and shrubs, following a path she couldn’t see but knew by heart. A twist to the left, sharp turn to the right, past the giant water oak.

She heard the water before she saw it spilling from a rocky cliff into a narrow stream that flowed through the clearing and disappeared into a thicket of trees. Panting from her wild dash through the woods, Myra settled herself on a wide slab of rock that jutted out of the ground right beside the clear water. She closed her eyes and breathed in the cool, damp air.

This was her quiet place, her secret, where she always felt safe no matter what was going on in the rest of her world. Dipping her hand into the cool water, she let it lap over her fingers.

A loud crack broke through the stillness, and Myra almost tumbled into the water. Her arm did go in all the way to her elbow. She scrambled to her feet and peered into the woods. Should she run? Hide?

The second crack, long, slow and even louder, sent her scurrying for cover. Flat on her belly, she squirmed into the thickest brush she could find and lay there, her heart pumping wildly, her mind racing.

Was someone shooting? Not that she had ever heard real gunfire, but she didn’t think so. Had they heard the noise at Grammy’s house? She lay there waiting and wondering, but no one came running through the woods looking for her. Instead, the eerie stillness settled in again all around her, and that was almost worse than the noise.

Finally, she couldn’t stay still another second. It had been several minutes at least and no more cracking sounds. She stood up slowly, this time very careful to step close to the water’s edge so the damp ground could muffle her footsteps. She would follow the stream deeper into the woods where she thought the noise had come from. Daddy always said her curiosity was a good thing. Well, sometimes he said that, but she would never forgive herself if she went running back now like a big scaredy cat.

She stepped carefully, almost on tiptoe, going further from the house than she ever had before. Stay close to the water. Nice and quiet….

If she hadn’t been looking around, watching the ground so closely, she might have walked right by the nest. At least, that’s what she called it later. Right now all she saw was a big hole scooped out of the dirt on the far side of the stream. It was a really big hole, but even stretching as far as she dared, she couldn’t see into it.

She knew the water wasn’t deep, and by now her curiosity was working overtime. She had to see what was in that hole. Quickly, she pulled off her sneakers and socks, rolled up her jeans, and stepped gingerly into the water.

Ai-yi! She didn’t mean to shriek and it wasn’t very loud, but the sound seemed to echo all around the woods. Splashing through the icy water as fast as she could, she made up her mind. She would check out that hole then get herself back to the house ASAP. The sun was setting anyway, and sometime in the last few minutes she had decided she really didn’t want to be out here alone in the dark. She might be curious but she wasn’t dumb, and something about this place spooked her. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably, but she hardly noticed. Scrambling onto the far bank, all she could see was the hole and the huge sparkly hump resting inside.

What was it?

But even as the question formed in her mind, she knew. There was no doubting that shape. Myra was looking at a giant egg.

It couldn’t be real. No animal could lay an egg that size, no real animal, that is. Which meant it wasn’t real, just somebody’s idea of a joke.

Cautiously, she padded to the edge of the hole and squatted down. She wanted to touch it, but something held her back. And then she saw it, the dark jagged line running down the side of the egg. Like a crack, a big crack that would make a loud noise.

Like in that dinosaur movie she saw a long time ago.

She didn’t believe that, of course. A movie was just a story someone made up, but this was real.

Another loud crack split the air and the egg rocked. Myra lurched back and almost tumbled into the water. Just in time, she caught her balance and stared into the hole.

This was real all right. The giant egg was hatching!

Get out of here! A voice screamed in her head.

She scrambled to her feet and looked around wildly.

Get out! Get out!

She didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t stop her. Something was screaming in her head, and she wasn’t waiting around to find out what. With shoes in hand, she ran across the water and back toward the house as fast as her long legs would take her.

* * *

BY the time she came to the water oak, the noise in her head had stopped. No more screaming, no more egg cracking, just a steady sh-plop, sh-plop.

Great! Now what?

Breathing hard, Myra leaned against the tree and listened. Sh-plop. The strange sound came from somewhere off to her right. If she hadn’t been quite so mad at the whole world right now and especially her own family, she would have kept right on walking back to Grammy’s house as fast as she could. Someone was making that noise, quite possibly someone who had no business in these woods. Someone who could be dangerous.

Someone who might know about the giant egg.

That’s all she needed. Myra couldn’t run away now. She was already sorry she had bolted. Something was hatching back there, a baby who might need help. That did it. She would check out the weird noise, then go back to the egg, if she decided it was safe.

And hope that horrible voice didn’t come back.

