Page 20 of A Savior for the Arrogant Dragon

“Mary Beth, this isn’t funny,” she said. “I’m over here losing my mind, and you’re making jokes.”

They’d reached the cabin, and Mary Beth paused before she went up the ladder, “I’m sorry, Kira,” she said. “I don’t know what else to do. You just need some time to process everything. Maybe you should go lie down for a while. Sleep is a great healer.”

“I don’t understand how you can be so calm about the whole thing,” she said. “This better not be a joke. That could have all been makeup on Simon. How do we know they’re not messing with us? Simon wouldn’t go that far just to get me to sleep with him.”

“Now I know you need to take a nap,” Mary Beth said. “I want you to go right to bed, get some sleep, and give your brain a chance to catch up. I promise everything will look better afterward.”

She collapsed into bed with her clothes still on, snuggled down into the covers and listened to the rain falling, but sleep wouldn’t come. After tossing and turning for a long time, she finally gave up and got back out of bed, wishing she could shut her brain off, but the image of Simon looking so different wouldn’t leave her mind. Mary Beth was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine when she came out of the bedroom, and let out a long sigh when she saw Kira standing in the doorway.

“It’s no good, I can’t go to sleep,” she said. “I can’t get my brain to disconnect. I just keep thinking about……Simon.”

Mary Beth studied her for a second, then got to her feet, “All right, then we’ll try something else,” she said. “Go put on your hiking shoes. There’s a waterfall Max told me about. A good hike should get you out of your head.”

Fifteen minutes later they set out, backpacks full of snacks and emergency supplies, water bottles in their hands.The thought of an adventure gave her something to distract her. The rain had become a mist, and when she looked up at the sky, blue patches were beginning to show. She knew that it wouldn’t be long before the sun made its appearance.

“Okay, we’ve got two hours of hard climbing ahead of us,” Mary Beth said, adjusting the straps on her backpack. “Are you up for it?”

“Let’s do this,” she said, already feeling better. “If there’s a waterfall on this island, it must be beautiful.”

Her prediction came true. When they reached the waterfall a couple of hours later, both sweating and out of breath, they just stood watching it for a long time. “Can you feel the power of the water?” Mary Beth finally asked. “It’s amazing. The ground is almost shaking with the force.”

“The hike was worth it,” she said, walking over to a flat rock along the edge of the pool at the bottom of the rushing water. “Let’s sit here for a while.”

“I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked up an appetite,” Mary Beth said, sitting down next to her. “We didn’t have much for breakfast, so I packed us a big snack.”

She started pulling food out of her backpack. There were sandwiches, homemade potato chips, several pieces of fresh fruit, and a huge chocolate bar. “Mary Beth, this is more than just a snack,” she said. “Were you planning on spending the night here?”

“There’s more,” Mary Beth said, grinning at her. “That’s just the first course.”

“Well, then we’d better get eating,” she said. “Otherwise, we’ll have to lug it all back down with us.”

When their stomachs were full, they laid back on the rock, enjoying the warm sunshine, and for the first time since they’d walked into the cabin, her head was finally quiet. “Mary Beth, what do you think happenedto Simon?” she asked, looking over at her. “I mean, I know he got less attractive and lost his money, but how did it happen?”

“Mateo kept blaming the island. It must be magical or something,” she said. “That’s the only thing that makes any sense, the only way to explain Simon’s sudden change.”

She studied her friend for a second, turning that over in her mind, “You believe in magic?” she finally asked, searching her face for a sigh she was joking again. “I mean, you’re an educated woman, you can’t really believe in magic, that’s just something in books and movies and stuff, it’s not real.”

“Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. This isn’t my first brush with magic, Kira,” Mary Beth said, a wistful look on her face. “Most people go through their entire lives without being touched by magic, but it’s there, hidden in places you would never expect to find it. Clearly, this island is one of those places, and it shouldn’t surprise me. Max is drawn to this kind of power, and he seeks it out even if he doesn’t know it.”

“It would be so much easier if I could believe,” she said, sitting up and looking at the waterfall. “All this doubt is exhausting, but no matter how I look at it, there’s no logical explanation. It kind of scares me. What else is lurking out there?”

Mary Beth laughed, “Oh, Kira, it’s not like that,” she said. “And for the most part, magic is good. It may not seem like that right now, especially to Simon, but there’s a purpose to what’s happened to him. He just has to figure it out, and you have to decide if you’re going to be a part of the path he’s supposed to follow. He let you into the cabin this morning. There must be a reason.”

She let out a long sigh, “I don’t know why, but he trusts me,” she said, then fell silent for a second. “If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh or tease me about it?”

“Scouts honor,” Mary Beth said, sitting up.

Wishing she’d kept her mouth shut, she stared at the waterfall for a second, unable to meet her friend’s eyes. “When I first saw Simon sitting at the table, I was attracted to him,” she finally blurted out. “There I said it, I don’t know what that means, but that scares me too.”

CHAPTER 12

***SIMON***

Simon stood in front of the mirror in his cabin, studying himself and trying to come to terms with the new him. He wondered how long it would be before he didn’t feel that moment of panic any time he saw his reflection. Letting out a long sigh, he turned away from the mirror and walked over to the closet, hoping to find something that would fit him since he’d shrunk a few inches and added a few pounds to his frame. When it was clear that there was nothing in the closet he could wear, he turned away from the closet in frustration, stomped into the kitchen, and flopped down into a chair, thinking how unfair it all was.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door, and he sat at the table staring at it, thinking about not answering, not in the mood to see anyone. A second knock propelled him to his feet, and he reluctantly went to answer the door, relieved when he saw Max on the porch. He had a big bundle of clothes in his arms, and when he saw Simon looking through the window at him, he didn’t wait for him to open the door.

“You are not hiding in your cabin all day,” Max said,opening the door and shoving the bundle into his arms. “I’m sure there’s something in here you can wear, but I have to warn you, there are no designer labels in there.”

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