Jade Claws

By Meyari McFarland

Madoka did not know what in the little village had compelled so much attention. Despite Madoka's intention to spend no more than a matter of weeks, Madoka had been in the village for several years. It had been long enough for Madoka to watch little Hoshiko grow from a babbling toddler to a shy near-adult.

The quiet period ended when Hoshiko's uncle decided that rape was an appropriate method of proposing marriage. Madoka abandoned the human disguise that had concealed Madoka's true form to teach him and Hoshiko's parents their mistake. Doing so sparked a change in Hoshiko that revealed exactly what had kept Madoka in the village for so long.

Jade Claws is a tale of dragons in ancient Japan and discovering that the mistakes of the past do not have to be transmitted to the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MDR Publishing
• Release date: Feb 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311241115

Meyari McFarland

Meyari McFarland has been telling stories since she was a small child. Her stories range from SF and Fantasy adventures to Romances but they always feature strong characters who do what they think is right no matter what gets in their way. Her series range from Space Opera Romance in the Drath series to Epic Fantasy in the Mages of Tindiere world. Other series include Matriarchies of Muirin, the Clockwork Rift Steampunk mysteries, and the Tales of Unification urban fantasy stories, plus many more. You can find all of her work on MDR Publishing's website at www.MDR-Publishing.com.

Book preview

Jade Claws

By Meyari McFarland

You, Kenta slurred. Come here.

It was a blatant order that Madoka raised one eyebrow at. The scruffy bearded man had eyed Madoka every time they encountered each other. No action had been taken thus Madoka had not found it necessary to rip the man's head off.

Come here! Kenta snapped.

He strode over and grabbed Madoka's arm, twisting it in a move that was clearly intended to be intensely painful. It didn't hurt. Madoka's human form was considerably weaker than the true form, the scales hidden under the skin and tail but a narrow hidden whip under the drape of Madoka's kimono. Still, Madoka was too tough to be harmed by a man like Kenta.

Mine, Kenta growled. He stank of cheap sake.

No, Madoka said, chuckling at the sheer thought of it. I am not yours.

Other Books by Meyari McFarland:

Fitting In

Artifacts of Awareness

A Range of Debts Collection

The Nature of Beasts

Captured Debts Collection

Repair and Rebuild

Infinite Horizons Collection

Tales from the Dana Clanhouse

Storm Over Archaelaos

Published by Mary Raichle on Smashwords

Copyright ©2013 by Mary Raichle

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be emailed to [e-mail]

This book is also available in ebook format from all major retailers.

ISBN: 978-1-939906-41-0

Dedication:

This story is dedicated to Kay, my faithful beta, dear friend and writing companion. Thank you so much for helping me sort out what was wrong with this one, sweetie!

Table of Contents

Jade Claws

Dragon Rider's Song

Afterword

Jade Claws

Thank you very much for the mushrooms, Hoshiko said to Madoka.

She smiled shyly up at Madoka as she took the basket full of mushrooms that Madoka had harvested up on the mountain. The occupation gave Madoka reasons to be away from the village. That