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View other titles by this author LENGTH: Short Story Cover art (c) Jenny Dixon 2007
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Shainna Barton has long struggled with her feelings for Adam, her partner in assignments by the Company. As worried as she is that Adam has turned to her only in grief because of Kiku's death, though, she can no more resist the desire he so expertly arouses in her than she can refuse his request to cover for him in his mission of vengeance. Rating: Contains violence, adult language, and graphic sexual content. |
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Silent Death
© copyright March 2007, Denysé Bridger Cover art by Jenny Dixon, © copyright March 2007 New Concepts Publishing Lake Park, GA 31636 www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
Tired of the confines of her office and in need of a little night air, Kiku Shimoda emerged from the rear exit of the small Kabuki theater. She didn’t find the soothing peace she wanted. Instead she found herself shivering in the unnatural quiet that seemed to permeate the night. She knew she was alone. The theater was empty for she’d bid the last of the employees goodnight almost an hour earlier. As she stood in the doorway, frozen for indeterminate moments by indecision, she was faced once again with a fear to which she had grown happily unaccustomed. He was late. And he had never been late--not in the entire year the theater had been open--not without first warning her. Still, she would wait a little longer. For a few minutes, she dismissed her worry and allowed her thoughts to drift, allowed herself to remember. She’d been performing in a club located in Hong Kong’s backstreets and trying to avoid the humiliation of becoming another of the owner’s possessions when he’d stumbled into her tiny dressing room. The blood pouring from a long gash that ran from the center of his chest, upward to his left shoulder probably should have terrified her. But something in the fierce eyes of this stranger told her she need not fear him. Chen-Li had not been so fortunate later that night when he discovered she was not alone to fight his clumsy advances. She had never known loneliness after that night, and it had been her last spent in Hong Kong. It had also been Chen-Li’s last night, anywhere. In the weeks that followed his dramatic entrance into her life, Kiku learned many things about him. First, she found out that his injury had been inflicted by a sword--during a confrontation that only he had survived. She also learned quickly not to question him, not because he refused to speak honestly to her, but because he would--and the answers frightened her more than the not knowing did. Over five years had passed since then and he’d become many things during those years, always her protector, as well as a companion, then her truest friend, and, in the most recent years, sensei. He was teaching her to overcome her fear of the darkness in her life, and, because of his training, it had been a long time since she’d been truly frightened of anything. There had been a time when she believed Adam would want her as a lover, but that dream was one she’d been forced to banish. She’d met one of his few partners, a beautiful, dangerous woman he trusted, and she’d seen what they hadn’t yet realized themselves, they loved each other. “Adam?” she whispered, feeling unseen eyes watching her. She knew immediately that it wasn’t him. She could feel his presence when he was near. His ki was intense and filled with his strength. The uneasy, brooding fear which had haunted her throughout the day flared to sudden, potent life. Control your fear--listen to the voice of your instinct. She heard his words inside her head and forced herself to a calm, steady state of mind. She allowed her senses to speak to her and realized she had waited a moment too long. From the shadowy blackness a figure emerged, followed closely by four others. She recognized the leader at once, Donald Caisson, and suspicion took the place of fear as she saw the drug-induced, frenzied look in his eyes. “He’s late tonight, Little Princess,” Caisson taunted, moving toward her with cautious steps. Kiku remained motionless, unaffected by the threat Caisson was so obviously trying to imply. Late he might have been, but it was not because this inferior sensei had harmed him in any way. She tensed but allowed only calm to define her outward appearance. “Would you like us to walk you home?” Caisson continued, still easing forward with calculated wariness. His followers, four of his more able students she noted, were closing in a loose circle around her. She stared at him in silent anticipation, measuring the distance that stood between them and waiting. “You would be wise to leave,” she warned in a soft, lilting voice. “And leave you alone, Little Princess?” He smiled, the expression meant to be ingratiating. She returned the smile with radiant warmth and bowed her head slightly. As she looked up again, she launched herself toward him. Her initial rush took him by surprise, and he staggered back a few steps, giving her the space to whirl and land a perfectly aimed kick at his jaw. As Caisson fell to his knees, his followers began to close in, fending off her random blows and kicks. Kiku knew her skills were no match for all of them. She could defend against one, even two of them, but a group of five would tire her, then defeat her. The back of her head tingled in warning, but her response came a split second late, and Caisson had her pinned to the ground before she was fully aware of his renewed attention. He shoved her roughly onto her back, and her teeth clenched in furious rage when each of the men held one of her arms and legs firmly against the unyielding asphalt. “Why?” she ground out, although she already had a fairly accurate idea of his motive. “I told you your arrogance would get you killed,” he snapped, his hand closing around her throat with clear meaning. She felt panic swelling inside her, rapidly taking the place of calm reason. Still, she refused to permit it release simply because it would satisfy Caisson’s sadistic, twisted humor. “You should have accepted my offers, Kiku,” he murmured, his hands wandering over her breasts in a gentle, almost loving caress. She made no visible response, forcing down the bitter anger and disgust that churned in her stomach. Caisson’s eyes blazed with unexpected rage and hatred, but before she could adapt to the erratic change, his hand curled into a fist and she was nearly blinded with the explosive pain that shuddered through her as he struck her face. Her hold on consciousness was starting to fade, shifting in and out of focus as color faded to a dull gray, then to total blackness. “Don,” one of the students whispered frantically, his voice alive with fear. “He’s going to show up. Let’s get out of here!” “Spread out,” Caisson ordered, his voice hoarse with tension. “Watch for him. The Princess and I aren’t through yet.”
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