by Kendal Davis
Kat hardly looked at me as she passed me on the way to the front door. “Who in the world would be making such a racket at our door?” She grumbled under her breath as she walked. “I’m not in trouble with anybody. I don’t owe anybody money or anything.”
Then she froze. Only a few steps from the door, she stood still. The color drained from her face.
“Kat, what is it?” I moved to her side, ready to catch her if she fell.
“Oh, no.” She brought one hand up to her throat. “It’s the payments on the boat. We’ve only been gone a few days, but now I’ve missed it. I’ve never, ever done that before.”
“Surely that is something that humans can work out with each other?” I tilted my head as I looked at her, perplexed. “I believe this is a common way to handle one’s affairs in your world. A loan can be repaid.”
“No, you don’t understand. This lender is very strict.” A flush of humiliation was creeping up her cheeks. “I’ve never been the sort of person who didn’t pay my debts. I’ve worked so hard, ever since our parents died. Now I’m going to lose everything.”
“Just a minute. All we can do is find out what they want,” I said. “Together, we will sort this out.”
Again, the man outside banged on the door, shouting, “Open up! I’m here with some legal papers for you! It’s about a boat!”
Kat finally found her nerve, squaring her shoulders. She reached out to open the door, taking a long, steadying breath as she did so. When she faced the man outside, she did not bother to smile. “Yes?”
The man on the doorstep was short and nondescript, except for the fact that he wore a dark suit. No person I’d seen here on this island thus far was dressed so formally. It was a strange juxtaposition to see a human look so disreputable and overdressed at the same time.
He shuffled his feet and smiled slyly at Kat. He handed her a fat envelope of papers and opened his mouth to speak. Even before he said anything, Kat was swaying with fear. She was as pale as I’d ever seen her. I could not understand why she was taking this so seriously.
Did she not understand what I’d said? I could produce riches enough for her to live the rest of her days here in this world without wanting for anything ever again.
All she had to do was give me a little time to sort this out.
This little peasant man was annoying me. If he was making Kat uncomfortable, then he had already stayed too long. Just as he began to speak, I reached out from behind Kat and pushed the door open all the way. I enjoyed revealing to him that I was standing there, ready to back her up.
His eyes widened when he saw me. Although I had promised Kat that I would remain in the form of a man, that did not mean that I was a person to be overlooked. I noticed with some satisfaction that my arm holding the door was well-muscled indeed, particularly in comparison to the puny form of this human. Even in my two-legged form, I was still a dragon. I knew it showed.
To drive home my point even further, I rumbled a growl from deep in my throat. The little man gulped down whatever words he had been about to say to Kat. His eyebrows rose almost to his hairline, his lips closed, and he turned and fled. It would have been amusing to watch if he had not left Kat so upset.
No doubt there was nothing that he had planned to say that did not appear in the papers he had left.
This was all so aggravating. If only I had been able to spare her the worry of seeing him, our morning would have gone more according to my plans. I had meant to take care of her every need, making sure that she was relaxed and happy. This was not at all what I’d had in mind.
“Kat, you must not worry about this,” I repeated. “I can see that money is a worry for you, but it does not have to be. Let us try not to let it matter so much to us.”
She looked at me blankly. “Cobalt, I don’t think you understand anything about this world. You need to stop pretending that you do, ok?” She was exasperated with me. I could tell that much. “Money always matters. It is always a worry; there’s no getting around that.”
I gently laid my hand on her shoulder as she stared down at the envelope the small man had given her. She looked like she was afraid to open it. “It will be alright, I promise. I can help.”
Her shoulder sloped away from my touch as she turned and walked to the small round table in her kitchen. “You really can’t. You might be used to doing everything your way with your dragon magic, but I have to use real money. People like me have to earn it. I’ll bet you don’t know what that’s like.”
“Well, no, not quite in the way that you do,” I admitted.
“I have to account for every penny,” she said simply. “Ever since our parents died five years ago, I’ve been working my tail off, trying to make a better life for Andres. Trying so hard to make sure he wouldn’t worry about anything.” She sank into the small metal chair and set the brown envelope down on the table. She still did not open it. “When our parents left us the boat that they used to take out tourists, there was still a lien on it. I thought that would be fine; I could just sign for it, and I would keep making the payments.”
I sat across from her, my greater bulk dwarfing the chair that appeared to have been made for the smallest humans possible. Again, I wanted very much to tell her that I could get as much money as she needed, but I held still and listened. If she was finally opening up to me even a little, I would not spoil it.
“I remember that I was so young back then. I hardly knew how to read a contract, or do anything like that on my own. But I remember that the businessman who came to me about it was very emphatic. Very colorful. He wasn’t quite like a regular banking type.” She frowned, embarrassed again. “But I went along with it because I didn’t have any other choice. He said that if I ever missed a payment, there was a long section in the contract that explained the penalties.”
She was looking at the envelope as if it contained desert snakes.
“And?” I prompted her, when she grew silent. “What were they?”
