Free Curse Of Wexkia by Dale Furse Page B

his mouth in a wide grin. She’d never seen him so happy. Dar-seldra smiled, and seemed satisfied Nell was coping.
    They swam over the coral fringing reef. Clusters of white-tipped orange fingers of coral jutted up and out below Nell. Groups of flat corals were arranged like giant open roses. They were many shades of yellow, blue and mauve. Gaudy-coloured fish were everywhere. One had rings of orange and red around its eyes, the rest of its body was blue and purple blotches with black stripes winding around it. Others had assorted colours all vying for attention. Some wore one solid colour, like the one that was as yellow as Nell’s dress. She thought the clown fish was the prettiest with its orange and white stripes.
    They continued into deeper waters where an inquisitive hammerhead shark playfully nudged Nell’s side. She rolled over to pat his head. Her heart leapt at the closeness. Joy surged through her at the wonderment of it all.
    He kept manoeuvring his body so the under-side of his neck area was close to her hand.
    You want me to scratch you?
Nell asked the shark.
    She didn’t know whether it was coincidence or he heard her thoughts, but he pushed his neck into her hand.
    Nell laughed and scraped her fingernails gently along the rough skin under the shark’s throat.
    Better?
Nell asked.
    The shark slid its closed mouth along her arm.
    His contentment filled her heart and he swam away.
    Nell giggled. It was all so right. Everywhere she looked, fish, coral and plants tempted her to investigate. Not only was she inquisitive about life in the ocean, an increasing number of fish appeared to be just as inquisitive about her and her companions. Some swam past and around, keeping their distance. Others came close enough to touch. An angelfish darted towards her and away again, issuing a loud drumming sound. Perhaps it was trying to figure out what type of fish she was.
    She spotted two moray eels teasing a baby dugong. Although Nell knew the dugong was young, it still looked like a large sea cow with a permanent smile on its face. It also looked to be in need of air. She swam between them and grabbed the eels in her hands. The dugong rushed to the surface. Nell shook her head and tisked at each eel in turn before letting them go on their way.
    The baby dugong returned and Nell caressed the slippery skin.
    They weren’t very nice, were they?
Nell said with her mind. She played with the baby until Dar-seldra put her hand on Nell’s shoulder.
    ‘We can talk if we touch each other,’ Dar-seldra said.
    Nell let the baby return to its mother.
    Nell turned to face her aunty.
‘The connection isn’t hurting.’
Why did it hurt her head when she connected with Sam in the library?
    ‘No, and it won’t either, providing you don’t delve too deep. You seem to have greater control under water. When on land, think about where your thoughts are emanating from now. They are at the top of the cerebrum but do not burrow into the amygdala.’
    ‘I know that the cerebrum is the front part of the brain, but what is the amygdala?’
    ‘They are two almond shaped bunches of cells on either side. Never mind,’
Dar-seldra laughed.
‘This isn’t the time for a science lesson. I’ll explain later. You’re doing well with me, now try with Cay-meka.’
    Nell wondered why Sam didn’t seem to be able to hear their conversation.
    ‘We can only talk with one person at a time,’
Dar-seldra said, answering Nell’s unspoken question.
    Nell swam past Sam and saw he was trying to tickle what looked like a cheeky dwarf minke whale. She’d seen and read about them in books. They’d only been discovered in the nineteen-eighties. It was about three metres long, so it was quite young. They were only seen this far north during the winter months. Seeing one here in the height of summer meant there was a lot more to learn about them. Its fins were white at the base with dark tips. White shoulders and the dark patches on its throat were most