Free Dragon Gate by Gary Jonas Page A

she pushed the sword into Jacob’s skin. Blood trickled down his throat, across the blade, and dripped onto the ground. The drips grew into a steady stream.
    “Weakling or not, I’ll have your head,” she said and drove the blade through flesh and bone. She grabbed his hair as the sword pushed through and yanked the head from his neck.
    Graham blinked. He’d never seen anything like that. He didn’t know what to think.
    Kelly turned toward the other men, holding the head high. “That was so much fun, I may have to start a collection. Who’s next?”
    One of the men stepped forward, but Thomas pushed himself to his feet and raced over to shove him back. Thomas spun around to face Kelly.
    “You killed my eldest son.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    “This isn’t over.”
    “I certainly hope not. I’m not even warmed up yet. Can I kill you next if I say pretty please?”
    “We shall allow Graham to leave unharmed for now.”
    “Mighty kind of you, but what if I don’t allow you to leave?”
    “Ms. Chan,” Graham said, “please let them go. It would be improper to kill them.”
    “Improper? Even though they were going to kill you?”
    “Yes.”
    Kelly shrugged. “It’s your call. But just so you know, I’d be happy to kill them all right now.”
    “There’s no honor in that,” Graham said.
    “Maybe not but it would sure be fun. And Mike Endar might pay us a bonus if I end it right now.”
    “I’d rather you didn’t.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because I want the opportunity to fight back.”
    Kelly nodded and Graham knew that had he said anything else, she probably would have slain every member of the clan. She glared at Thomas. “I’ll let you go this time,” she said, “but before you leave, get your son’s body and take it with you. The city of Boulder has strict litter laws.”
    “We’ll be back,” Thomas said. “Francis, Richard, get Jacob’s body.”
    Kelly stepped back toward Graham, allowing the others to approach Jacob’s corpse. “Get up, Graham,” she said.
    Graham rose. “They would have killed me.”
    “You were never in any danger. I had you in sight the whole time.”
    “Thank you.”
    Kelly didn’t reply. Instead, she crouched and picked up Thomas’s sword. “Mr. Marshall? You might want this,” she said and tossed the blade to him.
    He caught it easily, wiped the blood on his pants, then slid it into its scabbard. “May I please have my son’s head?”
    “I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me that before,” Kelly said. “Since you said the magic word.” She tossed the head to him. “Besides, where would I keep it?”
    He caught the head, and as Richard and Francis carried the body past, he placed the head on Jacob’s midsection.
    Thomas glared at Kelly then turned to his sons. “Move out,” he said.
    As they turned to leave, Kelly waved and said, “You boys have a nice day now. You hear?”

CHAPTER EIGHT
    KELLY CHAN
    I have to admit that I really wanted to kill everyone. I could have ended the entire thing right then and there, but I watched them walk away. I’d ruined a perfectly good shirt for nothing.
    Well, maybe not for nothing. If Graham grew a pair and stood up for himself, that would be a positive development. On top of that, I still wanted to be working with Jonathan. He seemed so much darker these days, so much more serious. Okay, I realize that fighting killers might not be the best way for some people to lighten up, but we were not most people. Jonathan needed an easy win, and this seemed like just the ticket. I could wipe out the Marshall Clan inside of thirty seconds, but it would be best to let Jonathan help. It also might be a good thing to have Graham help.
    “You’d better fight back next time,” I said.
    “I’ll try.”
    “That’s not good enough.”
    “It’s not how we were brought up.”
    “Not how you were brought up?”
    “If you know you’ve done wrong, fighting back brings dishonor to your family.”
    “That may be the