J.R. Rains Vampire for Hire World_Dragon Lessons

by Eve Paludan

  I got in a few licks and knocked down Beowulf and then put my flames on his broadsword. The hilt got hot and he screamed and let go of it. I kicked away the red-hot sword and put my foot on his back and held him there. Once he was disarmed of this giant sword, he was kind of a weak old man.

  I transformed back into my Anthony body and sat on the guy. I asked Mom, “Why did you want to save the life of this piece of filth?”

  “Because he hid the Holy Grail and no one else knows where it is.”

  “Okay. Good reason.”

  I held him down as he was spitting and biting and punching, but weak punches, if that.

  Mom handcuffed him with the plastic cuffs she carried on her most of the time. I realized that without the sword in his hand, this Beowulf, who was cussing us out in some unknown language, was not a strong guy.

  “Tammy, get his red-hot sword,” Max said. “Use something between it and your skin.”

  She wrapped her jacket around the hilt, dragged it to Max and said, “What should I do with it?”

  Max lifted his bloody hand and showed us he had a sword wound. “I don’t have any healing crystals on me. And I’m going to bleed to death if you don’t use that sword on me and close the wound, with heat.”

  “No!” Tammy said. “I think, and I don’t know how I know this, but dragons have healing properties in their saliva.”

  “But Thorn’s not here,” Max said.

  “Who’s Thorn?” Mom asked.

  “Tammy’s dragon,” Max said.

  “You have your own dragon?” I asked.

  “Not now, Anthony,” my sister said.

  Mom said, “What’s this about a dragon?”

  “No time to explain.” Tammy looked at Mom. “Mom, I think you know what to do. Don’t suck Max’s blood. He needs… dragon saliva.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Tammy nodded.

  “And you know this, how?”

  “I just do. Maybe I knew it in another life or something.”

  Mom quickly went behind some bushes and changed to her dragon form and came out and very gently closed up the wound with her spit. We all saw it sizzle and heal as Max let out a cry of pain. It was alchemy, or a miracle, I wasn’t sure which.

  “Cool!” I said, because it was another power that Mom had that we didn’t know about.

  Then Mom went back to the bushes and changed back to her woman form and came out in her clothes again. Her hair was messed up from all the transformations. She got out her phone from her backpack and called Detective Sherbet.

  “Hi, how’s things?” Mom said cheerfully.

  “Sam, it’s late,” he said. We could hear him because Mom’s phone was on speaker. “What’s going on?”

  “A guy from olden times, sort of a time traveler, attacked Archibald Maximus with a sword.”

  “Oh, no, is he all right?”

  Max nodded and held his side.

  “Minor wound and we’re getting him patched up. I’ve got the perp here and his sword, too. Can you hold him somewhere for safekeeping?”

  “Hold him? I do things by the book.”

  “Just until we figure out how to send him back to where he came from. He did commit assault.”

  “All right, but unless Max presses charges and there is evidence of a wound, he’ll probably be out in twenty-four hours and my ass could be in a sling.”

  “That’s probably all the time we need,” Mom said.

  “For what?” Sherbet asked.

  “Until either the world ends, or he coughs up the location of a certain relic we need to save the world.”

  “Are you being serious?” Sherbet asked.

  “As a heart attack,” Mom said.

  “Does he have any superpowers I need to know about?” Sherbet asked.

  “Not unless he touches the sword he came in with. He seems mortal to me and he’s pretty old and decrepit. He needs a bath, a meal, and he doesn’t speak English.”

  “What does he speak?”

  “Um, maybe Danish from a millennia ago? Could be Swedish. Or, what do Vikings speak?”

  “There’s never a dull moment with you, is there, Sam?”

  “Nope. Never.” Mom paused.

  “What’s your 20, Sam?”

  “We’re 10-20 at Cal State Fullerton in front of the closed library.”

  Sherbet sighed. “I’ll put my pants on and be right there.”

  “What are you going to charge him with?”

  “I’ll do a 5150 hold. He’s a danger to himself and others. Hurry up and figure out what you need to figure out because I’m calling an ambulance for him.”