She looked up at me, her frightened eyes meeting mine. “I never looked. I don’t know what it says. I was desperate, you see. Taking over the loan was the only thing I could do to put food on our table. So I just signed it. I didn’t read that part. I swore to myself that I would never miss a payment, and I never did.” She was shaking her head at her own foolishness.
“It will be fine,” I said firmly. “Perhaps there will be a small penalty to pay. A percentage of the interest reapplied. That is all.”
She rewarded me with a tiny smile. “You do know a little bit about human money, don’t you? I’m sorry I was rude about that before. I guess maybe I don’t know everything about you.”
“And I have much to learn about you. I hope you will allow me to stay here in your world and spend more time with you, so that I may do that.”
“About that,” she ventured. “How long are you staying? I don’t mean to be rude again,” she hastened to add. “It’s just that I’ll need to make some decisions about what Andres and I will do next. Where we will live...I just don’t know what to do.”
I reached out my hand to take hers. She gave a little jump at my touch.
“Let me help. I’ll tell you what we will do. You can keep that envelope sealed for now. I can see that it is worrying you.” She started to speak, but I went on, wanting to reassure her. “We will read it later this afternoon. For now, let me show you what I know about the riches of your world. It is not so hard to acquire money.”
“Riches?” Doubt flooded her face. “You aren’t going to steal anything, are you?”
I almost growled at the suggestion that my honor was as bankrupt as that, but I controlled myself.
“No. That is not the way of a dragon of House Caeruleus.”
I rose from my flimsy chair, almost knocking it to the floor in the process. I held out my hand to help Kat up, and she took it with a smile that looked close to being real. She stood from her seat, tall and poised. She was ready to meet this situation with the aplomb I k
new was her natural state.
“We will return here this afternoon with worldly wealth that will meet any demand that exists in that contract. I assure you, there is nothing at all to worry about.”
She nodded to me. “Thank you, Cobalt. I’m glad you’re here.” She looked down for a moment at her blue bathrobe and shrugged. “I guess I’ll need to change if we’re going out. I’ll let Andres sleep; he needs the rest. It will be just you and me. I’m curious about your big money-making secret.” Her eyes sparkled at me, then she turned and retreated down the hallway to her own bedroom.
I, too, was glad I was here.
As I watched her tall, yet curvy form sashay down the hall, I found it hard to take my eyes from her.
Actually, I wished I was there, in her room with her.
That would come, I promised myself.
First, I would show her that there was no problem in this world that a dragon could not solve.
Chapter 3: Kat
When Cobalt offered to solve all my financial problems, I was torn between relief and wariness. He wasn’t the first man on this beautiful island who had told me that he could set me up for the rest of my life. Roatán was the stomping ground of very rich people with too much time on their hands. Many a man had come to me with that line, usually with a justifiably angry wife on his heels. But this was different. I was sure of it.
Cobalt was definitely taking a different approach to this than any other guy who had tried. I wasn’t sure yet if it was charming or...just plain strange.
He had asked me to show him a hiking trail that wound around the island, so I complied. It seemed like a request that didn’t match the needs of our day, but I figured he had to have some sort of plan. It still seemed like he might be thinking about robbing somebody, but I had to believe him when he said he would not do that.
I had to trust him.
After all, he had saved my life back on Elter. He was a hero in his own world. Here, though, his motives were less clear. He wasn’t the Captain of any Guard here. He was just a guy from another dimension that had the ability to shift into the form of a dragon.
He certainly looked like a hero.
Or, you know, a god.
With his finely chiseled features and the muscles that rippled across his chest when he adjusted his backpack, he looked like Adonis on a college picnic.
We walked along a dusty, partially overgrown trail, stopping every few minutes to slap the bugs from our necks. The farther we hiked, the closer it seemed we got to absolutely nothing. The sky above us was bright blue, allowing me to hope that our day would be unmarred by summer storms. The water of the Caribbean was a gorgeous turquoise, where it lapped at the rocks at the base of the cliff we currently trod.
I’d actually never taken this trail, not in all the time we’d lived here. I still remembered what it was like to live in a city. I’d spent my childhood in Miami, until our parents moved us all out here so they could ‘find themselves.’ It had seemed like a paradise for the first few months, but after that life here was mostly about being on the boat, working as a young deckhand. My mother had been afraid of heights; she would never have traveled this cliff path.
“What are we doing here, again?” I knew I sounded peevish, but I was starting not to care.
“Patience, my Kat.” He bestowed a beatific smile on me. “I have brought this small pack from your home, remember? It has snacks and water for you, if you need them.”
“No, thanks,” I waved the idea away. “Look, I like hiking as much as the next person, but could you please tell me what this has to do with solving my financial problems? I really don’t have the free time to do this right now, if all you want to do is enjoy the outdoors.”
“Just wait. You will see soon enough,” he said.
“What, like I’m going to have a big epiphany about how to change my life if I spend time in nature? Is that what this is really about? You’re going to show me that I don’t need money after all, if I have the wonderful world of this island?” I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I knew I was taking out my frustration on him, but he was so kind that he just kept pretending not to notice.
