Modern Sorcery: A Jonathan Shade Novel by Gary Jonas

of trust guiding ships from harm that appealed to her.
     
    “Wait here,” I said and set the typewriter on the counter by the cash register.
     
    The warrior removed his sunglasses and nodded.   He had the cold, dead eyes of a shark.
     
    “Feel free to warn her,” he said.   “It won’t do you any good.”
     
    I knew the Town Car would probably pull around back in case anyone tried to escape.   I was counting on that, actually, because if it was another Sekutar, I didn’t want him or her coming in before we took care of the guy I had with me.
     
    I moved to the back of the dojo by the stairs that led to Kelly’s place.   “Hey, Naomi!” I called up the stairs.   “We have a playmate!”
     
    Kelly opened the door and smiled down at me.   She loved playmates.
     
    “Be right down,” Naomi called. Of course, Naomi did not come down.
     
    Kelly did.
     
    The Sekutar stepped onto the mats and moved toward the center of the room.   When Kelly stepped into view, I smiled at the guy as if to wish him luck.
     
    He looked Kelly up and down.   “You’re not Naomi.”
     
    “And you’re not Brad Pitt,” she said.   “I guess we’re both disappointed.”
     
    Since the warrior didn’t recognize her, that spoke volumes.   I knew Kelly made note of it too.   This guy was not a first-generation Sekutar.   That meant someone had reinstated the project and created new warriors.
     
    “Shade, if you think I won’t kill a woman, you really don’t know me.”
     
    “To be honest, pal, I don’t want to know you.”
     
    “How would you like to die?” Kelly asked.   “Hand-to-hand or weapons?”
     
    “You must be the resident sensei , ” the warrior said.
     
    “At your service.”
     
    “You’re hopelessly outclassed, my dear.   Step aside and I’ll let you live.”
     
    Kelly walked over to her weapons cabinet and opened it to reveal a broad assortment of blades.   There were sais, daggers, katars, and a variety of swords.   She selected a nice sword.
     
    “I trust you’re armed,” she said.
     
    He nodded but made no move to draw his sword.   “Let’s dance.”
     
    Kelly walked toward him but didn’t raise the sword to a fighting position.   She kept it down by her side, leaving herself open.   “You may want to draw your sword,” she said.
     
    “For you?   Nonsense.”
     
    “Cocky little bastard, aren’t you?   It’s no fun if you don’t want to play.”
     
    “Oh, we can play.”
     
    “Your call.   You right- or left-handed?”
     
    He smiled.   “I’m ambidextrous.”
     
    “Good,” Kelly said.   She whipped the sword around so fast, it was a blur.   She lopped off the warrior’s left hand.
     
    He stared at the stump in disbelief but didn’t cry out.   Sekutar warriors are magically engineered to feel no pain.   There was some blood but not much.   “You bitch,” he said and drew his sword, a katana much like the one David had used.
     
    He attacked hard and fast, but Kelly didn’t retreat.   She simply parried and stabbed him in the chest.
     
    He looked down at the blade in surprise.
     
    She kicked him off her sword.
     
    “This guy kicked your ass, Jonathan?” Kelly asked.   “Please tell me that’s a joke.”
     
    He attacked again, clearly pissed now.
     
    Kelly dodged his blade and caught his arm under hers.   She twisted and snapped the bone with a loud crack.   He dropped the sword.
     
    “You use a katana?” Kelly asked, easily catching the punch he tried to throw with his stump.
     
    “It’s a great weapon.   The steel was folded over two hundred times.”
     
    “Yeah, moron, because in Japan, they don’t have much iron.   They had to fold the steel two hundred times because it’s inferior.   I could go on, but you bore me.”   She swept his feet out from under him and planted him hard on his back.   “He sucks,” she said and started to walk away.
     
    He was up in a heartbeat.   He leaped at her, trying to