The Melissa Curae Chronicles: A Magical Aspect

1. Keeping Dangerous Demons in Glass Jars... Seems Legit

"Horse!" Melissa Curae cried with glee, pointing out the stallion as they drove by.

"Horse!" Her brother Sammy said a minute too late. "I got it! I got the horse! It's mine!"

"What? No. That's my horse, I called it first. That's how the game works. Whoever calls it first gets to have it, and I called it. It's mine."

Sammy began to pout. "No, there's another horse behind it. You missed it, so I called it."

"No, there wasn't."

"Yes, there was."

"No, I looked there . . ."

"Melissa . . ." her mom, Catherine, said.

"But Mom! He's . . ."

Catherine turned and pointedly looked at Melissa.

Melissa sighed, "Fine, I have twenty horses, so I'm going to win anyway."

"Well, I have thirty horses." Sammy said.

"No, you don't! You have fifteen!"

"No, I have thirty."

"No, you don't! You have . . ."

"Melissa!" Her mom said slightly louder than before, "That's enough. Stop arguing."

"But Mom, he's cheating! If he can't play by the rules and stop making things up, then he shouldn't be allowed to play."

"We're here!" Melissa's dad, Stephen, announced, making Catherine sigh with relief.

Melissa got out of the car, grabbed her bag, threw it over her shoulder, and slammed the door. Almost immediately, she kicked off her sandals and wiggled her toes in the sand. She sighed contentedly. It felt good to put her feet into the sand, especially after hours of driving with her brother. Melissa shoved her hair out of her face, and put on her big floppy white hat to block the sun from her eyes. 

"Melissa, darling," her mother put a hand on Melissa's shoulder, "you need to get control of your temper. I know it's hard. Especially when you know you're right, but please try. Can you at least try to get along?"

Melissa sighed. She was not in the mood to have that conversation, "Fine. But Mom, look."

She pointed to Sammy, who had shoved his head so far into the sand that his shoulders were almost covered. Her dad was trying his best to get him out, but he was not having any luck.

"That's why I have a hard time getting along. Because I have to live with that."

Her mom shot her a glare.

"Kidding! I'm just kidding. I'm going to head over to the rocks. I don't know how long I'm going to be so have the picnic without me. I don't mind, but save me some barbeque chips!" Melissa said.

"Okay but be careful. I mean it!" Her mom replied with a look of concern.

"I will." Melissa reassured her. Her mom turned back to help her dad extricate Sammy from the sand.

Melissa knew it was safe. Every year, once a year, they came here to Melissa Beach, which she was named after, for the Curae family vacation. Every year, once a year, her mom told her to be careful.

She walked to the rocks that were almost always exposed. When there was a really bad storm, or the tide was particularly strong, the water could sometimes get high enough to submerge the rocks. Anyone who was still on them would be stranded. However, that had not happened in over ten years, so she was not worried about getting flooded. Melissa climbed. She loved it up there. She could see the sea clearly. She loved how the wind blew across her face, how the rocks always seem to be continually changing. She also liked to go to the water's edge, racing the waves back and forth, looking in the tide pools as she went, and taking in the sharp, refreshing salty smell.