He stopped.
My confidence wavered. The tall, blond Guardsman from the dragon world had finally had enough of me. He planted his feet wide on the path, facing me with purpose. His taut, athletic body looked like he could stop any human who got in his way, without even having to pause to think about it.
Was I in his way right now?
“Not at all, my Kat,” he answered absently, as he scanned the ocean below us. “You could never be in my way, not in any situation. And of course I notice that you are frustrated. I simply don’t mind if you have a few terse words for me. I know it has been a difficult time for you.”
I stared at him. “Are you reading my thoughts?”
“Only a little,” he answered mildly. “I try to be polite and not overstep myself.”
My mouth was hanging open, I was sure of it. I’d known this might be a possibility, but actually confronting it was harder than I’d expected.
He went on. “Besides, it helps me to know that the happy, fun-loving Kat is still in there. I realize that you are under strain right now. But the brave, resourceful woman that I fell in love with is still there as well.”
“You...what?” I could not think of anything more to say.
He was still looking out into the ocean, however, not paying much attention to how flustered I had suddenly become. Then, in a decisive motion, he brought his gaze back to my face. “There. I’ve found what I was looking for. Now we will descend.”
“Descend?” I hated the way I sounded like a parrot. But what on earth was he talking about? “There’s no path there. Look at that cliff. That’s a long way down. Are you crazy? You can’t fly here. Somebody would see.”
“Of course there is a path. You need to look a little closer, but it is there.” Cobalt moved toward the edge of the cliff with purpose. As he disappeared from view, he called out to me, his voice as supportive as ever. “Don’t you remember that I caught you the last time you fell? I would catch you again. I will always catch you.”
I stepped one foot forward, resting it cautiously on the same rocks that he had used a moment ago. He was already well below me. Unless I wanted to stay at the top alone while he executed whatever crazy plan he had, I needed to get moving.
I scrambled down the makeshift trail, moving as slowly as I could without stopping entirely. I wasn’t afraid of heights, like my mother had been. I was sure of it. Well, I was almost sure of it. Still, though, I wasn’t thrilled about how high up I was right now, and the fact that every bit of dirt under my feet was crumbling as I stepped on it.
About halfway down, I gasped as my foot skidded out from under me. The rocks I’d dislodged fell all the way down to the bottom, plunking as they landed. I reached around behind me and grabbed at whatever shrubbery I could catch. To my relief, I stopped sliding toward the edge, but I was left in an awkward position, with one leg straight out in front of me. My muscles seized up in terror. “Cobalt!” I hissed. “I can’t move.”
He was far enough below me that his voice was muffled. “Of course you can. You are as brave now as you were when you fell from a dragon stronghold.”
I gritted my teeth. “Yes. I’m exactly that same person, which means that I hate this.” I didn’t think he could hear me, but at my words, he was suddenly my side. There was no way that he could have climbed back up so quickly.
But he had.
I still wasn’t used to the fact that he was a being from another world. He had abilities that I could only dream of. He must have sprinted with magical force to get to me.
“Kat,” he said softly. “I meant it when I said I would catch you. I will always reach you in time.” His strong hands took mine and gently helped me ever so slightly lower on the trail. Once I was moving again, I was able to gather my wits.
“Thank you,” I said to his back. I didn’t know if
he would hear me, but when he sent me a smile of reassurance over his shoulder, I knew he had. To him, it had been a small matter to save me from falling from a cliff. He was an immortal dragon shifter.
How could he talk about being in love with me when we were so different?
I sighed, needing all my focus to get down to the beach without freezing up again. It might have been only twenty minutes later, but it felt like hours before I reached the bottom.
“Well? That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Cobalt delivered his question in a cheery voice, brooking no argument on the point. He had a future in the tourist industry, if he chose to stay here.
Would he stay?
No, wait, where had that thought come from? He was only helping me get home and get settled. It would be impossible for him to stay here in my world in the long term. But had he meant what he said earlier? My mind was running in circles.
“Kat, are you all right?” Cobalt’s blue eyes were fixed on me with the beginnings of concern.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I assured him. “But I’ve only just realized. You said you would catch me if I fell.”
“Yes.”
“You meant you would turn into a dragon if you had to?” When he nodded, I went on with an illogical insistence. “Well, why didn’t you do that in the first place? You could have flown us down from the clifftop, instead of making me hike down that harrowing rock path.”
He dipped his head. “I apologize. I took seriously your injunction that I not transform into a dragon here. Was that wrong?”
“No, you’re right,” I had to laugh at the absurdity of our conversation. “If anybody had seen a massive blue dragon flying from a hiking path, there would be a lot of questions, that’s for sure.”
“In a moment, though, I will need to transform. It will not be in a way that anybody can see, however.” Cobalt sent me a perplexed frown. “I’m not sure why you are so concerned that I remain out of sight, however. Having a dragon at your side would be an important show of strength for you. It would resonate with your enemies more than anything else you could do.”