Very carefully, she stepped through the thick leaves and underbrush, still carrying her wet sneakers and socks. She didn’t make much noise, but whoever was out there couldn’t miss the crunch, crunch of dry sticks and leaves.

Sh-plop. And then nothing.

She stopped and looked around, trying to decide exactly where the sound had come from. Straight ahead maybe, or maybe not. Still, there was a path of sorts between those skinny oak trees.

Looking for something? The voice was right behind her.

Aighhh! She screamed and tried to run, but all she managed was to trip over her own feet and hit the ground.

Nice move.

Yeah, right.

The kid was tall and slim, at least thirteen, and leaning on a shovel. You, uh, you aren’t…. What? A rapist? Mass murderer?

Obviously enjoying the spectacle of a girl sitting at his feet, he grinned and his wire-frame glasses slid down his nose. He nudged them back up. Were you expecting someone?

Ignoring the question, she stood up as gracefully as possible. Was that you making all the noise?

He frowned and the glasses slid again. What noise?

I don’t know. Just a noise. I wanted to know what it was.

He pointed at the shovel behind him. I’ve been digging back there, he said, as though that explained everything.

It didn’t, but it could explain the strange noise she had heard. Digging for what?

He hesitated, and then shrugged. I’m going to be a geologist.

You mean you’re digging up a bunch of rocks?

Not yet, but I’d like to.

Sounded weird to her, even though her dad used to do the same thing. She changed the subject. Did you hear anything else?

Sure. A bunch of birds, some bugs.

Ha, ha!

What else would I hear in the middle of the woods?

Should she tell him about the egg? She didn’t know a thing about him except that he looked about her own age, maybe a little older, and he liked to dig in the woods. What’s your name? she asked, casually. Do you live around here? I’ve never seen you before.

And I’ve never seen you.

They stared at each other and then the boy burst out laughing. Sorry. I was just messing with you. I’m Aiden Burke and I live in the brick house over on MacKenzie Road.

The brick house? That’s the one next to my grandparents.

The Goodfellows are your grandparents?

Yeah. My dad, Peter, lives there, too. I’m visiting him while we’re on Christmas Break.

You’re visiting your dad?

Myra could almost hear what he was thinking. Why are you visiting? Why don’t you live with him? Where’s your mom?

That’s right, she said, staring at the ground. Is it a problem?

Nope, no problem. Which Goodfellow are you?

Myra studied Aiden’s long lean face. He didn’t look surprised. Maybe he didn’t care? She let out a deep breath. Myra Goodfellow.

Aiden’s eyebrows shot up and the glasses slid down again. You’re Packy’s big sister. He’s a cool little guy.

Myra had never thought her pesky little brother was cool. Cute, sometimes, but cool? She would have to think about that. Still, it was kind of nice to hear. She made a quick decision. Did you hear anything else this afternoon, besides the birds and the bugs?

Aiden shook his head. Not a thing. What’s going on?

She took a deep breath. Can you keep a secret?

Sure. What’s up?

There’s, uh, something over there. She pointed downstream, in the general direction of the egg. I think…I think it needs some help. The last few words came out in a rush, before she changed her mind.

Aiden was looking at her like she had sprouted a couple of horns. What kind of something? An animal?

Yeah, that’s right. An animal. Never a good liar, she didn’t dare say more. Will you help?

He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. Let me put my stuff away.

As he disappeared into a clump of trees, Myra quickly shoved her socks into a pocket and wiggled bare feet into her soggy shoes.

Yuck! But better than walking barefoot through this brush. Was she doing the right thing? Suppose Aiden freaked out when he saw the egg? Suppose she did?

Too late now. The leaves rustled, and Aiden, wearing a bright red ball cap and minus the shovel, popped out from behind a tall pine tree. Show me what you’re talking about.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 2

The Egg

MYRA led the way through thick clumps of cedars and pines and the spindly oak trees that stood guard in these woods, waiting, watching. She shivered at this spooky thought and kept her eyes glued to the ground.

Get to the nest, she told herself, and didn’t even know why. She just knew there was something very important about that egg. They passed the water oak and the waterfall gurgling over rocks and spilling into the stream. This might be the craziest thing she had ever done, but she honestly felt she had no choice. At least that awful voice in her head was gone. She started running.

What’s your hurry? Aiden caught up and held out his hand to stop her.

Myra shook him off and pointed to the small rise just over the stream. There. Do you see it?

Aiden stood on tiptoe although he was several inches taller than Myra. I see a hole and something shiny. Hey, what are you doing?

But