Moon Dragon

MOON DRAGON

by

J.R. RAIN

Vampire for Hire #10

Acclaim for the novels of J.R. Rain:

“Be prepared to lose sleep!”

—
James Rollins
, bestselling author of
Subterranean
and
The Sixth Extinction

“I love this!”

—
Piers Anthony
, bestselling author of
A Spell for Chameleon
and
Five Portraits

“
J.R. Rain delivers a blend of action and wit that always entertains. Quick with the one-liners, but his characters are fully fleshed out (even the undead ones) and you’ll come back again and again.
”

—
Scott Nicholson
, bestselling author of
The Red Church
and
After:Whiteout

“
Dark Horse
is the best book I’ve read in a long time!”

—
Gemma Halliday
, bestselling author of
Spying in High Heels
and
Lethal Bond

“
Moon Dance
is absolutely brilliant!”

—
Lisa Tenzin-Dolma
, bestselling author of
Understanding the Planetary Myths
and
The Heartbeat at Your Feet

“Powerful stuff!”

—
Aiden James
, bestselling author of
Plague of Coins
and
Welcome to Denmark

“
Moon Dance
is a must read. If you like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, be prepared to love J.R. Rain’s Samantha Moon, vampire private investigator.”

—
Eve Paludan
, bestselling author of
Witchy Business
and
Bigfoot Island

Other Books by J.R. Rain

STANDALONE NOVELS

The Lost Ark

Elvis Has
Not
Left the Building

The Grail Quest

The Body Departed

Silent Echo

The Healer

Winter Wind

VAMPIRE FOR HIRE

Moon Dance

Vampire Moon

American Vampire

Moon Child

Christmas Moon

Vampire Dawn

Vampire Games

Moon Island

Moon River

Vampire Sun

Moon Dragon

Moon Shadow

JIM KNIGHTHORSE

Dark Horse

The Mummy Case

Hail Mary

Clean Slate

Night Run

THE WITCHES SERIES

The Witch and the Gentleman

The Witch and the Englishman

The Witch and the Huntsman

The Witch and the Wolfman

THE SPINOZA TRILOGY

The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo

The Vampire Who Played Dead

The Vampire in the Iron Mask

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

Bound By Blood

SAMANTHA MOON SHORT STORIES

Teeth

Vampire Nights

Vampires Blues

Vampire Dreams

Halloween Moon

Vampire Gold

Blue Moon

Dark Side of the Moon

JIM KNIGHTHORSE SHORT STORIES

Easy Rider

SHORT STORY SINGLES

The Bleeder

SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS

The Bleeder and Other Stories

Vampire Rain and Other Stories

The Santa Call and Other Stories

Co-Authored Books

COLLABORATIONS

Cursed (with Scott Nicholson)

Ghost College (with Scott Nicholson)

The Vampire Club (with Scott Nicholson)

Dragon Assassin (with Piers Anthony)

Dolfin Tayle (with Piers Anthony)

Jack and the Giants (with Piers Anthony)

Judas Silver (with Elizabeth Basque)

Lost Eden (with Elizabeth Basque)

Glimmer (with Eve Paludan)

The Black Fang Betrayal (with Multiple Authors)

The Indestructibles (with Rod Kierkegaard)

THE OPEN HEART SERIES

with Rod Kierkegaard

The Dead Detective

NICK CAINE ADVENTURES

with Aiden James

Temple of the Jaguar

Treasure of the Deep

Pyramid of the Gods

THE ALADDIN TRILOGY

with Piers Anthony

Aladdin Relighted

Aladdin Sins Bad

Aladdin and the Flying Dutchman

THE WALKING PLAGUE TRILOGY

with Elizabeth Basque

Zombie Patrol

Zombie Rage

Zombie Mountain

THE SPIDER TRILOGY

with Scott Nicholson and H.T. Night

Bad Blood

Spider Web

Spider Bite

THE PSI TRILOGY

with A.K. Alexander

Hear No Evil

See No Evil

Speak No Evil

THE WOLF PACK TRILOGY

with H.T. Night

Hungry Like the Werewolf

Running With the Werewolf

The Big, Bad Werewolf

Moon Dragon

Published by J.R. Rain

Copyright © 2014 by J.R. Rain

All rights reserved.