  Sherbet hung up on Mom. It wasn’t long before he showed up and had old Beowulf hauled away on a stretcher by ambulance. Strapped down and spitting and cussing in some ancient language, he was even trying to bite whoever was near him, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that the guy was indeed a 5150. For real.

  Chapter 18

  SAMANTHA MOON

  My phone rang, and I looked at the display.

  “Kingsley,” I said, instead of saying hello.

  “Sam,” he said. “I’m off work. Everyone was guilty, and I convinced them all to take plea deals instead of going to trial, so it was a short gig at night court.”

  “What a cooperative group of defense clients, huh?”

  “Quite. But before I head home to Yorba Linda, I wanted to see if you were still up.”

  “Of course, I’m still up. It’s the middle of the night and I’m a vampire.”

  Kingsley chuckled into the phone.

  I continued, “Actually, the kids are up, too. We’ve all had quite an adventure. And we’re just headed home in the mom-van so keep your convo PG-rated—you’re on speaker.”

  He laughed. “Gotcha. Sam, it sounds like you had a rough night.”

  “Kingsley, you have no idea.”

  “You want some company so you can vent? Or should I just go home and eat a roast beef sandwich and watch videos of the old Beauty and the Beast series?”

  Struggling not to be too needy or clingy, I laughed to ease the tension inside me and said, “Want to come to my house for a change?”

  “Love to, but only if Tammy promises not to put a subliminal thought in my head to make me fall asleep against my will.”

  “Sorry about that last month,” Tammy piped up from the backseat. “I won’t do it again.”

  “I appreciate that,” Kingsley said. “Sure, I’ll come over. Love to see you all again.”

  “You’re mostly coming over for Mom,” Anthony said.

  “And for you two,” Kingsley said.

  “So, we’re going to stay up and talk?” Tammy asked, dread in her eyes.

  “Nope, school day tomorrow for you two,” I said. “You get a pass from a lecture, Tammy.”

  She sighed but was not defiant, as she usually was.

  “I’m already tired anyway,” Anthony said. “I need sleep. I always get tired when I fight bad guys twice in one night.”

  “Whoa,” Kingsley said. “Is that right, Sam? Two fights in one night?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it when I see you back at the ranch. What’s your ETA?”

  “Twenty minutes,” he said.

  “See you then, Kingsley,” I said. I didn’t blow kisses into the phone, but he did, which made me smile as I disconnected my Bluetooth.

  Tammy asked, “Mom, you and Anthony were in another fight besides the one with Beowulf?”

  “We were.”

  Anthony chimed in, “We almost got carjacked on the way to Jacky’s Gym. They attacked us at the stoplight, and Mom and I jumped out of the van and kicked their asses.”

  I saw Tammy’s worried eyes in the rearview mirror. “Mom, really?’

  “Yes.”

  She put her hand over her heart and closed her eyes.

  “Are you okay, Tammy?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’m just thanking someone up there, you know who.”

  �
��Me, too, sweetie. Me, too.”

  Chapter 19

  KINGSLEY FULCRUM, THE WEREWOLF

  I parked myself on the couch as Sam fussed over her kids as they got ready for bed. It didn’t matter than they were teenagers and taller than her. It mattered that they had this nightly ritual of acceptance, loving… and sometimes, forgiveness, especially if the day had gone badly. Her house always smelled like cookies and clean laundry that was waiting to be folded. And her own unmistakable and alluring personal scent. They were all comforting smells to me, a werewolf in love.

  From the living room of her little house in Fullerton, I could hear Sam talking as she tucked in her teenagers, as she was wont to do at the end of each day. Never mind that her son was over six feet. And never mind that her daughter was clearly a young woman.

  I caught their quiet murmurs: “First, I saw him in a dream, a dream that was real!”

  “Go on,” Sam said.

  “And I didn’t want Thorn to die in the Beowulf book, so, I sorta let him out. I’m not exactly sure how.”

  “Where is this dragon?”

  “I don’t know, and I feel really bad that he’s probably super-scared somewhere in Fullerton tonight.”

