Werewolf Samurai: The Second Kelly Chan Novel Read online

  “He was mine!” Nori shouted.

  The elevator dinged and the doors opened. I glanced over. Amanda was ready to push the bed into the car, but she backed up.

  A woman wearing jodhpurs stepped out of the elevator. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight bun and she held a riding crop in her left hand and a pistol in her right.

  “Who the hell are you, and what’s with the weird pants?” I asked.

  She glanced at me, looked back at Ichiro, who struggled to rise.

  “Don’t worry about him. He’s not in any shape to—”

  She raised the gun and shot him in the heart with a silver bullet. He dropped to the floor, and released his final breath. A moment later, he shifted back to human form.

  All I could think was that he would never read another book to Cho.

  “No!” I yelled and started toward her.

  The woman dropped her riding crop and held up her left hand.

  I slammed into an invisible wall.

  She motioned upward and I rose into the air.

  “Fucking wizard,” I said.

  “My name is Anselma. I’m currently in charge of Dragon Gate Industries. You must be Kelly Chan, the last of the first generation Sekutar.”

  “You didn’t have to kill him!”

  “On the contrary,” she said. “Were you bitten?”

  “Of course not.”

  She approached me, walked around me.

  “You’re covered in blood.”

  “None of it is mine. Why did you kill him?”

  “Because he was a werewolf. We can’t just let them run wild in our fair city. Perhaps I should kill you too.”

  “You assholes don’t do anything for free,” I said.

  She smiled. “I’ll admit the Tokyo branch sent a rather healthy transfer to us.”

  A man stepped into the hall. He wore a business suit and looked like he should be in an office building downtown. He touched an earpiece in his left ear. “All floors secure, ma’am.”

  “Thank you, Al.”

  “Will there be anything else?”

  “Scan the woman in the hospital bed.”

  “Leave her alone,” I said.

  Anselma ignored me, and stared at Nori. “Are you Nori Oshira?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “Your father is not happy with you.”

  He nodded. “I’m aware of that.”

  “He does not wish you to return to Japan. I can use a man who can transform into a werewolf at will. Would you like a job?”

  Nori shook his head.

  “I have failed my father. I have disgraced myself by not completing my mission. I simply wish to die with honor.” He knelt, pulled his short sword, and placed it on the floor before him. He looked up at her.

  She nodded. “If this is what you want.”

  “I will need a second,” he said. He glanced over at me. “Kelly Chan, will you do me the honor?”

  “You don’t have to do this,” I said. “This is the twenty-first century.”

  “The only way I can regain my honor is to perform seppuku. Will you be my second?”

  “I will,” I said.

  “Thank you.”

  Anselma walked up to me. “I’m not finished with you. We’ll talk once you’ve finished this ritual. Such a waste.”

  She released me from her magical grip.

  I dropped to the ground and walked over to him.

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked.

  “I must die with honor.” He pulled his katana from its scabbard and handed it to me.

  “Your call,” I said.

  “You are a woman of true honor.”

  He took a deep breath as I moved behind him to his left.

  He remained kneeling, hands on his thighs. Finally, he bowed. He reached out, picked up the short sword, and pointed it to his gut. He hesitated for a moment, drew one final breath, and thrust the knife deep into his stomach. He pulled the blade to the left then back to the right then yanked it upward to cut into his liver to make sure the cut was fatal.

  His intestines spilled onto the floor like link sausages without the ties.

  He’d done his part. I brought my sword down in a swift easy motion and severed his head with one swipe of the blade. He had his honor, and his brief suffering was over.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  I joined Amanda, the wizard bitch, and her helper by the elevator. The man in the suit was named Al. I considered that. Three magic users in a row, all starting with the letter A. Amanda, Al, and Anselma.

  “Triple A magic,” I said as I joined them.

  I needed to say something because I needed to distract myself from the wasted lives.

  At least Wakumi was alive. She was still asleep, but the rise and fall of her chest told me all I needed to know.

  “I’m tempted to have you slain,” Anselma said to me.

  “I’m tempted to kill you too, so we’re even.”

  She frowned. “I don’t like the thought of a rogue Sekutar on the loose.”

  “And I don’t like the idea of having a total bitch in charge of DGI.”