Ebook Kindle Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

To Abraham.

Acknowledgment

A special thank you to the beautiful and talented,

Diane Arkenstone.

Moon Dragon

“Here be dragons.”

The Lenox Globe, circa 1510

“It is a rare vampire who can transform himself into something greater. It is an even rarer vampire who can control the demon within.”

Diary of the Undead

Chapter One

Last night,
Sixty Minutes
ran a segment on Judge Judy, which I made a point to record.

Now, with a pile of clean laundry in front of me and a pair of Anthony’s briefs momentarily forgotten over one shoulder—a pair I had dubbed “The Forever Stain”—I sat, transfixed, for the entire segment.

I watched Judge Judy’s rise from a small New Jersey Family Appellate Court judge to one of the highest-paid TV personalities today.
The
highest-paid part surprised me. Then again, I think she deserves every penny. After all, she is a role model for many, and the voice of reason to all. Anyway, the segment showed a softer side of the judge, and I appreciated seeing that. I like her softer side. She is a mother and grandmother. Someday, I hope to be a grandmother, too.

That I would be the world’s youngest-looking grandmother was another story. That my granddaughters or grandsons would, within a few decades, look older than me, was...well, the same story. That I might never meet them was too heartbreaking to consider. Perhaps I would be introduced as a long-lost aunt or something.

I sighed when the segment was over. The judge has a beautiful life, a challenging job, and grandkids everywhere. She has aged gracefully, seemingly stronger now than ever.

Myself, I have been a vampire now for nine years. I had been turned in my late twenties. Twenty-eight, in fact. I still looked twenty-eight, perhaps even younger. Perhaps closer to twenty-five or twenty-six. I should be on the cusp of looking like I was forty. Instead, I look like I am a few years out of grad school.

I might look young. I might have the strength of ten women. I might even occasionally turn into a giant vampire bat. But raising two kids—one of whom was a teenager and the other was damn close—seriously took a superhuman effort. How mortals did it, I would never know.

I sighed heavily when I turned off the TV, briefly jealous of the life Judge Judy had created, and wondering how the hell my life was going to turn out, knowing I would have to cross that bridge when I got there.

My doorbell rang.

I looked at the time on my cell. My potential client was early.

I glanced at the laundry piles scattered over the couch and recliner and shrugged. That’s what my potential client got for being early. Still, I quickly shoved the briefs under the biggest pile. No one deserved to see The Forever Stain. Even early clients. Hell, even my worst enemies. Truly cruel and unusual punishment.

I had long since ditched my annoying habit of reaching up for my sunglasses every time I opened the front door, or checking my exposed skin for sunblock. Indeed, those habits had been eradicated in this past year. A year I had spent “living in the light,” as Allison liked to put it.
Allison is annoying too, but I love her.

Now, I confidently opened the front door and ushered in a woman I knew. A woman I loathed. A woman I nearly slammed the front door on, or tripped as she came in. Or blindsided and tackled her to the floor where I wanted to give her the world’s biggest noogie and wedgie and then drag her over to my bathroom toilet for a “swirlie,” as the kids used to call it back when I was in high school.

But I didn’t.

I had been preparing myself all day to see Nancy Pearson. Or, as she liked to be called in a former life, Sugar Pearson.

She was, of course, the woman my murdered ex-husband had cheated on me with while we were married. She had called earlier today and requested to see me. I had nearly told her to go to hell. In fact, I was fairly certain I had thought it loud enough for her to hear it, because she had said, “Excuse me” at one point.

Anyway, she needed help and thought I was the right woman for the job.

Oh, joy.

So, being the sucker that I am—or, as Kingsley puts it, the bleeding heart that I am—I allowed the woman into my home, the woman who’d helped to destroy my marriage. I led her down the hall and into my office.

I settled behind my desk, and she did the same in front of my desk, in one of the three client chairs.

“So,” I said, noticing my heartbeat had picked up its pace, which, for me, was saying something. I also noted that my inner alarm system was ringing slightly just inside my ear. “Talk.”

She nodded, took in some air and tried to look me in the eye, gave up, and finally looked away. “I’m fairly certain—no, scratch that—I’m most definitely certain, that my ex-boyfriend is a serial killer.”