  “I’m sure he’s fine. Dragons have a strong sense of self-preservation.”

  “Will I ever see him again?”

  “I don’t know, Tammy. You will if you’re meant to.”

  “He has to find the Holy Grail before the devil does. Beowulf stole it from Thorn, fifty years ago, in their world, along with a treasure. I guess many centuries have gone by, though, in our world, only fifty years in theirs.”

  “I see.”

  “We have to find Thorn. Please, Mom!”

  “I’m not getting out my wings tonight again, Tammy. I have to think about all of this.” Sam paused. “You have something else bothering you?”

  “Sort of.”

  “Out with it. Come on,” Sam said.

  It was not enough that the night was full of dragons, carjackers, and Beowulf. My ears picked up this next little gem from Tammy’s room: “Mom, am I a witch?”

  After a rustle of sound that was Sam plumping up her daughter’s pillow, she said, “Why do you ask that, Lady Tam Tam?”

  “Because I think I might have some powers to do things.”

  “Besides read minds?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I see.”

  “Well, am I? A witch?” Tammy pressed.

  “The truth is, I don’t know.”

  “How about this question, then?” Tammy paused. “Are you a witch?”

  “Me?” Sam’s voice registered surprise. After long moments, she said, “I was a witch in another life, long ago. I was part of a triad.”

  “A group of three witches?”

  “Uh-huh. But I don’t partake in this life.”

  Tammy asked, “Don’t you want to know magic or do anything with your potential?”

  “No, my plate is already full of the current triad I hold dear.”

  Tammy said, “You mean, your kids and your boyfriend?”

  “Yes, primarily. And my sister’s family and my private investigations.”

  “In that order?” Tammy asked, petulant.

  “Those are the three things in a nutshell. And in the order that you assume. As far as magic goes, in this life, I leave that sort of thing to the experts.”

  “Like your friend, Allison?”

  “Yeah, she’s a witch and seems to know who is and who isn’t.”

  “Since I now know that my bloodline was that I was the daughter of a witch, do you think I could talk to Allison about it? I have questions, Mom. Burning questions.”

  “I’ll ask her the next time I see her. I think she’s down in Puerto Vallarta at some witchy gathering.”

  “Oh,” Tammy said, disappointment in her voice. “Is there going to be a roaming charge if I tried to call her in Mexico?”

  “Don’t call her. Let’s put your burning questions on the back burner for now. We have so much going on. Especially, you do. I’d hate to see you add more stress to your life by adding more to your plate.”

  “Stress? I think it might be fun to be a witch, or useful. Yeah, I mean useful.”

  “If you’re a witch, it’s a lot of responsibility. Are you ready for that?”

  “I don’t know. Like what kind of responsibility?”

  “People’s lives would be in your hands.”

  “Again, this?”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Tammy, being a witch is as risky as private investigation. It’s definitely not for the fainthearted.”

  “I know. It’s just that things are changing, and I want to know everything now. You know how I am.”

  “Yes, you’re the impatient type.”

  “Call me the curious type.”

  “Okay, sweetie, you’re curious.”

  “Very.”

  There was a momentary lull in their conversation.

  “I know I don’t tell you this, Mom, but I really want to be like you.”

  “A private investigator?”

  “No, someone who knows the things you know. And as wise. And a good person who puts others first.”

  “I don’t think people perceive vampires like all that.”

  “Well, I do.”

  “And that counts for a lot. Thank you for that. Good night, Tammy.”

  “Good night, Mommy. I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too, my daughter.”

  I was choked up, listening to them. Mothers and daughters were such a lovely thing when they were bonding. And a terror to behold when they weren’t.

  Next, Sam went into Anthony’s room and said goodnight without a lot of fanfare, but also told her son how much she loved him. I was even more choked up at this look inside of her life, in her house, with her kids.

  She’s an incredible mother, just one more reason to love her like I do.

  Finally, Sam showed up in the living room and wordlessly took me by the hand to her bedroom where I wanted to hold her. Forever.