  “Kelly!” Amanda said.

  “She killed Ichiro for no reason,” I said.

  “We killed only those infected with the werewolf curse,” she said. “That’s what Mr. Oshira requested. There were a number of dead ninja upstairs, though. What’s the survivor count, Al?”

  “I didn’t count them. I’d estimate seventy.”

  “Seventy ninja who will soon be back on a plane to Japan,” Anselma said.

  “You killed Wakumi’s husband.”

  She shrugged. “Is this Wakumi?” she asked pointing at her.

  “Yes, and if you hurt her, I’ll take your head.”

  “Al?” Anselma said.

  “She’s the one.”

  “Take a blood sample from her,” Anselma said. “But try not to hurt her.”

  “I can do that, ma’am,” Al said.

  Anselma turned her dead eyes on me. “I suppose that means I get to keep my head.” She held my gaze for a moment. “I’ll allow you to leave now, Kelly Chan.” She turned to Amanda. “As for you, Ms. West, you’ll report for work Monday morning at seven.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Amanda said.

  “Al, take a blood sample from the werewolf I shot as well. Then supervise the cleanup. I’m going home to get some beauty rest.”

  “That will take centuries,” I said.

  Anselma glared at me for a moment, then the corner of her mouth twitched upward.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Two weeks later, I went downtown and found the loft where Colin lived. I rang the bell.

  A black woman in her early forties answered the door. “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “I’m looking for Colin,” I said.

  “Who?”

  “Old guy,” I said. “He used to live here.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “A couple weeks.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve lived here for fifteen years.”

  “But I was here two weeks ago.”

  “Not here.”

  “May I come in for a moment?”

  She sighed and let me in. The address was the same. The door to the apartment was the same. But inside, the floorplan was completely different. The woman had modern furniture. She had some books on a bookshelf, but they were by Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and Walter Mosley.

  I still had Colin’s card. I showed it to her.

  “That’s my address, but that’s not me.”

  I thanked her and got out of her hair. As I walked down the stairs to the street, I shook my head. Colin played us, but helped us. And he kept his wife out of it entirely. Clever old guy. Now I wondered just how old he might be. I also wondered if I’d ever see him again.

  Something told me I would. I smiled at the thought, and headed for my truck.

  ***

  Later that night, I had dinner with Cho
and Wakumi, who was healing nicely. Wakumi insisted on cooking. She still hurt, but she wanted to feel useful.

  Cho and I played in the backyard while Wakumi prepared the meal.

  “You’re my best and only friend,” Cho said.

  “And you’re my best friend, too,” I said and gave her a hug.

  “When I grow up will you teach me to fight?”

  “I’ll teach you self-defense,” I said. “And we can start that right now. But I don’t want you to go out looking for fights.”

  “My mom wouldn’t like that. My dad wouldn’t have liked it much either.”

  At the mention of her father, she bowed her head. She didn’t cry, though. She just stared at her little hands for a moment.

  Wakumi slid open the back door. “Dinner’s ready,” she said.

  “Be right there,” Cho said.

  “Don’t let it get cold.”

  Cho looked at me. “Was my father a good guy?”

  I nodded. “Yes, and he loved you very much.”

  “Mommy says we’re flying back to Japan next week.”

  “That’s what I heard.”

  “So I won’t get to see you anymore.”

  “We still have a few days,” I said. “And I’ll come see you every day until you go.”

  “And you’ll teach me to defend myself?”

  “You know it. You’ll be the toughest eight-year-old in Japan.”

  “I’ll be nine next month.”

  “And then you’ll be the toughest nine-year-old in all of Japan.”

  “You’re just saying that.”

  “Let’s go eat,” I said and took her hand.

  We talked about inconsequential stuff during the meal. Cho wanted to tell me all about Pokemon. Then after dinner, Wakumi sent Cho to bed.

  “The adults need to talk,” Wakumi said.

  Cho frowned. “That’s boring. I think we should watch a video.”

  “Maybe Kelly will join you in a bit.”

  “I’d love to watch a movie with you. Go ahead and start without me. I’ll be there in a few.”

  “Okay,” Cho said. She moved off toward her room.

  I helped Wakumi clean up, and we talked while we worked.

