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Jess Black
Illustrated by Celeste Hulme
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‘H
ow much longer are we going to keep looking?’ Eve’s friend Oscar said to her as they picked their
way over the rocks of the headland near Marigold Beach. They had been searching in rock pools for over an hour. Eve rolled her eyes and squinted into the sunset over the horizon. ‘It’s not like it’s even dark. And I think you’ll find we’ve faced 1
bigger dangers than the midges at dusk.’ As Eve spoke, Oscar slapped his thigh. ‘I don’t know about that. I’ve faced vicious tigers, one-eyed men and ferocious giants, but when it comes to midges, I’m helpless.’ Eve giggled. Oscar always made her laugh. It was one of the reasons they were such good friends. They had enjoyed many adventures together, helping mythical creatures in other worlds, yet when they were living their ordinary lives they switched back to playing without a care in the world. Eve figured that it was a way of coping. She was happy to keep her roles of schoolgirl and crystal keeper as separate as possible, and right now walking barefoot on the rocks was exactly what she wanted to do. Whoosh. A sudden breeze caught Eve’s attention and she felt the smooth skin of a pointed tail brush her arm. 2
‘Ingvar! That tickles!’ The purple dragon who was Eve’s constant companion and friend flew around them. Ingvar loved to race and one of their favourite games was trying to catch her tail as she flew low to the ground. ‘Now you’re just showing off!’ cried Eve. ‘I can’t run on the rocks.’ Ingvar snorted, and it appeared to Eve that she smiled. Who would have thought dragons were so mischievous? ‘When are you going to tell me what we’re looking for?’ Oscar asked. It was beginning to get dark and all Eve had told him was that she had a surprise for him to see. ‘This could be it.’ Eve picked her way across the flat rocks exposed by the low tide. ‘Watch out, it’s slippery here,’ she warned Oscar as she almost lost her balance on a green, algae-covered rock. 3