  She unbuttoned my shirt and I took off my pants. And then, her clothes came off in a blur.

  With one pointy nail in my chest, she gave me a teensy shove into the bed and I let myself fall in it, a bit comically, to break the ice for the rest of the night and into morning.

  “Hello, handsome werewolf in my bed,” she said in that low melodic voice that she reserved just for me.

  “Hello, beautiful vampire whose bed I’m hogging. And breaking. Sorry, I think one of the springs just went boing.”

  She smirked. “Beds can be replaced. And the kids are safely in their beds. Nothing else can happen tonight.”

  “Well, something might happen,” I joked when she glanced down.

  She smiled slowly. “Might?”

  “Your choice,” I said. “My werewolf hearing detects that they are both asleep already, as that is a consideration.”

  “Excellent,” Sam said.

  “I’m having a sleepover with my gorgeous, sexy vampire girlfriend at her place and the kids are lightly snoring. Now, what do we do with ourselves?” I asked.

  “Whatever we want, Kingsley. Whatever we want.”

  “Do you want to talk about what went on today and tonight?”

  She shook her head and her long dark hair shimmered in the soft light of her bedside lamp.

  “No, I don’t think I want to relive tonight by re-hashing the nightmare of it all.”

  “Okay. Do you want me to just hold you tonight?” I didn’t want to have wild and crazy sex with her kids right down the hall. Okay, maybe I did want to, but I didn’t want to be interrupted. Or heard.

  A sweet sigh escaped Sam’s lips and it reminded me of a gentle ocean wave sloughing the sand. “That would be the best thing tonight, just to be in the circle of your arms. Feel your werewolf heart beating against me.”

  I opened my arms. “Come on then, and li
sten to my pulse, you vampire temptress.”

  She slid against me and I didn’t know how she did it so fast. Her skin was cold, as usual, but I was plenty warm enough for the both of us.

  “You’re a furnace, Kingsley.”

  “Don’t lie. You love that about me that I’m always running 101 degrees. For you, babe.”

  “I surely do love that you’re hot. Ordinarily I have to take a scalding shower to get this warmed up.”

  I held her close in my arms that got a little bigger with the cycle of every full moon. Heck, all of me grew a little bit every full moon. I kissed her softly. “I’ve got a werewolf sense that we are headed into something pretty gnarly tomorrow. I just want to tell you something before we do.”

  “Please don’t propose,” she said softly.

  “Oh, darn,” I quipped. “No, I was just going to tell you that you’re very precious to me and that if we were ever to part, or if I lost you somehow, I would grieve for a hundred years, maybe even never love again.”

  She was quick to reply, “Nothing’s going to happen to ‘us’ unless you’re a dumbass and I send you packing again for cheating on me.”

  I kissed her. “Stop it, Sam. It was once. And we’ve already worked through that together. We’ve long ago mended and redefined who we are to each other.”

  “That’s true. We have. Honestly, Kingsley, I know we’re fighting evil every day, but you’re so fearful that you’re going to lose me someday that you can’t even enjoy the fact that you have me in the here and now.”

  I reflected on that. “You’re right. How’d you get so wise, Sam?”

  “I think it’s from loving you. I’ve never had to be this patient.”

  “Patient? About what?” I asked.

  “That this is what we have and it’s very, very good. Live in this moment, Kingsley. It’s all we have. Every time we are together. It’s in the moment and I never know if we’ll have another one because… being undead is so freaking dangerous.”

  “I understand. In this moment, all that exists is you.”

  She smiled softly, without showing her teeth. “More.”

  I looked into her bottomless black eyes. “Damn, but you’re beautiful.”

  “I know,” she said and we both chuckled.

  “Kingsley, do you want to do more than hold me tonight?”

  I nodded, and she slid on top of me and kissed me hard, like she wanted to suck my blood, but she definitely knew better. We loved each other quietly, and when she climaxed, she collapsed softly into my neck, exhausted and sated. I knew because she was making these soft sounds like moans that were barely audible, even to my ears. It was then that I held her against my pounding heart. I never wanted to let her go.