  “You’ve wanted to ask me something since the wizards at DGI murdered my husband.”

  “A few things,” I said.

  “You’re so good with Cho, and I know you tried to save Ichiro.”

  It still bothered me that I’d been unable to save him.

  “I also know you tried to save my brothers.”

  “They were using you.”

  “But they were still my brothers. I miss them. And I thank you for trying to save them. Now ask me what you must. I will be honest.”

  “What happened to you? I mean, as I understand it, you and Ichiro were both cursed.”

  “Yes. We were both victims of lycanthropy. But what happened was that I got pregnant. Near as we can tell, my body went through extra changes, turning off the curse. And when Cho was born, I still didn’t change. But I could feel the draw of the moon.”

  “So the pregnancy put the curse on hold?”

  “Permanently. It’s like the curse has an on and off switch, and mine was switched to off. The curse is still there, though. But nature can’t have a mother who will eat her own daughter by the light of the full moon.”

  She held up a hand. Fur sprouted and claws poked through her fingernails. She retracted the claws and the fur shrank then disappeared.

  “But—”

  She smiled. “The curse will never leave me. But I will always be in control.”

  “What about Cho?”

  Wakumi smiled. “When she turns eighteen, she will have the ability to shift in and out of werewolf form at will.”

  “Who else knows?”

  “Ichiro knew. I knew. Now you know. Two others are aware of it because they told us. Evidently, there is only one book to ever reveal the truth about how the curse works. It’s a journal, and the owners of the journal are a man and wife who have been around for centuries collecting books and esoteric knowledge. They will protect our secret as it’s their secret too.”

  I grinned. “Colin and Joanna. I think they’ve already moved on.”

  “I suspected as much. You should go watch that show with little Cho.”

  I nodded and walked over to Cho’s room. I heard her father’s voice before I reached the doorway. She sat on her bed watching YouTube on her computer. Her father read from The Giving Tree. He might be gone, but at least she would always have his recordings. I sat on her bed beside her and put my arm around her. She leaned into me and we watched as her father shared his favorite book.

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Gary Jonas grew up in a military family, so he moved a lot as a child. His original plan was to be a comic book artist, but in college things changed. He took a creative writing class for the easy A, and found that when he wrote stories, people were affected emotionally by them in ways they weren’t by his artwork. He switched from art to writing without ever looking back. Well, he might have looked back a few times, but by then it was too late. He sold his first short story to Marion Zimmer Bradley for the anthology Sword and Sorceress VII. Many short story sales followed to various magazines and anthologies including Robert Bloch’s Psychos, It Came from the Drive-In, 100 Vicious Little Vampire Stories, Prom Night, and many more.

  His first novel, One-Way Ticket to Midnight, was published in 2002, It made the preliminary ballot for the Bram Stoker Award. While the novel was well-reviewed, it didn’t sell diddly squat, so Gary turned to writing screenplays for a few years. A couple of Hollywood options led to nothing, and the notes from producers, while sometimes spot-on, were also sometimes way out in left field (if they were even in the ballpark). Gary returned to novel writing with Modern Sorcery. You can visit him online, and sign up for his mailing list on his rarely updated blog.

  Books by Gary Jonas

  The Jonathan Shade series:

  Modern Sorcery

  Acheron Highway

  Dragon Gate

  Anubis Nights

  Sunset Specters

  Wizard’s Nocturne

  Razor Dreams

  Vertigo Effect

  Club Eternity

  Timeless Gods (coming soon)

  The Kelly Chan series

  Vampire Midnight

  Werewolf Samurai

  Subhuman Resources (coming soon)

  The UFO Conspiracy Files series:

  Guardians of the Sky

  Rogue Alien (coming soon)

  Stand-alone novels:

  One-Way Ticket to Midnight

  Pirates of the Outrigger Rift (w/Bill D. Allen)

  Novella:

  Night Marshal: A Tale of the Undead West

  also available in Night Marshal Box Set (the first three Night Marshal tales in one bundle--includes Night Marshal by Gary Jonas, High Plains Moon by Glenn R. Sixbury, and This Dance, These Bones by Rebecca Hodgkins). The set kicks ass.

  Collection:

  Quick Shots

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