Seaside Mystery (2 page)

“What—in a couple of days? I don’t think so,” her mom reasoned. “I bet they’re letting you settle in before they call to check in. Why don’t you try them again later?”

Maisie nodded. “I will. It’s just that…I wanted to talk to them now.”

Her mom came down the ladder. “You’re really missing your old friends, aren’t you?” she said, giving Maisie a hug.

Maisie nodded, feeling a lump rise in her throat.

“It won’t be long before school starts again, you know. And then you’ll make lots of new friends. Am I right or am I right?”

Maisie managed a smile in response. But school didn’t start for another two weeks. Right now, it felt more like two years.

James Simpson dropped his wet paintbrush into the open paint can. He winked at his daughter. “I’ve got a guy coming to set up the computer today. You’ll be able to e-mail Jane and Nina to your heart’s content tonight.”

“Oh, that’s great, Dad!” Maisie felt herself cheering up. She knew that her friends went online for a while most evenings. She would tell them all about her cool new house that had an old candy store attached to it!

“In the meantime, if you’re bored, you could give me a hand with this painting,” her dad suggested.

Maisie wrinkled her nose. Decorating was definitely not on her list of fun things to do!

“It’s a lovely day and the beach looks
like it’s calling your name,” her mom said.

“Or you could—” her dad began.

“I think I will go exploring,” Maisie decided quickly, before he thought of another job for her to do.

Mrs. Simpson chuckled. “Have a good time and don’t go too far. Lunch will be ready in an hour or so.”

“Okay, I’ll be back by then,” Maisie answered, heading for the door.

She went back through the house and out the back door. The small back garden was narrow and mostly paved, with plants in big decorative pots. Beyond the garden fence, the ground fell away steeply to the beach below.

Maisie opened the gate in the fence and went down the steep flight of stone steps. A warm breeze, smelling of salt,
ruffled her shoulder-length brown hair. Once on the beach, she took off her shoes, knotted the laces, and hung them around her neck.

As she padded along, her toes sank into the warm sand. She passed a family with two small children flying a kite. At the edge of the shore, where the waves crashed onto the sand, three girls were splashing around and laughing.

Maisie felt a flicker of loneliness. She sighed as she wandered along the beach, stopping now and then to pick up unusual shells. After a few minutes, she reached the rocks at the foot of the cliffs.

Shallow pools of water, left behind by the outgoing tide, gleamed in the sun. It was peaceful here with just the sound of the waves and seabirds. The people on
the beach were only small specks in the distance.

Maisie found a flat rock. She sat down to dangle her bare feet in the cool water below it as she thought about how much fun Jane and Nina would be having back home without her. Fronds of delicate seaweed tickled her toes, and a
prawn scurried across the sandy bottom. Maisie was leaning forward to look at it when, in the reflection of the water, she suddenly saw a bright silver flash.

“Oh!” She twisted around in surprise. There, standing on a nearby rock, Maisie saw a tiny kitten. It had long brown tabby fur, a bushy tail, and the brightest emerald eyes she had ever seen. Its fur and whiskers seemed to be glowing with a thousand tiny sparkles of light.

Maisie frowned. Perhaps the kitten was wet for its fur to sparkle like that. The poor little thing did seem to be trembling as if it was cold.

“Hello,” she crooned. “Where did you come from? What are you doing out here on the rocks, all by yourself?”

The kitten looked up at Maisie with wide, scared green eyes. “I come from far away. Can you help me, please?” it mewed.

Maisie stared at the kitten in amazement. She must be even lonelier than she thought. She’d just imagined that the kitten had spoken to her!

Just then a seagull swooped down as if deciding whether the tiny tabby kitten would make a meal. The kitten cringed and yowled with fear.

Maisie jumped up and waved her
arms at the gull to scare it away. “Leave him alone!” she cried.

She went toward the kitten and bent down, so that it wouldn’t get scared away.

“I wonder what your name is,” she murmured, reaching out to stroke its trembling little body.

The kitten blinked up at her slowly,
and some of the fear seemed to fade from its eyes. Despite its tiny size, it didn’t seem to be afraid of her.

“I am Prince Flame. What is your name?” it purred.

Maisie jerked her hand back. “Oh! You really
can
speak!” she gasped. “I’m…I’m Maisie Simpson. I just moved into a house near the beach with my parents.” Her curiosity began to overcome her shock. “Did you say
Prince
Flame?”

Flame nodded and lifted his tiny head proudly. “I am heir to the Lion Throne. My uncle Ebony has stolen it and rules in my place. He is fierce and cruel and sends his spies to find me and kill me.”

Maisie shook her head, trying to take it all in. Could everything this tiny cute kitten said be true?

Flame seemed to know what she was thinking. He moved sideways across the rocks away from her.

“Stay back,” he ordered.

There was a blinding silver flash and for a moment Maisie couldn’t see anything. But when her sight had cleared, the kitten had disappeared and in its place a majestic, young white lion stood proudly on the rocks.

Maisie gasped, scrambling backward on her hands and knees. “Flame?”

“Yes. It is me, Maisie. Do not be afraid,” Flame said in a deep velvety roar.

Before she could say anything, there was another bright flash and instantly Flame was a fluffy, long-haired kitten once more.

“I guess it’s all true,” Maisie murmured.

“I need to hide now. Can you help me?” Flame mewed.

Maisie crouched back down again and looked into Flame’s big emerald eyes. He was so tiny and helpless-looking. She felt a burst of protectiveness toward him.

“Of course I will. I’ll take care of you. You can live with me and my parents,” Maisie said, scooping him into her arms.

Flame rubbed his little head against her arm. “Thank you, Maisie.”

“I’m going to love having you living with me. Just wait until I tell Mom and Dad about you!”

“No! You must tell no one my secret!” Flame reached up and touched her chin with one tiny, brown tabby paw. “Please promise, Maisie.”

Maisie looked down into his serious little face. With his long, soft fur, striking tabby markings, and bright green eyes, he was the cutest kitten she had ever seen. She couldn’t let him down. “All right. I promise. I’ll just say you’re a stray,” she agreed.

Flame swished his bushy tail and began purring loudly. “That is good. Thank you, Maisie.”

“Of course you can keep him!” Mrs. Simpson said with a smile, when Maisie finished explaining where she had found the tiny kitten. She was in the kitchen making ham sandwiches. “He’s absolutely gorgeous!”

Maisie smiled. She knew her mom and dad would be fine about Flame staying.

Mr. Simpson patted Flame. “What do
you know…a stray kitten turning up like that, just as we’re moving in. He must be a good-luck token. Maybe you should call him Lucky.”